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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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MMKII said:
>Practicing Killing Intent stuff with Keiko
pls. We have the best resource imaginable.

Also with wordcount to spare!


Wordcount: 234
[x] Action Plan: This is to go even further beyond!
  • On the way, try to grab an hour or so of Jiraiya's time, alone.
    • Mindset: This is going to be the most brutal thing you have ever experienced. Prepare mentally.
    • Ask him about the killing intent thing.
      • What's the deal there?
    • Help us practice resisting it, pretty please?
      • Its a critical vulnerability if some Jonin can just floor us by glaring at us, and then slit our throats.
    • Ask Jiraiya to floor you with a bit of his killing intent.
      • You are the scariest and strongest guy around, sir.
      • Please don't accidentally kill us or break our minds or something, though.
    • Now. Get. Up.
      • You are Hazou Gouketsu-nee-Kurosawa, son of Hana and Shinji, adopted son of Jiraiya. This is embarrassing.
      • You are a disciple of Gai-sensei. Giving in to fear and intimidation is not in your playbook.
      • You are a sealmaster. You have seen the horrors of the Out and lived. This is nothing in comparison.
      • The blood of Uchiha and Kurosawa alike runs through your veins. This is beneath you.
      • Your nerves are iron, and your body moves by your will and yours alone! Get the fuck up.
      • By all the kami in heaven, you will Uplift this world. Start by Uplifting yourself from the dirt.
    • Repeat a few times.
      • Try to at least raise your head and look Jiraiya in the eye.
      • But don't hurt yourself.
  • Proceed to the tournament.
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AFAICT, this is the highest winning plan, but without the Keiko section. Same things as in that reaction message apply, but I like the Keiko stuff. I think continuing to bug reach out to her is good.
 
MadScientist said:
Hmm. We could do these things upon arrival in Mist but before the fights start.
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Are we sure J would have the time? I think he might be busy being wrapped up in politics stuff with the other two (or more) Kages, right?

(Hey, cool thing: The only two Kages who would be present at a minimum are from Sand or Mist. Triple alliance, hoooooo!)

By my reckoning, the journey lasting two days or so means we will be camping out in an undisclosed location for at least one night. Ninja speeds being what they are, I'm pretty sure the 300-500 miles from Leaf to Mist could be covered in about 12-16 hours at a comfortable pace. No reason we cant do this when camped out for the night, right?
 
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MMKII said:
Are we sure J would have the time? I think he might be busy being wrapped up in politics stuff with the other two (or more) Kages, right?

(Hey, cool thing: The only two Kages who would be present at a minimum are from Sand or Mist. Triple alliance, hoooooo!)

By my reckoning, the journey lasting two days or so means we will be camping out in a undisclosed location for at least one night. Ninja speeds being what they are, I'm pretty sure the 300-500 miles from Leaf to Mist could be covered in about 12-16 hours at a comfortable pace. No reason we cant do this when camped out for the night, right?
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Yeah, that also sounds possible.
 
MadScientist said:
This is a training plan (what to spend XP on), not an action plan (what to do).
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Ah, okay.

I won't review any training plans, primarily because I can't keep up with how the skills work from a technical perspective. I mostly enjoy this quest from a narrative perspective, and build-crunching isn't my main draw here.

I will note that I believe refraining from spending exp until we get the new jutsu info is the proper path to take.
 
While I think asking J to subject us to a primal beat down technique on our way to the tournament isn't the most responsible decision, the timing and potentially addressing the weakness is valuable.

[x] Action Plan: The Power of Love to Go Even Further Beyond

(I also really appreciate the reference in the original "to go even further beyond plan")

Voting to spend xp when we don't know our options seems a bit hasty, but thematically appropriate, so I'm going to cop out and vote for both to keep the relative distance the same.

[X] Training Plan: Wait

[X] Training Plan: In Case of Emergency, Break the Hazou
 
MadScientist said:
You know what? Let's just try it and see. I will update this plan with suggestions re: the tournament.

Wordcount: 80

[x] Action Plan: The Power of Love
  • While practicing KI with Kei, attempt to project outwards Hazou's own soul. Not a will to destroy, but the will to protect. Even under the terrifying pressure of Kei's killing intent, Hazou projects a warmth of (sibling!) love that will melt the ice mirrors and deliver to Kei the spiritual and absolutely-not-physical hug that she so clearly needs. If Hazou is mentally sundered by the mirrors then so be it, Kei's Killing Intent will not push away his support.
  • Proceed to the tournament.
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Oh
This is the Keiko half of the Jiraiya and Keiko plan.

So I noticed now that there's one Jiraiya plan, one Keiko plan and one J&K plan.

This Keiko only plan has similar concerns as my first plan review - namely, time and location.

It also doesn't include reaching out to the person nearby who probably could resist anyone but another Sannin's KI for advice/teaching on subverting KI.
 
Dissonance said:
Ah, okay.

I won't review any training plans, primarily because I can't keep up with how the skills work from a technical perspective. I mostly enjoy this quest from a narrative perspective, and build-crunching isn't my main draw here.

I will note that I believe refraining from spending exp until we get the new jutsu info is the proper path to take.
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Halberdier said:
Voting to spend xp when we don't know our options seems a bit hasty, but thematically appropriate, so I'm going to cop out and vote for both to keep the relative distance the same.
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In previous posts I've calculated what our XP builds would be like depending on how useful the new jutsu is, and we basically have two paths:
  1. Our XP build if the new jutsu is super-useful.
  2. Our XP build if the new jutsu is not super-useful.
Taking Forged in Fire would require each build to drop a level of something: one level of Alertness in path 1, and one level of Chakra Reserves in path 2.

One level of Chakra Reserves isn't all that important, since there's only so far an extra 10 Chakra can take you, but one level of Alertness could be critical because Alertness is initiative and winning Initiative by a single point is a Thing that Happens.

As such, I'm okay with taking Forged in Fire now since it's the best time to take it, but I feel like we should pursue path 2 (not leveling the jutsu, keeping high Alertness but low Chakra Reserves) unless the new jutsu is Just That Good.
 
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Inferno Vulpix said:
As such, I'm okay with taking Forged in Fire now since it's the best time to take it, but I feel like we should pursue path 1 (not leveling the jutsu, keeping high Alertness but low Chakra Reserves) unless the new jutsu is Just That Good.
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You mean Path 2?

E: To be clear, the one where we bump alertness up a few levels and 1-2 CR if we can spare it?
 
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TaliesinSkye said:
[x] Action Plan: Merger Plan (142 Words)
  • On the way, talk to Jiraiya.
    • Ask him about the killing intent thing.
      • What's the deal there?
      • Tips for resisting it, or training resistance? On not being paralyzed by it against overwhelming threats?
    • Is there any intelligence on non-Leaf nin we might be matched against in the tournament? Capabilities, weaknesses?
  • While practicing KI with Kei, attempt to project outwards Hazou's own soul. Not a will to destroy, but the will to protect. Even under the terrifying pressure of Kei's killing intent, Hazou projects a warmth of (sibling!) love that will melt the ice mirrors and deliver to Kei the spiritual and absolutely-not-physical hug of safety and acceptance that she so clearly needs. If Hazou is mentally sundered by the mirrors then so be it, Kei's Killing Intent will not push away his support.
  • Make seals if there's spare downtime with nothing else to do.
  • Proceed to the tournament.
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This looks like a *safer* version of J&K KI training.

Same things as those reviews, but has "make seals..." added on.

I wonder if Hazō wouldn't make seals during the downtime if a plan doesn't otherwise specify.

Making seals during idle time surely is something he would gravitate to doing anyway, right?
Hm.


Oh, does Hazō still semi-irregularly dispell?

After going over a few plans I wonder if Jiraiya might say something along the lines of KI being innate to a person and resistance to it requires being able to project your own KI and remember when you got squeamish about the Sunset Racer?
 
MMKII said:
You mean Path 2?

E: To be clear, the one where we bump alertness up a few levels and 1-2 CR if we can spare it?
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Right, yeah. I always listed the non-super-useful option first in previous posts so got that mixed up.

In that path we get maximum Alertness with or without Forged in Fire, but if we take Forged in Fire we lose the ability to increase our Chakra Reserves any, which in my mind is an acceptable trade.
 
MMKII said:
Hmmm. Fair.

Here's my version if anyone wants.

WC: 298

[x] Action Plan: The Power of Something to Protect: Go Even Further Beyond!
  • Grab an hour-ish of Jiraiya's time, alone, if possible.
    • Mindset: Mentally prepare for the most brutal thing you have ever experienced.
    • Ask him about Killing Intent.
      • What's the deal there?
    • Help us practice resisting it, please?
      • It's a critical vulnerability if some Jonin can incapacitate and kill us.
    • Ask Jiraiya to floor you with a bit of his KI as he is the scariest/strongest around.
      • Please don't accidentally kill us or break our minds though.
    • Now. Get. Up.
      • Mood: You Say Run.
      • You are Hazou Gouketsu, son of Hana and Shinji.
      • Just one man.
      • Jiraiya is also just one man.
      • If you can't stand against Jiraiya's will, how will you stand against the world itself?
      • Motivation: the countless thousands of innocent people barely surviving in this hellhole, their lives depend on it - on you.
      • Giving up isn't an option, never will be, as long as they're on the line.
      • By all the kami in heaven, you will Uplift this world.
      • Embrace the fiery passion of your ideals, forge your iron nerves to steel, and cast your defiance into the teeth of gods and men alike!
      • Stand. Raise your head high and look Jiraiya in the eye.
    • Repeat a few times.
      • Try to at least raise your head and look Jiraiya in the eye without hurting yourself.
    • Ask Jiraiya for intel on our competitors.
  • Practicing KI with Kei:
    • Warn Kei: Prepare yourself.
    • Try to project the mettle and steel of your own soul against the icy despair.
    • Entrap it in a vicegrip of your will and cast it into the wind.
    • The darkness will be broken.
    • Throw everything you are into it. Every victory and every defeat. Every memory, good and bad. Everything that defines Hazou, balled up into one proclamation.
    • This is Hazou. Acknowledge and respect it.
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The biggest difference between this and the leading J&K plan seems to be the Keiko section?

Same concerns as the other plans, re: time and space.

The hardness vs Keiko is an interesting turn though. If we were going to go the Dark!Hazō route, something along these lines (swap "the darkness will be broken" with something like "Hazō will overpower her") would get further in that direction.
 
Dissonance said:
This looks like a *safer* version of J&K KI training.

Same things as those reviews, but has "make seals..." added on.
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Thanks. I do think that's a better approach, with Jiraiya being used for advice rather than crushing us outright with KI and taking up his valuable time in the process. Training tends to work better when you work your way up the difficulty scale rather than starting at the top. If Keiko gets to be too easy at some point we can ask some Jonin before resorting to Jiraiya.
 
Kiba said:
[X] Action Plan: Let's Timeskip

  • Use the downtime to produce some nonlethal seals (goo bombs, banshee, etc) for the tournament.
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I should've lumped the timeskips together, but this one at least indicates some sort of thing done in the background.

A problem with timeskips is that the QMs like to do a certain number of scenes per chapter - if we just get there and the next thing is thrown into a fight with no plan-

Nevermind, that's a bad argument - we'd end up at something like "your opponent is so and so, what do you do?"
 
TaliesinSkye said:
Thanks. I do think that's a better approach, with Jiraiya being used for advice rather than crushing us outright with KI and taking up his valuable time in the process. Training tends to work better when you work your way up the difficulty scale rather than starting at the top. If Keiko gets to be too easy at some point we can ask some Jonin before resorting to Jiraiya.
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+∆

[x] Action Plan: Merger Plan (142 Words)

Vecht said:
[X] Order an extra large bag of popcorn
  • With extra salt
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Once again, you prove to be the only voice of sanity in an insane world.

[X] Order an extra large bag of popcorn
 
TBH, anti-KI does seem like an extremely useful skill for Hazou if it is, as Kei said, inherently honest to who you are.
 
Cariyaga said:
TBH, anti-KI does seem like an extremely useful skill for Hazou if it is, as Kei said, inherently honest to who you are.
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I still think calling it anti-KI is sketchy. What we want is a proto-Jounin-aura, and while the feelings and emotions going into it are the opposite of Killing Intent I don't like phrasing it like we're trying to invent from whole cloth the fundamental inverse to a ubiquitous power. Phrased that way, it almost sounds like looking at Fire jutsu and wanting to invent Anti-Fire Element.

We should keep what we're trying to do grounded. Jounin auras run the full gamut of emotions, even if many use Killing Intent heavily, and all we're trying to do is jumpstart our own Jounin aura formation with our personal convictions and idealism as its base.
 
Inferno Vulpix said:
I still think calling it anti-KI is sketchy. What we want is a proto-Jounin-aura, and while the feelings and emotions going into it are the opposite of Killing Intent I don't like phrasing it like we're trying to invent from whole cloth the fundamental inverse to a ubiquitous power. Phrased that way, it almost sounds like looking at Fire jutsu and wanting to invent Anti-Fire Element.

We should keep what we're trying to do grounded. Jounin auras run the full gamut of emotions, even if many use Killing Intent heavily, and all we're trying to do is jumpstart our own Jounin aura formation with our personal convictions and idealism as its base.
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That's uh... exactly what I meant, though.
 
Cariyaga said:
That's uh... exactly what I meant, though.
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I'm mainly objecting to phrasing. Calling what we're trying to do "Anti-KI" makes it sound like we want to invent the fundamental inverse of Killing Intent. I mean "keep it grounded" in the sense that we want to present the idea in a way that reads as the grounded realistic goals of a proto-Jounin-aura in Hazou-style rather than the pie-in-the-sky goals of what 'Anti-KI' sounds like.
 
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