The Copycat ninja nodded his head as he listened to his friend. "So that's what happened." Suddenly something Guy said struck his mind. He turned serious and glanced at the other Jonin.
"Wait, the Lightning Twins that pirate captain mentioned. You don't think it's them, do you?"
Guy's smile vanished and he too sported a grim expression. The man nodded his head to Kakashi's question. "Unfortunately, I do. Nobody else has that title. It's the other reason that I requested your help."
Kakashi sighed and stared at the man. "Guy, you realize that this mission just went from a C Rank to an A Rank difficulty, right?"
"Yes. I'm well aware of the risks. But I intend to finish it my friend." The determination in Might Guy's voice was obvious to everyone.
At that time Daichi raised his hand. "Um… Yeah. For those of us not in the loop. Who are the Lightning Twins?"
Kakashi let out a small breath of air and spoke. "They are two rogue Jonin ninjas from the Hidden Cloud village. As their name suggests they are indeed twins and they're really talented in lightning jutsu. Rumor has it that they killed some important dignitaries attending the village and then fled. They each have a bounty of 18 million on their heads."
"Wait! Jonin?! You're telling us we have to go up against two Jonin?" Tenten was slightly scared at the prospect of fighting Jonin level ninjas so early in her career.
Guy smiled as he looked at his student. "You won't be fighting any Jonin. We'll be the ones to battle them. You can leave it to us Tenten." He placed a hand on Tenten's head and reassured her.
"I don't think it's going to be as easy as you said Guy sensei." Daichi spoke and everyone turned to him.
"Why do you think that Daichi?" Guy was genuinely curious as to the boy's answer.
"I sent a shadow clone to do a check up on that pirate you captured. He has just a little above Genin reserves of chakra. But from what you told us is that he was able to make you fight him somewhat seriously. Granted, you were in a really weakened state but still… It didn't make sense. So I checked the pieces of Armor you brought and what was left on him. That Armor isn't an ordinary one. Based on my examination and the few tests I've done, I've come to the conclusion that it reduces the physical damage inflicted on the wearer by a certain margin. It takes a small portion of chakra from the user and increases the defense and perhaps even augments the wearer's speed. I assume that's the secret of his strength."
"So that's how he did it! I see now." Guy was surprised and shook his head in understanding. "An Armor like that? The shinobi villages would kill to have that in their possession. Where did someone like him get it?"
"Probably stolen from a very good blacksmith or weapons maker. Or the pirates have someone like that working for them." Daichi concluded.
While Guy was focused on what Daichi said, Kakashi was concerned about the part his student didn't say. "If this armor can make someone of Genin level fight against a Jonin, then what kind of augmentation will it give to a Jonin. We don't know if this was the only armor or if every captain has one. If that's the case, then you're right. This battle will be far more difficult than we anticipated."
Guy sobered up at that thought. He looked at his students and internally frowned. 'They're just fresh Genin. They're not ready for this. This mission has become so complicated… And it's partially due to my mistakes…'
"Sensei, we can't abandon the mission. We've come this far. We'll face whatever adversities along the way and we'll prevail. We won't fail you sensei." Lee spoke with fire in his eyes. He knew what his teacher was thinking. Lee knew his sensei was not worried about fighting rogue Jonin ninjas but was worried about them.
"Despite the difficulties, we shouldn't count ourselves out just yet. We may have an advantage." Kakashi said, looking in the direction of the unconscious pirate. "I'm going to go have a chat with him."
At that moment Daichi took a small syringe from his pocket and gave it to Kakashi. "Here. This will make it easier."
"What is that? Is that a truth serum?" Lee looked at the small object and asked his friend.
Daichi chuckled and shook his head. "There is no such thing as truth serum. It's just a drug that will lower his mental defenses. That way, sensei won't have to use much chakra."
"Alright team. While Kakashi is gathering intelligence from our enemies we too shall prepare. Lee, Tenten, Neji. Go with Ishido and get the boat ready. We will be going after the other ships. Make sure to pack your gear. We will be in for a battle." Guy said, giving his team a thumbs up and a big smile.
After the three Genin along with Ishido left the house Guy turned to Daichi. "Young Daichi. I need your help."
Daichi had a feeling he knew what the Jonin wanted. "You want something for the seasickness right?"
Guy nodded his head and the jubilant expression on his face minutely dimmed. 'Because of my seasickness I was so tired when I reached Mother Island. I just wanted to get this mission over with and like a rookie I overlooked several things. The number of hostages taken, enemy numbers, viable backup plans, my own lack of battle strength… If Kakashi and Daichi hadn't come when they did, this could have gone seriously wrong. I can't make mistakes like that again.'
"I got just the thing for you Guy sensei." During Daichi's time at the capital he had already encountered problems like these. He took two pills from his pouch and gave them to the Taijutsu master. "The first one gets rid of any headache or discomfort your body is feeling and the second revitalizes it. Take the first one now and the second pill about a couple minutes later. There's one more thing to do but it can be done when we get on the ship."
Guy nodded. He held the two small orange and green colored pills in his hand and examined them. "Fascinating." Without wasting another moment he took the orange pill and swallowed it. Within moments he could feel the small nausea in the back of his head disappearing. "Did you make this?"
"Tsunade sensei was the one who created this. I just modified the formula a bit."
[Reputation increases with Might Guy]
"Still, this is amazing. I can already feel the effects." A couple minutes later Guy took the second pill and the tiredness he was feeling vanished and he felt full of energy. He clenched his fists and pumped them in the air. "Yosh! Next time when I go into battle, you'll be able to witness the power of the Green Beast of the Leaf." With that he sprinted to help his students.
Daichi sighed and just waited. A few moments later he started receiving the memories of his shadow clones. 'Their work is done. Good. I should meditate now. I need to generate some chakra.'
Since Daichi dedicated 150% of his chakra reserves to the Hundred Strength seal his CP bar would only be about a 3rd full most of the time.
A short while went by before Daichi was woken up from his meditation by his sensei. "I take it Guy and his students went to the ship?"
"Yeah."
"Then come on. We don't have much time to waste." The silver haired Jonin said and both of them took off. They soon reached the ship and Kakashi gave Ishido the order to set sail and the route that he wanted the man to take.
Once on board Daichi cast a small Genjutsu on Guy that kept him from becoming sick. "This Genjutsu will trick your brain and you won't feel nauseous or sick. Use this Genjutsu when you're out sailing a few times and you'll get used to the motions of the waves and you'll essentially be cured."
"Yes! To create such an efficient technique. As expected of a great medic." Guy gave Daichi a thumbs up and shined his pearly whites. "Since I'm so full of energy, I'll do one hundred push ups."
Lee grinned and joined his teacher. "Let's do 200 push ups sensei."
"No Lee… LET'S DO 300 push ups!" "YES GUY SENSEI!" With a loud shout Guy got down on the floor and Lee joined him.
Neji and Tenten just sighed as they looked at their teammates' antics.
Seeing Guy back to his usual self full of energy, Kakashi also let out a tired breath of air. "Guy, I was about to tell everyone what I had found out from him."
"Don't worry my rival. I'll be listening the entire time."
Kakashi sighed and gave up. He focused on the rest of the team and explained the situation.
"The pirate captain Guy captured is a man named Remonzo. From what I was able to gather, he was a bandit before he learned to use his chakra and simple ninjutsu techniques. And the thing is he is the weakest of the bunch."
Everyone was listening intently to Kakashi's words and committing them to memory. The Jonin continued.
"I've interrogated him on the number of hostages taken, ships they have, the routes they take, the enemy strength and their weapons. There are a total of 5 ships. One warship and 4 subordinate vessels. What Team Guy took down was a subordinate ship. The 5 captains communicate twice a day. It won't be long before they find out one of their people was taken down. But we have a small window of opportunity. We need to capitalize on it. I have their general locations and that's our play."
"So there's 4 more ships huh. But what about the 2 rogue Jonins?" Daichi crossed his arms and questioned.
"From what I learned, the lightning twins will be on the main warship. These 4 subordinate vessels were operated by small-time pirates that the twins threatened and subdued. They are not that much of a threat. But each of them has the same armor as the other one." Kakashi replied.
"What about the people taken from the islands? Are they divided amongst the subordinate ships?" Neji asked the Sharingan Jonin.
Kakashi nodded and took out a map. He placed it on a nearby table and pointed to certain sea routes. "Yes. It's true. A total of 32 hostages were taken from the three Islands. You guys rescued 7. The remaining are divided among the three subordinate ships. Those ships are traveling near the routes here. We need to take them all down tonight."
Daichi looked at the routes pointed by his teacher and he saw a problem. "But sensei, this is a small boat. It doesn't have the capability to support so many people. And moreover we can't hit three different ships in three locations before dawn. This vessel isn't fast enough to travel at such speed." Daichi spoke, pointing to the ship they were on.
"Yes. That's why we're going to take command of the first ship we come across and split up." Kakashi then looked at Guy who was doing push ups. "Daichi and I will take control of the first ship. I've already given Ishido the coordinates to where the second ship would be at."
Guy completed another push up and nodded with Kakashi's plan. "My team and I will handle the second ship. I'm sure we can fit the people in that ship here. So I'll just smash it to bits... I'm assuming you guys are going after the third one. If so then all that will remain is the warship."
Kakashi nodded and spoke. "One of Daichi's shadow clones will be with your team just in case."
"What did you find out about the pirates on the main ship Kakashi?" Guy asked.
"The man didn't know much. He knows there are two others aside from the lightning twins that are in charge. But he doesn't know their strengths or what weapons they use. So we have to proceed with caution. Once all the hostages are secure we'll meetup near the warship. It doesn't move much and is hidden in a blind spot near a small uninhabited island."
Guy nodded. "Once all the people are safe, Kakashi and I will attack the main ship and draw out the enemy. Kakashi, since we're on the ocean and they use Lightning attacks, they could have a massive advantage if they play it smart."
The copycat ninja nodded his head. "Yes. I know. We have to be careful."
Guy agreed and turned to the Genins. "Neji, Daichi. Since you two have excellent sensing abilities, ascertain the number of people on the ship and their strength. If possible, engage and subdue. Lee, Tenten, you two will protect the ships with hostages on board. This is the plan but we might have to adjust our strategy according to the mission progress. So are you ready, team?"
"Yes sensei!"
With a plan in place Team Guy and Team Kakashi were ready for battle. At that time a new quest appeared in front of Daichi.
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Author's Note:
In the middle of writing this chapter, I suddenly had so many ideas for future powerups and missions and events flood my brain. I had to take some time to sort them out, note them down, make plans and do some research. And ooohhh Boy, do I have some plans…! I'm really pumped up to write it.
Anyway from the next chapter onwards it's going to be an all out battle.😁