I think Kishi should have sticked with the Kohona eleven and developed them slowly. Meaning each arc should have gotten there fights, with opponents on there level. The story sticked to Naruto and Sasuke a bit too much. They were characters who were forcefully rubbed on people's faces. I understand those other characters you mentioned got some development. But they were hardly those characters we loved and grew up with. I am pretty sure other series are not as self centered to two characters as Naruto is.Part 1 had a great amount of Shikamaru,Choji,Kiba,Neji,Shino,And Lee in it,not so much in part 2 but its covered other characters well.Tobi,Obito,Madara,Nagato,Itachi,Jiraiya,come to my mind first and Sakura.
One of the great things I loved about Naruto when it first started was the unique difference in the characters. I thought we would get to see these unique characters develop as the story progressed but sadly it was not ment to be.
Well what sort of relevance or development did she have throughout the story? Like honestly at one point I thought Kishi forgot about her character. I would love to see you make a thread about it some day. To show why you think Sakura is a great character. I would not mind reading that honestly.She's not the same as before.Perhaps you should Reread Sakura Vs Ino and the War wasn't the only time she developed - also reread Sakura and Chiyo Vs Sasori.she's become a strong fighter unloke before,and cares alot about Naruto.i'll go into more detail of the Brilliance of Haruno Sakura someother time