TRUE, TIMESKIP DID MAKE GAARA/NARUTO CANON - BUT NARUTO IS MUCH TOO IN LOVE WITH HIS TEAMMATES TO FOLLOW HIS HEART! AND DIDE, EVERYONE/SASUKE IS CANON!

(and that's why he's always 'if i don't catch twenty leaves then sakura will hate me forever' and such. lee uses her as a goal to get stronger. and sakura only batted eyelashes at Ino Sasuke and possibly Naruto romantically. although they do care about one another. they're just friends.)