A/N: I neglected to give the scenario last time. This story takes place right after the Pain Arc. Feel free to Read and Review or PM me any suggestions. I plan on taking this story a long way.

Shoutouts:

1. To my first reviewer! I hope you enjoy this chaper also.

2. To my friend for betaing this story for me.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, not me.

CHAPTER 2

Gather the Troops

Gaara's face paled. Uzumaki Naruto had been captured. He was the one who had shown him the meaning of strength. The meaning of friendship. He was the one who had brought him out of his darkness. Now, he was in the enemy's hands. Head spinning, he fell back into his chair.

Sakura moved to stabilize the young Kage.

"I'm FINE!" He growled. Sakura recoiled at his outburst.

Gaara, seeing Sakura's discomfort, tried to remedy the situation.

"I'm fine," he said soothingly. "Just... tell me everything you know."

As Sakura was about to start her story, Temari and Kankuro rushed in, their ninja tools out and ready for a fight. Seeing that Gaara wasn't in immediate danger like she had first believed, she relaxed a little and closed her war fan. She still had questions, though.

"Gaara, what the HELL is going on?! We saw this shinobi rush past the guards into your office. We feared the worst. Is everything ok?"

"I am fine sister, but everything is not well. Sakura brings grave news from Konoha." He wanted to tell his siblings the distressing news, but he didn't believe them to be true. He continued, "Have everyone we can trust gather in the council meeting room in an hour. We'll discuss this new situation then. Everything else waits."

Temari and Kankuro exchanged a look. Their brother only used that tone of voice when he needed something done immediately, and there was no arguing with him.

"Right away, Kazekage. We'll round them up right now. Let's go Temari," replied Kankuro. Temari nodded, and followed her brother out the door. "I sure hope everything is ok," she thought out loud.

After his siblings had left the room, he turned back to Sakura. "I sure hope you didn't come here by yourself, Sakura. I want to help, but unless this is a specific request from the Leaf, than I can't help you."

"No, Kazekage, it's official, I have the official message from Lady Tsunade herself. I'll get it now." She fumbled through her ninja pouches. "Which one did I put it in?" As she searched, she became more and more anxious. She turned to the Kazekage. "I have it I swear. I remember putting it in my left pouch and then…"

Gaara, for his part, was also getting increasingly anxious. Every second that Sakura spent looking for the note from the Leaf was a second that Gaara could be preparing his gear to go rescue Naruto.

Sakura turned back to Gaara, barely holding back tears. "I must have dropped it! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID ME!"

"Looking for this?"

Sakura and Gaara both turned to face the new voice.

A silver-haired man with a leaf headband over one eye held out a scroll in his hand.

"Tsk, Tsk, Sakura. After you took off running at the gate, we had to explain the situation to the guards. If you hadn't taken off, we could have all been here briefing the Kazekage instead of you bursting in here and causing a mess," he chided.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I shouldn't have run off like that. But I had to tell Gaara!" she exclaimed.

Kakashi nodded. "Of course, Sakura. Why do you think we are here? But next time, follow procedure properly and above all, keep security of all important documents. Kami help us if this got into the wrong hands."

Sakura could no longer hold her own against Kakashi's stern gaze. "I'm sorry. I panicked. Again!" she groaned.

Kakashi eye smiled. He turned to Gaara, and handed him the scroll. "My apologies, Kazekage. My comrade here was just a little worried about Naruto."

"As are we all," chimed in Sai, sliding in behind Kakashi.

Gaara nodded and tentatively unrolled the scroll and began reading.

Kazekage Gaara,

With this message comes some disturbing news. Naruto Uzumaki has been captured. As you can imagine, this poses a huge security risk to both of our villages. I have half of Konoha trying to track him down currently, but I am deciding to request your help as a gesture of trust. Kakashi and his team can assist you and will share the details, but only if you agree to help. If you can spare any troops, I might be able to make it worth your while.

The Sixth Hokage

Danzo Shimura

Gaara looked up from the message to see Kakashi, Sakura, and Sai looking at him with expectant expressions.

"It seems that the Hokage is requesting our help. I would be happy to assist you."

Sakura squealed.

"However," he continued, "Save the details for the meeting. I don't want you to have to repeat yourself.

Kakashi nodded gratefully. "I would appreciate that. Let's go now team, we've delivered our message." Team 7 filed out of the office, leaving Gaara alone once again.

Gaara stepped out of his office to his porch that overlooked the village. 'Naruto. You are fortunate to have such good and dependable friends that worry about you. I just hope that you are unharmed and we are not too late.' The young Kage summoned turned back inside and headed toward the council room.

"Is everyone here?" Gaara asked, looking over questioningly at his brother.

"Yes, Gaara, all those necessary are present. Although Temari was a little um… enthusiastic rounding them up," Kankuro chuckled.

"Hmph!" Temari turned away with her arms crossed and nose in the air. She was still angry her brother hadn't told her what was going on.

The young Kage just shrugged. He turned to scan the room, seeing Kakashi and his team, looking anxious. He glanced at the council members he trusted, the few who had gone above and beyond to prove their loyalty to the Sand over the past years. Strangely, they all seemed to have slightly windblown and unkempt appearances, no doubt because of Temari. He held back a smile, and cleared his throat.

He began, "I have called an emergency meeting today for one purpose only. Naruto Uzumaki… has been captured. I just received word from Konoha about an hour ago."

The advisors were stunned. How could Naruto have been captured? He had just defeated Pain of the Six Paths for goodness sake! They murmured amongst themselves, exchanging theories.

Kankuro felt like someone had taken a hammer to his chest. The blonde-haired midget had been captured? He thought, "I know we kind of got off on the wrong foot back at the Chuunin exams, but he turned out to be an alright guy, especially since he went so far to rescue Gaara from Akatsuki a while back. I thought he would be smart enough to stay out of trouble for a while. I wonder how that happened."

Temari, for her part, was so shocked that she had to lean on her war fan for support. "The little blonde boy who had saved her brother from himself was now captured? How in the world did that ramen freak get in so much trouble? He even beat Gaara before he became Kazekage!" She was very worried though, both for Naruto and for her brother.

The room became louder as the theories became wilder.

Gaara, seeing this, cleared his throat to get the room's attention. The murmurs died down quickly. "Jonin Kakashi from the Leaf has the details." He motioned for Kakashi to begin.

Kakashi was impressed at how easily the Kazekage had calmed the tense room. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and began, "This is obviously a great security risk for both of our villages, knowing the recent trend of captured Jinchuuriki. The Hokage is calling in a favor, so to speak, requesting the Sand to send any resources possible to help find and rescue Naruto. All we really have is a note from the captor to go on."

Kakashi reached into his vest, and produced a small piece of parchment. He handed it to the young Kage, who began reading furiously.

I have taken this pathetic excuse of a ninja so I can unlock his true potential. Don't worry though, I won't kill him until he outlives his usefulness. How long that will be, however depends on him. Although, if I see so much as a Leaf headband anywhere close to me and the whelp, I won't hesitate to end him. And after that, you will wish that Pain had destroyed the Leaf ten times over when I'm finished with your pathetic village.

Gaara scowled as he finished reading the note. He looked up and turned to face Kakashi. "Is there anything else we have to go on?"

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "No Kazekage, our intelligence division is working around the clock and almost all of the Inazuka clan is trying to find his scent. Anyone that can be spared in the Leaf is contributing whatever they can to help find him," the silver haired Jonin finished lamely.

Gaara's scowl deepened. Temari, seeing her brother in such distress, tried to reassure him by putting a hand on his shoulder. Gaara turned.

"Don't worry, little brother," she began. "We thought we wouldn't get to you in time either."

The Kazekage feeling somewhat comforted turned to face Kakashi once more. "What is your personal theory Kakashi?

Kakashi shrugged. "I think only someone who knew the Leaf extremely well could have pulled something like this off, so it's probably a Leaf missing-nin. We can't even find a trace of either of them. We have almost no idea what we are dealing with. However, even if we find Naruto, we can't rescue him."

Gaara fumed. "Why. Not?" he said coldly.

Kakashi shrugged again. "It's because of how the captor's note is worded. The Leaf can't face devastation like Pain brought upon us. The Leaf will be crushed again, and this time without Naruto to save us," he finished candidly.

Gaara stood up, his anger at Kakashi's nonchalance reaching a boiling point. He could hold back no longer. "So your comrade is captured and that's IT! The Leaf gives up?! Why did you even waste your time by coming here?! To tell me that it's hopeless? YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED TO CALL YOURSELF A NINJA! I'LL GO FIND HIM MYSELF THEN!" He turned to leave, but found his way blocked by Kankuro.

"Move, brother!" Gaara threatened.

"I refuse. Listen to what I have to say," Kankuro said coolly.

"YOU DON'T GET IT! I HAVE TO SAVE HIM! MOVE. NOW!" Gaara barked

Kankuro shook his head. "No, you don't get it, Gaara. It's not that they are giving up on Naruto! They are asking us to lead the rescue! Look at the captor's note. It says a LEAF headband. The Hokage is being cautious by asking us, the Sand. Do you blame him? The most powerful Jinchuuriki has just been captured from his own territory. How do you think we felt when you were captured?!" Kankuro exclaimed.

The young Kage turned to Kakashi, his anger slightly cooling. "Is this true?"

Kakashi nodded. "That was his original intention, but he didn't want to risk putting it in writing to lower the security risk of the message delivery. There is no way that I would ever abandon my comrade and my student," he replied with conviction.

Gaara turned back to Kankuro. "I should have let you finish, Kankuro. I apologize."

Kankuro smiled. "Don't worry about it Gaara. What kind of brother would I be if I didn't knock some sense into every once in a while?" Kankuro joked.

Temari's eyes widened. To her memory, Gaara had only apologized once. After their return to the Sand after the failed invasion of Konoha, he had apologized for what he had put them through growing up. And here he was now, apologizing to her brother in the middle of a meeting in front of everybody. She was impressed and proud of Gaara for the way he was handling this. Even though Gaara had been Kazekage for a while now, she could see that her brother was always maturing and learning.

Sakura spoke up. "Naruto is important to all of us, Kazekage. We would never abandon him."

The young Kage sighed. "I'm glad to hear that. However, I want your team to be rested and fully alert for the rescue tomorrow. Meet my siblings and me at the front gate at 0400. See you then."

Kakashi nodded. "Let's go, Sai, Sakura," he called.

After the Leaf shinobi had left, he sat back down. "Now, since that's decided, let's go over how things will be when I am out," the Kazekage said. Gaara spent the rest of the day organizing procedures and protocols with Baki and his advisors for while he was gone. After he finished, Gaara conducted his nightly security checks and retired to his chambers.

Gaara lay on top of his bed and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought and worry for his friend. 'It seems I finally have my chance to return the favor, Naruto.'

The young Kage and his siblings met their Leaf counterparts at the gate early the next morning. He looked at the group's determined faces and felt reassured that their mission would succeed. Gaara addressed the gathered ninja.

"Now let's go save our friend."

Well, I hope you like this chapter, and I hope that you don't hold it against me that I started this story off with a cliffhanger. Please remember to read and review for any suggestions for me, or PM me any questions that you may have.

Steeltoedsandal