"You can't protect him forever!"
Izuna stares into her slitted eyes.
"I won't!"
The old woman has a resolute expression on her face.
"For a thousand years, my Ryuchi cave never had a Human Sage who represents us in the shinobi world. But now there is a spark of hope!"
"I won't touch him for the sake of good faith you showed to me. But…"
Izuna gazes in her eyes as his left eye changes in Rinne-Sharingan.
"There is always a price to pay for everything!"
The White Snake Sage eyes narrow as she stares at Izuna's Rinne-Sharingan.
'This is the eye of Sage of Six Paths. No, these tomoes, it's even more powerful than him.'
A trace of fear reflects in her eyes, but soon calmness returns to her face.
"Fine! I will comply with your wishes." She nods her head.
"Good!"
Izuna's eyes return to normal as he demands.
"I want Ryuchi cave to train three members of the Uchiha clan in Senjutsu for me. Also, I will…" He states his conditions to her.
Swoosh…
Izuna takes out a scroll with Sasuke, Itachi, and Shisui's picture.
The old woman grabs the scrolls. Her slitted eyes scan the pictures.
"Alright! I agree with your condition."
Izuna turns around and steps out of the cavern.
Whoosh…
He teleports away from the Ryuchi cave.
The White Snake Sage stares at the empty space for a while.
'His powers are growing rapidly. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing! But his awakening has accelerated the entanglement of fate and destiny as they rapidly intertwine and blur the thin outline of the distant future. I can hear the woes of countless souls echoing in my ears.'
----------------
Whoosh…
Izuna reappears in front of his house. He opens the gate with a smile.
"I am home!"
"Welcome back!"
Mei walks out of the kitchen with a spatula in her hand.
Sniff…
Izuna takes a deep whiff.
"It smells delicious!"
He salivates from the fragrance of the dinner.
"Go and wash yourself. I will put the dinner on the table."
"Alright!"
Izuna walks towards the bathroom as Mei places the food on the table.
Fifteen minutes later,
"Aha! That was a nice bath. I feel so refreshed."
Izuna walks out of the washroom. He walks towards the dining room with excitement.
Sob… Sob…
"Nee-san! Onii-chan bullied me. Sob… sob…"
Ayaka sheds some tears in front of Mei.
"What?! Did he bully you? Tell me more!" Mei places down the plate and sits beside Ayaka.
Sob…
"It's like this!" Ayaka recounts the entire series of the incident to Mei.
"What?!" Mei's brows scrunch up.
"He assigned your group to fight against an A-rank criminal right after your graduation!"
Some memories of Bloody Mist freshen up in her mind as her brows scrunch up.
"Hmph! How dare he bully my cute Ayaka like that?"
Mei pats Ayaka's head.
"There won't be any dinner for him tonight!"
Mei picks up the plate and passes it to Ayaka.
"Ayaka! You must be hungry. Nee-san prepared a sumptuous meal for you!"
"NO! My dinner!"
Izuna has a heartache as he stares at Ayaka gobbling his dinner.
He walks towards Mei.
"My dinner!"
"There is no dinner for you tonight!" Mei harrumphs at him.
"And don't you dare eat anything from outside or else forget about sleeping on the same bed with me!"
AH!
Izuna's expression freezes as something shatters in his heart. He walks towards a corner and draws circles with his finger.
"My wife doesn't love me!"
"My wife doesn't love me!"
"My wife doesn't love me!"
"…"
Mei rolls her eyes.
"Your drama won't work on me today."
Burp…
Ayaka burps loudly.
"Oops…"
She places a hand around her mouth.
"The food was very delicious."
Ah!
Izuna kneels down on the floor on all fours.
"My wife, my imouto doesn't care for me anymore!"
"Come Ayaka! Let's sleep together."
Mei ignores him and brings Ayaka to the bedroom.
Sigh…
Izuna sighs.
"Ah! I miss those old days when my Ayaka-chan was so innocent."
"It's the result of your bad company which corrupted her!"
Yin Kurama opens his eyes and sniggers.
"…"
---------------------
Next day in the morning,
Inside the Hokage Office,
"Good morning Tsunade!"
Izuna walks into the Hokage office with bags under his eyes.
"You didn't sleep last night?!"
Tsunade curiously stares at him.
"Sort of!"
Izuna nods his head.
Hehe…
Ayaka chuckles as she enters the Hokage Office with Hanabi and Yakumo.
After the previous day, the group has grown closer to each other.
"Oh, Ayaka-chan!"
Tsunade places down the paperwork and turns to Izuna.
"You here for a mission!"
"Yes!"
Izuna nods his head.
"Give me the Holy Mission of Konoha!" He asks her.
"Holy Mission?!" Tsunade raises an eyebrow.
"Are you sure you want that mission?"
"Yes, I am!" Izuna nods his head.
"I think these girls can handle it!"
Bang…
"I am back Granny!" Naruto slams the door open and enters the Hokage Office.
"Naruto! Keep your voice down in the Hokage Office!" Tsunade yells at him.
"…"
Naruto calms down after Tsunade's outburst. Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi enter the office.
"Lady Fifth! The escort mission in the Land of Snow is complete. Here is the report!" Kakashi passes a scroll to Shizune.
He turns to Izuna and throws a scroll at him.
"You might be interested in it!"
"This is…" Izuna tilts his head in confusion.
"This is a chakra Armor from the Land of Snow. It blocks most of ninjutsu and genjutsu below B-rank and it even strengthens user's chakra and techniques to another level." Kakashi explains to him.
Hmm…
"That's pretty good!" Izuna nods his head.
He inserts some chakra into the scroll. A black armor with multiple chakra nodes and inscription appears in his hand.
There is an opening near the chest area for the power source.
'Hmm… it follows the principle of Fuinjutsu and inscription. But there is also some craftsmanship and engineering involved in it. It's more like a whiplash's version of Iron Man's suit in Naruto.
A chakra ore can power this suit. But the energy conversion efficiency is quite poor. Also, it has some durability issues. This alloy has many impurities mixed within it.
Although, I have little engineering knowledge but I can improve its design.
Imagine a bunch of Iron shinobis battling against the Otsutsuki clan members.'
One of the most iconic Marvel scenes appears in his mind.
'Nah! That's not cost-efficient at all! The cost of production of even one such armor is phenomenal.'
He shakes his head to dispel his fantasies.
'Still, I can fulfill my wish of an Iron Man suit in this world.'
Izuna stores the scroll and turns to Naruto and the group.
"Ayaka-chan! What are you doing here?" Naruto curiously asks her.
Hehe…
Ayaka flashes her Ninja forehead protector.
"I am a ninja now. So, of course, I am here for a mission." She has a smug smile on her face.
"Wow! You graduated from the academy." Naruto stares at her in amazement.
"Of course!" Ayaka crosses her arms around her chest.
"Incredible!"
Naruto and Sasuke praise her.
"So… what mission are you going to pick?" Sasuke curiously asks her.
"Umm… Tsunade Nee-san mentioned something about the Holy Mission?" Ayaka tilts her head in confusion.
"I don't know what this Holy Mission is?"
"Ho… Holy Mission!!" Naruto and Sakura's expression turns pale.
"It still sends a shiver down my spine. After this mission, I doubted my abilities as a ninja!" Naruto gulps his saliva.
"Is it that scary?" Hanabi has a fearful expression.
"You will see for yourself!" Sakura nods her head.
"Alright, Here is your mission."
Tsunade takes out a pamphlet from her drawer. She passes the pamphlet to Ayaka.
Ayaka grabs the pamphlet. There is a picture of a cat with brown fur on it. The cat has a black line running down its forehead. Three lines run across the black line. The cat has amber eyes and a red ribbon is tied to the right ear of the cat.
"It's a cat!"
Ayaka, Hanabi, and Yakumo has a blank expression.
"No! This thing isn't a cat!" Naruto shivers from his post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Hmph… What's so different about a cat? Even I can easily catch it with no effort?" Yakumo scoffs at the picture.
"Then, it's decided. I will assign team three the Holy Mission."
Tsunade stamps the pamphlet and passes it to Izuna.