I mean, we know Oro is practically death-proof, and that memetics are a thing. It's plausible that Jiraiya had some special memetic seal that disaples Oro's offsite backups by memetically infecting them. I don't know exactly how it might work, but I assume J spent some time preparing counters to possible enemies he might face. Either way, the point is I'm unsure if I would want to give everything, even if I could easily imagine worlds where I would be fine with it.
Well, we will regardless have the chance to look over them and see if there's anything we wanna hold back, though I have to say that it seems much more likely to get us the dog scroll to give all of them simply from impact.
The alternative solution is conceptual destruction, i. e. something similar to what happened to Henge. We'll need to figure out how to manipulate the cobweb that is reality, how to make specific strands of it fall out, then just cut off the "Orochimaru" strand.
Isn't there a secret group (The Wardens? The Watchers?) that exists to keep people from doing just that? Jiraiya was skilled enough to do it on the fly, but I suspect that if we try researching how to control/direct/shape/weaponize a sealing failure, we'll wake up one morning to find that we're physically in the Out with no way back. Also that's not counting what Kagome would do to us if he thought we were doing it. He might be insane (or maybe not, since conceptual destruction is a thing) but the man knows his safety protocols.
If we could convince her. I mean, Tsunade didn't go after Orochimaru when she learned what he was doing, even though her morals should've demanded it. So either her emotional connection to him outweighs her moral compass (friends find excuses for friends all the time, and Tsunade greeted him with a heartfelt "Hey Oro" when they first reunited in that one strategy meeting), or she doesn't think that she could kill him.
As for the chakra manipulation: we don't know all that much about chakra as a metaphysical force. We can guess. We can make deductions. But we don't know if they're correct --we don't really know about it. Much like Sealing, chakra is a soft magic system that is not fully understood and may not even be able to be fully understood by the human brain. What we do know is that for all Tsunade's legendary power, knowledge, and innovation, the EN isn't really that advanced. Prosthetics aren't a thing, the human body isn't even close to being understood, germ theory doesn't exist --Noburi, for all his medical education, still cites "spirits," as do many other medical professionals in the EN. So I'm not quite sure that we can rely on medical jutsu's military might being a 1:1 ratio when compared to jutsu that were created and innovated upon explicitly for military applications.
I'm not discounting the possibility, I'm just a little leery of operating under that assumption until we're given more info.
This, basically. I'm down for all but anything that keeps Orochimaru both away from us and disinterested in us. He's not someone we can really understand, trust, manipulate, maneuver, or rely on. He's been shown to be too self-centered, too powerful, and too amoral to be helpful to us. He has no needs that he can't get on his own, no morality to work with or play on, and no outward-focused passions that we can use to our advantage --the way we could, conceivably, do with Tsunade and medicine/healing/human betterment.
Anything we have that he wants, he can literally just take without fear of consequences. He's too valuable an asset for the Leaf --who is immensely diminished right now and, thus, needs his strength --for them to come down on him with anything more than a verbal slap on the wrist, if even that. He's too strong for us to stop --if he can survive The Battle, I don't think that Kagome could touch him... even if Kagome weaponized a sealing failure. His own morality won't hinder him in any capacity, though it might urge him to simply do things --Orochimaru is very much well aware of his position within the village. And if that's not enough, just remember that there's no one in the village who could stop him. Asuma? Nope. The Third is dead and gone, The Fourth is dead and gone, Jiraiya is dead and gone, Naruto isn't that strong yet, and Tsunade --arguably the second strongest ninja in the Leaf right now --is specialized medically, rather than militarily (that's not to say that her military might is small. By no means. It's simply that she specializes primarily in medicine and medical jutsu, with the military power coming, primarily, as a result from an application of that knowledge. Unless MfD's Tsunade is different. Which is a possibility).
I believe that Orochimaru is basically in Leaf out of a mixture of A) it's slightly more convenient to be in Leaf as opposed to wherever he was prior, 2) the Leaf has a both a greater amount of resources and rather unique resources that he would not otherwise have access to, 3) whatever emotional bonds that he might have toward Leaf and towards Tsunade (pretty sure I've addressed how MfD's Orochimaru is more humane/moral/whatever than canon's?), and that, 4) all his shit is here and moving it would be a hassle.
Basically: The Big Bad Asura is scary, and I propose that we do not tickle the sleeping serpent.
It's true that he's too powerful and valuable to Leaf, such that if he really tried he could probably get anything he wanted and the leadership would have to accept it, even if it's something blatantly against Leaf patriotism or the agreement between clans that makes Konoha a thing. That's not to say that Orochimaru abducting a clan head and experimenting on them to learn how their bloodline works wouldn't cause a huge controversy and threaten to tear the village apart if things like that are apparently acceptable, but losing Orochimaru (or, Jashin forbid, making an enemy of him) would more or less be the end of Leaf anyways so even the most outrageous actions Orochimaru might take it's still plausible that Asuma would play along.
That said, all of that is a giant hypothetical. Or rather, it's an option Orochimaru has but is not exercising (and if you need evidence, look to the fact that we are not currently being dissected). From what I've been able to see, Orochimaru's been playing nice with Konoha even though he could demand anything he wanted and expect to get it.
It could be that Orochimaru's biding his time until people are used to him before he starts pushing the envelope, or that he's waiting to defend Konoha once or twice and cement a new heroic reputation before straining it by making demands. It could be that he's walking to our doorstep as we speak saying that Hazou is to come with him for mandatory experimentation as approved by the Hokage. It could be that Orochimaru's back to his old clandestine habits and we just haven't heard of his indiscretions because he's good at OPSEC. It could even be that he's genuinely turned over a new leaf and has no intention of pushing the envelope despite being fully capable of doing so and getting away with it.
Each of those scenarios (and whatever ones I missed) cast different implications on Orochimaru and how we should interact with him, but it's important to note that in most of them Orochimaru is not a monster rampaging through Leaf laws and unspoken rules as he pleases, and whatever his reasons for restraining himself (and the underlying motives and values thereof, etc. etc.) unless we can predict when and why he'll shift to pushing the envelope we can to a significant degree expect him to play by the rules with us.
It could even be that he's genuinely turned over a new leaf and has no intention of pushing the envelope despite being fully capable of doing so and getting away with it
I hope this is the case (*gives the writers the side-eye hopeful look*)... it'd add depth and complexity to his character, not to mention set up an interesting character arc. But that said, I'm a sucker for a good redemption arc.
I'm actually inclined to agree with some of those reasons. But the Watchers makes for more interesting world building, so I'm going to accept that they exist until we're told otherwise. Purely because I like the idea of them as flavoring in the world of MfD. Whether they crop up as a plot point or not, I just like what they'd add to the story.
A secret cabal of fuuinjutsu specialists whose only concern is maintaining the fabric of reality? Nice. Maybe they're super competent, maybe they're barely holding things together. Maybe they're omnipresent and omnipotent, maybe they're little more than a cartoon boogieman. Maybe they're subtle and manipulative and you'd never know they were there unless they allowed you to do so. Maybe they win by luck more often than not.
Maybe their only focus is working hard to patch reality up the best that they can. Maybe the Sealing Failure that erased the Henge was originally going to erase everyone who knew the henge, but the Watchers directed/patched/diverted it to something a little less catastrophic. Maybe Jiraiya got The Talk and not Arikada because if Jiraiya tries to cause a sealing failure, then his genius would cause the failure to have the potential to rip the veil between the Out and the Paths, whereas Arikada's sealing failures could only ever be of the (relatively minor) Blotch variety. Maybe Pain only got away with it because he wasn't deliberately trying to cause Sealing Failures and the Watchers don't care about what happens in the world, save that there's a world for it to happen in. Who knows? Hazou doesn't. We don't. And that's pretty interesting. To me, at least.
*shrug*
But that's just my personal opinion about a vague element of worldbuilding that'll likely never really come up again.
"...so yeah. What do you think?" Lord Gōketsu stopped talking and looked at her expectantly.
Fujie shifted uncomfortably. Some of the questions that had been coming across her desk were weird, but this... This was above her pay grade, and probably above anyone's save only Lord Sarutobi himself. On the other hand, the Hokage had said not to bother him about specific contributions to the Will of Fire competition unless it couldn't be avoided.
"Forgive me, Lord Gōketsu," she said carefully. "I'm not quite following. Isn't it normal to pay bride price or departure price when someone moves between clans?"
Lord Gōketsu frowned, clearly confused. "I mean...yes? How does that relate?"
"Well, then I'm unclear on how this is novel. You want to pay the Daisho so that you can adopt one of their members, fine. That's between the clans." She paused, confusion clearing away as two facts connected. "Oh! Wait, I see. You're a...you were born outside of Leaf, and aren't familiar with the precise details of the law. Have no fear, you don't need to seek the Hokage's permission to adopt ninja from other clans."
The teenage politician in front of her shook his head, seeming annoyed. "No, I don't want to adopt someone, I want to buy the right to adopt someone."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"No!" He paused to take a breath. "Okay, let's start over. Each clan is allowed to adopt two clanless ninja per year, right?"
"Yes."
He reached into a pocket and pulled out some spare change, laying two pairs of coins on her desk. "Assume that these represent four clanless ninja. The Daisho could adopt these two"—he slid one pair towards her—"and the Gōketsu could adopt these two"—the other pair—"and that would be fine, right?"
"They're adopting two genin and you're adopting a genin and a...what, jōnin?" She gestured at the coins: two one-ryō pieces for the Daisho, a one- and five-ryō piece for the Gōketsu.
"No, that's not...look, it doesn't matter, okay? The denominations of the coins don't matter."
Fujie frowned. Sure, he was rich, but....
Gōketsu sighed and rummaged through his pockets until he found another one-ryō piece to replace the five-ryō piece. "There. All the same. The Daisho could adopt these two and we could adopt these two and everything would be fine. Yes?"
"Yes."
"Okay, then suppose that we wanted to adopt this one." He tapped on the Daisho's left-hand ninja. "He starts off clanless, but as soon as the Daisho adopt him he's a clan ninja, and there's no restrictions on how many clan ninja can be adopted per year. The Daisho could adopt him and we could immediately adopt him from the Daisho, right?"
"Of course."
"But if we do that, the person still has legal obligations to the Daisho."
"Yes, but it shouldn't matter. They won't know any of the clan secrets or have any significant relationships to the Daisho."
He nodded and pulled the four coins back to his side of the desk, metaphorically undoing the adoptions. "Instead of doing this complicated thing where they get adopted twice, suppose we simply buy the right to adopt them from the Daisho?"
"You want to buy a ninja?!"
"No! No, I want to buy the right to adopt them."
"But don't you already have that right...?"
Lord Gōketsu took a deep, calming breath.
"Would it be possible for me to speak to Sarutobi Rin or Sarutobi Yōta?"
o-o-o-o
Sarutobi Rin had been saddled with a name's meaning that was awful when you were a new Academy recruit trying to make friends, but worked really well as an adult and high-ranked adviser to the Hokage. As such, she had cultivated the characteristics of her name. Dignified. Severe. Cold. It worked for her.
Two decades of practice kept her from showing uncertainty. The contributions that had been coming in thus far had mostly been straightforward—a wind jutsu here, a multiple-explosion seal there. Easy. Then there were the weirder things, like all this...'theory of games' (?) stuff that Lord Nara's messenger had brought. Why was he submitting games to the contest? Was it intended as an insult to the Hokage, because that was certainly what it looked like—the Nara saying that they were above the contest, that the Will of Fire was nothing more than a game to them. They were a Founding Clan, so accusations of treason were definitely something to move slowly on, but still....
Regardless. The Nara were offensive but this...this was just weird.
"Let me see if I understand...you want to buy the right to adopt a ninja, not buy an actual ninja. You want to treat privileges like...like pieces of bacon, that you sell in the market." Sage, she was hungry. She had a delicious rabbit burger with bacon and cheese stuffed in a storage scroll for lunch, and as soon as she was done here she was going to devour it.
Lord Gōketsu nodded. "Exactly. Think of it like renting an apartment. You're paying for the right to use the place for a specific period of time, not for actual ownership."
How did that apply? Someone was either adopted or they were not, so how could anyone rent the right to adopt someone?
She kept her face calm and severe as she thought about it. According to the briefings, when Lord Gōketsu's cousin was creating skywalkers the boy had contributed some assistance, so it was safe to assume he wasn't stupid. Still, the rent analogy didn't really work, so what was he trying to get at?
"Actually, let me amend that," he said, breaking into her thoughts. "Suppose I rent an apartment from someone for a thousand ryō per month and then I sell you my lease? You pay me some money in order to take over the rent, you get to live there, and I go live somewhere else. I had a right—the right to live in this place—and I sold you the right, not the actual property. Does that help?"
She scratched her hand, thinking. That was absolutely clear as mud, and even negatively helpful. Mentally, she downgraded the probable amount of his contribution in the skywalker development. Still, this related to a contest submission so she needed to figure it out.
"I...think I see," she said, after chewing on the idea for almost a minute. "And you want this idea to be part of your contribution for the contest?"
He nodded. "And, if possible, I'd like to ask Lord Hokage to put it into effect immediately. I know that things are being kept secret until the contest is over in order to prevent clans gaining an advantage by building off early submissions, or giving away information on the general nature of their capabilities—not sure that's the optimal strategy, by the way, 'cause it sure seems like it would be better to get them in play right away—but I'd like to have this one go into effect immediately so that I can make use of it. I don't care about the anonymity part one way or the other; you can say it was the Gōketsu or not as you prefer."
Rin thought about that. "I think we shall need to speak to Lord Hokage about this. Please come with me."
o-o-o-o
"Approved. Rin, have some tickets made up for my signature. Every clan gets two of them. Each ticket has a unique number and the name of every hand it passes through. From now on, all adoptions and marry-ins who aren't Leaf clan ninja require that the adopting clan turn in a ticket when they submit the tax modifications or the adoption can't go through. They're welcome to sell or trade the tickets to other clans. Make it clear that they are being given an additional asset and that it has no effect on their earnings. This is purely an advantage for them and they are losing nothing.
"Nice job, Hazō."
o-o-o-o
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Lord Gōketsu. I enjoyed yesterday's discussion quite a bit."
"Thank you, Lord Daisho, I did as well." Surprisingly, he had. The plan had been to have a social visit to build rapport, then come back the next day to do business. Hazō had expected the 'build rapport' part to be agonizing, but he'd been surprised at how engaging Daisho was when he wanted to be. The man had a wicked sense of humor and a wide base of knowledge.
"I'd like to thank you again for the gift of your most recent book," Hazō said. "I absolutely devoured it last night; kept me up until the moon was setting. Your tenth through fifteenth haiku in particular—they sent chills down my spine." Daisho was much better than Hazō had expected, possibly even as good as his reputation suggested. Not that Hazō knew much about poetry, but Mari had coached him both on how to read it, how to frame discussion about it, and relevant vocabulary so he didn't sound like an uneducated bumpkin.
The redhead in question knelt quietly beside him, letting him take the lead but ready to jump in if he said something stupid. The clan was starting to relax around him as he continued to not show signs of being possessed by a horrific otherworldly intelligence, but he still wasn't being allowed out without a minder.
Daisho Nagaharu, Clan Head of the Daisho sealmaster clan, smiled. It was a repellent smile; his teeth were rotten and three of the front ones were missing. Hazō was not about to acknowledge that fact.
"Thank you, Lord Gōketsu. That's very kind of you. Yes, I was proud of the fourteenth. Took me a month to wordsmith the symbolism. What did you think of the longer-form work?"
Hazō ducked his head slightly. "To be honest, My Lord, I know very little of poetry and am still learning to appreciate it. The haiku worked well for me because I could hold the entire thing in my head at once, but some of the longer form work left me behind, especially the experimental work. The one on page sixteen, for example."
"Yes, I can see how that one might be difficult. I'm calling the form 'nichōka'. It's two normal chōka poems interleaved, with each line interplaying with both its successor in its own poem and its predecessor in the other."
Hazō chuckled and shook his head. "That is a fascinating idea, but too technical for me."
"Ah, well, perhaps come back to it in a year or two?"
"I shall." To his surprise, he found himself wanting to. Some of the poetry was too esoteric for him, but even the ones that he found impenetrable teased at his mind, making him feel that there was deep meaning to be gleaned if only he invested the time to pick apart the words and images. Or perhaps that was the problem—the point was in the interplay of the words and separating them destroyed the meaning.
"So," Daisho said, smiling slyly and sipping his tea. "As grateful as I am for the praise, I suspect that you did not come here simply to compliment an old man's hobby. How may I help you?"
Hazō studied his interlocutor for a moment, doing his best to read the older man's mood. It was difficult; the Daisho were a minor clan, not more than a dozen members, but Nagaharu had been Clan Head for forty years, ascending to the title while still a teen. His squat bald head and smiling face showed nothing that he wasn't interested in sharing.
"You received the Hokage's messenger?" Hazō asked carefully. "The one about the adoption tickets."
"Indeed!" The bald head shook back and forth like a bull trying to dislodge a particularly persistent fly. "I bear no ill will to Lord Saruboti—he is a strong jōnin, likable, and there is a good case to be made that his father was the greatest Hokage Leaf has ever had. Despite that, I admit to some discomfort with how many changes he is making." He turned one hand up in dismissal of his own point. "Still, perhaps that's just me being reactionary. Every Sarutobi I have ever known has been skilled, honorable, and a hard worker. I feel certain that our current Hokage will be all those things and usher in a new era of prosperity."
Hazō smiled slightly; Leaf was far different than Mist—indeed, from what Kagome had said, the Academy students had not even been required to assist with interrogations or public executions—yet there were still similarities. 'Uncomfortable' was the strongest word that one would use to describe the policies of the Hokage, especially when talking with a new associate.
Mari picked up her tea with both hands, supporting the bottom with her right hand. She took a delicate sip and set it down again. Daisho is positively inclined to you. That was probably not a trap.
"I can understand that," Hazō said, nodding regretfully. "It's been difficult for us as well. The entire idea of the contest, for example—being asked to give up clan secrets is never an easy thing, although the Will of Fire inspires us to answer the call. The Gōketsu will be giving much of Jiraiya's notes on the theory of sealcrafting, as well as several seals that we developed, as part of our contribution."
Daisho's thick eyebrows shot up. "Lord Jiraiya's sealcrafting notes will be part of your contribution?" He paused to swallow; apparently he was literally salivating.
Hazō nodded. "Indeed. Likely not all of them, since some of what is there could be very dangerous if it became widespread. Still, it will be a meaningful fraction." He reached into his jacket and produced a folded, wax-sealed sheet of parchment and passed it over. "For example, here is a monograph he wrote about twenty years ago, on interactions between Imagawa converters and third-chord trisections."
Daisho's hand shook slightly as he took the paper and broke the seal. He skimmed quickly through, then went back and read more carefully. Hazō waited patiently, sipping his tea occasionally as the older man devoured the paper with his eyes.
It was three long minutes before Daisho looked up. "This is brilliant. My father was our last true sealmaster; I never had the talent to be more than a petty dabbler. We always used a tetragonal intersection to link to an Imagawa. This is much more efficient."
Hazō nodded. "Faster to draw, more stable, and much less sensitive."
"And you'll be donating more like this?"
"Indeed. Although not that particular piece. That piece is my gift to you, in thanks for the gift of your poetry. You may feel free to use it as part of the Daisho contribution if you wish, or keep it as a clan secret."
Daisho blinked. It took him a good three seconds to get his mouth working. "Lord Gōketsu—"
"Please, just Hazō." He smiled ruefully. "Not only are you my elder, but I'm afraid I haven't gotten used to the title yet, and every time I hear it I feel like someone is going to notice that I'm impersonating Jiraiya and they'll come cart me off."
Daisho laughed. "In that case, please call me Nagaharu. Hazō, I don't wish to be rude, but this gift is far too grand a repayment for mere poetry."
"Lor...Nagaharu, it's really not. Your gift gave me insight into an entirely new way of seeing the world. I have never had opportunity or inclination to read poetry before and it felt...profound. It was like the first time I infused a seal, with so many things connecting in such a small space, a rhythm and flow that I couldn't see but that took my mind in many directions at once." He ducked his head, blushing slightly. It had been an absolutely humiliating time, crafting those words with Mari. He had never read poetry before, beyond the occasional dirty limerick on the wall of the latrine; it had always seemed like such a dissipative pursuit, a waste of time for the reader and a contemptible frivolity for the author. Hazō had read the poetry because that was the mission, fully expecting to be bored out of his mind. Mari had dragged his true, horribly embarrassing reactions out of him and then helped him plan how to convey them to Nagaharu.
Nagaharu studied him for a moment, then bowed and tucked the monograph into his snow-white jacket. "Thank you, Hazō. This means a great deal. You mentioned the adoption tickets?"
"Yes. I was wondering if the Daisho intend to adopt any ninja this year?"
Hazō, Rapport (base 10, effective 14 due to Severe Consequence and Forged in Fire stunt) + 2 (invoke "Gave You a Really Shiny Gift") + 2 (invoke "Your Positive Feelings to Me") + 4dF(0): 18
Nagaharu, Presence (?) + 4dF: far more than 18
Hazō is Taken Out. Fortunately, Daisho does not in fact value the tickets that much and is willing to sell them, but Hazō gets skinned in negotiations.
"There are always interesting candidates to be considered," Nagaharu said casually. "One issue with being such a small clan is that it's important to bring in new members from time to time so that our blood does not grow weak."
"I know that your clan is famed for its sealing...I wonder if you'd be willing to sell us one of your tickets, some seals, and assistance with the contest?"
"Hmmm..." Nagaharu leaned back, right elbow resting on left palm as he rubbed his jaw. "Given the new policies, those tickets are quite important to my clan. The rest is more so. Our seal-related knowledge is our family legacy, passed down from my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, the founder of the clan. I won't say that it's impossible that we would share it, but it would be a considerable sacrifice on our part." He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I value our budding friendship too much to drive the sort of bargain I would need to. Perhaps we could simply help with one of your projects? Fresh eyes are always useful."
"That's very kind of you, and we might just take you up on it. Still, I really need one of those tickets. What would you like for it?"
"Well...." He frowned. "You have been most generous with your gift, and I have very much enjoyed our conversations yesterday and today. I know you're a new clan and I would like to help you get established...." The frown deepened and he rocked his head slightly side-to-side in thought before coming to a conclusion.
"How much more of Lord Jiraiya's work did you have?"
Hazō snorted. "Boxes and boxes of it. Some of it is thirty, forty years old, from when he was just starting out."
"Roughly how many boxes?"
Hazō thought about it. "Hard to say. It's all mixed in with other stuff—work papers, reference material, stories, that kind of stuff. Of the stuff that we've translated I'd say that maybe a fifth of all of it is seal-related; if that ratio keeps up then there's probably two or three hundred boxes about like this." He gestured with his hands, indicating an object roughly a foot on a side. "Not all of it is his work; some of it is from his students and mentors, or just random other stuff that he picked up from somewhere."
"Work from his students, you say?" Nagaharu tutted in disappointment. "Not as desirable as the work of the master himself, and the Daisho really do need those tickets...giving either of them up will mean we probably lose one of the candidates we've been considering—if we don't adopt them this year they will undoubtedly be gone before we have the chance next year. Still, you've been most courteous and I really would like to help the Gōketsu." He paused, tapping steepled fingers against his lips in thought.
"How about this," he said at last. "We get copies of the next five boxes worth of seal-related notes that you decode and we'll part with one of our adoption tickets?" He raised a warning finger and smiled. "Now remember: That means five boxes full of seal-related notes, not the seal-related notes from the next five boxes." He wagged the finger at Hazō. "And you aren't allowed to turn those materials in for the contest—they will either be clan-secret to both of us or part of the Daisho contribution. I've heard about how clever you Gōketsu are, and I'm not going to let you take advantage of me!"
"Oh, come now! Five boxes? That's asking a bit much, don't you think? Maybe half of one."
"Now, now. I'm making a major sacrifice here. The Daisho need to bring in new blood and there are very few clanless ninja worthy of adoption. If we lose this one we may not be able to find another next year."
"Okay, fine. One box."
Nagahura shook his head. "Really, Hazō? I was trying to be generous here. I suppose I might come down to four and a half...no, you know what? I'll go down to four. I admire your audacity and I think the Gōketsu will be a positive force in Leaf going forward. Four boxes."
"How about two?"
"You scoundrel! Are you trying to beggar my clan?!" He rolled his eyes. "Fine. I have a meeting shortly so I should really wrap this up. In the interest of closing the deal, I'll take three boxes. Final offer, though." The finger wagged once more. "Three boxes, no less! And it needs to be the next stuff you decode; no picking through and giving us the dregs. And you don't share it with other people or turn it in for the contest. I know about you and your clever, tricksy ways, young man! I'm not going to let you take advantage of me!"
"Well...I'm not willing to keep it locked up forever. How about this: I won't turn it in for the contest and I won't share it with anyone else for a year. Also, no blanks—sealcrafting, safety precautions, design parameters, whatever. Not the actual blanks."
Nagaharu shook his head in disbelief. "I really do admire you, Hazō, but there's a limit to how much I'm willing to let you take advantage of me!" He sighed and glanced at the clock on the mantle. "I do need to go." He paused, thinking. "I can't believe I'm about to agree to this...all right, fine. Three boxes full of the next seal-related work, no blanks, you keep them secret for a year. We may or may not turn them in for the contest." He shook his bald head again. "My wife is going to be so angry with me for making this deal." He looked up. "Let's not tell her until it's done, eh?"
Hazō laughed and extended one hand. "It's a deal. Thank you, Nagaharu."
o-o-o-o
Mari waited to speak until they were outside and a block from the Daisho gates.
"You realize he absolutely skinned you?"
Hazō glanced at her. "What are you talking about? We really need the extra adoption slots and we were going to turn a lot of this in for the contest regardless. He'll almost certainly turn it in himself, so it will still get into the public realm. We don't need it in order to win the contest—there's more than enough other stuff."
She smiled. "Fair enough. Where are we off to now?"
Hazō grinned and waved the precious yellow ticket with the Hokage's signature across the face and the names 'Daisho' and 'Gōketsu' on the back. "To meet an angry young man."
o-o-o-o
Seconds after their knock, the door was yanked open with angry speed.
"Look, I already told you people to—oh, it's you."
Hazō nodded to Haru. "Hey there. Got a minute?"
The genin's face soured but he stepped back, holding open the door to his family's apartment.
It was at the back of the building, only accessible by going through a gate and down a narrow path between the building and the fence. The apartment itself was spillway-style: One long room divided into notional segments by the placement of furniture and curtains. The south end, nearest the door, was curtained off with heavy fabric so that opening the door didn't let out all the heat. Unfortunately, this sectioned off one of the two large windows, each covered in thin horn, that let in a little light. A free-standing set of shelves was the pantry and dish cabinet, then a simple but effective kitchen consisting of a counter, large bucket of water for washing, two cutting boards, and various knives and other culinary equipment. Heat and some light came from a fireplace against the east wall, currently filled with a smoky charcoal fire that sent most of its soot and smoke up the chimney. Chairs and a table surrounded the fireplace, clearly making up the primary living area. Curtains beyond that presumably sectioned off the room into living quarters for Haru and the rest.
"Haru, who is—Lord Gōketsu!" A thirty-ish woman, presumably Haru's mother (hadn't Noburi said she was dead?), jumped to her feet, eyes going wide as she recognized the mon on Hazō and Mari's clothes. "Welcome to our home, My Lord, My Lady! Haru, take their coats!" She bustled forward, not giving her son the chance to follow the order before attempting the job herself. "Hiroyo! Slice up the cheese and the bread for Lord and Lady Gōketsu! Airi, make some tea!"
"Thank you," Hazō said, handing over his coat with a smile and a polite nod. "Please, don't trouble yourself."
"Oh, it's no trouble! Please, come in, come in." She looked around frantically. "I apologize for the state of the place. I'm terribly sorry, it's not usually like this, honest. There's been—"
"Eri, stop." Haru's voice was flat and his glowering eyes never turned from Hazō's face. "It's fine."
"Don't you sass me, young man! I may not—"
"Please, Mrs. Yamamoto, it's fine," Hazō said, raising a calming hand. "Your apartment is fine. Far tidier than my room, that's for sure." He grinned.
"She's not 'Mrs'," Haru growled. "She's Dad's new bedwarmer."
"HARU!"
"What? Dad met you two weeks ago and now you're all living here."
Hazō didn't quite know what to say to that, so he settled on "What?"
"Mom's dead. She's been dead for years. This is Dad's new girlfriend, Eri. And those are her kids." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the two young girls.
"Haru, I may not be your biological mother, but it's still my responsibility to look out for you."
"I'm a ninja, Eri. I don't need looking after." The faintest hint of a blood-drenched howl shivered soundlessly across the room.
Hazō cleared his throat. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," he said to the stepmother. The family dynamics were too screwed up for words, so he glanced at Mari to see if she was going to be helpful. She chose instead to merely nod towards the family with a silent Well, go on then expression.
"Ma'am, I'm sure you know that we approached your stepson to say that the Gōketsu would like to adopt him, and all of you. Haru—"
Eri's eyes went wide and she spun. "Haru! You didn't tell me!"
"It's fine," he growled, refusing to look at her. "You didn't need to know, and I figured he was going to flake out."
"HARU! Don't talk like that about Lord Gōketsu! You can't—"
"Ma'am, please," Hazō said. "It's fine, really. The Gōketsu are a small clan and we desperately need to grow our numbers. We reviewed several hundred clanless ninja and there are only three we're interested in. Haru is one of them. We asked him if he would be interested and he said yes." He saw her expression and hurried to add, "We want to adopt him and all of you. We have no interest in splitting up a family."
"You know I'm right here, yeah?" Haru said. "It's not like she gets a vote."
His stepmother didn't seem to notice Haru's words. She simply stared at Hazō, not saying anything and clearly wondering when she was going to wake up.
Hazō glanced at Mari but she still was not being helpful.
Hazō produced the formerly-Daisho adoption ticket from his pocket and held it up. "Haru, if you're willing then we can do this right now."
"Do what?" Haru demanded.
"Get you adopted and moved into the clan compound," Hazō explained. "You say yes and it's done. We pack all your stuff and you can be in clan quarters an hour from now." He looked around. "Or, if you want to stay here, that's fine. I have no problem with the clan picking up the rent going forward. If not, we'll pay off your current month and everything's squared away."
"We're leaving?" asked the girl making the tea—Airi, that was her name. She was probably nine, maybe ten, straw blonde and elfin, with a smudge of dirt on her nose and wide eyes. She lacked the conditioning one would expect from an Academy student; presumably she was a civilian, born without sufficient chakra to be a ninja. The tone of her words was more fearful than excited.
"Like I said, you're welcome to stay here if you want," Hazō said. "I'd prefer it if you moved onto the clan grounds, but I'm not going to force you."
"Going to put us in that big stone pile you magicked up, huh?"
Hazō looked at Haru silently for a moment. "That's the plan," he said at last. "If you're willing. We've got a bunch of apartments and more going up every day; everyone on the compound is finally out of tents and into stone, but there's a ton of space and no reason not to build on it, so we told the construction guys to just keep going."
"'Construction guys'?" He snorted. "There's no construction guys. You're having a ninja use jutsu to build the place."
"I thought that wasn't allowed?" Airi asked from the kitchen area. "The ninja can't 'pete with civilians because the Merchant Council says so. Dad won't be able to get work if the ninja start doing it."
"Airi, hush!" Eri snapped. "Lord Gōketsu is talking!"
"And he's not 'Dad'," Haru snapped. "He's 'Mr Yamamoto' to you."
"Please," Hazō said, a little bit of firmness in his tone. "Could we all please relax?" He turned to the stepmother, Eri. "For one thing, please stop with the 'Lord Gōketsu' business, ma'am. It freaks me out. My name is Hazō."
Eri looked uncomfortable. "But—"
"Eri, shut it," Haru said. "You're embarrassing us."
"Don't you—"
"Aaaand, we're breathing," Hazō said, raising both hands in placation. "We are exhaling stress and panic, inhaling calm and relaxation." Eri didn't seem to get the point, so he took an exaggerated breath, leading her along. "Now. The important question: Haru, are you in? We can get you guys one or two apartments, depending on how much space you want."
"What, you think I want to make my Dad and the kids stay in this place?" Haru snorted in disgust. "Of course I'm in."
"Cool. I was hoping you'd say that." He pulled a sheaf of storage seals from a belt pouch. "I've got a bunch of boxes, bags, and storage seals. Let's get your stuff packed."
XP AWARD: 5
Brevity XP: 1
Ami-style Training XP: 2
It is now about 6pm. This update covered a day and a half.
You did some Ami-style training both days: Jumping rope on the ceiling (day 1) and sparring while singing (day 2).
Vote time! What to do now?
Voting ends on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, at 12pm London time.
Great, productive update. Hazou getting stuff done, and being able to roll with things despite not always having the stats to play in the big leagues. Got ourselves a fighter, and had some not horrible Mari interactions. The examples of various levels of education, social status, upbringing and intelligence through the chapter were good to see, not the least to remind us that not everyone is Shikamaru/Ami jerking us around.
It's nice that Mari trusts Hazou enough to take the lead in things, even when she would be far more effective (such as the negotiation with Nagaharu). In all honestly him fleecing Hazou is probably more likely to make him inclined to future partnerships, as he feels as though he holds an advantage over us.
Haru's family life is... a lot to unpack, and I frankly don't think I'm all that qualified to do it
Finally, someone who appreciates our genius! Seriously, did all the competent people die in the... oh, wait.
Actually, shout out to Asuma! The man's managing to run Leaf with the Tower understaffed, under-equipped, and manned by subpar personnel. And he still finds the patience to find Kagome amusing instead of dangerously insane or annoying! Seriously, let's send the poor man a gift basket or something.
Some of the poetry was too esoteric for him, but even the ones that he found impenetrable teased at his mind, making him feel that there was deep meaning to be gleaned if only he invested the time to pick apart the words and images.
Always great to see someone expanding their horizons. Will Hanzou's emotional maturity/wisdom/empathy stat increase as a result of being exposed to --and enjoying --reading the innermost thoughts and contemplations of other people? Reading has a way of changing people...
Your gift gave me insight into an entirely new way of seeing the world. I have never had opportunity or inclination to read poetry before and it felt...profound. It was like the first time I infused a seal, with so many things connecting in such a small space, a rhythm and flow that I couldn't see but that took my mind in many directions at once." He ducked his head, blushing slightly. [...] Mari had dragged his true, horribly embarrassing reactions out of him and then helped him plan how to convey them to Nagaharu.
Mari's not about to let something as puerile as teenage embarrassment keep her son from enjoying/understanding poetry properly.
Also: I could see Hazou really becoming an accomplished poet. He has depths of compassion, a load of earnestness, a great deal of empathy, and is learning more about poetry through experience. Not to mention he actually enjoys it. I could see his poetry becoming a popular thing in the Leaf and earning income! Might not bring in as much as Jiraiya's smut --sex sells, after all --but it would be suitably noble for the other clans to respect. And, since we're participating in a traditional pastime for Leaf nobility (poetry), it would further cement our clan as truly "Leaf." Not to mention the fact that Hazou might actually be good at it would further boost his standing, and through that, his political power.
Jesus. Though, I shouldn't really be surprised. It is the culmination of a lifetime of a man's work... Still, though. Damn. Jiraiya worked hard.
We got ripped off. Big time. But I suppose that if it ends up public domain anyway, it doesn't really matter who puts it there. And even if it doesn't, and they hoard it like dragon treasure, then it's still a matter of variable value. To a man dying of thirst, water is worth more than riches. To a man drowning, water has just a little less value.
I like Eri and I would like to humbly request more of her in the story. She seems like crackling fire and bright light, genuine passion and heartfelt zeal. I think she genuinely cares for Haru but has no clue how to go about establishing a relationship with a teenage stepson --and Haru isn't exactly making it easy. I wonder if Mari is annoyed by this? I mean, we told her to take it easy and only do what she's comfortable with, but I have a feeling that Mari might take the initiative on Haru's case.
I mean. A young woman unexpectedly saddled with a kid who's personality requires a lot of fixing patience? A kid who's so convinced that his perspective/outlook is the truth of the matter that he's unable to listen to what's right? A mother who (likely) loves the man she married, yes, but the raise in station --and through that, an increase in her children's security --was an undeniable factor. Kinda sounds a little like Mari's situation. Might provoke some emotional responses. Just saying...
Huh. Haru actually cares about his new stepsiblings. He either just doesn't know how to show it or his familial affection is the "rough but fiercely protective" type. Of course, since he's annoyed that they're calling his father "dad," maybe not.
I hope that he can get along with his new stepmother, though. I don't think that it'll ever become a traditional mother/child relationship, but I still sincerely hope that they get a familial bond going. My heart goes out to Eri.
-- ALSO: Apparently courtship in Leaf takes longer than two weeks normally. Haru's response shows that "shotgun weddings" are (if not rare, then at least) relative uncommon and looked down upon. Though, Hazou and Mari didn't even blink at the time frame (that said, Mari might not really care and Hazou might have been too stunned by the family interaction) so either two weeks isn't that frowned upon --and it's just Haru reacting negatively to being forced into a blended family --or Mist does things differently.
Though, "two weeks" might only be Haru's perception. It might be that Eri and his father courted for longer, but it was only two weeks ago that his father brought home Eri to meet Haru. Not an unreasonable thing. Don't want to have the child get too attached to the partner, just in case it doesn't work out. Maybe two weeks was the engagement? I mean, I could see Eri and Haru's father trying to explain that to him, but Haru obviously isn't happy about this and definitely isn't making this easier on them --blended families are... difficult.
And I could see the point in short engagements. Both parties have declared their intentions to get married, what's the point in waiting around? Sure, there are "traditions" and "rites" but I'm sure that there are many people who don't really care about long, drawn out ceremonies and instead do the bare minimum to have their union recognized by the community. There have always been people of that mindset, so it's not illogical to think that Haru's parents are of that mindset --especially if they're as... nontraditional has Haru is.
"Mom's dead. She's been dead for years. This is Dad's new girlfriend, Eri. And those are her kids." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the two young girls.
"Ino, describing the family tree's gonna need some entirely new vocabulary. Wanna spend an hour with me figuring out how to write it all down?"
Incidentally, I'm glad that the social plan worked out to two Aspect Bonuses; it's a shame that our Rapport's in the fucking gutter, but this says promising things about our strategy.
Just some random thoughts, in no particular order:
Consult clan and send a "thanks for being awesome" gift to Asuma. Make sure it conveys "not a bribe" vibe
Talk to Mari, see what her opinion on Haru is. Make up a story-reason for Hazou to do so? Maybe make sure new-family and old-family are getting along?
Study poetry, contemplate writing our own
Talk to Eri, see if her family needs anything and make sure the family's settling in well.
Invite them to dinner and game night (or something similar) to forge emotional bonds
dinner/game night might help smooth tensions between Eri and Haru, since there would be other people to serve as a buffer?
Play with the children? Introduce them to Honoka? It'd bind her to the clan more and put her in a big sisterly role --which would be good for her personal growth
Warn them about funny Uncle Kagome. He's a little weird, but he's the best --Honoka can verify that and extol his virtues as a respectable role model
What are Akane's parents up to? How's the business going?
Check up on Honoka's family. They're important to Kagome and good people besides.
What's their livelihood again? Can we work out a Sponsorship/Investment/Whatever deal? Do we have anything they want?
Catch up with Noda, how's she holding up?
Check salt-stacks, are they still viable? Let's implement some.
Muse about skysliders some more
Muse about the nature of chakra and it's known functions. Without testing, what can we extrapolate from this?
Even if this leads to us drifting into the Out, then we'll at least know that the two are connected somehow before we [drop the subject completely]
Read one of Tsundae's published medical primers --knowledge is power
put info to use
new sanitation policies?
new construction safety policies (masks, protective eyewear, etc)
Read an anatomy primer --if one exists, knowledge is power
How's everyone on the estate holding up? Did group grief-counseling ever take off? God knows that we all need some.
Read some of Jiraiya's translated notes, maybe he left advice for Hazou? Either general life advice or political. Or maybe he had some diary-style notes/rants about the various clan heads that might be a useful perspective?
If some of his notes drift toward reflecting on fond memories of Orochimaru and Tsunade, talk to Mari about (questionable wisdom of) sending those to their respective teammates
They cared for each other and now a third of their Golden Trio is dead
Not much but still a momento of a close friend
Orochimaru scares the shit out of me... but he deserves this.
Tea with Shikamaru, Ino, or one of the other clan heads? Wind down a bit, relax, forge some non-political bonds with our peers. We need more friends.
Lunch/tea/meeting with Akimichi clan head. They're friendly with our friends and have a generally friendly reputation. Maybe they'll be friendly to us, too?
Ino mentioned he handles a lot of clan stuff for the ISA group, maybe he'd be willing to impart some advice?
Lunch with Naruto, is he close to burning out (emotionally) from all the work he's been doing? How's he handling Jiraiya's death? Is that why he's working so hard?
Learn more about Leaf's culture, try to adapt and naturalize as a citizen of the Leaf
Spar with Yuno, check in on her. With Akane gone, she must be a little lonely.
Heart to heart with Noburi, see how he feels about Yuno. Try to talk him through his feelings if he's presently unsure about it.
Personally, I suspect that he's just enjoying puberty a little too much, enjoying the benefits of not being a fat little kid anymore, and is preening at finally having the female attention he's always wanted but could never gain.
If that's the case, we need to tell him that, while that's all well and good, such behavior is currently hurting our good friend Yuno and she's a nice girl that doesn't deserve this. Especially from Noburi. And not just because he's better than that.
Has it been long enough to warrant a follow-up conversation with Mari about her mental and emotional health? I don't want to nag on her, but I also don't want to leave it unaddressed.
Not necessarily a plan, just throwing out random ideas. Really, what we need to do is identify what we want, long term, and then how to get there.
So now that we have some more solid information on our housing status:
Hazou
Generally reviewing and approving proposals
the paperwork, it never fucking ends....
Local Merchant Empire:
Sawmills:
Proposals, awaiting metaphorical groundbreaking. Low amount of revenue, cannot change prices for one year.
Adoption:
Candidate Evaluation
COMPLETE
Pushing for higher ceiling:
Rejected. (Strictly speaking it got moved to fourth place in the contest, but we want the Scroll lol).
Ticket secured for Haru:
COMPLETE
Noda:
In limbo. She hasn't accepted persay.
Aya:
Probably a good idea to avoid tbqh.
Civilian Leadership
Census project:
In-progress
Managing food and other logistics:
permanently in-progess.
Ultimate Judge on land
never ends
unless...?
Housing
House construction:
Present: Bunch of granite apartments.
There's a bunch of empty space and more going up each day, considering the construction guys are just going and going and going.
Educational Programs
Goketsu University
In progress, probably low on the priority list tbh
Ebisu's SixFive
In progress, very little information IC or OOC.
Noburi's Chakra Sources
Always a minor source of work.
Goketsu Clinic
Being organized.
Merchant Council
Mari's got em, processing what to do with them.
Countering Out-based influences
HALTED due to adverse reaction
Skyslider Research Teams
Plan in early brainstorming.
Noburi:
Summoning Training:
In-progress
Goketsu Clinic:
Unclear
Secretary search and vetting:
Assigned 6 days ago. Progress unclear.
Isan - Preparation Phase
"in-progress" eyebrow waggle
In all seriousness we're probably going to need to talk with Noburi and talk with Yuno; things are going in a direction that is Not Good.
Akane:
On mission.
Adjudicating for Hazou and almost certainly being an unpaid secretary:
Ongoing.
Keeping all of Leaf from imploding by being a ninja's best friend: ongoing.
Preparing the groundwork for Hokage Akane 2020: ongoing
Mari:
Acting in the Goketsu Clan's best interests:
in-progress???
Being Hazou's second: in-progress.
Kagome:
On mission. All other options are taken off.
Decrypting Jiraiya's notes.
Made a big breakthrough recently, and got some nice shit. Nice.
May be interested in education.
Keiko*: May be available for some projects, but Nara are a demanding clan.
Consider her unavailable.
Akane's Parents:
Construction business possibly mentioned, unsure of where that went.
Assigned to fix up the Naked Jaybird since January 6th, 52 days ago. So that figure was totally wrong and we actually picked it up on February 13th, only two weeks ago.
Atomu & Reo
Doing [UNSPECIFIED] for us. Probably something similar to what Akane's doing.
Unresolved:
Isan - Expedition Phase
Pre-requisites:
Marriage/working it out between Noburi and Yuno
Keiko's cooperation
Floating Jutsu Exchange
Could be executed, could be saved for later. Unknown as of this moment.
"Shimura" "Estate"
Resolved.
Asuma signed off on transferring the debt from Orochimaru's estate to the Shimura Estate, but Orochimaru could theoretically demand back taxes.
Salt Empire
Tabled due to lack of free time. May need to prepare for salt crunch soonish.
Akatsuki Suggestion
Keiko sent a messenger about 2 weeks ago (February 13th).
International Merchant Empire
Should've arrived almost a month ago. Whatever did happen to those guys?
HAZŌ: And that's why we don't have to wait on line at the Tower and do paperwork and waste all this time with formalities for clan-to-clan adoptions, because we can just not do that?
FUJIE: I am not sure I follow. Could you explain what you're doing again with buying the right ....?
HAZŌ: Yes.
...
HAZŌ: And that's why we don't have to waste time, because we can just not do that?
@eaglejarl, fun chapter! I enjoyed the social fight scene, and was glad we got two aspects out of the plan.
Asuma seems VERY competent, but thats not surprising, given his upbringing. I like the idea of getting a thank-you gift, since it's not bribery if you do it out of gratitude . Maybe we ask Kagome to cook him a meal, or pull something fancy out of storage?
Haru and Hazou's interactions were entertaining, even if Haru pisses me off personally. I wonder how deep Hazou's ex-clan single mum upbringing is gonna cut against Haru's situation? Especially with the massive emotional maturity / stoicism gulf between them. Haru is very loud and expressive, but I dunno how much identity is in those feelings, vs feelings as an identity. I think even he sees himself as "the angry one", and while thats a very attractive and inertial way to be, it doesn't have much substance as a way to HAVE been.
Kid shouts a lot, and blusters and thrashes because that's all his environment let's him do to express himself. I think it'll be fun to see Haru rant himself clean once our resourses, reach, and Talk-no-Jutsu gets their hooks into him, and we get to see the lightning beneath the thundercloud.
There's a literal hot spring on Uncle Snake's estate, which suggests there's a geothermal resource under Konoha. How Rock managed to not hit any of them, I have no idea.
I suggest we send a tunneling team to prospect for said geothermal resource, and see if we could find minerals and metals that we could mine?
