[Academy Courtyard – Graduation Day]
The courtyard buzzed with joy. Newly minted genin posed with their forehead protectors, flashing wide grins as the late afternoon sun cast golden rays over the academy grounds. Parents beamed with pride, crowding around their children. Some handed out homemade bento boxes, others clapped their kids on the back and took pictures.
Naruto Uzumaki sat alone at the far edge of the yard. No certificate. No headband. Just silence.
He kicked at a pebble near his foot. It skittered across the concrete and clinked against the wall. The world felt far away—like he was sitting behind glass, watching a celebration he wasn't allowed to join.
From behind him, the whispers started, low and sharp like kunai slicing through air.
Parent #1 (quietly): "It's him… the only one who failed."
Parent #2 (glancing around nervously): "Shhh! Don't say that out loud. You want to get summoned by the Hokage again?"
Parent #1 (muttering): "Still can't believe they're trying to turn him into a shinobi. It's dangerous."
Student (sneering): "Good thing he failed. Who wants him on their team?"
Naruto's back stiffened. His fists curled tight around the fabric of his jacket. He didn't need to turn around. He already knew. He always knew.
Another mother leaned close to her husband, barely bothering to hide her distaste.
Mother (frowning): "He's the only one without a family. That can't be healthy."
Father (coldly): "He should never have been allowed in the academy to begin with."
Naruto stared straight ahead, willing himself not to react. But the words sliced through anyway—familiar, heavy, and sharp. He had fought so hard this time. Trained every night. Memorized every hand sign. And for what?
The lump in his throat burned. He blinked fast, but the heat didn't go away.
Naruto (quietly, to himself): "Some future Hokage I am…"
Then—footsteps approached from behind. Calm, steady. Naruto recognized them instantly.
Iruka (softly): "Naruto."
He didn't turn around. Instead, he gave a forced, crooked smile and stared harder at the stone beneath his feet.
Naruto: "Don't worry, Iruka-sensei. I already know the speech. 'Try again next year,' right?"
Iruka (kneeling beside him): "That's not what I came to say."
Naruto (bitterly): "I made four clones. Three useless, one could barely stand. Big win."
Iruka: "That one clone stood. That was more than last time. You've improved."
Naruto (sarcastic): "Guess that means I'm almost not a failure."
The whispers hadn't stopped. Not even with Iruka standing beside him.
Parent (muttering): "Why is Iruka talking to him like that? He failed."
Another parent (sharply): "Stop. You'll bring trouble. Just let it go."
Iruka stood slowly and turned toward the courtyard.
Iruka (raising his voice): "If you have something to say about Naruto, say it to me."
A hush rippled through the gathering. Conversations paused. Parents exchanged glances. Some looked away. A few grabbed their children's hands and hurried toward the gate.
Iruka turned back, his gaze softer now.
Iruka: "You're not a failure, Naruto. Not to me."
Naruto blinked, confused. His voice came out quieter than he expected.
Naruto: "Then why do I feel like the whole world wants me to disappear?"
Iruka (gently): "Because they're afraid of what they don't understand. They see the Nine-Tails. I see a boy who shows up—every day—fighting for a place no one gives him."
Naruto didn't reply. He stared at the ground, his shoulders tense and trembling.
Iruka (after a pause): "You don't have to carry this alone, Naruto."
Naruto (snapping): "But I do. Don't you see? I always have."
Iruka (softly): "Naruto…"
Naruto: "Don't. I know what you're gonna say. 'Try again next time.' I did try. I gave everything."
Iruka: "And I saw that. I always see how hard you try."
Naruto (quietly): "Then why do I still fail? Why does everyone still look at me like I'm… something broken?"
Iruka placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder—firm, grounding.
Iruka: "Because they don't see you the way I do. They see a name. I see a boy who eats alone, trains alone, and still comes back smiling. That takes strength most grown men don't have."
Just then, a parent walked past, voice raised in disdain.
Parent #3 (loudly): "Maybe the Hokage should stop wasting scrolls on that boy."
Iruka rose to his full height.
Iruka (firm, cutting): "Enough."
The courtyard stilled again.
Iruka: "If any of your children worked half as hard as Naruto Uzumaki, this village would have twice as many jonin."
Parent #1 (challenging): "Are you saying he deserves to be a ninja?"
Iruka (without hesitation): "I'm saying he is one. He just hasn't passed your test yet."
The parents murmured. Most turned away. Some looked ashamed. Others didn't care. One or two still sneered, but they did it silently now.
Naruto looked up, blinking hard. His voice was almost a whisper.
Naruto: "Why do you always stand up for me?"
Iruka knelt again.
Iruka: "Because once, I was the boy no one wanted either. And someone believed in me when I needed it most."
Naruto gave a faint, watery smile. But it faded quickly.
Naruto: "Thanks, Iruka-sensei… but I need to be alone right now."
Iruka hesitated—then nodded, slowly. "Just don't disappear on me, okay?"
Naruto didn't answer. He was already walking toward the trees.
[Scene Transition – Deep Forest – Twilight]
The forest canopy whispered in the wind as Naruto trudged deeper into the woods, leaving behind the lights and voices of the village. The deeper he went, the more the world grew quiet. No more whispers. No more laughter.
Only him.
He kicked a stone. It bounced off a tree root and disappeared into the brush.
Naruto (muttering): "Some future Hokage I am…"
He sighed. The knot in his chest still hadn't loosened. He didn't know what he wanted—just that he didn't want to go home. Not to that cold apartment. Not to ramen cups and silence.
Then—something glinted beneath the leaves.
He froze. Kneeling down, he brushed away the damp foliage and found an old, leather-bound book. Heavy. Thick. Covered in glyphs he didn't recognize.
Naruto: "Huh? Who leaves a book way out here?"
He ran his hand along the cover.
Naruto: "Weird… I can't read a single word."
He opened it—
FWOOOOOSH!
The air howled around him. Shelves erupted from the earth, towering and endless. Books, scrolls, maps, and glowing tablets spun into being. Light filtered from floating lanterns. Ink-scented wind swept past his face.
Naruto (shouting): "W-WHAT THE—WHERE AM I?!"
Footsteps echoed. A figure approached through the stacks—a tall man with flowing crimson robes and eyes like molten glass.
Xavier: "Welcome, young traveler, to the Library of Heaven's Path."
Naruto (backing up): "Who—what—how do you know my name?!"
Xavier: "Because your arrival was no accident, Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto: "Look, I just failed my graduation exam. Again. I wasn't trying to jump into some freaky dimension!"
Xavier (smiling faintly): "Fate often disguises its invitations as detours."
He gestured to the infinite corridors of knowledge.
Xavier: "Within these shelves lies the wisdom of a thousand lifetimes—jutsu, strategies, philosophies, truths. If you're willing, I will guide you."
Naruto: "…You mean… I could find new jutsu here?"
Xavier: "More than that. Here, knowledge is alive."
He tapped a floating scroll. It spun, then dissolved into sparkling motes that joined the shelf behind him.
Xavier: "Touch a scroll—its contents become yours. Its flaws? Revealed. Its truths? Absorbed."
Naruto (eyes wide): "So I could pass my test in like, five minutes?!"
Xavier (laughing softly): "Seconds, if you focus."
He handed Naruto a brittle scroll. The moment Naruto touched it, red lines danced across the surface like lightning trapped in parchment.
Naruto: "These… these red lines… are mistakes?"
Xavier: "Yes. Grasp one. Envision its correction."
Naruto pinched a single glowing flaw. It twisted gold in his fingers. The scroll shivered, its ink realigning into a perfect hand-sign sequence.
Naruto (whooping): "I just fixed an A-rank technique!"
Xavier: "And now you understand why it works. That is the path of knowledge."
Naruto grinned and clutched the ancient book tight.
Naruto: "Then teach me. I'm gonna be Hokage—even if my path starts in a library!"
Xavier: "Very well. Let page one of your new story begin."