What was Naruto originally supposed to be about before Masashi Kishimoto changed the story?

The answer

Masashi Kishimoto's original concept for Naruto, before its serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump beginning on September 21, 1999, went through several dramatically different iterations. His earliest one-shot, published in 1997, featured Naruto as the son of a fox demon rather than a boy containing one. Kishimoto also initially envisioned the story as being about a young chef who could cook magical ramen. He eventually combined his love of ninja with the fox-spirit concept from Japanese folklore. The nine-tailed fox (Kurama) evolved from being Naruto's identity to being sealed inside him. Kishimoto has stated that he drew heavy inspiration from Dragon Ball and the concept of an underdog protagonist. The final manga ran for 15 years, spanning 72 volumes and selling over 250 million copies worldwide.