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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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You know, the evil thing to do would be to write an interlude and throw this update either to eaglejarl or back to us with a "Haha now pick for real or I choose myself" :V
 
Cariyaga said:
You know, the evil thing to do would be to write an interlude and throw this update either to eaglejarl or back to us with a "Haha now pick for real or I choose myself" :V
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Leaf is already systematically exporting swamp-o-death outskirt critters as cruel retaliatory biowarefare. Perhaps import a few? When dealing with hyperreligious backwater hicks it's sometimes useful to put the fear of god into them.
 
Interlude: Chapter 0 - Out of the Woods


The Adventure Begins Anew Because Both of Your Plans Sucked
by @Velorien​


Three weeks ago, you became a traitor.

The summons had come out of nowhere. After the series of unfortunate incidents that had you branded "disrespectful of authority", you'd been stuck with one D-rank mission after another, using your finely-honed skills to chop onions and stack boxes while your fellow genin battled brigands and infiltrated criminal associations. So when it seemed like the Powers That Be had finally forgiven you, and wanted you to be part of something important again, you jumped at the chance.

It was nothing like the missions you were used to. You were one of many genin on the mission, led by several chūnin, and even multiple jōnin. A powerful battle unit that would march into contested territory and end the region's biggest conflict once and for all. A dream come true for a genin afraid that their career was over before it had even begun.

But after a week's travel came the night when things went wrong. Raised voices coming from the commander's tent. The ring of steel on steel. Then, before any of you could get close, a brilliant flash of light that could only have been ninjutsu. After a second's silence, Paper-sensei emerged from the tent, covered in blood. The commander did not.

With the entire camp watching, it was too late for damage control, so Paper-sensei told you all the truth, and showed you the commander's documents. You discovered that you weren't a heroic strike force. You were a collection of problem ninja - some with histories of insubordination, others whose loyalty had come under question or who had shown excessive ambition... The details didn't matter. What mattered was that you were being led into a battle you couldn't win, your purpose to soften up the enemy before the real squads arrived and completed the mission. Your death sentences were already signed.

So all of you ran. It was a painful decision. It meant abandoning your friends and family. It meant giving up on countless hopes, ambitions and plans. But your village wanted you dead, and your other choices were to continue with the suicide mission, or to go back and face court martial for abandoning it.

Now you're a missing-nin. After three weeks on the run, you were able to find a safe place to make a longer-term base, with concealment on the level of a small ninja village. Your perimeter is secure for now, your supplies are adequate, and between your eighteen genin, your six chūnin and your three jōnin, you have a good range of skills and expertise. But your names are in the Bingo Book, and if your village considered you dangerous before, it will stop at nothing to find and destroy you now.

The clock is ticking. What path will you choose in order to survive?
 
Orisha91 said:
How the hell is Tsunade okay with that?
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I wanted to say it's the standard in-group vs out-group thing but that doesn't mesh with her (trying to?) get medical books out to all nations.

So my next guess would be that even she isn't above revenge against people that hurt her friends.
 
Tua said:
I wanted to say it's the standard in-group vs out-group thing but that doesn't mesh with her (trying to?) get medical books out to all nations.

So my next guess would be that even she isn't above revenge against people that hurt her friends.
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I thought the idea was contemplated but then thrown out.

I wonder if that sickness going around Leaf is the the first sign of the Chakra plague.
 
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Orisha91 said:
How the hell is Tsunade okay with that?
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Why should she be against that? She's an S-rank veteran ninja with an foreign enemy camping outside their doors. Tsunade also uses Medical Ninjutsu in actual fights in which she kills people. There is a reason Jiraiya called her a cynical.
She is the same person that accepts having Orochimaru in Leaf, for example.
 
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Chapter 444: Four Funerals and a Wedding
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    • Kei observed the battlefield silently from the rooftop. The shrine was packed, with nearly every inhabitant of Isan once again crammed within its walls. Takahashi-sensei, having arrived first, stood elevated on the steps leading to the main building. The midday light shining off the swirling silver designs on the dark brown wood made him seem almost backlit. He carried a ceremonial curved sword in one hand and a plain metal staff in the other, which meant nothing to her except that the raising of the staff was to serve as her signal. His daughter, Shiina, stood next to him. She had applied makeup and accessories with all the precision and deadly focus of a warrior heading to her final battle, and while ordinarily that might be something for Kei to sneer at, she was forced to admit that in this instance the final result made even her heart beat a little faster. She wondered briefly if her self-imposed prohibition on dating Isanese clan heads applied to their heirs, before seizing that thought, eviscerating it mercilessly, and then burying the remains where no one would ever find it.

    Inoue and her two allies stood in a triangle across from him, with Aida Isshin hovering near his mother with an expression of concern. The other clan heads were nearby, not obviously next to one group or the other, in positions which Kei was certain had ritual and/or political significance. And in one corner, there stood several figures in hooded black robes embroidered with golden serpentine patterns. One of them held a bowl of honeyed nuts.

    "Takahashi."

    Inoue's voice was like the crack of a whip.

    "You have called us all here to speak of the Pangolin Summoner and the aftermath of her crimes. Why, then, do you carry the Implements of Judgement?"

    "Is it not obvious, Loremaster?" Takahashi-sensei asked. "Justice has not yet been served. Gōketsu Yuno killed Azai Shūsuke. Should we shirk from our duty merely because she is not here to be judged?"

    Some of Inoue's tension melted away. "No, you are correct. Death should be no escape from lawful judgement."

    Takahashi-sensei offered her the sword. "Then will you, Inoue Rika, serve as the Blade of the Accuser, and call Gōketsu Yuno and her mistress to justice for their crimes?"

    Inoue took the sword. She almost managed not to smile with glee, but for a second her true expression flashed through. If Kei had not missed it, then she doubted anyone would.

    In her eagerness to finish securing her position, she had also just accepted Takahashi-sensei's authority as judge without a second thought. Kei suspected Inoue would come to regret this.

    "What sentence do you demand?" Takahashi-sensei asked.

    "The sentence that has already been fulfilled by Ui's hand, of course," Inoue said. "Death to the murderess, and to her mistress who either planned the act, or at best was responsible for failing to stop it."

    Takahashi-sensei nodded gravely. "As Arbiter, I witness your demand. Now, who will serve as the Rod of the Defender to stand against the Blade?"

    He raised the staff high, as if offering it to the crowd before him.

    "I will!"

    Kei soaked in the gasps as she rode into the shrine on the shoulders of a pangolin summoned at the last second (for there was no possible way to hide the likes of Panjandrum until the final moment for a dramatic entrance). The crowd parted urgently as he took centre stage, and Inoue was forced to crane her neck up to look at her.

    The others, further away, took her appearance as a cue to make their own approach, each member of the Isan team carried by their own towering war machine of legend. The pangolins lined up as an impenetrable wall of claws and scales, forcing ninja on the far side to crowd around to see Takahashi-sensei and Inoue.

    "What?!" Inoue shrieked. "You're supposed to be dead!"

    "Am I?" Kei asked mockingly. "We expected some manner of retaliation after yesterday's events. After all the tiring politics, part of me was excited to face your mighty warriors, cunning assassins, deadly beastmasters, and virtuosos of ninjutsu in open battle. But when they arrived… well, we do not kick puppies. We amused ourselves with their antics for a while, then, when we grew bored, we left to spend the night in a quieter place. It seems that, in their enthusiasm, the puppies never noticed.

    "Or do you think it coincidence that in this so-called battle to the death, not one of them took so much as a scratch?"

    Several of the shinobi in the audience glared daggers at her. It was almost too easy, Kei reflected as she memorised their faces. According to Takahashi-sensei, the identities of the honour guard were not publicly known—they had not been at the vigil prior to setting off on their mission, and it was unviable to identify them by process of elimination. Nor had the messenger bringing news of the battle been from among their number—he had been an unrelated Inoue who would surely mysteriously fail to remember the faces of anyone he had spoken to. Kei had been forced to admit their enemies were only mostly incompetent… except that now they were failing to live up to even that assessment.

    Inoue stared at her open-mouthed. Azai gritted his teeth. Aida looked sick.

    "Fine." Inoue finally found her voice. "Then this time you can be properly executed for your crimes."

    "My crimes?" Kei demanded. "Who are you to—"

    "Silence," Takahashi-sensei snapped. "The Rod of the Defender strikes second. You will show respect for Isanese custom, Nara Keiko."

    Kei suppressed a flinch. She knew that the plan called for Takahashi-sensei to act as the team's antagonist, but she could not deny that it hurt to see him act like this. Worse, she did not know how far he intended to go. Takahashi-sensei had kept them in the dark about the details of his part in the plan, stating that all would be lost were the crowd to sense that they were colluding. He had not even told them why he had sent out messengers in advance, or the purpose of the medical ninjutsu.

    Inoue smirked. "Better late than never. Then here is the cut of the Blade. Nara Keiko is a traitor. She has come here at the behest of her foreign overlords to enslave us using the authority of the Pangolin Summoner—an authority she does not deserve after she allowed herself to be corrupted by foreign ways and betray Ui's values.

    "When our saviour the High Priest refused to submit to Leaf, she manipulated him into a trial by combat, then ordered the cursed child to murder him in broad daylight, in a battle I myself sanctioned as lasting to surrender. Then, she dared to abuse her power over the Pangolins to absolve herself. The loyalty of the Pangolins to their summoner is legendary. But the scriptures say nothing about their loyalty to Ui's heirs, and how could they, when Pantomaimu and the others had not walked the earth since before Isan's foundation? I do not condemn the Pangolins for lying when it was the only way to save their summoner from death. I condemn the Pangolin Summoner for forcing them to place their loyalty over their honour. I also condemn her for feigning faith in Ui, may his name be forever sung by the ten thousand worlds, when in truth she is a barbarian who holds only barbarian beliefs.

    "Both she and the cursed child are traitors and murderers, and I demand their execution."

    By the end of her speech, the crowd was filled with disgusted muttering, not only from the High Priest faction ninja, but from many others who must have been taken in by Inoue's surprisingly accurate assessment of Kei's actions and character. Gazes directed at Kei turned from rapturous to cold. Already in a questionable emotional state after the events of recent days, Kei found herself struggling to maintain her composure.

    Takahashi-sensei nodded gravely. "As Arbiter, I witness your demand. Nara Keiko, speak in your defence." He handed the staff reverently to Panjandrum, who passed it up to her.

    It might have gone poorly for the team, just then, had Inoue not given her a look of smug superiority that echoed the expression of every bully, whether student or teacher, that had tormented Kei during her Academy days. "There is nothing you can do to defend yourself," it said. "Not only am I stronger than you, but everyone is on my side. I am morally right to hurt you, and you are morally wrong to resist."

    Kei possessed deep wells of anger still untapped from her childhood. Deep wells of anger that would, in all likelihood, remain untapped, since there existed only one Hidden Rock, and nothing else at hand that deserved the absolute totality of destruction she would be compelled to unleash. How fortunate, then, that Inoue had reached into one of those wells of her own accord.

    "Fine words to hear from a shameless liar," Kei began, speaking every word with a clarity to reach every listener in Isan. "You would call the Pangolins, your people's heroes, liars when they speak truths that are inconvenient to you? You would cling to the words of Azai Shūsuke, the greatest liar in Isan, over theirs? How pathetic is it when the Loremaster is willing to cast away the purpose of her existence, the preservation of Ui's truths, and claim that the greatest warriors of the Seventh Path are mere puppets dancing on my strings? Tell me, Panjandrum, whose claws have bathed in the blood of a thousand foes, do you feel like my puppet?"

    Panjandrum's laugh, deep and scornful, echoed through the minds of everyone in the shrine as his only response. Ninja began to exchange uncertain looks.

    "You are not only a liar, Inoue Rika," Kei continued. "You are also a coward. For where were these accusations at the crucial moment, when Azai's body lay bleeding before you and the Pangolins stood ready to dismiss your claims? No, you dared not present your case until you believed I was dead. I have precious little to say in Azai's favour, but at least he was not too craven, at the end, to challenge his enemy to her face. That you should seek to lead Isan after this sham of a performance would be laughable were I not filled with sorrow at a village so traumatised that it would recognise you as a candidate in the first place."

    She could hear whispers along the lines of "She has a point", and a few quiet arguments breaking out, but nobody was willing to interrupt the Pangolin Summoner and incur the wrath of her escort.

    "But no, how could I forget? You are not only a liar and a coward. You are also an imbecile, Inoue Rika. You sent a so-called honour guard to assassinate me. Did you forget what happened the last time you attempted as much? How many of your clan, and of your allied clans, did you order to their deaths back then? How many would you have ordered to their deaths this time had we not been merciful? And to what end?

    "Do you imagine that our power is more than a fraction of what Leaf can bring to bear? We are diplomats. Most civilised countries see the slaying of diplomats as an act of war. Can you even conceive of how much destruction you nearly brought upon your own people?"

    "Enough, Nara Keiko." Takahashi-sensei did not raise his voice by much, but it carried. "Your task was to speak in your own defence, not to cast threats at this village while standing in the middle of its holiest shrine.

    "We have heard from both the Blade and the Rod. It is time to vote. Are the foreigners guilty of the murder of Azai Shūsuke, and therefore to receive the proper punishment of execution?"

    With a stab of panic, Kei realised that Takahashi-sensei had cut her off before she could complete her character assassination of Inoue—which was critical since it was the core of her defence against the accusations of murder, now that they had decided not to pursue "instrumental blasphemy" by pushing the Ui's Will angle.

    There was a pregnant silence within the shrine. Isan's rulership was presently unclear. The Inoue had claimed the right to lead, but they had not yet received public assent from the other clan heads. Thus, people looked around in confusion, uncertain whom Takahashi-sensei was addressing.

    Takahashi-sensei did not force them to wait long.

    "Elder Inoue."

    Inoue's smirk returned. "I, Rika, sent by the Inoue to speak for the ancestors, vote yes."

    Takahashi-sensei had instructed Kei to adapt to the situation, and to avoid at all costs either violence or direct defiance of Isan's customs. She trusted him. He had matters under control. He would not betray her, no matter how dangerous the situation was becoming.

    "Elder Yoshida."

    Yoshida studied both of them thoughtfully. "I, Tsukiko, sent by the Yoshida to speak for the sealcrafters, vote… no."

    "Elder Azai."

    "I, Rindō, sent by the Azai to speak for the beastmasters, vote yes." There was hatred in Azai's eyes, burning bright and unmistakeable. Even the tapir at his side seemed to be glaring at her balefully.

    "Elder Aida."

    "I, Rin, sent by the Aida to speak for"—her voice shook a little—"the scroll guardians, vote yes."

    "Elder Kannagi."

    Kannagi's eyes moved between Kei and Yuno (riding Pangaya's shoulder with delight, at least until now) several times. Finally, his expression firmed. "I, Yoshirō, sent by the Kannagi to speak for the weaponmasters, vote…"—he took a slow breath in—"no."

    Kei could hear a few suspicious mutters from the otherwise silent audience, but Kannagi did not elaborate.

    Five out of six. Of course, Azai Shūsuke, holder of the seventh seat in the old council, was dead. But with an even number, even after Takahashi-sensei voted no, they would still be tied.

    "Elder Murasaki."

    Everything clicked into place.

    This was why Takahashi-sensei had demanded a Takahashi monopoly on medical ninjutsu trade with Isan as a condition for his support in the final showdown. It was not something Kei had the authority to promise, or the time to have Hazō consult Asuma about, but they needed Takahashi-sensei, and could not afford to give Inoue time to solidify her power. Kei would make it happen, one way or another, and at worst she could point Tsunade at the Takahashi and have them complete their negotiations with the woman whose definition of "compromise" was "I get what I want, and maybe give you something you want before I leave."

    Murasaki looked surprised for only a second. Kei could not be certain whether he was truly surprised, pretending in order to conceal collusion, or surprised by something good that he had been promised actually happening (a feeling Kei knew intimately these days).

    "I, Ganta, sent by the Murasaki to speak for the healers, vote no."

    And that was that. Simple. Elegant. Takahashi-sensei had simultaneously instituted the power structure of his choice and ensured Kei and Yuno were formally declared innocent, both in the presence and with the passive approval of the entirety of Isan.

    "I, Saburō, sent by the Takahashi to speak for the ninjutsu wielders, vote yes."

    -o-​

    Kei reeled. It was impossible. Unthinkable. Inconceivable. Had Takahashi-sensei truly betrayed her? Was he being blackmailed? Coerced? A doppelganger? Possessed by Ui's Will, which had taken exception to her blasphemy? Perhaps this was all a genjutsu, a test from Mari prior to the main event? But she had dispelled immediately before setting out!

    "Finally." Inoue gave a grin to put any Hoshigaki to shame. "Seize them!"

    Kei's hand plunged into her seal pouch.

    "HOLD IT."

    Kei stopped in mid-activation, pulling back her chakra from her fingertip. Hope soared despite her best efforts.

    "I believe I am the Arbiter here," Takahashi-sensei said firmly. "Judgement is to be conducted according to the customs, or not at all."

    "Apologies, Arbiter." Inoue shrank back reluctantly.

    Takahashi-sensei paused for a few seconds while various shinobi sheepishly slid away weapons and held back overexcited tapirs.

    "There is a matter," he began, "which I believe must be addressed in Nara Keiko and Gōketsu Yuno's presence.

    "I am not a sophisticated man," he said calmly, "and struggle with complex puzzles. I confess I could not for the life of me explain how it is that the honour guard underwent an assault so devastating that their necessary counter completely destroyed the bodies, yet all emerged without the slightest sign of injury. I know my apprentice, adopted daughter of Leaf's explosives clan, better than this."

    Was it Kei's imagination, or was Inoue beginning to sweat?

    Probably her imagination. Kei could not see so much detail from this height. She allowed herself to imagine it anyway.

    "However, with Nara Keiko's testimony, everything has fallen into place," Takahashi-sensei continued. "Two murders occurred yesterday, save that it seems one did not take. In accordance to the vote just passed, the perpetrator of this assassination must also be given death, as must the clan head who gave them their orders, or at best failed to restrain them.

    "Inoue Rika, was it not your son Ryūen who led the honour guard last night?" he asked mildly.

    "What nonsense!" Inoue spat. "It was Aida Mochiaki!"

    Dead silence.

    Aida was the first to realise what had just happened, as her already pale face turned the perfect colour of winter.

    Inoue was the last, and her expression almost made the travails of the preceding month all worthwhile.

    With a single question, Takahashi-sensei had shattered the High Priest faction forever.

    Aida staggered back from Inoue. Azai took a pointed step away as well, in a different direction. The rest of the shinobi stared at Inoue, the woman who had been accused of gross cowardice and minutes later thrown her closest ally under the cart without hesitation in order to save her skin.

    In the background, a hooded figure crunched quietly on a honeyed nut.

    "I see," Takahashi-sensei said slowly. "Thank you for your candour, Inoue. Later, we will have to inquire into how you came to know this, but for now, we have greater concerns. Aida Rin, in accordance with the law, I sentence you and Aida Mochiaki to death alongside Gōketsu Yuno and Nara Keiko.

    "Will any speak for them before the sentence is executed?"

    Many ninja exchanged anxious looks. How different matters were when it was one of their own being punished for a terrible crime rather than an outsider. Kei hated it, but she could understand why her own sentencing had come first.

    "Arbiter," Yoshida spoke up. "Aida Rin served this village well for many years before this lapse in judgement. Mochiaki is also known to us all as a young man of upright character and great loyalty to the village. Though their crimes are beyond forgiveness, this time, too, they acted not for themselves, but for the village's sake. I propose mercy. With the village's secret now lost, for the first time we have the option of banishment instead of execution."

    Takahashi-sensei spent perhaps half a minute deep in thought.

    "Loremaster, do the teachings forbid this?"

    "No," Inoue said with relief. "No, they do not."

    "Do any of those who have voted object to this act of mercy?"

    None did.

    "Then, as I cannot bestow two different punishments for the same crime, I sentence all four of you to banishment from the village of Isan, and surrender of all authority over those within. Rin, you have forfeited leadership of the Aida. Nara Keiko, you have forfeited the title of Akio's Chosen. I grant you a day and a night to settle your affairs, as Ui granted Kiba the Long-Toothed a day and a night during the Trial of the Inuzuka. In the morning, after your departure, we will hold funeral rites over four urns, and if ever you enter the borders of Isan, those urns will be filled."

    Kei's mind was blank. Was this victory or defeat?

    "Aida Isshin," Takahashi-sensei spoke into the silence. "You are the head of the Aida now. Your mother has twice shamed the Aida by sending her clansmen to kill against the will of the village. She has twice shamed the Aida by failing in that attempt despite an overwhelming advantage. She has twice shamed the Aida by failing to protect the one charge that had been entrusted to her.

    "Do you swear to redeem the Aida from her legacy of failure?"

    Isshin, a serious young man with a sharp gaze and an unfortunate green outfit that even Kei could tell did not suit him, looked fiercely at Takahashi-sensei. "Of course I do."

    "Then I offer you alliance with the Takahashi in the name of a new purpose. Rather than guardians of the scroll, which has been taken from us, or guardians of Azai Shūsuke, who is dead, will you and the Aida join us as guardians of Isan, which can and must endure forever, and protect us from those in the outside world who would offer us violence?"

    Takahashi-sensei and Isshin locked gazes. It was Takahashi-sensei's trap for Inoue that had led to Aida being exposed and punished for her crime. It was also Takahashi-sensei who was offering the Aida a purpose after they had once again lost theirs and were still reeling from a crippling blow to their morale. And it was him offering them an alliance after they had just become political poison second only to the Inoue.

    "Shiina," Takahashi-sensei said softly but clearly, "I give you permission to look him in the eye."

    Without thinking, Isshin glanced away, at Shiina, and from his expression Kei could tell it was the deathblow.

    And with that, Takahashi-sensei owned the Aida. He owned the Murasaki. He was, if not allied with the Yoshida, then certainly on the same page. That was already a majority in the ruling council he had selected. And of the remainder, the Inoue were broken, the Azai were directionless, and the Kannagi were in an even worse position than before, with Yuno convicted of murdering the village leader.

    Oh, and Kei had been stripped of her power to challenge his authority.

    Takahashi-sensei turned to her, and gave her the smile of a very, very patient man.

    -o-​

    It was the last dawn they would watch from Isan's mountainous heights.

    To Kei's left, Mari seethed as she had been doing for nearly twenty-four hours straight. To her right, Noburi adjusted the straps on his barrel as before a long run. To his right, Yuno stared at the village with an expression Kei would not be able to read if she lived to be a thousand. Satsuko was nestled comfortably in her hands—for all that the axe was both clan property and a village treasure, nobody had attempted to take her from the girl who had killed an alpha tapir and a senior shinobi in under half a minute with pure weapon mastery.

    And in front of her stood Takahashi-sensei, alone.

    "I apologise for making you believe your lives were in danger," he said, in his usual even, thoughtful voice. "You have saved Isan from the dark path it was on, and with your aid I was able to do what I believe to be best for the village.

    "I do not imagine you are best pleased to be banished from another village, even if this time it is for crimes you have in fact committed. However, I believe this, too, to be necessary for Isan. Now that our bonds have been severed, Keiko, we can finally deal with each other as equals. I am no longer your instructor and you are no longer my divinity. We are simply two people who will cooperate to ensure Isan's welfare in this new age, assuming you are ready to keep your promise."

    "Of course I am, Takahashi-sensei." Kei had never conceived of herself as a divinity, only as a foolish girl who had twisted a village's destiny beyond recognition in her selfish quest for power. Now, she had twisted it further, and created a ruler with nearly as much power as the High Priest, and far more subtlety. She could only pray her judgement was not as hopelessly flawed as Hazō claimed.

    Takahashi-sensei shook his head. "It's Elder Takahashi now. To you, perhaps someday less."

    Kei gathered her courage, to the very limits available to her. She had never chosen to be responsible for the fates of multitudes. She, who could not even protect a single girlfriend, was far from equal to the task. But the task was here. She could not refuse it or abandon it. If the Kei they deserved did not exist anywhere, then, just for now, she would pretend she did.

    "Elder Takahashi, I believe in you. I believe that between us we can make Isan the place it has the potential to be. But please be careful on your path. If ever your power swallows you, and you become a tyrant like the one we just deposed, even banished I will find a way to protect Isan from you."

    Rather than displaying appropriate anger or offence, Elder Takahashi chuckled. "I always suspected Ui Isas did not choose you to be the Pangolin Summoner, Keiko. He chose you for something more."

    He looked up so that his gaze encompassed the entire team. "In a week's time, the Village Council will vote on the Isan-Leaf alliance. Expect our proposal before the month is out. I apologise for everything you have endured at my people's hands and mine, and thank you for what you have done."

    He bowed deep. Kei bowed back, though the others didn't.

    And then, the Isan team went home.

    -o-​

    You have received 3 + 1 + 1 = 5 XP. Fun-to-write XP included.

    -o-​

    What do you do?

    Voting closes on Saturday 3rd of July, 1 p.m. New York time.
     
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    • Fun fact: in Japanese, four is the number associated with death. Also, this update came out at 4444 words almost naturally (per the SV counter).
     
    So let's toss "[] Interlude: The Pangolin Concert" onto the interlude pile. There was time to perform in the day and a night before we left, right?
     
    SC Math for Chapter 444:
    @eaglejarl, @Velorien
    With Hazou 70% dead and Keiko casually restructuring a country, only Akane continues to FOOM. By the SOP, she is training for 6 training blocks. With 3 base XP, the SC payouts are:
    • Akane: +1.8 XP (3 x0.6)
    All previous payouts are accounted for.
     
    - Everyone emotionally compromised and dislikes each other
    - Mari either became further insane or more sane than everyone else
    - Banished from Isan
    - Just installed a new dictator essentially
    - Made several assurances to Isan clans we may not be able to deliver on

    Yep, sounds like a typical win for us alright
     
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