A/N: Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto; the rest is mine. Hope you enjoy this new version.

1 - Hopes

Lilac eyes looked at the crescent moon in the midnight. Long, silky dark-blue hair waved with the night winds. Tears waved down creamy cheeks as a slim, curvy and kind-of busty female body held a fox plush doll firmly. He had promised that he'd return for this year's summer... yet, it was already the end of autumn, and he didn't show up...

She was sad, discouraged to continue having hopes, a step to becoming all what her father and elders wanted her to be: a chess piece for the Clan's power games. She would never be happy, she would never grow strong, like her little sister or her older cousin...

Suddenly, she looked something that approached the house in the shadows. She pulsed her chakra to her eyes and the veins around them popped out, her eyes turning full-white. When she looked in the direction where the shadow moved, she stood on guard, but then she realized that it wasn't exactly a threat:

"A toad?"

The blue toad approached her and she looked at it with a bit of disgust as it spoke:

"Good night. I take it you're miss Hinata Hyūga, right?"

The toad spoke clearly and with a rather nice, clean alto voice. She smiled and said:

"I am. Who are you, toad?"

"I am Gamaspeed, a messenger toad, and I bring a message to you from lord Jiraiya."

Hinata's eyes fixed on the toad:

"Tell me the message, Gamaspeed, please!"

Half an hour later, Hinata Hyūga was at the office, waiting for the doors to be opened. After a few minutes, they opened, and a dark-haired young woman in a black kimono let her in:

"Miss Hyūga, it's late. I know that the Hokage works late and barely sleeps, but what brings you here?!"

Hinata saluted formally:

"I'm sorry for the lateness of my visit, lady Shizune, but I need to speak to lady Tsunade immediately! It's urgent!"

Shizune knew all the new generations in the Hidden Leaf ninja village, and the Hyūga heiress (or ex-heiress) was particularly a shy and sweet girl, usually timid to talk or to take quick action; yet her reaction was moved by something more, so she simply nodded and let her in. Hinata entered quickly and saluted the busty blond woman who sat on the other side of the Hokage's desk:

"My lady Hokage, I apologize for the lateness, but..."

Hinata had bowed to salute, but as she raised her sight, she noticed that the Hokage was asleep. Shizune got close to her and grabbed a bottle with sake. She opened it and put the bottle in her nose, exasperated, and Tsunade, the Hokage, bolted up immediately:

"I'm not asleep, no, no, now give me tha-"

Tsunade was surprised to listen to the timid giggles from Hinata, who was actually there looking at the rather hilarious scene, and she cleared her throat, taken aback:

"I-I mean, take that bottle away from me, Shizune! Can't you see I'm working now?!" Shizune grunted and left the office, closing the bottle and putting it away from Tsunade's desk: "Good night, miss Hyūga. What brings you here so late?"

Hinata saluted again, this time a short bow, and said:

"Lady Tsunade, I just received a message at home from a messenger toad, sent from lord Jiraiya!"

Tsunade woke up immediately:

"OK, why would that old pervert send a message to someone different than me?"

Hinata spoke carefully:

"Um, mister Gamaspeed said that, um, h-he feared you, my lady..."

Tsunade laughed soundly:

"Hahahahahaha! Now I understand, OK! That sneaky toad still fears me. Well, then, what's the message about?"

Hinata said, serious:

"No one else can listen, my lady."

Tsunade nodded and closed all the doors and windows, then she pulsed her chakra and Hinata could see how a rather large amount of microphones made short circuit. Tsunade nodded and Hinata said:

"Um, lord Jiraiya and Naruto, um, were received in the Hidden Whirlpool village."

Tsunade's eyes opened up like dishes:

"You said what?!" Hinata nodded: "But, the Hidden Whirlpool village is no more than debris! It has been abandoned since the Second Great Ninja War, a ghost town!" Hinata nodded again: "Did he send any evidence that can confirm this information?"

Hinata, ashamed, said:

"Um, he did, but he a-asked me not to show you but privately, my lady."

Hinata simply revealed a small scroll with a dark blue wax seal. Tsunade saw it and her eyes couldn't believe it:

"The Uzumaki seal..." Tsunade took the scroll, opened it and read it: "It is a handwriting I actually recognize... his g-grandfather..."

Hinata couldn't understand the shock in Tsunade's expression as she read the scroll. She saw the Hokage make a hand sign and an ANBU agent with a raven mask appeared. Tsunade returned the scroll to Hinata and said:

"Raven, take miss Hyūga and team 10 to these coordinates. Once they're safe, head to these other coordinates. You're leaving immediately; I'll meet you in the gates."

Raven got close to Hinata and both young ladies disappeared in a smoke cloud.

As twenty minutes passed, Hinata and Raven were at the gates, along with a rather sleepy team 10. Shikamaru complained:

"What's wrong with the old lady? It's midnight!"

Ino was too busy fixing her face with makeup while Chōji ate chips. Tsunade herself opened the gates and said:

"Hinata Hyūga, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Chōji Akimichi, Tsuki Uchiha, you must listen to this before anything. The Hidden Whirlpool village is no myth, it is real, and it is more active than any other village in these lands. Hinata, please, read the scroll."

Hinata drew the sealed scroll and said:

"Um, 'To the lady Tsunade Senju, fifth Hokage from the Hidden Leaf Village. Hoping that you'll honor the alliance our grandparents did eighty five years ago, I, Gendō Uzumaki, 163rd Uzukage from the Hidden Whirlpool Village, have discovered that there are certain individuals from the clans Nara, Hyūga, Yamanaka, Uchiha and Akimichi that have the genes of the original Clans, so we ask you gently to send them to us, so they can receive the proper training for the times to come. Thanks in advance; they will be better treated than how my daughter Kushina was over there. Her son is with us, he's among family.' T-that's all."

Tsunade said:

"From this day on, you're no more Leaf ninjas, kids. If the Hidden Whirlpool demands your presence there, it means that this is serious."

Ino nodded, and both Shikamaru and Chōji looked at each other. Hinata and Raven took off the headband and the mask, respectively. The rest did it a few seconds later. Tsunade said:

"This is farewell, kids. Let's move. I'll take care of explaining the rest of the people about your departure." She looked at Shikamaru and said: "Temari of the Desert is a strong young woman; she will build her own life and not feel sorry about you; she's like me." She then looked at Hinata: "Do not worry. If your father and family won't understand and begin searching for you, then I think that the Whirlpool will protect you and teach you how to protect yourself from them."

Shikamaru and Hinata nodded and bid farewell to Tsunade Senju, fifth Hokage, following the young Uchiha girl into the woods, far to the northeast.

End of Episode 1