A/N: Hey there reader! Long time no see! hehe yep I've just come back from my Hiatus! Woo! Ok, maybe I'm the only excited one here T_T lol ANYWAY here's a new chapter for you! It's not massively chunky or big, but It's kind of a part 1 of 2 concerning the current situation, which you'll see after you get reading! I hope you enjoy the chapter and, as always, feel free to review, I appreciate all of them! :)

"L-Lady Tsunade! I-I..." Shizune burst through the door, skipping all formalities, showing something was definitely wrong. Tsunade's head shot up from her desk, her red cheeks and drunken expression quickly evaporating after hearing Shizune's breathless voice.

"What is it Shizune?!" Tsunade was sober in seconds, as she thought of all the worst case scenarios that could happen in the village, which was most certainly a lot.

"I-I... I..." Shizune couldn't speak with so much panic engulfing her mind, so Tsunade walked up to her and gently pulled her towards the seat by the right side of the room, close to her desk. Normally Tsunade would punch or slap the panic out of people, but she knew that it would take a lot to cause such panic in her apprentice.

"Shizune, what is it?" Tsunade said with a quiet urgency.

She's almost hyperventilating... and she can't even speak! By Kami I hope that this isn't as serious as she's letting it on to be.

"H-Hinata... s-she was."

"She was what Shizune? Tell me!"

Tsunade was losing patience with her apprentice, knowing that this was now serious after hearing Hinata being mentioned in such a sorrowed voice. She was taken by surprise however when Shizune pulled what looked like a note out of her jacket pocket, which was crumpled up slightly. She slowly handed it towards Tsunade, giving her the hint that the note told of what happened.

A note? Could it be Hinata's?

Tsunade's thoughts kept racing through her mind while being given the note, all of them coming to horrific and negative conclusions, which she thought would be hard to break it to Naruto and Kiba when they come back either way. She pulled the note closer to her face and began to inspect it.

Hokage,

In case you haven't already been notified, I have taken the liberty to construct a letter to inform you otherwise, but with as much simplistic language as possible, knowing that your drunken habits tend to limit your cognitive function.

You probably already know who I am, correct? Well I'm glad that I'm always on your mind, as you must constantly be trying to figure out how I cause so much chaos in your pathetic shinobi ranks. However I can speak of my success' another time, for the purpose of the note is:

The Hyuga girl is now in my possession.

She's been awfully unwilling to part with any knowledge on those two faggots, which made the rehabilitation all the more fulfilling. But I'll give you a chance, just this once, to try and get her back.

Is this some sort of game, you may be thinking? Well of course it is, as even I need to have fun once in a while. And by watching this Hyuga girl come ever closer to torturous death, it does the job excellently.

You have 48 hours until I murder the girl, so you have to find where we are before then if you want any chance of her life remaining. If it's just you, the faggots, or the whole shinobi army you send, it doesn't matter.

A.M, A.K.A The Manipulator

...

"L-Lady Tsunade?" Shizune was desperate to know what Tsunade planned on doing, as time was against them.

...

No response was heard, as Tsunade looked like she was in a deep, almost hypnotic, state of thought, trying to make sense of all she just read.

...

The pregnant silence continued for what seemed like an eternity: Tsunade still staring at the note with a solemn expression, thinking ever so deeply.

"Shizune." The Hokage finally broke the silence, her voice now stern.

"Y-Yes Lady Tsunade!"

"Summon Sakura, Sai, Tenten and Shino ASAP. We'll brief them on the situation while Naruto and Kiba finish their mission."

"Shino and Tenten? They don't know about The Manipulator though! A-And they wont be protected, right?!"

"Baka! Don't you think I've thought this through? I had 4 more Senju Amulets constructed in case they were needed. As I just said, we'll have time to brief them, especially if you didn't waste more time by asking such foolish questions! Now get to it!"

"H-Hai!"

Tsunade's anger vein reduced and she walked over to the bookshelf to unlock the secret meeting room. She heard Shizune scurry out of the Office to gather the chosen Shinobi, all of which were handpicked to perform specific roles, which she'd allocate during the so-called "Rescue Briefing". She walked into the Meeting room and began to prepare for the arrival of the others, while also thinking heavily about trying to find out where The Manipulator was keeping Hinata.

10 minutes before

Kiba and Naruto were walking back to Konoha on the forest path, both of them largely silent as they enjoyed the rare moment of respite they needed. Their hands where in each-others, while their off-hands were holding the crucial clues: the Databook and broken Pendant to help track down the elusive Manipulator.

Naruto looked over to Kiba on his right, scanning his face by the corner of his eye while trying not to be noticed. He couldn't get enough of Kiba's olive-toned complexion, and felt mesmerized by his gorgeous brown eyes even more.

"Well aren't you a little perv, eh Nar?"

Kiba looked over to Naruto with a cocky grin, proud of himself for calling out Naruto's secretive staring. Naruto blushed and turned his head in the other direction, while looking almost like a sulking child.

"Hmpf! I was just looking at the mud on your face, baka!"

Kiba let go of Naruto's hand and lifted his shirt, using it as a make-shift cloth to wipe the supposed dirt from his face. His 6-pack was on show for Naruto to see, and with the beautiful lightly tanned skin to match, Naruto's mind turned as dirty as a sewer for a moment.

"Is it gone?"

"Y-Yeah..."

Kiba gave a confused look to Naruto, not yet sure why he was acting shy all of a sudden.

"Can we get going now?" Naruto said as he walked forward, trying to move along from the steamy situation.

"Yeah... Wait a sec, I know what's going on my Narrr..."

Naruto's face turned crimson, however glad that he was facing in the other direction from Kiba, so he couldn't ridicule him even more for it. Naruto repeated the trusty "Compose & Control" in his head, while being instructed by Kyuubi that "it's best alfresco! Go ahead now Kit, and show your dominance!" , Which resulted in her being locked in the cage again. Naruto's blush calmed as he repeated his mantra, and turned around to face the now seemingly smirking Kiba.

OK, I gotta relax! I can't afford to succumb to his approaches, not out in the forest where people can see!

Naruto saw Kiba smirking wolfishly at him, which only made the dog-nin look even more attractive.

"I know what's going on Nar..." Kiba began to lift up his shirt, slowly, almost tortuously, revealing his olive-toned abdomen again to Naruto.

Oh god, resist! Resist!

"You're jealous that I have a 6-pack! Hahaha!"

Wait, WHAT?!

Naruto's jaw dropped while Kiba was laughing hysterically, clearly under the impression that Naruto was timid after seeing his abs due to being self-conscious.

"He..he... ahh don't worry Nar! If you keep training as much as me, one day you'll get a 6-pack! There's no need to be self-conscious Naruuu!" Kiba put his arm over Naruto's shoulder, while trying to get his breath back from laughing so much. Naruto's had to fight the urge to headbutt him, as Kiba clearly got the wrong impression from Naruto's response.

"Well, he really IS a baka...but I guess it's better then if he was to make a move on me, right Kyu?"

'Yeah you said it Kit, you wouldn't have been able to handle his approaches, you little tart.'

"Shut it Kyu, you know how hot he can be..."

'Heh, I'll give you that one, he's a prize catch Kit, don't forget that.'

"Yeah, I know..."

Naruto and Kyuubi's internal conversation ended while Kiba was still shoulder hugging him, his goofy grin still apparent. Naruto rolled his eyes and decided to play along with Kiba's view on his response.

"O-Ok Kib, thanks for understanding..."

"Hehe no problem Nar, one day you'll be super sexy like me!"

Naruto once again felt like headbutting him, but accepted that Kiba's gullible and goofy nature was one of his best traits, which he didn't want to get rid of any time soon. Naruto began to walk again and placed his arm on Kiba's waist, both of them now walking towards Konoha, which was not too far away.

"Hey, Nar."

"Yeah Kib- umm!"

Kiba's lips smacked up against Naruto's, taking the blonde by complete surprise. It lasted only a few seconds, but that same wonderful spark shot through each-others bodies. It wasn't sexual, nor very passionate, but was one full of affection and, in a sense, acceptance. The brunette pulled back almost as quickly and looked forward to the road with a smile, with no further words being spoken. The blonde gazed at Kiba's smile and saw a quiet determination, almost that things would all work out. Naruto looked forward too, feeling Kiba's arm tighten around his shoulder, as they made their way Konoha.

15 minutes later the teen couple were approaching Konoha's main gate, both of them moving away from each-other slightly before the public could see. They both felt frustrated to do so, but Tsunade ordered them to refrain from coming out as a couple until after the crisis was over, as she somehow felt it could be used against them otherwise. Naruto was especially angry at this order, but he knew deep-down that Tsunade has a reason for everything, and it had to be a good one.

Both boys entered the village and, yet again, decided to unleash their boyish rivalry as they challenged each-other to a race to the top of the Hokage tower steps, just like the other day. They both stood at the bottom of the steps, and counted down to the start of the race.

3...

2...

1...

"GO!" "GO!"

Both teens sprinted up the steps as best they could, trying not to trip up on their own feet. They were over half-way, but Naruto wanted to beat Kiba this time around, so he applied chakra to his feet and sped up to the top of the stairs, while Kiba lagged behind, for a very good reason.

*BAM*

Naruto was yet again sent flying backwards after going past the top of the stairs, slowly sitting back up and rubbing his head after the collision. He was ready to shout at whoever caused the collision, without looking up as he suspected it was the same culprit as before.

"Damn it Baa-chan! Since when did you become flat-chested?! An-! Oh... hehe uhh h-hi S-Sakura?"

"NARUTOOO!"

After a newly found black eye for the blonde, Naruto and Kiba followed Sakura to the Tower entrance, both boys wondering why she was there as well, as they didn't get the chance to ask while her rage was in effect.

"So Sakura, why are you going to see Tsunade then?" Kiba spoke first, knowing Naruto wouldn't dare try to piss her off any more then he's done already.

"D-Don't you know?" Sakura's voice became slightly timid as she realized that the news probably wasn't broken to Kiba or Naruto yet.

"About what? Did something happen Sakura?!" Naruto now got involved, knowing that something was up from Sakura's voice.

"W-Well yes but... let's just get inside first, Lady Tsunade will be briefing you two on it as well I'd imagine."

Naruto was close to demanding answers from Sakura, but he could tell that she was clearly effected by something, so he didn't want to force her to speak if she didn't feel comfortable doing so.

The teens approached the Office door, and Sakura knocked a few times to gain Tsunade's attention.

"Enter!"

The door creaked open and the trio walked into the office, with Tsunade standing by the moved Bookshelf, clearly having waited for them to arrive.

"Good, now that makes everyone, go take your seats in the briefing room."

"W-Wait! Baa-chan, what the hell's going on?" Naruto walked up to her and looked her in the eye with desperation for answers. She looked back at him with slight sorrow, but knew that of all people she couldn't afford to be crestfallen.

"It's concerning the Manipulator, you'll be given the full situation when you quit yapping and get your ass in a seat!"

Naruto looked down to the floor, knowing now that something really must of happened, especially since she didn't tell him then and there. He walked back to the Meeting Room entrance, but before he could enter, Kiba had grabbed his hand, offering support. Naruto smiled almost sadly to him as they both entered the Meeting Room, taking the seats at the top of the table to the left again.

Naruto saw that Shino, Tenten, Sakura and Sai were all seated by the table as well; all of them looking somber, further hinting at a serious situation. His scanning was interrupted however by Tsunade taking her seat at the head of the table, which signaled the start of the Rescue Briefing.

A/N: So there it was, the first chapter after my hiatus! :) The next chapter will be up soon, that I can assure you :3 Leave a review if you could, as they are always appreciated. Til next time! :D