Disclaimer, first chapter!
Deviluke, Throne Room.
"There you are, Lala." A childlike figure with red eyes and spiky black hair sat lazily on the throne, one leg draped over the armrest. His trident-tipped tail twitched as he watched his daughter stride in with a fierce look in her eyes.
"Papa."
Gid Lucione Deviluke blinked.
The tone when she said that... it was the same one his wife used when she was being deadly serious. That alone was enough to make the Emperor of the galaxy straighten up and take his daughter seriously.
"You gave me quite a bit of trouble when you ran away," Gid said, his eyes narrowing. "But now that you're back, we can move forward with choosing your husband from the fiancé candidates."
He raised a hand to signal an attendant to bring the list, but the words that came next stopped him in his tracks.
"I'm not going to marry anyone you choose, Papa."
The childlike figure blinked. He hadn't expected this kind of reaction from her. He thought she would have thrown a tantrum like usual.
Smirking inwardly, he decided to test her.
Zastin, standing near the door, and the other attendants swallowed hard as the air grew heavy with Gid's aura.
"What did you just say?"
Lala, unfazed, stood her ground.
"I said, I'm not going to marry anyone you chose."
The moment those words left her mouth, she felt the weight of her father's gaze sharpen. A part of her flinched instinctively, but she quickly steadied herself.
She remembered Naruto's words.
He was an emperor, yes, but he was also supposed to be fair.
The pinkette took a deep breath.
"If I'm going to marry, it will be someone I truly like, someone my heart chooses. I won't accept any arranged marriage, no matter what!" She finished with a defiant shout.
Silence hung in the throne room. Gid's glare bore into his daughter, and for a moment, neither side backed down.
Despite the sweat dripping from her chin, Lala's gaze didn't waver.
They stayed like this for almost a minute.
Then, without a word, the Emperor simply waved his hand, motioning for her to leave.
Lala blinked in surprise, but she quickly broke into a smile before dashing out of the room, leaving only the attendants, Zastin, and the Emperor behind.
A tense silence lingered until Gid finally spoke.
"Zastin."
The bodyguard immediately dropped to one knee.
"What the fuck happened on that backwater planet that made my daughter suddenly look like my wife?!" Sweat rolled down his forehead as he reeled in his aura. "I thought she was my wife in disguise! Holy shit, that was scary!"
"Isn't that a good thing, Gid-sama? Lala-sama maturing much early?"
"W-well... it is! But it's too soon! One is troubling enough and now there are two of them!" The boy huffed. "Anyway, your answer!?"
"Well... I believe... she met a certain young man there," Zastin answered carefully. "He's the one who convinced Lala-sama to return and say all this to you herself."
Gid raised an eyebrow as he rested an elbow on the throne's armrest. "A young man, you say? And he managed to change Lala's mind in under a day?"
"Yes. It may be rude of me to say this... but that boy," Zastin hesitated before continuing, "he has the same commanding presence as you, my liege."
"Oh?" Gid's lips curled into a grin.
Interesting.
If things worked out, he might just shift the blame onto this young man. After all, if his daughter rejected her fiancé candidates because of him... then perhaps they could go after the boy instead.
He had better things to do rather than entertaining them.
"Tell me more about him." The emperor leaned in as his grin grew wider.
"Achoo!" He rubbed his nose. "Why the heck am I getting this feeling something's gonna bite me in the dick?"
Morning.
One of the things he used to hate when he was younger.
What about after becoming a ninja? Still a pain in the ass.
Now? Even more of a pain in the ass.
Luckily, teachings didn't start until 8:30 AM, and his years as a ninja had conditioned him to wake up around 5:30 or 6 AM. That gave him plenty of time before breakfast and school.
He sped past a woman walking her Boston Terrier, nearly knocking her over before doubling back, steadying her, and continuing his run. She stood there, confused, while the dog barked at an empty spot, equally confused, it could've sworn it smelled someone near its owner's sister.
Naruto was in the middle of his morning routine, jogging to stay in shape. This world was way too peaceful for his liking, and for a while, he had almost let himself go rusty by settling into the easygoing lifestyle most people here followed.
He made sure to hold back his speed this time, he didn't want to send someone flying just from the pressure or shatter a few car windows.
By now, he had circled Sainan Town more than ten times in less than a minute before finally stopping in a park. The teacher let out a sigh. Jogging while keeping his power in check was a lot more exhausting than he thought. If he wasn't careful, he'd end up destroying the pavement or worse, destroy the underground pipes.
No one knew this, but he had been absurdly holding back ever since he arrived. This world felt like it was made of paper compared to his own.
The only things that had survived his barely-there grip, without chakra and with almost no strength, were Lala's bodyguard's subordinates.
If he so much as flared even a tiny fraction of his chakra, he was pretty sure the whole world would be dealing with earthquakes and tsunamis. And if he went all out?
He doubted Earth would still be here.
That was the reason why he rode the train even if he didn't need to. Running from the neighboring town back to Sainan was too conspicuous and he didn't need the attention.
At one point, he even tested if he could survive in space. The answer? Yes. So, he went to the moon, gave it a punch just to see if it could withstand his strength, only for the other side to end up with a brand-new crater.
"I really need to finish that seal to restrict my strength..." he muttered. It wasn't only this planet that feels like paper. Even the moon was the same.
Luckily, with the help of Kurama who was inside his father, the Biju could share with him his father's knowledge regarding sealing technique.
His father's brain was a treasure trove, he even found out the formula for the infamous hirashin but decided that he'd take a look on it after he actually improved himself in sealing.
He didn't want to cheat.
Some basics and pointers from Kurama was enough for him right now, he didn't need to hurry or anything since he doubted anything could pose a challenge for him.
Sighing, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and glanced around, looking for a water tap. The park was still empty, and it was a good chance for him to sit and enjoy nature.
"Why are you following me, onii-chan?" Kotegawa Yui grumbled as she jogged alongside her older brother, Kotegawa Yū. Dressed in a dark blue tracksuit, she shot him an annoyed glance.
Her brother, a young man with spiky light brown hair, grinned as he kept pace in his black shorts and white shirt.
"Now, now, why can't I come with you, Yui? It's rare for us to bond like this, and since you, someone who never jogs in the morning, suddenly decided to go for a run, I figured I'd tag along."
Her sister deadpanned.
"I don't believe you at all, onii-chan." She turned away with a huff. "Just don't embarrass me by flirting with girls."
"Yes, yeeeesss~" Yū mockingly saluted before the siblings continued their run, eventually arriving at a park.
Her eyes caught a glimpse of familiar spiky blonde hair as they jogged around.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Yū asked, but his sister ignored him, already striding ahead.
"I thought Uzumaki-sensei's house wasn't near here..." she murmured to herself. But as she got closer, what she saw made her pause.
Her teacher was sitting on a bench, completely still, his eyes closed and his head lowered.
But that wasn't the shocking part.
It was the animals.
Cats, dogs, birds, even a squirrel were either perched on him, nestled in his lap, or gathered protectively around the bench. It was a scene straight out of a fairy tale. Some onlookers had even pulled out their phones, snapping pictures of the bizarre but oddly adorable sight.
She almost squealed at how cute it was when the cats nuzzled against his hands, but then she noticed something worrying, her teacher wasn't moving.
She took a cautious step forward and reached out, but before she could get any closer—
HISS.
The girl froze and retracted her hand.
A cat sitting beside Naruto turned its sharp eyes on her, ears flattening as it hissed.
Yui blinked in shock. That never happened before. But before she could process it, the other animals reacted too, chirps, growls, and barks forming a wall of noise as if they were warning her to stay back.
She took a step back and the animals calmed down.
"It's no use, you know," a calm voice spoke beside her.
Yui turned to see a woman standing nearby, a very attractive woman with long purple hair and eyes.
"I myself have been waiting here for 20 minutes since my sister's dog, Maron, the terrier over there, didn't want to leave." the young woman made a wry smile as she said that.
"Oh..." She mumbled, still watching the odd scene.
"Hm? Yui—oh, hey, Akiho-san!" Her brother's voice cut in as he finally caught up. "Morning!"
Yui turned to him, blinking. "You know her?"
"Yeah! This is Sairenji Akiho, a friend of mine. One of the most beautiful women in college, I might add." He grinned.
"Thank you for the compliment, Kotegawa-kun, but..." Akiho gave him a polite smile. "'Acquaintance' might be the better word."
'Sairenji? Is she... Sairenji Haruna's sister?' She thought to herself though she couldn't help but smirk a little watching her brother get rejected.
He had always been too full of himself, after all.
"Alright, guys, time to go home."
She blinked, hearing the familiar voice before turning to the bench. Her teacher was now awake and was... talking to the animals as if they could understand him.
"Don't hang around here too long, okay? Get back to your homes or your owners before they start worrying."
To her shock, the animals responded with chirps, barks, and purrs before scattering. Even Maron trotted back to Akiho without hesitation.
Naruto let out a yawn before noticing the three of them standing there.
His eyes landed on Yui first.
"Oh, Kotegawa. And—" He glanced between Yū and Akiho, eyebrow raised slightly. "Yeah, I don't know you two..." Then, spotting how close the man was standing next to Yui, something seemed to click in his head.
His face lit up with realization.
"Ohh, wait! Are you her boyfriend?"
"Huh?!" Both siblings blurted out at the same time.
"Wow, never thought I'd see the day. The Discipline Queen actually got herself a boyfriend." He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye before turning to Akiho. "And you must be her older sister. You're as pretty as your sister yourself. Nice to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto, teacher at Sainan High."
He casually took Akiho's hand for a quick shake. "Your sister can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but she's a really nice girl... though she could really tone down her voice when we're inside the building."
Then, with no warning, Naruto clapped a hand onto Yū's shoulder, gripping it very lightly, but to Yū, it felt like a vice.
"Oh, Mr. Boyfriend," Naruto continued, his grin easygoing but his tone laced with something else. "Kotegawa-san's a great girl. I see her every day in class, so I know. If you ever make her cry..." His grip tightened slightly and Yū swore he heard his bone creaking. "Wherever you are, I'll find you, and trust me... you won't like what happens next. Capiche?"
Yū nodded stiffly as sweat forming at his brow.
The blonde haired teacher finally let go, stretching a bit. "Alright, I gotta go. Super Vegeta's having a sale on ramen, and I'm not missing that." He waved over his shoulder as he jogged off. "See you in class, Kotegawa. Older Kotegawa, nice meeting you. Mr. Boyfriend, remember what I say."
The three stood in silence as Naruto left the park.
"... Okay, your teacher is a badass..." Yū deadpanned before wincing as he rolled his shoulder.
"But now he thinks I'm dating you... a 100% type of guy that I won't date..." Yui murmured with a flat look.
"I think he's cute." Akiho said with a hand on her cheek. "Those whisker tattoos on his cheeks make him cuter."
The Kotegawa siblings whipped their heads at the Sairenji woman.
"Can I have his number?"
The siblings' faces turned pale when they heard that.
Gid having Lala's fiance candidates going after Naruto isn't because he is Lala's fiance BUT because he is the one that changed Lala and made her refuse all the marriage proposal.
Enjoy!