"Here is what I know," Lady Tsunade began her explanation. "Some time during the night, the Akatsuki attacked the Hidden Sand Village and stole Lord Gaara by force. Kankuro went after them while others tried to maintain the situation in Suna. He sent the message, but I have not received a follow-up letter. We have to assume the worse case scenario: Kankuro has been compromised and the Akatsuki got away."

Everyone tensed at the information. They knew one of the Akatsuki's goals was to capture all of the Tailed Beasts for their still unknown objective. Naruto didn't think they would go after Gaara so quickly after he became Kazekage.

Hinata stepped forward, which forced Naruto to reluctantly break their connection. "Do we tell 'you-know-who'?" she wondered softly. "Or should we wait, just in case everything is fine with him?"

Deliberating on the idea for a few moments, Lady Tsunade sighed in contemplation. "Hold off for now," she decided. "She doesn't need anymore distractions, especially since she's on her first mission since the incident several weeks ago. If anything dire has happened to him, she would be the first person Kankuro would contact. For now, I want you to head to Suna and offer any assistance they may need to track down the Lord Kazekage. If the Council says they are not going to look for him, then you have my permission to disregard their order. I know you two won't accept the thought of giving up on him."

"Milady," Sakura respectfully addressed, "why would you think the Suna Council wouldn't want to look for their Kage?"

"I received Kankuro's message an hour after he sent it, according to the time stamp on his scroll," Lady Tsunade informed. "I didn't receive a scroll from the Council until just a few minutes ago with no details and no code to decipher. If they were truly concerned, Takamaru should have arrived two hours after Kankuro's message, not six. They delayed sending him and I'm sure the Sand Siblings will find out why. Save the Kazekage, no matter what the Council tells you. I will handle them if needed. You're dismissed."

Needless to say, Team Kakashi—plus Hinata—hurried out of the village quicker than they ever had before. Naruto led the charge once they were outside the village walls until Sakura reminded him he had no idea where he was going. About thirty minutes into their travel, they spotted Temari walking out a tea house, having visited the village to work on preparations for the Chunin Exams.

Temari looked absolutely horror-stricken when she learned her brothers' predicament. She knew something bad was going to happen, but they insisted she continue with the planned visit to Konoha. If she had just stayed behind, she could have helped prevent such a disaster.

Wasting only a few precious moments to summarize everything they knew, the new squad of five shinobi quickly went back on their journey. It didn't take long for Naruto to once again gain the lead. At first, none of his comrades said anything, since he was within grabbing distance of most, if needed. The only person who couldn't touch him was Hinata, who fell toward the back of the squad, only there out of habit of keeping watch.

Eventually, Naruto's festering temper got the best out of him, allowing him to fall way ahead by accident.

"Slow down, Naruto!" Sakura scolded. "You are too far ahead!"

"Don't tell me. What. To. Do!" Naruto jerked his head around to glare at the pink-haired girl. Admittedly, the four behind him flinched once they saw his eyes—deep red with black slits for pupils instead of his blue eyes that were usually as bright as the sky. There was something else that brown their hearts.

His eyes were filled to the brim with tears, some spilling against his will. "Gaara is my friend," Naruto reminded, a snarling tone confirming his anger. "I can't sit back while the higher-ups of his village wants him dead. I'm going to save him!"

"We will," Sakura reassured calmly, "but you are going way too fast. Hinata was in the middle of a mission before being put on this one. You know she's tire-"

Before she could get the rest of her statement out, a blur of pastel and blue rushed pass her, now keeping in stride with the impatient Naruto. Hinata's Byakugan seemed to intensify when she glared back at the medical ninja.

"Don't use me as an excuse to slow down," Hinata warned. "I already lost Fū. I'm not going to lose Gaara because you can't keep up!"

At her ending remark, Hinata burst ahead of Naruto. Although he had been caught off-guard by her demeanor, Naruto had a goofy grin on his lips when he shouted at the trio, "You heard her, slow pokes! Hurry up or we'll leave you behind, you know!"

After traveling nearly two days at close to max speed, Kakashi finally convinced the stubborn best friends to take a break. Regardless of how fast they travel, it will take three days to Suna no matter what.

While Sakura gladly sat on the forest floor with Temari and Kakashi against against a tree trunk, Naruto opted to stay on a branch, so he could move the moment the break was over. Hinata joined him a few moments later, a grin on her lips and a mischievous gleam in her moon-like eyes.

"You know . . ." She began softly to get her friend's attention, "we don't have to wait on them to keep going."

Naruto furrowed his brows at her. "What do you mean?"

"I've been to Suna before, during the Chunin Exams," Hinata revealed as her grin turned into a smile. "Gaara gave me and you permission to enter the village whenever we wanted. We can leave now, help Suna, and wait for them there. Or, we find out what Suna knows Gaara's captors, and go save him ourselves."

Thinking about it for just a moment, Naruto grinned devilishly. "I like the way you think." Grabbing her hand, he declared, "Let's go, Hime."