“What did you just say?” Sakura asked as she stared at her master. Sakura, Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi were standing in the Hokage’s office. And Sakura was pretty surprised at the request.
“I’ll elaborate more when your second team arrives,” Tsunade said.
“Aw, c’mon, Granny Tsunade! We don’t need another team! I can handle this mission all by myself!” Naruto complained childishly.
The blonde woman glared at the sixteen-year-old. To save all their lives, Kakashi quickly clubbed Naruto in the back of his head.
“Ow!” Naruto yelled as he rubbed his now sore head.
“I apologize for his rude outburst, Lady Hokage,” Kakashi nervously smiled underneath his mask.
Tsunade huffed and sat back down in her seat. Just then, a knock sounded from the other side of the door. “Enter,” the Hokage said. At the order, Team Kurenai walked inside. “Ah, good. Your second team has arrived,” Tsunade said as she glanced at Naruto, daring him to complain again.
He didn’t, which meant he had learned his lesson.
“So, what is our mission, Lady Tsunade?” Kurenai asked.
“Well, just this morning, I received this letter from the Land of Waves,” Tsunade said as she held up a piece of paper. At the name of the country, the three original members of Team 7 instantly became alert.
Kakashi took the note and read it to himself at first, and then he proceeded to read it aloud. “‘To the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the Blue Pirates have attacked our village. We are in dire need of assistance.’ It is signed by Tsunami.”
“Tsunami?! How’re Inari and old man Tazuna?!” Naruto asked.
“The note doesn’t say,” Kakashi replied.
“As I have already told Team Kakashi,” Tsunade started as she looked over at Team Kurenai, “you two teams will be taking care of this pirate problem. If I had more jounin available, I would be sending them along as well. Unfortunately, that is not the case. So I am depending on Team Kurenai’s tracking abilities and Team Kakashi’s offensive specialties. Your mission is to get rid of the Blue Pirates in the Land of Waves.”
“Understood,” Kurenai and Kakashi replied.
“Good. Now, you all are dismissed. Prepare for your mission as soon as possible and depart when you are ready,” Tsunade ordered.
“Right,” all eight shinobi replied. Then they all left the room, leaving Tsunade to her thoughts.
**********************************************************
Once the last member of the team arrived (Kakashi, of course), the Leaf shinobi left the village and headed toward the Land of Waves.
As the ninja flew through the trees, Naruto asked the question that had been bugging him since hearing the letter from Tsunami. “Kakashi-sensei… who are the Blue Pirates?”
Kakashi, who was in the lead, glanced back at his former student before he spoke. “The Blue Pirates are a crew of rogues who have destroyed ships and villages alike. For the past few years, they have traveled the globe, stealing and plundering. No one has ever been able to catch them.”
“Wait a second,” Sakura said. “They’re just pirates, right? Surely, they can’t be that tough.”
“You don’t understand, Sakura,” Kurenai said from next to the pink-haired kunoichi. “The Blue Pirates aren’t your normal thieves.”
“W-What do y-you m-mean, Sensei?” Hinata stuttered.
“The Blue Pirates are all extremely talented. They are all listed as S-class criminals,” Kurenai said.
“What?!” the group of adolescents yelled in shock.
Kakashi nodded his head at Kurenai’s words. “Every single member of that crew is a master. Some are weapons experts, some are skilled stealthy thieves, and some are rogue shinobi from different villages. But almost all of them are trained assassins.”
“Then why the heck is the Hokage sending us on this mission?!” Kiba yelled as he rode on top of Akamaru.
“You heard Lady Tsunade,” Kakashi said. “With the tracking abilities and enhanced attack strategies that our teams possess, we might be able to at least be able take down some of the pirates.”
“How many of them are there, anyway?” Sakura asked.
“Thirty, including the captain,” Kakashi replied. “But the captain is the most elusive and dangerous out of all of them.”
“Yes, I have heard of the Blue Pirate captain,” Sai said. “Rumor has it that the captain is a missing-nin of the Hidden Mist Village. Anyone who has ever come face to face with him was killed then and there. He can kill with little effort, but since no one has ever actually seen him, they call him the Blue Tiger of the Mist.”
“Well then, I can’t wait to meet him!” Naruto exclaimed excitedly. “Finally, a cool mission to test out my strength!”
“Now hold on there, Naruto,” Kakashi warned. “Didn’t you hear what Sai just said? The captain is a dangerous enemy. If we’re lucky, we won’t have to meet him. Our mission is to get them to leave the Wave Country.”
“Aw, that’s no fun,” the blonde kid moaned.
**********************************************************
After a few hours of traveling, the two Leaf teams finally arrived in the Land of Waves. They stood on the giant bridge that Tazuna had built all those years ago. Naruto smiled up at the name of the bridge.
“The Great Naruto Bridge?” Kiba asked as he looked at the sign.
“Yeah! After my first B-rank mission, the people wanted to name it after me!” Naruto grinned happily.
“Geez, as if your head needs to get any bigger…” Kiba said.
“What’d you say?!” Naruto yelled.
“You heard me!”
“Kiba, Naruto, stop fighting,” Shino said as he appeared between the two. “We are here on a mission. This is not about Naruto and his ego.”
“Yeah, Kiba!” Naruto agreed. Then that last part that Shino had said registered in Naruto’s mind. “Hey!”
Kiba snickered. Sakura smacked her forehead with her palm. Hinata let a small smile grace her lips as she looked at her crush. The two teachers shook their heads in pity.
“Alright, we need to find Tsunami,” Kakashi said as he led the shinobi across the bridge and into the village.
Sakura gasped as she looked at the remains of the village. “I…I can’t believe this happened…”
The village was in worse shape than when Gato and his goons were running the place. At least then, there were people around. Now, it looked like a ghost town. The place was deserted. Any buildings that were still standing were cut down to about half their original size. Doors and shutters scattered the streets.
But the most frightening aspect was the blood. There was so much of it. Corpses were dispersed all over, and their blood leaked out into the water that surrounded the village. The crimson liquid was splattered all over the ground. It gave off a terrible stench that filled the air. That terrible metallic taste seeped into everyone’s senses, and it made everyone want to vomit.
Hinata was the first to break. She ran over to the edge of the bridge and threw up her breakfast. Sakura immediately ran over and used her healing jutsu to try and steady her nerves. After a few minutes, the brunette backed away from the edge and joined the rest of the team.
“This… this is…” Kurenai started.
“This is sickening!” Naruto finished. “I don’t care who this Blue Tiger is! He is so going to pay big time for destroying this village!”
Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “Just calm down for a minute. We’ll get to the bottom of this. But for now, let’s find Tazuna and his family.”
Naruto growled in anger, but then nodded as he followed his teacher into the town.
Slowly and cautiously, the ninja walked through the village. The further they walked the more depressing and gruesome the scene became. More and more bodies were scattered across the streets. Dried blood was everywhere.
As they walked, Akamaru began to whimper. Kiba looked down at his faithful companion, and then he glanced at the squad leaders. The two adults heard the dog’s whimper and knew what it meant. They were being watched.
“Hinata… activate your Byakugan,” Kurenai said.
“Okay,” the girl replied quietly.
She blinked, and then her pale eyes became more intensified. The veins around her eyes became distinct. Her vision went from colored to gray and white. Hinata used her Byakugan to scour the area. And just as Akamaru had indicated, there were people watching them.
“There are about fifteen people surrounding us,” Hinata whispered.
Kurenai nodded. “Naruto, you ready?” Kakashi whispered.
“Oh yeah!” Naruto yelled excitedly. He did a quick hand seal, and suddenly, ten Shadow Clones appeared.
“Oh darn, it appears they have discovered us,” Kaito said, faking the fear in his voice.
“Well, shall we then?” Tsubame asked.
“We shall,” Rikuto replied. He signaled for the rest of the ambush to jump out.
The three crewmates jumped from their hiding spots, along with the other crew members. The Naruto clones instantly sprung into action, taking on several of the pirates. The other Leaf shinobi jumped in to attack as well.
Tsubame pulled out her bow and five arrows. She focused her chakra into them, making them faster and sharper. “Secret Technique: Dragon Teeth!” She released the string, and the arrows destroyed five Naruto clones.
Kaito performed a series of hand seals and then threw his hands to the ground. “Poison Style: Toxic Spikes Jutsu!” Instantly, a field of spikes appeared beneath the feet of the shinobi. One Naruto clone accidentally stepped on a spike. He screamed in pain as his skin became ghostly pale. Then the clone puffed away into nothing.
Kakashi’s eye widened. “Guys! Be careful! These spikes are poisoned! Don’t step on one!”
The Leaf shinobi nodded and instantly jumped up onto the broken buildings to escape the poisonous spikes. The pirates only smirked up at them.
“Bad move,” Rikuto said. He performed the correct seals before he yelled, “Earth Style: Giant Fissure Jutsu!” As soon as he said the words, a large crack in the earth appeared, and it opened up, creating a large gaping hole in the ground. As the earth shook, the already unstable buildings finally collapsed, and the shinobi fell toward the giant hole.
Naruto quickly created a massive bunch of Shadow Clones. The clones instantly grabbed each others’ feet to make chains that grabbed the original Naruto and his comrades. The clones quickly pulled everyone to safety just as the hole closed up.
Rather than scowling, the pirates smirked. “Finally, some shinobi worth paying attention to,” Rikuto said.
“No, that is not what we were sent to do,” Kaito countered. “We must inform the captain of this.”
“Yes, Kaito is correct,” Tsubame said. She drew another arrow and shot it at the Leaf shinobi.
Kakashi easily caught it in his hand, but then he jumped back in surprise. Paper bomb.
“Guys, take cover!” he yelled as he threw the arrow to the ground. The ninja barely had time to get away when the bomb set off. The explosion echoed through the village, and smoke flooded the area. Every remaining piece of wood was destroyed from the bomb.
Once the smoke cleared, the shinobi emerged from their hiding spots. And the pirates were gone. “What?! They disappeared!” Naruto exclaimed angrily.
“And Akamaru can’t pick up their scent,” Kiba said.
“It looks like the Blue Pirates live up to their name,” Kakashi said. “Is everyone alright?”
The group glanced around and nodded their heads. “Okay, we need to find Tsunami and Tazuna… before those pirates decide to return,” Kurenai said.
“Right,” the teens replied. The group picked themselves up and followed the squad leaders to find Tsunami and Tazuna.
**********************************************************
“Captain, the remaining members of the crew have returned,” a man with black hair said as he bowed in front of his captain. The captain was still wearing the famous midnight blue cloak. The two were in a dark room, where the captain had been staring at a map of the world.
“And what did they say, Masaru?” the captain asked, not glancing up from the map.
“Shinobi have arrived,” the black-haired man said. “There are eight in total. They bear the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.”
“The Leaf Village, huh? How were they in combat?” the captain asked.
“The battle did not last long. The team retreated when the ninja proved to be a little formidable,” Masaru informed.
“Good… this will give us time to plan,” the captain said. “These Leaf shinobi may prove to be helpful. Masaru, tell the crew to keep an eye on Tazuna, but do not engage in battle. I want to be around when the next fight transpires.”
“Yes, Captain,” Masaru replied. He turned on his heel and left the room to order the crew.
“Hmm,” the captain hummed to no one. “Leaf shinobi… it certainly has been a while since I got the chance to battle one…” The captain picked up a kunai and stabbed it into the map, directly on the spot where the Konoha insignia rested.
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Chapter notes: Sorry if the battle isn't very good. I'm so terrible at battle scenes.
I do not own Naruto. But if I did, Sai would be wearing a shirt that covered his overly pale skin. Seriously, his skin tone is kinda creepy.
Chapter end notes: So what did you think? Did you like it? Did you not like it? I'm not a mind reader, so I need to hear your thoughts in a review. Please share your thoughts with the class!
Thanks for reading! It means a lot!