Author's Note: This is another story I received an inspiration to write. It is also a REVISION of the original one I was writing before. About part way through I just got lost on a tangent and wrote something completely unreasonable. So I took the original story down so that I could restart the main storyline, without overburdening it with tons of explanation and training sequences. Since people care more about getting to the main plot points than watching characters train, I figure I'll do away with a lot of the filler in between and just focus on Naruto's growth through the main arcs.

However, if I sacrifice the training sequences explaining where Naruto got his strength and why he is so different from what he is in canon… and then people start complaining about it afterwards and start writing comments like 'oh, why is he so strong', 'where did he learn that' and so forth… well, all I can say is tough luck.

You complained about it before, I adapted, here you go.

The first chapter hasn't changed at all from the original one, because this one really set the stage well for where Naruto's first character arc takes place. From here I think I'll blitz it through to the Graduation Ceremony in the next two chapters and see where it goes from there.

(Cut and Paste from previous chapter) I figured that while Naruto: Ronin is a great concept and a display of multiple figures and lore in a single universe, this story I believe will be more what people would want as an alteration from the original canon, without being saturated by too many OCs and original ideas. So in a way, this one is less of an AU than Ronin, but will still follow a more original storyline from canon.

There are also a lot of ideas from my original writings I wanted to insert over here as well (like the pendant Naruto wears and the bullies), so I figured this would be a great opportunity to incorporate them.

So while you'll see familiar arcs played out, there will be some divergences to keep this fresh and interesting. Let me know what you think: a story of how Naruto dreams of becoming the world's most dangerous villain.

NARUTO

Reikage

Prologue

(Five years after Kyuubi)

"Who wants to play ninja?"

"Oh! I do! I do!"

"Me too!"

"I want to play too guys!"

It was lunch time and, just like most days, there was a wild commotion going on over at the academy's playground. Gathered around the climbing sets and spider webs, a large group of kids- mostly boys- were currently gathered around their troop leader, who'd just popped the question as to who wanted to have a game of ninjas.

Obviously a majority of them wanted to take part and so, once a unanimous decision had been made, the youngsters began allocating roles and positions between one another. It was a clumsy start at first, what with them bickering over who wanted to play what ninja. But as soon as all the children knew who they were going to be imitating, they scattered and began to chase each other around the entire yard.

For the next several minutes after that, under the careful watch of their teacher Daikoku Funeno, the kids ran circles around the entire area. Sprinting across the bark, hopping over various obstacles and playground equipment, and even interrupting a couple of girls building castles in the sand pit, the boys had a ball as they pretended to clash kunai with one another and cast jutsu.

Them being so young of course, neither of them actually knew how to throw any 'fireballs' or 'earth walls' at each other just yet, so they just stuck with the basics of pretend play.

Eventually the game reached a point where one of the children, a popular Uchiha boy named Kaito, had one of his friends trapped against the rock climbing wall. With the other youngster's back to it, the adolescent prodigy advanced with his 'sword' drawn and ready to strike.

"Ha-ha! Surrender!" the boy chuckled.

The other boy with brown hair grinned back and formed a cross guard with his arms. "You can't touch me! Not when I have the First Hokage's Mokuton (Wood Release) defending me!"

Kaito recoiled at the boy's declaration and glared. "Hey! You can't do that! That's cheating!"

"Na-ah. Not it isn't," the other boy stated. "It's my super-secret, special move! The best there is!"

"No one in this village uses that jutsu anymore!"

"Oh yeah. Well… someday I will. I just have to practice."

"Ha. Yeah, right," Kaito replied, causing his friend to glower at him while he crossed his arms proudly. "If anyone is going to have amazing jutsu when they grow up, it's going to be me. I'll become an even better ninja than Sasuke's mum and dad."

Not exactly liking how the most popular boy in their group was taking this, the youngster with spiky brown hair and wearing the yellow T-shirt pouted and stood off of the wall. "This is getting boring. It's no fun when we don't have a real bad guy ninja in our group. Everybody here is playing a good guy." He said this while referring to the rest of their gang, who quickly approached the pair when they realized no one was chasing anyone anymore.

"Yeah," another boy in a white singlet, a buzz cut and a missing tooth spoke up as he looked between his friends. "Who can we get to play a bad guy?"

After looking over his troop for a moment and seeing no one wanted to volunteer, Kaito then looked over his shoulder and spotted a lone boy sitting on the swing set nearby all by himself and reading from a book. Being able to spot him due to the fact that nobody was in the same area as him, the young Uchiha with the spiky black hair grinned and nodded over to him.

"Hey. What about him?"

When his friends all looked to see who he was referring to, the brown haired Sarutobi boy who he was playing with before blinked. "Isn't he the new kid? The one our parents said not to go near? Naru-something."

"Naruto?"

"Yeah. That's it."

Seeing the blond boy with whiskers in the white shirt and orange shorts swinging back and forth on the seat, and completely engrossed in his picture book, he didn't seem like much at first glance. The fact that he didn't appear dangerous or intimidating in the least made him seem like an easy target to the boys, with Kaito giving a wicked smirk as a result and beckoning his friends to follow.

Soon the six or so boys had crossed the playground and quickly gathered around Naruto, who took a few moments to register to the fact that a couple of kids were in front of him. When he looked up, the blond blinked when he saw he was surrounded by a group of smiling boys from his class.

"Yo," Kaito greeted with a seemingly friendly wave and a kind grin.

Realizing that somebody was actually speaking to him, the previously distracted Naruto replied with a nervous nod. "Oh. H-Hi?"

"Do you want to play ninjas with us?" Kaito asked curiously. "You look a little lonely over here."

"Yeah. Join us," another of the boys in the group spoke. "It'll be fun."

"Uhh…" Naruto stuttered, obviously still surprised as his eyes darted between the kids. Eventually, after getting over the fact that he was being asked to join in for the first time, the whiskered youngster then broke out a smile and nodded. "O-Okay." He then closed his book and hopped off the swing, completely heedless of what the boys had in store for him. "So… how is this game supposed to be played?"

As Kaito led Naruto across the playground to the climbing set, he and his friends told the blond what they wanted him to do for them. "It's easy. It's like pretend chasey. First we pick a person to play the bad guy ninja… and then the rest of the good guy ninjas have to team up to fight him, with the Hokage in the lead."

Naruto, finding the concept behind this game to be quite exciting, gave the Uchiha a cheerful grin. "Alright. So… umm… who gets to be what? Can I be Hokage?" He asked his question with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Oh. We've decided that you'll be playing the bad guy first," Kaito replied quickly, holding his hand out and stopping Naruto in the middle of playground area just in front of the spider net. "You stand right here. And don't move, okay. This is super important." When he saw the blond nod in understanding, he and his friends then scattered about the area, with the Uchiha quickly climbing up the spider net to the very top. Once he was positioned on its very peak, he stood up. "Alright! The game starts now!"

Before Naruto could ask what was going to happen or what he was supposed to do, he saw Kaito take a stance with his fist waving enthusiastically in the air.

"Ta-du-du-dum! After a long and tough battle with the enemy shinobi, it is now up to the amazing Fifth Hokage to step forward and save the day! Kaito Uchiha!" the child exclaimed, earning a round of cheers from his friends and drawing the attention of some of the other kids in the area. Naruto meanwhile just stared up at the raven haired boy as he then pointed down at him. "Prepare yourself, villain… for it is time for you to meet your maker!" Crouching low, the boy then leapt off of the spider web and dove down at the blond, grinning wildly. "Ninpo: Kyuto Kick!" (Ninja Art: Soaring Kick)

Yelping in alarm, Naruto instinctively leapt to the side, avoiding the boy's kick as he then crashed into the floor with a loud 'thud'. When the cloud of dust settled, it revealed a now grounded Kaito sitting on the bark, a dazed look on his face and his shorts covered in dirt. As he sat up, he then gave a pained wince and looked down at his hand.

"Ouch."

When his friends approached, an observing Naruto stepped forward in worry. "S-Sorry. Are you okay, Kaito? Did you hurt yourself?"

Looking up at the blond, the Uchiha frowned. "I skinned my hand. Why did you dodge, you idiot?" He then stood up, stumbling slightly due to the rough landing. "That's not how the game works. You're supposed to be playing the bad guy. That means you're not allowed to move."

"Huh?" Naruto balked, staring at the now annoyed looking boy in confusion. "I can't move? That doesn't make any sense-"

"Hiko! Yochan! Hold onto him for a second!" Kaito shouted towards his friends.

"Okay," the brown haired Sarutobi responded, at the same time he and a second boy grabbed the blonde youngster's arms from either side and kept him in place.

As Naruto looked between the two youngsters in surprise, he then turned to Kaito to ask again what he'd done wrong. Surely there wasn't a problem with him moving to avoid another kid crashing into him, was there?

Unfortunately he never got a chance to make his inquiry, as the next thing he knew was feeling a heavy weight smash him in the face as the Uchiha raised his foot and kicked him squarely between the eyes.

The blond then dropped to the floor like a sack of flour, landing painfully on his rear and hands. Upon which he then looked up with a start to see Kaito standing there and grinning triumphantly.

"Attack successful!" the Uchiha laughed while puffing his chest out arrogantly. "Naruto the Monster Ninja has been crushed!" His announcement earned him a round of cheers and laughs from the rest of the children, all of whom obviously found the scene both epic and cool.

Blinking in a daze as he stared up at the prodigy and his compatriots, Naruto then felt something wet dribble down his lips and reached up to brush his mouth. He winced as he did so, pulling away to see that he had a bloody nose, which had been broken from the hit. Trembling when he realized he'd been hurt, the blond then looked up at the kids anxiously. "Hey. W-Why did you hit me so hard?"

By this point Kaito and his friends saw what'd happened, all of them looking down at the boy in momentary bewilderment. However, just as the children were trying to form some kind of reply, they were interrupted by the arrival of the yard teacher Daikoku, who'd rushed over when he noticed the commotion going on over by the spider web.

"Hey!" When the rotund Chunin with the beard arrived on the scene, he quickly looked from the standing group of boys to the fallen Naruto. Upon which he then placed his hands on his hips and frowned deeply. "Can one of you please explain to me what happened over here?" The entire playground remained silent, as it was obvious the man was taking this scene very seriously.

After Kaito and co looked between one another in momentary concern, the young Hiko then stepped forward and pointed down at Naruto, who was expecting the boy to clear up the situation and explain that he'd been kicked. However…

"Naruto tried to jump down from the top of the spider web. But he tripped and hurt himself."

The blonde's head snapped towards Hiko in alarm. "No I didn't!" The whisker-marked child then looked back at Daikoku. "That's not what happened, sensei! Kaito kicked me in the face while we were playing ninjas… on purpose!"

Glancing between the accused and the ones involved in the situation, the Chunin then focused his attention on the Uchiha and gave him a hard look over. "Is this true?"

Pausing for a moment to look at Naruto and then his friends, the Uchiha then put on his best innocent exterior and turned back to the teacher. "No, sir. Naruto fell over after he tried to jump and landed on his face. He got embarrassed and started blaming me."

"Yeah. It's true," another of his friends spoke up in support.

"That's what happened, sensei. We saw the whole thing."

"Naruto tripped over while we were playing ninja," came the voices of the rest of his companions, all of whom were quickly aligning themselves in defence of their best friend and leader. "That's the truth."

While Naruto looked between the boys in disbelief, a keenly listening Daikoku sighed and, reaching over, helped the blond to his feet. "You should really be more careful, Naruto-kun. Don't try to do things that you're not ready for, otherwise you'll end up hurting yourself." Upon setting the boy straight, he then checked the rest of his person for more bleeds. Luckily it was just his nose. "Try to keep both feet on the ground from now on, okay?"

"B-B-But…" the blond stammered, wanting to mount some sort of a defence to preserve his honour and explain what really happened, but was promptly shut down by the adult.

"No buts," Daikoku interrupted, pulling a facial tissue out of his pouch and handing it to the child. He then helped the boy bring it up to his nose to stop the haemorrhaging. "Now go up to the nurse's office so they can take a closer look at that… and make sure nothing is broken." He then instructed one of the nearby girls to escort the youngster, so that they didn't get lost.

And so, unable to get a word in, Naruto begun his walk back to the building. All the while he couldn't help but think to himself what the heck just happened and why things turned out the way they did.

Just when he thought he was starting to make friends, it turned out to be something else…

XXX

(A few weeks later)

A few days after the incident at the playground, Naruto had chosen to carry on with his schooling as per usual and to not pursue the issue. Figuring he couldn't really do anything about the kicking and convincing himself that the whole thing was just an accident, he elected not to get hung up over the game and instead went on to try and fit in with the rest of his peers.

Of course, due to the nature in which everybody was currently treating him, it wasn't exactly an easy endeavour.

It hadn't been long since Naruto had embarked upon his foundation year here at the academy- about two months at the most. When he started, the blond figured he was going to be getting a fresh start in life and a clean slate, believing he could actually find some friends here and children he could play with. Thus he entered the school on his first day with a big smile on his face and a spring in his step.

But, as he quickly found out after his first week, despite the incredible abundance of new faces and hours of play to be had during the working periods, every time Naruto attempted to approach the kids and ask if he could join in with them, they would either ignore him, tell him to go away, run off, or be dragged away by their teachers, parents or friends.

At first Naruto figured this was just a passing phase, as at one point he thought he was able to find a fast friendship with the boys Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji. They were a nice group and, after playing with them on the playground and in class, they'd really hit it off with each other. The three really enjoyed hanging out with the blond. But almost as soon as after meeting them, Naruto was told that their parents didn't want their kids hanging out with him anymore, and was essentially left out of their group.

This not only dampened Naruto's spirits during his free periods, but also made his time at the academy all the more disheartening.

And so the blond resigned himself to carrying on with his time at the academy alone and unnoticed, and for the most part kept to himself.

That was until Kaito and his band of friends started inviting him into their circle to play more 'ninja games' with them and, as Naruto was quick to discover, neither one of their games was cordial in the least.

Over the next couple of weeks since the first time they asked him to join in, Kaito or one of his companions would approach the blond orphan during free time under the pretext of talking to him or inviting him over for a different game. When Naruto either accepted or declined their request, he was then ambushed by the group of kids- all of whom were acting out the roles of 'Konoha ninja' while he was instantly slapped with the title of 'enemy ninja'- and was hence set upon by their squad. At first it started out as just good, old-fashioned child's play and teasing, with the kids dropping toys or shuriken-shaped paper on Naruto's head, or splashing him with paint or water, and proclaiming he'd been defeated.

But then, after the first dozen or so 'games', things started to get a little rougher and violent. Soon Naruto was being blind-sided by the gang almost every play period, with each time ending with the blond being outnumbered and ganged up on by the entire group. They even started hitting him from behind with their hands or toys when the teacher wasn't looking or out of the room, before finishing with the orphan somehow winding up on the ground with a new bump or bruise on his person.

On one end of the spectrum, Kaito and his friends thought this was very funny.

On the other end however, Naruto did not, and after several more days of being pushed around and knocked onto his backside by the gang of mischievous youngsters, the blond had had enough.

A loud clatter rang throughout the classroom as a table was suddenly flipped over. When the children in the room quickly looked across the way, they saw Naruto standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by ruined artwork, glaring across at Kaito and his group. The gang of youngsters were surrounding the blond and looking at him in surprise, while the spiky haired orphan was seething.

"Huh? What's going on?" one of the girls nearby asked. "Why are the boys fighting?"

"Did someone call a teacher?"

"Look! Naruto's started a fight!"

As the rest of the class started to gather around the scene and chatter with interest, Naruto continued to huff and glare across at Kaito angrily. Looking at his current state, the children noticed the blonde's shirt was a bit wet and so was the floor. This gave the indication that the boys surrounding his upturned table had once again splashed the kid with a cup of water, which was now lying empty on the floor alongside his ruined painting. This in turn triggered the blonde's anger and prompted him to knock both his chair and table onto their sides, as well as take a swing at the kid who threw the water at him.

Though he missed, his actions at the back of the classroom still caused quite a stir.

"What happened?" one of the girls asked one of Kaito's friends.

"We were just playing, but Naruto got mad," Hiko whispered back, finding the blonde's reaction to be quite scary. "He stood up and pushed his table over."

"Man. What's his problem?"

Taking a deep breath, the upset child with whiskers dusted his top and growled. "I… can't stand it anymore." He then pointed across at the Uchiha boy and bared his teeth at him. "Kaito! I demand a duel!"

In response, the raven haired youngster frowned in confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about, Naruto? We were just playing ninjas again-"

"That's the point!" the orphan shouted, clenching his fists tightly and focusing his ire on the boys around him. At the same time he became vaguely aware of the rest of the class gathering around them. "I don't want to play the bad guy ninja or the monster ninja anymore! It's not fun! I want to be the Hokage! Fight me and if I win, promise you won't bother me anymore!"

At first no one really said anything, as Kaito turned to his friends, who all whispered to each other over what Naruto was carrying on about. Eventually, after several moments of chattering amongst themselves, the band's leader then smirked and waved for his friends to come over. "Come on, guys. Get him!" In the blink of an eye, the boys behind Naruto suddenly grabbed his arms and pushed him over, shoving him into the carpet.

"HEY! That's not fair!" Naruto shouted, thrashing against the arms now attempting to restrain him as he was pushed to the floor. "LET ME GO! Ugh! Damn it!" Kicking and lashing out, the blond eventually managed to force the other kids to let go of him through brute force, and once again took a swing out at them. However, just as he was spinning around to take his anger out on Kaito, he ended up tripping over his chair and falling clumsily to the floor.

Yelping when he hit the carpet on his shoulder, the youngster looked up through squinted eyes. What he found staring back at him was the entirety of the class, their faces overshadowed and their eyes staring at him with mixtures of fear, amusement, distain and indifference. It was this combination of expressions that had Naruto freeze up, as he looked between the faces of his classmates in confusion and alarm.

In that moment, he heard them.

"Haha! Naruto fell over again!"

"He snapped. Call the teacher."

"Kaito! Run for it before he gets up!"

The echo of boys and girls voices speaking up all at once filled the room, making it incredibly difficult for Naruto to separate any of them. He didn't need to however, as he was able to hear every whisper and every word spoken around him, as he lay there on his back with his legs tangled with his upturned chair.

"What's going on?"

"Naruto thought he could do what he wants because Kaito asked him to play with him."

"Gross."

"Haha! Naruto got mad while they were playing a game!"

"What was he thinking?"

"He won't ever get to be Hokage if he acts like that."

"Poor Kaito."

"This is why Naruto doesn't have any friends."

That last statement had the blond youngster fall silent and his eyes, filled with embarrassment, remorse and hurt, gaze across the room vacuously. The familiar sensation of isolation, as well as the crushing pain of the entire world laying down all of its unfairness and injustice upon him, overwhelmed him and caused his eyes to tear up. Naruto then gritted his teeth and did his best to hold back the need to sob, lowering his head as a consequence.

Eventually the arrival of the teacher saved him from any further embarrassment, as he was then carted off to the headmaster's office.

OOO

"Why were you fighting?" the voice of the headmaster hit Naruto as the blond remained seated in front of the school's principal, his head held low in shame and his hands perched nervously on top of his lap.

With the two of them being the only ones in the room, it made the youngster's situation feel even more helpless and frightening than it already seemed. Understandably Naruto tried to ignore these oppressive sensations in order to save face, but was still unable to block out the voice of the school's chief administrator and overseer from scolding him for his supposed behaviour.

Mustering up whatever courage that he could, the orphan murmured. "It's because… Kaito and his friends are always-"

He was promptly cut off by the older man in the Chunin uniform speaking, "I heard you got mad while playing ninjas in the classroom. Is that true?"

"Yes," Naruto replied, looking up towards the principal with a determined expression. Right now he wanted so badly to plead his case and profess his innocence, "But… the other kids always make me play the monster and never give me a chance to play the good guy!"

"Can't you tell the difference between games and reality?"

"Th-That's not it," Naruto stuttered, feeling like he was being stopped from actually explaining the situation. Considering the seriousness of the situation and how he'd tossed a table back in the classroom, obviously the teachers were very concerned. However, it wasn't just because of what he did that he was being reprimanded. No. There was something else. "Kaito's really popular and everybody believes what he says, so he tells everyone it's my fault. He's the one who splashed the water on my picture-"

"But everyone says you're the one who started the fight. A lot of your classmates got scared when you lashed out at them," the headmaster replied firmly, leaning forward and focusing his glare on the youngster, silencing him. "What if a student had gotten hurt? What if a window had been broken?"

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in his shorts, the blond snapped at the man. "YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!"

Ultimately, despite his best efforts, Naruto was sent home to the orphanage where he was then lectured to and reprimanded by the supervisor.

This pretty much ended in a very unfortunate and unpleasant day for the youngster.

XXX

(Two months later)

"Who do you think you're trying to be? A hero?"

"You want to be Hokage someday? Ha!"

"People like you never become Hokage!"

Eyes flickering open under the piercing glare of the midday sun, the miserable form of Naruto, wearing a blue shirt with an orange fire symbol on the front and green shorts, found himself lying sprawled out in the middle of the park, staring up at the clear blue sky. Feeling the numbness in his face and body slowly ebb away after several moments, the youngster then gave a pained groan when his brain finally registered to the fact that he was injured.

The reason as to why revealed itself shortly thereafter, as memories of his most recent encounter with the local kids started to come back to him.

Naruto remembered coming over to the park earlier that morning in a hopes of finding someone else to play with outside of the school and the orphanage. When he spotted a group of slightly older boys giving a young girl over by the sand pit a hard time, he stepped in to try and stop them. What followed from there was the blond proclaiming himself the next great Hokage, in which the youngsters laughed and insulted him. After Naruto punched the leader, knocked him to the ground and started to beat on him in retaliation, the other four adolescents tackled him away and began their assault.

Sure, little gutsy Naruto put up a good fight, using all of the anger and frustration he'd built up over the last several weeks to push him forward. He even managed to break one of the kids' noses and knock one of the others into a daze. But soon enough, the older kids managed to gain the upper hand. They surrounded him, pinned him to the ground, and pummelled him into submission, until the poor, lonely orphan was unable to move or fight back. The kids then laughed at him one last time, mocked his dreams of becoming Hokage, and left.

That was only a few minutes ago and, with the bullies no longer in the area, all Naruto was left with for his troubles was a thoroughly bruised body, a couple of cracked ribs, a throbbing headache, and a half-blind eye.

Needless to say, it was poor start to what the youngster guessed was going to be another wretched day.

"Someone with no friends and no family will never become a great ninja."

"You're a loser."

"Why don't you just go away?"

Naruto frowned to himself through his swollen cheek and eye as he replayed the memory of his beating at the hands of the delinquents in his head over and over again, as well as the scolding and vacant looks he received from the people he passed on the streets that morning. Seeing these images flicker in front of him for a full minute caused the orphan to instinctively clench his fists and stiffen his jaw angrily.

Upon letting his rage swell to the point of bursting, the boy then released it with a heavy hiss and a whimper, and shut his eyes tightly. He then turned his head into the dirt that he was lying in and muttered.

"I'm so weak… so pathetic," the child whispered as a crushing sense of defeat and powerlessness fell over him for what felt like the hundredth time in a row. Barely able to hold back his frustrations or his sadness, the child formed a fist and hit the ground. "I can't even fend for myself… and nobody in this village cares…"

The fact that not a single adult he could see walking on the street on the other side of the park were even bothering to come over and help was proof of that, and only served to upset the child even more. They just walked on, minding their own business and not even sparing him a single glimpse of concern or curiosity.

Even the adults that had been there at the time of the incident didn't care what'd happened and simply ignored the scene, while the parents took their children away for their own safety.

As the anxiety from these moments started to cut in deep and rattle his senses, Naruto felt a rush of hatred and rage envelop him.

He wanted to scream at the people. To cry out and curse at them. He even had the inclination to get up, run out onto the road, and attack all those blank and emotionless faces turning a cold shoulder on him. All his years of loneliness and not understanding what the hell made people hate and despise him so came bubbling to the surface, filling him with an outrageous feeling of ire. He just wanted to do something- anything- to get them to look at him, to get them to acknowledge that he was there and that he existed. He wanted them to see that he was a human being, just like them, and not some monster they were trying to avoid.

However, thanks to the bruises he'd sustained, Naruto couldn't even muster the strength to budge an inch, and just lay there on the ground, staring off to the side with a dead look in his eyes as the rest of the world moved around him. It was like it didn't want anything to do with him.

While he lay there, overcome by grief and helplessness, the boy slowly reached into his shirt and pulled out a red pendant with the whirlpool symbol hanging from a string around his neck.

Even though he'd had this thing with him ever since he was born, he had no idea what it was or what it did. All he knew was that it was something precious to him, something he looked to for comfort, and was something that was familiar and close to his heart. So, after glancing down at the little amber-like gem glittering between his fingers, he then clutched it tightly in his palm and pulled it closer.

Naruto then lay there for what felt like hours, staring at the empty playground as the heat of the day continued to beat down on him and allowing his anger to peter out, and slowly transform into misery and regret. He ignored the sun that flashed him in the face from between the clouds and the flies that buzzed around him, like they were hovering over the body of a dead animal.

He may as well be dead for all he knew. Nobody wanted him. Hell, not even the caretakers or the children at the orphanage he stayed at cared if he was around. They treated him just like everybody else- with ignorance and displeasure.

"You don't have any friends and nobody likes you. That makes you the bad guy."

"A bad guy will never become the village leader."

His memories of Kaito and his friends resurfaced once again, playing back in his head like a horrible nightmare. Subsequently the blonde's expression steeled and his limbs shook. So overwhelmed by the absurdity of it all, Naruto did his best in recounting all the things he knew in an attempt to find an answer behind his endless suffering. It was the only thing he could do at this time.

"Kaito is always smiling."

"Kaito is strong."

"Kaito loves picking on the weak."

"Kaito is loved by everyone."

"Kaito is an asshole."

"Kaito is popular."

Naruto then began considering the inverse.

"I'm always alone."

"I'm not strong."

"I hate people who pick on the weak."

"I have no friends."

"I have no family."

"I have no one."

"Everyone hates me."

There was only one other person Naruto could relate to in regards to this comparison, and that was all the people in history who'd suffered at the hands of those who had everything: power, strength, friends, and fame. It was like the villains he read about in his story books at the orphanage, and how they were constantly being beaten by the main character who everybody adored.

At first he admired the heroes and wanted to become just like that. But when he realized that the characters all reflected the exact same traits of the people that picked on him, he quickly started to develop a dislike for them.

If there was anyone's struggles and pain he could really sympathize with, it was the poor sods who tried fighting against the world and those with power, but ended up going nowhere.

In that moment, the young but bright Naruto saw the overwhelming unfairness in the world through his encounters with the kids at school and his interactions with the people across the village. The idea that the well-liked and popular people always end up one-sidedly beating down on the weak and hated people, and always getting their way, just didn't seem right in the orphan's eyes at all. It was a dreadful and disgusting reality that always meant one person getting hurt while the victors basked in their success.

The hero- the strong- in every single story would always have the approval of those around them and inevitably rise to the top, while their opposites remain forgotten. It was a cycle that was repeated over and over again, both in fiction and in the real world.

After all, it wasn't the villains' faces carved into the side of the Hokage Monument. No. It was those who were loved and accepted by everyone.

"Don't you know? The bad guy is always supposed to lose," another boy's voice echoed in his head one last time.

"So I'm a bad guy, huh?" Naruto thought, his frustration festering for several moments until, from out of nowhere, he became struck by a sudden sense of realization. "A… villain?" Blinking as he gazed across the deserted playground for several moments, the youngster then rolled onto his side and, with a quiet groan, forced himself back to his feet. Swaying from the dizziness in his head and the bruise in his shin, the youngster stared at the climbing equipment with great intent.

After several moments of tense silence and hearing the birds chirping overhead, the child then looked down at the pendant he was still holding and contemplated over his collection of thoughts.

"People who are liked… the strongest, smartest, and most popular people… they always win," Naruto murmured to himself, his brain slowly turning his thoughts into words. "But the people who are hated… the ugly and weak bad guys… they always lose. They try so hard… and yet they always end up getting killed in every story." His eyes reflecting the light of his pendant, the blond then gave his reasoning one last go over, before allowing a big smile to spread across his lips. "If everyone wants a bad guy so much… fine."

All of this eventually led him to one last conclusion and, upon releasing the pendant from around his neck, the blond looked across the expanse of Konohagakure and towards its most revered landmark. As soon as his eyes glued to the four faces watching over the community, the beaten and bruised blond raised a hand towards it and held it over the mountain.

"Popular guys winning and unpopular guys losing. That stupid story has been told a gazillion times already… and it's getting really boring."

With a determined grin appearing over his swollen lips, the blond then clenched his fist around the four Hokage heads and visually crushed them inside his palm in a malicious manner. In that very instant, his resolve was steeled and his eyes set on one goal.

"You'll see. From now on… I won't lose to anyone!" Naruto declared towards the monument and, to a greater extent, the entire village as a whole. In that instant, a dark shadow cast over his bright blue eyes, giving the child a much more fiendish appearance from before as he kept his gaze trained on his home's symbol of power and prestige. "I'll become the strongest villain… and change everything!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: This is a story I got inspired after reading Garou's backstory from One Punch Man, and decided that it would be awesome if I could somehow emulate this in a Naruto fanfiction. Garou is such a cool character, and I figured the best person who could reflect the same coolness would be our blond haired troublemaker.