Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other affiliated characters, locations or ideas. I do own all original content including characters, locations, jutsu and plot lines. Likeness to any real people or places is unintentional and coincidental.

Author's Note: Here is my response to Perfect Lionheart's "Missing Hokage" challenge, with the slight modification that the scroll of forbidden seals remains in Konoha. This is rated "M" for coarse language and heavy violence in later chapters. Thanks go out to Deathmvp; id: 1556448, for the suggestion to clarify the stories starting point. This chapter has been updated with added content.

Chapter 01

Slug Princess on the Move

- Konoha: Aoyama Medical Hospital -

The steady tone of many heart monitors was silenced when the door to the children's ward clicked shut, the young medic that had just left looking to be on the verge of tears. She absolutely hated to see kids so young being admitted into the intensive care floor. Shizune wasn't even startled when her aunt approached, gently asking for a status report. "For the most part, the majority of the children were simply caught in the crossfire; they'll be fine as soon as they heal. But…"

"Rock Lee…" Tsunade sighed softly, her chocolate brown eyes sinking to the floor in sorrow. Even though the village medics had done an impressive job of treating his wounds, the damage done to his arm and leg were just too severe. However, the boy had gone through with the extremely risky operation which would either restore them, or cause the damage to become permanent; Tsunade had today shown up to find out how the operation had gone.

"Oh! No, the operation on Lee-san was a success, Tsunade-sama! He's not only going to make a full recovery, but he might even become stronger than he was before." Shizune gushed, the adoration she held for her aunt evident on her round face.

"So, everyone's going to be fine? That's the news I wanted to hear." Tsunade sighed, feeling a sense of relief rush through her body.

Shizune glanced off to one side as her voice caught in her throat. When she was finally able to speak again, the young medic sighed and came forward with the bad news. "Not everyone is going to make a quick recovery, Tsunade-sama. The little girl from the Hyuuga clan… she might not make it."

"Hyuuga?"

"Un; Hyuuga Hinata. She was hit in the heart with a Jyuuken strike." Shizune explained softly, the heat at the back of her neck only serving to remind her of her failure as a medic. "Her heart isn't healing as quickly as we'd hoped… the chakra pathways passing through it are still erratic. She'll need to be under continuous observation and require immediate treatment at the first sign of irregularity. It could be months before she can be proclaimed medically stable."

At that moment both of the medical ninjas sensed a flare of chakra from the hospital rooftop, which was coincidentally the floor just above them. A fight was going on; in fact, they could hear the screams and battle cries of two young boys now that they stopped to listen. Both women shared a look, and without breathing a word, casually walked towards the stair access that would lead them to the roof. …and just as they had suspected, Uzumaki Naruto was locking horns with Uchiha Sasuke; Sakura watching helplessly from the side.

"Naruto! Sasuke-kun! Please stop this!" the kunoichi begged worriedly, grasping her hands together and holding back tears. Unfortunately all three of the children knew that she could do absolutely nothing to stop them. As such, rather than stop fighting, the two boys only seemed to become more franticly determined to hurt each other.

"Oh, yeah? Sasuke!" Naruto roared as he summoned a single shadow clone; which knowing Naruto was most likely his 30th of the day. With the original boy's hand cupped, the clone began to viciously claw at the chakra pulsing from Naruto's hand. Tsunade's breath caught in her throat as the Rasengan burst into life.

"How interesting… but you're still no match for me!" Sasuke bellowed. In response to Naruto's jutsu he belted out seals in quick succession seconds before lightning exploded off of his left hand. Shizune gasped at the tendrils of electricity coursing off of the Chidori on boy's hand. Again the two medics shared a look, yet this one was far more worried than the last.

"Stop this, both of you!" Sakura wailed as she threw herself between her friends, her arms held straight out to block their path. What she didn't know is that try as they might; whether the boys noticed the girl standing between them, neither Naruto nor Sasuke could be able to change their course at the speed they were moving.

"Sakura! No!" Tsunade screamed in horror, a brief seizure of terror gripping her heart at the foreboding scene playing out before her. Time seemed to slow as Sakura's hair flung out with the turn of her head towards the sound of her name; Naruto and Sasuke roaring with every step that took them closer and closer to destroying their friend. Time resumed its normal flow in a heartbeat, but whatever horrible consequences might have happened was obliterated as the kunoichi pair shot into action.

Shizune materialized out of thin air in time to grab Sakura and dive to safety, ensuring that she landed on her own side to protect the young girl from as much damage as she could. Yet, her eyes were locked on the woman she adored as a goddess; Tsunade had also been in time to rescue the two combatants. Catching both boys by the wrists, the Godaime Hokage spun on the ball of her foot and slung them both at the twin water towers at the edge of the building. Tsunade didn't seem too broken up upon realizing that she'd thrown Sasuke harder than she had for Naruto; some people could only learn this way, after all.

There was an audible crash as the two rivals hit the water tanks, their arms each sinking past their elbows into the metal. By the time they pulled themselves free, the medical kunoichi were beside the boys with a retraining hand on their shoulders. "Do either of you have any idea how dangerous that was? If we hadn't come by in time…" Tsunade scolded, her warning fading forebodingly.

"Especially for you, Uchiha." Shizune scolded in turn, glaring down at what had been her patient not two hours ago. "Let me see your hand…" she murmured as she inspected the damage the Chidori had done to his skin. As she held her hand over his and covered the electrified wounds in healing energy, Shizune continued her lecture, "Aren't you the son of the Uchiha clan head? I don't really know, but this can't be how someone from that noble clan should treat members of their own village. You really could have killed Sakura, you know!"

"Yeah, you jerk! You should pay more attention while fighting!" Naruto growled hotly. "If you ever try to hurt Sakura again I'll…" and before even finishing his sentence, Naruto rushed forward to attack Sasuke again.

"Naruto!" Both Sakura and Tsunade barked in unison; however, the Hokage acted quicker than the genin, deftly catching Naruto by the arm and pulling him back towards her. Tsunade only then noticed the trickle of blood on his hand when he winced and shouted in pain while grabbing his arm. Now, she knew that she hadn't grabbed him that hard, but it didn't stop her from worrying.

"Oh, no! Is he hurt!?" Sakura gasped in fright, wanting to rush forward to check on her teammate; whether she liked him or hated him, she at least had to ensure that he didn't hurt himself. However, her legs still felt more like jelly than actual legs from her near-death experience to move from her spot.

Without responding, Tsunade ripped open the sleeve on Naruto's jacket by dragging her fingernail across it and moving the fabric aside. There was a thin cut along his arm, extending from his elbow to his wrist; it only took a quick glance at the busted water tank for her to realize that the metal had cut him when he used his attack. Immediately beginning treatment by pouring healing energy into the wound, Tsunade turned from a grimacing Naruto to get Sakura's attention. "Quickly go and find some gauze. We need enough for Naruto's arm and Sasuke's hand."

"H-hai!" Sakura breathed, completely forgetting the feeling in her legs as she ran for the stair access. When she was gone, Tsunade glanced towards Shizune briefly before giving a quick nod and wrapping her arm around Naruto's ribs. Shizune did the same to Sasuke, the boy's eyes going wide with surprise. By the time Sakura realized that she had gauze in her travel pouch, the Hokage and her aid had already leapt from the building.

- Hokage's office -

Having used gauze that Tsunade kept in her office, the boys had been mended and forced to sit down in chairs; where they were tied in place with rope and lectured. "I can't have two of my most promising rookies fighting each other like that." Tsunade was saying, "Do you both realize that those two jutsu are assassination techniques? There is absolutely no reason to use something like that on your own allies, do you understand me?" Naturally she didn't get a reply from the children. "What you two need is to learn some restraint. In fact…" Tsunade paused to snap her fingers.

Naruto cried out in surprise when a pair of ANBU materialized in front of him; in his shock he overturned his chair and fell over, landing on his back with a yelp. Though Sasuke scoffed, Naruto found himself cut off at the Hokage's command.

"Find Hatake Kakashi and Jiraiya; bring them here at once." The Black Ops nodded and vanished in an instant, gone to carry out their task. Walking around her desk from behind her desk, Tsunade hands a clipboard to her niece as she approaches the two naughty boys. After returning Naruto's chair to all four legs with her foot, the Hokage sighed and rubbed her temples. "Your teachers are going to drill restraint into you again and again."

"Bah!" Naruto scoffed; his sour face as wrinkled as an old man's. "How long is this going to take?"

"Put it this way, Naruto; by the time Jiraiya is done with you… You'll look exactly like him!!" Tsunade bellowed; clenching her fists as a bolt rocked through her body with the force of her shout.

"Bah!" Naruto scoffed again.

However, Shizune glanced at her watch and seemed to grow pale at what she saw. "Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama! You're late for the meeting!"

"Shit. Keep these two here until their sensei come to pick them up." Tsunade grumbled as she grabbed the domed Hokage hat from off of her desk and dropping it unceremoniously on her head. The door slammed hard enough to knock several books from the shelves as the woman stormed from the office.

"Well, now…" Shizune breathed out as she let her shoulders drop in exasperation. "Sorry, but why exactly were you two fighting in the first place? I think that you are both smart guys, but…"

"Do you want to know why?" Sasuke murmured suddenly, his tone quiet and his head hanging so that his bangs hid his eyes. Once he knew that he had the aid's attention, he glanced up and looked directly into her eyes. Then, for absolutely no reason that Naruto could fathom, the jounin went lax and dropped the clipboard on the floor. Moving like a zombie, Shizune shambled up to the two genin and drew a kunai from the sleeve of her kimono. Before he could scream, the woman came down with the knife.

The ropes fell to the floor, cut from the chair and freeing him from his bonds. "Woah, wait a minute…" Naruto gasped in shock, taking an alarmed peek over at Sasuke. It all suddenly made sense in that one glance; Sasuke had his Sharingan active!

"Heh. Do you really think that all I learned from Kakashi was the Chidori?" Sasuke gloated as his bonds too were cut and fell to the floor. "I'm sorry, but restraint is nothing more than a tool of morality. Right now, the only thing that I need is power. I don't have time to play around like this…"

"But why did you free me, too? Are you that much of an idiot?" Naruto accused childishly.

"No. I can't have you getting rusty and growing weak on me; this hatred I have for you is what's made me this strong. If nothing else, I want to keep this bond of rivalry. For now."

"Yeah, whatever. Let's just get out of here before Kakashi-sensei and that perverted-sage show up!" Naruto suggested; it was advice that even Sasuke could agree with. Requiring no further comment, the two genin slipped out through the secret entrance in the roof that ANBU soldiers had just used.

Blinking heavily, Shizune looked from the cut rope, to the knife in her hand, and finally to the trap door over head that had been left open. "Wow… he certainly is from the noble clan of Uchiha…"

- Makeshift council chambers -

"…and about Uzumaki Naruto." the doddering geezer mentioned sternly, spreading out papers along the low coffee table present in what was left of the council chambers - hastily repaired and pending renovation. "In light of events involving nukenin in the country of the Waves, the Chuunin Selection Exam and the Akatsuki interest in capturing of the tailed-beasts, we must decide Naruto's fate for the safety of the village of Konohagakure. We have already recorded two instances of Uzumaki's use of the Kyuubi's chakra and one foreign attack as a result."

"What exactly are you getting at?" the Hokage demanded darkly, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"It has come to our attention that Uzumaki Naruto only serves to place the entire village in peril." the old woman that served as the Sandaime Hokage's teammate crooned morbidly. "Morality is nearly non-existent, and in all cases Konoha faces certain destruction should any of the other villages decide to attack us and seize the power of the Kyuubi in our moment of weakness."

The old man continued where his partner left off, "Should Uzumaki become the cause of another disaster, then the most favorable action would be his assassination; followed by your decommission from the position of Hokage for knowledgeable neglect of a self-destructive situation."

BAM! Tsunade was on her feet in an instant, slamming her hands into the table hard enough to crack it without having exuded any of her chakra. "He's only a child, damn it!" she roared powerfully. "I only agreed to accept the position of Hokage because of Naruto, so you can swear that whatever you have planned for him, you'd better be prepared to do to me as well!" The council representatives both opened their mouths, but before they could mutter a syllable, Tsunade kicked the table off to the side to remove all obstacles standing between her and the elders. "Choose your words very carefully; I'm placing Uzumaki Naruto under my protection, so you'd better be sure that whatever is left of our troops is enough to handle someone like me. As one of the Dansetsu no Sannin and Godaime Hokage, I won't be defeated by anything less than an entire army!"

Eerily capable of withstanding the withering threats, the elders cleared their throats and very carefully, with the utmost calm, gave their advice. "Uzumaki Naruto is to be exiled from Konohagakure on charges of willful endangerment of the peace treaty and illegal theft of the scroll of forbidden seals. Upon his resistance, wartime orders will become in effect and he will be executed. We are prepared to extend the charges to you, Lady Hokage, if that is truly your desire. That is our official advice."

A shadowy pall cast over Tsunade's face as she took in the venom-laced words of the council representatives. Oh, she wanted to rip them into bite-sized chunks; to yell and roar obscenities; they would go from fearing for their lives to fearing they could not die in the face of her wrath. But… the middle-aged woman realized a deep-seated truth that allowed her to maintain her cool. Although the council had the power to veto the Hokage in the initial two months of office, as the granddaughter of the Founding Hokage and the one in possession of his official stamp, she had reverse-veto power over the council. Putting on a sweet smile, Tsunade thanked the representatives for their time and excused herself from the makeshift office.

It didn't take her that much longer to make her way to the Hokage's office and set about writing a set of orders. Tsunade beamed deliciously as she finished signing her name on the bottom and stamped it in the very center with her grandfather's seal. She tapped the stack of papers lightly on the top of her desk, humming softly as she set the stack of papers in her outgoing bin. Even before she could finish standing from her seat, an ANBU agent materialized on the opposite side of the desk; he saluted the Hokage before claiming the papers and vanishing in a burst of smoke.

The Godaime turned to face out of the wall-sized window and produced a bitter-sweet smile as she inhaled victoriously. "I wish I could have met you in person, Namikaze-dono, but you can rest assured that your son is in good hands for now. Konohagakure has faced some rough times, and it looks like more are to come; however…" Tsunade's eyes darted to the tiny building in the distance bearing the green cross of the medical corps: the site of the shinobi hospital. "Until she's ready to take her medicine, Konoha is just going to get worse off than she already is."

- Hyuuga Main House -

Highest on her list of priorities was the heiress to Konoha's remaining noble family. If Hinata had any chance of living a normal life - of living at all if what Shizune said was true - then she would need to be kept close at hand to receive emergency treatment should her heart grow weak again. With Hinata in the hospital following her near-lethal incident during the chuunin tournament, Hyuuga Hiashi had allowed Neji to stay in the main house… "In the event that Hinata should prove incapable of running the clan, then I have authorized Neji to stand-in as the head until Hanabi can succeed me." Hiashi explained casually, using a blank expression that even Tsunade couldn't read; having been away from the village for so long, she had no clues into his personality to go by, either. Tsunade had decided to visit the Hyuuga complex in person, if only to minimize the council's ability to spy on her.

"Well, considering Hinata's heart condition right now, I think it would be in her best interest to…"

"I will arrange for my daughter to be placed under your care, Hokage-sama." Hyuuga Hiashi interrupted smoothly, his pale eyes reorienting towards Neji, who seemed to exude discipline as he remained perfectly composed beside his uncle. "Neji; as the stand-in head of the clan, you would be placed on standby status and will not perform missions with your team. Is this acceptable to you?"

Neji lowered his head and shut his eyes as he allowed the information to sink in. "That is fine. As much as I hate to admit it, as a member of the branch house I must assist the main house in anything within my power." Neji replied calmly, finally opening his eyes to glance up at the head of his clan.

"Also, as the stand-in heir, I can authorize for your cursed-seal to be removed until such a time that you must give over control of the clan to either Hinata or Hanabi."

"I understand." Neji replied just as calmly as before, though his heart pounded like a hammer in his chest. "I will do my best to prevent civil unrest between the main and branch house families." Hiashi nods in acknowledgment before returning his attention to the Hokage and her aid, both of which had waited patiently for their conversation to end.

Proffering a smile, Tsunade spread a stack of papers out along the meeting table the four shinobi had gathered around. "I appreciate your understanding in this situation, Hyuuga-san. However, I don't think you fully understand the situation. As you can see here, extenuating circumstances require that I escort Uzumaki Naruto on an extended training excursion outside of the Konoha village."

"This means that Hinata would also have to travel with us around the world. She might not be able to return for several years…" Shizune explained, though she had a slight apologetic tone to her voice. "We'll take the utmost care of her while…"

"What kind of training can you offer to those two?" Neji inquired, presumptuously reaching for one of the reports laid out on the table. He stopped cold when his uncle cleared his throat, claiming the very sheet that Neji had been reaching for; Hiashi repeated the question, his voice carrying far more authority than his young nephew's.

"Training?" Tsunade murmured softly, glancing off to one side to think of an answer. "Hmm, I could teach them that which I know best."

Shizune's eyes brightened at this suggestion and she gazed at her aunt with renewed adoration. "That's a good idea, Tsunade-sama! We can teach them medical ninjutsu. You fought to increase the number of medical ninjas sent into the field before; this will help out the village, too."

"Un. Then it's settled; we will teach medical ninjutsu to Naruto and Hinata." Tsunade announced. Even though she couldn't care any less about what happened to Konoha at this point, she at least had to sound diplomatic and reliable lest she lose her privileges as Hokage before they had a chance to leave it all behind with their skin intact.

After a long moment of deliberation, Hyuuga Hiashi stood from the table and motioned for Neji to follow him. Neither one of them uttered a word as they made their way towards the door in the back of the room. Tsunade took this time to glance at Shizune and sigh in disappointment; they were both a little sad that they wouldn't be able to take Hinata after all. The poor girl would…

"I will place Hinata in your care until you can return. She's a slow learner, so it's best to maintain your patience with her training." Hiashi announced after turning to face the Hokage as Neji slid the door open, revealing a branch house member, the cursed-seal visible in the middle of her bare forehead. "Hisana will show you out, Hokage-sama. Have a good evening."

All that was left was to explain what she could of the situation to the two children involved; Tsunade knew that she couldn't go into exact detail, as neither Naruto or Hinata had a high enough clearance to know what had been said in the council chambers, but she'd spend enough time with children to know how to interact. Naruto would be easiest; one mention of training and he was ready and raring to go! Hinata had already heard from her father and would meet them in the Hokage's office just after breakfast. With a mighty yawn, Tsunade sent Shizune to bed, but claimed a bottle of sake to keep her company while she worked through the night in her preparations to leave.

- The next morning -

The room swam as Tsunade lifted her head at the insistence of another person in the room, a trail of drool clinging to the paper scattered on her desk. "Mmmn… who? Hinata?"

"Far from it." the visitor replied in a low-timbre voice. "Morino Ibiki, Hokage-sama. I have some disturbing news to usher in the bright, new day." he continued in his eerily happy tone, wearing the questionable kind of smile one could never tell to be authentic or not.

Sitting up and brushing the drool from her face, the aged woman gave her full attention to the ANBU captain standing before her. "I take it the council didn't appreciate my orders from yesterday." she chuckled bittersweetly, still attempting to blink away her alcohol induced sleep.

"I wouldn't know about such things, Hokage-sama. This concerns one of the genin that had taken part in the chuunin selection exam; Uchiha Sasuke has just become a nukenin."

Tsunade stared in wanton disbelief for a moment before roughly shaking it off and groaning. With a sigh she sat back in her seat and rubbed her temples. "Does it look like he'll return on his own?"

"No, ma'am. Uchiha attacked his teammate, Haruno Sakura, on his way out of the village; she identified a travel pack in his possession. It is strongly believed that he met up with agents of the hidden Sound village and is currently moving to meet up with Orochimaru."

"Well, we certainly can't let that old snake-tamer get his hands on the Uchiha." Tsunade decided coldly, eyeing the Hokage uniform's hat leaning against the trash bin. "As of 0620 hours, Uchiha Sasuke is convicted of deserting the hidden village of Konoha during a time of crisis by verbal decree of the Godaime Hokage. I want two teams of hunter-nin sent out to find him and ensure the disposal of the Sharingan." The Hokage ordered in an icy voice. However, before Ibiki had a chance to zip off, Tsunade called for his attention once more. "Ensure that ANBU agents, Hatake Kakashi, Takanori Koyoko, and you, Morino Ibiki, are among the deployed units. Execute!"

"It'll be my pleasure, Hokage-sama." Ibiki stated, his charming, warm smile fading into a stone-cold grimace. The captain was off like a shot to round up his squads.

- Konoha Financial Center -

Tsunade knew her teammate well, so well that she was already on the roof of the Financial Center before Jiraiya showed up. It wasn't that the toad hermit was a shrewd business man, or a trader of any sort. It was simply because the rooftop had the best view into the women's side of the open air hot spring when viewed through a telescope. "Hah, I've been caught even before I start!" Jiraiya laughed, none-the-less pleased to see his old teammate. "It must be something important if you decide to show up wearing that stuffy old hat." he mentioned, indicating the uniform hat bearing the kanji of Fire.

"Have you discovered anything new about the Akatsuki?" Tsunade demanded, cutting right to the point.

"Absolutely nothing, cutie-pie."

"What about the recent situation with the hidden Sand? Have they located any Sound bases in their vicinity?"

"Well, no… is something on your mind, Tsunade-hime?" the old hermit wondered, having known her long enough to become suspicious when she refused to get angry. "Has this got anything to do with Uchiha defecting? You always did have sort of a crush on Orochimaru; does it piss you off that he's trying to steal the Sharingan from us in such a sneaky way?"

"Not right now, Jiraiya." Tsunade sighed, hiding the twinge of anger and regret at the mention of her past feelings. "I just had way too much on my mind to have any time to be angry. I'm sure that you're aware of the council's push for action against Uzumaki Naruto."

"It's not right what they're doing." Jiraiya threatened; his normally silly face growing cold for a moment. "Which is why I plan to take Naruto with me while I investigate the Akatsuki and Orochimaru; I'll use the excuse of an extended training excursion to justify it. That is, with permission of the Hokage!" the old man laughed jovially.

One of Tsunade's eyebrows rose in momentary amusement; it was just like her old teammate to come up with the exact same plan as she… Despite the rush of events, a tiny grin formed on the woman's lips as she gently lifted the Hokage hat from her head and brushed out her hair with a free hand. "You're a little too slow to the punch this time, Jiraiya; I've already assigned Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata to my team in order to search for lost jutsu scrolls."

"Haha! Smooth move…" suddenly the toad-hermit paused, clutching his chin in deep thought. "Why are you bringing Hyuuga Hinata as well?"

"She has a medical condition."

"Oh, yeah; Naruto told me about that. Wait… what about your place as the Hokage? You can't seriously mean to just take off and leave the village to fend for itself, do you?" Jiraiya accused in mild shock. It was one thing to conspire about sacrificing one's own teammate to resurrect a lost lover; but dooming an entire dependant community just wasn't something Jiraiya thought her capable of! "You've just taken the job two weeks ago. Are you really planning to leave already?"

"Jiraiya; you know very well that it was Naruto who convinced me to take this job in the first place. What the hell is the use of playing grandmother to a village that he's no longer allowed to stay in?" Tsunade finally admitted, both to Jiraiya and herself. "I do have a plan, though." Tsunade revealed as she smirked and strode up to the toad-hermit, "Your orders are to investigate the identity of the Akatsuki members and the locations of Orochimaru's lairs. Directly following the completion of this mission…" Tsunade dumped the hat on Jiraiya's head, "…you will take control of this village and whip it back into shape. Konoha is severely losing her luster and needs to taste her bitter medicine."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Jiraiya gasped, yanking the Hokage hat off of his head, staring at it incredulously. "You can't be serious about this. You know that I'd make an absolutely horrible Hokage; I'm a huge pervert, flighty and way too busy keeping an eye on our best friend." He forced the hat back on its owner's head before stepping back and crossing his arms. "Besides, I like my idea too much to abandon it so easily. If I can't take Naruto with me, then I'll bring someone else with me; that Uchiha Sasuke always seemed like a smart kid…"

"No… you'll probably hear about that later." Tsunade hinted forebodingly, readjusting the domed hat to fit more comfortably on her head. "Anyway, Orochimaru may have been the genius in our team, but that doesn't mean you're not an intelligent man yourself. I'm sure that you'll figure something out; I just have nothing left holding me to this village."

"Did you really have to use the same speech as the last time you left?" Jiraiya murmured, slowly feeling the weight of the world seeping into his every joint.

"Good luck and good bye, Jiraiya." Tsunade wished sweetly, proffering what had to be the first authentic smile she'd given in a very long time.

- Hokage's office -

The three shinobi in the office jumped to salute as Tsunade entered the room; it was something that Tsunade was glad that she'd never have to get used to. "Naruto, Hinata, Shizune; have you all prepared to leave on our trip? We may be gone for a long time, so I hope you've said goodbye to your friends and hugged your sweetheart extra tight." The last comment had the effect of causing all three of the young shinobi to blush, Hinata more than the others.

"Don't worry, Tsunade-sama; I dropped by their houses first thing in the morning and helped them pack their portable belongings." the young woman gestured to four bags set against the wall of the office; Shizune had thought to pack for Tsunade as well. It was instances like this that reminded the woman how she'd be so lost without her sweet, little niece.

"Well, I wasn't able to secure the scroll of forbidden seals, but there isn't really anything in there that we need." Tsunade explained, "We're going to be studying medical ninjutsu, and we have my personal library with us for that. So, unless any of you have something urgent that you have to do before we leave… then it's too late for that, because we're leaving now. Soldiers, attention! Gather your gear and move out!"

- Chapter end -

Tsunade's Team Hokage takes off without a hitch. However, it can't be helped that a suspicious vibe permeates from the village; could someone have greased the wheels from within the shadows? News moves fast in Konoha, so how will the rookies react to find two of their own making for the hills, and one walking to his very doom?