This. We can give our opinions, but ultimately she's an NPC with agency, and we can't force he to do anything - just look at prior training plans she's shot down.
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 open voting
This. We can give our opinions, but ultimately she's an NPC with agency, and we can't force he to do anything - just look at prior training plans she's shot down.
I think the Nara need to make a pitch directly to Keiko and sell her on the benefits to herself personally.
Perhaps they have something similar to the Frozen Skein and can help her with the problems it causes her. For all we know, her clan is an offshoot of theirs or vice versa.
For the Nara to consistently produce "geniuses" it wouldn't surprise me if they're secretly using some kind of chakra-related mental amplification technique that they don't tell anyone about. Depending on genetics is way too much of a crapshoot.
Perhaps they have something similar to the Frozen Skein and can help her with the problems it causes her. For all we know, her clan is an offshoot of theirs or vice versa.
For the Nara to consistently produce "geniuses" it wouldn't surprise me if they're secretly using some kind of chakra-related mental amplification technique that they don't tell anyone about. Depending on genetics is way too much of a crapshoot.
- Location
- USA
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- He/Him
I heartily approve of this strategy. Having three of the biggest clans in Leaf powerfully opposed to you cannot possibly have negative consequences, and I will enjoy writing that lack of consequences.
What are you talking about? Uzumaki? Whirlpool? Good heavens, those people/that place have been erased from the EN. Why in the world would I be writing about them? Eeexcellent. The trolling proceeds according to keikaku.
"My home? Why would you think I had a home? Because I didn't -- have a home, that is! Uh...yeah...I was born in the woods! That's it! The woods! Where my mother lived. In the woods. Yeah."
If she does, then sure. But it obviously isn't, so I don't think it will be hard to convince her.
Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
It obviously isn't?
Doesn't matter. Short of things the Ino-Shika-Cho can't get away with in a military dictatorship run by our Patriarch's besty, there isn't anything they can do that's worth giving Kei up.
Why do you think it obviously isn't? It solidifies a political alliance with a clan of geniuses, and ensures they get two other clans friendly towards us. This give us more influence with which to push our post-war agenda. Objectively speaking, it's better. Keiko will even likely come to that conclusion. And yes, those aren't our only concerns since Keiko's happiness and mental health are important to us, but there are a lot of things that have to be weighed here.
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ
Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
re: Her mental health and happiness
This also means that she's in an alliance with the Yamanaka. You know, the clan with mind-reading therapists that would then have reason not to mindrape her?
And if she's adopted she can still do whatever she likes with Tenten, though there will be politics involved and she'll, uh, probably have to have a surrogate from the Nara when they decide to have kids.
- Location
- The Maple Syrup Mountains
We can try to bargain the Nara down to just 'working closely, with access to X secrets', and if they're not too insistent on the matter we can keep Keiko in our clan, and the Nara would still support us and they'd get basically most of what they want from Keiko.
Provide Kei with the support techniques and experience she needs to maintain her mental health when using the Frozen Skein?
I'm not saying they absolutely can do that, but if they could wouldn't it be worth it?
Why do you object to having Keiko adopted by the Nara clan?
Because clan privileges basically extend to "you can have meetings with Hiruzen, and don't have to share things". There's a lot Shikaku can do to annoy us with that, but that's all he can do: annoy us. Nothing that's worth giving him Keiko.
Additionally, if we give up Kei then we're signalling that it's possible to coerce us into giving up other members. The Hyuuga could just demand Hazou in exchange for not being dicks to J. The Aburame could just declare that they'll be dicks to J unless he gives them Noburi. Etc. Etc.
We can make lesser concessions to Shikaku, maybe even lots of lesser concessions depending on how much J wants their help, but giving up Kei is completely off the table.
Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
Ah, before I forget: @Velorien Great chapter! It's one of the quiet, build-up chapters but no less for it. I like Kenta a lot, and feel like Hazou could learn a lot from the Nara if he could get an in with them.
e: Specifically, the "flipping to another page" thing reminded me of Hazou pulling that on Kagome back when we first discussed Skywalkers with him.
e: Specifically, the "flipping to another page" thing reminded me of Hazou pulling that on Kagome back when we first discussed Skywalkers with him.
How about we hear them out and see what they have to say?
Oh, somehow Tsundae is available for convincing. I am like waaaaaaat?
What do you expect that they could say to make the trade worth it?
Shikaku is the Jounin Commander. He's third in command of the entire village, and second in command when Jiraiya is out being spymaster. (Which J spends a great deal of time doing; we're lucky we caught him in-village.) Shikaku has Hiruzen's ear and trust, and while he can't kill the entire deal, he could probably "advise against" any individual plans or proposals.
None of which really matters. Keiko isn't going to be sold off like cattle. The Nara will have to make a case about what they can offer to her individually. I just wanted to push back against "Shikaku can't do anything." He can do plenty.
A better life for Keiko.
I never said "Shikaku can't do anything", and you even quoted me saying there's plenty he could do to annoy us. But that still doesn't make it worth it. If we want to buy his not-being-a-dick we can do so with lesser currency.
A better life than as J's daughter? That would have to be a pretty exceptional deal.
Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
This is a pretty big deal, imo.
If we bargain Ino-Shika-Cho down to not being dicks with lesser concessions then she can still get that. It's nothing that we need to give her to Shikaku for.
The Nara are a pretty exceptional clan. You become one of them, and you're immediately hooked into a huge support network three clans wide of geniuses who believe in protecting their own. Jiraiya is an exceptionally powerful individual, but he's only one guy and he knows fuck-all about being a parent. The Nara are well experienced with raising genius children with emotional issues caused by their genius.
EDIT: To be clear, Shikaku is probably a better father than Jiraiya, by a country mile.