Chapter 62: Turning the Tide

One week later

"This meeting between the Five Kage was called pretty suddenly," Temari mumbled with a shake of her head as she and Baki followed Gaara as they were led through the hallways of the Tsuchikage building by an attendant. Ryu was slowly nodding off as she lay draped across the wind mistress. "What could have happened in Amegakure that would elicit this kind of response?"

"That is a mystery . . ." said Baki as he continued to look forward. "Who knows what may have happened? Sudden Kage meetings don't happen every day."

"Gaara . . ." Temari whispered into her brother's ear as they turned the corner. "Do you think the other Kage somehow got wind of the search mission?"

"It is a possibility . . ." was all Gaara said as the group stopped in front of two large brass doors that served as the entrance to the meeting hall. The attendant opened the door for them, and the three walked inside to see that both the Mizukage and Hokage were already there, along with their bodyguards. The Raikage and Tsuchikage were still both no-shows.

"One Kage down, two more to go," said Mei as she weaved her fingers. "You wouldn't have happened to see Onoki or A while you were coming to this room did you?"

"Not in the slightest . . ." said Gaara as he took a seat at the round table the other two leaders were already seated at. Temari and Baki stood behind him. "I didn't even know that the Raikage had even arrived already."

"Oh he's here alright. He was the first one to get here out of the four of us . . . Something is going on with those two . . ." Tsunade mumbled with a shake of her head. "You would think at least Onoki would be here. We are in his home village after all . . ."

"They probably know something that we don't . . ." suggested Mei as she picked up her tea and brought it to her lips. ". . . Or so they think."

"What are you getting at Lady Mei?" said Gaara as he crossed his arms, not out of irritation, but because he usually did it out of reflex. "Do you know something that we don't?"

"It's more like you know something that we don't Lord Gaara . . ." said Mei as she took a sip of her tea. "My sources have noticed strange activity in the lands that are close to the Land of Rain; activity that is connected to ninjas from your village. Care to explain this latest development?"

"You might as well tell us first before A or Onoki come barreling through the door," said Tsunade as she shook her head. "A and Onoki probably won't take to kindly to your news anyway you say it, so it's best if you practice it now with us before they both get here."

"Lady Tsunade makes a very good point Gaara," Mei further added as she held her teacup in both hands. "Onoki, and especially A, are not really the best when it comes to their temperament. At least if you tell us now, we'll be more willing to take your side on this whole issue once they get here."

"You two do make some very good points . . ." said Gaara as let out a small breath. "To tell you the truth, I decided to commission a group of select teams from my village to search the lands that are close to Amegakure which don't have the strongest of ties to the Five Great Nations."

"I figured as much . . ." said Mei as she shook her head. "Why did you do it?"

"Through a very reliable source . . ." Gaara started, being careful not to mention the encounter he had with Izuka in his dreams weeks prior. "I gained cause to believe that the Rain Daimyo isn't holding the Lady Sage in the Land of Rain, but in a neighboring land that is close enough to allow the Rain Daimyo to visit periodically."

"Hiding Izuka in a neighboring land huh?" mumbled Tsunade as she brought a hand to her chin. "That is definitely a sneaky, yet smart thing of them to do . . . While we focused all of our attention in trying to figure out where Izuka is in the Land of Rain, the Daimyo and his cronies were free to mess with her head someplace else."

"The Land of Rain borders many countries. Some are allies, and others are still foes. Due to the large areas some of these countries cover, finding Izuka would be like looking for a needle in a haystack," said Mei as she looked out the window. "Have you gotten any word from the teams you sent out?"

"None so far . . . The storm over Amegakure is starting to spread toward its' neighboring nations, so it's making it hard for the search teams to get a message out." Gaara replied simply as footsteps could be heard approaching the door.

"That's going to be trouble . . ." grumbled Tsunade as the door opened up. The three Kage and their guards looked up to see both A and Onoki entering the room with their guards in tow. "Where have you two been?"

"We were just going over some new intel that just came in," said Onoki as he and A took their respective seats. " . . . Intel that you all will find quite interesting. . ."

"Has the surveillance team in Amegakure finally found something?" Mei asked with an eyebrow raised.

"They did . . ." said A in his hard, gruff voice. "The team managed to uncover plans for experiments that village scientists have been conducting for the past few months now."

"Experiments?" asked Gaara as he narrowed his eyes. "What kind of experiments?"

"Biological experiments," Onoki said rather bluntly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Apparently, the Rain Daimyo has ordered his scientists to create super soldiers with the help of the Sage of the Sixth Paths' DNA."

"Combining the Lady Sage's DNA with the shinobi of Amegakure . . . That sounds like an interesting combination," said Tsunade as she shook her head. "Have they been successful in these experiments?"

"It's been mixed. . ." said Onoki as he shook his head. "Apparently, it all depends on the test subjects that they use. Despite her being a twin, Izuka's DNA is very particular, which makes it hard for the scientists to find suitable people to merge with that DNA. But when they do find successful candidates, the results are definitely not in our favor."

"Which makes it that much more crucial to find the Lady Sage so that we can stop these experiments from continuing any further," said A as he slammed his hand onto the table. "And yet there has been no sign of her ever since she was captured months ago . . ."

"Excuse me Lord Kages!" said an attendant as he popped his head into the room. "A message has just been received, and you all really need to hear it."

"What could that message be?" asked Onoki as he waved his hand, signaling that the attendant could enter the room. "Who's it from?"

"The message is from one of the elders on the Suna Council," said the attendant, the news instantly getting Gaara's attention more than any other Kage. "A search team led by the Kazekage's brother Kankuro has just returned to Suna after recovering the Lady Sage from an Amegakure compound near Kusagakure days ago."

"WHAT THE HELL?!" yelled A as he looked at the attendant in absolute disbelief. Onoki wore the exact same expression on his face, while Mei, Tsunade, and Gaara all shared a knowing look, which didn't go unnoticed by A. "Hey you three! You guys know something that Onoki and I don't?"

"Well . . ." said Gaara as a visible look of relief showed up across Temari's face while Baki continued to look on stoically. "All I can really say is that there was an opportunity presented to me to turn the tide in our favor on this ongoing issue, and I decided to take it."

Please review!