A/N: Okay! So sorry about the delay... I ran into a few problems while writing this chapter, but I'm ultimately pretty pleased with how it turned out, so I hope you enjoy!

It was some time during the early afternoon, and the blond male found himself staring at the doors to the large building before him. He raised his arm and extended his hand to the knob, in an attempt to open the door but hesitated. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he needed answers and he was hoping she would be able to give them to him. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and recalled what had happened earlier in the day – what had ultimately lead him.. here.

- § -

For the most part, there was an awkward silence that filled the rather large room. Not a single word was spoken and for several moments, the only noises that could be heard were the shuffling of papers and the tapping of a pen against a mahogany desk. The Hokage sat in her chair with her elbow on the table, and her chin set in the palm of her raised hand as she scanned over the words on the documents before her.

Every so often, she would scribble something onto the paper she was looking at before assorting it into one of the many folders scattered haphazardly on her desk. It was quite the chaotic mess, but somehow she knew where everything had to be. She felt her desk was incredibly organized, however her assistant disagreed entirely. She often found herself being chided for her messiness, yet continued to ignore the nagging of her dark haired friend.

Fortunately, she was saved from being scolded this time, as the only other occupants were four of her male shinobi; a pale-skinned former ANBU member, a stocky young man surprisingly devoid of a bag of chips, a slouching male who seemed to embody laziness, and finally a rather boisterous and loud blond, who thankfully remained silent at this time.

However... that was short-lived..

"What's the deal, baa-chan?! Are you gonna tell us why you called us or not?"

Naruto was clearly growing frustrated the longer the silence dragged on, and was rather eager to find out exactly what Tsunade called them for so early in the morning.

The Hokage only shifted her eyes, remaining in the same posture she had been for the last several minutes. Her gaze now set on Naruto as she narrowed her eyes at the young male. She hated being called 'baa-chan'... she put so much effort into looking as young as she did, and the... 'pet name' he had given her only served to remind her of her age. She felt the need to reprimand the blond, but decided against it – mainly because she was comfortable in her seat and didn't want to leave it.

"You want to become Hokage someday, don't you?"

"I don't just want to! I will!"

A very small smile graced her features at his determination, though it quickly disappeared as she kept her narrowed eyes locked on the spiky blond. She was confident that Naruto would eventually become the Hokage and succeed her, but more than that, she was curious to see how the energetic boy would take to all the paperwork that came with the title. The idea amused her to no end, as she often found herself annoyed with all the work she had to do.

"Then shut up and learn some patience."

Naruto stiffed at the tone of her voice – a reaction to which she smirked rather mischievously at.

"I do apologize for making you all wait," she gave the four of them a glance over before continuing "with everything that's going on, there's a lot of duties that need to be taken care of."

"It's no problem, Tsunade-sama" replied Shikamaru as he gave the blond male beside him a small glare before turning his attention back to the Hokage. "You've been pretty swamped lately.. you only recently recovered, and then Raikage-sama called for the five Kages to meet... there's also all the work that has piled up while you were unconscious."

Tsunade's eyes fell upon the dark haired boy who just finished speaking. She often found herself amazed at his intellectual prowess and was grateful for his understanding of the situation, however she dismissed it and carried on.

"Well, the reason I called you here is because I have a mission of sorts.."

"What?! A mission? At this time? Baa-chan, there's a war soon.. we don't have time for missions!" yelled the boisterous blond.

"I'm fully aware of what's to come, Naruto" she spoke up, gesturing over all the paperwork on her desk.

"Then why'd you accept the mission?"

"Because it's a direct request from the Kazekage. Now if you'd keep quiet, I can actually tell you all about it." Tsunade raised her free hand and rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration.

At the mention of Gaara, Naruto quieted down and was more attentive this time. Even though he never got to speak much to the red head, he still considered the male a dear friend.

Tsunade frowned as she scanned over the four males again. She was probably too focused on her work to notice before, but clearly there was a mistake.

"Choji?"

"Yes?"

"What are you doing here?"

The large male blinked a few times, before glancing at Shikamaru in confusion. "What do you mean? You called for the four of us.."

With the frown still upon her face, Tsunade picked up a folder from her desk, opened it and flipped through the contents within.

"Ugh," groaned the female as she hung her head briefly before looking back to the male. "I'm really sorry, I thought I had specified that I needed to speak to Naruto, Shikamaru and Sai. I can't send you out of the village at this time, Choji. Our medical team requires your help with making the food pills."

Choji smiled brightly and shook his head. "It's not a problem, Hokage-sama. I'll take my leave then." He bowed to the blonde female, before waving at his three friends. "Good luck, you guys." Naruto and Shikamaru nodded in response, while Sai attempted a smile of sorts... it was odd.

Choji exited the room, and closed the door behind him before Tsunade spoke up again.

"As I was saying.. This is a request directly from the Kazekage. If I'm being honest, it isn't entirely a mission. The four of you will leave-"

"Four of us? Baa-chan, are you okay? You just told Choji to leave.."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes once more at the blond as she glared at him. She was hoping the blond would refrain from interrupting her until she'd finished the briefing, but such a hope proved folly.

"The fourth member should be here shortly."

And as if right on queue, a knock on the door resounded throughout the room.

"Come in."

The door opened revealing the indigo haired heiress of the Hyuga clan, dressed in her regular attire of navy blue pants, black sandals and her lavender and cream sweater.

"Sorry for the intrusion." she bowed deeply, before straightening up and finally realizing who exactly was in the room. Naruto-kun.. A light flush colored her cheeks and her body instinctively began to take a step back before she stopped herself. She managed to regain her composure and smiled softly at the blond male.

Naruto on the other hand, was more flustered than Hinata at the unexpected meeting. He had been having the same nightmare for the past few nights, and as a result, he found that the pearly-eyed female occupied a great deal of his late night thoughts. And no, none of those thoughts were perverse in any way.

He hadn't realized it, but he had been gawking at her for quite a while, and his intense gaze only served to increase the blush that adorned Hinata's cheeks.

"Hinata shall be the fourth member."

Thankfully, Tsunade managed to break Naruto out of his thoughts. He quickly returned a small smile at the Hyuga heiress before she moved over to the open spot where Choji stood prior.

"Now with everyone here, allow me to continue." She shot a quick glance at Naruto, to tell him to keep quiet. She was however, surprised to see him focusing his attention on the new girl that had entered the room.

"Naruto.. Is there something on Hinata's face? You're staring at her."

Sai, Shikamaru and Hinata both turned to look at Naruto, who jerked his head back at Tsunade so quickly that it was amazing he didn't suffer whiplash.

"N-N-No. Sorry. So about the mission?"

Shikamaru and Tsunade both raised an eyebrow at the now blushing blond, while Hinata's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red at the attention.. Sai seemed undeterred.

Tsunade shook the questions she had away, before clearing her throat.

"Once again, as I was saying... this is a request directly from the Kazekage. At the Raikage's meeting, Gaara expressed his desire to speak with you."

Tsunade still wasn't committed to the request. This war was essentially being fought to keep the last two Jinchuuriki safe and out of Madara Uchiha's reach. At first, she had opposed the idea of sending Naruto and Bee to a secluded area to remain safe, but as the rest of the Kage's deemed it necessary, she was outnumbered. Now, she began to understand the reluctance to send them out into the field. She held faith in the blond jinchuuriki, and truly did believe he would be fine – that didn't stop her from worrying.

"I am unsure what he wishes to speak to you about, however since we're currently preparing for war, none of the Kages are able to leave their villages at this time.. especially not to visit another village to simply 'talk'.."

The three shinobi that stood beside Naruto remained silent, but each glanced towards him to see what his reaction was. To their surprise, as well as the Hokage's, Naruto had remained silent and was attentively listening to the briefing.

"Since you will be going all the way to the Sand Village" Tsunade continued, "there is some work I would like you to get done, Shikamaru."

This time the dark haired boy perked up, mentally raising an eyebrow at what work could be done in the Sand Village.

"A lot of our records for the past Chunin exams were destroyed during the invasion. The Sand Village should still have their records available. I'm sure you'll know what you need to take care of" spoke the blonde.

"Pardon me, Tsunade-sama... but shouldn't the Chunin exams be ignored for now? I mean-..." Shikamaru questioned before the Hokage interrupted him.

"I'd like to operate under the assumption that we're going to win this war, and as such, I don't want any work deterred while we can get away with it. You're heading all the way there, so it shouldn't be too much of a... troublesome task"

Shikamaru couldn't help but smile faintly at the Hokage's choice of words, and acknowledged his orders with a curt nod.

"The four of you will depart first thing tomorrow morning. Prepare your necessities tonight, and get some rest as well. It's about a day journey to the Sand Village, and it wouldn't be safe to travel at night. I shouldn't have to remind you about the possibilities of getting ambushed.."

The four shinobi nodded in response before the Hokage continued once more.

"I expect you all back here within six days. If there are any delays, notify me as soon as possible." Tsunade looked towards Sai, who once again, nodded.

"Any questions?"

The four of them shook their heads, but the fact that Naruto remained silent throughout was surprising. Tsunade glanced at the four of them individually, giving them additional time in case they came up with any more questions. As she looked at them, she felt a sense of pride in the team that she put together for this pseudo-mission. Naruto was a mandatory choice, but the three supporting shinobi were almost too perfect for the job.

Shikamaru's intellect would be an incredible asset if they ever ran into any trouble. She would also be killing two birds with one stone, as Shikamaru handled most of the work with regards to the Chunin Exams.

Hinata's Byakugan would be essential in locating potential traps, ambushes, or any impending danger. The Hyuga's Gentle Fist technique targets chakra points, and can completely stop the flow of chakra – a shinobi's main resource. Without their ability to use chakra, a shinobi would be limited to taijutsu, and the four ninja were more than capable in hand-to-hand combat.

Sai provided exceptional scouting abilities, and methods to transmit knowledge over long distances. The Ink Jutsus he possessed could encode information, and the creatures he drew could deliver the information to the intended recipient. If anything happened, Sai would be able to relay the information back to Konoha.

In addition to their skills, the three shinobi weren't essential for the preparations. Sai was a free agent as ANBU no longer had a leader. Shikamaru could be useful for the strategy department, but he couldn't provide any insight that his father hadn't already given. Information about Madara was rather limited anyways, so there wasn't much for Shikamaru to do in Konoha besides guard duties and helping out here and there.

Hinata was a surprise though. As the eldest daughter of Hiashi Hyuga, and rightful heiress to the Hyuga Clan, one would expect her to be loaded with responsibilities. However, Tsunade was already informed that Neji would be the one to succeed the clan – despite his opinion that the position should go to Hinata.

"Very well, dismissed."

The four shinobi bowed in response and began to leave. Sai and Shikamaru had already exited the room, and Hinata was half-way through the door when she heard Tsunade call out.

"Naruto, could you stay behind? I'd like a word with you."

Naruto blinked. "Sure thing."

Hinata looked at Naruto for a bit before closing the door behind her and leaving as well.

Naruto let out a sigh. He wasn't sure if he was ready to talk to Hinata just yet, and thankfully Tsunade had managed to help him avoid the indigo beauty for a bit longer.

"I have some very... interesting... news, Naruto."

The blond male folded his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side. "More news? What's going on...?"

The female took a deep breath before sighing and looking into the male's eyes. "You returned from the Kage Summit over a week ago. Kakashi has informed me of everything that happened – your encounter with Sasuke, and Madara Uchiha."

Naruto tensed up at the mention of his dark haired friend, who had deserted the village. This time, he remained silent instead of interrupting. Was she going to give him news about Sasuke?

"Kakashi also brought back a girl who was previously on Sasuke's team. She was sent to Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Department, where Ibiki Morino and his shinobi questioned the girl about any information she had on Sasuke and Madara and their plans."

Tsunade paused to let out a sigh before she continued.

"Unfortunately, she possessed no information that we weren't already aware of. When questioning proved fruitless, Inoichi Yamanaka was asked to probe her mind – nothing helpful was obtained from that either. It would appear that, aside from Sasuke's revenge against his brother Itachi, and ROOT leader Danzou, the girl had no knowledge about Madara's plans, hideouts or anything of the sort."

This time it was Naruto's turn to let out a sigh. After his declaration at the Samurai Bridge when he clashed with the dark haired renegade, Naruto wasn't sure if he'd be willing to face his friend so quickly, but he was still hoping he'd get some news about whether Sasuke was doing okay.

He cocked his head a little. Didn't she say she had some interesting news? If it wasn't about Sasuke, or Madara, then what could it be? He didn't have to wait long as the Hokage continued.

"She's located at the Interrogation Department, and is kept in a cell under watch. It's still possible that she's working as a spy, though it is rather unlikely at this point.." her voice trailed off as she leaned back in her chair and glanced absentmindedly at the documents on her desk. "You should go and speak to her.."

- § -

Finally, he opened his eyes, extending his hand outward again and this time, grasped the knob. With a twist, he turned the knob and pulled the door open, entering the Interrogation Department building. One of the guards greeted him, and after Naruto had explained who he needed to speak with, the guard led the blond male down a hallway and into an adjacent one.

The two stopped in front of a cell, barred with metal beams from the ceiling to the floor. His eyes set upon the occupant of the cell, her red hair reaching down to her mid-back in an unusual style. The right side framing her face was short, spiky and unkempt while the left side contrasted completely in a long, neat manner.

His gaze then turned to the guard that had escorted him and with a nod, the guard left the area – along with another guard who was kept on watch duty for the prisoner. Once he was alone, he turned his attention back to the woman being kept in the cell, who had finally taken notice of his presence. She turned to look at him through her glasses, and he matched her stare.

The two simply stared at each other for several moments.

"Hi."

"..Hi?" questioned the girl.

As he looked at her, Tsunade's words kept ringing through his mind.

'You should go and speak to her.. She's from the Uzumaki Clan..'

A/N: There we go! Hope that was worth the wait! Reviews still welcome! Thanks!