Because of a depressing amount of quality, complete Naruto fanfics where he's a believable badass, I decided to make a set of circumstances where he could be one, then decided to write that down. Hopefully my brain-barf comes out as somewhat believable :D Enjoy

By the ripe old age of five and a half, Naruto Uzumaki had figured out that the majority of Konohagakure no Sato blindly hated his very existence, and by extension, his Kaa-san as well. They didn't go out much, partly due to that hate, and the fact that sometimes, his Kaa-san wasn't there. He could tell when those not-there days were gonna be, because his mother's normally flaming red hair would seem to shrivel, and she wouldn't respond to anything save only the most incessant (desperatepleadingpleasemomsaySOMETHING) badgering. Even then, she would never look at him, not really. She looked through him, trying to see something else.

He learned later in life that she was looking at a ghost.

They did go out once, due to his insistence, but anywhere they went, villagers drew the shutters and locked doors. After spending several hours like this, Naruto loudly complaining about the time spent walking, Kushina took her son into a seedier part of town, much to his disgruntlement. There they spied an open diner with only cloth flaps separating it from the outside streets. Above it, emblazoned in flowing strokes of kanji, a sign read Ichiraku's ramen. It exuded the most heavenly smell in Naruto's short life, and he immediately pulled his mother towards the stall. She only smiled at him with her black ringed eyes and stumbled after him.

They had just sat down inside when a stern faced man with tan skin gruffly asked what they wanted. Kushina ordered a small miso ramen. Naruto opened his mouth to place his order, but his mother stopped him. "That's for you, Naruto-kun," she said, her gaunt face stretching into a thin smile.

The man slammed the bowl in front of Naruto, who took up his chopsticks and began shoveling the noodles into a gaping hole that was his mouth. When the noodles were gone, Naruto slurped up the soup and belched to show his appreciation. Kushina took a wad of cash out of her now empty pockets and handed it the man's expectant hand.

Afterwards, the two headed home. They washed their faces in grimey water and settled on the floor for bed.

Kushina did not eat that night.

When Naruto turned six, he knew with certainty he needed to do something. Forced to grow up, he now knew he and his mother could not live anymore, as he had seen her part seething, part crying over pieces of paper with orderly rows of numbers on them he identified as bills for payment. He knew then, when he heard Kaa-San arguing with a pompous man with thinning lips and a pasty face and catching words like repossession and late-dues, that he needed to do his part as well.

With that knowledge, came determination, a foreign concept in his mind. His Kaa-San needed him, and she believed in him, when all he got from everyone else was distrust, anger, and fear. At age six, Naruto Uzumaki went to Ichiraku's ramen stand and demanded a job.

The man merely smirked, threw an apron at him, and pointed at a pile of stained cookware.

At the end of the month, when Kaa-San was hunched over the papers with tear stains on them, Naruto went up to her poked her in the side. Blearingly blinking at him, she arched a brow when he handed her an envelope containing his paycheck. She removed the contents of the envelope and scanned them over. First, confusion, then understanding flashed in her eyes. She looked to her son wide-eyed, then back down at the form, then back again. Something peaceful, something light and something there flared in her eyes and she scooped up Naruto into her arms, hugging him tight.

"My son… Oh my son…" she muttered next to his ear through choked sobs, and something bright and warm washed and expanded over his chest.

Then she rose to her feet and declared a celebratory visit to Ichiraku's, and Naruto whooped and laughed right along with her. He could not recall the last time his Kaa-San's eyes were so full of life.

Later that night, when they returned home full of smiles and hushed laughter, Naruto could finally put a name to that wonderful feeling he had when he presented his paycheck.

Hope, the same thing he saw for the first time in Kaa-San's eyes that night.

When Naruto was closing the gap to seven years old, he overheard a conversation between two men with those green jackets that didn't seem to care about him all that much, which he was thankful for. He had been picking up vegetables from one of the few spots in the village that would serve him, namely the merchant district, where merchants came in from other parts of the world and sold off their wares. Merchants who didn't know him, and didn't hate him.

"Where is that little sister of yours, man?" Naruto overheard with a sense of longing for the comradeship and familiarity the two displayed. The other man responded, "Oh, I thought I told you. She's starting in the Ninja Academy this year, so she can help me pay off dues down the road." The other man took on a studious expression. "Right, yeah, I forgot. Genins get paid quite a bit, don't they?"

At that, Naruto's mind froze. He had always wanted to be a ninja, and expressed his dream of being Hokage to his Kaa-San, who smiled proudly but sadly at him. He dreamed of going on adventures and saving princesses, but being forced to take care of himself and his mother had tempered him into believing them to be childish fantasies that didn't help them survive any. Upon hearing that ninjas did in fact receive payment, he grew exceedingly happy, both for the (finally!) chance to be a ninja, and to help out Kaa-San.

He bought everything else he needed and hurried home, excited for one of the few times in his life. When he walked through the door and yelled out his desire for for joining the ninja academy, his mother smiled proudly at him and said "I was wondering when you would ask that, y'know!"

Naruto was enrolled that afternoon when they went to the tall building under the mountain with the faces of all previous hokage engraved unto it. They went up into the tower and visited an old man named Sarutobi Hiruzen with wise and compassionate eyes. Naruto promptly named him Jiji-Sama due to his liver spots, much to Kushina's mortification. The Hokage simply smiled and chuckled good naturedly. After an encouraging nod from his mother, he loudly expressed his desire to be in the ninja academy.

The Hokage gave Kushina a grave look, but she waved him off. With a sigh and a forlorn smile, he stamped a couple papers and handed them to Naruto, who whooped.

"Kushina-San… I wish to speak with you alone, if you please." Naruto blanched at the Hokage's request. He looked to his mother, who told him to wait for her in the hall. He did as instructed, wary of her tone. He stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him. He then immediately pressed his ear against the crack of the door, listening to the voices on the inside.

Naruto listened to the dry raspy thing that was the Hokage's voice. "Kushina, are you certain this is a wise course of action? To my knowledge, he is already working a job, becoming a ninja may be too much. He is only a child." Kushina's terse reply surprised Naruto. "Naruto isn't a child anymore. He had to grow up so quick in this unforgiving world, and he of all people deserves to chase his dreams." Then, in a quieter voice, "It might be one of the few things I can give him." Hiruzen's tired voice replied, "I know your feelings, Kushina. I, too, want the boy to become great, but it might just be too much." Kaa-San took a moment to respond. Naruto could hear the ticking of the clocks and the muted shuffling of papers from the secretary down the hall. "You're underestimating him, y'know. Naruto has the same spark as his father, the will to do all he can for his precious people. It took me a long time to see that in my son. Naruto had given me hope at my lowest point, when all I had given him was a comatose mother who just didn't care. I believe in him now, and will do so forever, y'know."

It was silent for a long time after that. Naruto was wide eyed and the world was misty. I swear Kaa-San, I'll show all of them, I'll be a strong ninja, then they'll have to respect us! He resolved to himself. The Hokage's surprised tone floated from between the door crack, breaking Naruto from his reverie. "I suppose you're right Kushina; forgive me. I forgot, he is his son after all. If anyone can handle it, it's Naruto. He has done much for you, I see that now." His mother's voice responded, "Yes, he has. I know he will do so for others as well. It's who he is. If that is all, I think we're both due for some celebratory ramen."

"Yes, of course, don't let me keep you. Good day, Kushina."

"To you as well, Hokage-sama."

Naruto's Kaa-San stepped into the hall looking lighter than she had in years. She did not look tired anymore.