I respect the beginning arc of Shippuden immensely. I think it’s cool that they actually aged the characters and actually had them grow into their attitudes and abilities! It’s very rare that a shonen series does that. Most characters seem trapped in whatever age the story started them off in and keep them that way (and in that same mindset) for however many years the manga/anime runs. But the Naruto kids grow up fine! They learned from the past five seasons and it actively shows in their personalities. They come off as being real people, Sakura especially.