AU – What if Naruto never tried to gain the acceptance of Konoha? What if he never tried to prove himself to anyone?
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
If I were a Ninja, I'd exact some major ownage, and take Naruto for my own. However, I can't do a jutsu yet……just you wait! I'll own you yet!
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Naruto: A Focused Life
By Dr. Aki, Master of Mischief
Prologue
A three-year-old Naruto stumbled around, trying to find something to play with. The Sandaime (Third Hokage) had provided well for him, and gave Naruto an apartment and kept him well stocked with food. Naruto, however, still was a kid. When he came to the playground, the parents glared at him and brought their children away. 'Never play with that disgusting boy,' they chided. He turned and ran.
Still crying, he bumped into the Sandaime. "What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" asked the gentle old man.
"No-no one likes me. Every-everyone's so mean! Why c-can't they be nice?"
'Poor kid. If not for the Yondaime's last request, he might very well have had a better life.' Bending down so they saw eye-to-eye, the Sandaime softly spoke at last. "Cheer up, Naruto-kun. Don't cry." Looking towards the Hokage monument, he ruffled his hair and spoke again. 'Gotta give this kid some hope. Can't leave him here without anything to look forward to.' "Do you see that monument?"
Naruto nodded. Again, the old man's voice spoke again. "Do you know what that monument is called?"
A sniffling Naruto shook his head. 'Cute kid. He has so much potential, especially if he is the legacy of the Yondaime.' He hugged the young boy, and chuckled. "That, young Naruto-kun, is the Hokage's monument. The faces of the Hokages are there. Many people called them the strongest shinobi Konoha had ever seen." He paused for a moment, pondering a thought. 'What if I give him a glimmer of hope?' "All the Hokages were loved by the village."
A stunned Naruto turned and looked at him. "Really? They really loved them?"
Chuckling again at his innocence, the Sandaime nodded.
"So if I become Hokage, people will love me?"
"If you become Hokage, they just might." With that, he smiled and let Naruto stand on his own.
"Thanks, ojii-san!" With that, Naruto scampered off, joyful with a new prospect.
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Ever since that day passed by, Naruto tried to become stronger. He ignored the villagers' hating glares, and scampered off to watch the academy students train at the Ninja Academy.
'Gotta be stronger. Gotta be Hokage, People'll like me then. Gotta be stronger.' Naruto never forgot his mantra.
As he hid behind a tree, he watched the academy instructors call out instructions in the field as they began training. "Okay, class, it's time for shuriken training. Line up and get ready to go to the training fields." The students, as expected, obediently followed the instructor out to the fields, and began to practice throwing shuriken. Naruto watched earnestly, taking in every movement, and remembered every comment.
After a while, an instructor came up to a young girl who seemed to keep on missing her dummy. Her shuriken flew straight in every direction except in the direction of the dummy.
"No, no, Hana-chan, let me show you again." The young Chuunin then slowly went through the motions of throwing.
"Do you get it now?" Hana shook her head. He sighed. 'This is what I get for trying to be a teacher.' "You're pretty good at the throw except for the end. Look carefully. Be careful how you flick your wrist as you let the shuriken go. That can change how they'll fly. Get it now?" Hana gave him a sunny smile as he ruffled her hair.
A tall woman strode in, picked Hana up, and hugged her. "That's my Hana-chan. Good job today! If you practice some more, you can get better!"
'So that's how you're supposed to get better. Practice! So I gotta learn how to throw shuriken by doing what that guy did. I gotta do it a LOT.' Naruto sighed quietly in his hiding spot. This was going to be a long day. A thought struck Naruto as he saw Hana walk away, hand-in-hand with her mother. 'Why don't I have a mommy? Why don't I have a daddy?' Before sinking further into despair, he shook his head, clearing it of these dreary thoughts. His eyes glinted with resolve as he steeled himself to become stronger. 'I can't be sad now. If I'm sad, I'll cry, and then I'll never get to train. I wanna have someone that'll love me. I gotta be Hokage.' With a parting sniffle, Naruto wiped his nose and scampered out to the field once it was empty. He looked down at the field and started combing the field, looking for shuriken to practice with. Finding only a few to work with, he toddled over to the practice dummies and picked up the few stray shuriken left behind at the base of the dummies. He scampered back to about where he remembered Hana standing, and began to throw. The shuriken went everywhere. Frustrated, he unceremoniously plopped himself on the floor and started to think about this training. 'That guy made it look so easy. What's wrong with me? Why can't I throw shuriken?'
Gathering his resolve again, he pushed himself up and began slowly going through the movements that the Chuunin showed to Hana. He went faster and faster until the shuriken slipped out of his hands. It flew slightly straighter this time. After a few more quick throws, he calmed himself down once more and tried the drill again. This time, he laughed and jumped in joy as he nicked the dummy. 'I did it! I nicked the dummy!' Of course, when he scored his next nick on the dummy, he was prancing about the field, as high as a kite. 'I did it, I did it!' he sing-songed to himself. It was getting dark, though, so Naruto gathered his new shuriken and skipped home.
After that day, Naruto continued to practice. Over time, his aim became ever truer as he practiced, and practice he did. He never stopped practicing, whether rain or shine, sun or storm. He made watching the academy class a daily ritual for himself. The students were still older than himself, but there was still a lot to learn.