Strongest Shinobi

Feeling like he had slept for a very long time, Izana groggily woke up to an unkown ceiling. Blinking slowly, Izana looked around the room, the sound of dripping sounding next to him. Attracted to that sound, Izana noticed the IV-drip hanging beside his bed as the tube was fastened at the back of his hand.

Becoming startled at first, Izana's first impulse was to pull out the needle, as bad memories recurred. When he wanted to do just that, his hand was grabbed before he could even touch it.

"Calm down, Izana."

Recognising the voice, Izana looked his uncle in the eye as he realised where he was. Memories from before came back.

'Ah, I remember. Jiraiya dropped us of at the hospital.'

Thinking that far, Izana lowered his hand as Fugaku sat down beside his bed.

"You've been out for two days. Chakra depletion."

Fugaku said as he filled Izana in on what happened.

"Ah, yes. There were a lot of enemies after all. I had been traveling for a long time after all. Counting my mission with Jiraiya and ambushes during that time as well, then it is no surprise."

Izana said as he nodded to himself.

"You should know better. Learn from this."

Fugaku said as he stood up and walked towards the door.

"You've worried us after all."

Opening the door, Minot, Sasuke and even little Naruto were rushing in as the two small children climbed onto the bed and began to tugg at Izana.

Meanwhile, Mikoto began to cut and peel an apple as Izana was pacifying the two children who had started to cry.

"I was so scared, Izana! You, dad and nii-san were nowhere to be found. When we finally came out, you and dad were in the hospital."

Sasuke said as he hiccuped every now and then.

"No kidding! You've been out for a long time, ya know!"

Naruto said as he took a piece of the sliced apple and pushed it in Izana's mouth. Mikoto smiled at the action and handed out a piece to Naruto and Sasuke as well.

"Nom, Nom, Sorry to have worried you."

Izana said as he munched slowly at the apple. He had been hungry so he was glad with the crispy sweet fruit.

Patting the two boys on the head, they both smiled impishly as they quickly left the room, seeing that Izana was fine. From the hallway, Izana could hear Sasuke talking to Naruto as he apparently showed him his toy kunai, or that was what Izana could get from what he heard.

Closing the door behind the two children, Mikoto sat down beside the bed again as they both became a bit more grave.

"How many died?"

Izana asked in a soft tone. Even if he did his best to limit the cassualties, there would still be many losses.

"More than half of the clan. It is no surprise they were from the opposite faction. It saddens me to see so many of our own have perished. Not even the children were spared."

Fugaku said as his hands trembled a bit. He was glad he built the shelter for his family. The thought of losing them, he couldn't even think about it.

Mikoto smiled sadly as she grasped Fugaku's trembling hands and carressed them.

"Thankfully not everyone was lost. A quarter had remained uninjured, while a fifth was injured. Most of the opposite faction have died, with only the few elders surviving, though with serious injuries I might add."

Mikoto said.

Izana nodded as he too had thought that to be the case.

"My summons have secured our fallen. As well as the Sharingan the enemy was harvesting from our deceased."

Calling his summons with the little chakra he had regained, Yoru and a middle sized toad appeared, carrying bags filled with scrolls.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Izana said to his summons. They both nodded as they handed to scrolls to the Uchiha couple and returned back to their homes.

When the smoke cleared, Fugaku could be seen with a slight smile on his face, yet sadness was still present.

"I'm glad we can bury our deceased, instead of consider them lost."

Fugaku said as he tucked the scrolls away.

"The eyes will be handed to their family. Though I asume they will burn them to prevent them from being stolen en used by others."

Fugaku added as he ruffled Izana's hair, a genuine smile on his face.

"I'm glad you are okay, Izana. You did great."

Smiling at the praise, Izana nodded. Mikoto smiled gently on the side as she led her husband outside of the ward. There they took little Sasuke and his new friend, Naruto, to one of the places they were staying at. It would take a while before they could return to the manor.

***

The smile quickly disappeared from Izana's face as he looked towards the door.

"You can come in now. They have left."

Coming inside soundlessly, Shisui and Jiraiya sat down beside Izana's bed.

"What did the third say about this?"

Izana asked, as he had a clue why Itachi had acted like that.

"Itachi has been ordered by the third to infiltrate the enemy camps as their ally. He will be given the blame for this incident to strengthen his motives and actions."

Shisui said after making sure no one was listening. Jiraiya also kept a close eye on his surroundings.

"The kid has taken a heavy burden on himself. Let's hope he will do fine. We must make sure his cover remains strong. No word can be spoken of this to anyone else."

Jiraiya said, cautioning the duo.

Both nodded, Izana feeling a bit more burdened.

"Does uncle know of this?"

Izana asked in a small voice. How would Fugaku rely if he knew why Itachi was gone?

"He has been made aware, but not of the specifics. He has complied as well, knowing this was the only way. Even he knew the Uchiha were going downwards ever since the Kyuubi's attack. Sacrifices had to be made."

Ah, then that explained why he had such a sad smile, Izana thought.

"I understand."

Izana said as he lay back deeper into his cushion.

"You get some rest, Izana. You've earned it after everything you've been through."

Shisui said as he tapped Izana's forehead. Smiling at the action, Izana nodded as he relaxed a bit.

Both Shisui and Jiraiya left the room and gave Izana some space to process everything that had happened.