Chapter 60: Small Unit

"I can't believe it," mumbled Temari as she and Gaara walked out of the meeting room to head back to his office. "I never expected the Council to vote so unanimously for the small unit operation to move forward. The Council hasn't voted unanimously on an issue in years, decades even!"

"Well, I think the capture of the Sage of the Sixth Paths warrants a unanimous agreement between the members of the Council, wouldn't you agree Temari?" Gaara replied simply as the two turned a corner. "To be honest, I would have been alright to just get a simple majority of the council to agree with the plan. I never expected for the full council to agree to the plan."

"There's always usually that one council member that just has to vote no to an idea once it's shared with the rest of the room," said Temari as she did a small shrug. "But I guess this shows how dire the situation is becoming. We have no idea how much longer Izuka can last in that reeducation program those creeps are putting her through."

"Which makes it that much more imperative that we move quickly in this endeavor in order to get Izuka back . . ." said Gaara as the two spotted Kankuro walking toward them from the opposite direction. "Kankuro, have you explained the situation to Baki yet?"

"He's sent out squads to any and all the major and important areas all across Suna," said Kankuro as he took off his signature cat. "You should expect a progress report from him on your desk within the next hour. So, how'd it go in the meeting? Did the old geezers go along with the plan?"

"They did . . . unanimously," said Temari as she shook her head, which gained a shocked look from the middle sibling in return. "I know, shocking isn't it?"

"How the hell did you manage to get everyone to agree with the idea?" asked Kankuro as he moved his gaze from his sister to his brother. "Getting the full council to agree unanimously to an idea is as likely as getting Shikamaru to not have a lazy look on his face for a full day. It's virtually impossible!"

"I can't help but agree with that comparison," said Gaara as Temari shot the puppeteer a narrow-eyed look. "But to answer your first question Kankuro, let's just say dire situations lead people to make surprising decisions and keep it at that."

"Fine with me," said the middle sibling as he followed after his siblings. Once they reached Gaara's office, Kankuro and Temari went to stand in front of the redhead's desk, while the redhead himself walked around the desk to take a seat in the chair behind it. "So, how long will it be before we have the small units up and running?"

"We need very good ninjas for this mission . . ." said Gaara as he weaved his fingers together and rested them on the desk.

"Leave the gathering of the ninjas to me," said Temari as she pointed to herself. "I should be able to round up some suitable candidates for this mission, by tonight if I do it quick."

"If you think you have some people and teams in mind for this Temari, then by all means, go ahead and take the lead on this one," said Gaara as he picked up his pen. "Kankuro, what are you going to do?"

"I'm glad you asked little brother . . ." said Kankuro as he shook his head. "I actually want to be a member of one of the small units for the mission."

"You sure about this Kankuro?" asked Temari as she raised an eyebrow while Gaara started on his paperwork.

"Of course I'm sure sis . . ." said Kankuro as he shook his head again. "One of us should be out there in the field to help oversee the mission. Besides, you have the better odds of developing a strategy if things don't go well here at home than I do."

"Hmm . . . Kankuro does have a point there . . ." Gaara managed to say as he kept his eyes on his paperwork.

"Well, if you insist Kankuro . . ." said Temari as she let out a small breath. "Fine, you can lead one of the small units. C'mon, you can help me pick out people for the mission."

"Sure thing . . ." said the puppeteer as he followed his sister out the room. Gaara let out a deep breath as his siblings left, his eyes focused on his paperwork, but his mind focused on something else.

Meanwhile, in another shinobi land

"Welcome my lord," said a short pudgy man dressed in white doctor's robes as he greeted the man standing in the doorway of the large bare foyer. "My staff and I have been awaiting your arrival Lord Daimyo."

"Indeed you have . . ." said the Rain Daimyo as he shook his head. "My visit this time around is only a short one Mr. Yamaguchi. I want to know the progress of our guest."

"Of course, of course . . . Right this way milord . . ." said Dr. Yamaguchi as he shook his head. He led the Rain Daimyo down a dark hallway until they reached a section of the wall that wasn't wall at all, but was a window that allowed anyone who looked through it to see what was inside. The two men looked through the window to see that the room they were peering into was some sort of bedroom that held a dresser and a twin bed, but nothing else. The long side of the bed was turned to them, which allowed them to get a full view of the girl lying on the worn out mattress.

"How has she been progressing?" asked the Rain Daimyo as he turned to the short doctor. "Has she been receptive to the reeducation process?"

"Oh she's been making progress alright," said Dr. Yamaguchi as he pushed his bifocal glasses up his nose. "She still tends to fight it, but not as much as she used to when she was first brought here. At the rate we're going, she'll be serving in the name of Amegakure in a matter of days, a couple of weeks at most."

"Good, good . . ." said the Rain Daimyo as a diabolical smile came across his face. "Soon, the Sage of the Sixth Paths will fully be under our control, and once she is, no one can stop us, not even the Five Great Shinobi Nations. Soon, those villages will be reduced to rubble, and Amegakure will rise as the most powerful village in the shinobi lands."

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