When you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it's stupid. When you teach a child that it deserves to be hated, it will live its whole life happily accepting the hate. Naruto takes it all with a wide grin and loads of tears streaming down his face. (I'll try my best to stab you in the feels.)

All he wanted was a friend. A person with whom he could laugh, and cry, and share his true feelings. And with how ostracized and starved for attention he was, it was only a matter of time before Naruto found a coping mechanism. However, is it a healthy one? Only time will tell.