Chapter 215 - Team Guy's Trap and Crisis

The Taijutsu master recalled the events of the day.

Guy and his students were walking through the streets of Mother Island. They noticed that the people looked at them with suspicion, fear and even slight anger. The distrust in the air was apparent to the Leaf Ninjas.

Guy looked at the people of the island and his smile dimmed. 'What's going on? It's like they have an inherent distrust towards outsiders.'

The Jonin and his students walked up to a random passerby to ask some questions. "Hello sir. We are with the Leaf village. I'm wondering if I could ask you some questio-"

"We don't need your help. Just leave." The man spoke in a harsh tone and left.

"That was most disrespectful." Lee said as he looked at the man's back.

"Yeah. What's his problem? We're here to help!" Tenten spoke with slight anger in her voice.

Despite the anger his students felt, Guy was calm. 'Something happened here. But what? Does it have anything to do with my mission or is it something else. I need to find out.'

The four ninjas tried to find more information but none of the people would help them or even talk to them. Many even urged them to leave before the night. After a couple hours their luck turned.

'This is definitely strange. They are the ones who hired us and yet they aren't willing to spare a second for us?'

As Guy and his students were sitting under a tree thinking about how to proceed with their mission, a young man in his twenties walked up to them.

"I heard you're looking for information. I'll help ya."

Guy perked up as soon as he heard that. "Yes. Finally! Someone who can help us."

"You're Leaf ninjas right. That means you're strong, ya!?"

At that, Guy gave the man a bright smile, a thumbs up and did a nice Guy pose. "Friend, you are looking at the Mighty Green Beast of the Leaf village. There is no one better to help you."

"Yes. Guy sensei is the best. He is one of the strongest ninjas in the Leaf village." Lee praised his teacher.

The man nodded and smiled. "My name is Ishido Tatsuma. Come with me. We'll talk somewhere else."

The man led the team to the coast of the island where a medium sized ship was docked.

"I heard you're looking for information on the pirates that are roaming these waters."

Guy nodded. "Yes. But no one is willing to help us."

"There is a reason for that." Ishido looked down in sadness and his fists clenched in anger as he thought about their situation. He looked at the ninjas and began to explain the situation on that Island.

"A month ago several pirates invaded our Island. They took several family members hostage and took them to their ships. They wanted us to excavate some minerals from the mines in the heart of this island. Those bastards took people from the surrounding islands too. They were strong. We were told that if we contacted anyone outside for help or if we disobeyed they'd kill our families. The reason the people here won't talk to you is because they're scared."

Guy and his team had a somber expression as they heard the truth of the situation. "If they are in such danger then why are you telling this?" The green spandex wearing Jonin asked the man.

"Because I know that those pirates won't keep their word. They'll kill us when we are of no more use to them. I've seen people like them. They're going to kill everyone after they get what they want. But the people here don't believe that. They have hope. So they won't disobey or rebel against them."

Guy nodded and crossed his arms. 'So we have hostages to rescue. And on top of that we have to find them first without them knowing of our presence.'

At that moment Guy's eyes widened as he thought about their movements throughout the island. "Did those pirates leave anyone to oversee the people here? Do they know about our arrival?"

Ishido shook his head. "No. None of their members are here. They would only come every two or three days to check up on us and take the minerals we mined. And they came here yesterday."

"We need to find them, Guy sensei. And save those people." The determination in Lee's voice was obvious.

"But how, we might need to wait for a day or two to get them." Tenten said.

"Not necessarily. What if instead of them coming to us, we go straight to them." Neji looked at his sensei as he spoke.

Guy looked at his student and immediately understood what the boy was implying. The man looked at the ship near him and smiled. "You want us to be bait huh. Bold plan young Neji. I like it."

He turned towards Ishido. "This ship. Does it belong to you?"

"Yeah. It's mine."

"Do you know the route that would be the one most likely to get their attention and target this ship? If we can draw them out. Then we'll take down the pirates and rescue the people trapped inside." Guy said with a grin.

"Um… There might be a problem with that. Remember what that ferryman told us? That there were multiple pirate ships. What if the hostages are in one of them? What if the ship attacking us doesn't have the people taken from here." Tenten posed the question and Guy was silent as he thought about that scenario.

'She's right. It could also be the work of multiple pirate groups or one large group under a single command.'

After a minute Guy made a decision. He spoke.

"You make a good point. Before we draw their attention, we need to confirm if they have the hostages or not. Still, it doesn't matter. If the first ship doesn't have the hostages, we'll destroy it and move on to the next. But we'll need to make sure their crew cannot contact the other ships and warn them before we save the people of this island."

His three students nodded at that and Ishido had a smile.

"When do we leave?" Guy asked the man.

"A few hours from now. I need your help in decorating my ship. It needs to look extravagant to attract their attention." Ishido said.

The team got to work and made sure the ship looked like it belonged to someone wealthy. When night fell, they began their journey. As usual, after a few minutes of traveling on board the ship, Guy got sick.

The Jonin sat crossed legged with his hands clenching his knees. He had a purple face but he tried to be strong.

Ishido was losing confidence as he looked at the man. 'Maybe I made a horrible mistake.'

Neji looked at the doubt forming on the man's face and spoke in a confident tone to reassure him. "Don't worry. Despite his appearance and current condition, he won't let you down. And neither will we. Our team will rescue your people and take those pirates down."

"You said it, Neji." "Yeah we're one of the strongest Genin teams in the Leaf village." Lee and Tenten said with a smile and Guy sitting near them just gave a shaky thumbs up.

The ship sailed through the waters with the team on high alert. Neji used his Byakugan in several intervals to conserve his chakra and to make sure they were not taken by surprise. Once they were in the region known for pirate attacks they didn't have to wait long.

"Large vessel is approaching us. There are several people held in chains in the inner cabins. The man who seems to be the captain of the ship is standing on the deck." Neji said as he looked at the approaching ship.

Hearing that, Guy stood on shaky feet and tried to take several deep breaths of air. "Neji… Lee, Tenten… Infiltrate the ship. R-rescue the… hostages. I'll…I'll fight with those pirate scum.."

The Genin nodded and jumped to the ocean where they stood on the water. Using the cover of the night they quickly made their way to the sides of the approaching ship while Guy got ready to fight.

"Surrender and hand over the valuables and I might let you live." The man standing on the deck wearing a captain's coat spoke in an arrogant tone.

Guy didn't say anything and just jumped to their ship.

'He can jump that high. Shit he's a ninja. But he looks weakened and he is alone. I can defeat him.' The captain, looking at the incoming man, realized that Guy was a shinobi and immediately gave the order to his men. "Attack."

"Rhaar" The pirates let out a war cry and ran straight towards the Jonin with their weapons. Even when weakened Guy didn't let any of the sharp blades land on him. He weaved through the attacks and took down the pirates one by one. It was slow but it was a steady progress.

Hearing the commotion, more and more pirates came out and fought the Jonin only to be taken down.

Guy sidestepped a swing from a sword and blocked a kick from another pirate before retaliating with a fast punch to their throat and kidneys. 'Damn. This is taking a lot longer than I thought. If it wasn't for my seasickness I could have defeated all of them long ago.'

Even though Guy was fighting several enemies he had an eye on the man who gave the order. The captain of the ship. 'I can't let him out of my sight.'

The pirate captain was getting angrier by the minute. "Can't you fools handle even one enemy? I have to do everything, don't I?" The man suddenly rushed at Guy as he defeated the last of the crew.

Guy blocked the kick aimed at his head and sent one of own straight to the man's chest. The pirate captain barely moved. He smirked at the Leaf Jonin. "You made a big mistake, Leaf ninja."

Guy was surprised to see that his kick didn't have any effect. 'He should have been blown away but he barely budged from the spot. I didn't put anywhere near the energy into that kick but still… To take it like it's nothing? His strength is far more than I thought.'

The man counter attacked and his speed increased. Guy became focused and the Jonin matched the pirates speed and power. The pirate captain tried to stab Guy with the knives attached to his wrists but the Jonin quickly stopped and disarmed the man. Guy was observing and understanding his enemy's fight prowess.

'He's an amateur. Based on his sloppy techniques I'm sure that he's had no formal training. But his speed and strength are far above that of a civilian. How strange.'

The fight made Guy focused and the sea sickness he was feeling reduced. His strength increased and the Jonin sent a punch much stronger than the one before.

"Argh." The blow took the breath out of the pirate as he was launched backwards from the force of the attack.

The man looked at Guy and sneered. 'Damn it. My Armor can only take so much physical force before it breaks. And on top of that, I don't have the chakra to maintain the blocking effects for long. This bastard is even stronger than I thought. I have to stop him before my armor gets destroyed.'

"Guy sensei. We rescued everyone. We're taking them back to the ship." Lee's excited voice gained the attention of Guy and the Pirate captain.

The man looked at the people being carried out by the three Genin and he gritted his teeth in anger. "You damn brats! You'll pay!"

He was about to go after the Genin but Guy intercepted him. "Your fight is with me. The Mighty Green Beast of the Leaf."

Guy started attacking the man relentlessly. The pirate could only block the incoming assaults and couldn't even fight back. He endured for a half a minute before a punch that landed on his torso broke his Armor. The man coughed blood and fell to his knees.

"It's over. You lost." Guy said as he looked at the fallen pirate.

"Y-you think you've won? You… fool… They'll find you…" The man taking deep breaths of air.

"It doesn't matter. We'll defeat them. And our primary goal was complete. We saved the people you kidnapped."

The pirate captain had a smirk on his face as he heard that. "How wrong… you are. Their blood will be on… your hands. The other captains will know about this. And those two… And they'll kill you… The lighting twins… won't spare any of your lives." With those words the man coughed up more blood and fell unconscious.

Guy had a strange look on his face as he heard what the man said. He turned to his student and spoke. "Get the people back to our ship. Then Neji and Tenten, I want you two to return here. We'll inspect this ship and take anything of importance. Lee, you'll be guarding the other ship in the meantime."

The Genin nodded and they quickly got to work. Ishido ran up to the Genins and looked at the hostages they brought. His eyes widened and he panicked.

"Where are the others?" He asked the Leaf ninja team.

"What are you talking about? Aside from the crew they were the only ones on that ship." Neji replied and his eyes slightly narrowed.

Ishido shook his head. "No. There were more people taken from my Island. This isn't everyone."

"What?" Tenten and Lee was shocked.

"It… it's true. There's more." The tired voice came from one of the hostages the team saved.

"They split us. There are… more on the other ships."

The Genins were shocked. Neji and Tenten quickly returned to their teacher and informed him of the situation. Guy sighed and his face turned serious. 'So that's what he meant. It seems this mission is a lot more complicated than I thought.'

Might Guy and his two students searched the pirate ship and took anything they could use. Log books, route maps, money and other valuables. Tenten sealed everything she and Neji got from their ship. The pirate captain was captured and locked up. Once everyone was clear Guy opened his 3rd Gate.

"Gate of Life. OPEN!"

Chakra flooded the man's body. He jumped high and sent a fast powerful punch aimed at the ship. In seconds the large wooden vessel was destroyed leaving only chunks of wood floating in the water.

Guy closed the gate and got to the ship. He looked at the people his students saved and frowned. 'They are in a much worse condition than I thought. They need a medic.'

"It'll take hours to get back to Mother Island. That's too long. What's the island nearest here?" Guy asked Ishido.

"Jiro island."

The Jonin nodded. "Then we're going to Jiro island."

"What? Wait. You have to save the others! This isn't everyone. We have to find the other ships and save them too." Ishido was desperate and the Team could see that.

Guy looked at the young man and sighed. 'He must have someone he cares about in one of the other ships. But…'

"Listen. I understand your frustrations. And we will save them. But not at the cost of the people here. They are already in very bad shape." Guy replied as he pointed to the people brought by his team.

Ishido looked at the state of the hostages rescued and he sighed. He reluctantly nodded his head and spoke. "I will take us to Jiro Island. But I'm not sure if they have a doctor there."

Guy nodded. "Guess I have no choice." The Jonin bit his thumb and went through several hand seals.

"Summoning jutsu."

Poof. Out of the smoke came a small turtle.

"I need you to get to Kakashi and get help. He is somewhere in the Land of Tea. If he is finished with his mission, then tell his team I need their assistance. As quickly as they can."

"Turtle turtle." The small summon rocketed out of there spinning and quickly vanished from their view.

"You're calling for Daichi's help aren't you sensei." Lee asked his teacher.

"Yes. He's the best medic we know and he's the one closest to us. But that's only one problem. If I'm right, then there is a much larger fight and far stronger enemies waiting for us." The seriousness in their teacher's voice was seldom seen by his students and they became much more cautious.

The ship sailed and soon reached Jiro Island. They hid the ship and took the people to one of the larger homes nearest to them. Luckily the people inside understood their situation and helped them.

"Neji. Keep a lookout but conserve your chakra… The best thing we can do now is wait for Kakashi and Daichi."