I was thinking about this and how fundamentally different part 1 felt from part 2, and I was thinking of the possibility that Kishimoto was forced to write Part 2 in the terrible manner that it was.
Here's what I think went down; after Naruto's one shot becoming a hit (I think it was) and it becoming a regular series for Shounen Jump it got a lot of popularity. So much so that by the end of the series the editors thought they knew what was best for the series that they made it into a power-up fest. They introduced over-powered villains without much strategy or personality which in turn overpowered Naruto and Sasuke turning them into protagonists without much personality/strategy either.
I think the series went on much longer than Kishimoto intended it to, which is probably why he's so sick of writing it and wants it to be over already; I would feel the same way if I couldn't write my own universe the way I wanted to.
In my opinion he should've written it as a seinen. It would have given him so much opportunity for expansion and strength/power-ups would have only been a small if not insignificant part of the story.
Here's what I think went down; after Naruto's one shot becoming a hit (I think it was) and it becoming a regular series for Shounen Jump it got a lot of popularity. So much so that by the end of the series the editors thought they knew what was best for the series that they made it into a power-up fest. They introduced over-powered villains without much strategy or personality which in turn overpowered Naruto and Sasuke turning them into protagonists without much personality/strategy either.
I think the series went on much longer than Kishimoto intended it to, which is probably why he's so sick of writing it and wants it to be over already; I would feel the same way if I couldn't write my own universe the way I wanted to.
In my opinion he should've written it as a seinen. It would have given him so much opportunity for expansion and strength/power-ups would have only been a small if not insignificant part of the story.