Strongest Shinobi

(A/N: Sorry for the late update, but you know what they say. Beter late than never, so be happy that it is available right now. I have been a bit busy the last couple of days, the whole christmas stuff and a company trip. And with that I mean online workshops/events, not the physical stuff mind you. I am a responsible person after all. Now, without further delay, I hope you like the chapter.

P.s.

Even If I removed the Romance tag from the description, there will be a love interest, but it will be a lot further into the story.

End Authors note.)

***

Coming back from an afternoon out, Izana went to relax at the public baths. It was satisfying to let all the build up tension of the past few days just flow away as the heat soaked into him body.

"Haah. This is bliss..."

Izana closed his eyes as he enjoyed the warmth.

[This does feel nice.]

Ryuujin sighed as well, as he stretched his body as well, at least that was what Izana could see in his mindscape.

"We should do this more often. We could ask Shisui to go with us the next time, if he isn't busy."

[As if Shisui has time. The hokage would keep him as busy as possible. He is a reliable workforce after all.]

"I know what you mean."

Shisui was one of the few Uchiha that had completely mastered his Mangekyo. After the whole massacre debacle, more and more Uchiha had developped their Mangekyo sharingan. This showed there was always a good side to even the worst events.

[You should get ready. It isn't that often that you have dinner outside with the whole family.]

"It would be nice if we did, but I'm still happy we have one now."

Izana laughed happily as he rose from the hot water and began to ready himself. Putting on a pair of civilian clothes, with of course the Uchiha clan symbol, Izana went towards the bbq house. Luckily he had made a reservation, as when he came in the whole restaurant was packed full of customers.

A waiter quickly showed him his table, which was still unoccupied. His family wasn't here yet, as was Naruto. From behind him, Izana could hear rapid munching. Glancing backwards past the wall separating the tables, Izana witnessed a fierce eating competition between the Akimichi parent Choza and his son Choji. The words chowing pig came to his mind, though they also looked a bit like a starving boar.

[Izana. Don't. Say. Anything. Even one word and you will get a furious duo before you.]

Izana chuckled, keeping the words he had wanted to say to himself and waited for the rest to arrive.

Naruto arrived first. He was loud and kept looking around himself at the cheery mood in the restaurant. The other customers glared at Naruto, clearly not happy he was here, but Naruto didn't seem to notice as he quickly spotted Izana.

Leaving a scowling waiter behind, Naruto quickly sat beside Izana, still excited he had such a happy thing happening to him.

[The others are here as well.]

Looking over his shoulder after Ryuujin's comment, Izana spotted Mikoto, Sasuke and a cold faced Fugaku walking towards them. They each took a seat and not even a minute later the food arrived.

Fugaku had glanced briefly at Naruto with a questioning gaze, but after receiving an elbow in the side from Mikoto, Fugaku began to grill his pieces of meat in a poised manner.

Sasuke began to talk with Naruto about the games they could play after school with Mikoto joining in every now and then, while Izana and Fugaku began to talk about matters concerning the clan.

"Everything has settled down as best as it can at the moment. The most difficult matters have been dealt with."

Fugaku mentioned after Izana asked about his work, eating in between sentences.

"I see. That is good. Now you can spend a little more time with Sasuke. He has missed a lot of your attention lately due to how busy you were."

Fugaku nodded, glancing at Sasuke laughing at Naruto after the latter had dropped a piece of meat that just slipped from his chopsticks.

"My mission have been going well. A few of my sources have mentioned a few sightings of the masked man, though he seems to dissappear as soon as he is spotted. He makes it hard to find him."

Izana spoke in a hushed tone, making sure no one could hear them. Izana had even gotten a big head ache as he received report after report from his informants, mentioning they had seen the target. It was hard to belief, as those informants were spread through all of the different hidden villages. It was as if the man was a phantom.

"He will be found. He has the blood of the Uchiha on his hands and he won't escape our retaliation in this life or the next."

Fugaku grumbled, having spoken as softly as Izana as well. For a moment, Izana could see pure hatred in Fugaku's eyes, with were quickly hidden as he regained his focus on the meal.

"Putting that aside, how are you now, besides your missions? Your body is different from a Jinchuriki, so you have to tell me as soon as something is off."

Fugaku said sternly, sounding a lot like a worried father, which he sort of was to Izana.

Izana hesitated slightly, thinking back on the odd overlapping of his vision. Those clearly weren't normal, but he had asked Ryujin about them and he hadn't even experienced it. Ryuujin had been very confused at Izana, when he was speaking about things only he seemed to see. Izana put the thought aside, deciding he would investigate it himself if it happened again.

"Nothing odd happened. I feel fine. How are you and aunt Mikoto doing? I heard Sasuke asking for another sibling, but I wonder..."

Fugaku averted his gaze, not looking Izana in the eye.

"You should worry about your own life, instead of meddling in mine."

At his side, Mikoto seemed to follow the conversation as well as he face took a ruddy tint. Subconciously she placed her hands on her abdomen as a faint smile formed on her lips. She didn't seem against the idea.

"I'm too young to have a relationship and there is no one in the village that has caught my eye. So, this time a little sister would be nice."

Izana smirked as this time even Fugaku seemed to get a bit embarrassed, if only visible at the slightly reddened tips of his ears.

The evening passed relatively quickly, with Izana bringing Naruto back to his home and Fugaku carrying Sasuke on his back. Saying goodbye to a tired but satisfied Naruto, Izana followed Fugaku and Mikoto home, while a sleeping Sasuke had a happy smile on his face as he tightened his sleepy hold on Fugaku's neck.

Back home, Fugaku and Mikoto had Sasuke sleeping with them, while Izana went to send some replies to his own information network. It had been difficult to build up in secret from the village, but it was worth it. Only he knew where his informants were and it paid of as he received news about a new organisation called Akatsuki moving about in the underworld. Even if there was little information to go on, it was a start.