The Fourth Beast

3

The Youkai King

III

Amaterasu wanted to release a tired sigh. It should not come as a surprise seeing how quickly the situation went out of her control. Not only the major Gods and Goddesses but also all the deities of the Shinto Religion wanted to meet Naruto. She had to magically expand the interior of the Royal Palace to accommodate everyone. She could not blame them though. Although they had chosen or sent countless Champions beforehand, none were powerful enough to match those from other factions' champions. But this time, it was different. And even the lowest level deity could see it or in this case, sense it.

Even in his soul form, Naruto was almost as powerful as Amaterasu herself. And then there was his reputation of being the Savior of his previous world. His achievements and character awed every one, but at the same time raised some concerns. Especially Susanoo, he asked some doubtful questions. Blunt as always. But he had his points. After all, if Naruto were as strong as their leader just in his soul form, he would easily surpass her when he would get a body. If so, then what would stop him from going against them?

She had answers ready for those questions, but she liked how Naruto handled it, it had much more impact than her ready-made words.

"Look, I sacrificed a lot by coming here to help you guys. If you have any doubts or problems, send me back. I don't want to create conflicts with the people I am helping, and I am sure you don't want to be constantly wary of your own Champion."

With that, he sat down... on the ground... and asked if anyone had problems with him or even had minor doubts about his motives, they were more than welcome to come up to him and chat. That was not all. He also pointed out that he wanted to get to know everyone, be it a major God, Goddess, or low-ranking deity. Needless to say, his popularity skyrocketed within half a day. And any doubts that anyone had about him were washed away. Even Susanoo grudgingly accepted him.

But what they did not know was that, even in his soul form, Naruto was a lot stronger than Amaterasu. But to be on the safe side, she taught Naruto how to hide his power in his soul form. She even gave him a beads bracelet, enchanted by her, to help him with the task.

The outcome of the first meeting between Naruto and the rest of the Shinto faction went better than she had expected. Yes, the result was good but it went out of control, in an excellent but tiring way. The Gods, Goddesses, and Deities did not want to leave Naruto alone. Ultimately, she had to put her foot down and dismiss the meeting, to almost everyone's displeasure.

Now, she was heading toward her office room where Naruto was temporarily resting. Very few had access to that room, but Naruto was an exceptional guest. As she opened the door, Amaterasu hoped Naruto was not too tired from all the talks, which stretched to a few days. But against all her expectations, she saw Naruto intensely focused on her working table. She did not know why he was so fascinated with something so simple.

Naruto turned to her and bowed silently before retreating to his chair.

"Thank you for what you have done out there," Amaterasu stated before sitting down, "You wiped out all the doubts they had and proved your conviction to everyone."

"I just don't want my reincarnation to create any conflict, at least not for you." Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Ohoo~" Amaterasu raised an eyebrow delicately as she sat down.

"Well, sometimes these small doubts can give birth to larger suspicions which can lead to fear and then finally to conflicts. But the funny thing is, all of these can be avoided if everyone gets to know each other well, maybe over an informal meal or idle talks." Naruto explained, his face holding a small smile.