Why did Naruto like Sakura? 

With so many characters in Naruto, relationships between characters are bound to get tangled and, at times, complicated.

One such complication came in the form of a romance in the early days of the series, as Team 7 found themselves in the middle of an adolescent love triangle. Everyone's beloved protagonist found himself being head-over-heels for Sakura, but the latter couldn't care less.

While this particular duo left the majority of the audience confused, there were several things that Naruto saw in Sakura that others couldn't. Hence, his first love inside the village became the series' most-hated character. The following article will break down the reason which could have led the protagonist to fall in love.

Disclaimer: This article is subjective and relies solely on the writer's opinion.

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Naruto's love for Sakura was nothing more than a childhood crush

During the starting arc of the series, all members of the village from different teams were between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. While Sakura's love for Sasuke has been considered obsessive in multiple cases, this was not the case for Naruto, as he became aware of the fact that the sentiment was one-sided.

Sakura hugging Sasuke (Image via Pierrot)

Naruto's love for Sakura was shown throughout the series, both in the original and the Shippuden series. While a few examples can be found throughout the protagonist's light-hearted dialog on how to impress Sakura, Shippuden showed how he grew to respect and accept the fact that Sakura's love was for someone else.

Reaction after Sakura hugs Sasuke (Image via Shounen Jump)

A prime example of this was when Sakura asked Naruto to bring back Sasuke, and he couldn't say no to her face. While half the reason was that he wanted to bring Sasuke back, he still had a soft spot for Sakura and so could not say no.

Hence, the feelings he developed as a child stayed with him for a few years until he grew out of them.

Sakura exploits the feelings of the protagonist (Image via Pierrot)

As mentioned earlier, readers should note that there hasn't been any canonical explanation that states any specific reason for the protagonist's feelings. They were 13 to 15 years old, and the protagonist fell in love with Sakura because of the same reason that Sakura fell in love with Sasuke. One found the other attractive.

However, ever since the Pain arc, his feelings for Sakura withered away as he started seeing his current wife, Hinata Hyuga, in a new light. While Sakura was known for exploiting Naruto's feelings, Hinata was shown to be more affectionate and caring than anyone else in the series.

Hinata protecting her crush in the Pain arc (Image via Pierrot)

As the days went by, the feeling of love towards Sakura turned into nothing but respect, as their relationship has been strictly platonic in the new era.