A week quickly went by;
Kudo had polished his C-rank water prison jutsu, allowing him to imprison heavier objects and for much longer. His favorite pastime recently was teasing Zetsuei; the big cat was cute with its pitch-black fur and eyes that shone like emerald gems. It didn't help that it always snarled at him.
On the central road of Konoha, Kudo walked toward the village gate. Unlike the first time, when he was too anxious, he was calm and confident now; his strength was at a high genin level. Compared to most teams, Team 5 was probably the strongest due to their fast rate of development. Shimura Takao was not a sunny person, but he was strict about shinobi discipline.
Arriving at the gate, Ai and Enya were already waiting, as always. "You know it wouldn't hurt you to come a bit sooner," Ai grumbled. "But then I would have to see your face sooner than I would like. That's a no." Kudo shook his head at the nightmare.
"Pfh-Ha ha ha." Unable to hold it, Enya burst out laughing, earning him a glare of death from Ai as she rolled up her sleeve, marching towards Kudo. Kudo channeled his chakra into his legs, escaping Takao's pat on his shoulder plus the vicious punch from Ai, which ended on her sensei's face.
"Ai and Kudo, cut it out," Takao said, removing Ai's fist from his face; there was no mark left on his face. "We have a mission." He walked over and, taking center stage, he began explaining the mission. It was a C-rank escort mission for a merchant who was on a return journey from Konoha to Tanzaku Town. Most bandits have refined their craft to look like normal civilians, so it was quite difficult to keep track of being spied on as a merchant.
At 9 am, an entourage of carriages arrived at the Konoha gate, drawing eyes along with the guards with swords at their hips. The guards were a mercenary group also commissioned from Tanzaku Town, returning with the merchant.
"Takao-san, a pleasure to see you again." Ryunosuke Satoru, a man of short height, about 5 feet 6, descended the leading carriage quickly, greeting Team 5's jonin sensei.
"Satoru-san, a pleasure. I hope everything is ready and we can soon depart. " These are the rest of my Team 5," Takao motioned, pointing at his students. "Tanehiko Kudo, Sarutobi Ai, and Yamanaka Enya," Takao said. Ryunosuke nodded. "Well met, young heroes." He said, but his gaze settled on Kudo for a few seconds, drawing curious gazes. The atmosphere got silent. "Is there a problem?" Takao asked, looking at Kudo and Ryunosuke.
"Ha-ha-ha. No, there is no trouble. I just didn't expect that I would meet the child of a dear friend. Kudo-kun is it? Well, it seems Murata raised a fine son!" Ryunosuke laughed.
"You knew my dad?" Kudo asked in surprise. "Yes, I did, but we should be leaving soon." Ryunosuke pointed at the sun. "Yes, we should." Takao nodded as the entourage soon left the village.
Because of the carriages, their rate of movement was slow, but Ai and Enya took the lead, travelling about 10 meters in front of the entourage. Kudo brought up the rear while Takao remained close to Ryunosuke, protecting his life.
In the rear;
Kudo, still thinking about it, soon heard the rustling of leaves, getting tense. "You shouldn't walk while distracted. You could trip and fall." Enya appeared, "Relax, it's a shadow clone." The shadow clone approached while Kudo sheathed his kunai.
The two travelled in silence for a bit, the sounds of the carriages creaking rhythmically in the forest. "Haa." Kudo released a heavy sigh. "You know, because I am a shinobi and my dad wasn't, I don't get to hear about him a lot. It kinda feels nice to know he left a mark other than us in the world." Kudo smiled ruefully.
"Yeah, I understand. I also got to hear about my dad when I started living at the clan compound, despite disagreements about marrying my mom, a civilian. He was supposedly an older brother with a heart of a lion. Unlike regular Yamanaka." Enya smiled.
"Well, now that you mention it. Is it true you guys are all about flowers? Like, even the men and stuff?" Kudo mischievously grinned. Enya remained silent, his brows furrowing by the second. "It's not true! We just own flower shops, okay. A lot of clans have shops, but that doesn't mean that's all we do." Enya said while sighing; it was something he was mocked about quite often in the academy.
"Okay, don't kill the messenger; I just wanted to know." Kudo replied as they walked in silence, "So what kind of person was your dad?" Enya asked, his gaze forward. Kudo took a moment. "He was unnecessarily complex, you know. Like, 'son, think about this philosophy', 'What is your will of fire?', 'What kind of shinobi do you want to be?'
"He was always teaching me to think." Kudo said, "Uhh, I don't think he succeeded." Enya quickly said, drawing a glare from Kudo, who burst out laughing. "Yeah, you might be right. I would describe him as someone who saw the world and didn't let the weight of his discoveries destroy what he held dear. He was the greatest dad." Kudo smiled.
"He once told me about the nine-tails attack, how he was so scared of me and Mom dying and how he couldn't do anything. So, he made up his mind that I won't grow up to be the kind of man unable to save those dear to him." Kudo said with a soft gaze.
"It seems your dad was a better person than you will ever be," Ai said.
"Heeyy! You don't just get to show up and insult me, okay. I am a standout shinobi." Kudo shouted in indignation.
"As if!" Ai and Enya both said, leading to a burst of laughter. "Wel-" Enya paused, his eyes darting forward. "It seems we have company." He spoke, the clone dispersing. Ai's clone also dispersed.
"It seems like someone wants to drown," Kudo smirked, his gaze serious as his blue armor flashed in the sun.