While political conspiracies and grand, shonen battles could certainly wrangle plenty of viewers, many fans of Naruto have stayed throughout the series for Masashi Kishimoto's endearing character writing. Naruto Uzumaki may be a loudmouthed, shonen protagonist, but he shares the same sense of insecurities and isolation that many other kids do.
The same goes for Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and any big villain carrying a huge sword. It's the characters in this series that gave the story depth, and it's their dynamics that have fueled more storylines than any fantastical MacGuffin could. And, while it would be interesting to look at tender, sincere relationships, there's nothing better in Naruto than its stormy relationships of arguments, passion, and infighting.
Shikamaru And Temari
One of the most lowkey, budding relationships within the series, Shikamaru and Temari was a ship that no one saw coming early on, especially given the fact that the two were trying to fight each other during the Chunin Exams. Temari was faced with a tactical genius whose wit could match her power, while Shikamaru had to actually try.
This interaction would spawn a friendly and sly back-and-forth between the two every time they met. They'd exchange looks, one-liners, and the same denials that they had any chemistry with one another. It worked well given that Temari was no-nonsense, and Shikamaru was, well, no-try-hard. Fortunately for them, they eventually stopped arguing as co-workers and started arguing as a couple.
Jiraiya And Orochimaru
Before there was Naruto and Sasuke but well after Madara and Hashirama and the various, other cyclical battles over friendship, there was Jiraiya and Orochimaru. These two are part of the Leaf Village's Legendary Sannin and were two of the Third Hokage's prized pupils. While it would be cool for gilded colleagues to get along, that's not how anime works.
Orochimaru was the calm yet stuck-up elitist of Team Hiruzen, while Jiraiya was the bratty, loud-mouthed kid who aspired to be better than everyone, especially Orochimaru. It's hard not to see parallels with the eventuality of the story and even harder not to see the humble, bickering beginnings of two grandmasters who would shape the future of the world.
Sakura And Ino
Sakura never had a lot going on within the series, but one of her more interesting side plots was her ongoing rivalry, both competitive and romantic, with Ino Yamanaka. The two were dear friends until they both discovered each other's crushes for one Sasuke Uchiha. This would spark an obnoxiously petty rivalry that would see both words and blood fly.
It would all start out with a grade-school competition over hair and would culminate in their cathartic battle, brutal battle during the Chunin Exams. The aftermath would seemingly patch things up between the two yet there would still be a couple, rivalrous sparks throughout the rest of the story.
Naruto And Sakura
The relationship between Naruto and Sakura was arguably a bit one-sided. While everybody was fawning over Sasuke, Naruto was falling head-over-heels for Sakura Haruno. This would spark his own rivalry with Sasuke but also his not-too-subtle dialogue with Sakura, something that annoyed the girl throughout the early story.
She'd often berate the kid more often than she probably should have. Whether it was in rejection or total annoyance with Naruto's attitude, Sakura was always on his case. When she eventually did decide to reciprocate his feelings, the two still weren't on the same page since everyone, especially Naruto, was dealing with Sasuke's little rebellious phase during the later story.
Naruto And Jiraiya
It's a classic tale of master and student infighting. While Naruto definitely holds some esteem for Jiraiya's tutelage, he doesn't always respect or appreciate a man he frequently calls "Pervy Sage." While Jiraiya definitely sees plenty of potential in Naruto, he also has his own work and research to worry about and doesn't appreciate the extra baggage of one annoying kid.
It's a constant albeit hilarious dialogue between a master and student, where neither can exactly be the grown-up of the relationship. As tumultuous as that can, it developed one of the closest and most memorable master-student pairings in shonen history.
Kakuzu And Hidan
Things don't get much more heated between two people than when they try to kill each other. Though to be fair, Kakuzu and Hidan don't exactly try to kill each other, but they're not exactly trying to keep each other alive either. Kakuzu is infamous among the Akatsuki for often getting his partners killed.
This is often due to his own, destructive fighting style, though his bitter personality doesn't help. The best partner they could get him was Hidan, a guy who literally can't die. The two weren't exactly partners as they were just two guys who begrudgingly just happened to not die together.
Tsunade And Jiraiya
Tsunade and Jiraiya are what Naruto and Sakura could've been if they remained alone for the rest of their lives. The dynamic between the two could either be described as chop-busting old colleagues or two lost lovers with sexual tension so aged that it's just turned into regular tension.
Jiraiya had a crush on Tsunade when the two were part of Team Hiruzen, but this wasn't reciprocated. The only person Tsunade would love was Dan Kato who she would lose in the Second Shinobi World War. Tsunade and Jiraiya would sadly never cross paths romantically, but the constant fighting between the two would never stop.
Naruto And Kurama
Few stories have been as repeated and revered as the mismatched roommates. One's a boy with teenage angst and insecurity, and the other is a demonic fox that's constantly trying to possess him to destroy everything. Classic. Naruto and Kurama certainly aren't together because they liked each other, and it was a rough road for the two to start working together.
Kurama had very little respect for the kid that was little more than just his cage, while Naruto constantly struggled to get Kurama to work with him when he needed help. Their journey to cooperation was always fun to see, especially since any growth resulted in cool, anime powers.
Madara And Hashirama
Friendships don't start out much rougher than at opposite ends of a war. Like Romeo and Juliet, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju came from different clans that deeply resented one another. This would lead to heated battles between the two early on (and later on) that were, at best, part of a friendly rivalry.
The two would eventually work together to form Konoha, but things would quickly sour again when politics robbed Madara of his seat as the first Hokage. Things would bubble up again into a bro-down so epic that the village would literally build statues commemorating it.
Naruto And Sasuke
The ultimate culmination of seemingly centuries worth of best friends fighting one another, Naruto and Sasuke are part of some of anime's greatest and saddest moments between two friends. Initially starting out as rivals, Naruto and Sasuke's temperaments would just argue for them. As the two grew to know each other, their rivalry started to help each other grow and improve as ninjas.
This rivalry would however poison them, as it would lead to the very fight that would have Sasuke leave Konoha. This would lead to even more fights between the two, the entire story centering around chasing Sasuke, and a grand, cathartic ending where the two would eventually work together (and then fight again).