Showdown at Takigakure(2).

Neji was attentively waiting for a response from the scroll when information started to swell in his mind as the clone dispelled itself.

"A special gift, takigakure's treasure huh.... " muttered Neji under his breath. He absolutely didn't have any intel on such a treasure even from the anime. Just as he was speculating the nature of the treasure, words began to materialize in the communication scroll.

"Neji, you brat teleport here this moment or i will freeze your bank account" read the message.

Neji just laughed, he had just found a way to get information about the treasure that was worth killing 30 people. He closed the scroll and erased all his traces, after making sure all was right, he performed the hiraishin no jutsu vanishing from there.

************************************************

Hokage office.

Hiruzen had finished writing the threat in the scroll while having a smug look on his face, if others knew about his action the reputation "The professor" he painstakingly earned over the years would be thrown out the window.

Neji's figure instantly materialized on the first hokage stone face. Neji only got down to the hokage office after he had taken in the breath taking view that he would never get bored of it.

Hiruzen waited patiently as he sensed Neji's arrival.

The hokage office door opened and Neji walked in. Sandaime waved his hands and multiple shadows left the room leaving the two to have a off the record conversation.

"Hope you are healthy, Sandaime sama" greeted Neji with a little bow.

Seeing Neji's courtesy and comparing it with his actions Hiruzen could only laugh."Stop your little acting you little leech, i had to pay 1 million ryo from my pension funds did you know?" Sandaime said with a little tear drop.

Neji couldn't help laughing but he suppressed it with all his will power. He then spoke with a innocent face." What are you talking about Sandaime sama, i heard you are quite loaded?"

Hearing this Hokage nearly choked. Both of them looked at each other for sometime before bursting out into a laugh.

As they stopped laughing Hiruzen became serious and said " I know about the yondaime and came to know about the true terror of the Akatsuki. If i had known what had truly transpired the night of the kyuubi attack, i could have stopped the uchiha extermination. Due to my foolishness there are two brothers out there suffering, one wishes to kill, while the other wants to protect. The only hope for me is that my village has young saplings that are more enlightened and patriotic than me. Thank you Neji for your effort to protect Konoha."

Neji was expecting a long lecture on the unethical things he did, but now he was totally surprised.

Neji knew that he should be humble even if he becomes the powerful, so he said." Sandaime thank you for your praise but anyone in konoha would have done the same. As for the Akatsuki i will take care of it, no need to involve others. I believe that a big fight will soon reach us so you have to train Naruto, i think he is qualified to train in senjutsu. The matter regarding Sasuke will work out on its own so don't worry about it."

"There are other things that i wish to discuss, i gathered information from the hidden grass ninja's, the reason for the great massacre of people from takigakure has to do with something about great treasure of their village. They seemed to have escorted the treasure to the hidden village of grass as a present for their daimyo. Do you have any idea as to what the treasure is?" asked Neji.

"The great treasure!" exclaimed sandaime, his countenance was showing all kind of expressions like surprise, anger, frustration.

"Is it so valuable?" asked Neji.

Hearing Neji's question sandaime gave a small smile " Well the 'know it all' doesn't know about this?" mocked Sandaime.

"That's why i asked" Neji simply replied, he kept his tone flat as he didn't want to give the sense of satisfaction to the old geezer.

Seeing no reaction sandaime was a little disappointed but none the less he told Neji all the information he knew about that particular artifact.

"It is a very old artifact, takigakure is not its original owner it just ended up in their hands within the last hundred years. It looks like a wooden carving of a rabbit, the only known power of the artifact is that it could attract the bijuu if it is within its short range. Hashirama sama tried to buy of that artifact but the leader of takigakure refused and even insulted him. Despite Shodaime sama's order to not take action against them nidaime sama went and captured the leader, he was dragged to konoha and publicly humiliated. Nidaime sama was adamant on executing him but shodaime sama intervened and made his brother release him, but nidaime sama got a large ransom in return.

The leader was so ashamed that he committed suicide, then takigakure sent a assassin after hashirama sama but he too failed. Crushed by the power of konoha they have yet to make a move till date. But the current leader of the village Shibuki is a nice man and the tension is somewhat relieved thanks to Naruto and his team mates" finished Sandaime. He was somewhat disappointed as the well hidden artifact finally saw its day and then it got stolen. Deep down Hiruzen wanted to acquire the artifact for the first hokage, he too bore a grudge against the hidden village of waterfall.

Neji thought the relation between the villages were tense but he didn't know it stemmed from the ownership of an artifact. Finally Neji figured out how a small country like takigakure managed to have its own tailed beast. As Neji was wondering about the artifact, a question popped in his mind "If they knew its value why would they sell it to the daimyo of another country?" Neji definitely knew that something was fishy here, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

**********************************************

An Undisclosed location

A tall figured man wearing a dark cloak with a large blade on his back was standing before a treasure chest. His face was covered but the excitement in him could be seen by his shaking hands.

"Finally" he said to himself.

He breaks the lock, opens it greedily and takes out a cloth covered bundle.

"This is a fake?" he mumbled as he couldn't feel anything for it, his hand slowly tightens his grip on the bundle and crushes it completely. He knew the treasure very well as he had seen it up close.

He turned to leave saying to himself "Well i have to visit my old home i guess"