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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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Right, so from my perspective our opponent has three things going for him: his ability to track his enemies via blood, the increased durability and flexibility his Earth/Water Release ninjutsu grants him, and his Blood Clones (NB: just like Shadow Clones). He also has knowledge of our Taijutsu skills, explosives skills/Sealing abilities, and Earth Release ninjutsu (read: MEW). From the knowledge that he has on us, and with the assumption that his ranged skills aren't well-developed enough to be a relevant threat in this match...I think his optimal strategy would be to obfuscate his actual location with Blood Clones and seek to swarm us with them, relying on his (and theirs) ninjutsu to dodge/tank explosives and the skill/difficulty in determining the real Kotsuzui to keep Hazou from defeating the actual one. If he's got HLaM or an equivalent he can just duck between a big rock, make clones, and go underground, letting the clones whittle us down while he moves in for a sneak kill. Having the bigger stick doesn't matter if we can't hit our enemies with said stick.
 
eaglejarl said:
Works for me, although it would probably more along the lines of "Distracted by Fear of Boom". Note that the Aspect will disappear as soon as he realizes you were lying, which is likely to be pretty soon (~a couple rounds).
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Two rounds is more than enough. :evil:
e:
faflec said:
Right, so from my perspective our opponent has three things going for him: his ability to track his enemies via blood, the increased durability and flexibility his Earth/Water Release ninjutsu grants him, and his Blood Clones (NB: just like Shadow Clones). He also has knowledge of our Taijutsu skills, explosives skills/Sealing abilities, and Earth Release ninjutsu (read: MEW). From the knowledge that he has on us, and with the assumption that his ranged skills aren't well-developed enough to be a relevant threat in this match...I think his optimal strategy would be to obfuscate his actual location with Blood Clones and seek to swarm us with them, relying on his (and theirs) ninjutsu to dodge/tank explosives and the skill/difficulty in determining the real Kotsuzui to keep Hazou from defeating the actual one. If he's got HLaM or an equivalent he can just duck between a big rock, make clones, and go underground, letting the clones whittle us down while he moves in for a sneak kill. Having the bigger stick doesn't matter if we can't hit our enemies with said stick.
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If we can make the aspect Distracted by Fear of Boom successfully, we should be able to restrict him from using Blood Clones, which pretty effectively cuts down his options to "Punch us"
 
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ClawClawBite said:
Could we use training seals to interrupt taunts? Explosives solve everything, and we can afford to spend them for dramatic effect. Also, stomp-stomp-boom may even be better then stomp-stomp-clap for getting crowds excited.
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Oh fuck me I like this one.

"We all know the story of h-"

*BOOM*

"...as I was saying-"

*BOOM*

"Will you-"

*BOOM* *BOOM* *CRACK*

Can we take ten minutes with Noburi to train Hazou in how to make the single most annoying and punchable smirk as part of this?
 
Tua said:
Is the plan for the speech still to be the better man and not insult our opponent while mocking Mist for having to ban our seals just so they have a fighting chance?
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Could work. Especially with Forged in Fire.

Veedrac said:
But "imma murder you now" seemed a bit out of the blue. Hazō doesn't swear much, and I don't recall him ever threatening murder as a verbal attack like this.
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You may be right. My thought was that the rapid switch from his siblings being supportive to being vile messed with him while he was vulnerable, but perhaps I should tone it down.
 
OliWhail said:
You may be right. My thought was that the rapid switch from his siblings being supportive to being vile messed with him while he was vulnerable, but perhaps I should tone it down.
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I read it as Hazou trying to actually put himself in the headspace of the actual day.

There's a big mental difference between "some punk is making fun of what I care about" and "my bro is trying to train me". The latter won't help him get ready for the fight nearly as much.
 
faflec said:
Clarification: How is this meant to work?
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Tell him that we prepared explosives all over and beneath the arena last night. 'Clear out' a small-ish area for us to fight in with Fire-Log Macerator. Small enough that clones can't function effectively.

Boom. We've restricted his motion and actions in the fight.
 
OliWhail said:
You may be right. My thought was that the rapid switch from his siblings being supportive to being vile messed with him while he was vulnerable, but perhaps I should tone it down.
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No! It made perfect sense.

Cariyaga said:
About that... we trained Forged in Fire this time.
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MMKII said:
Kids got FiF now, Chief.
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Oops. Good point.

Cariyaga said:
If we can make the aspect Distracted by Fear of Boom successfully, we should be able to restrict him from using Blood Clones, which pretty effectively cuts down his options to "Punch us"
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Note: I would interpret this such that (1) he is not taking penalties or being restricted and (2) you have an Aspect you can tag. This is why I called out this Aspect instead of "Restricted..."
 
eaglejarl said:
Note: I would interpret this such that (1) he is not taking penalties or being restricted and (2) you have an Aspect you can tag. This is why I called out this Aspect instead of "Restricted..."
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Ah, hm. What if we elaborated that the explosives were large enough in size for their activation to affect those within the area of fighting? It's certainly believable enough for Goketsu "Your Fortress is Dust" Hazou.

e: That is to say, such that clones would be ineffective. at best.
 
Cariyaga said:
Ah, hm. What if we elaborated that the explosives were large enough in size for their activation to affect those within the area of fighting? It's certainly believable enough for Goketsu "Your Fortress is Dust" Hazou.

e: That is to say, such that clones would be ineffective. at best.
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I cannot offhand think of something one could say that would convince him not to move around at all, or would convince him that he could not summon clones / use his standard jutsu. I can definitely think of things that will give you an advantage in fighting him because he's splitting his attention. If y'all have specific suggestions, I'm willing to be convinced otherwise.
 
eaglejarl said:
I cannot offhand think of something one could say that would convince him not to move around at all, or would convince him that he could not summon clones / use his standard jutsu. I can definitely think of things that will give you an advantage in fighting him because he's splitting his attention. If y'all have specific suggestions, I'm willing to be convinced otherwise.
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I was thinking that Hazou would 'clear out' with fire log macerators an area approximately a boxing arena in size, and inform him that outside the bounds of it was explosives aplenty.

To be honest, I'm significantly more concerned about his Blood Clones than I am with him. Depending on how they (and Shadow Clones) work, substitution could be really annoying.

On the other hand, in order to use substitution, he'd have to roll athletics instead of just engaging himself -- he can't use it to dodge a counterattack, or if he rolls Taijutsu himself. I'm not sure how big of a concern that is.

Thoughts, the rest of you?
 
The HYPE runs through my veins at this moment.

[X] Speech Plan: We Will Squash You
(Specifics, as always, are up to the esteemed @eaglejarl )
  • Prepare with Noburi and Keiko, check with Jiraiya beforehand
    • Noburi: Help us practice smug and annoying body language for the speech, e.g. the overconfident smirk.
    • Keiko: Give us some quick tips on aiming the explosives.
  • Let Kotsuzui get his jibes in first.
    • INTERRUPT HIM CONSTANTLY: Throw light explosives into the air (safely and set to detonate harmlessly in midair over the arena) to interrupt him and prevent him from getting any coherent insults in. It will also be hilarious.
      • Look overconfident.
      • Smirk.
      • DECEIT: There must be a reason why you're so confident. Plant some doubt in the kids head.
  • To the crowd:
    • These pre-match insult fests aren't your style. No spirit! Lame insults! Bah!
    • " Who here wants a real show?"
      • Punctuate: Throw a big showy explosive straight up into the air.
    • Get the crowd on your side. See if Noburi can work some magic from the stands.
    • Assist the hype up by throwing a fire-log macerator out over the SE Zone.
    • They were promised a show, and a show they shall get. Try to play the crowd and put pressure on your opponent via the crowds expectations.
      • DECEIT: "On this occasion of international unity and sportsmanship, you will have the no holds-barred beatdown match you've been wanting to see. I am all about international cooperation and sportsmanship. Right now, cooperating to please you folks. No running, no tricks, no bullshit.I will head to the area I just firebombed over to slug it out. If he does not want to accommodate, well... "
      • "What kind of ninja can't catch a target that is standing still!?"
      • "Regardless, if he runs, he'll have a few thousand explosives to dodge..."
      • Plant the suspicion: We seem awfully confident about that last bit...
  • Ask the proctor to confirm the rules..
    • Kotsuzui should be uneasy at this point.
  • As soon as the match starts and you both leave the stand, out of the sound amplification field.
    • DECEIT:"Try not to step on any explosives!"
    • Create Aspect:"Distracted by Fear of Boom"
[X] Action Plan: Righteous-Stinking-Youthful Facepunching!
(Tactics ultimately at Hazou's discretion and can be modified as the situation demands. The following is a skeleton of suggested tactics.)
  • Keep eyes on Kotsuzui.
  • Punch his face in.
    • Round 1: Supplemental: Cast Pantokrator's Hammer, Supplemental: Equip Pangolin Gauntlets, Standard: Punch(Nonlethally!).
      • Use Hazou's personal Aspects if you're certain the target is Kotsuzui.
        • Any free invokes remaining on any created aspects, Rolodex of Doom, Hazou's personal aspects,Pangolin Gauntlets, etc. Reroll the dice until we get something at least -3.
        • He can't dodge you at your very best. This one is for your team, your ideals, that entire month of training and planning, everything. Knock him into next week.
    • Round 2/3: Take Gauntlets off,Standard to cast Ghost Scales. Cast PH (use tags defensively if needed).
    • Round 2/3:
      • Plan A: Recast PH, Equip Gauntlets,Punch!
      • Plan B: If he has a horde of blood clones giving you trouble. Recast GS if necessary. Supplemental to palm Weapon 4 explosive, Supplemental to activate(in close range), free to drop through GS aura. Cast GS afterwards if you still have a Standard.
        • Act nonplussed. Give him the option to surrender.
    • Further tactics or situational variations of the above left to Hazou's discretion.
  • Afterwards if you win: say some words to the crowd.
    • "That was a good fight. I hope you all enjoyed it."
    • Make no mistake, you hold no enmity for Kotsuzui, for Hotsprings or any country in particular for that matter. This tournament is for international cooperation, and you stand by that.
 
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MMKII said:
  • DECEIT: "On this occasion of international unity and sportsmanship, you will have the no holds-barred beatdown match you've been wanting to see. No running, no tricks, no bullshit. We will head to the area I just firebombed over to slug it out. If he does not comply, well, he'll be in for a real nasty surprise. Explosives everywhere folks. "
  • Plant the suspicion: We seem awfully confident about that last bit...
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IIRC we have to enter the arena first, through opposite ends of said arena. How are we going to ensure both ourselves and our opponent have a way to get to the location? I'm hesitant to say that we can just jump, because the arena is supposed to be big enough that we can't just be in the other person's face that quickly.
 
You know, it makes me really sad that we can't use Kagome's explosion knuckles with training tags because that would be violating OPSEC.

Should we throw in a line about Mist deliberately nerfing us and just us somewhere in there?
 
faflec said:
IIRC we have to enter the arena first, through opposite ends of said arena. How are we going to ensure both ourselves and our opponent have a way to get to the location? I'm hesitant to say that we can just jump, because the arena is supposed to be big enough that we can't just be in the other person's face that quickly.
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Huh, is that the case? Well. We can probably just bait him into (zone close to where we are entering) then?
 
faflec said:
IIRC we have to enter the arena first, through opposite ends of said arena. How are we going to ensure both ourselves and our opponent have a way to get to the location? I'm hesitant to say that we can just jump, because the arena is supposed to be big enough that we can't just be in the other person's face that quickly.
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This isn't a problem. Just do it somewhere there's a substitution target.
 
MMKII said:
Huh, is that the case? Well. We can probably just bait him into (zone close to where we are entering) then?
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Do you mean during the speech? Because I'm not sure there would be a good way to do so.
Cariyaga said:
This isn't a problem. Just do it somewhere there's a substitution target.
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Substitution only works for a 1 zone distance. It'd let a person enter the arena, but not anywhere in said arena.
 
faflec said:
Do you mean during the speech? Because I'm not sure there would be a good way to do so.
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"What kind of hunter-nin can't even catch a target that's standing still!"

Still, we can just bait him into the pond area or something and beat the shit out of him.

@eaglejarl

Are the improvised Queen-lyrics-as-insults-and-simultaneous-crowd-hype-device too over the top? I have a version thats less "putting exact words into Hazou's mouth" if you would prefer less of that, but I'm not sure if more or less of that is helpful for you.
 
Veedrac said:
The question was "do summons normally have to take their initiative last during the Round they're summoned". It seems to me that summoning someone into a fight is at least as surprising as an ambush (sans chakra BS), which I very vaguely recall having some mechanical model.
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I'd imagine being summoned is more disorienting to them than substitution is. Also, they were aware of summons as a possibility.
 
MMKII said:
Are the improvised Queen-lyrics-as-insults-and-simultaneous-crowd-hype-device too over the top? I have a version thats less "putting exact words into Hazou's mouth" if you would prefer less of that, but I'm not sure if more or less of that is helpful for you.
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I will be very sad if they don't end up in the winning plan, because they are f'ing awesome.
 
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