Some of these ships are obvious - Yahiko and Konan being a couple is hinted at pretty heavily in canon, and Naruto and Sasuke are star-crossed lovers who would end up together if many fans had their way. Whether you want to accept it or not, anime fans consider shipping to be a big deal, as evidenced by more than a few controversial anime ships. That's where awesome non-canon ships come in - after all, a ship never needs to sail for it to have a real basis, or for it to interest fans. Some people love the relationships between Naruto and Hinata, and Sakura and Sasuke - but others wish it went down differently, many even shipping characters who the creators never planned for endgame relationships.
Canon Naruto pairings remain, to put it lightly, controversial.
