For seven and seventy years I have sat here at the base of the mighty Shinju Tree. Its bark at my back and its roots at my feet. For seven and seventy years I have sat here immobile, melded with this great tree, and I have watched as my actions were forgotten and my teachings betrayed. Still, I smile for the world is as beautiful in its imperfection as it would be perfect. It might not be whole, but it is not broken.
Few have sought me out in all this time. Fewer still have truly understood the wisdom I tried to show them. But perhaps you will be different. Perhaps you will be the one to finally bring peace to our world. In order to understand anything, one must start at the beginning. Take a seat, young one, you will be here for a while yet.
Since I could remember I had been surrounded by hatred. Everyone in my village, Konohagakure, hated me. Well, not everyone. Not Old Man Hokage. He wouldn't tell me why they all hated me, no one did, but he did tell me that they didn't really mean it. That if they thought about it they would realize they didn't actually hate me, shouldn't hate me.
So why didn't they just think about it? Well, because thinking can be painful. Thinking brings about reflection, and when people reflect on their lives they see everything they try to ignore, that they pretend isn't there, that they delude themselves into continuing. The Old Man didn't have to tell me that, I answered that question on my own. Through reflection.
It was painful, true, but once I accepted it I didn't hurt anymore. I was seven when I made that discovery. How many years has it been. . .
I was watching Old Man Hokage do his paperwork. His calligraphy was beautiful. The way he moved his brush, each stroke masterfully controlled and directed, and yet I could tell his heart wasn't really in it. I could not recall a time I had seen the Old Man passionate about his paperwork. Not that he wasn't passionate about his work. Not at all. But whenever his secretary would walk in with a new pile his shoulders would stoop that much more, his eyes sinking and the next puff from his pipe would always be larger.
I was sitting on a couch Old Man Hokage set up in his office seemingly just for me, because I spent so much time there. It's not that I didn't want to be outside playing with friends in the park, it's just that the Old Man was my only friend at that point. And besides, no one dared to glare at me when in his presence. And that's what everyone did, glare at me. Except for those who completely ingored me, of course. I'd asked the Old Man plenty of times what I did that was so bad but he always avoided the question. Then he would turn it around and ask me how I felt about them.
That was always a hard question for me to answer. Did I hate them? No, definitely not. For the most part, I was indifferent to them all. If they didn't want me around then I didn't want them around. I just didn't like to be looked at so harshly for something I didn't do.
But sometimes, sometimes I sat in a shaded alley and watched as the people went by, going about their day. They wouldn't see me, but I would see them. And they were beautiful. A mother, taking her children out to the market for a day of shopping. A courier, stumbling over his feet as the package he is carrying blocks his vision. A young couple, strolling by with clasped hands. A group of children, playing and screaming and running. So much life, so much vigor, so much joy. Such beauty.
And yet those same people who look so beautiful put on such ugly scowls when they saw me. When they hated. Their hate caused me suffering, caused me pain. It caused them suffering and pain too. I could not control their actions, I could not stop them from hurting themselves with their hate. But I could control mine, and that's when I swore.
For as long as I live, I will never hate.
I didn't manage to keep that oath.
"Naruto, you're getting to be quite big. Have you considered what you want to do with yourself?"
Old Man Hokage roused me from my thoughts.
"No, Jiji. All I know is that I want to help people."
He smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back. It was too rare that such an expression was directed at me.
"Maybe you would like to be a shinobi? A new year is starting at the Academy soon, I could get you a place in it if you want."
"A shinobi? Are you a shinobi, Jiji?"
"Of course, I am the Hokage."
"And what does a shinobi do?"
"You said you wanted to help people, right? Shinobi of Konoha are guardians of the Will of Fire. They work together to protect those who cannot protect themselves."
At the time, being a shinobi sounded like exactly what I wanted. I accepted with no hesitation, my confidence boosted when Old Man Hokage gave me another proud smile.