Wednesday and Thursdays feel so weird now without the weekly chapter of Naruto. The pre-chapter discussions, predictions, even the fake spoilers (some of them made me laugh) are all things that I'm going to miss.
I love the series but I do feel like the ending was rushed. The Naruto vs Sasuke battle (for one that was hyped for so long) was paced very poorly, especially when you factor in the amount of flashbacks and talking included.
Chapter 699 felt like the real end of the series, it was excellently done and I would have been satisfied if the series ended right here. Maybe with the addition of one final page showing Naruto achieving his dream of becoming Hokage just to give his dream closure.
Chapter 700 was what I'd call a box ticking chapter. I could imagine Kishi being like: Pairings? Check. New Konoha 11? Check. Obligatory panel of Naruto's face on the hokage mountain? Check. Have characters mention that the world is peaceful so we know that Naruto's goal was successful? Check. It was all very rushed to me. There are some things that in my opinion should have been left to the imagination of the Naruto fandom (pairings and their kids, for example) and there are some things that should have been explained properly like how Naruto became Hokage and what his final answer was to achieving true peace. Instead, the writer did the reverse.
But overall, I can't complain. The series has given me so much joy and at the risk of sounding cheesy, inspired me in my own life. Seeing Naruto's courage in part 1 particularly made me feel more brave, made me not want to give up so easily and to work hard.