The Speedster of Konoha

Chapter 1

Naruto Uzumaki was not a normal boy by any means. Naruto Uzumaki wasn't your run-of-the-mill orphan. He was, as every orphan was, without a parent. He was, as every orphan was, lonely. He was, as every orphan was, sad. He wasn't, as almost every orphan was, looked at with pity and kindness, however.

No, Naruto Uzumaki was looked at with disdain and hatred. Simply walking down the streets incurred several cruel beatings. He had no idea why, but the entire population of Konohagakure no Sato seemed to hate him. He had very few precious people, in fact the only ones he could name of the top of his head were Hiruzen Sarutobi, or as he had dubbed the Hokage, jiji, Ayame, a girl who helped her father run a nearby ramen shop, and Teuchi, the father of said girl. It was sad actually, a boy his age, five, being hated by everyone.

Naruto had learnt this early on in life. He was hated in the orphanage he lived in as well. Ever since he learnt to walk on his own, the matron of the orphanage started treating him like trash. He was not allowed to play with the children of his age and even when he managed to talk to them, they would sneer at him and told him, in no uncertain words, that a monster like him was not welcome in their group. He would get sad and then leave.

Walking the streets of the village was like trial by fire for him. He had to take careful measures to remain as unnoticeable as possible. If he got noticed, a civilian would point at him, shouting to others, "The demon is here! Get him!" He would then run for his life, entering lanes and alleys, taking a shortcut through a shop, entering from the front door and exiting from the back, anything to get escape the beatings.

But it was suspicious that a four year old boy was able to escape from the mobs. What no one, including Naruto, knew that Naruto had some special quirks.

Naruto had an eidetic memory, the ability to remember and recall anything he sees or hear once, in great detail. Naruto loved to read books, but didn't know why he could recall every page of the book, down to the exact words. He found it very useful and abused it shamelessly, reading all the books he was allowed to and then some, without telling anyone of course. He didn't tell this to anybody, not even jiji, fearing if this got out, he would get beaten for having 'freakish traits'.

But he also discovered the downside of having such an ability. One day, when running from a mob, he accidentally entered an alley which had a dead end. There was no escape for him that day.

He was punched, kicked on every part of his body, until he fell unconscious. When he woke up, very mysteriously, in his room at the orphanage, healed up, he was very happy he did not die. However, when he tried to sleep that night, the beatings came back in full force in the form of nightmares. Because of his ability, he experienced the beatings down to the last detail. He couldn't sleep peacefully for several nights.

Another one of his quirks was a sort of sensory ability. He could sense danger if it was coming to him. However, it was a subconscious ability of sorts, activating only when he was in danger. But it was very useful in avoiding punches and stones that came when his back was turned.

The village's behavior in general towards Naruto caused him to develop a need for positive attention, but also a need to avoid people, preferring to keep to himself. He would not actively seek attention, but he would latch on like a leech to anyone who gave some form of caring to him. Sadly, the number of people who did could be counted on one hand.

That was the reason he turned to books. At least they didn't attack him outright and allowed him to read them. Almost no one wanted to associate with him, leading him to take refuge in books. They became his best friends, always making him smile when he learnt something new.

Naruto had to force himself to learn reading and writing as the teachers at the orphanage did as less as they could to help him. They would simply thrust the books in hands, and go away to help other children. He learnt early not to ask questions, receiving physical punishment whenever he did.