A Deadly Exchange

With the target captured and taken care of Grey returned to the gates of Konohagakure, his part was done. Now it was up to the shinobi of the Leaf to hold up their end of the bargain. As the young swordsman arrived at his location he would wait for one of the guards to show up before explaining what happened. "The traitor is no more". The message was kept vague and mysterious, one could never be too certain the walls had ears. For now the Hyuuga would wait for either a reply, or for someone to show up and reward him for his trouble. After all, such was the law of equivalent exchange.

(WC: 113)

The Nara gate guard watched as the Hyuuga approached, his message was cryptic, but she understood what it meant. Nodding to express she understood. She was impressed by this one, he managed to tend to the traitor rather swiftly. Mentally she linked herself with the sensory core who then patched her to the Hokage. Informing him of the news she was free to return to her duties.

Instantly emerged the Demon and his bodyguard Yachiru near the seal he placed at the gates. The Terrible One, Aokidanza glanced about, the Sensory team notified him of Grey at which he dismissed them telepathically. He would approach the Hyuuga, his Sharingan active and hugged by black scleras. Yachiru close behind with a rather gentle smile painted.

“Ah yes, you are Grey. An associate of Auron, wasn’t it? You have some talent…Yachiru.”

Cuing her, Yachiru stepped forward with an envelope, it was bulky from the looks. She stopped a few feet before the man. Her hand would extend towards Grey, not with the envelope, her free hand. She smiles so gently, and yet it was eerie.

“Grey, was it? Mind handing over that corpse?”

She would wait for him to do as she requested and in exchange she would hand over the envelope containing 30,000 ryo for the bounty. Once that was done she would return to her lord’s side. Aokidanza would give the Hyuuga another look over before asking…

“Is that all?”

His question carried a tinge of ominous intent, as if alluding to something more. He slowly began to fork a soft smirk. He was interested in figuring out this one.

It was only a matter of time, mere seconds even, before the higher ups made their appearance. "Lord Hokage, Ma'am" the Hyuuga offered his greetings and paid his respects. He would then lower himself to a crouching position, revealing both the Shinobi ID Card as well as the Konohagakure headband that would identify the corpse as one Yama Akimichi. "It was over before I knew it, he didn't even see me coming". Grey didn't brag, nor did he exaggerate any of the events, he simply told the things how they were. A single thrust of his blade, nothing more, nothing less.

The sworsman then returned to his original position, standing tall as he handed the lifeless body over to the female bodyguard. "Pleasure doing business", he would accept the envelope before putting it away. There was a brief moment of silence, followed by a question, an inquiry made by the Hokage almost as if the man expected Grey to ask for something else. "I'll never say no to a bag of cash, but if money is what I wanted I could simply take it from the first fool I can find" the Hyuuga started to talk, wondering if he could ask for something different in return. 

He removed any of the reamining dirt on his clothes before speaking up once again. "Perhaps you could offer me something more .. experimental?". Money made the world go round, but sometimes thinking out of the box would pay off in the long run. 

(WC: 249, TWC: 362)

How peculiar of this Hyuuga. Not only was he skilled enough to dispose of the traitor, but he was also humble in his behavior. For a Missing-Ninja he stood out. The Demon listened as he requested for something more “experimental”. This piqued the interest of Aokidanza as he narrowed his eyes, glaring for understanding. What was he up to? Silence would once more take over their conversation. The Senju would ponder as he observed Grey for the moment. A gleaming hue would manifest from his scarlet eyes as he smiled.

“Be that as it may, you’ve earn that ryo and I expect for you to accept it.”

The Hokage was stern in his expectations regarding the funds the Hyuuga earn. But as for the other matter, he was curious, but not too curious as to pry. Yet, he wouldn’t be who he was if he didn’t plant a seed of interest.

“As for this “experimental” payment you seek, I may have what you require. But, I will not part with it freely. That being said, I will give you what you want, but in exchange you will bestow to me the Jutsu that requires its biological component. Do we have a deal?”

He would give time to the Missing-Ninja to answer and potentially agree. Once that was established he would retrieve a scroll from his person. From the looks of the scroll it was a corpse scroll. The Demon would then extend the scroll over to Grey.

“Here. You may keep this one. I’m sure it would prove to be of some use for whatever it is that you’re aiming to unearth. Just keep in mind the agreement.”

Willing to part with the corpse of Youka to obtain something more promising. It was an ideal exchange, one he couldn’t have hoped better for.

The first part of the payment would be gracefully accepted, the envelope of money safely put away in one of his side pockets. The second one however, required a bit more thought and consideration before an agreement could be reached. Grey knew his proposal was a shot in the dark, a risky move even, not sure about the chances of success should he be allowed to pursue an amazing opportunity. But it was exactly that potential to make a change that would drive him. Some might consider his actions impulsive, a bit out of the blue, but sometimes it were those thoughts that ended up having the biggest impact.

After a moment of pondering the Hokage seemed to have made up his mind on the matter, the man agreeing to assist with Grey's experiment. "Of course, nothing is free in this world". Everything came with a price, the only thing that mattered was how much you were willing to pay. In the end, you alone had to decide what it would be worth. The swordsman listened to the terms and conditions, now aware of what the Kage wanted in return. "Fair enough, it shouldn't take me too long to complete the test". Once he found a way to make it work he wouldn't mind sharing some of the knowledge with others.

The Hyuuga gladly accepted the scroll containing a corpse that would prove to be of great use during the experiment, curious to find out about the end result should everything go as planned. "I'm sure our agreement will turn out rather fruitful, for both parties involved". Grey couldn't quite put his finger on it, but part of him believed it would go far beyond his imagination, whatever happened possibly shocking not only himself but the whole shinobi world with it. Whatever the case, he couldn't wait to get started, wondering what and how much he would be able to discover.

(WC: 321, TWC: 683)

The Demon would merely nod after exchanging words with Grey. It would seem that they two have established an agreement that could turn out fruitful for them in the end.

“That I have no doubt. Please, seek me out immediately once you’ve found something. It’s been a pleasure, Grey Hyuuga.”

The Demon would give a final look, forming the seal of confrontation with his hand as Yachiru placed hers on his shoulder. In a flash of dark purple lightning with specs of spheres he was no longer there. Returning to his office to continue his work.

Exit

Claiming the corpse of Yama Akamichi.
30,000 Bounty Payment given to Grey from Root Foundation Upgrade Perk.
Youka Corpse + corpse scroll given to Grey.

TWC: 669
13 AP after Max stat bonus

He would collect the scroll and everything else needed for the experiment before returning to his crew.

Exit

(TWC: 700)
Claims:
- 252 to finish Dominion (previously trained here, here and here)
- Corpse Storage Scroll containing the body of Youka
- 30.000 ryo
- corpse of Yama Akimichi to Aokidanza
- 14 AP

Approved