Naruto's downfall started before the War Arc, but for the sake of the argument, a lot of it comes down to personal preferences. If you like HxH's heavy focus on thinking/strategizing then of course it gives you something that DB-inspired shonen don't, because those manga tend to focus more on the visuals which isn't exactly HxH's forte. Also HxH has the advantage of having an above average anime adaptions which skews people's opinion a bit imo
It's clear though that Togashi is a far more skillful writer than Kishi. How do you know a mangaka truly understands his craft and didn't just get lucky striking a nerve? When he creates not one but two successful and highly rated manga. Togashi has YYH and HxH. Kishi has Naruto and
Samurai 8.