Alone

October 10th, 5 years after the Nine-Tails attack...

It was night, and the streets of Konoha were empty, an ugly wind was blowing, huddled in a corner of the street next to one of the few lights on, was a boy, with long yellow hair, probably feeling very cold, but because a visibly young child I would be doing it alone on the street so late, well that's very simple.

This boy was Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto, or as the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of the hidden leaf like to call him, the Incarnation of the Demon Fox.

One might ask, how could a child be called a demon, well, it's unknown how it started, or who was the first to call him that, but a few months after the Demon Fox destroyed downtown Konoha, a rumor started. circulating, that on that day after the fox was defeated, a child was born, and supposedly this child became the incarnation of the demon, it didn't take long for them to identify him, because in the orphanage there was a child, who had marks similar to whiskers on his face. face, and this child began to bear the name demon.

The Hokage himself spoke out prohibiting people from talking about the Fox openly, and also denied the rumor about the fox's reincarnation, but the rumors never stopped, until a year ago all the rumors mysteriously stopped.

But getting back to why Naruto was alone on the street so late, well it's simple, he was kicked out of the orphanage by the other children.

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Naruto was always different from other children, both physically and mentally, he grew faster, was stronger and more intelligent even though they were the ones who always received less food and attention.

Exactly due to his intelligence, Naruto realized that everyone treated him differently, the more good he was at something, the more reprimanded he was, even punished but never touched, the only time one of the matrons punished him physically, strangely she disappeared into the room. Another day, from that day onwards the gazes of the older children and the other matrons became even colder, and if you looked closely or were as sensitive as Naruto, you would notice that there was fear behind the coldness.

Everyone in the orphanage sooner or later ended up harboring some negative feeling towards Naruto, a feeling that accumulated, little by little, everything that Naruto did resulted in a reprimand, good or bad, and today all the accumulated negativity exploded, resulting in the expulsion of little Naruto from the orphanage on his birthday.

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"What did I do to make everyone treat me like this?"

Naruto muttered to himself, he was always smarter than other children, as long as he can remember he was treated differently, he was taller despite being very thin, he was smarter even though no one bothered to teach him, despite this he learned to hide his growth from others, because whenever he stood out, there was no prize just bad words, Naruto learned to go unnoticed, even when he ventured into the streets of Konoha, he always stayed in the shadows, always alone, because Just like what happened at the orphanage, most people always looked at him like a plague, sometimes they cursed him and kicked him out of places, so Naruto learned how to navigate the hidden paths of Konoha, every alley, street, passage and alley, Naruto learned to walk where the looks of hate and fear couldn't reach him.

But today was the peak, it was the first time that Naruto felt so much hate and fear all at once, when the children kicked them out and the matrons did nothing to stop him, Naruto looked right into their eyes, something he would never forget , pure hatred with a hint of fear and perhaps a tinge of remorse but only in the eyes of adults.

Alone with no one to welcome him, without even a place to go, he felt more alone than ever.

"I don't understand, why...those eyes?"

While Naruto was wondering why people had so much hatred for him, a person approached the boy, a fragile-looking old man, with a large cigar in his mouth.

"What are you doing here alone, so late naruto?"

"Grandpa is that you?"

"Yes. But tell me son, why are you here alone?"

"Well, grandpa, no one wants me at the orphanage anymore, they kicked me out of there.

"Fuuuuh.... I understand, son, it's sad that this happened. Do you want me to take him back?"

"No, grandpa, I don't want to go back there, no one wants me... Does it hurt to be looked at like that, grandpa, because everyone hates me?

"Well Naruto, hate is something strange, sometimes it has no reason... sometimes it's for something silly... And just as love can be one of the human emotions, because just like true love, true hate knows no limits , as for why people treat you badly... It's not something that can tell you son, only those who hate can tell you the reason for their hate son, maybe you will understand when you grow up, you will get your answer son... Just don't let hate darken your Light... One day you will shine brighter than everyone, son."

"Now, let's get out of this cold, it's not good for my old bones."

The two followed the street until they reached one of the most remote areas of Konoha, so much so that there were almost no houses around it, just a small cabin, very close to the forest.

"We're here son, it's not a big deal but you can live here from now on, no one will bother you, take it wisely son... I have to go now, when I can I'll come and see how you are..."

"Thank you very much grandpa, one day I'll pay you back double... It's a promise."

"Goodbye Naruto, sleep well."

"Goodbye grandpa."

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"Dog, Owl..."

"Yes, Hokage-sama..."

"Investigate the Konoha orphanage, I want to know every movement, every detail, of everyone there, everyone and if anyone interferes, you already know..."

The good old man was actually Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha, who resumed his post after the death of the Fourth Hokage.

Today was a special day for the Third Hokage, a very special day, the day Hiruzen Sarutobi felt the weight of failure.

That same day 5 years ago, he made a promise, one he couldn't keep, seeing the son of one of the paper's greatest heroes, the living sacrifice who helps keep Konoha safe, being treated worse than captured war enemies, Hiruzen felt like a failure, the weight of his mistakes, failures and omissions hurt more than a blade blow.

And even though he felt like this, his hands were tied, for a long time, Hiruzen, who was the Light of the leaf, began to lose his brightness, and the dark roots spread deeper than his Light could reach.

But even if he couldn't remedy or change what already happened, he would at least ensure that Naruto grew up in peace. He couldn't change the hatred ingrained in the leaf, but he could stop that hatred from reaching Naruto, at least until he could support itself.

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After seeing the kind old man leave, Naruto focused on the new environment he was in, it was a small cabin, apparently a bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen, it didn't have much furniture, but it was more than enough for him alone.

Naruto was thinking about everything that happened today, from being expelled to his new home, even though he was surrounded by people he always felt alone, but today when he was actually alone he felt happy.

"Alone again...but."

"I promise... One day I won't be alone anymore..."

"DING....Activating....System....Memory Seal Deactivated...."