…
The remainder of the mission proceeded without incident.
With Kaito overseeing them, the trio moved through the destroyed encampment, binding the unconscious bandits properly and confiscating their weapons.
Murakami silently assisted in securing the prisoners that included women and children, while Sora carefully documented supplies, stolen goods and identifying marks around the camp under Kaito's instructions.
Hideki, meanwhile, struggled with dragging Daigo's unconscious body across the campgrounds.
"Why is this guy so heavy…?" he groaned.
"Because you are weak," Sora replied dryly without looking up from the scroll he was writing on.
Kaito merely laughed from the side.
Once everything was secured, the group escorted the captured bandits back toward Hoshino Village.
The villagers' reactions upon seeing the bound criminals were immediate.
Relief.
Disbelief.
Some even stared openly at the three Genin with astonishment after realizing they had participated in capturing the group responsible for terrorizing the area.
Kaito handled the formalities himself.
As the team leader, he spoke directly with the village chief regarding the mission details while the trio stood nearby quietly observing.
This too was part of a shinobi's duty.
Mission reports.
Transfer of prisoners.
Confirmation of completion.
And finally… Payment.
The village chief bowed repeatedly while handing over the mission reward with visible gratitude.
"You have our deepest thanks, shinobi-sama."
Kaito accepted the reward casually.
"Just doing our job."
By the following morning, Team Kaito began their journey back toward Konoha.
Compared to the tension during their arrival, the atmosphere on the return trip was noticeably lighter.
Hideki talked more.
Sora complained less.
Even Kaito seemed more relaxed.
Only Murakami remained mostly the same as always.
Quiet, observant and thoughtful.
Several days later, the familiar gates of Konoha finally came into view.
Hideki's eyes lit up immediately. "We're back!"
The boy practically looked ready to sprint through the gates himself.
Even Sora released a small sigh of relief beside him. "…It does feel good to be back."
Murakami simply looked toward the village silently.
Home.
He too felt relief at finally returning
Kaito glanced at the three Genin before speaking.
"You all did well for your first real mission," he said. "Go home and relax for the rest of today."
Then his gaze sharpened slightly. "Tomorrow morning. In front of the Hokage Building."
The trio nodded following which he vanished in a twirl of leaves.
Witnessing his departure, without another word, Murakami turned. "See you tomorrow."
A burst of wind swirled lightly around him.
Then he vanished.
Hideki blinked. "…He really likes disappearing dramatically."
Sora adjusted his glasses while watching the fading wind currents. "…At least now we know he's not doing it for show."
The two stood there quietly for a moment longer before eventually heading their separate ways as well.
…
The atmosphere around the Mission Administration Building remained busy as usual.
Shinobi moved in and out constantly while assistants sorted mission scrolls across several desks with practiced efficiency.
Kaito walked through the building casually with both hands in his pockets before eventually stopping in front of one of the upper office doors.
Knock. Knock.
"Enter."
Pushing the door open, Kaito stepped inside.
The room itself was simple.
Stacks of mission documents filled one side while several completed reports rested neatly arranged across another.
Behind the desk sat a middle-aged Konoha shinobi wearing the standard flak jacket of a Tokubetsu Jonin assigned to mission administration.
The man looked up briefly.
"Back already?" he asked. "Judging from your condition, I'm assuming the mission went smoothly."
Kaito shrugged lightly before placing the completed mission scroll onto the desk.
"Bandit suppression mission completed successfully," he replied. "Total enemy count: twenty four. All captured alive."
That immediately caused the administrator's brows to rise slightly.
"All alive?"
"Mm."
The man opened the report quickly, scanning through its contents.
"Hm… impressive for a first Genin field mission."
Kaito leaned casually against the wall.
"The villagers confirmed the bandits were responsible for multiple attacks across nearby settlements. We also recovered stolen supplies and weapons."
The administrator nodded while continuing to read.
"And the Genin?"
At that question, Kaito's expression relaxed slightly.
"Hideki performed better than expected physically," he said first. "He is reckless, loud, but he managed to push through his fear properly once combat started."
A pause.
"Sora kept his composure better than I thought he would. Smart kid. Hesitated at first, but adapted quickly during live combat."
Then, the administrator noticed Kaito pause longer than before.
"And Murakami?"
Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly in thought.
"…Exceptional."
The answer came immediately.
"No hesitation under pressure. Excellent battlefield awareness. Advanced sensory capabilities beyond Genin level. Calm decision-making. Efficient combat execution."
The administrator blinked once.
That much praise from Kaito was rare.
"…Sounds like you found yourself a talented student."
Kaito folded his arms loosely.
"No," he corrected calmly. "I found a dangerous one."
Silence settled briefly in the office.
Not because the statement carried hostility, but because of how serious Kaito sounded when he said it.
After a moment, the Jonin administrator closed the report slowly. He didn't know how to judge that nor did he have the jurisdiction.
"…Should I forward this evaluation to the village council?"
Kaito glanced toward the window thoughtfully.
"…Yeah," he answered after a brief pause. "They'll want to know."
…
The streets of Konoha were already beginning to quiet down by the time Murakami arrived home.
Standing before the entrance, he placed his palm against a small marked section beside the door.
A faint mechanical whirring sound followed.
Then…
click.
The locks disengaged automatically.
As Murakami stepped inside, the previously dark interior gradually illuminated section by section, soft lights activating throughout the house.
The sight would have looked strange to most people within Konoha.
But Murakami paid it no attention.
He had long since grown accustomed to the sophistication of his home.
His footsteps carried him directly toward the study.
Once there, he began removing his black combat attire piece by piece before neatly placing each weapon and piece of equipment into their designated compartments.
Kunai.
Wire.
Tags.
Everything returned precisely where it belonged.
Only after finishing did he head toward the shower.
Warm water washed over him quietly as the events of the mission replayed through his mind.
The disappointingly weak bandits.
Phantom Step.
The combat capabilities of Sora and Hideki.
The Scarface inability to track his movements.
Several minutes later, Murakami returned to the study wearing simple dark clothing.
Sitting at the desk, he pulled out a notebook before calmly beginning his own personal report.
Strengths.
Weaknesses.
Mistakes.
Areas needing refinement.
His handwriting moved steadily across the page.
— Sensory range effective but still limited against concealed targets beyond five hundred meters.
— Could potentially increase detection distance by thinning wide-area perception into a concentrated straight-line scan instead of dispersing awareness equally in all directions.
— Phantom Step successful in live combat. Chakra efficiency remains imperfect.
— Wind displacement still detectable by experienced opponents.
— Overreliance on overwhelming weaker opponents could become dangerous habit.
Murakami paused briefly after writing the final point.
Then continued.
Nearly half an hour passed before he finally closed the notebook.
Only then did he head toward the kitchen.
The quiet sounds of cooking soon filled the house.
By the time he finished eating and cleaning up afterward, the sky outside had already darkened into evening.
Murakami glanced briefly toward the clock.
Then instead of heading to rest, he packed some leftover food neatly into a container.
A few moments later, he was already leaving the house once again in a loose fitting green haori.
His destination; The Lotus Store.
Or more specifically, Hina.
After all, he had to let her know that he had returned safely from his first mission.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
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