- Location
- Europe
We can probably use pigs, maybe put them to sleep first and hope that the infusion failure doesn't kill them too horrible.
Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest
- Thread starter eaglejarl
- Start date
-
- Tags
- 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
We can probably use pigs, maybe put them to sleep first and hope that the infusion failure doesn't kill them too horrible.
- Location
- Potato land
This the exact reason why Jiraiya will refuse to tell us anything.
In fact, I'm inclined not to ask at all just to spare him the nervous breakdown resulting from trying to imagine what Hazou would do with an understanding of Jinchuuriki seal mechanics.
You can also replace "Hazou" with "the players", and "Jiraiya" with "the QMs" in this observation and it remains valid.
- Location
- London
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They/Them
The jinchuuriki seals are also explicitly seals which store chakra in them. That's cool.
Emstar
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
The theory is explicit instructions for all intents and purposes, modulo a good knowledge base and a few weeks of work. So "Jinchuuriki Seals 101" is just as bad as "Here's the step by step." if you're worried about people getting their hands on the thing.
What exactly do you hope to get out of this? We still have a long research backlog and a skillset that is most likely not up to the task of doing biosealing, let alone the ideas that we wanted to do.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I advise you not to assume things too quickly. For all you know, jinchuriki seals are a specialised type of summoning seal that locks a physical entity in an extradimensional space, or a piece of biosealing where the Beast is the seal, and it only takes the shape it does within our set of dimensions (and breaking the seal hurts the part of it which is still in our dimension, and makes it come to investigate).
Emstar
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
TaliesinSkye
Occasional Editor
- Location
- Northeast Ohio, United States
I want information so we can more accurately make plans and come up with ideas. Our understanding of how seals work is still frustratingly incomplete.
It will always be frustrating incomplete because sealing is basically a blackbox for the players.
Emstar
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
We can start out by asking less complicated things like "Can we carve seals in wood?" "Can we carve seals in metal?" or "How about you give me all your Chunin-level sealing theory books to read?"
Yes, but we can still get a better range of tools/concepts to work with.
On that note, the only sealmasters we know and interact with is Kagome and Jiraiya. We should broaden our perspective by interacting with other Leaf sealmasters.
- Location
- Yes.
QMs: Yes, yes, no.
Evenstar
Triple Jump Unlocked
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yeah, I realize exactly why you can't hand out this kind of info, because anything canon instantly becomes exploitable - truth is complexly entangled, et al. It's just frustrating for me as someone wanting to write in your sandbox, for obvious reasons: I want to play with weird ideas, and that's directly at odds with maintaining canon-compatibility.
Basically, I have to decide if my omake, encountered in-setting, would be historical fiction, hard science fiction, or fantasy. (Stick to only directly observed facts, but arrange them creatively: extrapolate from facts in ways that might be falsified, but still care about them: to heck with facts, just write a good story.)
And basically what this is saying is: You ain't going to be able to do the research to write historical fiction here, bucko, not unless you want Hazou to make some very unhealthy life choices. Too much is too classified for good reasons.
So yeah, that's pretty fair. I guess I'll just have to embrace noncanonicity a little more than I'd hoped to.
Interlude: A Warrior Falls
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Interlude: A Warrior Falls
If there was anything more beautiful than the sunlight streaming through the branches, nobody had told Keiko about it. If there was anything more peaceful than sitting by her master's side, watching the cherry blossoms fall, she had yet to discover it. She had only recently found out that cherry blossom viewing was something noblemen and clan seniors traditionally did, and, the season being right, had suggested it at once. Now, here she lay back on the picnic blanket, sipping cool barley tea while her master gazed at the falling blossoms and silently composed haiku, his deep black fur a perfect contrast to the gentle colours.
A shadow fell over them abruptly, blocking out the sunlight.
Oh, good. Other people.
"What do you want, Yumi?"
Yumi (probably) smiled at her.
Keiko was good at recognising smiles—Ami made them all the time—but apparently a smile could mean just about anything, from "I like you" to "I'm thinking about how best to hurt you". Other children knew how to tell the difference and react in time.
Why the whole thing was necessary, Keiko didn't know. If you had something you wanted to say to someone, why not simply say it, instead of doing this complicated dance to which everyone but Keiko knew the steps?
"Hey, Keiko. I see you've got not being in people's way down to an art."
Like many people, Yumi assumed that because Keiko couldn't easily recognise when people were lying by looking at their face, she was an idiot who took everything she was told at face value. As if Keiko couldn't learn from experience. Sometimes other children hurt her for no reason, and sometimes they were smiling or laughing when they did. She didn't assume goodwill anymore.
Besides, insults weren't people. Insults were information, and every Mori knew information was there to be analysed. Keiko already knew whether she was stupid (no Mori was stupid), ugly (Ami assured her that she wasn't), or mean (she didn't hate people, she just wished they weren't there). If people were saying those things, they must be lying—no matter how they were saying them—and understanding why they were lying was a matter of thinking rather than of perceiving.
"We've been watching you and Mewramasa strutting about like you owned the place," Yumi said. "Lord Masamewne is worth ten of your Mewramasas. Go play indoors."
Keiko and Mewramasa leapt up in outrage.
"Excuse me? Lord Mewramasa comes from the proud lineage of Ami herself. He's practically a daimyo. Besides, Masamewne's no real samurai—he has white fur. Haven't you ever heard the saying that a warrior must never let his enemies see him bleed?
"That," she added, "and he must need washing three times as often."
Yumi snorted. "Lord Masamewne is elegant and refined. He doesn't mind having a bath every day."
She stepped closer to Keiko, uncomfortably close.
"If you two aren't backing down, then there's only one way to settle this, warrior to warrior."
Keiko didn't need telling. "A duel."
"Noon tomorrow, after chores. I'll see you in the Spiral Garden… if you're not too scared to come."
"Never," Keiko said fiercely. "We'll show you what a warrior's soul is worth."
She hesitated. "Wait, a proper duel needs seconds. There are no other kittens active in the Mori compound, much less honourable felines of noble pedigree."
"Way ahead of you," Yumi said, giving another probably-smile. "I've managed to get Meowmoto himself."
"Meowmoto?!" Keiko gasped. "I thought he had been retired."
"I've persuaded her to bring him out one last time. No accusing me of cheating after Masamewne beats down your so-called samurai."
Meowmoto himself. The ginger legend. Constantly challenged. Never defeated. Retiring only when his injuries had become too heavy to repair, and Satoko's parents gave her—shudder—a collie for her birthday.
"Mewramasa, Devourer of Unworthy Souls, bows to no one," Keiko declared. Then she hurried away (in a dignified manner). They had less than twenty-four hours to train, and none of her other toys had live battle experience. Worse, she had to find someone who liked her enough to be Mewramasa's second.
-o-
A cool wind blew across the Spiral Garden. Cherry blossoms rained down as two warriors faced each other in silence, one black, one white. Their fangs were sharp, their claws ready for battle, and each knew that there was more at stake than being forever exiled to their retainer's room. This was a battle for samurai pride.
Meowmoto and Satoko stood behind Masamewne and Yumi, their presence alone a vote of confidence and a source of moral support.
Mewramasa was at a disadvantage from the start. Keiko had had to beg one of her Academy classmates to come out, and Yoshitsuneigh wasn't even a kitten. Still, Mewramasa was the Devourer of Unworthy Souls. He would not fall to some mangy upstart.
The judge, standing off by the side, was Shion herself. A mere human should not have had the right to interfere in the affairs of kittens, but Shion's grandmother had been a civilian seamstress, one capable of making new toys, and that made Shion a quarter-goddess in all matters feline.
"On the count of three," Shion said.
Keiko and Mewramasa tensed.
"One.
"Two.
"Three!"
Mewramasa and Masamewne flew forward. They slammed into each other dead in the middle of the garden, swiftly engaging in the time-honoured samurai art of rolling around on the ground trying to force the other into submission.
Keiko forgot herself in the thrill of battle. Mewramasa thrust and clawed for all he was worth, accepting every hit as the price of his inevitable victory. His fangs tore at Masamewne's throat even as Masamewne tried to roll over and crush him. His paws batted Masamewne from side to side, denying him the chance to rise and counter.
But Masamewne gave no quarter, seizing every opening and opportunity to do damage, however small. He pulled at Mewramasa's weak points, headbutted him to push him off-balance, and once even used his tail to capture one of Mewramasa's paws.
No mercy was asked for, and none given. The loyal retainers' hands gained countless accidental scratches from each other's nails, and bruises from slamming against the ground. At the time, neither noticed.
"Enough!" Shion finally called out.
The two warriors disengaged and bowed to Shion, waiting for her judgement. Masamewne had one ear torn nearly in half. Mewramasa's tail was close to coming off. Both limped, their fur had been scraped off in places, and their retainers panted in exhaustion.
"Victor: Masamewne!"
Mewramasa bowed his head dejectedly. True, Yumi was a year older. True, Keiko wasn't particularly strong even for her age. Even so, Mewramasa had fire in his soul. He had been a gift from Ami herself, a champion of darkness summoned from the very depths of Sagami's Toy Shop to bestow judgement and consume the weak. It was the cruellest of jokes that he should be exiled to become a pitiful housecat.
"We lose," Keiko said reluctantly. "The compound is yours to rule."
"Not so fast," Yumi said with another smile. Keiko didn't need telling that this was one of the bad ones. "Your samurai has been dishonoured. You know there is only one way to wash away dishonour."
Keiko would forever regret the seconds it took for her to understand Yumi's meaning. Seconds in which she and Mewramasa could have run. Yes, it would have doubled the dishonour, but anything—only playing with him outside the compound where the other girls couldn't see, or even giving him away—would have been better than what happened next.
Shion tore him out of her arms. She took out a penknife.
"No!" Keiko screamed, and lunged forwards.
Yumi pushed her down. Held her there. "No one can interfere with the ritual."
Keiko struggled with everything she had. But like Mewramasa, she wasn't strong enough to fight for what truly mattered.
Yuriko brought down the knife, and slashed through Mewramasa's stomach. Keiko gasped.
But Mewramasa was still alive. Of course he was too powerful to be killed with a single wound. He was a plush kitten, a superior species Keiko was honoured to serve. He could suffer no injury that a good enough sewing-nin couldn't heal.
Except that the blood of a seamstress ran through Shion's veins. She knew the extent of Mewramasa's power, knew what it would take to utterly destroy even someone like him. She kept slashing over and over as if she'd gone mad. Before Keiko's eyes, stuffing spilled out, limbs came apart, button eyes were torn from their sockets…
The sight took away whatever strength Keiko had left.
Minutes after the girls were gone, she finally lifted herself from the ground. There was only one more thing she could do for her fallen lord, and she was the only one who could do it.
A funeral pyre (for which she would later be grounded for a week) burned in a corner of the compound. After one last prayer to Mewramasa's ancestors, the Sagami family line, she placed his body in the flames, and watched until it burned to ashes.
Only then did she run sobbing to Ami.
According to Kagome, you can't carve seals full stop. You can paint seals on wood and metal (and ceramic), but seals need chakra-ink and brushstrokes.
...which makes bioseals very confusing. Maybe you can use chakra-ink to create tattoos?
...which makes bioseals very confusing. Maybe you can use chakra-ink to create tattoos?
Emstar
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Shiori's dad is a Nara sealmaster IIRC? We could talk to him.
Why not? Jiraiya/Kagome have these one off conversations about sealing texts all the time. Jiraiya even stated that one of the reasons he doesn't have to be as crazy about precautions as Kagome is is because he can check his work with his small library of sealing reference books and/or ask a colleague for a second opinion about whatever he's trying before infusing it.
Seems like a good idea to me. If we can get aspects for "Kagome Approved Research Lab." we can likely get some for "Extensive Reference Library.", right?
It would help clearing up any weird misconceptions we have about nonstandard mediums.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Ninja kids are fucking weird man.
Emstar
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
lol.
That was adorable, in a very "The Mori are very creepy, yep." way.
Evenstar
Triple Jump Unlocked
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hazou made skywalkers without a reference library, and didn't think about a counter. He's also demonstrably terrible at OPSEC. Do you really want to give him more resources? The phrase "smart enough to be dangerous" pops into my head, here.
Emstar
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Hazou's actually pretty decent at OPSEC. He only really fucks up when we make a mistake in thinking things through and explicitly tell him to do a thing (This accounts for the Mist Drain thing, the Elemental Mastery thing, and the recent Ghost Scales kerfuffle). Otherwise he's pretty solid.
We can also grab the "ANBU OPSEC Manual" or whatever and try to practice it for a couple weeks.
In general my answer to "Do you wnat the player character to have more information?" is always "Yes." barring some strange lovecraftian situation where this would be a bad thing, like Shadow Clone overuse putting him into a coma.
Evenstar
Triple Jump Unlocked
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yeah, obviously, but Jaraiya does not know that Hazou is the player character. From his perspective, Hazou has had three major OPSEC breaches over the course of about a year simply because he can't remember basic facts about the world.
Tua
鸡肉面条汤
- Location
- شوربة الدجاج المعكرونة
Boy, do I hope those have watched Keiko fight in the tournament. I know it's petty and they were children but we need to make them beg and apologize to Keiko.
And maybe have Hazou buy her another plush toy to go with her current one. Maybe even the kind Ami would recommend.
Emstar
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Right but you asked me if I wanted to give him more resourced.
I wouldn't think that asking for some books would be problematic. I can't imagine he would give us anything that would be dangerous to leak, even if he had such things written down in a book.
I also don't really care to learn more WMDs and Secret Weapons right now to be honest. We're sorely lacking in things that serve basic utility purposes.