Two days after squad distribution, Squad Ebun was assigned a mission—their first mission as a squad. "Hey, as you know, as warriors, we not only fight and wage wars. We carry out specific, assigned and solo missions. These missions are necessary for the day-to-day running of this nation. It is also a means used in rankings aside from the ranking exams. The number of completed missions as a squad is important for you to qualify for solo missions. Only Vice captains and above have this privilege. Do you understand?"
"Yes, captain!" they all replied.
"Good. The mission assigned to us is to supervise the delivery of a ship. Our job is to prevent robbers from robbing the ship at the port. Always stay together! Understood," Ebun declared.
"Yes, captain!" they retorted.
Tobi, Chioma and Andrew were looking forward to their first mission. It was their first outing as official warriors. A pale look was evident on Ebun's face. She was not fazed by these types of missions. "The heck is this? I should be on a solo mission, not watching over some inexperienced lads. How would I be able to find her in this condition? Pfft." She thought to herself.
The team arrived at the port. The port was in South East of Saikyu District and was the second largest port in Sanemi. The receives shipment from the Capital and four other districts – Usumi, Kirikara, Makekatwa and Ishiaka. The frequency of shipment delivery via this port is up to 50 deliveries every ten minutes. The port is large enough to accommodate three years' worth of deliveries if no delivery is checked out. The port is as large as an average modern city with different blocked sections and office buildings. The port is named Aika Port.
"Tobi, Chioma. Watch your left always and check for any suspicious person. Andrew and I will watch over the shore till the ship. Do not do anything outside this instruction." Ebun instructed.
The team took their positions, waiting for the arrival of the ship. "Man, this is so boring. I wish there was some fighting or action, not looking at some space checking for a suspicious-looking person." Tobi said, dissatisfied. "I want some action, damn it!"
"Hey, keep quiet and do as we're told. You don't want this mission to fail because of us, right? Right?" Chioma replied. "But this mission could use some action, though. Well, so far, the mission is completed. Anything goes."
"My purse! My purse! Thief! Help!" an old lady shouted. She had just been robbed by a stray thief.
"Now, that's action," Tobi said and took off. "What about the mission? Ughh!" Chioma asked as she watched Tobi run off.
Tobi continued chasing the man till he lost sight of the thief. The thief outwitted him. As he turned to return to the shore, he collided with a man. The man had a stern looking and a scar on his forehead. "Watch where you place your feet lest thou fall." The man said and walked. Tobi could not even apologize. The man looked fierce and scary, coupled with his thick voice.
The ship arrived a few moments after Tobi ran after the stray thief. "Where is Tobi?" Ebun asked. "He chased after a stray thief," Chioma replied. "And you could not stop him? What is the 'obey your captains' do you guys not get?" Ebun replied with her left hand on her waist. Her expression became paler than it was before.
"What's with this ship? Isn't this the ship we are to supervise? It looks empty." Andrew said, calling the attention of Ebun and Chioma. "Andrew, search the perimeters of the ship. Chioma, and I will search inside the ship.". Ebun and Chioma went inside the ship to see things for themselves.
"What the hell? Who did this?" Ebun said shocked at the sight. The ship has been completely emptied. Who would sail an empty ship, she thought to herself.
"Captain, I saw some big bullet holes at the sides of the ship. It looks like it was attacked by some pirates." Andrew remarked. "Look, I found this. Isn't this a pirate flag?" Chioma said, stretching a flag to Ebun. Ebun inspected the flag. "The Renke Pirates.," she thought to herself
"This is fishy. We have to get to the bottom of this. We have some pirates to question." Ebun said. "and what the hell is taking Tobi this long?" she asked. "This is why I hate squad missions.," she thought to herself.
Tobi returned to the port after what seemed like an hour. He met an angry Ebun, who gave Tobi a scolding. Chioma relayed everything that happened to Tobi. "On my way back, I saw some people "gisting" about some operation they just completed, and they did not look like pirates."
"Do you even know what a pirate looks like?" Chioma and Andrew jested.
"Quit it! This mission just took a U-turn. We are ambushing some pirates." Ebun said.
The squad left the port and headed towards a forest path. The path led to an infamous hideout used by some pirates. They stopped their tracks about 20 metres away from the hideout. "So, this is the infamous hideout of the Renke Pirates. They normally don't have anything to do with warships. They are money and mostly hired pirates. No one dares cross their boundary. That's why we are going to ambush. This is the plan."
"Tobi will create an explosion loud enough to elicit an attack. Andrew will work toward the hideout as if he was the attacker, while Chioma and I will hide in the trees to land a sneak attack on the ones that will come to inspect. Okay?" Ebun relayed. "Get into positions!"
Tobi created the explosion using the fireball technique. Andrew walked toward the hideout with his spear stationed on his right side. Three pirates came to check the level of the threat as expected. The pirates rushed towards Andrew. "Viola," Andrew said, cutting the pirates off-guard. Ebun and Chioma used their switch and teleport to land a sneak attack on the pirates. They rounded up the pirates and tied them to a tree.
"I thought you guys had nothing to do with warships. Who hired you? Answer me!" Ebun asked authoritatively.
"Warship? We don't know anything about that. We haven't had jobs in months. What is the meaning of this? This is the Renke pirates, you know?" One of them replied.
"Then what was your flag doing on that ship? Plus, it was bullets pirates like you used in your raids that were confirmed on the ship?" Ebun retorted.
"What? As I said, we have not left the hideout in months. We don't do warships in the first place. You know what you are doing illegal, right?" the same pirate replied.
"Tch. Release them, and let's get out of this place. It's not their handiwork.," Ebun instructed.
Ebun and her team returned straight to the district and reported everything to Jumoke. Jumoke received the report and instructed Tobi, Chioma and Andrew to leave. "Anyways, the special forces will be deployed. Don't worry about it. How are your squad members coming up?" Jumoke said with a smirk on her face.
"I'm still of the opinion that I'm suited only for solo missions, and what did you see in Tobi? He's preposterous for my liking." Ebun replied.
"Hahaha. As expected from Captain Ebun. You'll get used to it." Jumoke chuckled and dismissed her.
Tobi was displeased at the way his first mission went. It was the total opposite of what he expected. He went out into the streets to take a look at the area. To his amazement, he saw the man he stumbled upon earlier during the day. The man was headed for somewhere, and he decided to follow him.
The man kept walking, and Tobi sneaked around till he came to a cross path. He gave up and decided to return to the district. He turned backwards, and in front of him was the man he had been tailing. "You are that boy from that time.," the man said as he watched Tobi fall to the ground. The man carried Tobi and disappeared into thin air.
Inside an uncompleted building, a gang of fifteen stood scattered around a room "gisting". They seemed to be in a good mood. In the corner of the room, Tobi was tied to a chair. Both his hands and mouth were cuffed. His face was covered with a cloth.
The men were discussing a warship they had just looted. "They are the culprits." Tobi thought to himself. He struggled to set himself free, but all his efforts were futile.
***********
At the District Headquarters,
Chioma was walking through the passage calling out Tobi's name, when he saw Matthew. "Hey, have you, by any chance, seen Tobi?"
"Yes, I saw him leaving a while ago. About four hours ago. What's up?" Matthew replied. "I can't find him, and we are supposed to have a squad meeting now. What's this boy up to again?"
Chioma searched the entire district headquarters and still could not find him. She reported the issue to Ebun.
"What? What do you mean he has not returned? This is not normal. Do you have what I gave you guys the other day?" Ebun asked. She gave them some armbands of some sort. She, however, did not tell them its use.
"Yes, I do. Tobi always wears it. He says it's fashionable." Chioma chuckled a bit. "At the least, his fashion sense would be helpful—that stubborn boy. What would I do with him?" Ebun said as she sighed.
Ebun closed her eyes and placed her hand on the ground. Then, an image of where Tobi was appeared along with the route. "I have found him. Get Andrew, and let's go rescue your friend." Ebun instructed. Chioma was amazed at what Ebun just did. She has not seen a technique like that. She was pressed to ask, but she had to call Andrew.
The team gathered together and set out to find Tobi. "Captain, how did you do that? I mean, the technique you used to find Tobi? It was incredible." Chioma finally asked.
"It is an advanced technique special to my clan. You can also mimic it, but you are not ready for it." Ebun replied.
After about thirty minutes, they got to the area the uncompleted building stood. "This is the place. There are 17 people here, and they are all in the same room. Listen attentively.," Ebun said. "I can sense Tobi's energy. He is at the corner of the room. Chioma, use your switch and teleport to enter the building. Andrew will use his swoosh to break down the walls of the building. I will do the sneaking in."
"Be prepared for combat. The three of us are going against 16 people. There is no doubt that the least of them is at the C rank Frontier level. Now, attack." Ebun commanded.
"We have company. Release the boy and get out of here now.," the man commanded. He looked straight at Tobi and whispered. "Always watch where you place your feet. The crows see them all." He said this and disappeared.
Then, Ebun, Chioma and Andrew came to him. They were surprised to see Tobi free.
"We have a lot to discuss," Ebun said and marched out.