The Leaf ninja finally arrived at the home of Tazuna and Tsunami. Kakashi knocked on the door and waited for a response. Slowly, the door creaked open. The shinobi could just make out a nervous eye peering out at them.
Upon realizing who it was, Tsunami threw the door all the way open. “Oh my gosh, thank goodness you’re all here!” the woman burst out into sobs.
“Don’t worry, Tsunami. We received your message. We’re here to help,” Kakashi said. “Where are Tazuna, Inari, and the other villagers? Are they safe?”
“My father was forced by the Blue Pirate captain to build the crew a new ship. Many of the villagers were able to escape the village, but others…” she trailed off.
The Leaf ninja immediately knew what she meant. After seeing all the corpses lying throughout the village, and all that blood…
“But Inari…” Tsunami broke out into sobs again. “They took Inari away. They’re holding him hostage until Father finishes the ship. And if he doesn’t finish in three days…” She didn’t finish, for she was afraid to speak the words.
But the shinobi understood anyway. All of Team Kurenai was shocked at the heartlessness. They didn’t know this family, yet they still felt anger towards the pirates for putting them through this pain. Inside, Sai was sad for Tsunami, but he didn’t know how to show it. Kakashi and Sakura both were terribly worried for Inari’s sake.
Naruto, however, was so angry that everyone could almost see the rage emanating from him. He punched his fist into his hand, hoping to release some of that rage that he felt. Of course, it didn’t work, but he did get everyone’s attention.
“Those Blue Pirates are going to pay for the pain they put this village through. And then I’m going to make the Blue Tiger of the Mist beg for mercy when I Rasengan his ass into the ocean!” Naruto declared.
Tsunami stared at Naruto in shock, but then she smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you… Naruto.”
“Now Tsunami, where exactly is Tazuna right now?” Kurenai asked.
“He’s out in the dock building the ship,” Tsunami answered. “He can’t stop working until sundown, or else the pirates will attack him.”
“Then we’ll just have to show those pirates who they’re up against, won’t we?” Naruto said.
“Would you calm down, idiot? We need to make a plan first,” Kiba said.
“Kiba’s right, Naruto. We can’t go charging in, looking for a fight. As of now, they have the upper hand,” Kakashi said. “They have at least a thirty-man crew and a hostage to hold against us. We need to think things through.”
“Fine,” the blonde mumbled unhappily.
“Come on inside, please,” Tsunami said through unshed tears. The ninja walked inside the small house and sat down in the living room.
“Okay, we need to discuss what our move will be,” Kurenai said.
“Well, our first priority is to make sure Inari is safe,” Kakashi said. “We can send a retrieval team onto the ship to obtain Inari.”
“With Inari safe, we’ll be able to take down the whole ship,” Shino said.
“True,” Kakashi said. “So when the retrieval team gets Inari, the next step is to take down their ship. Without it, they won’t be able to escape, leaving them sitting ducks.”
“But that still leaves the issue of numbers. They outnumber us by almost four times,” Sakura said.
“As far as I’m concerned, Naruto is his own army,” Kakashi said. The blonde boy grinned cheekily at the praise.
“Alright, but there should also be a decoy team to cause a distraction,” Kurenai said.
“Right,” Kakashi said. “Kiba, you will lead the retrieval team with Akamaru. Hinata and Sakura, you go with him.”
“Right,” the three teens said. Akamaru barked his response.
“Shino and Sai, use your bugs and paintings to cause a distraction to arouse the crew,” Kakashi said.
“Yes,” the two boys replied.
“Kurenai, Naruto, and I will begin the attack once Inari is safe. Once you are able to, I want the decoy and retrieval teams to join in the fight as soon as possible. We’ll need all the help we can get to take the pirates and their ship down.”
“Right,” everyone said in reply to Kakashi’s plan.
Just then, the front door opened, and in walked Tazuna. He appeared very exhausted and sore. At the sight of the ninja in his living room, he immediately perked up. “Kakashi-sensei! Naruto and Sakura! You’re all here! And with reinforcements!”
“Hi, old man Tazuna!” Naruto greeted.
“Hello, Sir,” Sakura said happily.
“It’s good to see you,” Kakashi said.
“We have come to help you take care of the Blue Pirates,” Kurenai said.
“Ah, thank you all so much,” Tazuna said. “Name’s Tazuna. You’ve obviously met my daughter, Tsunami. How about you all?”
“I am Kurenai Yuhi. This is my team, Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame,” the kunoichi said.
“I am Sai,” the pale teen said.
“Nice to meet y’all. Hold up… where’s Sasuke? Is he around?” Tazuna asked.
Team Kakashi instantly grew awkward. “Yeah… about that…” Kakashi started.
“He’s not around,” Naruto interrupted. “He and I… had a fight. He left the village to cool off. But don’t worry; I’m making sure he comes back soon.”
Sakura smiled gratefully at her teammate. "Thank you, Naruto," she thought.
“Oh, that’s a shame,” Tazuna said.
“Anyway, we came to help as soon as we got the message from Tsunami,” Kakashi said. “We heard about Inari…”
Tazuna sighed. “Yes… I have to finish building the ship in three days. Otherwise, Inari won’t make it.”
“Well don’t worry, we’re going to take care of the situation,” Kurenai reassured. “Kakashi, I think it would be best to strike just as the sun rises.”
“Good idea,” Kakashi replied. “Alright everyone. Get some rest. We got a big fight coming at us tomorrow.”
**********************************************************
“Everyone! The captain wants to hold a meeting!” Masaru called out to the crew, who were all scattered around the ship, talking about nonsense.
“Well, well, aren’t you just a cute little messenger boy?” a tall lean man teased as he looked at the black-haired man. He was wearing a green leather sleeveless shirt with matching pants. His messy sandy blonde hair fell in front of his dark blue eyes.
“Make fun all you want, Hayashi,” Masaru shot back. He was wearing a red bandana around his forehead and a black shirt. “But just remember that my skills are what makes me co-captain.”
“Oh please, Masaru,” a girl with shoulder-length brown hair said. She was wearing a red tank top that showed off her entire navel and black shorts with black knee-length boots. Her eyes were a soft baby-blue that shined brightly in the now dark sky. “Everyone knows that that title doesn’t mean anything. The captain is so dedicated that a second-in-command isn’t even necessary.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re jealous, Akira,” Masaru grinned.
“Ugh, whatever,” the girl named Akira scoffed.
The crew chuckled as they walked inside to the meeting room. The captain was already waiting, sitting at the head of the table. Blue prints of their ship and a map of the world were sitting in the center of the table. Everyone took a seat at the table or stood against the wall since there wasn’t enough room around the table.
“Alright, after careful consideration of what needs to be done, I have constructed a three-part plan,” the captain said. “The first part is what I call The Capture.”
“You want to capture the Leaf shinobi?” a man with white hair asked.
“No, Osamu, that's not what I mean… I want them to capture me,” the captain replied.
“What the hell are you talking about?!” Rikuto exclaimed as he stood up.
“Sit down, Rikuto,” the captain’s voice calmly said.
The redhead scowled but sat down nonetheless.
“As I was saying, the plan is for the Leaf ninja to arrest me. I have already figured that they will want to strike us to get to the boy. Ninja are very predictable, and I have figured out what their plan will most likely be. They will move at dawn to try and retrieve the boy stealthily. Then they will probably try to destroy the ship, trying to render us immovable. After a very intense battle, I will ‘lose’ and they will have me captured.”
“Captain… I’m sorry, but…I really don’t understand what the point of this plan is,” a woman with blue-gray hair said. She was wearing a blue skirt and a tight blue tank top. A blue bandana was wrapped around her head, and a large sword was strapped to her back. “You just said that you know what their plan is. We can easily take them all down now.”
“Yes, Ayame, it is true that our forces are very strong. There is no doubt in my mind that we can defeat them with ease,” the captain said.
“Then why…?” Akira started but didn’t finish.
“Konoha is a very powerful village. We have yet to attempt to take them down. Rather than going through the trouble of coming up with a separate plan to attack them, I say we use this opportunity to take them down now.”
“How so, Captain?” Hayashi asked.
“Part one of my plan, The Capture, will involve the Leaf shinobi fighting us, and then they will miraculously ‘defeat’ me. They will take me back to Konoha to be interrogated. That is the gist of part one,” the captain explained.
“What about the rest of your plan?” Kaito asked.
“Part two is what I call The Break Down. Once I’m inside the walls of the village, I will stealthily strike at several points of the shinobi forces, thereby weakening the Leaf’s overall strength,” the captain said.
“Isn’t that a little dangerous considering you’ll be by yourself?” Masaru asked.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Masaru,” the captain said with an amused tone. “Granted, it will take time to deliver a blow to all the important forces without being caught. If I am found guilty, I will most likely be executed. But if I stay undetected, they will want to keep me alive to gather information on our raids as well as you all. The Break Down will most likely take a total of a few months, six months maximum,” the captain said.
“That still is a long time…” Tsubame said.
“I know, but that is because the attacks will take time to initiate,” the captain assured.
“And what is part three, Captain?” Osamu asked.
“Part three is called The Execution,” the captain answered. “I will alert you all when I have taken down the major forces. And then you will strike the village from the outside while I take care of any…hindrances. During this phase, we will attack Konoha with all our forces. The village will fall, their riches will be ours, and we will be known as legendary for destroying the Village Hidden in the Leaves!”
The crew erupted into a cheer as the captain finished telling the plan. Once again, the captain had proved to be amazing when it came to planning. And initiating them would be no different, for the captain was flawless when it came to executing plans.
“Masaru, you will be in charge of the crew while I’m gone,” the captain said to the second-in-command. “I’m entrusting you with the ship. Once I give the signal to attack, I am depending on you to lead the crew. Do you understand?”
“I do, Captain. I will not fail you,” Masaru said.
“Good,” the captain said.
The raven-haired man took the opportunity to smirk at Akira. The brown-haired girl huffed stubbornly, remembering their conversation before they had walked into the meeting room.
“Wait a minute,” Rikuto interrupted. “That man who is after you, the one who had wanted to make you apart of his elite collection…isn’t he from the Leaf Village?”
“Yes, but he is a rogue ninja, just like some of us here,” the captain replied. “The Leaf Village is probably the last place he would look for me.”
“But still…that doesn’t mean he won’t attempt it,” Ayame said. “He did attack the Leaf Village a few years back. And he almost won.”
“Don’t fret about it. While I’m in Konoha, you all will still be sailing the seas, awaiting my signal. He won’t know the difference. And by the time Orochimaru actually does find my whereabouts, I will be far, far away from the Leaf Village.”
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Chapter notes: *Shrugs* Not much to say about this chapter. But it is the basis for how the rest of the story will play out.
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