This episode is different than the last ones, as deals with feelings of the main characters. It was like a melodrama for a time. The scene starts just when Sakura declares her feelings to Naruto (with Kiba, Lee, Sai, Yamato, and Kakashi all present who knows why). He is stunned, surprised, so he asks why and if something happened. She insists that nothing happened, and says that she simply realized. She them asks him to stop chasing Sasuke, she releases him from the promise (once again), while Yamato tries to react and Kakashi stops him. She tells how he has always been next to her, encouraging her, supporting her, while Sasuke has been walking away, becoming a criminal and hurting her. She hugs him, and recalls how now Naruto is the hero of the village, all what he did to protect everyone from Pain, the amazing person he became. She is just an admirer, but has witnessed everything by his side since he was just a troublemaker until now. She reassures that now he loves him, and doesn't like Sasuke anymore, who instead has become a different person. She tells how much he comforts her, makes her feel safe, and that she loves him from the bottom of her heart, but then, suddenly, he asks her to stop, shoves off her arms, and takes her shoulders with a serious upset face. She's shocked and saddened at the same time (he never looked at her with anger). He tells her to stop joking, and again asks if something else is going on. She reassures that nothing happened, that she changed like the autumn leaves (she was wrong here, but is explainable as he made her get nervous). He then says he hates people who lie to themselves. This time (while a beautiful sweet score plays), Sakura gets upset and tells that she knows very well how she feels, if he doesn't like her back, he shouldn't make excuses. He answers that this is weird and sudden, and if she came all this way just to tell him that. She gets more offended, because now he is playing down her confession. She reassures how important was what she said, that she loves him, but that now he only thinks about Sasuke. Sakura asks him to think about himself once, he is a jinchuriki and Akatsuki is after him, she doesn't want him to risk his life for Sasuke, and get in trouble for him (she refers to talking to the Raikage), she wants him to come home (with her). She also tells him to forget about the promise. But he says it's not because of the promise, now he understands more of why Sasuke did what he did, he loved his family and his clan too much. When Kiba questions then why he joined Akatsuki after killing Itachi, Naruto answers that things were not like that. And just when he attempts to tell the truth about Itachi, Kakashi stops him. Sakura and the others are surprised, but still, Naruto says he won't change his mind, even without the promise, he wants to try to save Sasuke anyway. Then Kiba secretly asks Sakura what now and if they should tell him the truth, but she kicks him on the feet, and decides to leave. Meanwhile, Sai hides an ink clone to talk later to Naruto. As Sakura walks away followed by Lee, Kiba and Sai, she thinks "I'm sorry Naruto" for what she is going to do. Once they get far enough, she asks Kiba to track down Sasuke's smell. About what happened, the first thing to say is that the talk should have been in private inside a cabin. That way the conversation could have been more serious to Naruto. It was the first mistake by Kishimoto here. Then, Sakura's confession was true. She expressed what she felt, even if some people think that she lied, the evidence is clear. When she saw Naruto's disbelief and upset face she was like saddened, as she meant all what she said to him. And when she got upset it was because he dismissed her feelings like if they didn't matter, like if all the things she did for him, all her worries and care, weren't important. It was the truth, she could always be with him, who has been next to her all this time. He always supported her, cherished her, protected her. And she cares about him more deeply than he knows. They complement each other and take care of each other. When he said that she was lying to herself (and that he hates people like that), she was stunned and then upset. She knows well how she feels, she was not lying. The only thing she said wrong is that she already forgot about Sasuke, that she doesn't care anymore. Because she still does, she is not senseless, it's the opposite, she is very sensible. That was the second mistake of Kishimoto, because it was critical to make Naruto distrust her. The protagonist wouldn't forget Sakura's feelings for Sasuke so easily, she had to prove what she said some other way (in private), and with more time. But still, Sakura did realize that she loved Naruto. The hug after defeating Pain, her tears after seeing him transformed in the four tailed Fox, all her constant worries, every time she healed him especially when his arm was broken with the rasenshuriken, the moment she saw him back after his two year travel, the moment she learned what happens to a jinchuriki when the beast is extracted (when she realized the serious danger Naruto was and still is), every time she supported him during training or fights, and many other times her love and care was showed. She got to think all this, and realized that she loved him. She just wasn't really aware or never tried to push it because wasn't something that happened one day, like a crush. It was a feeling growing little by little, during all the time and experiences shared together. Then why Naruto couldn't accept it? Why he rejected her if he loves her? Because it wasn't the right time or the way he expected to be. He recently learned the truth about Itachi, which implies how Sasuke is a victim from a difficult situation between Konoha and the Uchiha clan. He was overwhelmed, and needed time to process such blow to the head. He couldn't handle a love confession in that moment, and it was the worst possible time to ask him to forget about Sasuke. Also, the memories of three years ago hit hard on him, and on his mind he believed that Sakura would never choose him over Sasuke. She was trying to tell him that she could, but the time wasn't appropiate. He could tell by Kiba, Lee, and Sai's presence, and the sudden confession, that something else was up. He wanted the complete truth, but Sakura couldn't tell him. How was she supposed to say that all their friends at Konoha accepted that Sasuke must be eliminated? And that they would kill him if they could? She knew that he would never accept it, that would very hurtful for him. Like Sai will say a few episodes later, she wanted to protect him from the truth, she never wanted to hurt his feelings. For her, that's the most important. That is one of the strongest acts of love she could do for him. And she thought that by confessing her love for him, her true feelings would be enough to make him forget about Sasuke, and return to Konoha. She thought that he could prioritize her over Sasuke, and forget a promise that already lost its relevance. Then she reminded him of Akatsuki and that he is a jinchuriki because his life is at risk too if he goes looking for Sasuke, getting closer to those enemies. She wanted him to think about his own safety, which is what she does. So at the end, it's sad. Sakura only thought about Naruto, she chose him over Sasuke, protected him from the hard truth (that everyone in Konoha wants Sasuke dead), and confessed her true feelings, but Naruto didn't mind. He didn't appreciate how much sha cares about him. In some ways, it was like a break up, or a fight no one could thought they would have. Because Naruto really loves her too, and never hurted her until this time. Never before he made her sad or upset with his anger or his decisions. Can be said that Kishimoto decided by this point of the story that Naruto and Sakura would not end up together. But it was meant to be. Even in future episodes is showed how much they still care and love each other. He will keep saving her, protecting her always like an angel. And she will still be by his side, supporting him, worrying about him, taking care of him, healing him, and even saving him. Honestly, they are surely one of the most notable couples that should have ended up together, but they didn't.
As for the rest, the Kages decide that A will be the leader of the Alliance. Mifune explains that his compromise will be bigger now that Killer B is known to be alive. In the meantime, Killer B goes to learn Enka with Sabu, a master who lives with his pet Ponta outside of Kumogakure. But while they practice Enka singing, Kisame appears to capture the Hachibi. A battle starts between them starts. This part served to show the comedy and action, inbetween the melodrama of Naruto and Sakura. Killer B, as usual, brings the comic relief (writing that Ponta was a racoon and not a bear was a funny moment), and still is a strong powerful character. While Kisame, remains as one of the last members of Akatsuki, a great villain who thanks to his sword can challenge any character on the storyline.
As for the rest, the Kages decide that A will be the leader of the Alliance. Mifune explains that his compromise will be bigger now that Killer B is known to be alive. In the meantime, Killer B goes to learn Enka with Sabu, a master who lives with his pet Ponta outside of Kumogakure. But while they practice Enka singing, Kisame appears to capture the Hachibi. A battle starts between them starts. This part served to show the comedy and action, inbetween the melodrama of Naruto and Sakura. Killer B, as usual, brings the comic relief (writing that Ponta was a racoon and not a bear was a funny moment), and still is a strong powerful character. While Kisame, remains as one of the last members of Akatsuki, a great villain who thanks to his sword can challenge any character on the storyline.
