...I don't think that veterancy for RRB is likely to save us any cycles, given the comparative numbers at work here, and that's the only relevant metric beyond not getting a sealing failure.
But, setting that aside: I do not particularly think we will be getting better WR out of explosives. I think that what we'll get is WR: 4 explosives at TN 50, at most. Which is useful for other people, but not for us. If you had wanted additional WR out of explosives, that's what you should have asked in the check for the TN, instead of
Improved in dodge TN and/or Range and/or Weapon Rating until the point of vastly diminishing returns
But, setting that aside: I do not particularly think we will be getting better WR out of explosives. I think that what we'll get is WR: 4 explosives at TN 50, at most
It is in the nature of Naruto stories to commit themselves to ever-increasing powerscaling. In Naruto canon, this manifested as bigger orbs of chakra that get hurled at increasingly grandiose foes. In Marked for Death, this manifests as a constant war to make April Fools as epistemically confusing as possible. This year we have quite possibly a double-fakeout-update with potential to combo into a double-fakeout-update-fakeout leading into a third update that shows the first two fakeout updates were true all along. This would be a noted escalation of obfuscation over past single-fakeout-update-fakeouts where the second posting of the chapter is the one that confirmed it as actually canon. We could also, of course, instead be in a regular double-fakeout-update, or even another single-fakeout-update-fakeout, but this is by my accounting the first time we have even brought double-fakeout-update-fakeout onto the table as an option.
I dare not ask what we will face next year, nor do I dare attempt to calculate when we will reach fakeout-singularity.
Fakeout-singularity is a misconception. You see, the average person is not capable of comprehending arbitrary levels of fakeout. After enough layers, a person will simply lose track and be unable to clearly comprehend the situation. To properly understand the situation one must understand every layer of it, as in reality, layers of fakeout are seldom identical and cannot be grouped together cleanly. So to fail to understand a layer is to fail to understand it all.
By this logic, we are infact rapidly approaching a epistemic fog. Instead of simply ever-escalating layers of fakeout, we are barreling towards a breakdown of epistemology.
In as few as four or five layers, we will lose track of the layers themselves, and from that point on we will remain confused. We will be unable to tell the difference between april fools chapters and canon. There will no longer be a difference. Causes and effects will no longer be able to be linked together. Casualty will break down. Every day and no day will be april fools.
Fakeout-singularity is a misconception. You see, the average person is not capable of comprehending arbitrary levels of fakeout. After enough layers, a person will simply lose track and be unable to clearly comprehend the situation. To properly understand the situation one must understand every layer of it, as in reality, layers of fakeout are seldom identical and cannot be grouped together cleanly. So to fail to understand a layer is to fail to understand it all.
By this logic, we are infact rapidly approaching a epistemic fog. Instead of simply ever-escalating layers of fakeout, we are barreling towards a breakdown of epistemology.
In as few as four or five layers, we will lose track of the layers themselves, and from that point on we will remain confused. We will be unable to tell the difference between april fools chapters and canon. There will no longer be a difference. Causes and effects will no longer be able to be linked together. Casualty will break down. Every day and no day will be april fools.
Skill issue. Just get good at spinning up new chunks on the fly.
Consider the following standard example of recursion overload:
"The dog fled."
"The dog the cat scratched fled."
"The dog the cat the fox bit scratched fled."
"The dog the cat the fox the bird scared bit scratched fled."
Levels 1-2 is easy to parse, level 3 can sometimes be grokked with a bit of a stutter, level 4 parses as word salad if read on the fly and needs to be untangled "manually".
However, let's introduce a new word now: "fexed". "Fexed" means "was bit by a fox which was panicking because of a bird". Meditate on this concept a bit, imagine environments in which such events would be so common as to warrant a word for them, try to really visualize it and grok it.
Now consider: "the dog the fexed cat scratched fled". Much easier to grok on the fly now, no?
That's how we're able to function, like, at all, given our painfully limited working memory. The definition of every single word we're currently using rests on other words, which rest on yet other words, potentially for hundreds or thousands of iterations. But we can orient to it, because we can "chunk" concepts like this; we can abstract up. It's like rolling up something like
– into the simple eᶻ, and then getting an intuition for how this eᶻ behaves by experimenting with it as a primitive unit. And once that concept properly crystallizes ("exponential growth", say), you can invent new insanely complicated expressions using it as a primitive, and abstract over them as well, and keep building that tower of abstractions ever-higher. (In fact, this is exactly the same as the fexed-cat example, inasmuch as human minds are programs and all our concepts are just math expressions "under the hood".)
And indeed, this sort of thing specifically appears in the case of recursive fakeouts in practice. For example, consider the term "agent". In the game-theoretic sense, it's "a system that pursues some goal". If we naively extrapolate this to a "double agent" or "a deceptive agent", that would be "a system which pursues goal X while pretending to have goal Y".
However, IIRC, that's not the way the terms are defined in tradecraft! Instead, "an agent" already means "a spy", i. e. "an operative infiltrating enemy ranks". That is, it's already "a human which pursues goal X while pretending to have goal Y". "A double agent" is instead "a human which pursues goal X while pretending to have goal Y while pretending to have goal X", i. e. "a spy which pretends to have been flipped while remaining loyal to their initial employers"! Terms like "triple agent" and "quadruple agent" scale up correspondingly.
Why does that work this way? Well, because intelligence services work with spies infiltrating enemy ranks as with basic units/primitives, so "pursues X while pretending to pursue Y" is a concept they necessarily roll up into a single word. And if we lived in the world where counter³-intelligence were common, we'd have primitive words for "a triple agent" and so on, and we'll have learned to operate those concepts intuitively. (Indeed, I'd expect that's already the case in some departments of some intelligence agencies.)
So no, the average person is perfectly able to understand arbitrary levels of fakeout, and in fact, does something very similar to that on a daily basis. If the average person were plunged into an environment where increasing levels of fakeout were common, they'd adapt fairly quickly. And that process can be dramatically sped up by properly comprehending and guiding it (i. e., "manually" forming chunks and speed-training yourself to recognize them).
Okay, gang. Shroom's proposed on Discord that since the IN still copies seals and movements fine, it might only be unable to copy jutsu because the guys with the IN can't see chakra anymore. We have a seal in Jiraiya's hoard that reveals a specific type of chakra within its area of effect (edit for details- See Invisibility reveals chakra constructs but won't do anything about internal chakra molding, that being the stuff we need to see is why I think it'd need a rune or a bioseal or etc).
I therefore propose that once we've learnt this seal (or earlier if desired given that paper seals don't seem to give rune veterancy), we toss a prep day at a rune that reveals all chakra within its radius including people's internal chakra. See if that lets Hazo copy jutsu.
Okay, gang. Shroom's proposed on Discord that since the IN still copies seals and movements fine, it might only be unable to copy jutsu because the guys with the IN can't see chakra anymore. We have a seal in Jiraiya's hoard that reveals a specific type of chakra within its area of effect.
I therefore propose that once we've learnt this seal (or earlier if desired given that paper seals don't seem to give rune veterancy), we toss a prep day at a rune that reveals all chakra within its radius including people's internal chakra. See if that lets Hazo copy jutsu.
Wasn't this for just regular run of the mill explosion seals? Both the rune explosives and implosion seals are technically secret techniques of two of Leaf's best sealmasters
He blinked and rubbed his eyes. Why did he feel so strange?
He'd dreamt of yesterday. When he'd gone out with Kagome-sensei and tried to… retrieve a message from the future? Except, instead of nothing, in his dream he'd received a message. But he'd woken up, and when he fell asleep again, he'd dreamt of the same thing again, yet subtly different. Something about it didn't feel right though, and he kept waking and falling asleep, and each time the message he received from the future got stranger and stranger and stranger. His dreams twisted away from the message, sometimes overwhelming and other times underwhelming.
Was he really awake now?
He pinched himself. Yep, he was definitely awake. He felt awful from waking up a half-dozen times during the night, but he was awake.
It had been quite the fever dream. Why had he planned to take the message while dramatically infusing a rune anyway? Or with Kagome-sensei, brilliant sealmaster and walking OPSEC leak, present? If his future self ever managed to crack time travel, surely he would be able to send the message somewhere better suited? Somewhere like…
Hazō pushed himself upright in his bed, only for a letter to fall into his lap.
He picked up the letter, a chill going down his spine. He turned it this way and that in his hands, considering. It was good paper, heavy and rich, with even color and thickness. Paper suitable for a sealmaster. It had been tri-folded, the edges sealed with wax to form an envelope.
He turned it over and the blood drained from his face at the words written on the front, above a wax seal with the Gōketsu family crest pressed into it.
He couldn't help it. He tore the envelope open.
Lord Hazō,
The housekeeper said you had difficulty sleeping during the night, so I took the liberty of rescheduling most of your morning appointments. If you do rise before 10, do proceed to the parlor with all due haste to meet with Lord Kurusu.
Best,
Your Chancellor, Gaku
Hazō rubbed his eyes, then stared out the window, gauging the angle of the sun. It looked later than 10.
"Shit…"
He blinked. He was late for morning training with Kei and Noburi in the Forest of Death.
"Shit."
He swung himself out of bed, feeling the faintest of twinges in his back, as he remembered that he was also late for his technique hacking training with Ino and Haruhisa.
"Shit!
Sloth fled before the haste of a well-trained Mist-nin; he was out of the door in ninety seconds flat.
o-o-o
Hazō couldn't see Kei through the dividing wall of the Gōketsu estate hot springs, but he could infer she had her head in her hands by the muffled sound of her voice as she spoke.
"So, in summary: you desire additional Summoning scrolls for the Gōketsu Clan. The locations and leads on known scrolls at present appear insufficient, and furthermore, the Hyena Clan will shortly be engaged in a fight for its life against the Pangolin Clan. Consequently, you wish to propose Yuno as the Hyena Summoner, for her jōnin-level combat skills and specialization fighting against armored chakra beasts will likely make her highly effective at dispatching pangolin fighters."
"That's right," Hazō said. "And I want to check with Yuno first to see if she would be okay opposing the Pangolins, because the hyenas would definitely make her do so."
"That will certainly be the case," Kei said. "In fact, you are wholly correct that the Hyena Clan would be ecstatic to have Yuno as a summoner in a vacuum, as her particular combat specialization would indeed make her highly lethal against pangolin invaders. As an aside, let us dispose of pleasant fictions such as 'opposing' the pangolins – Yuno's combat style is a syncretic mixture of styles from Isan, Leaf, and her own bellicose imagination, but it is invariably lethal. Nonetheless, there are additional circumstances to consider.
"Your ability to navigate interpersonal relationships is far superior to mine, so I shall set aside the fact that the way you frame the subject to Yuno must be done carefully if you wish her to continue growing past the traumas she endured in Isan, as you may desire not to suggest that her primary value to you or to the Hyenas would be her ability to kill things – despite the fact that, from the initial presentation of your proposal, that does appear to be the case. Rather, I would highlight that, to my best understanding, Yuno's religious beliefs are only slightly less syncretic than her fighting style, combining Isan's folk religion with Jashinism and, again, gory figments of her imagination.
"While I cannot predict exactly how she would respond, I expect she continues to believe pangolins to be holy ambassadors of the divine – while not gods themselves, incalculably purer than even the most sinless of mortals. While I have attempted and by this point certainly succeeded in disabusing her of the notion that I, as the Pangolin Summoner, am divine, I do not believe that she will have lost her belief in the divinity of the Pangolin Clan. While her understanding of the Seventh Path is superior to the average Leaf shinobi, it is far from complete. The only way in which I believe she would be willing to slaughter Pangolins en-masse is if she went beyond accepting Jashinism and let it become the central, overriding tenet of her life philosophy. I do not believe it is necessary to explain why that would be undesirable.
"I believe that covers the primary issues on Yuno's side. With Mio removed from the clan compound, the rest of the Gōketsu are unlikely to complain about Yuno being granted greater power and survivability and if other clans object to the Gōketsu acquiring another scroll, I expect Naruto will simply suggest that they acquire the scrolls themselves if they so desire them."
"That's good to hear," Hazō said. "I think Asuma said at some point that people were getting pissed that we had so many scrolls, and said that he would have preferred it politically if we could give a scroll to an ally instead of keeping it for ourselves."
"Politically, such a course of action would certainly suit Naruto as well," Kei said. "Fortunately, having received training from Jiraiya for many of his formative years, he is a believer in earning one's power. Or, as he might put it, 'get good'.
"Regardless, I will set aside the fact that the Hyenas will likely want anyone but a Gōketsu summoner – your proposed preemptive negotiations via Cannai will likely resolve any such concerns in the positive or negative. Instead, my final objection is how it will affect my own relationship with Yuno.
"I will begin with the most concrete objection: I will be ordered to eliminate her, and she will be ordered to eliminate me, and both of these orders will be eminently reasonable from the perspective of the Pangolin and Hyena Clans. I know of no prior case where two Seventh Path clans in active conflict have had allied summoners, but neither Pangolin nor Hyena are known for their generous and compromising nature. Perhaps we will somehow negotiate to not be required to take such action on the Human Path – though action on the Human Path against the clan's enemies is one of the prime examples of duty required of me as Pangolin Summoner. What, then, will happen if we meet on the battlefield? Are we to kill each other's allies, but ignore one another? Will one of us retreat, and let the other slaughter our comrades? What will our summon clan ask of us then, after such cowardly actions? I do not see a satisfactory solution.
"Set aside any direct, violent conflict between Yuno and myself, as the result of such a conflict is wholly predictable. My summons will never be willing to cooperate with the powerful Hyena Summoner who has murdered dozens of their brothers-in-arms, and likewise her summons will refuse to cooperate with me. Future Gōketsu missions will only ever feature either myself or Yuno, or if we are both to attend, neither may act as summoners. This reduces the benefit to Gōketsu's power available from the Hyena Scroll.
"Then, consider what use Yuno will be to the Hyenas. Summoners must be primarily deployed offensively; this is one of the great weaknesses of the Sage's design. Perhaps the nature of the war will primarily allow Yuno to attack isolated Pangolin squads, but once the Pangolins become aware that any group below a certain size is vulnerable to being attacked, their armies will move in battalions large enough to deter opportunistic raids. Instead, I expect Yuno will primarily attack Pangolin soft targets – non-combatants, to be explicit. While defended, they will not be densely defended enough to deter a summoner's raid. While perhaps some deserving non-combatants, say, from the Ministry of Doctrine, may be killed, the bulk will be ordinary pangolins. Indeed, I dread orders to do the same at Pantsā's behest.
"Finally, I note a slight apprehension regarding the risk of introducing a Gōketsu summoner to a clan at war: namely, that the result may somehow result in using our clan's unique advantage to engage in arms-dealing on the Seventh Path once more. I believe this also does not require explanation."
"So…" Hazō said, after processing Kei's speech, "Your second objection isn't an objection to Yuno specifically, but to any Gōketsu becoming the Hyena Summoner, if I understood that correctly. Supposing the Hyenas knew where their scroll was, what would you have us do with it?"
"I do not know," Kei said. Hazō half-expected the words to be punctuated by a sharp gesture and a splash of hot water, but instead he just heard her quietly grinding her head deeper into her palms. "I will be set on a likely-lethal collision course with any Hyena summoner just as surely as I was set against the Condor Summoner. Perhaps that is only the case while open hostilities exist between the Hyena and Pangolin Clans. It is impossible now that a summoner could be trained before hostilities resume, but if a Leaf-allied Hyena Summoner were to arrive just as Hyena surrenders to the Pangolins, it may grant the Hyenas some power and leverage in their capitulation, similarly to how the Condors obtained gains, however slight, from Ruri's presence. Perhaps I would advocate granting the scroll to some foreign ally – Sand is viable – which I would be more easily able to oppose.
"Regardless, selecting a Hyena Summoner from within the Gōketsu is certain to cause drama or bloodshed within the family. I would not recommend it."
"I see," Hazō said. "Well, thank you for your feedback. I'll have to talk with Cannai about whether it's viable at all in the first place, and then getting the Hyena's consent and acquiring the scroll might be a whole adventure in itself."
"It is rather unlikely that it languishes in some nameless cavern, yes," Kei said. "It does not even seem like a particularly wise target for another scroll hunt mission, given that we have far superior intelligence on other scrolls."
"Right," Hazō said. Well, he had plans to acquire the Squirrel and Otter scrolls, but if his lust for ancient artifacts didn't end there, there was no need to put the cart before the firegoat and cause drama around the Hyena Scroll before it was well in hand. "I suppose I can just speak to Cannai about generally directing where the scroll goes, and see what he says. No need to bring Yuno into it, if you think it's going to be sensitive.
"Speaking of which," he said, stepping out of the hot springs and grabbing a towel, "I think I'm about due on the Seventh Path. Enjoy your soak, Kei."
"Truly exquisite of you to turn my thoughts to Pangolin's expanding conquests, then leave me alone to ruminate on the matter. If ever you commit a treason that forces Naruto to strip you of the title of Clan Lord, you will find satisfactory employment in Torture and Interrogation, I expect."
"Love you too."
o-o-o
Pale yellow smoke dispelled, revealing the silver-blue skies over Dog.
"Greetings, summoner," Cannai said, tongue lolling out. Hazō shot a glance at the Dog Boss' foreleg – while Cannai's skin had grown back, the whole area remained hairless.
"Welcome back, Cannai," Hazō said, bowing respectfully to Cannai and letting his puppy escort down to the ground. "Have you been back for long?"
"This is the first day of my return to the land," Cannai said. "The other Bosses say they don't like talking about meaningless things, yet it seems to me they do so incessantly, as well as snapping at one another about some perceived offense or another. If there is a silver lining to Haiwarai's death at the Crusade, it is that I did not need to negotiate passage from the Hyena on my return here."
"That's good," Hazō said. "I'm sure everyone wanted you back as soon as possible. Dog wouldn't be the same without you here."
"How could it be?"
Hazō didn't respond, instead taking a few seconds to walk around looking for a soft patch of grass where he could lie down. He settled himself down gingerly, but instead of pain, he only felt the new skin of his back stretch uncomfortably. While Noburi wasn't quite ready to pronounce Hazō field-ready yet, Hazō was finally feeling better after his misadventure in the sealing failure cave.
"Speaking of the Hyena Clan," Hazō said after sprawling himself out on the grass, "I wanted to ask you a question."
The familiar flumph of Cannai settling to the ground signaled that the Dog Boss had plenty of time to spend idly. "Indeed, you said as much. Whatever could it be, that wasn't fit to discuss in front of the other lords of the Seventh Path?"
"Well, it looks like the Pangolins and Leopards might end up in conflict pretty soon," Hazō said. "I don't want to overstep my bounds, but this is all just how I see things. Dog's sworn to help the Hyenas, but I don't think we want to be the ones suffering the brunt of Pangolin's offensive, even without skywalkers. Still, we don't want to put in a token effort and let Hyena collapse either, since then we might become the next target for the Pangolins. I was thinking we should angle our support of Hyena to try to support them as a buffer state between Pangolin and Dog. On the Human Path, that's how things ended up after the Second World War – a bunch of relatively small weak states popped into existence to keep the major powers from being able to immediately launch attacks on each other."
"I am well aware of the Human Path's history of conflict," Cannai said. "Kakashi was a student of history when he wasn't being ruled by it. You are right that I do not wish to see Hyena fall to Pangolin. Pangolin and Dog may have no history of conflict the way Pangolin does with Condor, Hyena, and Rat, but Leopard would be well-described as our enemies. Even with Pangolin's support, Leopard will not attack us – Bear is our ally, and the Pangolin Empire will be far from their place of power, never mind that Pantsā will fear the possibility that you may arm the Dogs with seals, if we are to be invaded.
"Of course, the question may end up moot. I offered Leopard and Hyena formal alliance against the Pangolins. They have not yet replied, and while I expect Leopard will continue their alliance with Pangolin, Hyena may yet accept. I would hope that Pangolin will be wise enough not to press their attack across a mountain range into the teeth of our clans combined. My impression of Pantsā is that he would rather roll over an enemy unable to defend themselves than engage in a fair fight.
"Foreoffpaw, if Hyena does not accept the alliance then things will grow…complicated. Pantsā will not soon forget the challenge my words gave, and I would not wish this situation upon the dogs of future generations. If Dog must stand alone… well, even if Pantsā will not attack while you are our summoner, he only has to await your death. Once Pangolin has consolidated its power in its new territories, once you are no longer our summoner to provide the threat of seal-based resistance and retaliation… I cannot say what might happen.
"Even if Hyena accepts, there is difficulty. I would not call Hyena our enemy, but we have had little fondness for one another. They might well attempt to use our volunteered warriors as fodder for the front lines, rather than care for their lives as allies. Given that they will likely accept my offer, I will need to be very careful in defining the terms of alliance to ensure the good of Dog."
"Good," Hazō said. "I was thinking that it would be a shame if Haiwarai, after risking her life for the good of the Path and dying for it, were repaid by everyone standing by and letting her clan be conquered. Do you think anyone else would be willing to bolster the hyenas?"
"I know not, summoner," Cannai said. "Bear, perhaps, though I would not bet on it. Kamehameha and Enma both seemed willing to stand up to Pantsā, but they are far from where Pangolin would make war upon us, and their only way to stand up on Hyena's behalf would be to directly attack Pangolin and open up another front of the war. I expect that would be too much for them to stomach."
"Hm. We need to coordinate better, which I can take care of as a summoner. Actually…" Hazō trailed off. "Can we meet with the new Hyena Boss and figure out how we ought to proceed? I'm sure they know better than we do how to support them. Or are they still choosing their new Boss? If so, could we somehow influence the selection to benefit Dog?"
Cannai panted in amusement. "Very funny, summoner. I do not believe the Hyena Clan is yet so desperate that they would debase themselves like that. I do not know if they have a new Boss. They certainly did not try to stop my passage, if they exist. If indeed one has been selected, I suspect they will lie low for their month of peace while they come into their power. That said, we must be cautious about following their wishes – remember that bloodshed between Hyena and Dog was a common occurrence for the past several decades, and their feelings regarding my people will be complex at best.
"I see," Hazō said. "Maybe we can tie our clans closer together. Tell me Cannai, is there a Hyena summoner?"
"Not at present to my knowledge," Cannai said. "There was a Hyena summoner a decade ago, an old man who I believe hailed from the Elemental Nations rather than from the east. While I heard occasional tales of his achievements, I believe he had in turn heard of Kakashi's strength, and took efforts not to draw too much of our attention. Perhaps he is dead now, or merely too old to effectively fight on Hyena's behalf, because I do not believe any summoner would hesitate to fight on the behalf of their clan against the Pangolin and Leopard advance. Regardless, he must not have chosen a successor, or if he did, not a very strong one."
"I see," Hazō said. "Do you think the Hyenas would be interested in getting a more active summoner? Someone to give them faster communications. The Gōketsu clan has several strong combatants that would help the Hyena's fight as well, since the summoner could teleport to wherever they're needed on the battlefront. Of course, we also have a great deal of experience in digging up otherwise-hidden scrolls."
"You wish to strengthen your clan with yet another summoning contract?" Cannai said. Hazō glanced over to see the massive dog's tongue lolling out. "Do you ever intend to stop expanding your clan's grasp on the Seventh Path?"
"I wasn't planning on it," Hazō said.
Cannai panted. "Very well, summoner. Though, would it not be… dangerous, to have the Hyena Summoner in your clan, working against the Pangolin Summoner, also of your clan, though in a rather more complicated situation I can't be troubled to wrap my head around? It sounds like it could be challenging to navigate."
"Perhaps," Hazō said. "We're discussing how it might work."
"It may not be within your power to make it work, summoner. The Pangolins and the Hyenas are both belligerent by nature. But I shall have faith you will find a resolution. Would the Hyenas take your offer? I suspect not – the very last thing they may want is a Gōketsu summoner, given the effect the Gōketsu have had on their clan so far, and the possibility of a Gōketsu summoner being secretly endorsed by the Pangolin Clan to execute a devastating backstab. In that regard, your familial bond with the Pangolin summoner will itself be an obstacle in terms of ensuring Dog's alliance with Hyena, and it is fortunate that you would not fight on the front lines regardless of the circumstances."
"I would be willing to fight for the Dog Clan, Cannai," Hazō said, propping himself up on his elbows to look the Dog Boss in the eye. "I remember what you told me when I first became summoner, and since then, I've only come to love the Dog Clan more."
Cannai pawed at the ground, then rested his nose on his paws. "Summoner, you do not need to make such claims. You know you are not Kakashi. I know you are not Kakashi. That is fine. You are enough as yourself. We dogs know that everyone has their role in the pack. It is fine for your role not to be fighting. Not everyone needs to fight. You contribute your share to our clan and more.
"The seals you provided have given the Dog Clan mobility in ways no other summoner of ours has ever managed. The trade network has granted us access to wealth from across the Path. In fact, as your actions were a key part of its execution, the entire Crusade is arguably the fruits of your labor. That is an incredible accomplishment. Take pride in your strengths, summoner."
"I… thank you, Cannai," Hazō said.
"You are welcome. Now, back to the original topic – I intend to be cautious in determining our degree of cooperation with Hyena, and proposing a Gōketsu summoner would burn too much social capital too quickly. If you wish it, I shall inquire very lightly about such a thing once our relations have had time to mature into something more than mere hostility. I would not expect much to result. Is that satisfactory?"
"Of course," Hazō said. "I'll follow your lead absolutely. While this would benefit my clan, my main motivation here is to help the Hyena Clan. I'd want to do that however I can."
"How noble," Cannai said. "I would expect nothing less. Did you have any other questions for me?"
"Yes, actually. I wanted to ask, regarding the Capybaras…"
o-o-o
"My sincerest condolences," Gaku said. "I'm sorry that my words cannot do justice to the immensity of the tragedy that must have happened."
"It's not your fault, human," Gamatatakai said. "I didn't know too many of the Capybaras. Still, it was one thing to hop into the trading hall one day and hear that Hidrosera had lost her soul. It was another to go and visit her accommodation and see her grunting and shying away from the crowd in her room, nosing at the ground and pissing herself in fear."
"That sounds deeply disturbing, yes," Gaku said.
"It was fucking unnatural, is what it was," Gamatatakai said. "She was a poet, you know? She shared her poems with me. They were beautiful. And now she's… well, you wouldn't get it."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"Whatever. What did you need me for, huh?"
"Well, the Capybara Clan had several outstanding contracts," Gaku said, gesturing to the lengthy sheet of paper in front of him. "I have a list of those contracts here. I was hoping you could convey to the various clans listed here that they will not be receiving their goods. They should be aware already, but I believe it's for the better for them to be contacted explicitly."
"I mean, I think everyone knows they're not getting anything out of the Capybaras. Maybe once the other clans expand into the Darkfall, some of that stuff'll end up in the network again, but not anytime soon. I figure you had something more important than that, right, human?"
"Correct," Gaku said, gesturing to Atomu, who tapped a storage seal to reveal a modest-sized crate. The injured ninja had no difficulty opening the crate's top to reveal tightly packed dried yellow-orange fibers.
"We had several deliveries to the Capybara Clan transferred through the Human Path, pending delivery at the Conclave since our last delivery the day before the Crusade. Now, we have no buyer. So, we'd like to offer these goods to you, for the Toad Clan or for your own reselling."
"Are they even good anymore?" Gamatatakai said. "That was like two weeks ago."
"Storage seals are timeless," Gaku said. "Now, shall we discuss prices?"
o-o-o
A knock came at the door to Hazō's office. Before he could raise his head, the door swung open and Noburi poked his head in.
"Hey," he said. "Busy?"
Hazō glanced down at the creative writing essay that Haruhisa had assigned to him and Ino to help get them in the right 'open-minded' state for actually pulling a technique apart. It was a nonsense exercise, completely imprecise and unfit for a sealmaster like him.
"No," Hazō said. "What's up?"
"Well…" Noburi said, stepping into the office and swinging the door shut behind him. "We may want some of the seals on for this."
Hazō raised an eyebrow. A few minutes later, with the office considerably more secured, he leaned back in his chair. "What's the matter?"
"You know the Crusade? Remember how Naruto got all the genin and chūnin together so that I could drain them to fill up Tsunade and Orochimaru's shadow clones? And remember how their shadow clones played a pivotal part in the battle playing defense and saving like a half-dozen Bosses from being devoured by the Dragons?"
"I don't know what you expect from me here, Nobby," Hazō said. "I wasn't there for any of it, but I do remember listening to the report. I was following it pretty closely."
"Yeah, I know," Noburi said. Hazō narrowed his eyes. Noburi normally was pretty laid back when talking with Hazō, leaning back in his chair, kicking his legs up, or something similar. Instead, his younger brother was sitting ramrod straight like he was back in the Academy.
"I think we're in trouble. Actually, let me be clearer. I think Naruto saw all that happen and had a brainwave: 'What if Noburi's refills for shadow clones are effective on the home front too?'"
"Oh, no," Hazō said, the realization slowly dawning on him.
"Yeah," Noburi said. "I got a special assignment this morning. He had me fill up shadow clones from Ruri and Sasuke, and those shadow clones were on this Path. I'm not supposed to talk about this with anyone, but I figure I can do a little treason to protect our 'clan secrets'. Given that I'm supposed to head back to the same place again tomorrow, I think there's only one thing those shadow clones are gonna be used for."
There was only one thing they could be using it for. The Gōketsu's secret path to power had finally started to crack.
"Training."
The capybaras seemed to become kvthsss nearly instantly. When Markimarku returned to his territory, he apparently attempted… something, with capybaras that had been forcibly moved into Mara territory from the Conclave in Pangolin. Unfortunately, it did not work. Currently, Capybara's territories are likely to be divided approximately evenly between Turtle, Otter, and Toad. All three have pledged to treat any former members of the Capybara clan with the utmost respect.
Hazō commits to working as hard as possible on time travel to the past so that he can come back to this moment to help present-Hazō. He's not going to throw everything away to monofocus time travel if he can't currently do it, but to keep Hazō's commitments credible, we will have Hazōpilot periodically throw a prep day at a backwards time-travel seal/rune to see if he feels like he can satisfy the commitment yet. After all, he may not see the fruits of his future-labor immediately appear in front of him, but depending on the timeline structure, he may be the first Hazō, and time travel never happens unless he's willing to trailblaze on his own.
Consequently, Hazōpilot adds two checks to the prep day stack:
Inverted Time Capsule Seal – As seals don't easily affect living/chakra-containing objects, this seal instead transports an attached tiny object (berry! Always use berry!) backwards in time by 1 minute.
Difficulty: Jiraiya
Time Reversal Rune – A rune that sends the infuser backwards in time by 1 minute.
Difficulty: Hazō thinks this rune is beyond his capabilities.
As for the remainder of the prep days:
Light Shift
Trivial
Reality Eater
Hazō formulates this as a storage effect that grabs everything in a radius. This is very likely to fail against living opponents, but could be good (e.g.) for tunneling through solid material.
Difficulty: Jōnin
(Kagome would be beyond disappointed in Hazō for attempting to replicate a sealing failure)
Explosive 2.0:
Hazō goes for a minimal improvement on explosives to test the waters.
Difficulty: Genin
Severing Field
Difficulty: Jōnin
Crystal Transformation
Difficulty: Jiraiya
Colored Strobe
Difficulty: Chūnin
Powered Strobe
Difficulty: Jiraiya
It seems like pumping up the power input is the main limitation. Unfortunate that these are meant to be combat seals, because Hazō's shiny PS stat gives him a nice answer to power-limited seals.
Reverse Dampeners
Difficulty: Jiraiya
Hazō isn't sure, but suspects that however hard these were going to be, having them affect living things definitely pushed them over the top.
Mirror Dragon Seals
Difficulty: Jiraiya
What did you expect?
Chakra Potential Raising Rune
Hazō thinks this rune is beyond his capabilities.
Chakra Potential Lowering Rune
Hazō thinks this rune is beyond his capabilities.
In the process of preparing for the "Mirror Dragon" seal, Hazō ventured out to the site of the battle against the Dragons (inasmuch as it can be called a site, rather than a stretch of countryside larger than some daimyos' demesnes) on skywalkers and gathered a scale the size of his forearm with a pair of heavy iron tongs. Those tongs have now joined with the Will of Fire, but the scale rests in an Earthshaped stone vault deep underneath Hazō's office.
Canabisu and the squad of dogs formerly stuck in Arachnid have returned home, and a new squad of dogs have been left in Arachnid for diplomatic relations and Hazō's reverse-summoning needs. We'll flesh them out when we need to.
Hazō has transcribed your conversation with Kamehameha and stored it in the Gōketsu Dark Vault (Kagome's room).
Hazō does not currently have access to infused Instant Darkness Dome seals, and so cannot test their interaction with Nara ninjutsu.
Hazō and Kei perform the test with Geode Coffin. It appears that Shadow Possession can in fact connect with the shadow of someone inside a Geode Coffin if their shadow falls outside the coffin.
Reo has been instructed to stop shadowing Gaku around and return to Orochimaru's notes. He clearly feels a little whiplashed, but agrees. Atomu has begun shadowing Gaku around. Gaku comments that Atomu's good at handling people, but he's not very sharp with numbers.
The Tower provides notes for an as-yet-unspecified amount of OPSEC and static defense seals to Hazō, under the usual condition that if he researches the seals, he must provide a small tithe of said seals back to the Tower. Suggestions regarding said seals are welcome.
This update covered 13 days. Hazō's Severe Consequence has cleared as of the end of this update.
XP Award: 39 + 10 (brevity) XP
GM-fun Award: 7 XP, one for each of the entertaining The Message-themed omake.
rawrrr we decided to be mad about this update a few days ago based on a one off line in a different update so I'm mad for some reason rahhhhh feel my salty wrath
In an impressive feat of time-travel, SC XP appears to have been correctly reported before the chapter came out? I'm not sure how the players managed it, but I think the rules don't prohibit this. Added.
