Strongest Shinobi

After the finals had ended, Izana received a message from Jiraiya to meet him at the Hokage's office. Izana packed his things and said goodbye at his aunt and uncle, as he would probably be on a mission again. When he was a fair distance away, Izana called the shadow panthers agains.

From the nearby shadows, Yoru and a few other panthers appeared.

"You called." Yoru said.

"I want you to guard my aunt and uncle while I'm gone. Yoru, you have to watch over Sasuke. I don't trust the other Uchiha elders enough to leave my family unprotected."

A heavy presence weighed down on the shadow panther as they bore the brunt of Izana's killing intent and fury.

"Understood."

"I'll leave you with enough chakra to last up to a week. By then I should be back. If not you should come and find me to supply you with more chakra."

"Yes, Izana."

The panthers bowed down at Izana's orders.

"Dismissed."

The panthers left as soon as the order was given, their figures melting back into the shadows.

When all the panthers were gone, Izana moved on towards the Hokage's office. There he received the flat jacket all Chunin got once they passed the exam. Inside it were sealing scrolls which could be filled with ninjutsu of with weapons.

"The Hokage is expecting you." The Anbu said after handing over the jacket.

Izana nodded as he put on the jacket and went upstairs towards the Hokage office. Standing in front of the door were the usual Anbu. They nodded their heads and let Izana inside.

There, standing in front of the Hokage was Jiraiya. He had a serious expression on his face as he waited for Izana to join him.

"Ah, Izana, you're here. Good, we can finally start."

The Third said as he placed a scroll on the table and explained the situation.

"We've heard rumours of our own nin colluding with the Ame nin. We don't know who amongst us might be selling out our information. We have discovered there will be a meeting between the two sides in a weeks time. I want you and Jiraiya to stop the meeting from happening and apprehend the traitors. You are allowed to kill them if nothing else is possible."

Jiraiya and Izana nodded, while Izana thought of what he had heard from Yoru before.

'I guess Danzo can't wait to meet with the enemy.'

Izana and Jiraiya took the scroll and gathered the supplies necessary for long travel. They had to pack lightly as they had a long way to go, so most of the food supplies were made up of food pills.

Jiraiya and Izana agreed to meet up at the gate in an hour as they both had some things to deal with. Izana went to visit Naruto and Sasuke as they were both about to finish their school day.

Standing a bit to the side, obscured by the many parents, Izana could see Naruto and Sasuke walking out of the school. They were both keeping their distance from each other, though the others all kept an even greater distance from Naruto.

Izana walked to the two of them, surprising them both as they saw the new jacket Izana was wearing.

"It looks so awesome on you!" Naruto yelled as he couldn't help but touch the jacket Izana was wearing, a envious look on his face. He looked as envious as he had been when Izana received his head protector.

Sasuke too seemed very happy to see Izana as the three of them moved towards the tree with the swing.

"I will be leaving the village in an hour or so, so I don't have a lot of time to talk. Naruto, keep training with Kurama. I will review you on how well you two have gotten along. Sasuke, keep close to Itachi and Shisui. The clan has been cold as of late, so if something happens, contact Itachi or aunt and uncle. Don't trust the others of the clan."

"Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it."

Izana touched both of their foreheads, taking them in a good hug. If something in the mission goes wrong, it would take a while to get back, so he had to make sure both of them knew what to do.

"Then see you."

Izana waved at them as he shunshined away. He didn't even see the strained look in their eyes as they too waved at him.

At the gate Jiraiya was already waiting for Izana. It hadn't even been more than an hour yet, but Jiraiya acted as if he was way too late.

"Really, you seem like that Hatake kid. He's always late as well. You should learn from your sensei to be on time."

Izana just rolled his eyes as they soon left, running at an average speed to spare their chakra and stamina. They had a long way to go and they needed to be prepared for possible ambushes. The information could've been leaked on purpose, so they had to be carefull.

They moved onwards, dashing across the trees in a blur. Izana had activated his Sharingan since the beginning, cautious of any ambushers.

They moved on until it became night. The ate their food pills and went over the mission once more.

"The meeting is supposed to take place around here." Jiraiya pointed at a certain point on the map between Ame and Konoha. "It is supposed to take place in the evening. A few civilians had overheard the conversation, but we can't be sure how accurate the information is."

Izana nodded. It was questionable if it wasn't a trap.

"I will gather information, while you keep a look out. We keep in contact with the shadow panthers. They should be able to communicate through shadows, so keep me updated on whether the enemy has arrived."

"Then we should keep a look out at the places here and here. They are perfect places for an ambush." Izana said as he pointed towards two obscure places on the map.

"Hoh, been there before have you?"

Izana nodded.

"On one of the mission you sent me on. The one with the hidden informant. They had placed similar ambushes on those places."

"I see. The you take care of the scouting."

"Yes, Sensei."

Having come up with a plan of action, Izana and Jiraiya took turns taking a short nap.