A couple of hours later, a battered Team 5 entered the gates of Konoha with their prisoners, and the faces of Kudo and his friends told the whole story; they couldn't wait to get this mission over with. Kudo, with a hint of anxious anticipation, patted his back pouch, eager to explore the ways of kenjutsu.
A few hours earlier…
Takao had just returned and was nursing his wounds with his student guarding the perimeter, though barely on their feet.
"Sensei, don't you know the mystical palm jutsu? I look like a mummy." Kudo sighed; every twitch brought a world of pain, and their trip back would probably begin tomorrow.
"No, I don't. I was told I didn't have the talent and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't do it. Though it's been years since then, maybe the situation might be different." Takao said, finishing patching himself up.
Looking at Kudo's excited gaze, "No, I don't want to learn it, and you can't either. It's a C-rank jutsu that needs you to at least be a chunin before the village can grant it to you." Takao said, motioning for the other 2 to join. The bandits were all sprawled out under genjutsu.
"Listen, with how this mission went, the difficulty will increase to C-rank. Normally, bandit missions are D-rank because they are just civilians, but given the sheer number of foes, that seems likely, which means congrats on your first C-rank mission." Takao said, smiling as he patted their shoulders. Kudo and the others choked with exhilaration and fatigue.
"Now, I want to explain to you how the mission system works for Konoha and all the major villages since they copied ours. Missions in Konoha are assigned based only on combat; the less combat you face, the lower the mission rank. As I said, D-rank missions at most involve civilian combat. Payment is split between money and mission points. Money covers basic living necessities, and mission points grant access to shinobi-only resources like jutsu.
D-rank awards mostly 10 points at most, and mission points are split between 3 genin at that rank. At C-rank, mission points are at most 100 points, and the jonin sensei only takes 10% of those; this rank includes combat with other genin-trained shinobi. At B-rank, mission points awarded are at most 1000 points, and the jonin sensei takes 40% since this involves combat with other chunin-rank shinobi. At A rank, the mission points are at most 10000, and the jonin sensei takes 70% because at this point other jonin shinobi are involved, and my task is to retreat because you will most likely die. At S-rank, the mission points are 100000, and well, you and I are dead if a mission escalates to this level because this involves elite jonin combat.
This is the framework of missions. As for the money you receive, 10 times your mission points for that mission; that means for an S-rank mission, a shinobi receives at most a million ryo, unless that is combined with the bounty on rogue shinobi.
Just like how rogue shinobi have bounties, so do active shinobi of hidden villages. So, when we get back, go to the official library of the village and look at the Bingo book; familiarize yourself lest you die on a mission running into an S-rank rogue shinobi.
As for jutsu, there are 4 ways to obtain jutsu in the village; the 1st is that you come from a lineage of shinobi, a clan with its own reserves of jutsu and secret techniques; this is the easiest path. The 2nd is that you have a mentor willing to impart his jutsu to you personally; this, of course, requires great trust between 2 shinobi. The 3rd is to redeem them from the village and is a long procedure that involves hidden criteria of the village, so your request might not get accepted even if you have the necessary mission points. For example, S-rank and forbidden jutsu. The 4th way is to buy the jutsu from some shinobi, but this is dangerous because you can get scammed and entrapped. This path is mostly used by merchants with vast reach and can get safe jutsu scrolls, but it is expensive, often requiring millions of ryo and deep connections.
Each of you has your own advantages and disadvantages, so plan your futures around those." Takao said, "As for redeeming jutsu from the village, only when you were in the academy were D- and E-rank jutsu free, but now that you are genuine shinobi, the cost is for you to bear. Jutsu of each rank start at 10 times the upper limit of that rank in mission points. That means that D-rank jutsu start at 100 points, C rank at 1000, B rank at 10000, A rank at 100000, and S-rank at 1000000 points. The strength of the jutsu determined the cost in that range; for example, the D-rank Earth Style: Hardened Earth jutsu cost 550 points, with rarer natures like lightning costing more.
This, of course, applies to relevant information in taijutsu, genjutsu, fuinjutsu, and medical ninjutsu; all are each priced accordingly, so take this seriously or else you will destroy your path as a shinobi if you cannot identify the road you wish to walk. Do not hope that the village will take pity on you; you are not geniuses like Minato Namikaze willing to lay your lives down for the village. Think about it, disperse." Takao vanished into the ground.
A few minutes after that, Kudo approached Enya. His gaze at Takao was grateful; he had a request but didn't know how to bring it up. "Enya, with what Sensei said, I was thinking could you use your Yamanaka mind-reading jutsu to read the samurai techniques of that guy and give them to me? I don't think the village will do so once he is in their custody. I would really appreciate it." Kudo bowed slightly.
Enya, taken aback, quickly gestured to him up, " I will try. I don't have a lot of experience, but I will do it!" Enya smiled enthusiastically. "Thanks." Kudo went back to his area. "What are you scheming, Kudo-kun?" Ai appeared behind him. "Nothing, I don't want to leave it to chance." Kudo's mind traced back to the battle with the Samurai, 'Indeed, the path of the sword is a true man's path.' He nodded silently, drawing Ai's bewildered gaze.