Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: Reunion

'хули/What the fuck?'At that moment, Izaku's mind came to a grinding halt. All the thoughts that had flooded him—the fear of being targeted, the reasons behind it, the potential aftermath—vanished the instant he heard the stranger's claim."I don't have a brother," Izaku declared, staring hard at the supposed sibling before him. The man, who had just claimed to be his brother, held Izaku's gaze for a long moment before sighing. The time spent away from his family had undoubtedly led to misunderstandings and disbelief, but none of it was his fault.With a weary sigh, the man responded, "If you don't believe me, then let me lead us to our house. It might be counterproductive to continue our conversation out here." He turned in the direction Izaku had been walking, adding, "Let's go. We can't leave our parents worrying even more about me than they already have."As they walked, Izaku kept his distance, scrutinizing the man leading the way. His wariness didn't diminish as he tried to gauge this new individual, noting his ragged appearance: injured, exhausted, bandaged, and most importantly... determined.What shocked Izaku most was the headband on the man's forehead. The Utsukuro clan forces typically displayed their tattoos on their left shoulders, but they did not wear headbands. This man had the tattoo, yes, but the headband was not part of the clan's uniform. When Izaku looked closer, the truth dawned on him, and he blurted out, "You're an MIA agent of the CSA, aren't you?"The man paused, turning his head slightly towards Izaku. He was silent for a moment as the wind picked up, revealing the headband more clearly on his forehead. "You're one of us, all right. Curiosity about the political side of the clan at your age is unusual. Most kids don't behave like that. You need to tone it down, for your own good."The man suddenly stopped in his tracks, startling Izaku. Looking ahead, Izaku realized they had arrived at their residence. The man walked up to the door, and before knocking, he added, "But then again, we aren't normal kids in this branch of the family, are we?"Izaku was puzzled by the statement. What did he mean by that? Was it about the responsibilities a clan heir faced? Or about the unique education they received?Before he could ask for clarification, the door suddenly swung open, revealing his wide-eyed mother and his frozen father behind her. Both were staring at the man who claimed to be his older brother. The man, in turn, was looking at them with a tired but content smile."Hi again, mother, father..." The words, uttered softly by the man, broke the dam of emotions in his mother. Unable to contain her relief and sorrow, she rushed towards her oldest son, wailing as she clung to him, terrified of losing him again."I'm sorry... so sorry..." The sight of his mother in such a state made Izaku's head spin. He had never seen her like this before. She was always strong, overprotective, and fierce. Watching her now, tears streaming down her face, caused a painful sting in his heart.When he looked at his father, he noticed the Sharingan emerging in his father's guilt ridden eyes.Finally having enough of the unanswered questions, Izaku stepped up beside his father and, watching the reunion between mother and son unfold, asked, "So... care to tell me who he is?"His father, snapping out of his daze, turned his gaze to his youngest son. The sound of Izaku's voice caught him off guard.Takahisa, unsure of what to say, hesitated. He regretted many things in his life, and not telling Izaku about his older brother had been a choice he made to protect him. He thought it best to shield Izaku from the pain of knowing he had a brother who had gone missing in action. But now, with the truth revealed, he realized that decision might soon change."He... he is your older brother, who was missing for... two and a half years," Takahisa finally said.Hearing that, Izaku saw an opportunity to learn more. "Konoha theater of operations?"Once again, Takahisa was startled. He looked at his son in surprise. "How do you know that?"Izaku stared straight into his father's eyes, leaving no room for misunderstanding. "You made me learn how to read, remember?"At this, Takahisa's face softened. He shook his head slightly and said, "Yeah... I should've known you were reading instead of being with the other kids." He glanced at the book in Izaku's hand and added, "Should've known."The embrace between mother and son finally broke, and Izuku stepped forward to hug his father instead. "Not gonna lie, I missed you," said Izuku."Yeah... me too. Glad you returned safe," muttered Takahisa, tightening his grip on his son as a few tears streamed down his face.Feeling the tension in his father's body, Izuku placed his hands on Takahisa's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Hey, it's not your fault, got that? It was my decision, not yours." He released his father and, with a determined smile, led both his parents inside. "It's been so long. God, I missed this place."As they walked into the house, Izaku followed them to the guest room. The room, decorated for his birthday, was indeed filled with guests—though "filled" might have been an exaggeration, as there were only three adults and five children. The adults stared at Izuku in shock, while the children, all around Izaku's age, observed the newcomer with curiosity.As the reunited family settled into the room and began chatting, Izaku decided to join the other kids, opting to observe from the sidelines.Two of the older children, both around six years old, approached him. The first had long black hair and brown eyes, while the second, grumpier-looking boy had short white hair and onyx eyes similar to Izaku's."Hey Iza, do you know who he is?" asked the black-haired boy, Tagami, his curiosity mirrored by the white-haired boy, Kiyoshi.The two children were regular visitors during gatherings, though they weren't from the main family nor particularly influential. Still, Izaku found himself spending more time with them as they were more mature and manageable than the other kids."Seems to be my older brother," Izaku replied, earning curious stares from both boys."'Seems'? you don't know your own brother?" Retorted the white haired kid, namely Kiyoshi.Hearing that, the long black-haired boy, Tagami, frowned and reprimanded his friend. "How many times do I have to remind you to be more considerate of others?"Izaku, sensing the brewing argument, decided to intervene before things got out of hand. "That's alright, Tagami," he said calmly, then looked back at Kiyoshi. "For your question, he was missing before I was born, and no one ever told me about him. So I guess it's justifiable.""But that doesn't explain shit. Your parents must've told you something about him," Kiyoshi insisted, clearly not satisfied with the explanation.Izaku sighed, shaking his head. "Actually, they didn't tell me anything. They probably thought it would be more damaging if I knew."At that, Tagami, who seemed more emotionally aware than most kids his age, suggested, "Wanna go out, fancy tongue?" He knew that staying in this emotionally charged room wasn't going to help anyone."Do what?" asked Izaku, curious but also a bit relieved to shift the conversation."I don't know... playin', or a good ol' chat," Tagami replied with a shrug."Shit, might as well play cards," Kiyoshi said, turning to Tagami. "You still got your father's deck?""You guys sometimes behave like old hags already," Izaku snorted, amused by how the two boys carried themselves. "Playing cards, acting all grown-up... It's kind of fascinating."Kiyoshi shot back with a grin, "No kidding. That's pretty hypocritical coming from you.""Aight, boys, enough with the petty bickering," Tagami interjected, clearly done with the back-and-forth. "Let's get outta here."With that, he grabbed both of them and led the way to the backyard, leaving the tense atmosphere of the house behind as they headed out for some fresh air.Minutes passed as the trio enjoyed their time with cards and jokes, while the atmosphere inside the house shifted from pleasant conversation to a serious discussion.As two of the three individuals left, only the reunited family and one other person remained."Where have you been all this time?" Izuku's mother asked, her voice tinged with urgency. She needed to understand why her son had gone dark without sending any transmissions, either through the clan's sleeper cells or via summoning."The last transmission you sent indicated that you were operating as an envoy, executing orders for the 6th Corps stationed in the Wave Country. After that, we assumed you were... Killed in action," Takahisa added gravely, still grappling with the reasons behind Izuku's radio silence.Izuku sighed, hearing the barrage of questions. "I had to go off-grid. Our comms were compromised, and my operational patterns had been predicted by hostile forces.""What do you mean by 'predicted'? We had sleeper cells coordinating chakra transmission comms along that route, all channels were encrypted and layered with countermeasures," interjected Shige Utsukuro, the father of Tagami Utsukuro and a seasoned operative involved in economic cultivation and setting up communication relays across Fire theater of operation.Shige had been instrumental in ensuring secure communications for clan operatives while in active duty."Let me finish, please," Izuku said. "As I mentioned, the enemy had accurate intel on my movements and deployed chakra jammers in the AO (Area of Operations) where my team and I were ambushed. One of my teammates was incapacitated, so I stayed back to provide cover. However, the Uchiha on my team decided to prioritize mission completion, leaving me to engage the enemy forces alone."He paused for a moment, noticing the tense expressions of the adults around him, before continuing, "I decided to hide my teammate while I conducted a rear-guard action against the enemy. During the engagement, I noticed irregularities in their tactics. The Kiri team exhibited no jutsu deployment—no Mist Jutsu, no Water Jutsu, even their Sign language wasn't registered as originating from Kiri, nothing. What was even more concerning was their focus on neutralizing me, not securing the missive. This was a deliberate attempt to remove me from the board. Additionally, my chakra transmitter was jammed, only producing static.""That's impossible! Our chakra transmitters were specially crafted by the Uzumaki; no one could have known you were using one. Even in the entire Elemental Nations, chakra communication is reserved exclusively for ANBU task forces, and their coverage is limited to just ten meters," Shige retorted. Chakra transmitters, akin to advanced radio technology, operate using finely tuned waves of Fire and Earth chakra, specifically engineered for covert operations in the Fire Nation's theaters of operation. They transmit encrypted communications, functioning more like a highly secure telegraph system rather than direct voice communication. The technology, heavily reliant on fuinjutsu, coupled with chakra emitters replicating a sensor-nin's abilities, could extend coverage up to fifty kilometers, making them a strategic asset."But somehow, they did know. They also intercepted summoning envoys, enabling them to track me with near-perfect accuracy. I was forced to abandon all communication to avoid further compromise," Izuku replied.The group fell silent, digesting the information. This situation was unprecedented for the agency, which had always avoided risky operations, especially those that could raise suspicions.Well, except for "that" operation, but it had been swiftly covered up.Takahisa, having processed the information, thought deeply about the situation. They had never had an operative specifically targeted. They always took extreme precautions—measures that his father had deemed necessary, though extreme, before implementing them.So, he raised his head to ask more questions. "Were they trying to capture you?"Izuku looked at him, trying to find a way to soften the blow for his mother, but he realized that anything he said would likely have the same effect as being direct. "No, their ROE (Rules of Engagement) were clear: eliminate on sight. They were not interested in intel; they were focused solely on erasure."This revelation was shocking, especially for Takahisa. When a spy is caught red-handed, the standard procedure is to capture them, as they might possess crucial information about other spies and the intelligence network behind them.However, an execution order was unexpected. The only similar case had occurred during the Iwa theater of operations, and even then, it wasn't due to exposure while gathering intel. Instead, it involved the capture of a Konoha squad on patrol, which happened to include an Utsukuro operative.But this? Targeted communications, intercepted summoning missives, and an assassination attempt? The entire scenario was unsettling, a potential breach of the highest order.Suddenly, Takahisa's eyes widened as a single, chilling thought stopped his mind in its tracks.'No... That's not possible. But... maybe...'"We have a mole," Takahisa declared.