Naruto Chapter 1: The Unlikely Hero and His First Believer

Once upon a time in the Hidden Leaf Village, there was a loud, hyperactive, and totally clueless orphan named Naruto Uzumaki, who had exactly zero friends, zero talent, and zero parents—but infinite determination to become the Hokage.

Unfortunately, everyone in the village treated him like last week’s expired ramen, glaring at him for reasons he didn’t understand. No one invited him for lunch, no one gave him high-fives, and if loneliness were a ninja technique, Naruto had mastered it. But did that stop him from causing chaos? Absolutely not. If they weren’t going to acknowledge him, he was going to force them to—by painting mustaches on their Hokage statues.

Cue Iruka-sensei, Naruto’s teacher and the only adult who yelled at him in a way that almost sounded like care. Iruka was exasperated but also saw something in Naruto that no one else did: himself—a lonely boy who had lost his parents too.

One day, a sneaky, snake-level jerk named Mizuki tricked Naruto into stealing the Forbidden Scroll, promising him a shortcut to ninja greatness. Naruto, being 12 and desperate for validation, fell for it faster than a ninja falling into a genjutsu. But surprise! It was a trap. Mizuki just wanted the scroll for himself and, in the process, dropped a truth bomb on Naruto:

“You wanna know why everyone hates you? You’ve got the Nine-Tailed Fox inside you! That’s right, the same monster that nearly wiped out the village. Congrats, kid! You’re basically the human version of a disaster movie.”

Naruto was devastated. His whole life, he’d been punished for something he never chose, never understood. It wasn’t just bad luck—his very existence was the reason people shunned him.

But just when things seemed hopeless, Iruka-sensei stepped in. He didn’t see a monster. He didn’t see the demon. He saw a lonely kid trying his best. And when Mizuki tried to end Naruto, Iruka took a giant shuriken to the back to protect him.

And just like that, for the first time, someone had put their life on the line for Naruto.

Something snapped. Naruto, in true shonen fashion, unlocked beast mode and spammed the Shadow Clone Jutsu he had just learned from the scroll. Suddenly, Mizuki was getting the ultimate Naruto Beatdown, delivered by 1000 clones and 12 years of built-up frustration.

After the dust settled, Iruka gave Naruto his forehead protector—officially making him a ninja. No longer just a nuisance. No longer just a lonely kid.

For the first time, Naruto was acknowledged.

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