"Don't run, you brat!" Iruka—yeah, let's just call him Iruka now—chased Uzumaki Naruto, leaping and bounding across the rooftops and alleys of Konoha Village. A group of preschool-aged kids cheered, "The demon fox is making trouble again! The demon fox is making trouble again!" before their parents clamped hands over their mouths, dragged them back inside, and gave them a good beating.
As Iruka gave chase, he sneered internally. Demon fox? Heh. In the future, you'll all be calling him Lord Seventh Hokage! ...Speaking of which, was the original Iruka a transmigrator, too? Is that why he was so nice to Naruto? No, wait, most of the Konoha 12 were nice to Naruto. Don't tell me... they were all transmigrators?
Nah. Probably overthinking it. Masashi Kishimoto himself probably couldn't explain that one.
Iruka realized his movements and steps were incredibly agile. He could probably catch the paint-bucket-wielding Naruto in front of him with just two more leaps. But, for the sake of the plot, he slowed his pace. Right now, he was Umino Iruka. The "Six Paths Iruka" identity had to stay a secret for now.
For some reason, Iruka just felt like he couldn't expose his identity. Look at Old Man Ichiraku. He pulled noodles for hundreds of episodes. Did his identity ever get exposed?
In the end, Iruka caught Naruto on the Hokage Rock. There was no other reason for it, really, other than the fact that nobody was around to see it. He closed the distance in one bound and grabbed Naruto. The kid, in turn, used the momentum of being caught to dump an entire bucket of paint over Iruka's head.
"DAMN IT! How about a taste of CHIBATU TENSEI!" The paint dump sent Iruka into a rage. He grabbed Naruto by the collar, his voice vicious.
But he immediately calmed himself. Can't do it. Mustn't hit him. This is the main character. The main character.
His glare softened, turning back into a kind smile. This terrified Naruto, who was already trembling, even more. "Iruka-sensei... I... I was wrong..."
Iruka patted Naruto's yellow hair. "How could you be wrong? You're the main... I mean, you're a genius! What's a little thing like this? The Hokage Rock is too boring. It definitely needed a splash of color to look good."
Iruka's kind tone scared Naruto even more. If Iruka had just yelled at him, it would have been fine. The problem was that the guy who was just about to murder him had suddenly become this nice. That's way more terrifying!
"Sensei, I was really wrong! I'll clean all the paint off the Hokage Rock, and I'll go apologize to the Old Man! Please, just let me go! I'll never do it again!"
Holy crap, why is this kid such a wimp? Is this really Naruto? Hey! You can't be like this! Even if you're not Asura's reincarnation anymore, you're still the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the son of the Fourth Hokage, the student of the Sixth Hokage, and the future Seventh Hokage!
Iruka said sternly, "You're not wrong! How can you apologize for something this small? So what if you painted the Hokage Rock? Your son is gonna do the same thing later!"
"My... son?" Naruto was completely baffled.
"Ah, no!" Iruka covered. "I mean, great people often do things that are... unconventional."
"Oh, is that right?" Naruto's expression relaxed a little. "So, Iruka-sensei, did you used to paint the Hokage Rock, too?"
"I wish I had," Iruka blurted out, and then regretted it.
But it was too late. Naruto had already shoved the paint bucket and brush into his hands. "Why don't you try it too, Sensei?"
Iruka looked at the paint in his hands, then at the Hokage Rock below his feet. A wicked thrill, the feeling of breaking the rules, rose up in his heart.
Screw it, let's try it. I'm in this world now, so why not do something I'd never get to do? Besides, I've got the Power of the Six Paths now. Even if the Third Hokage himself shows up, what's he gonna do to me?
Naruto watched Iruka with a playful grin, having just recovered from his fear of being beaten. He felt like his little scheme was about to succeed.
"Try it? Fine, I'll try it," Iruka said. "But before I do, there's one thing I have to do."
Naruto tensed up again. "You're not gonna beat me up, are you?!"
"Nope." Iruka clapped his hands together and yelled, "HENGE NO JUTSU!"
POOF! A cloud of smoke cleared. Iruka had transformed into Naruto's exact likeness. He grabbed the paint bucket and jumped gleefully onto the Hokage Rock. Accompanied by a loud "MWAHAHAHAHA," Naruto finally processed what had happened. "Sensei, you're horrible! I'm gonna tell everyone it was you who transformed into me!"
"AHAHAHA! Go ahead and try! See who believes you!" Iruka yelled back as he painted.
His fun didn't last long. A crowd of people in animal masks surrounded them, shouting, "Stop!"
Crap. It's just a little paint, you really gotta call the ANBU? Iruka dropped the bucket, grabbed Naruto, and cleared the ANBU's encirclement in two or three leaps. He transformed back into himself, then dragged Naruto back, running slowly to their original spot.
The ANBU, seeing that Naruto had been "captured," dispersed. Naruto sat on the ground, fuming. "Is that what a teacher should be doing?"
"Life," Iruka said, "sometimes you've gotta let loose a little. Otherwise, what's the point of living? But... after you let loose, you still have to clean up the mess. Let's go. We'll wipe off the paint, and then I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen."
"Sensei, I want to eat barbecue."
Iruka froze. Barbecue? Kid, your favorite food is supposed to be ramen! Are you reading from Akimichi Choji's script?
"Sensei... you're not broke, are you? It's okay, let's just go for ramen. I know what it's like to have no money. I get it, Sensei... Sensei? Sensei! Let's talk about this! Don't hit me!"
"CHIBAKU TENSEI!"
"AHHHH—!"
Five minutes later, a bruised and battered Uzumaki Naruto was meticulously scrubbing paint off the Hokage Rock, followed by Umino Iruka. Iruka watched as Naruto's wounds healed at high speed, confirming that the Nine-Tails inside him was still at full power.
That "Chibaku Tensei" hadn't been very strong, but the jutsu had left a deep impression on Naruto. He didn't dare act recklessly in front of Iruka ever again.
Iruka shook his head, troubled. In the original story, Iruka won him over with kindness, using Talk-no-Jutsu to get Naruto to turn his life around. That's also how Naruto learned the power of Talk-no-Jutsu, eventually becoming the great Talk-Kage. But in this world... I just beat him into submission. Is he going to learn from this and just start punching all his future enemies?
...Wait, that's how it should be, right? Why do I have this weird feeling of worry?
After cleaning the Hokage Rock, Iruka took Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen, just like in the script. He thought, Okay, this is the key moment. Time to tell him the meaning of the forehead protector.
But Naruto just ate his ramen silently, not saying a word.
"Ahem." Iruka tried to start the conversation, but his two coughs made Naruto jump.
"No, I mean..." Iruka said. "Don't you have any... questions for me?"
"No! No questions!" Naruto quickly stopped chewing and said.
"Like, for example... this forehead protector?" Iruka prompted quickly.
"Nope, no questions! Definitely no questions!" Naruto replied, terrified.
"Or... how about another bowl?"
"No, no, one bowl is enough! One is enough!"
Iruka fell into deep thought.
"Ahem! Ahem!" Old Man Ichiraku coughed twice at Iruka. Iruka looked at him, confused.
Old Man Ichiraku made a few more faces, but Iruka still didn't get it. Finally, when Naruto wasn't looking, he stealthily pointed to the back of the ramen stand. Iruka finally understood and followed him behind the stall, out of Naruto's sight.
"I was giving you so many signals! Didn't you see any of them?" Old Man Ichiraku said impatiently.
"How is anyone supposed to see your eyes?" Iruka retorted.
"Oh. Right. Whatever... What did you do to him? Why didn't he ask you about the meaning of the forehead protector, like in the plot? If he doesn't ask, he won't take the graduation exam seriously! If he doesn't fail the exam, he won't go steal the scroll! If he doesn't steal the scroll, he won't learn the Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Do you understand?! Is a Naruto who can't use Tajuu Kage Bunshin still Naruto?!"
"I know! But what can I do? He's not following the script!"
"Forget it," Old Man Ichiraku said, glancing toward the front. "Let's just take it one step at a time."
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