Actually, the three most influential people in Naruto's life are centered in the top image. I agree that it was not the best placement for a speech bubble, but Kishi likely had very little do with the final placement of the words. He clearly places a great deal of weight on Jiraiya, and even Iruka, since they are more prominently featured than everybody else in the drawing. If you really want to point out people that Kishi doesn't like, Tsunade's placement in the top portion is much more subdued than the rest of the Kage in the bottom. They all are in the immediate foreground, while Tsunade seems to be peeking out from behind Jiraiya's shoulder.