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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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Inferno Vulpix said:
Pure Lands
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Behind-the-curtain insight: Kishimoto is vague and inconsistent about Narutoverse religion (he has Buddhist Jizō statues as background decorations, a Wood Element ability named after a real-life Zen master, Sharingan powers named after the Shinto-derived sacred treasures of Japan, and Pain powers themed after the Six Paths), but his actual afterlife is the Pure Land (Jōdo), from where people are summoned by things like Edo Tensei (but lose their memories of it while in the living world). This is derived from Pure Land Buddhism, a syncretic denomination that happens when Japanese Buddhists hit Christianity and decide they want to borrow the cool stuff without Jesus or the Old Testament weirdness. The Pure Land is basically the Christian Heaven, but Buddha-based, for those who don't get the point of the Buddha's original teachings at all. (This is probably unfair in some way; thinking about Kishimoto's worldbuilding puts me in an ornery mood).

No comment on whether Marked for Death's Pure Land is at all like the religion's or Kishimoto's versions, but that's where the name comes from.
 
Inferno Vulpix said:
The big question imo is, well, sealing sweatshop. If Hazou is the only person who can create a seal that re-opens the rift, and sufficient incentive is found to make sure he creates those seals for *gestures vaguely* Leaf, AMITY, Akatsuki, whoever, Hazou will be forced to make those seals. If that happens, being able to close the rift means nothing.

Unless we can close the rift for real, eliminating even the rift scar such that re-opening it would be beyond even us. Then we could threaten to go through with it and cut off the Pure Lands forever if they move against us, which would probably work until they decide that Hazou can probably invent a seal that opens a new rift from scratch.

(They have the perfect leverage to get us to cooperate. If they kill one of our loved ones, what are we gonna do, just let them rot in the Pure Lands? We've already showed how we respond to that, and they can 100% count on us doing it again if needbe.)

The only solution, I feel, is ensuring we remain in control in the first place. If the rest of the world gets to know about the rift and our rift-opening seal at all, we have to be in a position where they can't take it from us. Because they will, and no amount of rift-closing will stop them from getting what they want.
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I dunno.. I'm not sure that threatening the loved ones of someone with a proven track record of creating WMD's like Hazou is much of a good idea.

Goketsu "Pretty damn far" Hazou is known to act sufficiently irrational about his loved ones that I rather think they would be a bit wary of doing like you describe.
 
cog-nito said:
I dunno.. I'm not sure that threatening the loved ones of someone with a proven track record of creating WMD's like Hazou is much of a good idea.

Goketsu "Pretty damn far" Hazou is known to act sufficiently irrational about his loved ones that I rather think they would be a bit wary of doing like you describe.
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Oh I don't mean threaten.

Hidan: *decapitates Akane* "Well, are you gonna just let her stay dead, or are you gonna go save her like you saved Jiraiya?"

But yeah, that's kinda what I mean about staying in control. If we're too scary, one way or another, to make a move against, we can be safe. If what I described above is something Hidan could get away with, we can't let it get that far in the first place.
 
cog-nito said:
I dunno.. I'm not sure that threatening the loved ones of someone with a proven track record of creating WMD's like Hazou is much of a good idea.

Goketsu "Pretty damn far" Hazou is known to act sufficiently irrational about his loved ones that I rather think they would be a bit wary of doing like you describe.
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"Pretty damn far" is also how far Hazou's head would travel from his body if we tried to actually fight an S-ranker as we are now. I'm hopeful we'll be approaching that sort of power when we actually open the rift, though. Anyway, it won't be an issue if we simply bring back Nagato first 😇
 
My current action plan. Will Optimize for word count later.

RandomOTP said:
[X] Action Plan: Tutorships and Trials
Words: tbd
  • Sanity check with Kei and Mari
  • Does everyone need to stop FOOMing, or just Akane? Should we limit it to a more normal amount, or cut it out completely? Do as is suggested.
  • Noburi, Akane: want an apprenticeship with Tsunade?
    • It's already been paid for.
    • It's a valuable mentorship (look at what Orochimaru gave us to "give me what I want and leave me be." Now imagine an actual apprenticeship)
    • Tsunade is already vaguely Uplift-aligned, and this gives us a greater chance to influence her.
  • Focus on building the new estate to be as great as possible (Koi ponds, gardens, Jiraiya Gate Statue, much better apartments than last time) and make Kei's room to her specifications.
    • Ask Snowflake, Crystal, Winterlight, Scalpel, etc, if they want a room/for their preferences.
  • Misc
    • Visit Mareo, bring gift basket. Chill, talk about family (maintain opsec).
    • Tutor Harumitsu, introduce to wider Goketsu family (to give him a social support network outside of the Hagoromo)
    • Work on Minato's Notes
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RandomOTP said:
[X] Action Plan: Tutorships and Trials
Words: tbd
  • Sanity check with Kei and Mari
  • Does everyone need to stop FOOMing, or just Akane? Should we limit it to a more normal amount, or cut it out completely? Do as is suggested.
  • Noburi, Akane: want an apprenticeship with Tsunade?
    • It's already been paid for.
    • It's a valuable mentorship (look at what Orochimaru gave us to "give me what I want and leave me be." Now imagine an actual apprenticeship)
    • Tsunade is already vaguely Uplift-aligned, and this gives us a greater chance to influence her.
  • Focus on building the new estate to be as great as possible (Koi ponds, gardens, Jiraiya Gate Statue, much better apartments than last time) and make Kei's room to her specifications.
    • Ask Snowflake, Crystal, Winterlight, Scalpel, etc, if they want a room/for their preferences.
  • Misc
    • Visit Mareo, bring gift basket. Chill, talk about family (maintain opsec).
    • Tutor Harumitsu, introduce to wider Goketsu family (to give him a social support network outside of the Hagoromo)
    • Work on Minato's Notes
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Thoughts:
  • Sanity-checking should include OPSEC security as appropriate.
  • I'm not certain that we should be asking about the Tsunade apprenticeship until Asuma has confirmed it with us. Speaking of which...
  • We're expecting a meeting with Asuma about EM soon. That could totally be its own super awesome scene.
 
I wonder what could possibly be so special about Summoning Scrolls that it crashes Hazou's brain. I think the key to figuring it out is going to be finding the Archeoptoryx scroll, the only scroll we know that has no correspondence clan boss.

On a related, caldera-risky topic, making a Dragon summoning scroll would definitely quality Hazou for S-class :V
 
Velorien said:
At some point in this update, long past when Noburi's sisters were expected, Hazou received a missive from Mist. The Wakahisa clan has denied permission for Saya and Aya to come to Leaf. No reason was provided.
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RandomOTP said:
[X] Action Plan: Tutorships and Trials
Words: tbd
  • Sanity check with Kei and Mari (under opsec conditions)
  • Does everyone need to stop FOOMing, or just Akane? Should we limit it to a more normal amount, or cut it out completely? Do as is suggested.
  • Noburi, Akane: want an apprenticeship with Tsunade?
    • It's already been paid for.
    • It's a valuable mentorship (look at what Orochimaru gave us to "give me what I want and leave me be." Now imagine an actual apprenticeship)
    • Tsunade is already vaguely Uplift-aligned, and this gives us a greater chance to influence her.
  • Focus on building the new estate to be as great as possible (Koi ponds, gardens, Jiraiya Gate Statue, much better apartments than last time) and make Kei's room to her specifications.
    • Ask Snowflake, Crystal, Winterlight, Scalpel, etc, if they want a room/for their preferences.
  • Misc
    • Visit Mareo, bring gift basket. Chill, talk about family (maintain opsec).
    • Tutor Harumitsu, introduce to wider Goketsu family (to give him a social support network outside of the Hagoromo)
    • Work on Minato's Notes
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1. Can we amend the first part to ask for their thoughts on how we could possibly continue FOOM and under what condition? I really don't want to stop.

2. Given we're talking with Noburi anyway, can we give him Ami favor tokens (I think we still have some) so he can pay Ami to figure out what's the hold up with Saya and Aya?
 
Aodyssey said:
1. Can we amend the first part to ask for their thoughts on how we could possibly continue FOOM and under what condition? I really don't want to stop.

2. Given we're talking with Noburi anyway, can we give him Ami favor tokens (I think we still have some) so he can pay Ami to figure out what's the hold up with Saya and Aya?
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1) Sure, added.

2) Pretty sure we used up all our Ami Tokens during the Bank Run.

RandomOTP said:
[X] Action Plan: Tutorships and Trials
Words: tbd
  • Sanity check with Kei and Mari (under opsec conditions)
  • FOOM
    • Does everyone need to stop FOOMing, or just Akane?
    • Should we limit it to a more normal amount, or cut it out completely?
    • Is there any way we can continue, or is it too much of a risk?
    • Do as is suggested.
  • Noburi, Akane: want an apprenticeship with Tsunade?
    • It's already been paid for.
    • It's a valuable mentorship (look at what Orochimaru gave us to "give me what I want and leave me be." Now imagine an actual apprenticeship)
    • Tsunade is already vaguely Uplift-aligned, and this gives us a greater chance to influence her.
  • Focus on building the new estate to be as great as possible (Koi ponds, gardens, Jiraiya Gate Statue, much better apartments than last time) and make Kei's room to her specifications.
    • Ask Snowflake, Crystal, Winterlight, Scalpel, etc, if they want a room/for their preferences.
  • Misc
    • Visit Mareo, bring gift basket. Chill, talk about family (maintain opsec).
    • Tutor Harumitsu, introduce to wider Goketsu family (to give him a social support network outside of the Hagoromo)
    • Work on Minato's Notes
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Click to shrink...
 
Aodyssey said:
1. Can we amend the first part to ask for their thoughts on how we could possibly continue FOOM and under what condition? I really don't want to stop.

2. Given we're talking with Noburi anyway, can we give him Ami favor tokens (I think we still have some) so he can pay Ami to figure out what's the hold up with Saya and Aya?
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Mari's assessment was 'just stop for a while'. She knows that continuing is important but holding off for Akane and Akane only (she gave no sign she'd stop) for a while seems smart. Holding off for a short period of time (1-2 weeks) and then investigating is the appropriate degree of caution for something as catastrophic as losing FOOM to the Tower.

AFAIK we spent both tokens: one was for bank run help (I think?) and the other was 'help us optimize giving news which would be incredibly distressing to Ami to Ami (e.g. Mari put Kei in danger)'.

Maybe we actually spent the Nara token on Nara stuff? As it was a Shimakaru token that Ami passed us.
 
You know what, bringing Nagato back might actually be a great idea, because then we can interrogate him to steal his resurrection technique which doesn't have problems with the 'fixed location' issue!

Just need to hope he ran out of chakra in the afterlife, and also strip out those eyes before carrying him through. If we can then implant those it would be amazing!

/s
 
[X] Action Plan: Tutorships and Trials

That's too bad. I'll try to remember to raise the topic next time we talk to Ami. It'd be a significant thing we do for Nobs that it'd be worth getting into her favor for
 
RandomOTP said:
[X] Action Plan: Tutorships and Trials
Words: tbd
  • Sanity check with Kei and Mari (under opsec conditions)
  • FOOM
    • Does everyone need to stop FOOMing, or just Akane?
    • Should we limit it to a more normal amount, or cut it out completely?
    • Is there any way we can continue, or is it too much of a risk?
    • Do as is suggested.
  • Noburi, Akane: want an apprenticeship with Tsunade?
    • It's already been paid for.
    • It's a valuable mentorship (look at what Orochimaru gave us to "give me what I want and leave me be." Now imagine an actual apprenticeship)
    • Tsunade is already vaguely Uplift-aligned, and this gives us a greater chance to influence her.
  • Focus on building the new estate to be as great as possible (Koi ponds, gardens, Jiraiya Gate Statue, much better apartments than last time) and make Kei's room to her specifications.
    • Ask Snowflake, Crystal, Winterlight, Scalpel, etc, if they want a room/for their preferences.
  • Misc
    • Visit Mareo, bring gift basket. Chill, talk about family (maintain opsec).
    • Tutor Harumitsu, introduce to wider Goketsu family (to give him a social support network outside of the Hagoromo)
    • Work on Minato's Notes
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These are the low impact do nothing kinds of plans that I hate. It doesn't advance any plot lines or make any moves to secure our future. Just treading water
 
faflec said:
Thoughts:
  • Sanity-checking should include OPSEC security as appropriate.
  • I'm not certain that we should be asking about the Tsunade apprenticeship until Asuma has confirmed it with us. Speaking of which...
  • We're expecting a meeting with Asuma about EM soon. That could totally be its own super awesome scene.
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Added the opsec.

As for the 2nd, I'm asking them to see if they're interested in an apprenticeship at all. If Asuma goes through the trouble of convincing Tsunade, only for Akane to say she's not interested... I could see Asuma being irritated at having spent that political capital for nothing.

I could remove it completely, If you think that'd be best?
 
Oneiros said:
These are the low impact do nothing kinds of plans that I hate. It doesn't advance any plot lines or make any moves to secure our future. Just treading water
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If we perform an EM nuke in the Basement we could probably break all of Orochimaru's "toys". I don't think it'd kill him, however.

I will vote for any plans that involve killing or rendering ineffective Orochimaru, with the caveat that

1. Tsunade doesn't immediately kill us
2. Asuma doesn't immediately kill us
 
Oneiros said:
These are the low impact do nothing kinds of plans that I hate. It doesn't advance any plot lines or make any moves to secure our future. Just treading water
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I admit I kind of agree, though I wouldn't put it in quite so harsh of terms. More or less all the terms of the plan can be answered by a single line, offscreened, or by information we already have. Maybe two leaf ninja would say no to an apprenticeship with Tsuande and that's because they're Orochimaru and Kabuto :p

Unrelated: @Velorien Do you go into a fugue state when you're told to write Kei and then come out of it several hours later with many thousands of words? :p
 
Oneiros said:
These are the low impact do nothing kinds of plans that I hate. It doesn't advance any plot lines or make any moves to secure our future. Just treading water
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My action plan has us
  1. Clarifying FOOM Opsec with our clan elders. Something that we need if we want to be able to FOOM safely, or if we want to know how long not to FOOM.
  2. It has Hazou working to add a personal touch to the new estate, such as building the Jiraya Statue and integrating greenery into our new land. This will give us a boost in reputation with the wider Leaf.
  3. It has us respecting Snowflake, Noburi, and Akane's agency (with regard to their bedrooms for the former, and their futures for the latter).
  4. It has us continuing to soft-sell Mareo unto the Goketsu Clan so that we can one day get the Bear Scroll (and also secure a ninja Grandpa)
  5. It has us continuing to be a positive male role model for Harumitsu, so that we can one day use his importance within the Hagoromo to leverage internal change within the Hag Clan (and also Harumitsu is a good kid that deserves better than what he has)
  6. It has us continuing to make progress on Minato's sealing stuff for Necromancy

I think that it makes a lot of progress on our longterm projects, and is a pretty safe plan for having less than a day before voting close (and thus, less time to Sanity check and filter through the hivemind).

If you want a different action plan, then... write one?
 
Cariyaga said:
Unrelated: @Velorien Do you go into a fugue state when you're told to write Kei and then come out of it several hours later with many thousands of words? :p
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Is it that obvious?

I wish it was just several hours, though. As a result of erratic sleep and spoon levels, and having to write on mobile at various points, I'm pretty sure I spent ~14 hours on this across three days, not counting pre-writing plotting.
 
Velorien said:
Is it that obvious?

I wish it was just several hours, though. As a result of erratic sleep and spoon levels, and having to write on mobile at various points, I'm pretty sure I spent ~14 hours on this across three days, not counting pre-writing plotting.
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Why do you have gremlins in your computer? I think you're the person I've seen have tech issues the most out of anyone I know.
 
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