Ten year old Uzumaki Naruto was currently sprawled out on his little cot, in his tiny room inside the run down building on the cheap side of Konoha within the hidden Ninja village in the Land of Fire. To everyone who knew him, he was a hateful child. Perhaps, it was the strange markings on his otherwise ordinary face or maybe it was his unkempt hair and scruffy clothes or perhaps it was because he was an orphan with origins unknown, no one knew what kind of family he came from or who his parents had been. He would probably grow up to be a thief or worse, if he wasn't one already. Some looked at his thin body under the baggy clothes and pitied him but still kept their distance. The boy though lay oblivious to all the feelings he inspired among the townsfolk, immersed in deep sleep. The sun was already up, but he liked sleeping in late. It allowed him to dream a little longer. The dreams weren't always good but when they did come they were worth the wait. This time he dreamed he was in the Ninja academy learning how to fly just like the other academy students. He was leaping through the air, going higher and faster than everyone else. It felt like he had sprouted wings as he soared through the air, the wind blowing on his face. He could even hear the faint beating on wings at his back. Startled he turned around to look behind him and immediately started to plummet hard to the ground. Naruto woke up with a yell, staring up at the sloped wooden rafters of the roof from his new position on the floor. He was rubbing his hurt elbow when something wet landed on his head. He threw his head back, eyes narrowed at the pigeon perched on the overhead beam. He scrambled out of the way as the bird let loose another wet projectile.
'The enemy is here', he mouthed grimly clutching his threadbare blanket. This time however, he was prepared. Predictably, his daily early morning visitor flew to his preferred spot on top of his cupboard near the door. Naruto snickered inwardly as he edged around his room to spring his trap. He was rather proud of it. He had found some old netting and glued it to the top of the roof over the door. All he had to do was pull all the strings hanging from the ceiling at the right moment for the net to drop down and capture the enemy. The first part of his Ninja attack required stealth. He inched along the floor towards the cupboard using his blanket for cover. After ten minutes of inching along the floor on his belly (thankfully the room was small) he had all four strings in his hand as he crouched at the bottom of the cupboard. He could hear the scratching and cooing as the pigeon made itself at home on its perch.
The next part of his Ninja attack, was shock and awe. Shock the enemy into making a mistake and lead them into the trap. He blew with all his might, the toy horn at his lips letting out a loud screech in the silence of the still early morning. The pigeon ruffled his feathers in response. He blew harder, the pigeon cooed louder. The enemy was stronger than expected. Frustrated he threw away the horn and banged on the cupboard door. Finally success was his, the pigeon flew towards the door and he yanked hard on the ropes, just as the door burst open. The landlady screeched as both pigeon and large net landed over her head. "Naruto", she screamed again, her hands flailing over her head, as the boy dropped the strings and dived between her legs and through the door. He raced down the stairs and out of the building, the sound of faint screams still following him even after he rounded the corner at the end of the street. All the people who saw the barefoot boy laughing madly in the middle of the street, still dressed in his pajamas, gave him a wide berth. Naruto didn't really mind, it was nothing out of the ordinary to him, as he cheerily went down to his favorite ramen shop to wait for it to open.