Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-31492005-20180306150245/@comment-34436338-20180316151741

Why can't people understand that most of the time when Sakura hits Naruto its for comedic purposes...You all make it seem like Sakura beats Naruto, lowering his self-esteem, causes him to lose ambitions, and feel like nothing. And usually when Sakura hits Naruto, its because he is performing the Sexy Jutsu, or something else idiotic.

I believe Naruto's crush on Sakura ended when she lied to him. This is where Naruto realized Sakura would never like him in the way he does. Soon after, he began to realize the Hinata had feelings for him in the Pein arc, but due to his personality he was still sorta in the dark, he began to see it more within the war after Neji died, and finally he became fully aware within The Last.