NITL

Volume One

Arc One: Beginning of a New Story

Chapter Six: Don't Say "Goodbye…"


Naruto had to try as hard as he could not to break his composure.

The small crowd in front of him could only cover their mouths as they silently snickered and laughed at his current predicament. A glare came from Naruto but the men and women of the village could only chuckle and giggle harder. A tug soon pulled on his left sleeve, having Naruto look down to see-

"D-do you really have to go, Big Bro?"

The puppy dog (no racism intended) eyes stared deeply into Naruto's own as they pleaded again and again for him not to go. At that moment, an arrow quickly stab Naruto in the heart.

"Ack…"

The villagers simply snickered more.

Currently, Naruto was at his home village, the Village of Konoha, at which Naruto was raised at. He would have said born, but according to the many, he was "found" abandoned as a little child. Despite being an orphan, however, he was loved by the village and thought of as one of their own. It was based on this knowledge that Naruto sought to improve himself and work hard to become the protector of this village, despite being one of the last few villages to be made outside Kingdom walls.

Being one of the only six protectors really did not do him good in thinking about leaving the village to attend a Hunter Academy, but many of the villagers, the village elder especially, approved him in doing so.

"Please don't go, Naruto!"

"Stay stay stay stay!"

"You told me we'll go fishing next time!"

"Big bro!"

"Aww man…" Naruto moaned as the children continued to pester and try to, with no luck, convince him to stay. It was at this moment that the parents of the children decided to step in.

"Now now children, Naruto has been accepted into a Hunter Academy! You should be happy for him!" One of the mothers called out.

"But, but, but…" A little boy with dog ears whimpered out.

Naruto sighed, leaning towards the boy. Putting a hand on his head, the blonde grinned, "Don't worry 'bout it, Al. Just cause I'm leaving doesn't mean I'm not gonna come back," He looks towards the grand total of eleven children. "I heard that the school has breaks during winter and summer, so I can come back anytime I want! I'll definitely come back! That's a promise!" He then placed a fist above his heart.

"And y'know what I say about promises?"

"You… you always keep them…" Albus mumbled as he whipped his tears, several children copying him as they echoed the response.

Naruto grinned while several villagers smiled. He then suddenly yelped when another child jumped onto him, latching on by trying to wrap her arm around his neck.

"Waaah, Clover, careful!"

"I don't want you to leave!" The girl sobbed, her tears and snot drenching Naruto's clothing. That broke the thin line as the children soon jumped forward onto Naruto, holding to pieces of him as they tried to prevent his departure.

"What the-, Oh come on guys!" Naruto groaned loudly, using his Semblance to quickly get up with no problem. Walking to each of the parents, he dropped their children into their arms before quickly moving back. As he did so, the village elder soon walked up in front of him, his gray beard and mustache moving to up to indicate he was smiling.

"Naruto, my boy, when we found you all those years ago… never have we thought that you would be bringing joy to our humble village. And now, you are partaking a journey to discovery your true self as well as a journey to grow stronger, not only physically, but mentally," The old man said, "As such, on behalf of the village, I say, Thank you… thank you for coming to our lives."

"Aww… it's no problem, Super Old Man Geezer, it's you guys who taught me how to be happy. If anything, I should be thanking you guys."

The Elder smiled as did the villagers.

The goodbyes were then said, hugs shared, and even a few kisses to the cheeks and foreheads by some of the female residents. Hands were shook and even a few friendly punches and shoves were given. It was at this point that Naruto really had to leave. Like, he had only half an hour left before the next, and last, Bullhead left for the Academy.

As the blonde waved goodbye to his fellow villagers, a group of guys jumped in front of him.

"So I guess you really are leaving then?" A brunette, now in his mid-20's said.

"Yep," Naruto attested, "I'm leaving. To see bigger and greater things. At least that's what Super Old Man Geezer says…"

"Awww, is wittle Nawuto sad that he has to leave?" A green head called out. He was then glared at by Naruto, who proceeded to give him a finger.

"Shut up, Forest, I don't wanna hear that from you," Naruto deadpanned as the brunette laughed. "And stop laughing Yama!"

"S-sorry Kid!" Yama laughed, "But y-ya gotta admit, haha, that's hilarious!"

Naruto simmered a bit as a navy blue head sighed. The man turned to Naruto, "Well, at least they're showing that they care, Naruto."

"By how, River? By laughing their asses off while they laugh at my expense?"

River sweat dropped, "Well, not everyone is perfect…"

The two then watched as Forest and Yama both laughed themselves to death. It wasn't even a minute in before Naruto exploded, "Alright, alright! We get it, it was funny! Now shut the hell up, you faggots!"

River could only shake his head and chuckle as Naruto chased after both Yama and Forest. Crossing his arms together, the tanned blue head could only think to himself, "It sure would be quiet without you, Naruto…"


"I would like to let you know, Professor Ozpin, that I greatly disapprove this."

"So you have let me know many times, Glynda," Ozpin answered back, his attention solely on the Scroll that showed Naruto's limited skills. He watched closer, with keen eyes, as Naruto's legs seemingly glowed in bright yellow before the blonde disappeared.

"It is one thing, Professor, to allow a student who hasn't even completed her Pre-Hunter Educations to attend a Hunter Academy," Glynda began, referring to the red headed young girl from yesterday night. "It is, however, another thing entirely when you allow a complete unknown to attend a Hunter Academy without even knowing who he is! He hasn't even entered one of the Entrance Exams either!"

"That I know as well, Glynda," Ozpin continued to answer, now paying attention to the examinees from last week. The examinee he had his eyes on was on a certain raven headed girl with a black bow on her head.

"But what I don't understand even more is what in the world possessed you to allow an ex-terrorist, from a worldwide international terrorist group might I add, to attend your school, Professor!?"

"Mmhmm…"

"… Professor Ozpin… please, at least tell me the reason why you are allowing these children to attend your school…" Glynda tiredly asked.

"The reason, you say?" Ozpin places his cup of coffee down for a moment.

"Yes."

"Well…" Ozpin began, straightening his sitting position. The headmaster folds his fingers together before looking straight at Glynda from his desk. "The reason why I invited those three, as well as other, interesting, individuals into this school is simply because of one thing."

"I prefer to call them as questionable…" Glynda kept her thoughts to herself as she pondered on this "one thing" that Ozpin has been leaning on. Her eyes narrowed. "Professor, if you mean to tell me that you-…"

"Instincts, Glynda. I simply trusted my instincts."

Hearing his subordinate sigh, which turned into a groan, into her hand, Ozpin continued, "Now Glynda, you know that as teachers, it is our duty to guide the next generation and ensure that they would be able to take care of the generation that comes after them. No matter the background."

Glynda sighed, "So you have said, many times, Professor Ozpin." The two then looked off into the distance, a comfortable silence reigning the two.

"It still does not mean I must like it."

"Of course not."


The village watched as Naruto walked away from them, onto his future. Pride and happiness etched onto their faces, the women of the village held back tears while the men could only smile.

It wasn't long until Naruto was gone from their vision. Several villagers soon left the crowd, going back to their daily lives, and soon, only four of the six protectors, the village elder, and several grown men and women were left standing. Yama turned to River.

"Any idea where Tian is?"

River shrugs. "Heck if I know. His expedition's been taking too long. Honestly been expecting him last week, I'm actually worried about him."

A sandy haired female spoke up, "I'm sure he's fine. He's one of our best after all."

"Easy for you to say, Yeonan," Forest said with a frown. "With him being gone for weeks is usually a bad sign for us, since we live just off the borders of the Kingdoms."

The few who were crowding the entrance of the village looked solemn for a moment before Yama blinked.

"By the way, did Naruto ever fix that problem with telling the differences between a male's and female's restroom?"

There was a moment of silence before the crowd groaned. The elder stroked his beard. "Hmm… as long as he doesn't encounter a girl who gets angered easily, he should be fine… so long as he explains his reasoning."

"I don't think so, old man…" Yama groaned. "I can't believe Naruto's that much of an idiot…"

"It's not like he's at fault…" Yeonon spoke, "If I remember correctly, he's had a problem with that since at a young age…"

"It probably doesn't help that Naruto's pretty blunt and straightforward…" River mumbled. "I fear that instead of apologizing, he'll instead ask something entirely irrelevant to the situation and get subjected to righteous female fury…"

For the second time, the crowd all groaned again, praying that Naruto wouldn't make a fool of himself the first time he gets.


A/N:

A lot of you guys seem to forget that this is a different world than from the others. Different world, different rules. That the motto I always follow when making fics.

Sure there will be a few similarities here and there, but that's about it.

Anyway, this is only to give you guys a glimpse on Naruto's adopted hometown. More will be revealed later, but now's the time to get back into the original story. The next chapter will now be about Naruto's teammates. They're taken from other series, but bits and pieces of their lives will be significantly different than their original counterparts, so please be expecting for that to happen.