Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest
- Thread starter eaglejarl
- Start date
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- 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 open voting
[x] Let EJ write what he wants. I trust him.
[x] Let EJ give us shinies and cool fight scenes. I trust him.
Don't have enough of an idea about training -- this doesn't work, but ping me about the relevant votes and I'll update it.
[x] Training Plan: @Inferno Vulpix
[x] Let EJ give us shinies and cool fight scenes. I trust him.
Don't have enough of an idea about training -- this doesn't work, but ping me about the relevant votes and I'll update it.
[x] Training Plan: @Inferno Vulpix
- Location
- The Maple Syrup Mountains
[x] Let EJ write what he wants. I trust him.
[X] Training plan: No training
And we certainly shouldn't be spending 30 XP on Underwater Basketweaving right now. I mean, I know that my megalodon idea is great, but it's a backburner thing, so we can afford to wait until we get PotO and Shadow Clone.
[X] Training plan: No training
No matter which way you lean on the matter of PotO or SC first after the effortpost I made, we're in no position to get either yet. We could plausibly look to the builds of others in our party and do some training there, but it's not urgent.
And we certainly shouldn't be spending 30 XP on Underwater Basketweaving right now. I mean, I know that my megalodon idea is great, but it's a backburner thing, so we can afford to wait until we get PotO and Shadow Clone.
Chapter 315: Between the Scenes — Morning Training
- Location
- USA
Chapter 315: Between the Scenes — Morning Training
It was a beautiful day in Konoha. The sunlight streamed down through sparse clouds, awarding a little of its jealously guarded heat to those brave enough to show their skin in the cold February weather. The snow in the fields and rooftops glittered as it started to melt, leaving the streetcorners sparkling with forming droplets of water. It was almost enough to take Hazou's mind off the tension in the air.
The relentless march of tragedies in Konoha had started to dull the people's ability to feel grief. Hazou remembered speaking with a merchant just after joining Leaf, remembered how the merchant was so worried for the wellbeing of Konoha's ninja after the disastrous battle with Mist and Akatsuki. Now, what would that merchant think? After that battle, the one at Nagi Island, the skywalker sealing failure (which may have killed said merchant), and the Collapse (another possible culprit), was there yet any room for such tender concern? Who in Leaf hadn't lost someone dear to them?
Mari had taught him to distrust the stories his eyes told, to pay attention to other channels of information. While the glittering snow on the ground sang a tale of beauty and purpose, it dulled sound and gave Konoha an air of deathly stillness. The village stood balanced upon a high-walker's rope, spare moments away from plunging out of the present and forever into the past. Konoha would soon be a glittering, beautiful memory.
"Hazou? What's on your mind?" asked Akane. She walked in her usual bouncing step next to Hazou's quiet smouldering pace.
"Just... all of it. The world's falling apart around us, and we're walking over to the training grounds like it's a normal day. Jiraiya's dead, Leaf's military is crippled, our village was blatantly attacked, and there's nothing we can do about it. The thread of the past is stained with tragedy, and the needle of the present points to increasingly fewer good futures," said Hazou.
Akane paused mid-step, visibly thinking through her response. She said, "it's true that things are tough right now." Each word carried a sense of deliberate intent. "Ever since coming back from the Chuunin Exams, it's felt like a nonstop parade of deaths and funerals and wakes. There were-," Akane cut herself off abruptly, then continued, "but we're still alive, so there's still hope. And while there's hope, we can't give up the fight."
As the pair stepped out of Leaf proper and took to the trees, Hazou took advantage of their lazy, loping stride through the branches to compose a response. "Of course not. There is no future with Uplift that doesn't require suffering along the path. I know, I always knew that we'd have to take things apart to put them back together in a better form, yet I fear that the way the world is crumbling right now, no useful pieces will remain for us to build with."
"Are you feeling okay, Hazou?" asked Akane. "You almost sound like Keiko right now. Have you been spending too much time at the," she caught herself mid-word, trailing off.
Hazou managed a chuckle. The Nara compound would be a touchy subject. "I figure I have to get it out of my system before our morning 'training'. If there's one thing liable to get my teeth kicked in before all the meetings today, it's being all mopey while within hearing distance of the First Disciple."
"Don't worry about his kicks, Hazou-sensei! If I get my way, I'll write your teachings on your face for you!" Akane's words might have seemed like a threat by anyone else, but she punctuated them with a smile so sweet it made Hazou's heart twist in his chest. He clamped down on the Iron Nerve, but Akane must have seen something, because she turned away and pointed ahead through the trees to a clearing just beyond. "We're here! Let's go greet the others!"
o-o-o-o
Training Ground 4 hadn't been cleared of snow, but it was close enough to Leaf to be frequented by ninja, making the ground a hazard of packed ice. Well, a hazard to anyone who didn't have supernatural agility and the ability to stand on virtually any surface.
"They really are something, huh?" Hazou asked the stone-faced statue.
"That's a word for it," said Yamamoto Haru.
Akane and Lee were racing back and forth across the training field on their hands, throwing snow back and forth. The loose snowballs were punctuated by sudden peals of laughter - clear and pealing for Akane and deep and jovial for Lee. Their cheeks were reddened by the physical exertion in the cold, and their uniforms were streaked with bits of snow clinging to the exterior fabrics as they hustled around in their horrifyingly Youthful warmup.
Yamamoto was quietly working through a minimal set of stretches, while Hazou absently put his body through the kata his mother had taught him so long ago. While he autopiloted, he thought. Yamamoto was still distant, but at least he didn't seem openly hostile. He was more... tame with Akane and Lee around.
Speaking of which, Lee seemed in good health and eager to engage, but it was clear to anyone who saw him talk for more than a moment that he was carrying a hidden pain. The loss of his mentor and father figure still hurt him badly, and who did he have to talk to about it? Hazou didn't know anyone who Lee would take as a confidant, much less what that relationship would look like. It was hard to imagine Lee being any less... Lee. Yet, when the pain made itself clearest, even when he was struggling, on the verge of tears to anyone who could spot the contraction of muscles under his eyes, he forced on a smile and another aphorism or innuendo about Youth.
As his body worked through the motions, Hazou wondered what Mari would think. Was Lee pushing himself into familiar patterns to try to return to the time when he still had Gai as a rock (he could already hear the snicker)? Or was he trying to prove to himself that he could accept himself for who he was even though so much had changed, that he didn't have to change himself out of grief to be valid as a person?
Suddenly, Hazou and Yamamoto tensed as a green blur entered their vision, slowing to a stop in the form of Rock Lee. A second green blur with hints of red followed close-behind, pulling to a stop with the other three in a loose circle as Hazou and Yamamoto stood to attention.
Lee started, "what a Youthful convergence we have brought together! I look forwards to seeing the meeting of our bodies as we push ourselves ever higher in our journey for the-"
Hazou butted in before Lee could scare Yamamoto too much, "I'm grateful that everyone's come out for some early morning taijutsu training! Before we get into the dregs of the work, should we warm up with some spars?" Quiet nods from Akane and Yamamoto agreed, while a more enthusiastic ejaculation from Lee said about the same. "Right, well, I'm sure we're all used to boring warm-up spars, but I was thinking today we could try something more exciting. Full contact," Lee whooped, "any jutsu," Lee made an exaggerated pout, "and to make things interesting, winner gets a prize.
"See, Lady Tsunade was working with my brother the other day and she mentioned a healing salve she used when training her Strength of a Hundred technique. Noburi asked about it, one thing led to another, and," punctuating the words, Hazou held up a a small jar filled with a nearly solid beige-white cream, "he managed to get the recipe out of her. The ingredients are hard to come by, but Noburi put together a small jar of the stuff as a proof-of-concept. We'll do some one-on-ones, winner of each pair fights, and the winner of those two gets to try out a training tool worthy of a Sannin!"
Lee and Akane cheered, appreciative of Hazou's showmanship, while Yamamoto simply cocked his head, then nodded.
"Right then, let's draw straws."
Ordering arbitrarily:
Hazou
Akane
Lee
Haru
1d4 = 2
Akane chosen! She fights:
Hazou
Lee
Haru
1d3 = 2
Fight 1: Akane vs. Lee
Fight 2: Hazou vs. Haru
Fight 3: winners
Arbitrarily, I'm saying that each party has 3 FP to spend per fight, since I don't know how to adjudicate Lee and Haru. Chakra and Consequences stay between fights.
Hazou
Akane
Lee
Haru
1d4 = 2
Akane chosen! She fights:
Hazou
Lee
Haru
1d3 = 2
Fight 1: Akane vs. Lee
Fight 2: Hazou vs. Haru
Fight 3: winners
Arbitrarily, I'm saying that each party has 3 FP to spend per fight, since I don't know how to adjudicate Lee and Haru. Chakra and Consequences stay between fights.
o-o-o-o
Lee smiled at Akane from across the training ground. The snow in the field wasn't more than a half-foot thick, but the reflection of the rising sun glinted and glimmered. Luckily Lee was sportsmanlike to a fault; Hazou would at least have made a passing effort at positioning the sun at his back so the reflection would get in Akane's eyes ("Ninja! Can't fault me for trying").
"Akane! You are among the greatest of the disciples of the Spirit of Youth, but you have yet not seen the full extent of my dedication! Witness now the fullness of my being as we sing our bodies' labors into one another!"
"Huh," said Hazou, watching from the sidelines with Yamamoto. "He does it to girls too."
Yamamoto didn't react, just starting at the battlefield with a bewildered expression.
"Lee! While I may not have seen the fruits of your passion, neither have you seen my passionate fruits! The Spirit of Youth will guide my fist firmly between your cheeks as I deliver unto you the Righteous Punching I have longed to give you!"
"Akane! Though we are surrounded by snow, the heat of your passion nearly burns away at the ground around us! I will gladly enter into the Springtime of Youth with you to test my endurance against yours!"
"Lee! Let us engage in the sublime song of spirit and sweat! Show me now that you are a man worthy of the fullness of my body's fervor!"
Yamamoto tore his gaze from the scene to hit Hazou with a inquisitive look. "How long, exactly, can they keep this up?"
Hazou pondered a response as Akane and Lee continued to trade pre-match... encouragement (?). Yamamoto's hostile aura seemed to have mostly dissolved as he watched the spectacle, making sitting next to him a more comfortable experience than it was ordinarily. "I'm not really sure there's any limit to how long they can go because once they run out of words-"
"Lee!"
"Akane!"
"Lee!"
"Akane!"
"Lee!"
"Akane!"
Their faces were flushed and exhilarated, both of them grinning like loons. Hazou wondered if Akane was glad to be part of the tradition now, and how long it had been since Lee got to... do this, whatever it was.
"Akane! We have given each other the seeds of our youth, but for the Springtime to come, we must now allows those seeds to flower! Let us not bore the spectators who watch the outflowing of our spirits! Let us begin!"
Lee started bounding forwards across the clearing, yelling "YOUTH!"
Akane did the same, low to the ground, becoming a green streak against the white, "YOUTH!"
They met in a furious clash of green, bright enough against the backdrop of muddy snow and dead trees to make Hazou think reflexively of springtime.
Lee opened with a flying roundhouse kick that Akane ducked underneath. Lee continued to turn with a spinning backhand blow that Akane tried to stay under, waiting like a shark beneath the water with a cocked uppercut. As she started to rise, Lee's hammerfist scraping the ends of her hair, Lee leaned backwards into a handspring, coming up with a front-kick for Akane's face.
Akane leaned down and into the kick, robbing it of most of its power as she droppped her weight. As Lee came out of the handspring, Akane lunged, striking him across the chin with a solid blow. Lee barely reacted as the fist hit him, instead using the momentum of his handspring and Akane's swing to grab onto her fist and pull her forwards. Momentarily off-balance as Lee stepped around her grappled arm, Akane struggled to turn. Lee caught her spin with a brutal stomp to the knee, and as Akane recoiled, he followed up with a crane kick to her ribs that sent her tumbling across the snow.
Hazou could see Yamamoto wince. The force of Lee's kick would easily have broken ribs. Even Akane would be waking up with a nasty bruise tomorrow if it weren't for the Pangolin jutsu protecting her.
"Come Akane, I know your Youth has much more to show than that!"
Akane, breathing heavily from the trade, spared her words for more pertinent actions. She turned her tumble across the snowy landscape into a roll, already making handseals as she came up.
"Fire Release: Flame Aura!" said Akane, her limbs glowing orange as ethereal flames danced across her uniform.
Lee let out a laugh of euphoria. "Yes Akane, show me the heat of your resolve!"
Akane got to her feet and bounded across the field, melting the snow with the heat of her technique. She jumped, yelling "Pangolin Clan Technique: Pantokrator's Hammer!" as she made the trio of handseals and wound up a massive haymaker.
A giant, flashy midair jump is one of the worst things to do in ninja combat. Jumping high off the ground gives you a predictable trajectory, and removes you from surfaces that you could use to change your direction. Lee reacted instantly and moved to intercept her massive cocked punch with a straight kick. Any ordinary ninja in this situation would fly into his waiting chakra-boosted leg, helpless to avoid it. At best, they would roll on the floor clutching their solar plexus for the next minute. At worst, their vertebrae would exit their bodies like macerator shot.
Akane is no ordinary ninja. As Lee snapped his foot out to end the fight, she extended her other hand, letting loose a jet of flame that changed her trajectory mid-air. Spinning into her new position, she drove her hips downwards in a brutal roundhouse that promised to give Lee a concussion.
Lee barely managed to bring his arms up into a side guard - catching the kick with one arm. Sadly, he was already on one leg, and the force of the kick sent him tumbling head over heels in the snow.
As Akane hit the ground, she immediately jumped forwards at Lee, who barely came to his feet in time to turn aside the straight punch she aimed at his face. Lee stepped back out of a knee-strike turned toe-stomp as Akane aimed a ferocious flow punch at his ribcage.
Rather than block the blow, Lee spun with it, moving like water to grab Akane's arm and turn her momentum into a over-the-shoulder throw. Akane let loose another jet of flame to spin in midair, planting her feet upon his back and pushing him facefirst into the snowbank as she took a high jump back onto the muddy ground.
As Lee stood and turned around, Akane ran at his back with a rising roundhouse kick at his blindspot. Lee must have seen it coming because he fell into it, driving his weight into Akane's knee joint and forcing her anchored leg to buckle as Lee tried to take her into a grapple. Akane desperately let out a jet of flame, kneeing Rock Lee in the ribs and pushing him a step back, then bounced to her feet with a screaming face punch-
Lee's fist caught her dead in the center of her chest and knocked the breath right out of her as Akane ribcage visibly flexed, on the verge of breaking. Rather than push through, she let the blow carry her across the snow as she coughed out her lungs' complaints.
"I yield!"
Initiative: Lee first
Round 1
(NB: First fact is that with some assumptions on how Lee has allocated XP and his talent level, he could totally have 60 Taijutsu 3 years out of the Academy, so long as he completely mono-focused it. That seems like a good assumption, given who he is. Second, we don't know how his chakra-malfunction works, so I'm generously assuming that it makes all ninjutsu cost 10x chakra to him, and cost 10x XP to learn. He recognizes this and doesn't learn any ninjutsu. Hopefully he can survive on only taijutsu for a long and healthy life, but that isn't an issue for the righteous face-punching that will happen today. The tradeoff benefit, small as it is, is that he can chakra boost for twice as many points as an ordinary person. He burns through chakra fast, but he hits brutally hard while he's going - which is approximately the feeling I want from him. Whether this has long-term effects on his body is something we'll have to see.)
Chakra boost:
Lee: 70 CP, 130 remains
Akane: 30 CP, 270 remains
Lee:
Supplemental: Get into the Zone with Akane
Standard: Do the Punch
Akane tries to get Youthful Fist of the Mythological Beast that's Really Tough and Strong
YFOTMBTRTS:
Akane (Physique): 30 + 4 (AB) - 6 (dice) = 28
Akane spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Akane (Physique): 30 + 4 (AB) - 6 (dice) = 28
Akane spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Akane (Physique): 30 + 4 (AB) + 6 (dice) = 40
Lee (Physique): 40 - 3 (dice) = 37 (NB: hey, she's pretty strong!)
Lee (Taijutsu): 60 + 3 (dice) + 7 (invoke 'Spirit of Youth') + 14 (boost) = 84
Akane (Taijutsu): 50 + 0 (dice) + 6 (YFOTMBTRTS) + 6 (invoke 'Youth is All You Need') + 6 (boost) - 1 (PCJ) = 73
RESULT: Akane gets smashed! She takes 5 stress, PCJ tanks 2 and breaks, she takes 3 in her stress track.
Akane:
Standard: Flame Aura (3) (36 CP, 234 remains)
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 218 remains)
Round 2
Chakra boost:
Lee: 70 CP, 60 remains
Lee:
Standard: Engage in Polite Discourse
Akane tries to get Youthful Fist of the Mythological Beast that's Really Tough and Strong
YFOTMBTRTS:
Akane (Physique): 30 + 4 (AB) + 3 (dice) = 37
Lee (Physique): 40 + 0 (dice) = 40
Lee (Taijutsu): 60 - 3 (dice) + 7 (invoke 'Genius of Hard Work') + 14 (boost) = 78
Akane (Taijutsu): 50 + 3 (dice) + 12 (Pantokrator's Hammer) + 9 (Flame Aura) = 74
RESULT: Lee wins! Akane takes 3 stress, which she could dump with a Medium, but she can see the writing on the wall. Now that she's injured, Lee would tag the injury and counterattack even harder. She probably wouldn't get YFOTMBTRTS, and even with it, the dice would have to fall in her favor to win. Because with a consequence, she would be at a disadvantage for the next round if she were to win, she opts to concede and cheer Lee on. She gets Taken Out and removes the Medium.
Round 1
(NB: First fact is that with some assumptions on how Lee has allocated XP and his talent level, he could totally have 60 Taijutsu 3 years out of the Academy, so long as he completely mono-focused it. That seems like a good assumption, given who he is. Second, we don't know how his chakra-malfunction works, so I'm generously assuming that it makes all ninjutsu cost 10x chakra to him, and cost 10x XP to learn. He recognizes this and doesn't learn any ninjutsu. Hopefully he can survive on only taijutsu for a long and healthy life, but that isn't an issue for the righteous face-punching that will happen today. The tradeoff benefit, small as it is, is that he can chakra boost for twice as many points as an ordinary person. He burns through chakra fast, but he hits brutally hard while he's going - which is approximately the feeling I want from him. Whether this has long-term effects on his body is something we'll have to see.)
Chakra boost:
Lee: 70 CP, 130 remains
Akane: 30 CP, 270 remains
Lee:
Supplemental: Get into the Zone with Akane
Standard: Do the Punch
Akane tries to get Youthful Fist of the Mythological Beast that's Really Tough and Strong
YFOTMBTRTS:
Akane (Physique): 30 + 4 (AB) - 6 (dice) = 28
Akane spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Akane (Physique): 30 + 4 (AB) - 6 (dice) = 28
Akane spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Akane (Physique): 30 + 4 (AB) + 6 (dice) = 40
Lee (Physique): 40 - 3 (dice) = 37 (NB: hey, she's pretty strong!)
Lee (Taijutsu): 60 + 3 (dice) + 7 (invoke 'Spirit of Youth') + 14 (boost) = 84
Akane (Taijutsu): 50 + 0 (dice) + 6 (YFOTMBTRTS) + 6 (invoke 'Youth is All You Need') + 6 (boost) - 1 (PCJ) = 73
RESULT: Akane gets smashed! She takes 5 stress, PCJ tanks 2 and breaks, she takes 3 in her stress track.
Akane:
Standard: Flame Aura (3) (36 CP, 234 remains)
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 218 remains)
Round 2
Chakra boost:
Lee: 70 CP, 60 remains
Lee:
Standard: Engage in Polite Discourse
Akane tries to get Youthful Fist of the Mythological Beast that's Really Tough and Strong
YFOTMBTRTS:
Akane (Physique): 30 + 4 (AB) + 3 (dice) = 37
Lee (Physique): 40 + 0 (dice) = 40
Lee (Taijutsu): 60 - 3 (dice) + 7 (invoke 'Genius of Hard Work') + 14 (boost) = 78
Akane (Taijutsu): 50 + 3 (dice) + 12 (Pantokrator's Hammer) + 9 (Flame Aura) = 74
RESULT: Lee wins! Akane takes 3 stress, which she could dump with a Medium, but she can see the writing on the wall. Now that she's injured, Lee would tag the injury and counterattack even harder. She probably wouldn't get YFOTMBTRTS, and even with it, the dice would have to fall in her favor to win. Because with a consequence, she would be at a disadvantage for the next round if she were to win, she opts to concede and cheer Lee on. She gets Taken Out and removes the Medium.
o-o-o-o
Hazou sized up Yamamoto from across the clearing. Random streaks of the snowy ground were melted after Akane's spar with Lee. Luckily, Akane didn't seem to have been hurt badly by Lee's finishing blow, and the two of them were now happily chattering away on the sidelines.
Yamamoto seemed to be doing much the same from his side. What could he be thinking? Perhaps he would see this as a way to judge the merit of his potential new Clan Head, Hazou mused. No, that was unlikely. Haru wasn't like Lee; he saw more than just taijutsu skill, and his distaste of the clans wasn't related to a single spar. More likely, he saw a great opportunity to beat up on a Clan Head in a way that he couldn't be blamed for.
He'd let the damnbeasts take him before he gave Yamamoto an easy chance to do that. Well, in the absence of some Youthful pre-match banter, may as well get started.
"Akane, care to count us in?"
"On the mark! Ready!" Hazou and Haru dug into the ground, preparing to move in any direction. "Set!" Hazou felt his fingers twitching in anticipation of the techniques he was ready to cast. "Go!"
Hazou immediately started running clockwise over the snowy terrain, his hands forming the seals needed to give him strength. "Pangolin Clan Technique: Ghost Scales!" formed a glowing aura of yellow around him, "Pangolin Clan Technique: Pantokrator's Hammer!" filled his limbs with the strength to deliver a pointed message to Yamamoto's more fragile body parts.
As Hazou circled closer, he could see Yamamoto forming the handseals to activate his lightning bucklers. Sparks of electricity popped off of his wrists, sizzling in the snow below as Haru dropped into a ready stance for Hazou's onslaught.
Hazou entered into melee with Yamamoto with a fastidiously neutral expression on, not quite the match for Yamamoto's vicious snarl. He felt the subtle weight of Yamamoto's killing intent upon his shoulders, but didn't let it stop him as he surged forwards with a jab-cross-hook.
Yamamoto blocked the jab and leaned backwards out of the way of the cross, lurching forwards with chakra-boosted speed to get inside Hazou's shoulder for the hook and deliver a punishing blow to his abdomen.
Little did he realize that the hook was a feint. Following the pattern for Yamamoto's actions, Hazou aborted the hook and spun his hips, delivering a downward side kick to Yamamoto's knee that snapped it straight. As Yamamoto stumbled to get back to a fighting stance, Hazou carried through with a leg sweep that took Yamamoto's leg out from under him. As he fell, Hazou swept up next to him and grabbed his arm in a wrist lock, trying to drive him into the snow from the shoulder joint.
Rather than nicely land in the snow with a dislocated shoulder, Yamamoto quite rudely spun about his grappled arm, twisting it to pull around with a high kick at Hazou's chin. Hazou, forced to let go, stepped smoothly back. Yamamoto found his footing, shaking out his elbow. Something in it must have been tweaked, because his movements were nearly imperceptibly slower as he readied for Hazou's next attack.
Time to attack. Yamamoto's internal experience would be tinged with the transient pain from the way he twisted his elbow to escape Hazou's grip. Hazou moved his fingers in the requisite patterns simultaneously as he moved his mouth and exhaled vocally simultaneously as he molded his chakra, an expression of his being past, present, and future, to augment the strength of his body with the strength of the Pangolin Clan, outside this world yet still In reality.
Hazou moved his legs, pushing them backwards against the ground to move his body forwards, simultaneously as he moved his arms to imply an attack pattern that Yamamoto would be forced to respond to. Yamamoto reacted as intended, and Hazou shifted his meat and bones into the appropriate next pattern to capitalize on the opportunity.
Perplexingly, it didn't work. Hazou observed with a distant tinge of disappointment as he watched his body recoil backwards across the snowy field as the pattern of thoughts and meat and actions referred to as Yamamoto seemed to exploit a subtle flaw in the patterns that Hazou had encoded within his bloodline, tripping Hazou and delivering a crushing backhand across the back of his head. The blow had fortunately not damaged the meat that made up Hazou's vehicle for acting in the physical realm, yet it did destroy one of the pair of chakra constructs Hazou had been depending on for protection. The strike in three dimensions rippled outwards across time as the anchor for the fourteen dimensional pattern in the ebb anj flqw of uh7 i0askj 9a9a9a kPc?H*+{1Z$b29Bh[u) @*;f-zhxSJ$yPBwkrWc#q`28B/K--
That pattern was clearly flawed, so Hazou picked a different pattern to try, flexing the muscles within his body to adjust the joints to the correct positions to allow the light entering Yamamoto's eyes to lead his thoughts to a false belief, then allow the truth of reality to shine forth by means of applying the bony appendages of Hazou's upper torso to the area of Yamamoto's body with the greatest density of sensory organs. Hazou watched as Yamamoto reacted predictably again and instructed his body to follow the correct pattern to exploit this opportunity, yet his body reacted imperfectly, slowed by the lightning chakra that Haru must have left within Hazou's body.
Hazou felt a remote pain as Yamamoto finished the pattern of attacks he started. The pattern was imperfect, yet imperfect in a beautiful way. Unlike the patterns Hazou made, eternally identical, Yamamoto's patterns were new each time, like a concert piece presented again and again, improving as the musicians gained familiarity with the piece. Hazou barely tore himself away from the admiration as he felt the chambered side kick narrowly miss his groin. This perspective wasn't useful. He needed to be more present, within his body as he guided it to harm Yamamoto's to assert physical dominance.
Hazoue struggled to center himself as he commanded his body to shake off the crawling worms of lightning that surged through his veins. Pushing them away with only a prickling internal sensation as a souvenir, he remarshalled the strength of the Pangolin Clan around himself. That alien perspective borrowed from the Summoning Scroll still troubled him and made it harder for him to pilot his body. No, it made it harder for him to move and attack effectively. He didn't have to "pilot" his body, since he was fully in control.
As Yamamoto closed the distance, a predatory growl on his lips, Hazou considered his options. Engaging could lead to another dip into that alien mindset - and his opponent could nail him with a hit that Hazou wouldn't be aware enough to take without being seriously injured. And yet, he had an insight from that brief dip into the veil. Yamamoto was burning chakra like kindling to keep up the assault. With Hazou's recent chakra training, he would become the fortress, to withstand the siege.
Yamamoto surged into melee, body low to the ground and arms out like a pub brawler. Hazou prepared to defend. The rising uppercut was blocked by a sharp elbow downwards that left Yamamoto flinching from the possible counterattack, yet none came. Yamamoto's right cross was quickly dissuaded when Hazou moved smoothly around the attack, tensing his shoulder as if to hip-throw Yamamoto, yet the feint kept Yamamoto at bay long enough for Hazou to jump back and form the handseals for Pantokrator's Hammer anew.
Yamamoto's attacks were fast and his hits were crippling, yet if Hazou caught the attack against his forearm or shin, the lightning sprawling forth wouldn't debilitate him like before. The stinging that Yamamoto's fists left behind was only assuaged by the faint hope of seeing Yamamoto run out of steam.
Yamamoto cleared into range for another flurry of blows, and Hazou kept up his guard, mixing in feints and probing attacks to prevent Yamamoto from building up the momentum he needed to crush Hazou's defense. Yamamoto was learning, ignoring the first feint and instead moving to counter the second, or even ignoring that and only flinching backwards at the surprise third. The scant seconds that Hazou was buying spoke to an immense quantity of time spent across tens of hundreds of hours with that beautiful, broken pattern called Mari, building a recursive tree of depth so immense that Hazou could barely imagine the precision of the path that Yamamoto would have to tread to find a means to break loose of the encompassing net of falsehoods that Roki wove around the opponent.
Hazou was torn away from the beauty of the space-time construct that constituted the carved memory of the Iron Nerve as he noted his meatsuit skidding across the ground, then straining a muscle in its back to return to its feet to barely block Yamamoto's crushing spinning crescent kick.
Right. The fight. He was injured, though he managed to shake off the worst of the lightning after Yamamoto knocked him on his back halfway in a trough that Akane's Flame Aura left behind, though his lower back was complaining from the awkwardly-angled kip-up. He formed the handseals for Pantokrator's Hammer and started moving, circling the clearing to find a better spot to engage Yamamoto.
As Yamamoto entered the range, Hazou leaned in with a snap kick to catch him in the gut. Yamamoto pushed himself off to the side to dodge it, but Hazou didn't kick, instead dropping his foot to drive an elbow into the dodging Yamamoto. Yamamoto raised his arms to block the elbow, but Hazou didn't complete the motion, instead lunging forwards with a knee at Yamamoto's face. Yamamoto turned to land on his back to dodge the worst of the knee, but Hazou aborted even that attack, instead twisting around to deliver a crushing blow to Yamamoto's solar plexus.
Twisting didn't quite work out. Hazou let out a yelp of pain as his back complained, and stumbled as he struggled to pull his body against the violent rebellion of his muscles. Yamamoto rolled to his feet and leapt forwards with an open-handed neck-chop that promised to drop Hazou like a sack of rocks.
There was no way to dodge. Roki had never had his back arched awkwardly in pain like this, there was no pattern in the tree that let him move laterally in space to avoid the attack like this.
And yet, there was. Hazou broadened his view, no longer observing the four-dimensional breadth of his Iron Nerve movements that encompassed Roki, but rather seeing the fullness of his extra-personal memory. In the Academy, when the two bullies had jumped him in the alleyway. One had kicked his lower back in while the other threw a haymaker at his face. The pattern was the same.
Hazou dropped to his knees, pulling the blow in and ignoring the lightning crawling greedily into his hands as he pulled Haru into and past him, hurling him into the trashbins laid out- no, into the snowbank on the side of the clearing. As Haru emerged, his movements were noticably slower. Hazou collected his chakra for one last Pantokrator's Hammer, sudden strength filling his tired limbs. Hazou closed in on the tired Yamamoto, limbs singing a song of lies as he brought his fist overhead in a pattern his opponent knew well by now. Feint high, feint center, feint low, strike center. As Yamamoto crouched forwards to guard his midsection, the feint never came, and Hazou's fist caught him across the jaw, knocking him unconscious.
Initiative: Hazou first
Round 1
Chakra boost:
Haru: 25 CP, 125 remains
Hazou:
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 174 remains)
Standard: Ghost Scales (2) (25 CP, 149 remains)
Supplemental: Rush into Melee with Haru
Haru:
Supplemental: Activate Sparking Touch (3) (24 CP, 101 remains)
Standard: Punch the Man
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) + 3 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 24
Haru (Deception): 14 - 6 (dice) = 8
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 base - 3 + 5 (invoke 'Vicious Scrapper') + 5 (invoke 'Will of Fire') + 5 (boost) = 52
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 6 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) + 2 (Ghost Scales) - 1 (PCJ) - 10 (Severe) + 5 (invoke '(Formerly) Marked for Death') + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) = 48
Hazou spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 + 9 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) + 2 (Ghost Scales) - 1 (PCJ) - 10 (Severe) + 5 (invoke '(Formerly) Marked for Death') + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) = 63
RESULT: Hazou wins, inflicting 5 stress! Haru takes 3 in his stress track and takes a Mild (Kinked Elbow).
Round 2
Chakra boost:
Haru: 25 CP, 76 remains
Hazou:
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 133 remains)
Standard: Get In There
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) - 3 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 18
Haru (Deception): 14 + 3 (dice) = 17 (NB: almost had it, better luck next time!)
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 3 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) + 2 (Ghost Scales) - 1 (PCJ) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (tag Mild) = 51
Hazou spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 6 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) + 2 (Ghost Scales) - 1 (PCJ) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (tag Mild) = 48
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 + 6 (dice) + 5 (invoke 'Fuck the Clans') + 5 (boost) - 3 (Mild) = 53
RESULT: Haru hits back hard for 3 stress! Hazou takes 2 through Ghost Scales and 1 goes into his PCJ. Because Haru landed a hit on Hazou, Sparking Touch activates.
Sparking Touch:
Haru (ST): 20 + 0 (dice) = 20
Hazou (Physique): 25 - 6 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 13
RESULT: Hazou fails! He is affected by the lightning bucklers and gains the Aspect "Sizzled and Zapped!"
Haru:
Standard: Not Youthful but Still Punching
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) + 6 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 27
Haru (Deception): 14 + 9 (dice) = 23 (NB: nice try, kiddo)
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 - 6 (dice) + 5 (boost) + 5 (tag 'Sizzled and Zapped') - 3 (Mild) = 41
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 3 (dice) - 10 (Severe) - 1 (PCJ) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) = 34
RESULT: Hazou takes another 4 stress! PCJ absorbs 1 and breaks, and his stress track the other 3. He's already "Sizzled and Zapped", so he can't gain the Aspect again. The countdown hasn't started yet, so Haru can't refresh it.
Round 3
Chakra boost:
Haru: 25 CP, 51 remains
Hazou:
Supplemental: Attempt to resist "Sizzled and Zapped!":
Haru (ST): 20 - 3 (dice) = 17
Hazou (Physique): 25 + 0 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 19
RESULT: "Sizzled and Zapped!" ends
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 117 remains)
Standard: Full Defense
Haru:
Standard: Punch his Lordly lights out
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) + 3 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 24
Haru (Deception): 14 + 6 (dice) = 20
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 + 0 (dice)+ 5 (boost) - 3 (Mild) = 42
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 + 3 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (Full Defense) = 56
RESULT: Hazou doesn't inflict stress because of Full Defense
Round 4
Chakra boost:
Haru: 25 CP, 26 remains
Hazou:
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 117 remains)
Standard: Full Defense
Haru:
Standard: Can't keep dodging forever. Keep attacking.
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) + 0 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 21
Haru (Deception): 14 - 6 (dice) = 8
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 + 3 (dice) + 5 (boost) - 3 (Mild) = 45
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 9 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (Full Defense) = 44
RESULT: 2 stress, a narrow win for Haru. Hazou takes "Twisted Back", a Mild Consequence. Because he got hit, Haru gets to try to zap him.
Sparking Touch:
Haru (Sparking Touch): 20 - 3 (dice) = 17
Hazou (Physique): 25 +3 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 22
RESULT: Hazou narrowly avoids a shock.
Round 5
Chakra boost:
Haru: 25 CP, 1 remains
Hazou:
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 117 remains)
Standard: Full Defense
Haru:
Standard: Capitalize on the opportunity.
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) + 6 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 27
Haru (Deception): 14 + 3 (dice) = 17
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 - 9 (dice) + 5 (boost) + 5 (tag Mild) - 3 (Mild) = 38
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 + 3 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) - 3 (Mild) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (Full Defense) = 53
RESULT: Hazou doesn't inflict stress because of Full Defense
Round 6
Chakra boost:
None
Hazou:
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 85 remains)
Standard: Time to Strike!
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) - 3 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 18
Haru (Deception): 14 + 3 (dice) = 17 (NB: just out of reach yet again!)
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 + 9 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) - 3 (Mild) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) = 54
Counter: 40 + 0 (dice) - 3 (Mild) = 37
RESULT: Haru runs out of energy and into Hazou's fist, taking 7 stress. He would barely survive this in a real conflict by taking a Medium and a Severe, but Hazou doesn't want to cripple Haru, so he pulls the blow, ending the match nonetheless.
Round 1
Chakra boost:
Haru: 25 CP, 125 remains
Hazou:
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 174 remains)
Standard: Ghost Scales (2) (25 CP, 149 remains)
Supplemental: Rush into Melee with Haru
Haru:
Supplemental: Activate Sparking Touch (3) (24 CP, 101 remains)
Standard: Punch the Man
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) + 3 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 24
Haru (Deception): 14 - 6 (dice) = 8
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 base - 3 + 5 (invoke 'Vicious Scrapper') + 5 (invoke 'Will of Fire') + 5 (boost) = 52
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 6 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) + 2 (Ghost Scales) - 1 (PCJ) - 10 (Severe) + 5 (invoke '(Formerly) Marked for Death') + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) = 48
Hazou spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 + 9 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) + 2 (Ghost Scales) - 1 (PCJ) - 10 (Severe) + 5 (invoke '(Formerly) Marked for Death') + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) = 63
RESULT: Hazou wins, inflicting 5 stress! Haru takes 3 in his stress track and takes a Mild (Kinked Elbow).
Round 2
Chakra boost:
Haru: 25 CP, 76 remains
Hazou:
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 133 remains)
Standard: Get In There
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) - 3 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 18
Haru (Deception): 14 + 3 (dice) = 17 (NB: almost had it, better luck next time!)
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 3 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) + 2 (Ghost Scales) - 1 (PCJ) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (tag Mild) = 51
Hazou spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 6 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) + 2 (Ghost Scales) - 1 (PCJ) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (tag Mild) = 48
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 + 6 (dice) + 5 (invoke 'Fuck the Clans') + 5 (boost) - 3 (Mild) = 53
RESULT: Haru hits back hard for 3 stress! Hazou takes 2 through Ghost Scales and 1 goes into his PCJ. Because Haru landed a hit on Hazou, Sparking Touch activates.
Sparking Touch:
Haru (ST): 20 + 0 (dice) = 20
Hazou (Physique): 25 - 6 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 13
RESULT: Hazou fails! He is affected by the lightning bucklers and gains the Aspect "Sizzled and Zapped!"
Haru:
Standard: Not Youthful but Still Punching
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) + 6 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 27
Haru (Deception): 14 + 9 (dice) = 23 (NB: nice try, kiddo)
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 - 6 (dice) + 5 (boost) + 5 (tag 'Sizzled and Zapped') - 3 (Mild) = 41
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 3 (dice) - 10 (Severe) - 1 (PCJ) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) = 34
RESULT: Hazou takes another 4 stress! PCJ absorbs 1 and breaks, and his stress track the other 3. He's already "Sizzled and Zapped", so he can't gain the Aspect again. The countdown hasn't started yet, so Haru can't refresh it.
Round 3
Chakra boost:
Haru: 25 CP, 51 remains
Hazou:
Supplemental: Attempt to resist "Sizzled and Zapped!":
Haru (ST): 20 - 3 (dice) = 17
Hazou (Physique): 25 + 0 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 19
RESULT: "Sizzled and Zapped!" ends
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 117 remains)
Standard: Full Defense
Haru:
Standard: Punch his Lordly lights out
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) + 3 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 24
Haru (Deception): 14 + 6 (dice) = 20
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 + 0 (dice)+ 5 (boost) - 3 (Mild) = 42
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 + 3 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (Full Defense) = 56
RESULT: Hazou doesn't inflict stress because of Full Defense
Round 4
Chakra boost:
Haru: 25 CP, 26 remains
Hazou:
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 117 remains)
Standard: Full Defense
Haru:
Standard: Can't keep dodging forever. Keep attacking.
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) + 0 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 21
Haru (Deception): 14 - 6 (dice) = 8
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 + 3 (dice) + 5 (boost) - 3 (Mild) = 45
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 9 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (Full Defense) = 44
RESULT: 2 stress, a narrow win for Haru. Hazou takes "Twisted Back", a Mild Consequence. Because he got hit, Haru gets to try to zap him.
Sparking Touch:
Haru (Sparking Touch): 20 - 3 (dice) = 17
Hazou (Physique): 25 +3 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 22
RESULT: Hazou narrowly avoids a shock.
Round 5
Chakra boost:
Haru: 25 CP, 1 remains
Hazou:
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 117 remains)
Standard: Full Defense
Haru:
Standard: Capitalize on the opportunity.
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) + 6 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 27
Haru (Deception): 14 + 3 (dice) = 17
Haru (Taijutsu): 40 - 9 (dice) + 5 (boost) + 5 (tag Mild) - 3 (Mild) = 38
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 + 3 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) - 3 (Mild) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (Full Defense) = 53
RESULT: Hazou doesn't inflict stress because of Full Defense
Round 6
Chakra boost:
None
Hazou:
Supplemental: Pantokrator's Hammer (2) (16 CP, 85 remains)
Standard: Time to Strike!
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou (Deception): 24 + 3 (AB) - 3 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 18
Haru (Deception): 14 + 3 (dice) = 17 (NB: just out of reach yet again!)
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 + 9 (dice) + 10 (Pantokrator's Hammer) - 3 (Mild) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) = 54
Counter: 40 + 0 (dice) - 3 (Mild) = 37
RESULT: Haru runs out of energy and into Hazou's fist, taking 7 stress. He would barely survive this in a real conflict by taking a Medium and a Severe, but Hazou doesn't want to cripple Haru, so he pulls the blow, ending the match nonetheless.
o-o-o-o
Hazou was tired enough for the grave. His body ached and pained from the abuse Haru gave to him, and his skin and uniform were covered in spiderwebbing scorch marks from the lightning bucklers Haru had used all too effectively. Lightning Element taijutsu users, Hazou decided, were hell to fight (nonlethally). Hazou's estimation of Yamamoto's worth has improved considerably, yet he couldn't help but wish that Yamamoto had been a little weaker as he watched Lee across the clearing, bouncing back and forth on his heels, waiting for some unclear starting mark.
On the sidelines, Akane was cheering equally for Hazou and Lee, and Yamamoto was holding a loose cloth filled with snow to his quickly darkening chin.
Lee started to yell, "Hazou! Your bout with Yamamoto Haru displayed the inner firmness of your resolve, yet I wish to see you push harder, plunging deeper into the Spirit of Youth I know you bear within yourself! Show me the growth of your spirited manhood since we last sparred, and I shall show you a strength to rival your own in the Springtime of Youth!"
As Hazou started to consider a response to that outburst, anything which might resemble both engaging with both sanity and Lee's Youthspeak, Yamamoto muttered to Akane.
"Ishihara. Did he do that on purpose?"
Akane shot him an opaque look and turned back to watch Hazou trip over his words to yell at an increasingly excited Lee.
"Do what, Haru?"
"Turn the sparring match into a... recruitment pitch. He used only ninjutsu techniques from the Pangolins, and he did them over and over to show how useful they would be. He dragged out the fight to show he could outlast me even when doing them, then knocked me out with one of them as if to show that his clan techniques are better than the stupid shit I get stuck with."
Akane looked thoughtfully at Lee gesturing wildly at Hazou, nearly jumping up and down as he yelled something about the "greatest eruption of manhood splashing across the upturned faces of the disciples of Youth."
"I don't think he did that intentionally, but I wouldn't put it past him to be unintentionally clever or manipulative like that. I mostly think he was looking for ways to win the fight, and it turned out that the best way involved, well, that."
"It seemed almost like he was fucking toying with me, the way he zoned out in close-quarters. Like he took the hits he did because he was sorry for me, not because I was good enough to land them."
Akane was silent for a moment, letting Hazou's anguished spluttering fill the clearing. "I don't think that's true. Hazou is quite youthful, and I don't believe that he tried anything less than his hardest to beat you. Still, he's incredibly overworked and mentally strained, I think his exhaustion is genuine."
Haru turned to look at Akane, and she turned to meet his gaze. "Why are you saying this? Admitting that he's manipulative, admitting his weakness. What's your angle?"
"I think Hazou would want to be honest with you the same way I've been. Nothing more, nothing less. He doesn't think of himself as better or worse than you, he's just human."
A gentle gust of wind from the clearing made Haru and Akane snap their heads towards the fight just in time to watch Hazou crumple over, folded in half by a savage pointed-hand strike to the diaphragm. As Hazou struggled to get a breath in, Lee started to speak again, none the quieter for being closer to his
Haru snorted. "Big fucking surprise, the green beast takes the cake. I'm not sure how Gouketsu or I were supposed to win this. We both saw your fight with him, neither of us came close to the speed and power you were trading blows at."
Akane let out a light laugh at that, and quickly jumped up. "Come on Haru, let's go rescue Hazou before he starts attending Church!"
Haru watched her leap across the clearing towards Lee with congratulations on her lips, then slowly pushed himself to his feet, taking pains to avoid putting weight on his twisted elbow.
He looked at the group, Hazou slowly coming off the ground, now looking like he was in seiza at Lee's feet, Akane jumping around and hugging Lee, Lee still bent halfway over and saying something about Youth.
"What the hell are these people?"
Initiative: Lee first
Round 1
Chakra boost:
Lee: 60 CP, 0 remains
Hazou: 25 CP, 60 remains (NB: Hazou will lose this boost when he uses Pantokrator's Hammer)
Lee:
Supplemental: Get into his comfort Zone.
Standard: Perform comforting things.
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou: 24 + 3 (AB) + 6 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 27
Lee (Deception): Haha.
Lee (Taijutsu): 60 base + 3 (dice) + 7 (invoke 'Spirit of Youth') + 7 (invoke 'A Genius of Hard Work') + 7 (invoke Hazou's Mild) + 12 (boost) = 96 (NB: Holy shit.)
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 + 0 (dice) - 3 (Mild) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (invoke '(Formerly) Marked for Death') + 5 (invoke 'Impress the Adoptees') + 5 (boost)= 50
Hazou spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 6 (dice) - 3 (Mild) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (invoke '(Formerly) Marked for Death') + 5 (invoke 'Impress the Adoptees') + 5 (boost) = 44
RESULT: Hazou takes a whopping 19 stress. Lee chooses not to kill him instantly.
Hazou:
Full-Round: Clutch stomach, question life choices
Round 2
Lee:
Full-Round: Speech
Lee (Youth): 30 - 3 (dice) + 4 (tag "I'm Saving You a Hospital Trip") = 31
Lee spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Lee (Youth): 30 - 3 (dice) + 4 (tag "I'm Saving You a Hospital Trip") = 31
Lee spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Lee (Youth): 30 - 6 (dice) + 4 (tag "I'm Saving You a Hospital Trip") = 28 (NB: sigh, just not your day for speech-making, huh?)
Hazou (Resolve): 20 + 6 (dice) - 6 (Severe) - 3 (Mild) = 17
RESULT: Lee wins by 4 shifts, but Youth is Weapons:4! Hazou takes 8 mental stress, and he takes the Mild Consequence ("Green is a Nice Color") and the Medium Consequence ("Youth Missionary!"). He chooses to get Taken Out and removes the Medium Mental consequence.
(NB: Lee did not know about Hazou's Mental Consequences. With the Severe 'The Thinness of Reality', any more YOUTH would have killed Hazou instantly. Lee didn't know he had to pull the blow. Luckily for Hazou, the dice were just in his favor.)
Round 1
Chakra boost:
Lee: 60 CP, 0 remains
Hazou: 25 CP, 60 remains (NB: Hazou will lose this boost when he uses Pantokrator's Hammer)
Lee:
Supplemental: Get into his comfort Zone.
Standard: Perform comforting things.
Hazou tries to get Roki
Roki:
Hazou: 24 + 3 (AB) + 6 (dice) - 6 (Severe) = 27
Lee (Deception): Haha.
Lee (Taijutsu): 60 base + 3 (dice) + 7 (invoke 'Spirit of Youth') + 7 (invoke 'A Genius of Hard Work') + 7 (invoke Hazou's Mild) + 12 (boost) = 96 (NB: Holy shit.)
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 + 0 (dice) - 3 (Mild) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (invoke '(Formerly) Marked for Death') + 5 (invoke 'Impress the Adoptees') + 5 (boost)= 50
Hazou spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Hazou (Taijutsu): 40 - 6 (dice) - 3 (Mild) - 10 (Severe) + 3 (Iron Nerve) + 5 (Roki) + 5 (invoke '(Formerly) Marked for Death') + 5 (invoke 'Impress the Adoptees') + 5 (boost) = 44
RESULT: Hazou takes a whopping 19 stress. Lee chooses not to kill him instantly.
Hazou:
Full-Round: Clutch stomach, question life choices
Round 2
Lee:
Full-Round: Speech
Lee (Youth): 30 - 3 (dice) + 4 (tag "I'm Saving You a Hospital Trip") = 31
Lee spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Lee (Youth): 30 - 3 (dice) + 4 (tag "I'm Saving You a Hospital Trip") = 31
Lee spends a Fate Point to reroll!
Lee (Youth): 30 - 6 (dice) + 4 (tag "I'm Saving You a Hospital Trip") = 28 (NB: sigh, just not your day for speech-making, huh?)
Hazou (Resolve): 20 + 6 (dice) - 6 (Severe) - 3 (Mild) = 17
RESULT: Lee wins by 4 shifts, but Youth is Weapons:4! Hazou takes 8 mental stress, and he takes the Mild Consequence ("Green is a Nice Color") and the Medium Consequence ("Youth Missionary!"). He chooses to get Taken Out and removes the Medium Mental consequence.
(NB: Lee did not know about Hazou's Mental Consequences. With the Severe 'The Thinness of Reality', any more YOUTH would have killed Hazou instantly. Lee didn't know he had to pull the blow. Luckily for Hazou, the dice were just in his favor.)
XP AWARD: 5
Perplexingly, I still don't have access to the QM drive with stats for NPCs. While the chapter may have been canonized, the numbers and rolls contain a large but finite number of inaccuracies. Do not trust what is in the spoiler tags.
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Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
Very good omake @Paperclipped!
- Location
- Book Fort
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[x] Let EJ write what he wants. I trust him.
Quick question about the Nara. I seem to remember from Shikamaru's display during the Chuunin Exams that he has the Mokuton Bloodline. Am I just conjuring things out of nowhere or did that actually happen? And if it actually happened, why doesn't the Nara use the Mokuton to help rebuild Konoha?
Quick question about the Nara. I seem to remember from Shikamaru's display during the Chuunin Exams that he has the Mokuton Bloodline. Am I just conjuring things out of nowhere or did that actually happen? And if it actually happened, why doesn't the Nara use the Mokuton to help rebuild Konoha?
Emstar
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
HAZOU: Look at all the pretty orlzneqw;3;4;3s!
VIHH: stack buffs punch hard drink outerade do sealing get socials--
HAZOU: Ouch, that's lightning! What was I doing again?
VIHH: --grab shadow clone get summoning scroll become prophet forbidden lore acquire violence bijuu hunt--
HAZOU: This looks weird in three dimensions.
VIHH: -- get new seals grind PEA iron nerve socials CHAOS v2 macerators v3 new taijutsu style munckin to the max more stunts more angles necromancy HAZOUKEN x 20 stack buffs punch hard stack buffs punch hard stack buffs....
HAZOU: Right, I punch his lights out.
HARU: The fuck is this guy on?
VIHH: can we use Haru as a buff hmm...
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Noumero
Omit Needless Words
It was elaborate psychological warfare aimed at Ikeda. His Mokuton is just creative storage scrolls usage.
- Location
- Pacific standard
Akanes Mokuton however....
Emstar
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Isn't it obvious that her mysterious illness when she was a kid was really a side effect of Orochimaru implanting Hashirama DNA?
It's the only plausible reason she has so much energy.
- Location
- Yes.
It would also explain what happened to Lee and Gai: They're failed Mokuton experiments.
Emstar
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Right on the money with Lee.
Just to give another data point, we did so during the election and Hyuuga became Hokage, which many players viewed as a negative outcome. On the other hand, that specified a timeskip while the current votes for trusting EJ don't specify at all when to end the update.
Also, I don't remember whether QMs first brought up the timeskip or players did, which could be a factor.
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- Location
- The Maple Syrup Mountains
OPSEC Journal: a categorized list of the OPSEC status of things Hazou has or knows about, so we can easily know whether to share it or zip it.
Fully public:
Macerators, Dust Bombs, probably a heckton more.
I'm planning to link this in my sig, but first I need help sorting out all the stuff that should be on it. I'm doing this out of a vague frustration that I don't know what's gated behind OPSEC concerns for a given fight and I'd like to pin down what we're keeping secret and what we're showing off in public. If anyone can think of something that should be on this list, or has an argument about where something should be placed, please let me know.
Fully public:
- Pangolin Gauntlets
- Pangolin stuff:
- Pangolin Conditioning Jutsu (full secret)
- PEA (full secret)
- Ghost Scales (don't mention armor aspect)
- Pantokrator's Hammer (show, don't teach)
- The other Pangolin jutsu (de facto full secret)
- Member-specific:
- Implosion seals + Directional seals (how they work)
- TLitF (and everything else Mari has tbh)
- Mist Drain (full secret)
- Elemental Mastery (known to a few other clans, full secret otherwise)
- Properties of bloodlines
- Jiraiya's notes
- Skytowers
- Skywalkers
- Shadow Clone
Macerators, Dust Bombs, probably a heckton more.
I'm planning to link this in my sig, but first I need help sorting out all the stuff that should be on it. I'm doing this out of a vague frustration that I don't know what's gated behind OPSEC concerns for a given fight and I'd like to pin down what we're keeping secret and what we're showing off in public. If anyone can think of something that should be on this list, or has an argument about where something should be placed, please let me know.
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- Location
- Missouri, USA
[x] Let EJ write what he wants. I trust him.
- Location
- Book Fort
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Don't forget that Hazou's also started toying around with Skysliders since the kite chapter, so that's at least in the process of being developed. Development could be sped up to include that as part of the clan's offering?
- Location
- The Maple Syrup Mountains
Skysliders are the sort of thing that I'll add once they're developed and we know where they stand OPSEC-wise. If we end up offering them to Konoha then they'll likely fall under the 'Konoha secrets' category.
- Location
- Yes.
Also:
- Mist Drain.
- Implosion seals/directional explosives (how they work).
- TLitF (it's a genjutsu that breaks the one-target rule).
- The other Pangolinjutsu (Pantokrator's Hammer, Exploring Tongue, etc.).
- IN sealcopy + Sharingan.
- Jiraiya's seal notes.
Also Skytowers.
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Earlier today, in Discord:
@Paperclipped: How to write good punch @ej plz
EJ: [several pieces of hopefully-useful advice] Also, be able to write.
Paperclipped: No can do boss.
EJ: Bullshit.
EJ: SEE?! I told you you were full of crap with you 'no can do, boss' baloney! Also, you've got a typo in your title. Check the threadmark for correct spelling.
@Paperclipped: How to write good punch @ej plz
EJ: [several pieces of hopefully-useful advice] Also, be able to write.
Paperclipped: No can do boss.
EJ: Bullshit.
EJ: SEE?! I told you you were full of crap with you 'no can do, boss' baloney! Also, you've got a typo in your title. Check the threadmark for correct spelling.
- Location
- Under a Rock
Congrats @Paperclipped, you haven't just been threadmarked, you've been canonized.
Jello_Raptor
(Confirmed Jelly)
- Location
- Left of Center
Seconded @Paperclipped, very well done.
That said, boy howdy do I want Hazou to get over that serious consequence.
Also Lee out rolling us in punching is unacceptable, I don't care that it's literally the only thing he puts XP into. We're simply not muchkining hard enough.
That said, boy howdy do I want Hazou to get over that serious consequence.
Also Lee out rolling us in punching is unacceptable, I don't care that it's literally the only thing he puts XP into. We're simply not muchkining hard enough.
- Location
- Liverpool
[x] Let EJ write what he wants. I trust him.
[X] Training plan: No training
[X] Training plan: No training
- Location
- The Maple Syrup Mountains
So we had a neat observation on Discord just now: what happens to all the Academy flunkies? We know you can flunk out for all sorts of reasons, so there are quite plausibly people who flunked out after learning how to use chakra.
We have no idea what happens to them, but a plausible outcome is that they're released back into the civilian world and take up a normal civilian job and ultimately hold a normal life. But if there are civilians out there who can operate storage seals, then they're perfect employees for the Goketsu bank. No danger, nothing you need the strict requirements of ninjadom to survive, just operating storage seals on-demand. It's quite likely to be cheaper than hiring genin to hold the positions.
(Also, if these kids are flunking out and leaving for a civilian life, then odds are they live even longer than most ninja do since they aren't part of the ninja meatgrinder. Therefore the candidates, should they exist at all, are likely to be of all ages)
I figure this is worth at least a minor investigation IC.
We have no idea what happens to them, but a plausible outcome is that they're released back into the civilian world and take up a normal civilian job and ultimately hold a normal life. But if there are civilians out there who can operate storage seals, then they're perfect employees for the Goketsu bank. No danger, nothing you need the strict requirements of ninjadom to survive, just operating storage seals on-demand. It's quite likely to be cheaper than hiring genin to hold the positions.
(Also, if these kids are flunking out and leaving for a civilian life, then odds are they live even longer than most ninja do since they aren't part of the ninja meatgrinder. Therefore the candidates, should they exist at all, are likely to be of all ages)
I figure this is worth at least a minor investigation IC.
Jello_Raptor
(Confirmed Jelly)
- Location
- Left of Center
Seconded, even just getting a better idea of what happens to the students who flunk out would be incredibly useful.
Also we could give them a boot camp on basic sealing and snap up any who show promise and are willing to join us.
I want to ask Kagome if he'd be willing to try teaching a few civilian academy dropout very basic sealing as an experiment.