(As always, this is coming from all three QMs.)
Let's start by answering the question: we enjoy having Hazō be the Dog Summoner. It's a safe bet that there will be a way for him to get the Scroll back in the future. As to his seals – honestly, at this point we're simply going to say "we'll figure it out later, since it's not going to be relevant until probably 2026." And yes, we're open to discussing things with the players when the time comes.
Now let's talk the other piece:
First, we aren't keen on having words like 'unfair' directed at us, and we're getting a bit frustrated by the current discourse around this whole topic. There seems to have been some confusion – possibly with our writing on the announcements, possibly with the reading of the announcements, but it exists.
Here's the deal: From where we sit, nothing about that chapter was unfair. Let's go through it:
Q: Was this chapter simulationist?
A: We already said it was not. What we intended by that – and, indeed, what we actually said – was essentially "we wrote an exciting chapter that came to the simulationist outcome, but we did not bother being strict about how we got there." So far as we can tell, that's what we've said throughout but either we didn't say it correctly or people are misremembering, because it seems like everyone stopped reading at the words "No, it was not" and ignored the qualifiers.
Now let's look at the pieces:
Q: Was it reasonable for Hazō to die?
A: Yes, absolutely. Once Hazō let Orochimaru operate on him, Hazō was dead whenever Orochimaru wanted him to be. At an absolute minimum, Orochimaru could simply refuse to do the maintenance work. Ergo, it's completely reasonable for us to have Hazō die.
Q: Is it reasonable that Hazō was at that site, at that time, with the Dog Scroll and his normal seals, and thus Orochimaru gets to steal those things?
A: We are comfortable with it, but we understand that the players would very much like it if Orochimaru did not profit from killing Hazō.
Q: "But wait," we hear from the crowd, "If we had gotten to vote on a plan for that update, we could have taken precautions! Not been there in physical form, have given the Scroll to Mari, etc!"
A: Were those ideas ever seriously discussed before the chapter came out in which they would have been relevant? Because we looked at the plan that was voted in for that chapter and found nothing about taking anti-Orochimaru precautions. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's easy to identify counterplay in the rear-view mirror. The players were focused on different problems – mostly anti-Akatsuki problems – and Orochimaru was a blind spot.
We aren't going to ban all discussion of this topic, but there likely isn't a lot of further value in discussion. It would take a great deal of evidence to change our position, which is that everything that happened in the chapter was fair and the chapter was simulationist in its outcome even if the exact path to get there was not. As always, we are open to being shown that we're wrong but unless there is an absolute slam-dunk argument for that case, we would prefer to simply move on. There's still a lot of worldbuilding to do on the afterlife and we'd like to be focusing our spoons there instead of on re-litigating past events.
With all of that said, a reminder: the quest is becoming more narrativist. That means that whatever challenges Hazō faces, there will be a way to surmount them in the end, if not always in the moment. Disadvantages and negative consequences will be challenges that lead to further development instead of unstoppable barriers. And, of course, now that the afterlife is in play, there is very little cost for dying aside from some time lost. Yes, you will (at least temporarily) lose whatever gear you were carrying and if you were (e.g.) defending an objective at the time of your death then the objective would be captured/destroyed. Even if someone you were bodyguarding is killed, that simply means an extensive rift-dive to retrieve them. Hardly the worst thing ever.
