Chapter 39
"You are sending him away!" Kushina balked at Minato's words. Her emotions were a mess already after hearing about the treason of Sandaime's old friend.
"I have no choice..." the blonde sighed, yet she did not let him finish as she raged.
"Of course, you have a choice. You are the Hokage!" she challenged, but Minato's face fell as he rubbed his eyes.
"If only it were so simple. I am still young, and Shimura Danzo has many allies, including Lord Third. You have no idea how difficult it was just to put the man under House arrest," he challenged, and Kushina jumped to her feet.
"What do you mean! The man is a traitor! He betrayed Izuna-kun's tea…"
"Just listen to me, Kushina." She had never seen Minato so frustrated as he looked into her eyes.
"I am just as angry as you, if not even more. I know what it means to lose comrades! I know of Izuna-kun's pain, but this is not the right time for this. As a Hokage, I must make tough decisions, and this is one of them. I must maintain the unity within the village, especially because our enemies will pounce at us the second they see a crack within our ranks." Kushina's fists balled up in frustration as the bijuu chakra in her roared forth.
"I hate this! I hate this," she grunted as the floor of their house cracked and red chakra began to bubble around her.
"Calm down, Kushina," Minato's worried voice came out as he put a hand on her shoulder.
"You must think of the child inside you," he said. At his words, she bit her lip and took a deep breath, and the chakra dissipated as she reined in her emotions.
"Izuna kun will be devastated by this..." she added, and Minato nodded.
"I know. That is why I am sending him away on a mission with Jiraiya-sensei. He will help him calm down and not make any rash move. The Uchiha clan are still coming to terms with me becoming Hokage over Fugaku-san, and we cannot let this affect the village." Only now was she realizing the true weight of what it meant to be a Hokage.
And so, she looked up into Minato's eyes, her fists clenched, as she asked.
"Tell me you won't let this go," she asked heatedly as he nodded intensely.
"I won't. I promise," he assured her.
"I just need some time to solidify my position, and then I will launch a thorough investigation into this matter and will punish all those responsible." his words were a small assurance to her.
"No matter their status..."
0000
IZUNA UCHIHA
The intentions behind this sudden mission were not lost upon him, but there was little Izuna could do to defy direct orders. And he was getting quite bored, being holed up in the village. Add to that the opportunity to learn senjutsu, and Izuna was sold.
However, he did have to make some preparations before leaving, and the most important of these was the duty left to him by Shisui. Consequently, he had to call upon Saiko once more to take care of Shisui's old mother in his absence.
"Of course, I will," she agreed with no complaint as both of them rested on the porch of Shisui's home, sitting there quietly as they met each other after quite some time.
"So, you are going away again?" she questioned as Izuna nodded.
"I am," he told her.
"But don't you have a massive bounty on your head, the one that Kumo put out?" she asked with a hint of worry, as Izuna shrugged.
"It doesn't really matter now, does it? I will be traveling with Jiraiya-sama, so I will be as safe as one can be outside the village." Her eyes widened at the mention of the White Haired Sanin.
"Ohh, so you are going to be working under a sanin as well." It still irked him to have her apprenticing under Orochimaru, but he held his tongue, as per his agreement with the golden-eyed sanin.
"How about your apprenticeship? How is it going?" he was a bit interested in knowing what Orochimaru was up to these days and how he was as a teacher.
"It is quite interesting. There is far less fighting and training involved than one would think, but the man has told us about his requirement to nominate us for the exam," and that was an interesting way to teach.
"And what is it?" he asked as Saiko rolled her eyes and sighed.
"He wants us to invent an original technique, one that is at least B-rank," and that was a hard ask for any shinobi, let alone two recently graduated kunoichis.
"That is a hard ask," he added as Saiko clicked her tongue.
"And we have only you to blame for it," she chided him as she pinched his arm, making her jump away.
"How?" he asked, as he rubbed his arm.
"Because you did so. And not just once. You first made those blue flames, and then that Raiton technique you used against Kiri. According to Orochimaru sensei, if someone your age can create two near S-rank techniques, then the least we can do is create one B-rank level technique," and he did not know that the man was so impressed by him.
"Well, I think you will manage on your ow...." and if her glare was anything to go by, it was the wrong answer.
"...own, but I will help you come up with a technique," and Saiko nodded, folding her arms.
"That's Good. Then I will be waiting for you when you return," he said, raising his hand.
"Aye. Aye, captain," he agreed quickly as her face lit up.
"It has been quite some time since the both of us have sat down like this," and indeed, both of them had been quite busy, more so him than her.
"Yeah," he agreed, and when they were young, they would sit just here. Both times, Shisui would be with them, cracking jokes and making them both laugh.
"We have both grown up so much," she began as she looked up at him.
"Especially you," and he shrugged.
"Well, you are still older than me," he added.
"But you are now taller than me, and your hairs grown longer too," and they had, he had not paid them much attention and as he reached for them, he realised that they had grown a bit too long.
"You need an overhaul," she suggested as Izuna asked again.
"What?" he asked.
"I said you need an overhaul," she began as Izuna nodded.
"I will talk to mothe..." and she clicked her tongue.
"You are jounin now, and you will still have your mother buy your clothes," she teased as Izuna shrugged.
"You do know I know nothing about clothes and fashion, nor do I care much about it at all," he added.
"But I do," she quickly cut in.
"And you can also call in that brown hai...."
0000
IZUNA UCHIHA
The shopping spree with Saiko and Rin took much of his next day, as he was made to visit one shop after another and try on one piece of clothing after another, at the behest of both Saiko and Rin, until finally, they both reached a consensus about a new design for him.
Izuna had grown up over the year, and his uniform needed to be changed. Given that most shinobi preferred to stick to a familiar set of clothes and design for more operational freedom, his new style had to be both practical and flashy.
And so, he now supported an entirely new Black T-shirt, inscribed with his clan's logo on the back. He wore his tanto on his back, crossed unlike before, and below them was his sealing scroll, which contained his sealing supplies and some other essentials.
His hair, which had grown a bit rowdy, was now cut as well, though not in length, as Saiko fashioned him a sort of tie to bind them in a long ponytail as they flew down his back. He retained his usual black trousers and sandals.
It was not an entirely new outfit and had only a few differences from his old one, much to his relief, yet the outing had given him a nice change of pace from his usual hectic life, as Izuna let himself unravel for a day before he left for this mission with Jiraiya-sama.
His mother was a bit concerned about his departure, but she had long come to terms with the fact that his would be a life filled with danger. What perturbed her most was his S-ranked bounty, though he assured her there was a reason he was given that bounty, and he would be traveling with a Sanin, and so few would be foolish enough to attack him.
And so, a few days later, Izuna departed from the village with the said Sanin, as they headed towards the Kiri borders.
"So, are you ready to share the real purpose of this mission?" Izuna decided to break the ice as the white-haired Sanin turned to face him with a sharp smile.
"I am afraid I don't understand what you mean," and they rushed through the forest, jumping from one tree to another, as Izuna scoffed.
"I told you before, Jiraiya-sama, I am not so easy to impress or fool," he retorted sharply, hoping that the man would stop treating him like a child.
"A week after I bring accusations of treason against one of Konoha's most prominent elders, I get sent out on a mission with one of the Hokage's most trusted and powerful advisors," he explained, for the point was obvious.
"It does not take a genius to know that the Hokage wished to have me removed from the village for some time. And there can only be three reasons for such a thing." Jiraiya-sama raised a brow as he slowed down his pace.
"And what would those three reasons be?" and Izuna's eyes dulled as he began.
"Either, he has removed me to conduct an investigation into myself for he may suspect me to be a traitor because of these allegations and had me removed to investigate me, which is unnecessary given he has known me for nearly all my life." So, there was little he needed to investigate him for.
"The second would be that he has removed me from the village for he knew to protect the village from my reaction to his response to these allegations," in his mind this was the most likely scenario, and as they reached the Watanabe Lake, they came to a halt as they stood face to face with one another.
"And what of the third option?" Jiraiya-sama asked, and Izuna looked into the man's eyes.
"The third option would mean that he has decided to get rid of me." The air became thick with tension at those words as the expression on the man's face turned cold.
"And what if you are right, kid? And what if it is indeed the third option?" Izuna saw the man touch the massive scroll bound to his back; as the Sanin's chakra roared, the ground beneath his feet cracked, and Izuna's body stiffened for a second as he took his own stance and roused his own chakra.
CRING! CRING!
His eyes changed as the world sharpened up as he retaliated.
"Then he has not sent nearly enough men," Izuna challenged, and that was a direct challenge to the man, who smirked at his taunt as his eyes narrowed.
"Oh! Is that so?" Izuna's eyes narrowed as the man blurred from his vision. He suddenly appeared in front of him with a punch aimed straight at his chin.
"Then why don't I put that to the test...." and he swung his fist. It hit Izuna's chin, and yet contrary to the man's expectations, he did not bleed, not was his body thrown back into the air, as much to the Sanin's surprise, his body dissolved into a horde of crows, as he shunsined behind him, as he swung his blade at the man's neck.
"Why not!" Izuna shouted, but he was a Sanin, and he just tilted his head while pushing his arm up using his elbow, as he spun around and aimed a kick at his belly, and as Izuna's blade cut through one of the horns of his helmet his body was thrown back.
"GUGH!" he coughed slightly from the sheer force of the attack as he rolled in the air, before hitting the ground once again.
CLING!
The piece of metal hit the ground as the Sanin touched his helmet and raised a brow.
"Interesting," he began as Izuna stood tall, his iryo ninjutsu having healed what little damage he had received as he brought together his blades and whispered back.
"Let's go!" and with those words a dozen clones of him appeared right besides him, as the Sanin frowned as he ran at him as the man began to cycle through a set of handseals.
"Katon: Fireball jutsu!" His was a normal fireball, one of orange and red flames unlike his own. Yet its size and speed showed years and years of practice and mastery. Yet it did not matter to him as Izuna simply continued in his stride. The massive fire-style ninjutsu simply passed through his body as his clones suddenly surrounded the Toad Sage, who was surprised by the whole affair.
As he swung his tanto, the man was forced to abort the jutsu and jump back. Yet another one of his clones appeared behind him, and he tried to kick it away, but his attack simply passed through it once more. Yet the clone's blade cut through his skin, much to his surprise.
His cheek was cut and the man began to bleed as Izuna launched a barrage of attacks against him, but he was quick to adjust himself as he began to focus on avoiding rather than defending and attacking, but Izuna was pressing on, his tantos continued to land cuts one after another, but nothing more than small inconsequential attacks, when suddenly the man brought together his hands.
"Ninpo: Toad Oil Bomb!" suddenly spewed a massive bout of oil from his mouth, which splattered all over. Yet he did not simply stop, continuing on to another jutsu.
"Katon: Flame Bombs!" and as the small torrent of fire hit the oil, the whole area exploded.
BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!
And Izuna was forced to jump back, as massive fire erupted separating his clones, from the man with white hair.
"So, this is the infamous teleporter," he began as he rubbed away the blood coming down his chin.
"I can see how you caused Kumo all that trouble..." This technique was one of the most deadly when faced in one-on-one combat, yet he had adjusted his fighting style to it in a minute, realising that there was no use in attacking or defending as he focused on avoiding his strikes.
And this is what made him scary, his experience and the sheer vastness of his ninjutsu arsenal, but Izuna was not one to back down either.
"It is a rather deadly technique, but one that is useless against a sage such as me," and with that, the man suddenly jumped into the air as he clicked his sandals together and brought together his hands.
"Ninpo:..." and suddenly a mysterious barrier began to spread out from around him as Izuna perked up, as it began to expand.
"...Tengai Hojin!" and as it spread, and passed over him, he felt as suddenly those brown eyes narrowed onto him—the real him, which was flickering through his clones constantly as the Sanin smirked.
"No more hiding now, boy..." and then he opened his mouth as he shouted.
"Katon: Flash Bomb!" and he spewed a massive torrent of fire at him as Izuna clicked his tongue.
"Two can play at that game," and he brought his own hands together as he cycled through a set of familiar hand seals.
"Katon:..." and he inhaled, as chakra bubbled in his stomach, as he laced his throat with it as he spewed his massive storm of fire.
"...Fire Ball jutsu!" and this time the flames were a raging blue as they met with his yellow flames in a massive blast.
BOOOM!
And the heat from their attacks was enough to make the water in the lake steam, yet Izuna's flames were much hotter and cut through his fire as Izuna smirked as he saw his flames devour the man.
But then he saw it. His body suddenly vanished in a cloud of smoke.
"A shadow clone!" he gasped as he cut off his attack suddenly, he felt a presence from underneath him, as he jumped back and saw the Sanin emerge from the ground underneath him.
"Doton: Head hunter jutsu!" and Izuna barely managed to escape, and he was impressed for it was not easy to fool the Sharingan with a shadow clone, but the man had managed to pull it off rather delicately.
But as Izuna jumped back he smirked.
"You are not the only one who can play with clones," he challenged as Izuna landed on the ground and immediately put his hands on it, as suddenly a massive sealing formula began to expand from under him.
"Ninpo: Time Prison!" and as the seals spread, they spread over the Sanin's body as well, who frowned as suddenly he found himself immobile because of the seals as Izuna smirked.
"What the hell!" he cursed as Izuna pointed to the sky.
"I told you didn't I..." and up there was a clone of his own, one that he had hidden way who was cycling through a rather familiar set of handseals.
"...you are not enough!"
"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!" and the clone launched a massive attack from above as sizzling blue flames rushed towards the Sanin, whose movements were all blocked by his seal, and Izuna was beginning to feel his seals straining to keep a beast such as him under control, but suddenly just as the attack was about to hit, him their eyes met as he saw the man smirk.
"You are still years away from talking back to me, kid!" and in a second, he felt his seals unravel as the Sanin pushed his hand to the ground.
"Ninpo:..." and such was the amount of chakra that he had gathered that he could feel it as the man used his jutsu.
"...Summoning Jutsu!"
BOOM!
0000
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