Son Goku's Disciple Naruto

The familiar small room was just as he'd left it. Through the window, the Hokage Rock stood impassive against the sky. And all around, the familiar, suffocating malice of the village seeped through the walls.

'Well, I'm back.'

"Welcome home, Naruto," the Minato's clone said, offering a warm smile.

Even in Naruto's form, the Minato's smile radiated an undeniable charisma, like a gentle spring breeze washing over you. He had the kind of presence that could easily make him the protagonist of any story without a single misplaced beat.

'I'll probably never manage a smile like that.' Naruto had tried, once, practicing in front of a mirror. But his reflection had only caught the shape, never the true feeling.

"Thanks for holding down the fort," Naruto said, his voice flat. "No trouble, I hope?"

He couldn't bring himself to call him 'father.' The word just wouldn't come out.

Naruto had returned to Konoha alone. Bringing Karin back was out of the question, he'd left her in the Land of Whirlpools under the care of Fugaku and Mikoto. Having grown up with hardship, Karin knew how to read people, and her knack for pleasing others won the Uchiha couple over in a matter of days. They'd even offered to adopt her. While Naruto's influence played a part, it was a testament to Karin's own cleverness. As long as she wasn't dealing with the disgusting ninja from the Kusa, she could get along with almost anyone. She'd been sad to see him go, especially after he'd let her see his real face.

Karin had been incredibly reluctant to see Naruto leave the Land of Whirlpools, especially after getting a glimpse of his true appearance. Naruto was quite certain of one thing: Karin was absolutely obsessed with good looks.

He himself was a bit paler than canon Naruto, his complexion closer to the Minato's. Not just his skin tone, but his entire look had shifted to resemble the Minato, particularly his hairstyle, which was practically identical. 

If you ignored the three whisker marks on each cheek and dressed him in a Hokage's robe, he'd pass for a mini-Minato. In fact, he looked even more like the Minato than Menma Namikaze (from Tenten's Infinite Tsukuyomi).

"Why don't you see for yourself?" the Minato's clone said, his eyes full of affection. With a final, gentle smile, he dispelled himself.

*Puff.*

The memories flooded in. A torrent of information from the clone's time in the village washed over Naruto, and he closed his eyes to process it all. When he opened them again, a long moment had passed. He let out a slow, quiet sigh.

'You're supposed to be so upright and honest... and you did that?'

He almost thought, 'You really worked hard, Da-' but caught himself.

The days that followed were meant to be quiet and dull. On a whim, Naruto decided to go to the Academy himself. The moment he stepped into the classroom, he froze.

"Morning, Naruto."

Someone had greeted him. For the first time ever.

It was a girl with bright golden hair and blue eyes, a long fringe covering her right eye. Ino Yamanaka.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. They were classmates, but he'd had almost no interaction with her. If he remembered correctly, he'd made her cry a few times during sparring. He never held back just because his opponent was a girl. One punch and she'd wail for ages. It was a great stress reliever.

He ignored her completely and walked past, heading for his seat.

"He's so handsome..."

"Did you see that roguish smirk?"

Faint whispers from the other girls reached his ears.

'What? I didn't smirk at anyone.' He sifted through the memories the Minato's clone had left him. 'Minato... what did you do?'

He'd only skimmed the day-to-day memories before, focusing on more important matters. Now, looking closer...

'Of course,' Naruto thought, a dry laugh threatening to escape. 'This is the man who became Hokage with no clan to back him up.'

The man's social skills were terrifying. In the short time Naruto had been gone, the Minato had not only changed some of his classmates impressions but had actually made him... popular?

First, there was the matter of appearance. The Minato had a sense of style that Naruto, a guy whose wardrobe was exclusively black and white, sorely lacked. Even with a simple white shirt, the hoodie he'd picked out looked far better.

But a change of clothes wasn't enough to erase the reputation Naruto had built. He was 'Naruto the Bully.' Minato himself couldn't have fixed that overnight. So, the Minato had taken a different approach.

He hadn't tried to make Naruto a good guy. Instead, he'd leaned into the bully persona and cultivated a new brand: the roguish bad boy.

Most boys in the class hated it. But a certain type of girl absolutely fell for it. While Sasuke had cornered the market on the cool, stoic type, the Minato had used Naruto's identity to carve out a niche as the charming rogue. His sharp, intense gaze was repurposed into a wicked, playful smirk. Combined with Naruto's features, which weren't half bad to begin with, it was apparently irresistible.

These girls hadn't experienced the Nine-Tails attack, nor had they known war. Forget Naruto being the Demon Fox's incarnation, even if he were the Demon Fox itself, as long as he was handsome, cool, and roguish enough, people would still gravitate towards him. Typical of this superficial era, where perception was entirely dictated by appearance.

These girls hadn't lived through the Nine-Tails attack or seen the horrors of war. To them, it didn't matter if he was the Demon Fox's vessel. It didn't even matter if he was the Demon Fox itself. As long as he was handsome and had a bit of an edge, they were hooked.

'Figures,' Naruto thought. 'In a superficial world, looks are everything.'

He wanted to tell the Minato that he didn't care what anyone thought of him. Good or bad, it was all meaningless noise. He didn't like this world, everything about it was heavy and broken. Just as he'd told Nagato, the world was sick. But he had no interest in being its savior, no desire to be the Child of Prophecy. That was a role for someone else.

All he wanted was to challenge strong opponents and grow stronger. He wanted to push his body and soul to their limits, to feel the thrill of breaking through them. If he was lucky, maybe one day he'd be strong enough to stand with the Z Fighters and face down a true threat. The stronger he became, the more he realized how small he was.

So, this little social experiment... it was just a game.

He walked over to Ino's desk, a roguish grin spreading across his face as he mimicked the persona from the Minato's memories. He leaned in, bracing one hand against the wall beside her head.

"Hey, Ino," he whispered, his voice low. "I'll let you in on a little secret about Sasuke."

"W-What is it?" Hearing Sasuke's name, all her shyness vanished, replaced by pure, undiluted curiosity.

"This stays between us, got it?" Naruto said, his eyes glinting. "He's actually into girls with really high-pitched voices."

Ino's eyes went wide.

Naruto's smile turned into the grin of a fox that had just cornered its prey.

'I'm the incarnation of the Demon Fox, after all. What's a little lie to bewitch someone?' Naruto paused, 'Hmm, the resentment for them calling me that is deeper than I expected. Anyways it doesn't matter. As long as I have fun.'

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