A fight with Gai is below the current level of fighting, I reckon.
I don't think a romanticistic person like Naruto would settle for a I can't have him so I'll settle for the safe second choice type of love. If he can't win Sakura from Sasuke fair and square, he'll go without. That's why he didn't believe for a second what Sakura said, even if Sakura actually had developed some genuine feelings (I'm sure she has some, more mature and far less burning kind of feelings). Just looking at Sakura's face during the scene gave me the impression she was giving up a dream and settling for something less but more realistic.Originally Posted by DarthEnder