Strongest Shinobi

Having returned to Konoha, Izana had reported to the Third that there were no sightings of the masked individual. He did mention that there had been sightings of a suspicious group named Akatsuki moving around. It was one of the few pieces of intel Orochimaru had shared with him.

The Third couldn't help but be a bit worried. He had heard of this group from Jiraiya as well, though there wasn't much information to go on right now. Izana was dismissed from the office, having received some free time for himself.

Izana didn't expect that, but he was glad to have it. He hadn't spend as much time with his family as he should have. Now would be a good time to make up for it. Arriving back home, Izana could see Sasuke training with Naruto, though Naruto seemed to have a lot of trouble forming the jutsus.

"Naruto, you're really such a block head. You do it like this, not like that."

"Etto, like this? Aargh! This is too hard, I don't get it..."

Naruto ruffled his hairs in annoyance.

"I'm too big of an idiot to understand that. Explain it easier!"

Sasuke sighed.

"I made it as easy as I could, how can you still not get it."

Even if Sasuke said it like that, he still repeated the motions, showing Naruto once again how he should do it.

Izana watched from the side. They were really getting along. How nice.

Izana couldn't help but smile at the scene, yet something in the back of his mind kept bothering him. He could see a strange overlapping on the scene in front of him, yet the children in front of him looked different. Rubbing his eyes, the scene from before was gone.

'I must be tired.'

Izana thought, yawning slightly. He had been running all around the place after all, it wound't be strange for him to be a bit tired.

Not one to quickly change his mind, Izana walked towards Sasuke and Naruto. Both of the kids seemed happy to see him as they rushed towards him and clung to his arms.

""Izana! You're back!""

Izana ruffled their heads and lowered himself to their height.

"I've received some free time from the Third to rest. Why don't we do something fun together. It has been awhile after all."

Sasuke immediately perked up, while Naruto began to yell in excitement.

"I'll go get mother and father. We can make it a family trip."

Before Izana could say anything, Sasuke had already run inside to get Mikoto and Fugaku.

'I don't know if uncle will come as well. The clan has been more than halved and he should have a lot of work. It might be difficult.'

Still, Izana didn't say anything and let Sasuke run around. Maybe uncle had a bit of free time. Who knows?

"Izana, let's go to Ichiraku! They have a new menu and I want to try it."

Naruto said. Izana could almost see the stars in his eyes, drool already dripping from his mouth.

"Alright. Why not. Let's wait and see if Sasuke, aunt Mikoto and uncle Fugaku will come along as well."

"Yata! I can't wait!"

Naruto had a big goofy smile on his face as he waited patiently, yet impatiently, near Izana. They didn't have to wait long and by seeing the saddened face of Sasuke, Izana knew uncle Fugaku didn't have any time. Mikoto was walking besides Sasuke, trying to cheer him up a bit as she smiled gently at him.

"Uncle didn't have any time?"

Mikoto smiled wryly, nodding.

"He doesn't. The clan has to recuperate and there is a lot of work to be done. He has agreed to have dinner together, promising he would make enough time for that."

Izana understood uncle all too well. Even if the coup was stopped, the cost was high and the destruction was massive. It would take a long time before the clan would be back to what it was.

"The I will get us a reservation at the barbecue house. It has been a long time since we all ate out."

"Yes, it has. Your uncle needs some time to loosen up abit as well so it is a good idea Izana. Naruto, would you like to join us as well? I'm sure Sasuke would like it if a friend went along."

Mikoto said, asking Naruto if he wanted to come along.

"I can? Then that would be great. Thank you very much, dattebayo!"

Izana chuckled a bit at Naruto, as he still had that slip of the tongue.

"Let's go shopping for a bit and make a stop at Ichiraku. Naruto wanted to try the new menu which, if I heard correctly, was a big hit amongst the villagers."

Mikoto agreed, handing Sasuke and Naruto a bit of pocket money to buy something nice for themselves. Since Naruto and Sasuke had become friends, Mikoto would go out with them every now and then and let then buy some things for themselves. As Naruto wasn't that well provided for, she would hand him some pocket change every now and then so he could enjoy himself as well.

Under the careful eye of Mikoto, Naruto and Sasuke each received a new pair of clothes, carefully chosen by a woman's eye. Izana wasn't exempted from this as she took extra long in picking something out, with the unhelpfull and funny additions Sasuke and Naruto collected.

At the end of the afternoon, Izana, Mikoto, Sasuke and Naruto were eating at Ichiraku ramen. They had a new menu that was for the ones that liked it with a little more spice into it. It wasn't to Izana's preference as he was surprisingly weak to spicy food. Naruto didn't seem to mind it though, but he couldn't eat more than a bowl before his mouth was a red as a cherry. Sasuke was much the same as Naruto, but he didn't bother in finishing it, only doing so under the constant chidding from Naruto. Mikoto, well, Mikoto seemed to have really taken a liking to it, as she mentioned she wanted to visit again but the next time with Fugaku, as he seemed to like spicy food a lot.