After The Last

Chapter 5

"Proxy"

"Hinata! Hinata! Are you alright?"

Hinata was awakened by Naruto's call. She consecutively blinked her eyes and as soon as she has clearly seen Naruto's face she stood from his lap where her head was lying on. She looked around her and saw her teammates' faces and some of the Princess's attendants.

"Hinata what happened?" Naruto asked. He was worried about her.

"Where's Princess Selene?" She asked.

"She was kidnapped by unknown masked men," Naruto replied.

"I don't know what happened. I was knocked out unconscious without noticing the enemy." Hinata declared.

"How was that possible?" Kiba asked.

"They might be using a technique to hide their chakras so nobody would notice them or probably they used substitution techniques to enter the Kingdom effortlessly." Shino extended his opinion concerning the matter.

"We need to get the Princess back before the meeting comes. We need her back!" The old woman cried.

"I have lost track of their smell as well as Akamaru," Kiba said. Akamaru responded in a low sound.

"I have my insects dispersed to track them down but, there's no guarantee that they could find them," Shino muttered.

"We need to move now or it will be too late," Naruto said.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't careful and shirked." Hinata said while looking down.

"Ahh... it's not your fault, Hinata. We let our guards down. All of us are responsible for this mission." Naruto said smiling at her.

"All we need to do now is to find those bad guys and bring back the Princess," Kiba muttered.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed.

"Granny, prepare your guards and protect the kingdom from the enemies. We will track them and bring back the Princess. I promise you." Naruto was very optimistic. The old woman nodded in response to him. She then ordered the young attendants to prepare the troupe for any surprise attacks.

Naruto and his friends moved and tried to trace down the enemies but, they did not have anything as a lead to get to them faster. Hinata uses her Byakugan but, there's no sign of them. They searched for the Princess all day long but they failed to bring her back.

"Dammit!" Kiba muttered. All of them wore sad faces.

"We need to find her before the marriage meeting tomorrow or else the kingdom will come to its end," Shino said. One of his insects flew away from his finger. He told it to investigate.

"If only we have something like a lead." Kiba blurted.

They went back to the Kingdom with a depressed look. The old woman once again cried.

"What will happen to us now? If the Princess won't show up in the meeting tomorrow, it's the end of the kingdom. Your highness, please forgive us." The old woman sobbed.

"Granny, calm down. We won't let that happen." Kiba assuredly told the old woman.

"It is our mission to protect the Princess and save this kingdom," Naruto added.

"What if the Princess couldn't make it on time tomorrow?" The old woman asked.

Naruto tilted his head thinking for an answer.

"Then the marriage meeting won't take place," Naruto answered boldly.

"You idiot!" Kiba smacked Naruto's head. "The Prince of the Crescent Moon Kingdom and the Princess must do it immediately. The wedding must happen as soon as possible. The situation is urgent that's why we need to bring her back before the meeting comes." He added while snouting.