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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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[X] Action Plan: Easy Dub
Word Count: soon-to-be <300

  • If possible sanity check with Kagome and Kei.
  • Discuss Naruto's orders with Noburi -- we're improvising. Naruto's game plan has collapsed immediately.
    All four of us are going missing and we're immediately dropping all contact with Leaf.
    • Any and all contact with Leaf could lead to Itachi using our family as leverage.
  • Noburi is going to be stuck in the 7th path for the foreseeable future.
    • Hazou's research speed is significantly slowed without access to Noburi's chakra.
    • Hazou's is going to have to learn technique hacking (TH) sufficiently to create a animal to human Chakra convertor using Minatosealing, so we're able to use Noburi's bloodline on the 7th path.
    • This means we'll need private TH tutoring from the Toads.
  • Talk with the Toad Boss.
    • Explain our situation and why we desperately need TH tutoring. Without their help, everyone we love will die on the Human Path or be conquered.
    • Show Naruto's orders and if needed Minato's notes.
    • It's a desperate gamble by us, against a more powerful foe, and we're all out of options.
    • Please help us save the human world just like Hazo helped save the 7th path against the Dragons.
      • Frame it like calling in a debt/favor if Kei thinks it will help.
    • What we're gonna need
      • We'll need a few months of serious protection against Akatsuki on the 7th path, as we'll be relatively stationary during the private TN tutoring.
      • Give them the dossier on their abilities and capabilities.
      • Underscore how seriously the job of keeping us safe needs to be taken until the tutoring is finished.
      • Akatsuki doesn't screw around.
      • After the tutoring is done (a few months) we'll skywalk out and disappear, so you'll no longer need to protect us. It's not for forever. It will only be for a handful of weeks.
    • Discuss any and all precautions (oaths, restricted locations, Boss permissions) we're going to need to take on the Seventh Path to remove that as an avenue of communication from Leaf.
    • Do this with Dogs/Pangolin as well.
 
MarsIronPI said:
The difference between Pain and us is that we only use force when we have to, whereas AFAIK Pain went straight for force.
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Is the reason you don't like Pain using force as a first option because it indicates that Pain is not open-minded enough to entertain discussion and alternative ideas? So by trust you mean you don't trust Pain and Akatsuki to choose the complex optimal path, and that they will choose the simple forceful suboptimal path? And you believe the suboptimal path will be worse than what Hazou will be able to leverage his influence with Leaf to achieve? And worse by a significant degree to make the risks of opposing Akatsuki worth it?
 
Left-Hand Mutant said:
[X] Action Plan: Take The Fam And Go
Wordcount: <400
  • Tell Noburi we'll disassemble camp and return in a little over two weeks.
  • Sanity/Optimize with K/K/S
    • Will Pantsa abandon Kei if we do this?
      • How can we alleviate that risk?
    • Discuss the precautions (oaths, restricted locations, Boss permissions) we're going to need to take on the Seventh Path to remove that as an avenue of communication from Leaf.
      • Once the letter to Mari is sent, Enact these protocols.
  • ~30 hours later, send a ciphered message to Mari
    • "We're going missing. anyone not with us is potential leverage. sometime in the next week, exfiltrate team Uplift and whoever else you find it wise to include."
      • More people/resources are good, but only if they don't blow the exfiltration.
      • Burning bridges and cutting ties is good, but clan Goketsu and uplift projects collapsing is bad. Looking like we care about anything left behind is also bad. It's a balancing act, figure it out.
      • Some possible ways to extract value and cut ties. use judgement. only do these if they don't ruin the exfiltration.
        • exfiltrate (Goketsu ninja/Tenten/Ino /etc)
        • loot the Uzumaki clan vault, especially of seals.
        • loot anything else of value that won't immediately blow your exfiltration.
        • kill Ritsuo
        • steal the Monkey Scroll
      • Include notes from Kagome on how to destroy any sensitive materials in the Black Archive(Kagome's Bedroom)
      • Consider destroying/stealing any sensitive Seals/Jutsu scrolls.
        • we don't want to empower Akasuki or reveal our abilites.
      • Only they're confident they made a clean getaway, send Noburi to Toad with the password "Tomato"
        • (Toad Sages: check Noburi for signs of combat/genjutsu)
          • (Toad Sages: if he has the password and everything normal, direct them to the Chakra Cave in Wind, otherwise, direct them to our old camp in Snow)
  • Start heading toward that chakra-pool-cave in Wind
  • Research/Training:
    • If time allows, finish Capacitor Rune and read TH notes.
  • Dogs
    • Let Cannai know what's up.
    • Ask for an Elite bodyguard dog
    • Offer contracts to all the dogs from the last raid.
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Was thinking of adding something like
  • Leave Naruto a letter calling him "a failure of a Kage to cowardly to keep Akatsuki from preying on and exploiting the people he swore to protect".
It would feel OOC for the Uplift to abandon Leaf without saying anything. this is something, and it further distances us from Leaf and Naruto, reducing the risk of reprisal attacks on Leaf.

But it implies that we previously asked Naruto to suppourt us in Necromancy and he shot us down, which is not what he presented to the Akatsuki.

Can anyone come up with a good <30 word note to Naruto? If so, ping me.
 
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[x] Action Plan: No dimensionalism here
return to leaf
tell itachi we have done no dimensionalism. well okay we researched slowing time and stretching space but we both know you just care about the rift. don't be a nitpick. if there was nothing else i'm leaving.
refuse to answer more questions about what you are researching. i don't have to tell you that. are you gonna kill me for keeping secrets unrelated to the rift just like asuma?
if itachi finds out you are opposing akatsuki, throw yourself on his mercy. say only you and naruto were involved. suggest he kill you near the rift so you can help open it from the other side.

[x] Action Plan: Outrageous distraction
mentality. you are afraid and nervous what pain will do if revived. at this point your best option that you fervently hope will work is for akatsuki and leaf to work together and talk with pain to make sure pain is aligned. pain who is already almost completely aligned with uplift and just need to make those last few steps to make sure we are in agreement.
return to leaf. tell itachi we aren't doing dimensionalism. instead we cracked 3d sealing, you skeptic, and are getting better at it. now that hazou has much more sealing value to offer, what does akatsuki think about a joint venture with leaf? in return for working together on the rift, leaf can revive any of their non s-rankers. pain will at least listen to the advice and concerns and discuss ideas with leaf before doing another big ritual. itachi isn't pain but he, and preferably the summoners of akatsuki, will swear with their summoner boss that they will do everything in their power to pressure pain to adhere to this agreement.
if itachi accepts this agreement present it, with itachi present, as a fait accompli to naruto
 
Left-Hand Mutant said:
Thinking of adding
  • Leave Naruto a letter calling him "a failure of a Kage to cowardly to keep Akatsuki from preying on and exploiting the people he swore to protect".
It would feel OOC for the Uplift to abandon Leaf without saying anything. this is something, and it further distances us from Leaf and Naruto, reducing the risk of reprisal attacks on Leaf.
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While I'm sure Naruto will understand the ruse and it won't actually burn real bridges... I don't feel it's in character for Hazo to burn that bridge without practical reason. If we do leave such a letter, it should have a plausible, overt purpose behind it. Demanding resources or actions with a clear line of reasoning on why Hazo thinks it is a reasonable demand, perhaps with a very hazo-esque oversight that makes the whole thing fall apart after consideration, but would be enough to explain why Hazo felt the need to say what he said instead of just a random, emotionally driven "Look, I don't like this guy anymore Itachi! I'm insulting him, so you definitely know we're not working together anymore!"
 
eaglejarl said:
Author's Note: Good news! Hazō has exchanged his 'Summoning Scroll Acoylyte' stunt for the 'Disciple of the Beyond' stunt! This is an exchange, so there is no XP cost.

Better news! After much discussion, the QMs have decided that the crossover bonus between disciplines is innate, not a buff. As such, it does not require a 100 XP combination stunt in order to work alongside Disciple of the Beyond. You may rejoice now.

XP and Brevity award: 0 The vote was for an interlude, not a plan.

"GM had fun" XP: 5

It is now about 8pm and your check-in with Noburi is in an hour. This update covered 1 day.

Vote time! What to do now?
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Fucking Hype!
 
Left-Hand Mutant said:
Was thinking of adding something like
  • Leave Naruto a letter calling him "a failure of a Kage to cowardly to keep Akatsuki from preying on and exploiting the people he swore to protect".
It would feel OOC for the Uplift to abandon Leaf without saying anything. this is something, and it further distances us from Leaf and Naruto, reducing the risk of reprisal attacks on Leaf.

But it implies that we previously asked Naruto to suppourt us in Necromancy and he shot us down, which is not what he presented to the Akatsuki.

Can anyone come up with a good <30 word note to Naruto? If so, ping me.
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I feel another issue with it is that it may strike true. We don't want Naruto to get the feeling there's a second layer that actually is hurtful to him.
Something about Naruto "not doing anything to support us" or "giving out secrets to sway non-allies but leaving us empty-handed when we gave him unconditional support," which no one else could know or guess was false, IMO, would be clearer. We play the same role, but the message he gets is still "order obeyed, we're in your corner"
 
[X] Action Plan: Bug Out (Redux)
Word Count: <399
  • Take a moment to pray to Jashin for the plan's success.
  • Sanity Check with Kagome and Kei
  • Discuss Naruto's orders to return. Hazou is going missing in response, are you guys in?
    • Once they commit, tell them Naruto ordered it himself.
  • We need to exfiltrate the rest of Uplift from Leaf
    • Hazou's research speed is significantly slowed without access to Noburi.
    • We cannot leave them as hostages for Itachi.
    • Kei do you want to attempt extract Miyuki and Tenten?
    • Hazou's current plan is to send a letter to Naruto/Itachi telling them we're on our way back.
    • At the same time, pass Mari coded orders to take Noburi, Yuno and anyone else and GTFO of Leaf.
      • Probably best accomplished by skywalking away at night.
        • If Mari fears Itachi is constantly observating the Estate, they could disguise themselves as civvies and leave that way.
        • Or take a chakra beast extermination missions and slip away.
        • Mari is in command and has discretion based on the situation on the ground.
          • She has the right to remove all traces of sensitive jutsu and seals from the Estate -- like WWB and MARS
      • Once they're out of Leaf, and confident they weren't followed, Mari is to give Noburi a passphrase and he'll go to Toad for further instructions
        • Ask the Toad Sages if they'd help screen Noburi for genjutsu or hidden seals
    • Write our letters with Kei's assistance and send then via drop on the Seventh Path.
      • Sound entitled and deliquent in Naruto/Itachi's letter. We'll come home when we're Sage-Damned ready. There's a war on the Seventh Path and trap arrays need to be dismantled.
    • Discuss the precautions (oaths, restricted locations, Boss permissions) we're going to need to take on the Seventh Path to remove that as an avenue of communication from Leaf.
      • Begin setting them in motion as soon as the letter to Mari is sent.
      • Kei, will Pantsaa make this easy for you?
    • Work on Capacitor and then (time permitting) Icarus while waiting for the exfil to complete.
      • Use DoB, no prep, reroll for safety.
      • Read Sealing Notes on rest days.
 
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Lysbeth Succubus said:
I feel another issue with it is that it may strike true. We don't want Naruto to get the feeling there's a second layer that actually is hurtful to him.
Something about Naruto "not doing anything to support us" or "giving out secrets to sway non-allies but leaving us empty-handed when we gave him unconditional support," which no one else could know or guess was false, IMO, would be clearer. We play the same role, but the message he gets is still "order obeyed, we're in your corner"
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Intentional, to help his "hurt/betrayed" act have a bit of truth to pull on.

redzonejoe said:
While I'm sure Naruto will understand the ruse and it won't actually burn real bridges... I don't feel it's in character for Hazo to burn that bridge without practical reason. If we do leave such a letter, it should have a plausible, overt purpose behind it. Demanding resources or actions with a clear line of reasoning on why Hazo thinks it is a reasonable demand, perhaps with a very hazo-esque oversight that makes the whole thing fall apart after consideration, but would be enough to explain why Hazo felt the need to say what he said instead of just a random, emotionally driven "Look, I don't like this guy anymore Itachi! I'm insulting him, so you definitely know we're not working together anymore!"
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Totally agree.

Maybe more like
"Sorry to betray your trust, but uplift comes first. Leaf isn't the place for that anymore. Goodbye."

Meh, not so Important , I'll probably leave it out.

Sir Stompy said:
[X] Action Plan: Bug Out (Redux)
Word Count: <399
  • Sanity Check with Kagome and Kei
  • Discuss Naruto's orders with Kagome and Kei -- we're going missing for real.
  • We need to exfiltrate the rest of Uplift from Leaf
    • Hazou's research speed is significantly slowed without access to Noburi.
    • Naruto is incapable of standing up to Itachi, it's time to get Mari, Noburi, and Yuno out before Itachi starts torturing them.
    • Hazou's best current plan is to send a letter to Naruto/Itachi telling them we're on our way back.
    • At the same time however, secretly pass Mari encoded written orders to take Noburi and Yuno and GTFO of Leaf.
      • This might be best accomplished by skywalking directly away from the Estate at night
        • However, if Mari fears Itachi is constantly placing the Goketsu Estate under effective observation, it might be better to disguise themselves as civvies and escape that way.
        • Or take a chakra beast extermination missions and slip away then.
        • Mari is in command and has discretion based on the situation on the ground.
          • It might be a good idea to wait a few days before extracting.
          • She has freedom to use her judgement to bring anyone else she wants
          • She has discretion to remove all traces of sensitive Jutsu Scrolls and seals from the Estate -- like WWB and MARS
          • If she can safely steal or destroy something not too sensitive on the way out, like a real missing-nin would, go crazy.
      • Only once they're out of Leaf, and confident they weren't followed, they are to send Noburi to Toad for further instructions
      • Kei, do you want to attempt to extract Miyuki and Tenten? Mari can get them messages, and they can extract separately -- they're likely to be under less scrutiny.
    • Write our letters with Kei's assistance and send then via the next drop on the Seventh Path.
      • Sound entitled and deliquent in Naruto/Itachi's letter. We'll come home when we're Sage-Damned ready. There's a war on the Seventh Path and trap arrays need to be dismantled.
    • Discuss the precautions (oaths, restricted locations, Boss permissions) we're going to need to take on the Seventh Path to remove that as an avenue of communication from Leaf.
      • Begin setting them in motion as soon as the letter to Mari is sent.
      • Kei, will Pantsaa make this easy for you?
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See my plan's detailed section on Noburi's instructions in toad.

It has multiple precautions against the exfiltration team being caught/subverted, something many people are worried about.

It also specifically uses a dead drop, so Noburi isn't stuck waiting in Toad for Hazo to pop in, while the Exfiltration party stands around on skywalkers hoping they aren't being persued.
 
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Sir Stompy said:
[X] Action Plan: Bug Out (Redux)
Word Count: <399
  • Sanity Check with Kagome and Kei
  • Discuss Naruto's orders with Kagome and Kei -- we're going missing for real.
  • We need to exfiltrate the rest of Uplift from Leaf
    • Hazou's research speed is significantly slowed without access to Noburi.
    • Naruto is incapable of standing up to Itachi, it's time to get Mari, Noburi, and Yuno out before Itachi starts torturing them.
    • Hazou's best current plan is to send a letter to Naruto/Itachi telling them we're on our way back.
    • At the same time however, secretly pass Mari encoded written orders to take Noburi and Yuno and GTFO of Leaf.
      • This might be best accomplished by skywalking directly away from the Estate at night
        • However, if Mari fears Itachi is constantly placing the Goketsu Estate under effective observation, it might be better to disguise themselves as civvies and escape that way.
        • Or take a chakra beast extermination missions and slip away then.
        • Mari is in command and has discretion based on the situation on the ground.
          • It might be a good idea to wait a few days before extracting.
          • She has freedom to use her judgement to bring anyone else she wants
          • She has discretion to remove all traces of sensitive Jutsu Scrolls and seals from the Estate -- like WWB and MARS
          • If she can safely steal or destroy something not too sensitive on the way out, like a real missing-nin would, go crazy.
      • Only once they're out of Leaf, and confident they weren't followed, they are to send Noburi to Toad for further instructions
      • Kei, do you want to attempt to extract Miyuki and Tenten? Mari can get them messages, and they can extract separately -- they're likely to be under less scrutiny.
    • Write our letters with Kei's assistance and send then via the next drop on the Seventh Path.
      • Sound entitled and deliquent in Naruto/Itachi's letter. We'll come home when we're Sage-Damned ready. There's a war on the Seventh Path and trap arrays need to be dismantled.
    • Discuss the precautions (oaths, restricted locations, Boss permissions) we're going to need to take on the Seventh Path to remove that as an avenue of communication from Leaf.
      • Begin setting them in motion as soon as the letter to Mari is sent.
      • Kei, will Pantsaa make this easy for you?
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Um. If we talk about it with them, they can't go back home. Let's not take that decision from them?
 
Velorien said:
"We can," Minori found herself saying, with that tongue that refused to consult the rest of her. "Everyone else can get to safety, and then one person can kill him and take the consequences. I'm the least valuable person here, so…"
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Velorien said:
"I'm willing to offer a compromise," Pain said suddenly. "Two hours to shut down the ritual safely."
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Velorien said:
I could abort the ritual right now and destroy this island. I could shut down this ritual safely, destroy you all before you could confirm whether it was safe to attack me, and try to restart the ritual somewhere else.
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Velorien said:
He could abort the ritual at will. Minori's life still wasn't worth anything even if she tried to sacrifice it.
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If we take Pain at his word, then he changed his mind about the ritual. Perhaps upon seeing Minori although that would be pretty flip floppy. Or maybe he just really hates directly and manually killing people, even if it consequentially it would achieve his goals (jinchuriki deaths from ritual may feel different since it's a side effect).
The obvious answer for the ninja would be to flee as fast as they can. And have minori kill pain as early as she can after they are out of range.
So maybe Pain was lying. Although that would be weird since if he's a liar, he coulda just kill the ninja after they let him safely shut down the ritual.
Or Pain has a way to shut down the ritual faster than 2 hours, perhaps if he did that some backlash would make him too weak to resurrect his friends.
Or Pain was too busy to think of the obvious thing the ninja could do.
What's really interesting is that Minori immediately interpreted Pain's statement as that he was truthfully saying he could abort it faster than 2 hours. Why did she think that?
Also sorta interesting that the ninja were more willing to let Akatsuki revive. Then to take their chances in running away and having Minori kill Pain. Given how strong Akatsuki are. Itachi said they could demolish leaf after kakuzu died.
 
[X] Hazou Training Plan: PS Step
Left-Hand Mutant said:
~30 hours later, send a ciphered message to Mari
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sometime in the next week, exfiltrate team Uplift and whoever else you find it wise to include.
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Sir Stompy said:
At the same time however, secretly pass Mari encoded written orders to take Noburi and Yuno and GTFO of Leaf.
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It might be a good idea to wait a few days before extracting.
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I'm not super sure about this specific line of approach, "passing a physical message to Mari and then suggesting she maybe stick around looking for a good time to bug out".

While I'm not particularly doomer about Itachi keeping surveillance over everyone, there are two things I fear he may still try to control: interrogating Noburi after 7Path visits, and interrogating the gang in general about their intentions, attempting to suss out signs of malfeasance. The latter can plausibly be warded off from Mari's high-level stats, but I don't like the consequences of handing Noburi a physical letter. Even supposing Noburi safely delivers it and Itachi wasn't waiting right there for Noburi's scheduled return, Noburi would know, approximately, what a coded message to Mari means in a situation like this. If Itachi chooses to question Noburi at any point after he receives the letter, there's very substantial OPSEC risk.

What I would prefer instead, is having Noburi show up at a time when Itachi ought not to be expecting him to go to the Seventh Path, and then have the whole gang gone before he can question anyone about it. Acting decisively instead of waiting carefully, so as to minimize the substantial time-cost of any and all delays between message delivery and exfiltration.

Here's what I would like to tangibly do: ask the Toad Sages to tell Noburi he is to return to them in the dead of night for an ostensibly training-related reason. Noburi comes, at a time when Itachi is least likely to be in position to intercept him after returning, and gets a (verbal) message to bug out immediately. Noburi takes the message to Mari, and they're gone before dawn. I believe this is the best we can do to minimize the risk of Itachi learning of our intentions and then foiling them with extreme prejudice.
 
Also kei wanted to go to mist to talk with Mori. I feel like great things can happen from the Nara and Mori intellectually discussing with each other.
 
Cariyaga said:
Um. If we talk about it with them, they can't go back home. Let's not take that decision from them?
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No, they don't really have a decision here.

Not only do they know about the runes, but they know we've been researching Anti-Akatsuki stuff, and they don't have the social skills to stand up to interrogation here.

We may or may not exfil the rest of the fam to get them out of danger, but whatever happens there, Hazou, Kei, and Kagome are all in the same boat.
 
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[X] Action Plan: Bug Out (Redux)

[X] Hazou Training Plan: PS Step


Sir Stompy said:
[X] Action Plan: Bug Out (Redux)
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I know word count is tight but it may be worth adding a line about slipping them darkness domes in the dead drop if Kagome's finished them. Those are really strong at night and Mari could even hide a bunch of clones after topping up from Nobs to have them scatter - no one's going to know which dome has the real targets.

Also I think it may be worth asking Jashin for a bit of luck here (but given the divisiveness of Jashin stuff, may need to be a fork instead). No reason not to stack as many things in our favor as we can and his influence has come in clutch a few times already
 
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