321 Trusted his back

Hiashi frowned a little as he heard that and looked at his father and asked "Were you expecting someone elder?" to which the old man shook his head and looked at the attendant and asked, "Who is the visitor and whom does he intend to meet?"

"Elder, the visitor is Sasuke Uchiha and he wishes to meet Neji. Usually, I would have let him pass like the other friends that come to visit Neji or call him for training but since Sasuke is an Uchiha, I thought I should notify you first." the attendant said. He knew that the Uchiha clan and the Hyuga were at odds due to both of them being proud of their dojutsu's powers.

"You did right...I wonder what that Uchiha kid wants with our Neji." Hiashi said and was thinking when the elder said "Hiashi I think we should let the kid meet Neji. I have done my research on the 2 Uchiha kids and Yami doesn't seem like an easy person. He is known to be extremely unpredictable and resourceful. On the other hand, Sasuke is much simpler and has never done anything out of expectation. Now that he has returned, he will prove to be a good opponent if he intends to fight Neji."

"You think he is here to challenge Neji? Does he view Neji as an equal?" Hiashi asked to which the elder waved his hand and said "Doesn't matter if he is here to fight or not. They must not develop the hatred that our clan had for the Uchihas. The time is too fragile now and an entire clan no matter how strong can disappear in the blink of an eye."

Hiashi understood that his father was referencing the night of the Uchiha massacre. Hiashi himself had a small chat with Yami after the Orochimaru invasion and Hiashi understood that this kid is not one who can be manipulated or led by a finger.

Hiashi looked at the attendant and said "Let the kid go and meet Neji. And make sure that no one should even try to spy on what they are talking about. If caught, we could lead the whole matter in the opposite direction."

The elder nodded and said "Yes...I am sure that Neji himself will tell us if we ask him. He has truly changed for the better in the past few years."

The attendant simply bowed a little and closed the door. He came back to the main door and saw Sasuke still standing there "Please follow me...I will guide you to the training hall where Neji is."

Sasuke felt a little odd that the attendant addressed Neji by his first name but he remembered that Neji was from the branch clan and not the main clan like Hinata.

The attendant led Sasuke through the clan and many people were stealing glances at him. Not for him being handsome but because the Uchiha logo was imprinted on Sasuke's kimono at the back.

As they reached the courtyard, the attendant stopped at the front door of a big gate and said "Neji is inside training. He stays and trains here when he is not doing missions."

Sasuke nodded and entered the gate alone. He saw many markings on the ground and on the trees nearby which symbolized that someone had been sparring there. Sasuke could immediately recognize the difference in the techniques of the Uchiha clan and the Hyuga clan. The Uchiha's focus was more on destruction while the Hyuga's techniques were much more peaceful and controlled. They only targeted the vital organ so that the opponent can be taken down with the least effort.

"Sasuke, I did not expect you to come to meet me here..." Neji's voice came as a door near the courtyard hall opened. As Neji came out the first thing he did was to activate his byakugan while Sasuke immediately shut his eyes. The next second Sasuke opened his eyes and Neji deactivated his Byakugan and at the same time both said "No one is spying"

"Wait here." Neji said as he turned back and went inside the house. He returned within 30 seconds with something wrapped around a black cloth.

"Here it is" Neji said as he held the thing in his hand in front of him toward Sasuke. Sasuke walked closer and took it from Neji and said "Thank you...I know it was right to trust you with this."

"Can I ask you, why me? You could have gone to anyone with it even Lady Tsunade." Neji asked.

"One thing that Yami always told me is that never turn your back on someone you don't trust but whenever your team was fighting, he would trust his back to you and Lee. How could I ever trust his sword to anyone other than you?" Sasuke said with a stoic expression.

"The old man was shocked to see the condition the sword was in. Even though it appeared that the sheath was the only thing that was damaged, he said that the integrity of the sword had reduced and would have collapsed if Yami had continued to use it. Using my Byakugan sight, and a few things that he learned, he was able to fix the sword and make it even stronger than before." Neji said.

Sasuke slid the cloth on the sword a little to the side to reveal its iconic purple sheath. A smile appeared on Sasuke's face as he said "I am sure that whenever Yami returns, he will be happy to see it."

"I heard about yours and Naruto's fight with an Anbu spy...I have already told Guy sensei to arrange a fight with you when you come back." Neji said to which Sasuke nodded and said "Then I am sure that he is hounding Kakashi sensei right now to arrange it. After all, my short-term goal now is to defeat you and then Yami."

"So is mine. I will see you in battle now Sasuke Uchiha." Neji said as he went back and closed the door. Sasuke also turned around and left the courtyard. He remembered the route the attendant brought him, so he didn't need an escort while going back.

2 years ago when Sasuke decided to leave with Kakashi for training, he approached the old man's workshop to get Yami's sword checked and get a new sheath for it. But his son and grandson both refused, saying that it would be an insult to the old man if they tried to do anything to the sword and that he would have to wait till the old man comes from the land of Iron where he went to meet an old friend.

In the end, the old man didn't come even when it was the day of Sasuke's and Kakashi's departure. So Sasuke approached Neji who was training Karin at the time in their training ground and trusted Yami's sword to his old squad mate. Neji looked at the condition the sword was in and agreed to take it to the old man for repair and so he did.

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Hokage Building Terrace

Tsunade was standing with Itachi who was disguised as a normal Anbu wearing a dog mask.

"Are you sure you want to tell them tonight itself ?" Tsunade asked to which Itachi said "Yes...I wanted to tell Kakashi long back when he was going away with Sasuke but couldn't. As for Jiraiya, I think he needs to know because he may have to protect Naruto from Danzo's schemes one day. The kid may be strong but Danzo's underhanded techniques are not to be underestimated.

Tsunade grit her teeth and said "I have cut the funding provided to the Root by nearly 70% but this is the most I could do without letting others know what is actually happening. Luckily not many elders see Danzo in a favorable light. With the threat of the Akatsuki looming over our heads, I can't cause any more problems for now so watch your step. What about your brothers? "

Itachi looked at Tsunade through the mask and said "No matter what I say, I can't justify killing our parents to them...especially mother to whom they both were attached to. I prefer to live and die without them ever finding out about it...maybe that's for the best."

Tsunade wanted to say some words to make him feel better but she knew that those words didn't exist. What could she say? Just as she was thinking a screech of a bat was heard. Tsunade and Itachi both looked up as they saw a red-eyed menacing-looking bat fly toward them. The bat landed on one of the cement structures which was on the Hokage terrace. Even the grip of the bat was enough to make some cement crumble and fall on the floor.

The bat then opened his mouth and a scroll popped out of it falling toward Tsunade. The bat didn't even wait for Tsunade to catch the scroll as it turned around and flew away into the clouds.

"Looks like Yami finished his training and is planning to come back." Tsunade said as she proceeded to open the scroll. The smile on her face instantly vanished.

(Whats written in the letter? and why is tsunade not happy to read it? Ans to all your questions are posted in my P@treon)

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Link in the synopsis as well.