"Tsunade-san, I will be leaving the village for a while. I have been assigned a top-secret mission by Hokage-sama. So, I won't be present in the village for a while."

Izuna tells half-truth and half-lie to her. ​​

'It would be too much of a hassle to explain to her. I hope she understands.'

Tsunade sobers up and looks at Izuna with a pensive gaze.

"Are you serious, kid? You are going on a long-term mission, that too out of the village…." Tsunade scrunches her brow.

"… Then what about me? I wanted to wander the world in search of new medicinal knowledge, and now you are leaving before me. Who will take care of Naruto during this time?" Tsunade questions him.

"Tsunade-san! It won't take me too long. I will move out of the village only for one or two years. After which I will return. You can manage Naruto during this time."

Tsunade ponders for a while before she nods.

"Very well, then you should hurry and complete whatever you are trying to do? I will only wait for two years."

"Thank you, Tsunade-san."

Izuna returns to his house. During dinner time, he informs Akira and Aiko.

"Mom, Dad! I will be away from home for a year or two. I have an urgent long-term mission to complete."

"Son! Why don't you reject this mission? I don't want to separate from you for this long."

Aiko hugs Izuna.

"Last time! You went for almost two months. I don't want to spend another year or two in your absence."

Aiko hugs him tightly and sighs in melancholy.

"Mom! I can return whenever I want. I have mastered the Fourth Hokage's Jutsu. I can just teleport back when my mission is completed. It is just a year or two. They will pass soon."

"What? You will stay away on a mission for two years. That's too long, I won't accept it. Just refuse to Hokage-sama. I won't hear any of your thoughts on this matter." Aiko speaks stubbornly.

"But mom!..."

"No, buts…"

"Aiko, it must be an important mission if it is issued directly by Hokage-sama. Our Izuna is strong enough to overcome any kind of difficulty. It is just a matter of two years. He even fought in the Third Ninja War and earned a name for himself." Akira tries to reason with Aiko.

"Fine! But you must visit us regularly. If you promise me this, then I will allow it." Aiko folds her hands and looks at Izuna.

"Ok! I promise. I will visit you regularly. Besides, I also want a cute little sister or brother during this time." Izuna jokes.

"You brat! It seems like you have learned a lot of things."

Aiko pulls Izuna's ears.

Aww… aww…

Izuna whines in pain. After a minute, Aiko releases him, and he returns to his room to prepare for his departure.

"Aiko!... About what Izuna said. He is quite lonely by himself, why don't we…"

Aww… aww…

Aiko stomps on Akira's leg.

"Try to give birth once and you will understand my pain."

"So,... is it a no?" Akira depressingly looks at Aiko.

"We… we can consider it. Don't get me wrong, it is for Izuna's sake…" Aiko blushes in embarrassment.

Akira gulps his saliva, and a wide grin appears on his face. Aiko had no hope to become a mother again. But Tsunade Senju, one of the legendary Sannin and the greatest Medical Ninja found a cure for her.

Tsunade researched this matter after Izuna's request and after four years of research, Tsunade figured out the method of Surrogacy.

It stunned Izuna when he heard that Tsunade figured out a way to use 'In-Vitro Fertilization' and deliver birth through assisted Gestational Surrogate.

'She is a one of kind medical genius. I wonder what wonders she could have created in my previous world.'

These were Izuna's thoughts when Tsunade explained the feasible solution for Aiko's condition.

'Unfortunately, her womb is permanently damaged and I don't have a solution for it.'

-------------

Later at night,

Izuna walks out of his house. He wants to pay a last visit to Anbu Headquarters and meet with his team and say goodbye.

He exits the village and enters the forest. The Anbu headquarters are located on the outskirts of Village. Izuna enters the headquarters, and many Anbus identifies him and greets him.

After walking for a while, he enters the room assigned to Team Ro and meets with his team.

"Hello there! How are all of you doing?" Izuna waves his hand at them.

"Captain! Where is your Anbu outfit?" Yugao questions him.

She recently joined the Anbu on the recommendation of Hokage for her special ability. Yugao can seal living as well as non-living things inside a scroll. She is also a Sensor-type ninja.

So, at the age of eleven, she joined Anbu.

"You have quite sharp eyes, Yugao. Yes, I am not in my Anbu outfit because I have resigned from Anbu. I am a normal Jounin now. Kakashi Hatake will be your new Captain." Izuna informs them.

"What?... you are leaving the Anbu Captain... and... I... I am promoted to Captain." Kakashi asks in surprise.

"Kakashi! You are a capable Anbu with many S-rank missions and important tasks completion. With these many achievements under your belt, it won't be long before you officially become a Captain. My resignation just hastened the progress." Izuna explains to them.

"But still…" Kakashi murmurs.

"Congratulations! Vice-Captain. No, you are Captain now."

The Team members congratulate Kakashi.

"Thank you! I guess."

Kakashi accepts their congratulations.

"Captain! What are your plans for the future? Will you babysit new genins or will casually take some missions?" One of the team member questions.

"No, I don't have any plan for babysitting anyone. Hokage-sama has assigned a special mission to me, and I will depart for it. It is a long-term mission, so don't expect to see me soon." Izuna chats with them.

"Now let us celebrate Kakashi's promotion." Izuna cheers them.

All of us celebrate Kakashi's promotion and cheers him up.

"You will be a fine Captain, Kakashi!" I silently whisper to him and get out of the Anbu headquarters.

'It's time to move out of the village and explore this vast Shinobi world.'

Izuna walks out of the Anbu Headquarters and enters the forest.

'I would like to wish farewell to everyone but seems like I have to tie some loose ends.'

Izuna notices the presence of many shinobis hidden inside the forest.

'Sharingan'

He activates his Sharingan and inspects his assailants.

'Hmm. Root members. Danzo I almost forgot about you and here you are! You came knocking on my doorsteps. Looks like you are fed up with your life and want to have a meeting with the King of Hell.'

"What's the meaning of this? Why are so many Root members hot on my trail? I don't think I have done anything to garner this much attention from Root. I am not even a part of Anbu anymore, so what's the meaning of this?" Izuna questions them.

He is really curious to know their reasoning.

The Root members take out their shurikens and throw them towards Izuna.

"So, you have no intention of speaking. Fine with me, I will figure out everything from your cold corpses. Now, let's dance."

Izuna takes out his tanto and skillfully deflects all the incoming Shurikens.

He summons a shuriken from his bracers and makes some hand signs,

'Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu'

The shuriken replicates into many copies and shoots towards the Root members.

The Root members take out their blades and skillfully deflects all the shurikens.

'Oh! All of them are quite skillful and there are about fifty elite Root members. Well, their numbers don't matter to me. Be it fifty or hundred, all of them are the same cold corpse in my eyes.'

Izuna stretches his hand and infuses Chakra in his hand. The Chakra shapes into a longbow with a taut string. Izuna plucks the string to full tension.

'Light Style: Rapid Fire Stream'

Twang…

He releases the tension from the bowstring.

Swish… swish…

Various homing arrows projectiles chases down the Root members.

"It is a wide-range jutsu. Defense unit erects a barrier. Sensor unit lock on his Chakra. Sealing unit gets ready to seal his movements."

One of the Root member orders other members. Many Root shinobis walk in front and make some hand signs.

"Co-operation Ninjutsu: Rashomon Barrier"

They erect a multi-layered barrier to block the arrows. All the Root members take cover behind the barrier.

'Water Style: High-Pressure Jet'

Izuna fires a high-pressure jet of water to cut through the barrier.

"Defense unit! Change the type of barrier to match his jutsu."

The barrier unit immediately makes hand signs and erects an additional barrier in seconds.

"You guys are quite prepared. Have you studied all of my details and formulated a plan to counter me? If that's the case, let me see the extent of your preparation. It has been a while since I used Taijutsu in a fight."

Izuna cracks his neck and stretches his muscles.