Well, hello there, you should know this is my first fanfic, so constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, I'm just some guy who liked the series (Pre-War Arc, that is).
So, without further ado, I present:
Altered
It had been five years. Five years since hundreds, nay, thousands of voices, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, shinobi, civilian, were silenced. In a single night, Konohagakure lost so much.
Among the losses, was Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage, a young man, who had spiky blond hair, blue eyes, and a white cloak, adorned in flames, a prodigy only seen once a generation, loved by the people, and a war hero.
All of this caused by the Kyuubi no Yoko, a beast that, with a strike of it's tail, could cause tidal waves, and with one roar, sow fear into the heart of even the most stoic man.
It was only stopped by The Fourth, who, sacrifing his soul to the Shinigami, sealed the beast inside of a small blond child named Naruto Uzumaki.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is where our story truly begins.
Konoha
Morning was breaking in Konoha, birds were chirping, people were waking up, and the first signs of shinobi activity were starting to show. One person in particular, however, was Naruto Uzumaki, five years old, energetic, cheerful, and (unknowing) demon container, was waking up.
Little Naruto got out of bed, along with the other children at the orphanage, they slept in a medium sized room, full of bunk beds, all of them rather close together, and begun their morning routine.
After that, the children were taken to a playground area by the caretakers, where there were some swings, a slide, a sandbox, the usual.
Naruto was usually excluded by the other children, although not apparently on purpose. They simply didn't let him play with them, or just seemed to treat him like he wasn't there. It was annoying, but when Naruto tried to talk to the caretakers, they told him they were too busy.
Naruto for the most part didn't mind it too much, sure, he wanted to play with them, but after a year or two of getting excluded, it was hard to care. Besides, who needed them when once every month the Hokage himself came to visit Naruto, heck he even took him out for ramen, and last time he'd even taught him a cool trick!
He remembered the day the Hokage had taught it to him.
Flashback
It was evening, and two figures sat, one an old man, wearing a white robe covered in red markings, with a red hat with the kanji for fire on the front, his wizened, wrinkled, calmly smiling face spoke of wisdom earned over a lifetime full of hard earned success. The other, a small child, wearing a white shirt with a red spiral, and light brown shorts, happily eating a bowl of ramen, soon to be added to the quickly building pile of empty ones at his right.
This one's face (which possessed some odd whisker markings) was full of innocence, naivete, joy, and was also covered in ramen broth.
"So, Naruto, I heard you wanted to become a ninja?" Questioned the Hokage.
"Of course! I mean, ninjas are so cool, dattebayo! Making fireballs, blowing things up, rescuing princesses, and you're the strongest one, right? And how do you guys do all that, Jiji? The child excitedly, and rapidly, asked.
Chuckling lightly, the Hokage responded: "Now, now, Naruto, one thing at a time. First off, refer to me as Hokage-sama, or at the very least Hokage, second of all, yes, I am the strongest ninja currently alive. But, Naruto, you must understand that being a ninja isn't all fun and games, there is great danger, and all power begets responsibility. And, last of all, ninjas use chakra."
"Chakra?"
"Yes, chakra is something present in all living things, and is easily described as the life force of all things, everyone has chakra, and it is necessary to survival, however, ninjas train themselves to have excess chakra, and use it in jutsu, such as fireball." The Hokage explained in a sagely manner.
"Oohh. Could you teach me?!"
"Well Naruto, how about a little trick. Close your eyes, and imagine you had water in your belly, and then try to move that water into your arm."
End Flashback
And so he had, at first it was difficult, as he just couldn't push the water, but slowly over weeks of constant failed attempts, he succeded, and it felt … odd.
It was like if his arm was full of water, and it started leaking, it felt painful, and when he opened his eyes, strange, ethereal blue threads were escaping his arm, he, unsuccessfully, tried to grab them, but they just went through his fingers.
He tried the same thing, only now on his other arm, but now with wide open eyes, just brimming with wonder, curiosity and excitement, and sure enough, the feeling of being full of water, of it starting to leak, and the blue threads poured out again.
With a wide grin, Naruto jumped, his fist held up in the air, shouting: "Yatta!".
A.N.: Well, hope that wasn't awful for you, please review, and let me know what you think. Also, for those wondering, there's a reason Naruto's chakra is visible, it's just that this fic is going to be a bit slow. Thank you, and have a nice day.