Alright, so, here's my first fanfiction….ever.

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Naruto stared dejectedly out at the crowd of kids from his spot on the swing. They all looked so happy. And they should! The group of kids celebrating with their parents in the schoolyard hadn't just failed the final exam of the Academy for the third time.

They wouldn't be going home to an empty home, and even if they were, they wouldn't simply not notice that this was different, because it wasn't.(1)

Naruto was the one without any family to comfort him, notice him, or help him. And Naruto had just failed the exam for the third time. Naruto knew he was out of extra lives. He had joined the Academy three years earlier than was usual, hoping to get an edge on the kids his age, but also to escape the loneliness of solitude.(2) He hadn't had the prospect of three extra years of play to keep him out. But Naruto had failed three times, which meant that next year he would be in a class of kids his age. Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to come back again if he failed next time.

He wouldn't be able to take the shame of being older than the class. The whispers would get to him. And it was there that Naruto made a decision that would change his future, his fate, his entire being.

Uzumaki Naruto decided that he would become a person worthy of notice. He would pass. Naruto would become a person so fearsome that these happy people would forget their cheer when he approached. The only thing on their mind would be him. Naruto didn't want to be feared, though. He just wanted to be acknowledged. He would have to be strong, and smile so he wouldn't be feared. And so a young Naruto became a plotter, in a greater sense than ever before.

The fates cackled, and somewhere, Minato smiled.

"Give 'em hell, Naruto."

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(1) I'm just trying to say that the other kids have families and Naruto doesn't, so Naruto is used to coming home to an empty house and it isn't surprising to him, but to the other kids, it probably would be.

(2). Alright, I know he lived in the village, but he was still extremely alone. And yes, this footnote is pretty much useless, but I like to make footnotes. So there.

A/N: Um, yeah. I know it's a tad boring as hell….so please give me feedback! I'll be posting chapters as quickly as possible.