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Without a doubt, Naruto had one of the worst childhoods in anime history. Not only was he an orphan since birth, he was also hated by the people of his own village. For more than a decade, the blonde Uzumaki had to deal with the mistreatment and disrespect most villagers laid upon him.
As the series progressed, the villagers of Konoha started to notice the importance Naruto had for the village, as well as recognize that he deserved better. Due to this, their treatment towards Naruto shifted slowly, going from hate to admiration.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s opinion.
Letting him starve and 4 other times the Leaf villagers neglected Naruto
1) Denying him service
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In the past, the merchants of Konoha believed that the customer was always right, except when that customer was Naruto. We saw many times in the series how merchants would deny our hero entry to their stores, as well as prohibiting him from buying anything they were selling.
The poor boy was not only banned from many stores, he was also humiliated whenever he was kicked out of one. For example, one time our hero was looking at some masks for a festival, when suddenly, the owner pushed him out of his stall, making everyone think the kid was causing trouble again.
2) Badmouthing him
When the show began, most scenes from Leaf villagers were exclusively created to show the viewer how much they despised our blonde hero. They would say horrible stuff about Naruto, thinking he was unable to hear them.
Calling him everything from a pest to a demon, going as far as to bask in his failure to graduate from the academy. This was all accompanied by glares, which our protagonist simply ignored at that point in the series based on how common they were.
3) Letting him starve
A balanced and nutritious meal is one of the most fundamental parts of a child’s development. This is a fact that Naruto spent most of his life without knowing, as almost nobody in the village had the kindness to feed the poor kid.
Besides the small allowance Sarutobi gave him for fundamentals, Naruto had nothing more that could afford him a decent meal.
Villagers would see the Uzumaki walking around and looking at restaurants, wishing he could eat like the rest of them. Instead of being compassionate human beings and giving the kid some food, Konoha’s villagers treated him like a pest, shooing him away whenever they could.
4) Turning Konoha’s children against him
Isolation is considered one of the most inhuman punishments that can be inflicted on a person. Humans are social creatures who need interaction with others to survive. Despite this fact, the villagers of Konoha did everything in their power to keep our protagonist as isolated as possible.
Every time Naruto tried to make a new friend, adults would make sure to let the children know they were not supposed to associate with him. Due to this, Naruto grew up without a single person he could have called a friend.
5) Denying him his heritage
Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage and father of our hero, wished for his son to be treated as a hero for becoming the Nine-tails Jinchuriki. Instead of fulfilling his wishes, the village was led to believe that the blonde Uzumaki was nothing more than a random orphan.
For more than a decade, our hero was left to wonder who his parents could have been. Not only was he forced to be alone for most of his life, Naruto was also made to believe he was an orphan with no real family or a legacy to hold onto.
Free Ramen and 4 other times Leaf villagers were nice to Naruto
1) Giving him free ramen
While the rest of the village left the poor Uzumaki child to starve, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame took care of his needs. Whenever our hero was feeling hungry, he knew he could go to Ichiraku Ramen in order to get a bowl of his favorite food.
Before graduating from the Academy, our hero wondered how he would ever repay Teuchi for his kindness. The man told him he would pay him when he became a famous ninja. If not for Teuchi and Ayame, the blonde ninja would have been malnourished by the time the series began.
2) Protecting him from Pain
Pain and the Akatsuki had only one objective in mind: capture all the Jinchurikis and take their Bijuu from them. Due to this, Nagato gave the villagers of Konoha the chance to sell out the Uzumaki boy in exchange for the safety of their village.
In the past, most of them would have probably told Nagato about Naruto’s location right away. However, by that point in the story, the village became aware of the importance our hero had in their lives. They fought until the death in order to protect the Jinchuriki from Pain’s grasp.
3) Celebrated him after defeating Pain
Even if it was unintentional, Pain’s attack on Konoha was caused because the Leaf is Naruto’s home. Many of the villages who hated the blonde could have used this as an excuse to despise him even more. Nonetheless, no one in the village harbored any ill-intent towards our hero after the battle.
Instead, they all came together to celebrate his victory, letting the Uzumaki know how much they appreciated him. This was the first time our hero felt truly seen, something he had wished for almost two decades at that point.
4) Fought against Madara and Obito for his sake
If a Jinchuriki ever loses his Bijuu, the strain on their bodies will be too much for them to handle, resulting in their death. To prevent this from happening to the blonde Uzumaki and Killer bee, the Kages decided to send them away and prevent them from fighting Obito.
The Leaf ninjas, who were aware of what would happen to Naruto if he was caught, put their lives on the line to protect their fellow Shinobi. None of them complained about protecting their comrade, even against enemies as powerful as Obito and Madara.
5) Giving him gifts
The Fourth Ninja War was the catalyst for many major changes inside the Shinobi World. One of said changes was the title with which our hero was addressed, The Hero of the Village. This caused a massive shift in the perception Leaf villagers had about Naruto, especially girls.
Our hero became the most desirable bachelor in the entire Village, with girls chasing after him all of the time. When it was time for the Rinne festival in the village, all the girls that wanted to gain his attention started giving him gifts, showing him how special he was to them.
Final thoughts
Naruto’s story is the perfect example of how first impressions are not easy to forget, but it is not impossible at the same time. Most of the Leaf village hated our hero with a burning passion just for being born for most of his childhood.
Yet, through hard work and determination, the blonde Uzumaki was able to change their minds, not only becoming a valued member of the village, but also one of the most beloved individuals in it.
Our hero could have easily fallen into despair as it happened to many other Jinchuriki, but he continued working hard, until his dreams of being appreciated became a reality.
