Argh…

Izuna slowly opens his eyes as he wakes up. His vision blurs for a while as he opens his eyes. He feels something heavy pressing on his chest. ​​

He notices various chibi Katsuyu healing his body. He gently removes them one by one.

Slither… Slither…

The chibi Katsuyu slithers around and one of them raises her head and asks him.

"You are finally awake... Izuna-kun… how are you feeling now?"

Izuna checks his body and notices the scorch marks on his hands. The scorch marks are healing slowly, even with his regeneration.

"I am feeling fine… only these scorch marks are a little itchy. Nothing major."

Chibi Katsuyu nods her head and shakes her optical tentacles to send a signal to the Giant Katsuyu.

A moment later… the giant Katsuyu enters inside the cave. She frantically looks at Izuna and her tentacles shakes in frenzy.

"How are you feeling now? I treated your injuries with the help of Katsuyu... but those scorch marks will take a while to heal completely. Even the Senjutsu enhanced Mystic Palm Technique isn't much effective on them.

Tsunade walks inside the cave and angrily stares at Izuna.

"What kind of new forbidden jutsu were you trying to perform?... Katsuyu told me about it… you almost lost your life in that attempt. You… you bastard…"

Tsunade grabs his collar and shakes him.

Izuna helplessly turns towards Katsuyu for rescue. Katsuyu turns away her head and ignores Izuna's plea for help.

Sigh…

Izuna sighs and tries to convince Tsunade.

"Tsunade… I just thought of a new technique which would improve my fighting prowess by a lot… and I was trying to test it. I never expected it to go out of control despite my precise control."

Tsunade hugs him tightly as tears flow from her eyes.

"Why… why are you so reckless? I have already lost my friend and family and I don't want to lose you too."

Sigh…

Izuna sighs and calmly holds her shoulders and explains.

"Tsunade… do you remember the Danzo incident during the Uchiha clan Massacre."

Tsunade nods her head.

"Yes… I heard about it. I never expected Danzo to grow stronger to such an extent… and he even transplanted Uchiha member's eyes and Grandpa's cells… that bastard."

She clenches her fist in anger.

"Yes Tsunade… but do you remember… how strong was Danzo… he erected a above Kage level barrier on his own… and almost brought the entire village on his heels."

Tsunade nods her head.

"Yes… he was very powerful… I was able to sense his chakra while in Sage Mode… and it was almost at the level of a tailed beast… but how?"

Tsunade looks at Izuna in confusion.

"Yes… Tsunade… I investigated into it… and I found the involvement of a very powerful foe… our enemy is almost as strong as the 'Sage of Six Paths' from legend and I can attest to it…"

Izuna explains to her with a serious expression. Tsunade's expression turns ugly as she learns about the truth.

"But… why… why are you bearing this burden all on your own? You have your family and friend to depend on." Tsunade assures him.

"…"

Izuna silently stares at her.

"What… why are you staring at me like that?" Tsunade tilts her head in confusion.

"Remember… when I met you… I said the same words to you." Izuna looks at her with a deadpan expression.

"Did you… but I can't remember them?"

Izuna shakes his head.

"This is the part of the reason… I pushed you to train in Senjutsu. Also… I need to do my part too."

Izuna assures her.

Sigh…

Tsunade sighs and checks Izuna's body.

"Thankfully… Katsuyu summoned me… or else you would be spending a week in coma."

"What?..." Izuna yells in surprise and turns to Katsuyu.

"Lady Katsuyu… how much time I spent in coma?"

"Izuna-kun… today was your second day in coma. I spent an entire day to heal you… but it wasn't enough… So… I reverse summoned Tsunade-sama and informed her. She treated you… and you regained your consciousness."

Katsuyu explains to him.

"Oh shit! I have to return to Kirigakure." Izuna immediately stands up from the bed.

He quickly wears his clothes and dashes out of the cave.

"I have to go now… Tsunade and Lady Katsuyu. I will catch up to you on a later date."

Swoosh…

He immediately teleports out of the Shikkotsu Forest.

Katsuyu shakes her head and remarks.

"He is always in such a hurry."

"Yes… he is such a fool."

Tsunade chuckles.

"But I think he will able to change the world and lead it to peace."

Tsunade closes her eyes as a smiling Dan and Nawaki appears in her thoughts.

"Yes… I believe in your words… Tsunade-sama." Katsuyu shakes her optical tentacles in affirmation.

----------Flashback Ends----------------

"Hurry up… we have an important mission to complete." An angry voice fells in Izuna's ears… breaking him out of his thoughts.

Izuna jumps down from the tree�� right in front of Mei.

"Well… Hello Lady Mei… what's the mission this time?" He smiles at her.

Tick…

Mei has a tick on her forehead as she clenches her fingers into a fist.

"Don't call me that… I hate it when you call me that."

"Ok… Lady Mei…" Izuna teases her.

"Why you…" Mei yells at Izuna and tries to punch him.

Izuna dodges her punch and continues to tease her.

Cough… cough…

Harusame enters in the backyard together with Utakata. Zengetsu is also leaning against the tree. He coughs slightly to gather their attention.

"Ok… ok calm down… now tell me more about the mission." Izuna tries to calm her down.

Ahem…

Mei clears her throat as she narrates the details.

"This is a top secret mission assigned to our team. Our Anbu members have found traces of Six Tails in the Mist Lake. So… our mission is to recapture the six-tails and prevent any interruption in its sealing."

Izuna and the group nod their head.

"We will accompany the sealing team of Elder Genji... who will look over the entire process of Tailed-beast sealing. So… we have to ensure his safety."

"Yes… Lady Mei…" All of them nod to her.

Tick…

Mei has another tick on her forehead as she notices the teasing smile of Izuna.

'Damn… I just can't stand this guy.'

Mei clenches her fist as memories of the past month flashes through her mind.

'He is a strong shinobi with powerful capabilities... and he had saved the entire team whenever we were caught in a pinch. But… but that goofy personality of his… where he takes every mission lightly is getting on my nerves. Also… also… his teasing bothers me for some reason. I… I don't like to get called Lady Mei by him."

Mei blushes as a little as she stares at Izuna's teasing smile.

"No… I have to look after father…'

Mei shakes her head and discards unnecessary thoughts.

"I can't marry anyone until I fulfil my promise to father. I will erase the infamy of Kiri as 'The Bloody Mist'."

Mei calms herself and lays a map in front of them. There is a red circle marked on the area. She points to the map and explains.

"This is the area. We will meet up with the sealing team there. We have to overpower Six-tails before sealing it. So… prepare yourself well and meet inside the clan mansion during midnight."

"Yes… Lady Mei." All of them nod their head.

Swoosh… Swoosh…

They flicker out of the backyard and moves out of the clan mansion. Mei enters inside the mansion.

Hmm…

Izuna turns around and notices one of the maids of the mansion hiding inside the earth.

'Oh! Hiding like a mole jutsu. You might be able to fool others… but you can't fool me.'

Swoosh… Swoosh…

He flickers near her location and taps on ground. Ice encases around her.

"Ice Release: Ice Prison"

Eek…

The maid yells in surprise as she notices Izuna. She immediately pulls out a kunai from her stockings and tries to stab him.

Whoosh…

Izuna pinches the kunai between his fingers, and it starts to freeze.

"It was a nice attempt. But… you are not my opponent."

'Genjutsu: Sharingan'

Izuna casts a genjutsu on her. He invades her mind and reads her memories.

Hmm…

'So… this maid is one of the spy of the Noble clans. She was the one who leaked the information regarding Mei to them. Akifumi… so this is the name of her master. If I remember correctly… he was the same person who sent the assassin after me. Hmm… I need to check up on him.'

Izuna erases the memories of her encounter with him and disappears from the place.

'I will allow her to inform her master. I want to see… how many cards does he have in his hands?'

Izuna stares at the back of the maid who is secretly leaving the boundaries of the Terumi Mansion.

Her body turns invisible as she hides her smell, her chakra signature and even sound.

"It's an interesting technique. She is using Water Release and Earth Release in a quite unique manner. Though… any person with a Dojutsu would be able to see her."

Izuna analyses her technique with his Sharingan.