Remove ads

Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

Reader mode
Can we get an errand: Buy Books or borrow books

Now that I think about it, the library is a good source of intelligence...especially with Hyuga cheating eyes.

Or maybe it's better to have an errand that specifically target legal info on land ownership. Or maybe we could grab that cheating tax collector.
 
Last edited:
Great chapter!

eaglejarl said:
Yukari snorted. "My brother Sora accidentally got in the way of an Akimichi ninja two days ago. He didn't actually bump him, just obstructed his path for a moment. The man was in a foul mood, so instead of stepping aside he stiff-armed Sora out of the way. Slammed him into a wall so hard he cracked a rib. He's bruised from shoulder to hip and he can't raise his left arm without pain."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
And that's one of the nice clans. I guess we can chalk up our belief that harming a single hair on a civilian's head leads to our execution as Jiraiya being awesome again.
 
Sentient Tree said:
And that's one of the nice clans. I guess we can chalk up our belief that harming a single hair on a civilian's head leads to our execution as Jiraiya being awesome again.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
eaglejarl said:
Those laws are still on the books, too; the Hokage has a legal obligation to ensure that any ninja who hurts a civilian is severely punished and anyone who kills a civilian is executed. That's why I was so freaked out at your little misstep in the market.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
We'd be punished for harming a civilian, but not necessarily killed. And given his precarious position I don't think Jiraiya wanted any more shit to have to deal with or cover up.
 
MMKII said:
Counterpoint:

They just vote for Hiashi so that he can say "No, they're innocent." because thats a thing the Hokage can do.

Democracy doesn't really exist here.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


Rebuttle: thats why we focus on only hyuga and their closest allies. Inuzuka is voting for hyuga because they're loyal as fuck to leaf itself, and see Hiashi as a good way to protect leaf. If we drop the fact that they hurt/kill civvies on the reg *in front of their peers where they can't just ignore it like they usually do* they have to either change their vote or publically announce that they're full of shit when it comes to the will of fire. I really don't see the doggo clan doing that.

Aburame would probably be swayed as well, since they'd likely calculate the utility loss of super bad publicity.


It really doesn't matter if the other clans can just go "no u" with a bit of time, since we're dropping it in the middle of the votes. It would look like a coward trying to save face without proof, while we have mountains of paperwork and testimonies.
 
Last edited:
Twinnstars said:
Rebuttle: thats why we focus on only hyuga and their closest allies. Inuzuka is voting for hyuga because they're loyal as fuck to leaf itself, and see Hiashi as a good way to protect leaf. If we drop the fact that they hurt/kill civvies on the reg *in front of their peers where they can't just ignore it like they usually do* they have to either change their vote or publically announce that they're full of shit when it comes to the will of fire. I really don't see the doggo clan doing that.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Didn't that surviving Inuzuka Jonin from the BotG basically say that the civilians needed to be swatted down if they ever tried to rise above their station or something like that?
 
Twinnstars said:
Rebuttle: thats why we focus on only hyuga and their closest allies. Inuzuka is voting for hyuga because they're loyal as fuck to leaf itself, and see Hiashi as a good way to protect leaf. If we drop the fact that they hurt/kill civvies on the reg *in front of their peers where they can't just ignore it like they usually do* they have to either change their vote or publically announce that they're full of shit when it comes to the will of fire. I really don't see the doggo clan doing that.

Aburame would probably be swayed as well, since they'd likely calculate the utility loss of super bad publicity.


It really doesn't matter if the other clans can just go "no u" with a bit of time, since we're dropping it in the middle of the votes. It would look like a coward trying to save face without proof, while we have mountains of paperwork and testimonies.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I think this strategy has some bad assumptions on the probability of success and relative complexity.

There's vague political/socioeconomic threats and intimidation, and theres holding a literal gun to someone's head while at the negotiating table. The latter only ends well for us if the other party is expendable (they are not) and we have the ability and force of will to murder them and anyone that might be even a minor ally to them (doubtful).

Stripping away the cleverness and framing inherent to the gambit, this boils down to "Acquiesce or be executed." If our side was willing or able to go that far, the Hat crisis wouldn't even be a problem in the first place, since whatever we do would have that as the backup plan.

I think this would work as a nice stranglehold to be executed over the course of a decade or so though.
 
Last edited:
I'm concerned that Ami is going to pull a Hana and slip into the compound uninvited. It's a Velorien update, too. I want to add a contingency for that. Anything useful we can do with her, besides spending/not-spending the favour?

I think we should discuss Akatsuki. She almost certainly knows they're alive; it'd be nice if we could agree to collaborate on dealing with them, pool information, et cetera.
faflec said:
Alright, I'll bite the bullet. @Noumero I want to add a line asking Keiko to come over to discuss Seventh Path-related shenanigans
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Sure, implemented.
Kiba said:
It's 10 PM. Finish the Ami stuff, and we can finish the rest tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Are you talking about in-universe scheduling? I think the characters can figure that out on their own.

Noumero said:
[x] Action Plan: Disheartening Lack of All-Consuming Horror
Wordcount: 244
  • Continue the meeting:
    • On Ami:
      • Can we trust her? Alternatively, does Mari have her handled?
      • Any insights into her mind?
      • Should we spend her favour now? Ideas:
        • Maximize our political influence in Leaf.
        • "Maximize my social competence".
        • Acquire us IN social training.
    • Could we exploit the Kuronuma and Akasugi Yakuza's cold war?
    • Adoption: What clanless jounin are available?
      • Ami's creating a de-facto 'clanless clan'. Need to act fast.
      • Adopt Kurenai, giving Asuma an opportunity for political marriage?
    • Could Naruto convince Sasuke to support Asuma? They were teammates...
    • Tsunade: Promise her funding before Hiashi?
      • Either through Asuma, or by suggesting collaboration on land-clearing scheme.
    • Could we sell exchange salt to the Pangolins for gold, then sell gold outside Leaf (like Jiraiya did)?
      • Or go through Asuma, giving him a cut.
      • Consider starting general trade with Summons. Our markets are desynchronized...
    • Who are the remaining Leaf jounin? Their political affiliations?
    • What'll happen to the Dog/Turtle Scrolls? Should we reconsider adopting Lee?
  • Prepare for and schedule meetings:
    • Tomorrow: Ino (lunch), Chouza (afternoon), Asuma (dinner).
    • Overmorrow: Shino, Minami, Team Nakano, Keiko (to discuss Summoning).
  • Commit an instance of creative training.
  • Next day: Meet with Ino.
    • Express our condolences. Reminisce about our fathers.
    • At risk of meddling: Is there anything we can do for Chouza? He must be feeling awful.
      • Collaborate on a memorial service, or a monument?
      • If you figure anything out, carry out.
    • Ask her thoughts on politics.
      • Any important developments we might've missed?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
Last edited:
faflec said:
Alright, I'll bite the bullet. @Noumero I want to add a line asking Keiko to come over to discuss Seventh Path-related shenanigans, three things in particular:
  • Schedule training sessions with Noburi so he can learn Summoning.
  • Clarify* the conversation wherein she cancels the Skytowers trade.
  • Discuss the possibility of economic trade with the Seventh Path, such as selling salt or ice for gold and other valuables.
In other circumstances I'd consider just waiting until the current politiking is over, but Noburi's training is best done sooner so we can trade with the Seventh Path, and we can't do the obvious thing and train with Asuma if he's going to be campaigning for Hokage.

*By which I mean we convince her to stall the trade by citing Jiraiya's death, and shift the trade to us and the Toads under the guise of her being a Nara now.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Didn't Keiko already say no to teaching Noburi summoning?
 
Cariyaga said:
Didn't Keiko already say no to teaching Noburi summoning?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
TarzanNn said:
Nah, she just said she's not the most competent Summoner and advised to ask Asuma
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Basically this.
eaglejarl said:
Noburi's eyebrows went up. "Well, that wasn't intimidating at all." He shook his head. "Do you think you can teach me?"

Keiko hesitated. "Perhaps? I am uncertain and I would be afraid of doing it improperly. You might be better off going to Sarutobi Asuma. He is the Monkey Summoner and, given who his father was, Sarutobi is far more likely to be a competent teacher than I."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
eaglejarl said:
Mari smiled approvingly at his last words. "Yes, I know that storage seals aren't reliable on destruction. They are reliable enough so long as there's nothing obstructing the ejection point, and when they do fail they just eat their contents."

"No," Kagome said. "Not always. Almost always, if the seal is destroyed and ejection point is obstructed then the contents simply vanish. Very occasionally, something bad happens."

Mari went pale. "Ah. I did not know that."

Kagome shrugged. "Well, now you do," he said, poking at the bowl of stewed artichoke hearts that he'd salvaged from the post-dinner destruction. (They'd been very popular, since he'd been very careful about draining the blood after the last time.)

"When you say 'bad'...?"

He shrugged again, not looking up from where he was poking his food. "I've never heard of it being any of the more esoteric failures. Generally just the usual. Blood, death, screaming, that kind of thing."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Wait, if Kagome knows this, why is he willing to use stupid boxes, which are activated by literally destroying a storage seal with oil, water, and hot coals? Is it really so uncommon that he willingly designed an attack method with a non-zero risk of nightmare seal failure?
 
faflec said:
Wait, if Kagome knows this, why is he willing to use stupid boxes, which are activated by literally destroying a storage seal with oil, water, and hot coals? Is it really so uncommon that he willingly designed an attack method with a non-zero risk of nightmare seal failure?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The ejection point isn't obstructed with most of his seals though?
 
MMKII said:
I think this strategy has some bad assumptions on the probability of success and relative complexity.

There's vague political/socioeconomic threats and intimidation, and theres holding a literal gun to someone's head while at the negotiating table. The latter only ends well for us if the other party is expendable (they are not) and we have the ability and force of will to murder them and anyone that might be even a minor ally to them (doubtful).

Stripping away the cleverness and framing inherent to the gambit, this boils down to "Acquiesce or be executed." If our side was willing or able to go that far, the Hat crisis wouldn't even be a problem in the first place, since whatever we do would have that as the backup plan.

I think this would work as a nice stranglehold to be executed over the course of a decade or so though.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Ah, I see where you're coming from. I think thats just a matter of framing it correctly though. Instead of saying "back down or get killboxed", say "what a shame the will of fire is being disgraced like this"
Frame it and use it as an ego threat. Embarrassing, not deadly.
 
Noumero said:
I'm concerned that Ami is going to pull a Hana and slip into the compound uninvited. It's a Velorien update, too. I want to add a contingency for that. Anything useful we can do with her, besides spending/not-spending the favour?

I think we should discuss Akatsuki. She almost certainly knows they're alive; it'd be nice if we could agree to collaborate on dealing with them, pool information, et cetera.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Make sure we're not getting in each other's way with respect to plots, hopefully work together on some of them, get a line of communication across when she goes back to Mist...

I'm not sure about talking about Akatsuki, not sure what the plan is and how we can contribute to it.
 
@Noumero to pre-empt Ami showing up at the compound:

  • Put a sign somewhere visible indoors: "Any Mori who gets through our defenses uninvited to show off (Mari judges) hereby concedes to owe us another favour. (–_^)/~~ ".

The (–_^)/~~ is important. If Ami's going to be cute with emoticons then we must answer in kind.
 
Last edited:
faflec said:
Make sure we're not getting in each other's way with respect to plots, hopefully work together on some of them, get a line of communication across when she goes back to Mist...

I'm not sure about talking about Akatsuki, not sure what the plan is and how we can contribute to it.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
MadScientist said:
@Noumero to pre-empt Ami doing what Hana and Tsunade did:
  • Put a sign somewhere visible indoors: "Any Mori who gets through our defenses uninvited to show off (Mari judges) hereby concedes to owe us another favour. (–_^)/~~ ".
The (–_^)/~~ is important. If Ami's going to be cute with emoticons then we must answer in kind.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

How does this look?:
  • Ami contingency (sanity-check with Mari first):
    • Put a sign indoors: "Any Ami Mori who gets through our defenses uninvited to show off (Mari judges) cedes us another favour (–_^)/~~".
    • Carefully introduce her to Kagome. (Preferably leave it to Mari.)
    • Discuss (Clan + Ami):
      • Akatsuki: They're an existential threat. Suggest collaborating with Ami on dealing with them, pooling information.
        • Is diplomacy possible? Perhaps we can influence their idea of "pursuing peace the hard way"...
      • Establishing communication with her in Mist.
      • Coordinating our Leaf plots.
Shard said:
Did we just get Truth Lost in the Fog'ed?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
*cough, cough*
*PANICKED SCREAMING IN KAGOME*​
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top