Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest
- Thread starter eaglejarl
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- naruto rationalist romance armageddon is looking better and better damn you kishimoto explosions everywhere explosives solve everyone if in doubt surrender to the mercy of zabuza it seemed like a good idea at the time looks like a really bad case of being a jōnin my god. where does the lore end? precommitting is the winning plan screaming in kagome screw the rules i have explosives something bad might still happen sometimes you gotta sociopath stabby zabby subsection c of paragraph 9 should include we can weaponize this so hard
Beautiful.
The most Bond Villain of all plans.
Only one thing is missing:
Hazou: "No Mr. Uzumaki. I expect you to die!"
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
With Sealing 40,
Jackercracks
In a British accent
- Location
- England
Repeated glimpses of things that should not be seen essentially cause all experienced ninja to go slightly insane.
Chapter 10: Those Left Behind
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Chapter 10: Those Left Behind
Then…
In. Out. In. Out. Loop. Press down. In. Out.
Hana's hands moved without her as they continued to sew another chūnin jacket. At times like these, she considered the Iron Nerve to be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, the tedium of having to work at the correct stitching every single time, and of constantly watching out for errors, had to be maddening. She didn't know how the civilian workers in Supplies managed it. On the other hand, once she'd worked out the perfect pattern for the task, plus the corrective ones for the types of mistake she still made, the manual labour hardly engaged her mind at all. Which left her plenty of time to worry about Hazō, and how he was getting on with his first major mission. Was this how it had been for her mother the first time Hana had gone out and risked not coming back?
Hana looked down, and deliberately focused her gaze on her hands. The chūnin jackets were a mediocre but consistent source of side income, supplementing her mission pay and helping to keep the bills from soaring out of control. There was always a grey market for such supplies, frequently used by ninja who'd lost mission gear through bad luck or poor management, and didn't want the fact to be noted on their requisition records. Certain clerks in the lower echelons of the Mizukage's Office ruled their tiny domains with an iron fist, and could interpret such patterns as promotion-inhibiting incompetence at best, or as selling military-issued gear in the black market at worst. The latter was seen as an act of sabotage, and the lives of convicted saboteurs (or "saboteurs") were invariably short and horrific.
What mattered for Hana was that producing surplus gear and selling it to loyal ninja was not illegal as such, though she'd probably be in some sort of trouble if she were caught by the authorities. It wasn't her best option, but for the last several days, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched, and that took certain more lucrative and less legal activities off the table.
Knock. Knock.
Ominous timing, given where her thoughts had been wandering. In another flawlessly practised movement, Hana slid the unfinished jacket into a drawer of her table and threw the sewing supplies into the nearby storage chest, then rose to open the door.
Standardised uniforms. Patterned masks. Oh, shit.
What mattered for Hana was that producing surplus gear and selling it to loyal ninja was not illegal as such, though she'd probably be in some sort of trouble if she were caught by the authorities. It wasn't her best option, but for the last several days, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched, and that took certain more lucrative and less legal activities off the table.
Knock. Knock.
Ominous timing, given where her thoughts had been wandering. In another flawlessly practised movement, Hana slid the unfinished jacket into a drawer of her table and threw the sewing supplies into the nearby storage chest, then rose to open the door.
Standardised uniforms. Patterned masks. Oh, shit.
-o-
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The light nearly blinded Hana, while keeping the interrogator submerged in shadow. It was one of those clichés that existed because it worked. She could hear her own heartbeat, feel every second grate against her nerves as if she were eye to eye with a predator and her sense of time was being slowed by adrenaline.
There was just one thing she could see, right on the edge of the desk, reaching out from the darkness. A hand, an old person's hand, covered in fine black swirls that could have been tattoos or seals. Its index finger kept tapping on the table at irregular intervals, and running a nail across the wood in brief scratches, drawing her attention whenever she felt close to regaining her centre.
"Kurosawa Hana." The voice was androgynous, and too young for that hand. "You will answer a series of questions. You will volunteer all related information, making no judgement as to its relevance. Your degree of cooperation will be assessed, and if it is considered insufficient, you will be passed on to our sister branch for processing."
Tap. Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. As if peeling away the layers.The light nearly blinded Hana, while keeping the interrogator submerged in shadow. It was one of those clichés that existed because it worked. She could hear her own heartbeat, feel every second grate against her nerves as if she were eye to eye with a predator and her sense of time was being slowed by adrenaline.
There was just one thing she could see, right on the edge of the desk, reaching out from the darkness. A hand, an old person's hand, covered in fine black swirls that could have been tattoos or seals. Its index finger kept tapping on the table at irregular intervals, and running a nail across the wood in brief scratches, drawing her attention whenever she felt close to regaining her centre.
"Kurosawa Hana." The voice was androgynous, and too young for that hand. "You will answer a series of questions. You will volunteer all related information, making no judgement as to its relevance. Your degree of cooperation will be assessed, and if it is considered insufficient, you will be passed on to our sister branch for processing."
"You will provide a full character description of your son Kurosawa Hazō, together with any formative experiences you consider to have had an influence on his personality."
Hazō? This was about Hazō? Not about the many things she'd done in order to keep the family fed these past few years? For an instant, Hana sagged as the wave of relief passed through her. Then she jerked back upright.
T&I. Was asking questions. About her son.
"Please, what is this about? Did something happen to him?" The words came out before Hana realised that here and now there was no hope of getting an answer.
"You will not ask questions except for the purpose of clarification. Depending on your degree of cooperation, certain information may be provided at the end of this interview. Now, you will describe Kurosawa Hazō's character in as much detail as you are able."
She obeyed. There was no danger there. Hazō's few acts of "insubordination" were already on record, and, in every way that mattered, he was a good boy. Hana was not afraid to tell the interrogator as much.
A scratch, as if drawing a line under the topic.
"You will list any instances of interaction between Kurosawa Hazō and the following individuals: Gorō Dan, commonly known by the alias of 'Shikigami', Inoue Mari, Kanna Michiko, Ozawa Shintarō…"
A chill went down Hana's spine. She didn't know everyone who'd gone on Hazō's mission, but every name the interrogator mentioned was on that list.
Inoue Mari's name leapt out at her in particular. Hazō had complained about her any number of times, and about how she constantly teased him and ruffled his hair during her visits to see Hazō's team leader. It didn't sound like dangerous information, but if any of those people had committed crimes, and Hazō was being suspected as an accomplice…
Would mentioning Inoue get Hazō in trouble? Or did ANBU already know? What if this was a test of her reliability as a source of information? The Department of Interrogation only had one sister branch.
She couldn't think, not with the light in her eyes, not with her heart beating in her ears, and not with that horrible, sinister hand as the only thing she could see. All she could do was try to get this over with as soon as possible. Hazō was innocent. If ANBU wanted truth, that was what they would learn. If they didn't, then nothing she could say would help.
Tap. A slow scratch, laden with meaning she could not begin to imagine. Tap. Tap.
More questions. Academic history. Special skills. Things they had to know already. Hazō's private descriptions of his missions. His memories of his father. A series of regular verbal blows, like a blacksmith shaping metal, until all Hana could do was answer as if by rote.
Then, finally, release. Seconds, or minutes, or hours, passing in a silence in which even the formerly hash glare of the light no longer registered to Hana's senses.
"Your son abandoned his mission alongside a number of other shinobi. He has been declared a missing-nin, with all the consequences thereof. He will be found, and if he chooses to resist arrest, he will be summarily executed."
The words took a second to reach Hana's consciousness. Then it took all her remaining will not to leap out of the chair—an act that would probably have got her killed instantly.
"You will be aware that when a missing-nin is returned to Hidden Mist, they are brought to stand trial. The standard sentence for treason is public execution, one to five of the Circles of the Bloody Mist depending on the severity of the crime."
Hana was left alone with that thought for some unknown period of time, as the presence across the desk retreated from her conscious awareness.
"However,"—Hana flinched—"a small proportion of missing-nin receive the Mizukage's pardon, should it be judged that their abandonment of Hidden Mist was forced by circumstances beyond their control. The odds increase for those capable of atoning through great contribution to the village, such as Bloodline Limit holders.
"Should Kurosawa Hazō contact you, you will report this to the duty officer at the ANBU Central Office immediately. You will also make every effort to persuade him to return to Hidden Mist voluntarily. You will understand that this is his only chance of survival.
"You will now be escorted to your home. You will keep the contents of this interview confidential. Should you fail to follow any of these instructions, you will be designated uncooperative."
A distant voice, addressing someone else, somewhere else. "You will provide physical assistance to Kurosawa Hana so that she may rise from her seat and leave this office."
-o-
Now…
Kurohige's Bar was nearly as old as Mist itself. It dated back to when the man who would become the First Mizukage broke the ninja clans comprising Kurohige Ranmaru's fleet, and gave them the choice between a longer journey to Hidden Mist to swear eternal allegiance, and a shorter journey to the bottom of the ocean. In a characteristic act of pragmatism, the First Mizukage took a crippled Kurohige on as Naval Warfare Advisor, and used his knowledge to dominate the pirates then controlling significant portions of the Water Country.
Kurohige coincidentally retired shortly before the Second Mizukage's inauguration, and ended up opening a bar for a very specific clientele. Now, many decades and descendants later, Kurohige's remained the go-to place for jōnin who had seen too much, or lost too many, and wanted nothing more than a few hours away from the loud naivety of the young and the intolerable pity of the not yet old.
"It was disgusting, Shion. He could have had that swamp wrapped around his little finger with one technique, and instead he just stood back and looked to see if anyone was trying to flee. And us? It was a nightmare. Michizane was taking point. One second, empty patch of mud. The next, he steps down and spikes two feet long shoot up through his leg. He screams, falls into the water – snap! Nothing left. We never even saw the gator leave afterwards.
"And that was just the first trap. Iga spots this explosive shrapnel ball along the path, so naturally he takes the safe way round. There's a bush in the way. He walks past it, bam! It shoots out these pseudopod thingies, and before you know it, they've turned bright red and he's paler than Tsukamoto trying to settle his tab at the end of the month. I don't need to tell you what that meant.
"And you know, I'm like ninety percent sure the Toad Sage had a Hyūga with him. Don't tell me he couldn't have spotted any of that.
"Anyway, wouldn't have helped us much with the fighting, once what was left of us got to their hideout. Shikigami was as bad as the rumours say. Water clones everywhere, and it turns out those famous paper arts of his are cheap enough that even a clone can do them. And when Captain Zabuza finally pinned down the original? Bastard brought down half the cave on top of him. And guess who had to keep Shikigami and that Kanna woman busy while the captain dug himself out? It was like a taste of my own personal hell. We lost most of the chūnin just during that minute. It was… pathetic, and pointless.
"I tell you this, Shion. if I get assigned to hunt missing-nin again, I'd rather just slash my own foot open and get sent to the hospital. I don't want to… shit, Shion, I just don't want to… ever again…"
The words shocked Hana, at the next table over, out of her stupor.
"Did you say 'missing-nin'?"
The jōnin looked up from her drink. "Oh. Oh, shit, Hana, I didn't even think…"
"Was he there?" Hana's expression, and the edge in her voice, sobered the other jōnin up immediately.
The woman seemed to struggle with herself for a few seconds. "Yeah. Yeah, that was your son's group. Shikigami wouldn't tell us anything, no matter what Captain Zabuza did, but not everyone was so tough. They said he's missing, presumed dead, from before we got to them. I'm so sorry, Hana."
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
[internal screaming]
Well..... well, at least we made the absolute correct decision in leaving. And it looks like we're in the clear as far as Zabuza goes. We are now officially dead in the eyes of the world, as well.
But shit, man.
Well..... well, at least we made the absolute correct decision in leaving. And it looks like we're in the clear as far as Zabuza goes. We are now officially dead in the eyes of the world, as well.
But shit, man.
Welp, it's decided.
We're burning Mist to the ground.
We're burning Mist to the ground.
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Hey, if all three of our team make High Jounin without pissing Mist of further they might take us back!
They know too much about us.
We can't let any of them survive.
Plus they were mean to mummy.
We can't let any of them survive.
Plus they were mean to mummy.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[ ] Operation "Of The River And The Sea"
- [ ] Train Henge, and disguise ourselves as six year old girl.
- [ ] Sneak into Hidden Mist
- [ ] Teach homeless children about survival skills and get them to spread the knowledge
- [ ] Spread western ideals of "You matter because you exist" into the children until they become a tight-knit community
- [ ] After a few years, use network to burn Hidden Mist to the ground and get whole network + bloodlines out
- [ ] Profit
- [ ] Train Henge, and disguise ourselves as six year old girl.
- [ ] Sneak into Hidden Mist
- [ ] Teach homeless children about survival skills and get them to spread the knowledge
- [ ] Spread western ideals of "You matter because you exist" into the children until they become a tight-knit community
- [ ] After a few years, use network to burn Hidden Mist to the ground and get whole network + bloodlines out
- [ ] Profit
- Location
- Yes.
Great. Now all we have to do is stay dead and not do anything stupid. Which means we need to hyper-train our stealth, deception, and other "ability-to-blend-in" skills. THEN we can start doing actual missions along the lines of "steal technique/summoning scrolls".
Or, if we're going for the easy option, just spend the rest of our lives as farmers in nowhere-land.
@ChronOblivion What.
Or, if we're going for the easy option, just spend the rest of our lives as farmers in nowhere-land.
@ChronOblivion What.
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
There's been some concern in the GM chat, and I thought I'd expose a little of the backstory here.
Velorien and I were both pretty excited about the whole "Hidden Swamp" concept and had lots of fun ideas for it. We were delighted that y'all seemed onboard too, and things were going swimmingly.
Then the four GMs started talking.
At the beginning of the quest we asked y'all to choose where you'd come from and where you'd gone to. The choice was Mist -> Leaf. We quickly realized that the Kage of Mist has a total "murderboner" (a term I learned from one of the other GMs who shall remain nameless (*cough*Jackercracks*cough*)) for traitors. Okay, no problem -- we'd been careful to say that it took you 3 weeks to get to the swamp, so you'd broken trail very thoroughly. It was very believable that Zabuza wasn't going to find you any time soon.
And then we started thinking about Leaf. You know, Leaf, the incredibly powerful country with ALL the broken sensor abilities -- the Byakugan, the Aburame, the Inuzaka, etc. Also, in our world it's possible to learn to henge into a bird and fly, given enough effort. There was no plausible way that you were going to *not* get found sooner rather than later. And, after a few weeks, Mist would probably have been knocking on Leaf's door saying "yo, you seen these guys?" Long story short, Swamp was doomed. We looked at various ways to salvage the situation, but none of them were plausible, hence why you got the storyline you just read about.
Personally, I'm sorry to see Swamp go down the drain; it's almost enough to make me want to start a new quest once this one eventually ends, just to go back and play the timeline differently -- explore what happened if you'd come from, e.g., Tea and gone to Bear. Maybe that's a thing that'll happen at some point, but not soon. (Well, unless y'all are dumb enough to get yourselves dead, of course.)
In the meantime: I got all misty-eyed at the "burn Mist to the ground because they were mean to her" response, and I'm totally onboard with that if you choose to go that route...not that I'll make it easy, of course. Be reassured that your mom is okay; T&I scared her but didn't hurt her. She's being watched but not threatened, and can pretty much go back to her life. She may need to avoid the grey- and black market deals she was using for supplementary income for a while, though.
Velorien and I were both pretty excited about the whole "Hidden Swamp" concept and had lots of fun ideas for it. We were delighted that y'all seemed onboard too, and things were going swimmingly.
Then the four GMs started talking.
At the beginning of the quest we asked y'all to choose where you'd come from and where you'd gone to. The choice was Mist -> Leaf. We quickly realized that the Kage of Mist has a total "murderboner" (a term I learned from one of the other GMs who shall remain nameless (*cough*Jackercracks*cough*)) for traitors. Okay, no problem -- we'd been careful to say that it took you 3 weeks to get to the swamp, so you'd broken trail very thoroughly. It was very believable that Zabuza wasn't going to find you any time soon.
And then we started thinking about Leaf. You know, Leaf, the incredibly powerful country with ALL the broken sensor abilities -- the Byakugan, the Aburame, the Inuzaka, etc. Also, in our world it's possible to learn to henge into a bird and fly, given enough effort. There was no plausible way that you were going to *not* get found sooner rather than later. And, after a few weeks, Mist would probably have been knocking on Leaf's door saying "yo, you seen these guys?" Long story short, Swamp was doomed. We looked at various ways to salvage the situation, but none of them were plausible, hence why you got the storyline you just read about.
Personally, I'm sorry to see Swamp go down the drain; it's almost enough to make me want to start a new quest once this one eventually ends, just to go back and play the timeline differently -- explore what happened if you'd come from, e.g., Tea and gone to Bear. Maybe that's a thing that'll happen at some point, but not soon. (Well, unless y'all are dumb enough to get yourselves dead, of course.)
In the meantime: I got all misty-eyed at the "burn Mist to the ground because they were mean to her" response, and I'm totally onboard with that if you choose to go that route...not that I'll make it easy, of course. Be reassured that your mom is okay; T&I scared her but didn't hurt her. She's being watched but not threatened, and can pretty much go back to her life. She may need to avoid the grey- and black market deals she was using for supplementary income for a while, though.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Just a stupid reference to a fanfic I like. Pay no attention to me.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
If there's one thing fanfiction has taught me, it's that no plan which begins like this is a good plan.
Jackercracks
In a British accent
- Location
- England
You missed a step:
[ ] Be a 14 year old girl, throw yourself on Orochimaru's mercy and follow him back to his lair.
- Location
- Yes.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Damn. Now I actually feel bad for being so paranoid about Shikigami. The bastard kept his mouth shut about us even though he probably guessed that we had ran away.
No kidding. Inoue calling him a legitimately great leader and an incredibly moral person really made me feel sad about leaving him. Even though it looks like that saved us in the end. RIP Shikigami-sensei. We hardly knew ye.
Jackercracks
In a British accent
- Location
- England
No, you were totally right to be paranoid about him.Damn. Now I actually feel bad for being so paranoid about Shikigami. The bastard kept his mouth shut about us even though he probably guessed that we had ran away.
Well, sad to see Shikigamis dream die. Even though he killed all those other ninja in the process of it. Maybe not so sad.
By the way, given that he is almost certainly dead, feel like revealing a bit about his backstory, skillset and jutsu? Those "paper arts" of him interests me. Related to what Konan does?
We know he is not a Sealmaster though...
By the way, given that he is almost certainly dead, feel like revealing a bit about his backstory, skillset and jutsu? Those "paper arts" of him interests me. Related to what Konan does?
We know he is not a Sealmaster though...
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Frakir's brother
Goodbye.
- Location
- The Sea of Trees
I could see a situation where Swamp survived. Everything in there uses charkra, and is dangerous enough to have a decent store of it. Despite what fanon says, the Byakugan sees chakra, not objects, and so Swamp would have some decent camo. Inuzuka dogs are trackers yes, but they require a starting scent to work from and strong smell, like the kind that are everywhere in a murder swamp, can make them lose the trail. Aburame bugs are the biggest threat, as if a few(ton) die, it isn't too much of a problem and they might be able to tell the difference between shinobi disciplined chakra and murder beast chakra.
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
First off, the infodump document is updated.
From the wiki entry on the Byakugan:
"The Byakugan gives the user a near 360º field of vision, except for one blind spot at the back of the neck above the first thoracic vertebra.[6] [...] Its vision can penetrate through most solid objects and obstructions,[9] though certain barriers may distort the Byakugan's perception somewhat.[10] The Byakugan is also able to more effectively follow high-speed movements to better react to them.[11] In the anime, the Byakugan is shown magnifying in on small targets and seeing infrared to detect a target's body heat.[12]"
And the entry on Hinata:
"In the anime, she can magnify her vision to zoom in on small insects while also in infrared,[27] and even accurately aim chakra needles at fast and small targets.[28]"
There's been some debate among the GMs about whether or not the anime counts as canon; I'm not voicing an opinion here (and honestly don't care), I'm just offering the information.
From the wiki entry on the Byakugan:
"The Byakugan gives the user a near 360º field of vision, except for one blind spot at the back of the neck above the first thoracic vertebra.[6] [...] Its vision can penetrate through most solid objects and obstructions,[9] though certain barriers may distort the Byakugan's perception somewhat.[10] The Byakugan is also able to more effectively follow high-speed movements to better react to them.[11] In the anime, the Byakugan is shown magnifying in on small targets and seeing infrared to detect a target's body heat.[12]"
And the entry on Hinata:
"In the anime, she can magnify her vision to zoom in on small insects while also in infrared,[27] and even accurately aim chakra needles at fast and small targets.[28]"
There's been some debate among the GMs about whether or not the anime counts as canon; I'm not voicing an opinion here (and honestly don't care), I'm just offering the information.
Jackercracks
In a British accent
- Location
- England
Might as well do an in-thread version of the infodump as well, just in case someone tries to sneakily edit it.
Has Hazou heard anything about Iron country?
That it used to be prosperous, but then they ran out of Iron.
How many seal-masters and medical ninjas were there in Mist?
Hazō has no way of knowing the former. For the latter, there are enough to treat ninja in Mist itself, and enough to send on a few important missions, but not enough to place one in even a quarter of all squads. - V
How many ninja live to retire?
Very few. It is a high mortality profession. - J
What are the prominent known clan-bloodline powers?
What are the stated reasons for ninja wars?
About like the real world. Politics, economics, philosophical differences, personal enmity, etc.
What does Mist do to prevent missing-nin from running around?
Track them down and kill them?
What is the effect of raising the Transformation, Clone, and Substitution technique, in game, using XP?
Transformation increases the variety of forms available (as well as the degree to which their natural abilities can be utilised), and makes one less likely to pop back to normal if struck or distracted. Basic clones become more convincing and capable of following more complex instructions. Substitution is performed quicker, with fewer hand seals and with less appropriately sized objects.
What do we know about the Jinchuriki and their current locations/village affiliations?
Apart from that Yagura is one and that major villages generally have one or two? Not a lot. You know that the nine-tails rampaged through Konoha about 12 years ago. - J
List of questions then, I'll try to keep it simple. Out of Iron, Waterfall, Snow, Tea, Sea, Fire, and Mist what are their current general political climates,
State of borders (who crosses, how often, how do they cross, and why?),
There's some mercantile trade, all of which is escorted by ninja because civilians couldn't travel more than a day or so through MurderWorld without being eaten. Diplomatic missions go back and forth periodically. Hunter-nin are allowed to pass. Scouts/spies slip across the borders periodically -- as fast as ninja travel and as few of them are, borders are fairly porous to small groups. -EJ
trade goods that go through,
Specialty foods, cloth, metals, spices, art, etc. About like you'd find in the real world. -EJ
estimated strength of their ninja villages, stance towards civilians, and connections with rest of the world?
How far does Water's sphere of influence reach? Particularly, how many of the islands are allies of Water?
What does Hazou remember from his history lessons? Rabbit Goddess and the Sage of the Six Paths?
The Sage he remembers, the Rabbit he does not. - J
Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara and the founding of the Village system?
Two people and a historical event?
EDIT: Oh, wait, this was probably attached to the 'what does Hazou remember' question. Same as in canon, at least as far as he remembers. History was never his best subject. Yes, Hashirama gave away the 1-8 Tails. You've no idea why he would do something like that.
Anything that happened in the 900 years between Sage of the Six Paths and the founding of the Villages?
People lived, loved, hated, fought, made peace, married, divorced, were born, and died. Also, lots of battles.
Could you be more specific?
Shinobi World Wars I through III and who was fighting who?
The wars were brief, and the death toll atrocious.
What happened to Whirlpool and was it a glorious victory for Water, or did some other nation take them out?
Whirlpool was famous for its sealing ability. It became SO powerful with seals that it made everyone else nervous, so Lightning wiped it out in a pre-emptive strike. Mist helped.
The world sucks. Chakra monsters everywhere. Small enclaves of humanity here and there. Never enough ninja to protect them. Nobody cares about civilians anyway, because ninja are the master race.
For the sake of clarity, could we have a list of known and rumored chakra monsters?
Meh, that sounds like work. It's a very long list. Basically, take any real-world animal, add "and then it kills you in horrible ways" and it's probably on the list. Chakra monsters also tend to be ecologically sensitive, so they will often have extremely specific ranges -- sometimes just a few dozen square miles around an area with particular trace elements in the soil. As a result, most of them are regional and therefore not well known outside their home turf. -EJ
Do the swamp creatures count?
Yes.
Daimyos are subordinates of Kages -- basically glorified bureaucrats.
There was a problem with the Uchiha, and a bunch of them died. How many? Dunno. The fact that one of their best and brightest (Itachi) was instantly branded a traitor is highly suggestive of what probably happened.
Every country has ninja or it wouldn't be a country.
The Land of Iron is neutral; they haven't been taken over because they don't have much that anyone wants (the iron is largely mined out and the economy has mostly collapsed although there are still pockets of moderate wealth here and there). The northern bit is essentially tundra.
The Land of Tea. Got a port up north-west and a port mid-east (yay trade). Mountain pass for trade 50 miles south of the border. Lots of coastal villages (yay fish). A single clan commands the military which focuses almost exclusively on monster killing, they're friendly with Leaf and hold the Capybara summoning scroll. They live in the mountains in their fortress. Fairly ninja-lite as countries go.
That it used to be prosperous, but then they ran out of Iron.
How many seal-masters and medical ninjas were there in Mist?
Hazō has no way of knowing the former. For the latter, there are enough to treat ninja in Mist itself, and enough to send on a few important missions, but not enough to place one in even a quarter of all squads. - V
How many ninja live to retire?
Very few. It is a high mortality profession. - J
What are the prominent known clan-bloodline powers?
- Mist: Houzuki, Yuki, McPuncherson [although not the part about making seal blanks], Wakahisa, Mori.- J
- Leaf: Hyuuga, Uchiha, Aburame, Inuzaka, Akimichi - EJ [NB: you don't know all the details, just the rough outlines -- "sees everything, copy jutsu/see fast, controls insects, controls dogs, really advanced Henge powers"]
What are the stated reasons for ninja wars?
About like the real world. Politics, economics, philosophical differences, personal enmity, etc.
What does Mist do to prevent missing-nin from running around?
Track them down and kill them?
What is the effect of raising the Transformation, Clone, and Substitution technique, in game, using XP?
Transformation increases the variety of forms available (as well as the degree to which their natural abilities can be utilised), and makes one less likely to pop back to normal if struck or distracted. Basic clones become more convincing and capable of following more complex instructions. Substitution is performed quicker, with fewer hand seals and with less appropriately sized objects.
What do we know about the Jinchuriki and their current locations/village affiliations?
Apart from that Yagura is one and that major villages generally have one or two? Not a lot. You know that the nine-tails rampaged through Konoha about 12 years ago. - J
List of questions then, I'll try to keep it simple. Out of Iron, Waterfall, Snow, Tea, Sea, Fire, and Mist what are their current general political climates,
- Iron: Isolationist, and mostly left alone because of its unimportance and low value.
- Waterfall: Allied with Earth country, produces a lot of food.
- Snow: No one on your team knows. Snow is North Nowhere to most of the world.
- Tea: None of the genin remember and Inoue has never had a mission there.
- Sea: A de facto neutral ground with little by way of natural resources, and much by way of unsavoury dealings between ninja villages and civilians alike. Ruled by elusive ninja pirate lords.
- Fire: Hiruzen is known as a calm and peaceful man and a great leader, but there are stories from a few decades ago about what happens when you push him too far; there's a crater on the spot where one of those stories happened, and it's big enough to put a small hamlet in. Add to that the Sharingan, Byakugan, Inuzaka, Aburame, etc etc etc and everyone walks soft around Fire. Inoue has gone on infiltration missions there; she knows that there is some internal strife -- clan leaders who would like more freedom, differences of opinion on how things should be done, etc -- but none of it is strong enough to be exploitable. See comments about Hiruzen above.
- Mist: Generally stable. Yagura is respected for both his power and his intelligence. The Bloody Mist thing was a long time ago and long since gone. (Although not forgotten by people like Shikigami.) Recently attempted to annex part of Noodle. You're not sure how the attempt fared without your group there to join in the fighting.
State of borders (who crosses, how often, how do they cross, and why?),
There's some mercantile trade, all of which is escorted by ninja because civilians couldn't travel more than a day or so through MurderWorld without being eaten. Diplomatic missions go back and forth periodically. Hunter-nin are allowed to pass. Scouts/spies slip across the borders periodically -- as fast as ninja travel and as few of them are, borders are fairly porous to small groups. -EJ
trade goods that go through,
Specialty foods, cloth, metals, spices, art, etc. About like you'd find in the real world. -EJ
estimated strength of their ninja villages, stance towards civilians, and connections with rest of the world?
- Iron: No organized ninja village that you're aware of, although they do have ninja. Bit of a second-rate place -- not much in the way of natural resources or anything to attract outside attention.
- Waterfall: Allied with Earth.
- Snow: No one on the team really knows. They trade a bit, but not much.
- Tea: One strong clan and some non-clan ninja.
- Fire: 1200 - 1400; supportive; allied with Noodle, Tea, and Sand; generally open to trade
- Mist: Mist: ~1300; civilians are producers and second-class citizens; suspicious, allies with Nagi and Honey, although definitely as senior partners and not equals.
How far does Water's sphere of influence reach? Particularly, how many of the islands are allies of Water?
What does Hazou remember from his history lessons? Rabbit Goddess and the Sage of the Six Paths?
The Sage he remembers, the Rabbit he does not. - J
Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara and the founding of the Village system?
Two people and a historical event?
EDIT: Oh, wait, this was probably attached to the 'what does Hazou remember' question. Same as in canon, at least as far as he remembers. History was never his best subject. Yes, Hashirama gave away the 1-8 Tails. You've no idea why he would do something like that.
Anything that happened in the 900 years between Sage of the Six Paths and the founding of the Villages?
People lived, loved, hated, fought, made peace, married, divorced, were born, and died. Also, lots of battles.
Could you be more specific?
Shinobi World Wars I through III and who was fighting who?
The wars were brief, and the death toll atrocious.
What happened to Whirlpool and was it a glorious victory for Water, or did some other nation take them out?
Whirlpool was famous for its sealing ability. It became SO powerful with seals that it made everyone else nervous, so Lightning wiped it out in a pre-emptive strike. Mist helped.
The world sucks. Chakra monsters everywhere. Small enclaves of humanity here and there. Never enough ninja to protect them. Nobody cares about civilians anyway, because ninja are the master race.
For the sake of clarity, could we have a list of known and rumored chakra monsters?
Meh, that sounds like work. It's a very long list. Basically, take any real-world animal, add "and then it kills you in horrible ways" and it's probably on the list. Chakra monsters also tend to be ecologically sensitive, so they will often have extremely specific ranges -- sometimes just a few dozen square miles around an area with particular trace elements in the soil. As a result, most of them are regional and therefore not well known outside their home turf. -EJ
Do the swamp creatures count?
Yes.
Daimyos are subordinates of Kages -- basically glorified bureaucrats.
There was a problem with the Uchiha, and a bunch of them died. How many? Dunno. The fact that one of their best and brightest (Itachi) was instantly branded a traitor is highly suggestive of what probably happened.
Every country has ninja or it wouldn't be a country.
The Land of Iron is neutral; they haven't been taken over because they don't have much that anyone wants (the iron is largely mined out and the economy has mostly collapsed although there are still pockets of moderate wealth here and there). The northern bit is essentially tundra.
The Land of Tea. Got a port up north-west and a port mid-east (yay trade). Mountain pass for trade 50 miles south of the border. Lots of coastal villages (yay fish). A single clan commands the military which focuses almost exclusively on monster killing, they're friendly with Leaf and hold the Capybara summoning scroll. They live in the mountains in their fortress. Fairly ninja-lite as countries go.