Naruto: The Hidden Protector

"NOOOOOOOO! " Jiraiya screamed as he got up from his sleep. He wiped away the cold sweat that was on his face as he tried to calm himself down.

After he was a bit calm, Jiraiya finally noticed that he was not in his prison cell. And when he recognized the place, he almost had a heart attack.

Around him, there was nothing but water and deep darkness that seemed endless. Sitting up, Jiraiya began to observe his surroundings. It was the same surroundings that were in his dream.

And then the sound of footsteps was heard, making Jiraiya tremble. He raised his vigilance to the max while scanning his surroundings. Soon the sound of footsteps stopped. But no matter how much he waited, there was no one.

Just as Jiraiya was about to relax, nine golden chains sprang from the ground. Despite trying his best, Jiraiya was ultimately captured. Jiraiya tried to break free, but the more he struggled, the tighter the chains became.

Soon the chains began to be pulled by someone. And with Jiraiya face-first on the ground, he was swiftly dragged away. Thankfully the surface was water, or else Jiraiya may have to get plastic surgery.

After a few minutes of being dragged away, Jiraiya finally felt the chains stop moving. This allowed him to take a look at his surroundings. For the last few minutes, Jiraiya tried everything to break free from these chains. But he soon found out that he couldn't use any chakra at all.

This made Jiraiya's options even more limited. So Jiraiya was left with no choice but to count on the possibility that Tsunade would come to help him after finding out about his disappearance. But Jiraiya held little hope about it.

Someone who could kidnap him without even alerting him of his presence would not leave any clues for others to track them.

"Sensei, are you all right? "Just as Jiraiya was thinking about this, a familiar voice called out to him.

Jiraiya froze as he looked in the direction where the voice sounded like a broken robot. His mind was in chaos as he looked at the familiar blonde hair and blue eyes of his late student.

" Minato " Jiraiya uttered the words shakily as tears came down on his face. For a second he thought he was in a genjutsu but quickly rejected that idea, as even after trying to dispel the illusion, nothing happened. And he pinched himself just to make sure this wasn't a dream either.

" Sensei " Just as Minato and Jiraiya were about to have a touching reunion, someone's shout completely destroyed it.

"You pervy sage! How dare you let my Naruto get bullied for four years!" Kushina roared, her hair flaring wildly like a crimson storm. Her fists, glowing with the deadly sheen of Armament Haki, pounded into Jiraiya's frame, each blow fueled by years of bottled-up pain and fury.

{ A.N.: Yes, Kushina, after watching One Piece, mastered Armament Haki in just a few months. And let's just say Kurama had many complaints about this, as he was the poor victim who suffered under her training. }

For the past year, Kushina had been piecing together the grim truth of her son's early life. While Izanami's presence now ensured Naruto's safety and happiness, before she arrived, Naruto's life had been nothing short of a nightmare. A life worse than a stray dog's.

And Kushina wasn't about to let the people responsible for that go unpunished. Chief among them: Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya.

She had always harbored doubts about Hiruzen, knowing all too well the hypocrisy behind his kind facade. But Jiraiya? She had dared to hope. As Naruto's godfather, Jiraiya could have protected her son, could have stepped up where everyone else failed. This was the reason Kushina reluctantly agreed to Minato's plan that fateful day—because she believed Jiraiya wouldn't let them down.

As an Uzumaki, Kushina had never trusted Konoha's higher-ups. She knew how power-hungry and ruthless they could be. If not for Grandma Mito's shield, she might have fallen victim to their dark schemes herself.

But this—this betrayal of her son was unforgivable.

"You bastard!" Kushina bellowed, her voice cracking under the weight of her anguish. "Where were you when my sweet Naruto was thrown out of the orphanage at just two years old?" Her fists slammed into Jiraiya, turning him into her personal punching bag.

"You piece of shit! Minato and I trusted you! We made you Naruto's godfather!"

"Wasn't Minato your best student? Wasn't that enough of a reason for you to take care of my baby?!"

"Where were you when my Naruto almost died from the beatings those villagers gave him?"

"Why didn't you try to adopt him? Didn't it ever cross your mind to check on him? To see if he was okay?"

Her voice rose with every question, every accusation, until she finally broke. Tears streamed down her face as years of anguish and helplessness poured out.

"Because of you," she sobbed, her fists trembling, "my sweet Naruto lived a life of fear and loneliness."

Jiraiya didn't resist. He didn't even try to defend himself. He stood there, silently taking her beating without any complaint.

What Kushina said was very reasonable. Although he didn't know what Naruto had been through, Kushina's earlier words were more than enough for him to draw a good picture.

It was his fault as he ignored his duties as a godfather and let his teacher take care of everything. He should have known how greedy his teacher had become for power.

Jiraiya knew perfectly well that if his teacher really wanted, he would have stopped the rumors about Naruto. He just wanted to control Naruto after being the light in his dark world. A classic brainwashing trick.

' I should have just come over to check on Naruto instead of just asking about him through letters,' Jiraiya thought as the guilt was eating him away.

Just then the sound of someone hitting the gavel was heard, making all three of them look in the same direction.

In front of them, there was Izanami, who wore an imposing judge uniform that had ' JUSTICE FOR GOHEM ' written over it, sitting in a high platform and looking down at all three of them.

" Order in my court, " like Izanami's words, was the law of this world. Jiraiya, Kushina, and Minato all felt their bodies being controlled. All three of them began to walk towards the seats that had their name tags on them.

" Now that everyone is seated, let this trial begin, " Izanami said as she hit the gavel.

****

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

patreon.com/Nauty_Manu

****