Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto.
Prologue
Uzumaki clan was famous for their life force, dense-large chakra, fuinjutsu and adamantine chakra chains. On the other hand, Namikaze was not even a clan, ordinary citizens, nothing to show for in a ninja world. Yet an orphan from such lineage managed to get SS class bounty, flee on sight order and become 4th Hokage. Now how did Minato Namikaze managed to do all that? Answer is simple, Namikaze have a single advantage, they have faster neural responses is all. In truth this is not much of a advantage compared to stuff others have, but in the right hands it can do wonders. Now progeny of Uzumaki & Namikaze has been made a Jinchuriki of nine tail fox the Kyubi. What's in store for him? Will he be able to make good of all the advantages he has? Or those advantages will be for naught as there is no one to teach him about those?
Welcome to the story of Naruto Uzumaki, as he learns about himself and strives to become a splendid ninja.
AN: This is my first attempt in writing so please tolerate it. There may also be some discrepancies with canon in regards to timeline and other matters. I have combined prologue and chapter 1 as per the suggestion of 'Fanficlover175'.
Chapter 1 – Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto Uzumaki was a perceptive boy and always knew he was somehow different from the rest. When he was a baby he would often be denied his food or diaper change on time, when other babies alongside him received immediate attention. When he started crawling and getting in trouble for running into stuff he would always be punished while other babies be prevented from causing troubles and even if the got in trouble they would be consoled and not punished. When he started walking and somehow hurt himself, he would be punished for causing trouble while others would be tended for their injuries. Orphanage caretakers would smile at other kids and glare at Naruto with venom in their eyes. When he got little older, he noticed that other kids would be scolded if they played with him, but they will be rewarded if they hurt him somehow. Other kids also started to pick in this fact and began the days of Naruto being hurt on every step, they would always find a reason to hurt him, even afterwards caretakers would punish him for causing trouble.
Naruto was always keen, he noticed that even if his injuries were not tended to, they would heal on their own. He also noticed that he had keener senses than the rest. He had better eyesight, he could see in the dark, he could observe more stuff than his contemporaries. He had better hearing so he could hear the whispers of him being referred to as a demon and how everyone wished he would die. He had better sense of smell, that's how he could tell his food always smelled funny and worse than others. He had better stamina than others his age and even older kids. He was physically stronger too. He even noticed how his involuntary responses to beatings always got better, he would always tense or curl or back of just right so it would hurt least while not dodging, As he had learned hard way that dodging would get him beat even more. He could also somehow sense others feelings somehow; he couldn't put it to word but was sure that he could.
So Naruto made a habit of observing people. He would always keep eye on how they reacted with others and himself. He would always keep eye on what will make whom smile, laugh, sad, angry, frustrated and such. He also started experimenting with his behavior in such way that he would get less beat up and less punished. So here was Naruto Uzumaki, a ball of sunshine with adorable smile always on his face trying to infect others with happiness. Even though everyone hated him, stared at him with venom in eyes, cursed him as a demon, wished for him to die but Naruto as perceptive as he was could always sense their defenses falter just bit by his aura, his smile, his enthusiasm and his upbeat attitude. He knew if he was someone else with same charm others would be happy just with a glance of him. But even after putting so much efforts he could not fully penetrate that wall of hatred between him and the rest. But he never gave up, just one less punch from others, one less conflict than anticipated was enough for him to keep up improving himself.
Not that there was no one who treated him fairly. There was old man Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Who would visit the orphanage every now and then, spend some time with the kids and preach about will of fire. Naruto noticed that old man Hokage would treat him better than the rest. It wasn't obvious but Naruto noticed all the same. He would always smile warmly to Naruto. Naruto also sensed some guilt in that smile. So Naruto's ball of sunshine persona always helped to lighten up the old man. Naruto would pester the old man for stories, tell him funny jokes, try his best to make him happy and it would always work. So Naruto knew that not everyone hated him just most of them. But it didn't matter, he decided to find others who wouldn't hate him. He decided to be better person for those few he would find and if he could someday breach that wall of hatred one day the all the better.
Naruto was four when it started, in the evening he would be assigned some chore to complete outside the orphanage and would be denied entry as it would be "past bed time" by the time he was done. This way he started spending more and more days outside. And the number of abusers also increased. One day the care takers decided to draw the line throw him out of the orphanage and told never to come back.
He tried to make living on streets for a week or so but he almost died thrice in those days. But on the bright side he also found two more people who didn't hate him. They also gave him free ramen, Teuchi the Ramen stand owner and his daughter Ayame. They smiled at him, showed him love. He was happy but it didn't last as he was still living on streets and he didn't know if he would last long. So he decided to do only thing that came to mind, find old man Hokage.
After old man Hokage had heard about his plight he was furious and Naruto was sure that caretakers at the orphanage were going to have some bad days ahead. After apologizing to Naruto, old man Hokage arranged an apartment for Naruto and allowed him to collect some funds every month for his expenses.
After Naruto settled into his new apartment old Man Hokage came to a visit, looked around and asked "So Naruto, How is the new apartment? Would you need anything else?". Naruto replied "I like it here old man Hokage." After a pause Naruto said "Old man, I would like to become a Ninja. Can you help me with that?". Hokage replied "Sorry Naruto, you are too young to be a Ninja. I can't help you with that, but once you are of age I would allow you to be in the Ninja Academy, How is that?". Naruto thought for a moment and said, "Thank you old man, but I'll be bored here all by myself. Do you think you can give me some books to read?" Hokage was surprised to say the least. But he accepted the request and allowed Naruto in the Ninja library, but he only gave him access to the civilian portion and basic Ninja sections consisting theories regarding chacra, classification of ninja techniques and such general knowledge. No jutsus included.
So began the journey of Naruto Uzumaki to become a splendid ninja and find people who would love him and try to see if he can overcome that wall of hatred.