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[daveo42]

They're rivals so they respect each other, the jealousy of Sasuke and the friendship, especially "best friends" aspect, is hardly if ever shown throughout the entire series leading up to the fight.

But the thing is, their friendship is build on that rivalry. They both gained mutual respect for each other leading up to that point as rivals, it was that Naruto was more idealistic in that him and Sauce were true friends and not just friendly rivals. Really, Naruto was Sausuke's only "friend" and connection in town (similar to Naruto), adding to the emotional tension of the fight. I think you were looking too much for best buds and not friendly rivals and as such felt the climax of the first portion of the manga was unearned.