Naruto: The Hidden Protector

109: Izanami is a Saint

“WHAT? " Jiraiya screamed as he asked in shock. He looked at Tsunade as if she was crazy.

“ How could that be? wasn't I supposed to be...?” Jiraiya wanted to complain, but he stopped mid-sentence as he realized his own words.

“ HMPH, at least you are aware of your own responsibilities. “ Tsunade snorted as she let down her raised fist. Had Jiraiya continued, she was going to beat him up regardless of his injuries.

“ How did it happen?” Jiraiya asked as he took a deep breath and calmed down.

“ Well it's a long story, “ Tsunade sighed as she thought about when to start.

“ Well, I should first start by introducing who Izanami really is. “ Tsunade spoke, to which Jiraiya listened attentively.

“ Izanami is a great sage. In fact, she is the first human sage. “ Tsunade said, making Jiraiya for a moment consider Tsunade was fooling him. But looking at her serious face, he realized what she said was 100% true.

This revelation made Jiraiya feel his worldview crash. Unlike Tsunade, he knew many things about sages and great sages due to him reading some books from the archives at Mount Myōboku.

A sage is a person who has perfected sage mode. But a great sage is a person who became one with sage mode. In other words, they are always in sage mode and have no time limit to their sage mode. This made them, in theory, immortal, as they are constantly able to regenerate and have a very long lifespan.

For example, the Great Toad Sage is said to have been alive since the era of the Sage of Six Paths.

“ And what's more, Izanami is actually the founder of the World Bank, which makes her our loan shark. “ Tsunade continued, describing the severe financial crisis they were facing. She didn't hide anything and began to tell Jiraiya about the debt they owed to Izanami.

As Tsunade was talking about the village debt, Jiraiya felt as if his worldview had begun to crumble again. Although he is called the legendary Sannin, he always lives a rather modest lifestyle. So hearing about the amount that the village owes made Jiraiya just for a second run away in fear. That amount is way too much.

So by the time Tsunade finished speaking, Jiraiya could only say, “ The World Bank is really a saint for letting us still keep Konoha running for all these years. “

“Well, “ Tsunade wanted to retort, saying that this is just one of Izanami’s schemes to take control over Konoha, but looking at it in another way, Jiraiya’s were also quite true. If it was Tsunade, even she would have kicked out everyone from Konoha to get her money.

‘ No what am I even thinking? How could Izanami be a saint? I’m sure she must have made some moves so the teacher and the others didn’t get informed about the debt before it was this high. I mean, how could someone miss such an astronomical amount while running this village for more than 30 years? Tsunade quickly dispelled her thoughts as she came back to reality. For a moment there, she was led astray by that stupid jiraiya. Thinking of this, Tsunade glared at Jiraiya hatefully, making him take a step back from fright.

‘Why is she angry all of a sudden? Is it something I said? Jiraiya wondered as he readied himself to jump out of the building in case Tsunade really tried to hit him.

“Sigh, our conversation went sidetracked. Well anyway, the official reason Izanami became Naruto’s legal guardian is because our dear teacher had touched Naruto’s inheritance and emptied it. This made it impossible for the World Bank to cover Minato’s loans, so under their law, Naruto, as an orphan, would be under their care. And when he is an adult, he will pay off the debts by working for them for free. “ Tsunade said plainly.

“The official, “ Jiraiya asked as he paid attention to these words.

“Yes, the real reason why Izanami is Naruo’s guardian is because his parents appointed her with the role since some godfather failed to do his duties for the last 4 years, “ Tsunade said, looking at Jiraiya with obvious anger and disappointment.

Jiraiya looked away in shame. He has no way to refute her claims. He also realized that what he might have seen must not have been a dream. Well, maybe the first one must be a dream.

“ So Kushina and Minato are still alive, “ he asked just to make sure of his guess.

“Well, although I don't know the real details, from what I know, they have their souls inside Naruto's seal, making them able to communicate with Naruto through his dreams or when he actively tries to enter his mindscape. “ Tsunade said. She didn’t get much information as Izanami was very tight-lipped about this.

“ I see, “ Jiraiya said as he just looked out the window. His mind was a total mess. And desperately needs some time to sort out his thoughts.

….

While Jiraiya and Tsunade were talking at the hospital, Izanami finished her shopping trip with Naruto and arrived back at their mansion. On hers and Naruto’s hands were many bags full of various stationery that Naruto would need for the upcoming week in school.

The one who came to greet them at the door was none other than Rin, the kitty cat who is called the Cat Princess in the Uchiha District.

Maybe it was because her body was made by Izanami or because of Rin’s kind nature; she was nominated by the Cats who worked with the Uchiha clan when she first went there due to nostalgia. According to them, she is the perfect princess who has the divine blood of their ancestor.

Of course, the girl refused the title, but as time went on and due to the cat's insistence, she ultimately gave in. And from that day, she would spend most of her day in the Uchiha District doing princess stuff that she refused to explain.

“Welcome home, Lady Izanami, Naruto, “ Rin greeted them with her ever-kind smile.

“Hey Rin, haven’t seen you in a while, “ Izanami greeted Rin while Naruto ran to hold her. Among all the animals/reborn people, Rin was the closest person to Naruto.

Yahiko was too ugly, while Kaguya and Sakumo were very reserved and wouldn’t play with Naruto. So Naruto’s playmate became Rin, who didn’t mind spending time with him.

“Yes, I was a bit busy these days, “Rin said as she nestled in Naruto’s arms. After living as a cat for more than 8 years, she got used to such treatment.

“So mysterious, “ Izanami chuckled as she waved her finger to levitate the bags that Naruto dropped in order to hold Rin.

“Why are you not using a storage device to store all those bags? “Rin asked curiously. Izanami gave everyone except Naruto their own storage artifacts, so Rin was curious as to why she wasn’t using her own one.

Izanami smiled and replied, “Well, I wanted to get the feeling of shopping in the truest sense. “

****

If you want to read up to 15 advanced chapters go to my Patreon Account.

****