Today as usual, early in the morning, while the disciples were earnestly sweeping the floor clean of any dead leaves and dust, a sudden loud booming noise disturbed the monotonous atmosphere.
Clearly startled by the noise, everyone rushed to their school's backyard, from where the noise had come. The same rocky ground where their master regularly trained.
"Who or what could have caused such a ruckus?" one of the disciples wondered aloud on the way.
Another disciple had a guess, "You don't suppose it's him, right?"
"It could be!" everyone else responded, with a drop of sweat trickling down their bald heads. Fifteen years ago, during their early days at the school, they would regularly hear such noises.
"It has to be him.. Master Tao Pai Pai... But why now?? Right when Master Shen is out on his morning run, his brother had to show up. How are we going to handle this?" the oldest of the students lamented.
.
.
.
"Today marks exactly six months, two weeks, and two days since Master Shen started his training. Other than instructing us students here and there, he hasn't really interacted with other people," the oldest student explained the situation to the eccentric man who stood before him.
With his chin up to the sky, the middle-aged man looked weird, to say the least. He had a small thin mustache and black ponytail-styled hair tied with what appeared to be a red ribbon. His clothes, on the other hand, were the same as his brother's, with slight color differences.
The trembling disciple felt the temperature drop, both his arms holding onto one another, struggling just to keep his balance.
"Master has told us not to allow any visitors," he spoke meekly with a slightly crouched back.
Fearful to even look at the man before him, who stood with hands behind his back like it was nobody's business...
The man tilted his head down. "Really now?" With just that gaze, he could kill the poor soul. Similarly, even his voice was unnecessarily heavy, having a chain-smoker-like tone, but unlike your so-called cool smoker friends from school, he actually had the face to match his harsh voice.
"Though of course!" Fearful of the man, the student quickly added; "Such rules don't apply to you, Master Tao Pai Pai, our master's own brother."
"Good! So... when does he return?" Tao Pai Pai plainly questioned.
Some five or so disciples further explained the situation to Tao Pai Pai and prepared some tea for him, while everyone else nervously kept an eye on the situation from a safe distance, hoping for their master to return quickly.
Return the Crane Hermit did, after a whole hour that is.
As he gradually entered through the school's large main gate, he found the place oddly quiet. This piqued his interest.
"What could have happened? Aren't there supposed to be loud karate yells at this time of the morning?"
He directly started searching, as he had no need to change clothes after the run. While running outside, he only wore the heavy cloth and not the metal weights. Nowadays, just the clothes weren't enough to make him sweat.
Upon not finding anyone inside the school walls, he walked out to the backyard, sensing something from the place.
'Even if my ki sense isn't that great yet, people are gathered here.. that's for certain.' He entered the backyard and was surprised to see how most of the students were gathered together right on the doorsteps.
"Master!! It's master!!" one student called out to his fellow disciples.
"Master! Thank God he's here!!" another one exclaimed.
One by one, as all the disciples heard the shouts of his arrival, they started chattering among themselves. It was as if they were in some sort of assembly, waiting for a politician to make a speech.
"Ahem!" Master Shen cleared his throat, and the chattering subsided.
Although slightly annoyed by the enthusiasm of his students, he kept his cool and asked why they were gathered here.
A while later, fully understanding the situation, he approached his brother.
The five students that were serving Tao Pai Pai were just kneeling with one leg before the man, unsure of what to do next, as Tao—the to-be assassin of the future—was also calmly standing in his place.
Then, to the exhausted disciples' relief, they heard the loud shouts of Master Shen's arrival. Following that, sounds of footsteps reached their ears.
"So you returned, Tao Pai Pai!! How was your journey?" Master Shen asked in a nonchalant manner. "Did you notice anything interesting in the outside world?"
"Well, it wasn't too bad. Technology has certainly improved. How about you, brother? How were your days? Looks like you have gained some muscles." Tao replied in a similarly calm manner.
"It's so-so, nothing much. Let's talk inside. I have some delicious tea just right for today."
Master Shen then turned to the disciples.
"You guys too, finish your own duties and make preparations for a party, hurry!!"
"Yes, Master Shen." Happily, the students executed a 90-degree bow. After all, who wouldn't be enthusiastic for delicious good food?
...
Peacefully sitting on a chair, the two brothers slowly sipped their tea in the courtyard adjacent to Master Shen's room.
The aroma of herbal tea blended in with the fragrant whiff of flowers that reached their table from the nearby indoor pottery garden.
But something didn't sit right with Tao Pai Pai. Slowly but continuously, he swayed his chair back and forth, seemingly possessed by a teenager trying to balance on just the two back legs of the chair.
Most would leave it as weird behavior from a weird man, but that was not entirely correct in this case. There was an itch in his heart.
'This is odd... very odd. Elder brother would start an argument whenever he had a chance. Such a peaceful tea time, it's not possible for him.'
Tao Pai Pai wondered if the grumpy old coot had hit his head on a rock. The new change was apparent, as in the past, the two brothers would argue over the simplest of things.
But Tao Pai Pai didn't linger on it for too long, attributing it to a simple change in a person's mindset.
Master Shen, however, had a completely different idea in his mind. The old guy's uncaring eyes gave the menacing glint of someone who would kill you in a heartbeat. The future world's best assassin, however, wasn't skilled enough to notice this hidden intent.
'Tao Pai Pai! It seems he has noticed a change in me, probably from my behavior. It's a given, as these brothers have been together for nearly 300 years. I knew he would notice even the most subtle changes... There's no hiding it.. So Tao Pai Pai, see this as natural growth in your brother and leave the topic behind... it's for your best!!'
The day went by as usual for the school. Shen and the students still did their regular training, albeit less compared to their other days.
The sun fell down the horizon as the moon took over, commencing the homecoming party. Everyone ate and drank to their heart's content. The whole of Crane School had a good time.
...
The next morning, Tao Pai Pai woke up to a surprise. His brother apparently wanted to leave the school for some time. The two had a short explosive argument, resembling their old days. And like those days, the older of the two brothers won again.
Master Shen's banter couldn't be outdone. "Tao! It was I who instilled the basics of martial arts into you, and now are you disobeying me, your big brother? Show some respect to your elder."
During these six months, he had grown a lot closer to the students, so without someone capable in charge, he couldn't just disappear from the school and leave the students be for long.
Although all the students were well-disciplined, the former Master Shen's teachings had warped their mindset. Without anyone to oversee them, it was hard for them to agree on anything.
But now, leaving the school and his disciples in Tao Pai Pai's care, he didn't have to worry about anything. Tao Pai Pai wouldn't kill or severely injure any student without his approval. He wasn't a professional killer just yet. At least, that is what Shen believed was the case.
For some while now, Shen had been planning to go out and do his own thing. His more than six-month-long training had shown its results. His strength had recovered to its prime. He could now put some of his plans into action.
For one, there was treasure hunting. He remembered from the early Dragon Ball anime of there being hidden underwater pirate treasure near the oceans of Kame House.
"That old geezer Roshi even had a map for it. I need to first get that map."