Pirates on the Open Sea

Kakashi sat at the edge of the cliff without his mask, his chin propped on one hand.

Zou Hyuga approached Kakashi from behind, thinking he looked rather thin. The Sharingan his friend had given him could not be deactivated. It had boosted his strength in the short term, but planted a hidden danger for when he grew stronger.

Sensing Zou Hyuga's arrival, Kakashi glanced back, then returned his gaze to the forest below.

"Captain Kakashi, is it all right if I call you that?" Zou Hyuga sat beside him with easy familiarity.

Kakashi ignored him, which counted as tacit consent.

"You used to have teammates who died on the battlefield, right, Captain Kakashi? I saw what happened that day," Zou Hyuga asked, leaning closer.

Kakashi's eyes flickered, but his face remained expressionless. He could never forget his memories with Obito and Rin.

"Those teammates must have meant a lot to you, Captain Kakashi."

Zou Hyuga moved closer still, studied Kakashi, and said earnestly:

"Now we're on the same squad, so we count as your teammates too. That's why, if we run into an enemy we can't handle, I hope you'll stay behind to cover our retreat. I'll take Oto and Asuma and run.

"As our jonin captain, you should be able to do that. You won't let us down, will you?"

Kakashi stared at Zou Hyuga in astonishment. He had actually said that without any attempt to disguise it, openly declaring that he would take the others and flee during battle.

Shameless did not even begin to describe him. Could someone like this really earn the Hokage's appreciation?

Yet there was some truth to what he said. If Rin and Obito had thought that way, perhaps they would not have died.

After a moment of silence, Kakashi finally nodded. He could find no meaning in staying alive. Perhaps dying on a mission would be a good choice.

"I'll give your suggestion serious consideration..."

"Good!"

Zou Hyuga stood and left the cliff. Before returning to camp, he glanced at Asuma, who was smoking behind a rock.

A troubled kid with issues as deep-rooted as Kakashi's was not easy to straighten out.

If he had not been serving under him, he would not have bothered.

For a ninja whose heart was already half dead, ordinary words of encouragement would do nothing. He needed a strong dose of medicine.

Back at camp, Zou Hyuga glanced at the sleeping Oto Uchiha and lay down beside her.

Several more days passed. After a long journey, the ANBU squad finally reached Coastal Town.

Coastal Town relied primarily on trade, with fishing as a secondary industry. It had one of the Land of Fire's few natural harbors, and most of its civilians were far wealthier than those living inland.

That very wealth had drawn the covetous attention of Kirigakure in the Land of Water.

Although Kirigakure's plans for a large-scale invasion had been halted by the defeat and deaths of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist,

small-scale raids continued one after another. Even Kirigakure itself would have found them extremely difficult to control.

Kirigakure had more ninja clans than any village except Konoha, and its island geography had created a fragmented political landscape.

Rather than the leader of the entire village, the Mizukage was more the head of its strongest faction.

Even Kirigakure's authorities might have known nothing about the Mist Ninja forces raiding Coastal Town.

After arriving, the ANBU squad stayed out of public view and secretly entered an official's residence.

Kakashi handled the discussion and gathered further intelligence, while the others waited nearby.

Bored, Zou Hyuga yawned and activated his Byakugan to survey the surroundings, catching sight of Kakashi talking inside the residence.

Since their conversation that day, Kakashi had stopped being entirely expressionless. He simply looked at Zou Hyuga with a little more contempt.

Asuma had also noticed the recent change in Kakashi and had subtly sided with him, forming an opposing alliance within the squad.

A while later, Kakashi came out. After signaling them with his eyes, he shared the intelligence he had obtained.

"Based on what we've learned so far, at least two squads of Mist Ninja have been attacking the town, and their base is very likely out at sea.

"They may have refrained from large-scale looting out of concern for the treaties between nations."

Zou Hyuga nodded and committed the intelligence to memory. The enemy had at least eight squads of Mist Ninja, and a Kirigakure jonin with a kekkei genkai could appear at any moment.

After so many missions, Zou Hyuga had learned his limits. He generally multiplied the reported enemy numbers.

As for the treaties Kakashi mentioned, he had heard a little about them too.

Battles between ninja villages were not supposed to affect civilians. Whether anyone actually honored that rule was another matter.

After all, ordinary people, and even trained guards and samurai, were no match for ninja.

Ordinary genin were manageable, but once a ninja reached chunin level, they could easily crush samurai, even those who had mastered chakra.

That was precisely why samurai had gradually faded from the shinobi world's stage.

Most of the samurai gathered in the Land of Iron had also mastered chakra, making them a different sort of taijutsu ninja.

Thinking of the Land of Iron reminded him of where he might retire someday. His investigations had shown that the Land of Iron was not exactly safe. Perhaps the Land of Snow or the Land of Demons would suit him better.

At that thought, Zou Hyuga could not help looking at Oto Uchiha. What would she do if he retired?

Would she leave Konoha with him?

The next day, as dawn was barely breaking, the ANBU squad appeared on the shore.

After their analysis the previous night, they had pinpointed an island ten kilometers offshore as the base of the Mist Ninja attacking the town.

Reefs surrounded it, preventing large vessels from reaching it. Only fast boats and ninja who could walk on water could get there.

After some discussion, they decided to head out to the island disguised as fishermen at around four in the morning.

They had chosen to pose as fishermen partly so they could catch fish, and partly so they could "fish" for something else. The haul would be considerable.

Sure enough, not long after setting out, they were lucky enough to encounter "pirates" roaming the sea.

Kakashi and Asuma's paddling skills had played a part, but the Byakugan and Red Eye's perceptive abilities had contributed far more.

They had deliberately run into these "pirate" ships.

As Zou Hyuga looked at the crude pirate ship, a "pirate" wearing a straw hat poked half his head into view.

Zou Hyuga's heart skipped a beat. He feared the man might turn into a rubber man and beat him senseless. There might even be a directionally challenged, green-haired master swordsman among them.

Unfortunately, those who emerged were only ordinary ninja. To conceal their identities, they were not even walking on water.

Zou Hyuga did not dwell on whether they lacked the ability or were merely maintaining their disguise.

The enemy had already maneuvered their boats to surround them.

"Three genin, one chunin. We can't rule out the possibility that they specialize in taijutsu."

With his Byakugan active, Zou Hyuga shared the intelligence with his teammates. Making no attempt to hide his eyes, he asked the ninja:

"Are you Mist Ninja or rogue ninja? This is very important, so please be sure to tell us. We're ninja from the Land of Lightning, here to help Kirigakure with your offensive."

The Mist Ninja stared silently at the Caged Bird Seal on Zou Hyuga's forehead and the bulging veins around his Byakugan.

Some Konoha ninja possessed the Byakugan, the eyes with the greatest powers of perception, yet could still lie through their teeth.

"Attack!" The Kirigakure chunin immediately gave the order, but it was already too late.

The ANBU squad had already charged aboard their vessels. The speed of ANBU was beyond anything they could imagine.