[Third Person POV]
We see a small child with white hair walking alone in the rain through the streets of Konoha. He is wearing ragged clothing. The boy is dangerously thin, with small twig-like arms walking towards a large building while dragging a small bag behind him.
Everybody sees the boy, but no one moves to help him as he walks by them. Some of them ignore his presence while others glare and some smile at the state of the boy as if they were happy to see a small starving child walk through the rain alone at the brink of exhaustion. But one thing is certain, none of them see him as a fellow human being.
[Hiruzen's POV]
It was another rainy day with dark clouds covering the sky with the occasional lightning and thunder. I was in my office doing paperwork when my secretary came into the office with a small boy behind her.
It was Naruto, the white-haired boy was drenched, his hair covering his blue eyes. The boy was looking down not saying anything. A year. It had already been a year since the boy entered the orphanage. I had promised myself I would visit more often, yet reports, missions, and council meetings had always come first.
"Hello Naruto, how are you doing?" I asked.
The boy looked up at me and stared at me for a while. Only then had I realized the absurdity of the question I had just asked. But before I could say anything else he spoke.
"I am moving out of the orphanage." He said in a calm and definitive tone.
"Why would you do that?" I asked the boy, although I had an idea what was going on, I still wanted to know more.
"I want to be independent." He said in reply not missing a beat.
I looked into his eyes to try and find anything that gave away how he was feeling. I knew he was lying but I also knew he would not say much more. After thinking for a while I agreed to his demand and explained where he was going to live and the monthly stipend that he would be getting.
"Cat." I called out to one of my anbu in the room.
A moment later 'Cat' appeared in front of me and Naruto in a flicker.
"Cat please escort Naruto to his flat." I said and got a nod in response.
As the two were walking out of the office, Naruto stopped, turned around, and looked me in the eye.
"Lord Hokage, what are the laws for self-defense in Konoha." He asked in a flat apathetic tone.
Hearing this my blood ran cold, even Cat flinched at the question but quickly composed herself.
I tried to read him again but still couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"Civilians are allowed to use lethal force against other civilians and shinobi to protect themselves. Shinobi can only use lethal force against other shinobi." I explained to him.
"And I am a civilian correct?" He said in a flat tone.
"Yes." I replied to the question he asked and the implied question.
He nodded and left my office with Cat.
"Hound." I called out and a man with silver hair appeared in front of me.
"Investigate what happened in the orphanage also have someone from your team monitor Naruto at all times and try to prevent any physical altercations between him and other villagers for a while." I said.
He nodded and left.
I let out a long sigh and looked out of the window of my office.
[45 minutes later]
I hear a knock at my door and it was Hound.
"What did you find?" I asked.
"Naruto was kicked out of the orphanage earlier today." He said
"haaaaaah- figured as much." I said and motioned him to continue.
"Possibility of abuse and neglect towards Naruto." He said.
"Take the matron to Ibiki, tell him I want to know everything this woman has done to Naruto, and I want a report on it tomorrow. " I ordered Hound.
"Yes sir." He said before flickering away.
[Naruto's POV]
After leaving the Hokage Tower my escort, Cat quickly took me to the flat assigned to me by the Hokage. After reaching the door she gave me the keys to the apartment.
"Naruto, I will bring you groceries for the month and a new set of clothes. Do you want anything specific." she asked me.
After thinking for a while about what I needed,
"Could you get me a black t-shirt, black shorts, a black full-sleeved t-shirt, black trousers and a black pair of sandals?" I asked the masked woman.
She nodded in affirmation.
"Thank you Cat." I said, thanking her sincerely.
She gave me a nod before disappearing.
I opened the door with the key she gave me only to find a dusty apartment with a bed and a table.
'Still better than the orphanage' I thought and started cleaning it up.
After a couple of hours, I finished cleaning up my apartment. I was exhausted and went to bed soon after.
I woke up the next mor-afternoon with a heavy head and a hole burning through my stomach.
I got up and noticed there were some things on my table. I walked over and saw a grocery bag, a set of clothes, and some books.
I read through the books and they were cookbooks with some easy recipes to get me started with cooking, so I picked a simple recipe and started cooking.
About 10 minutes later I had some porridge ready and started eating.
'Not bad. I guess you can't go wrong with porridge huh' I thought while eating.
After I finished eating I wore my new long-sleeved t-shirt and started heading towards the library. Walking through the streets ignoring all the usual glares, I went to the Konoha library.
[Third Person POV]
Naruto walked into the library and started reading, he had not been formally taught how to read and write but learned how to read by observing adults when they read stories to other children in the orphanage.
He read from afternoon to late in the evening until the library shut down. He learned many things from his trip to the library. He learned about the elemental nations, hidden villages, shinobi, Kage, and much more. As he walked out of the library he realized he was hungry as he did not eat anything.
As he started walking towards his apartment he saw a large man near a ramen stand.
[Teuchi's POV]
I was closing down shop, it was just another day at the ramen stand. As I was closing down I saw a small boy with white hair walking down the road. He had white hair and was very thin. The boy looked like he was starving so, I called out to him.
It took him a while to realize I was talking to him but he made his way over to our stand.
"D-d-do y-you need something?" He asked.
"Oh it's nothing we were just closing shop and we still have some ramen leftover would you like some?" I asked.
He nodded and we walked into the store.
"What would you like kid?" I asked the little boy.
"A-anything is fine." He said while looking down, a bit embarrassed.
"Ayame get some miso ramen ready." I told my daughter in the back.
"Hey kid, it's my first time letting her cook for a customer, so don't hold back if it's not good." I whispered to the boy.
He nodded, after a few minutes, Ayame came out with the ramen.
"Here is one miso-ramen for our cute customer." she said after looking at the little boy.
The boy blushed and looked down again. I could only chuckle at the kids and their antics.
Ayame placed the bowl of ramen in front of him. The bowl of ramen was larger than the boy's face which looked a bit funny.
The boy took his first bite, his shoulders drooped, his facial muscles relaxed and the boy smiled. It was like all his fear and hesitation melted away.
"Amazing" He whispered so low that I barely heard it.
"So how is it?" Ayame asked eager to hear what he thought about it.
He looked up at Ayame, his cheeks flushed, and a smile on his face and said, "It was amazing, big sis, your ramen is amazing." He said.
Ayame was flustered for a second by the honest praise and then pulled the boy in a hug. The boy was scared at first but then he returned it.
"Big sis huh? okay, from now on you are my little brother, you can come here for ramen anytime." she said to the boy still hugging him.
"A-are you sure?" the boy asked.
"Oh yeah, what is your name by the way?" Ayame asked
"Naruto Uzumaki." the boy said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------