Zero Shinobies ( Shinobi Hunter Naruto)

ch 2

(Two months later)

"Who do you think you're trying to be? A hero?"

"You want to be Hokage someday? Ha!"

"People like you never become Hokage!"

Eyes flickering open under the piercing glare of the midday sun, the miserable form of Naruto, wearing a blue shirt with an orange fire symbol on the front and green shorts, found himself lying sprawled out in the middle of the park, staring up at the clear blue sky. Feeling the numbness in his face and body slowly ebb away after several moments, the youngster then gave a pained groan when his brain finally registered to the fact that he was injured.

The reason as to why revealed itself shortly thereafter, as memories of his most recent encounter with the local kids started to come back to him.

Naruto remembered coming over to the park earlier that morning in a hopes of finding someone else to play with outside of the school and the orphanage. When he spotted a group of slightly older boys giving a young girl over by the sand pit a hard time, he stepped in to try and stop them. What followed from there was the blond proclaiming himself the next great Hokage, in which the youngsters laughed and insulted him. After Naruto punched the leader, knocked him to the ground and started to beat on him in retaliation, the other four adolescents tackled him away and began their assault.

Sure, little gutsy Naruto put up a good fight, using all of the anger and frustration he'd built up over the last several weeks to push him forward. He even managed to break one of the kids' noses and knock one of the others into a daze. But soon enough, the older kids managed to gain the upper hand. They surrounded him, pinned him to the ground, and pummelled him into submission, until the poor, lonely orphan was unable to move or fight back. The kids then laughed at him one last time, mocked his dreams of becoming Hokage, and left.

That was only a few minutes ago and, with the bullies no longer in the area, all Naruto was left with for his troubles was a thoroughly bruised body, a couple of cracked ribs, a throbbing headache, and a half-blind eye.

Needless to say, it was poor start to what the youngster guessed was going to be another wretched day.

"Someone with no friends and no family will never become a great ninja."

"You're a loser."

"Why don't you just go away?"

Naruto frowned to himself through his swollen cheek and eye as he replayed the memory of his beating at the hands of the delinquents in his head over and over again, as well as the scolding and vacant looks he received from the people he passed on the streets that morning. Seeing these images flicker in front of him for a full minute caused the orphan to instinctively clench his fists and stiffen his jaw angrily.

Upon letting his rage swell to the point of bursting, the boy then released it with a heavy hiss and a whimper, and shut his eyes tightly. He then turned his head into the dirt that he was lying in and muttered.

"I'm so weak… so pathetic," the child whispered as a crushing sense of defeat and powerlessness fell over him for what felt like the hundredth time in a row. Barely able to hold back his frustrations or his sadness, the child formed a fist and hit the ground. "I can't even fend for myself… and nobody in this village cares…"

The fact that not a single adult he could see walking on the street on the other side of the park were even bothering to come over and help was proof of that, and only served to upset the child even more. They just walked on, minding their own business and not even sparing him a single glimpse of concern or curiosity.