Voting is open for the next 19 hours, 23 minutes
@FaintlySorcerous I have a strong preference against aiming for Hazou combat readiness, especially at the cost of S-Rank time and effort when war has just broken out. Even at peak power we are still not a reasonable field asset, being far too valuable a target for our skill level. (whoever captures us gets the Dog Summon Scroll, the chance to torture Shadow Clone out of us, any number of other state secrets, and weaknesses of key Leaf-nin like Naruto.)

The best case scenario is Asuma calls us an idiot for wasting his time. The worst case scenario is he somehow is bereft of his senses enough to agree. Consider my vote mutually exclusive with this course of action.
 
[X] Let's Win This Shit
Word Count: 298
  1. Dispel
  2. Get Hazō to Tower ASAP.
    1. Gōketsu ninja, stand by.
      1. Guard Wakahisa Fishkeeper.
      2. Gather all implosion seals, goo bombs, skywalkers, chakdars for Asuma.
  3. Meeting: keep quiet unless adding military value. Ideas:
    1. Summoning
      1. Returning from 7P allows instant undetectable ambushes.
      2. New summoners are targets without offensive capabilities of older Summoners. Alternatives:
        1. 7P Envoys allow instant communication, serve as logistics.
        2. Tower can fund emergency contracts?
        3. Subvert the weakness: Summoners as bait?
    2. Gōketsu
      1. (Only if prompted) Mari's an excellent support ninja. She knows where she's most effective.
        1. (Internally: TLitF lockdown + Shadow Clone = crowd destroyer)
      2. Noburi can refill Summoners with envoys in Toad.
        1. Could treat hospital patients and siphon chakra to Summoners.
        2. Could drain captured Rock ninja, but needs dedicated guards.
          1. Contract a Jōnin Toad with emergency funds?
          2. Alternatively, could wait on 7P to reverse summon to frontline squads.
      3. Kagome's a cryptographer. Hazō's best as logistics, unless he could be healed quicker...?
        1. Both can make skywalkers.
      4. Injured ninja can be messengers/scouts.
      5. Otherwise… Gōketsu could be frontliners...
    3. General
      1. Does Rock have skywalkers? Allies?
        1. Why are they bold and not covert? Something's weird.
      2. (Privately to Asuma) Gōketsu specials:
        1. Coordinated attack with skytowers?
          1. Thousands (or 100x with Noburi) of pounds of stone.
          2. Timed explosives + any storage seal payload (molten lead + water?)
          3. Heavier-than-air toxic gas, or flammable gas to explode the caverns.
        2. Chakdar to watch our air and ground?
          1. 5SB nets protect from kinetic bombardment, not firebombing.
        3. Dam rivers with MEW to direct water away from Earth settlements. Hazō dislikes this idea:
          1. Hurts civilians more than ninja, but could pull ninja attention away from front lines: then civilians survive but Rock manpower decreases.
  4. Kei
    1. On 7P: discuss arranging for Naruto to learn Ghost Scales to improve clone survivability.
      1. Only if Kei approves/Naruto swears secrecy.
      2. Could ask Tower for resources to pay Pangolins.
 
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@FaintlySorcerous I have a strong preference against aiming for Hazou combat readiness, especially at the cost of S-Rank time and effort when war has just broken out. Even at peak power we are still not a reasonable field asset, being far too valuable a target for our skill level. (whoever captures us gets the Dog Summon Scroll, the chance to torture Shadow Clone out of us, any number of other state secrets, and weaknesses of key Leaf-nin like Naruto.)

The best case scenario is Asuma calls us an idiot for wasting his time. The worst case scenario is he somehow is bereft of his senses enough to agree. Consider my vote mutually exclusive with this course of action.
This aligns with my preferences.
 
Remember all those plans we couldn't use against Rock because of fear of starting a war against them? We can use them now right?

Besides the varieties of nukes, we can crash Rock's economy, inflict famine, and drive chakra beasts to their borders. Flood the market with Rock's primary exports to their resources worthless. Or pretend to be Rock and steal resources from neighboring regions to sour Rock's trade relations! Depending on geography we could even poison water sources, or destroy Rock's ecosystems by importing invasive species and selectively killing off key plants!

We just need to make sure it's all still Uplift...
 
I think that sitting down with Asuma if/when we can get Naruto Ghost Scales is important. 'We are empowering a village asset but need this to remain under strict OPSEC because we're providing a clan secret to someone outside of the clan, also we need help negotiating for it' is the sort of conversation you want to have with the Hokage. Naruto is going to need to have a private conversation with him about it if we can pull it off - at least, I pray that he isn't simply going to announce to the world that his clones have armour jutsu.

Asuma isn't going to care that we give a clan secret away. That's our business.

Jiraiya's point was that it's a powerful technique that a genin can use, GS isn't a strict secret itself or else he would have stopped us from using it during the exams in the first place:

Jiraiya nodded at the expression on Hazō's face. "You just showed the entire world that you know a powerful armour technique even a genin can use. That shouldn't be possible."

(We were combining two jutsu anyway, but that's not really the point)

Armour jutsu is rare not unknown, here is actually another genin with a similar trick:

"I'm Ikemoto Sō. I use taijutsu, and I have a hedgehog jutsu that wraps me in chakra-construct needles. It's nearly impossible to punch me without sticking yourself, but when I punch you, you end up looking like a pincushion."

and Naruto should have Jiraiya's armour technique anyway:

"Needle Jizō."

Jiraiya's hair lengthened with blurring speed, fully encasing him before the kunai and the explosive tag attached to it could reach him. The moment the explosion cleared, the hair swirled away and Jiraiya walked forward calmly.

People also need to yell the name of the technique:
"Pangolin Clan Technique: Ghost Scales."
So Naruto is going to reveal it if he uses it against Rock.

I think that the Pangolins probably feel that the relative value of PCJ and GS are wildly different so the situations aren't analogous - moreover, the folks they were negotiating with were jonin, who probably have more to offer the Pangolins than Goketsu. If Keiko disagrees, then excellent, let's ply Pandaa with copies of Human Path books and get the jutsu out of him. If not, then we need to have a serious conversation involving major players because GS has geopolitical implications beyond this conflict - at least, we need to send out an invite.

The two jonin got the technique because they helped getting the Condor scroll. No idea why Naruto didn't get it, maybe nobody told him that SC's can have it. Keiko and Ami aren't perfect.

I would also say that we all do have value for them:

Goketsu sold them Skytowers, Hazou created the trade network, talked to the other Leaf summoners himself and the Pangolin are profiting from it and Noburi is their allies summoner. Without Naruto the Condor scroll wouldn't be in Leaf and being on good terms with the nine-tails host is always a good idea.

One reason they might not agree is because Hazou took the blame for ending the Skytower deal without warning, that doesn't make us look good. But my point about the trading network was that we should try to convince them that helping Leaf winning this war as quickly and effective as possible without huge loses is in their own best interest. Can't have trade when the summoners are all on combat missions.

And GS doesn't have huge geopolitical implications. It's a pretty cool jutsu (or jutsu combination with PTJ), but it doesn't make anyone unkillable. Naruto is still going to be weak against genjutsu or sound based attacks for example.

It's also weak against lightning jutsu.

Uhhh the implication there was that he was kidnapping and then experimenting and murdering those people, not treating them medically. If he wanted to do that he could have gone to the hospital.

I doubt Orochimaru just killed all of them, that would be to obvious and Tsunade would be pretty pissed. And I assume that it's against Orochimaru personal pride, to fail. He is offically:

Chief Surgeon Orochimaru.

Having a 100% death record sounds like failing to me.
 
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This was during the Chuunin exams when everyone was showing off their skills. Yuno didn't need to yell "PANGOLIN CLAN TECHNIQUE: PANGOLIN CONDITIONING JUTSU" when she used it during her fight with the High Priest, did she?

You have to meditate for 10 minutes and then it's active. The Yamanaka technique probably also doesn't need yelling.

But I think most other techniques need it.

Blame the Sage, works for Kagome.
 
Sorry, Honami, Hazou thought. He ran through a series of handseals and emptied his chakra coils into the most powerful Multiple Earth Wall jutsu he could manage. The instant it was complete he grabbed Inoue-sensei and flung them both backwards towards the bed.
Seems like you don't always need to?

Still, not a huge deal even if you do
 
I'm pretty sure it was said in the early days of the quest that you didn't have to because that's a Nort Original Vintage (tm) silliness.
 
So, the best plan that comes to mind is:

Use well established Summoner (Asuma,Tsunade) / Clans emotinally attached to Leaf (Toads, Turtles,Dogs) to obtain a massive amount of summon contracts(One time deal for this emergency).
If that works and Summons can use Skywalkers, we could have Naruto SCs leading Summons squads(Thanks to Noburi) against Rock's offensive: we're talking about no sensitive assets(Basically just chakra) that moves according to a pseudo hivemind(Naruto Network) effortlessly outmanouvering any enemy in combat area, with the combat skills of Summons/Naruto clones.
It would need a core team made by Naruto Prime(SC distance limitations), Ninjas as chakra battery,hunting parties for Chakra beasts and the Summoners that must well protected, but it's a plan that could crush Rock with no casualties if it works.
Is it possible?
 
Rock is attacking, sir! All along the western border!

Well, it's happening. And to think, I almost put off reading this update due to business. My participation is brought to you by a backed up and struggling healthcare system.

I wonder what Gaku's Calligraphy level is.

Calligraphy is the god stat, and Gaku is the truest voice of the gods (QMs), so I'm guessing pretty high. Higher than ours, for sure.

I wonder how Hazō's family (or Gaku) will react to Hazō going from "this is not a priority at all" to "finding the 🐿 scroll should be the highest priority."

"Ah, not this again."
"F*CK you Hazou we're at war right now"
*Screaming*
"That seems a little... Nutty right now."

Additional information

At the start of the update, you can expect to receive the following news:

- Twelve chūnin and a jōnin had been lost to patrols over the last two weeks
- Messengers have just started coming in saying that Rock is taking out Leaf observation posts all along the border
- Estimates say 20-30 more ninja have been lost today, half of them chūnin, three of them Hyūga

27 chunin and a Jonin is a BIG portion of Leaf's power right now. Like, ~5-8%? Enough that this hurts much more than an opening salve so much as the start of an annihilation campaign. That many Hyuuga dying also is suspicious. Maybe Rock is just better at being stealthy? Idk.

Will vote for this if include asking Tsunade/Ino/Oro if their are ways to get Hazou field ready faster. As well as asking for resources from Asuma to get new summons for Hazou and Noburi

I'm against this for 2 reasons.

I think that offering to do whatever it takes to be combat-ready is a reasonable thing for us to do, and pursuing it actively is also a reasonable idea, but if Tsunade sits us down and says 'kid, I could get you on the front lines tomorrow but with the same resources I can do much, much more to make sure we aren't all eating gravel in a week, so while I appreciate the enthusiasm, get out of my goddamn hospital right fucking now' then that's just that.

That's one reason. That they both have MUCH more important things than getting someone at genin level back to chunin.

The second is that it implies that Tsunade and Ino haven't been doing their best to make us better, which sounds very suicidal and likely to be bad for rapport.

Honestly, coordinating home relief and cranking out seals is the best we can be doing right now, probably.


Also, we should have taught Naruto two updates ago. Now it's going to be much later than optimal.
 
So, the best plan that comes to mind is:

Use well established Summoner (Asuma,Tsunade) / Clans emotinally attached to Leaf (Toads, Turtles,Dogs) to obtain a massive amount of summon contracts(One time deal for this emergency).
If that works and Summons can use Skywalkers, we could have Naruto SCs leading Summons squads(Thanks to Noburi) against Rock's offensive: we're talking about no sensitive assets(Basically just chakra) that moves according to a pseudo hivemind(Naruto Network) effortlessly outmanouvering any enemy in combat area, with the combat skills of Summons/Naruto clones.
It would need a core team made by Naruto Prime(SC distance limitations), Ninjas as chakra battery,hunting parties for Chakra beasts and the Summoners that must well protected, but it's a plan that could crush Rock with no casualties if it works.
Is it possible?
Getting skywalkers for summons in a short time frame is not feasible imo. They have to learn how to use them which takes time, and they don't have shoes to attach the seal to so we'd need to make custom shoes for them

I'm also not sure how Naruto makes the strategy that much more viable given the relatively small radius of his clones.
 
Getting skywalkers for summons in a short time frame is not feasible imo

The Tower already has a stockpile of skywalkers for this exact moment, i feel the biggest problem would be convincing the Clans with such a short notice.

They have to learn how to use them which takes time, and they don't have shoes to attach the seal to so we'd need to make custom shoes for them

This is a problem, but if we can resolve it, we could stop Rock attack with zero casualties. And we would have the entirety of Leaf resources/jutsu to resolve it.
We could just propose it to Shikamaru before going to Asuma?

I'm also not sure how Naruto makes the strategy that much more viable given the relatively small radius of his clones.

Naruto makes the OODA Loop basically zero, giving the teams an unmatched intel and decision advantage on the enemy in the battle zone.
 
"I had another question, sir. What do you know about Mori Ami?"

Jiraiya grunted. "More than I'd like and less than I need to. The girl drives me mad."

"Mad how?"

"She's worse than That Woman," Jiraiya said. "She says all the right things, and makes all the right expressions, only she doesn't have the Iron Nerve and I still have no idea what her agenda is. I pray to the Will of Fire that she won't be Mizukage one day.

"What can I tell you? My instincts tell me she's manipulative as all hell, but she didn't try to manipulate me, at least not directly, so she's got survival instincts too. That or she's subtle enough that I missed it, and I've known Mari long enough to take nothing for granted. Girl's certainly slippery like a fish.

"You know what's worse? She's nothing like Keiko. I mean that. I still half-wonder if one of them was adopted. Even if it's a façade, she's warm and open and a smooth conversationalist, and she's confident enough for a one-on-one with a Kage who's pissed with her for hurting his daughter and trying to get valuable political information out of her at the same time. Also, either she thinks on her feet or she's crazy prepared. Knowing the Frozen Skein, I guess it's the latter, though nobody should be prepared for the damn Hokage turning up on their doorstep in the night.

"And she's nice. Nice and friendly and polite and there are times when you just want to put your hands around her neck and choke her and you can't pin down a reason why. And you probably shouldn't choke her because she's playing politics at the Kage level and has blackmail material on you and may or may not be representing a mystery third faction that will destabilise Mist if she dies. And when you try to negotiate with her one-on-one, she dances around the questions and acts like you have to earn her trust when she's just some upstart young jōnin who doesn't even have her clan's formal backing. I was promised a ninja without initiative!

"Ugh." Jiraiya shuddered. "If I never hear the name 'Mori Ami' again, it'll be too soon."

That… didn't exactly encourage Hazō in his self-inflicted quest to reconcile the two siblings. It certainly didn't encourage him to seek Jiraiya's advice on how to bring Ami further into their lives.

"Wait." He stopped despite Jiraiya's indication that it was time for him to go. "Blackmail material?!"

"Which you're about a thousand OPSEC ranks from hearing about. Now, was there anything else?"
Did we ever find out what this was?
 
[X] Let's Win This Shit
Have Atomu notify other Goketsu. Hazou's debriefing right after this.
Might I recommend Hazou have Gaku notify the other Gouketsu, and have Atomu arrange transport since Hazou is currently still crippled?
New Summoners won't have many contracts. Value of Scroll makes them liability rather than asset on front lines. Proposals:
Given the shortness of the World Wars, and the generally long time it takes for a Summoner to be trained + accepted + get contracts/jutsu, it doesn't seem quite accurate to call them a liability. Instead, maybe we could say that "They may not be worth sending out as front-line combatants"?
As to wars...what counts as a war? There's constant low-level poking at each other via raids, scouting one another's territory, espionage, etc. There haven't been any mass mobilizations where hundreds of ninja were sent out with orders to go kill the other guy.
*ahem* Rock attacking all along the western border is either an overexaggeration or there is something seriously fucky going on.
Did we ever find out what this was?
Likely that Ami had evidence that Mari killed her uncle, which is probably a Big Thing or something. Or at least it could be spun as one.
 
[X] Let's Win This Shit

Might I recommend Hazou have Gaku notify the other Gouketsu, and have Atomu arrange transport since Hazou is currently still crippled?

Given the shortness of the World Wars, and the generally long time it takes for a Summoner to be trained + accepted + get contracts/jutsu, it doesn't seem quite accurate to call them a liability. Instead, maybe we could say that "They may not be worth sending out as front-line combatants"?


*ahem* Rock attacking all along the western border is either an overexaggeration or there is something seriously fucky going on.

Likely that Ami had evidence that Mari killed her uncle, which is probably a Big Thing or something. Or at least it could be spun as one.
Implemented these suggestions
 
JIRAIYA: Holy shit Hazou you did it, you brought me back!
JIRAIYA:
JIRAIYA: wait, where is everyone else?
HAZOU: they're up next after you
JIRAIYA: :|
 
This brought to you by the essence of procrastination
"G'evening, Gaku," Hazō grunted, slumping into his chair.

"Good evening, sir. Tea and a snack are in the seal, as always. Difficult day?"

"Yeah. And a long day yesterday and not much sleep in between. Lunch with Yuno went well, at least." Also there had been another round of the nightmare highlights. The Sunset Racer exploding, a cascade of viscera and blood raining down around him, along with a dozen severed heads that stared at him. The world as it existed under Zabuza's aura: Demons tearing the skin and flesh from his body. The world as it existed under Orochimaru's aura: His body neatly separated, each part in its own neatly-labeled jar. The world as it existed b3h!nd ht3 |>a!|\|7 th.7 w4s th* w**ld loo|<ng @ the Gre*at S**L.

He shook his head, driving the thoughts away. He sighed. "I think it went well, anyway. Honestly, I can never be sure once the Isanese insanity starts getting involved. Those people are nucking futs."
Nucking futs is lovely and I'll be taking it. Also "The world as it existed behind the |>a!|\|7 that was the world looking at the Great Seal." any ideas what the unknown word is? I can't think of anything that makes grammatical sense and is seven letters long.
Gaku's face did not shift at all in response to the barely-obfuscated cursing. "Of course, sir. I gather she is on her way?"

"Left as soon as we finished, so she and Akane are probably to the coast by now." He sighed, missing his love already.

Gaku stayed carefully silent.

"Sorry," Hazō said, snapping back to the moment. He opened the seals and had some of the tea and a bite of the lightly-browned omelette with its gooey drippy cheese and coarse-chopped peppers. Not Kagome-sensei's preferred insanity peppers that would strip the surface of your tongue off, just regular bell peppers that added a nice crunch and a trace of tang. "Damn this is good."

"I'm glad you like it, sir."

"Right. Okay, let's see...things for my personal log." He forced himself to stop eating and wipe his mouth on the white linen napkin before continuing. He'd been spending enough time with Kagome-sensei that Hazō was having to remind himself about the existence of table manners.

"Ready, sir." Gaku's brush was wetted and poised.

Hazō shoveled in a couple more bites and then leaned back, ankles crossed on the desk and contemplated the ceiling as he arranged his personal thoughts and todo list.
I had a bad feeling about this when Yuno mentioned it last update, hopefully it is just a bunch of chakra beasts. The alternatives are bad. Also table manners are for those without anything better to do, I approve Hazou, live your truth.
"Category: Kagome-sensei," he began.

"Spoke to him yesterday after Yuno left, focus on the Dragons. Question 1: Started off by asking him about the aura that I felt from them and how it messed me up the same way that the Pangolin Scroll and the Great Seal did. Asked whether it implied that the Sage made the Dragons from the Out."

"How the heck should I know?" Kagome-sensei said, glowering. "You're the one who can wander over to Hokage Tower, saunter into his office, and ask him." Dismissive snort. "Of course, he'll just kill you and rewire your brain, or put a lupchanz in your ear, or..."

"Answer 1: He didn't know and had no way of getting the information.

"Question 2: Dragons were created to fight the Ten-Tails, which was split into the nine Tailed Beasts...sidebar, there was one Ten-Tails and now there are nine Beasts with a total of forty-five tails. What? Do all the Beasts have the same amount of power and they just distribute it across different numbers of tails? If so, did they each get one-and-one-ninth tails worth of power, or is there a tenth Beast that we don't know about? Where? If neither, then what happened to the tenth tail? Back on topic: The One-, Two-, and Three-Tailed beasts were caught in Pain's ritual. Could this destabilize the Seal? What if it's failing intentionally? A safety mechanism, in case of Tailed Bast fuckery?"

"Are you crazy? Why would you ask me about the Tailed Beasts?! If he hears you he'll be here with the lupchanzen in no time flat! I'm not even sure why he's waited this long!" He began striding around the room, arms flapping as the paranoia flowed.

"Answer 2: He didn't have any information to offer.
Never change Kagome-sensei
"Question 3: Jiraiya killed the Squirrel Summoner a while back. Kagome-sensei was the one who decoded Jiraiya's notes and I asked him if there had been any details about that. Surprisingly, there were."

Gaku's head came up. "Another Scroll, sir? Lord Jiraiya had details on another Scroll? Or...wait, he didn't have the Scroll itself, did he? With his power, I would assume—" He caught himself gushing and stopped, his face turning red with embarrassment. "My apologies, sir."

Hazō chuckled. "Don't worry about it. No, nothing that exciting. It was a journal entry relating the experience along with a few details we hadn't had. It lets us narrow the location down a bit, but it's still a couple hundred square miles to search. More importantly, it turns out that Jiraiya had a secret weakness."

"A weakness, sir?" Scholarly eyebrows rose. "I was always told that Lord Jiraiya was one of the most powerful ninja in the world."

"Oh, he was. No, this was the same weakness shared by all bachelors: Laundry day, the skipping thereof." He laughed and waggled a slip of paper that was yellowing with age. "This is an old storage seal that we really should get rid of soonish. It contains the clothes that Jiraiya was wearing at the time of the fight. According to the notes on the back he was covered in 'great gushing gobs of Squirrel Boy's blood, and maybe a couple drops of mine.' The Squirrel Summoner escaped into the woods and Jiraiya wanted to hire an Inuzuka tracker to help him track the guy down. Unfortunately, the whole reason that Jiraiya was there in the first place was as part of an initiative to prevent Mist from 'getting too stroppy.' Well, they'd been getting more so and once he got back to Leaf he was too busy for the next couple of years to go after the Scroll. By that point he figured that the trail was cold enough not to bother pursuing. He kept the clothes on his 'todo someday' list but never got around it."

"Ah. Pity, sir."

"I know, right? Well, we might take a swing at it just in case. It's possible that one of the Dog trackers can do something that the Inuzuka trackers couldn't. Still, not my highest priority." He shrugged and tossed the seal on the desk, then snorted in amusement. "Alternatively, maybe I'll stay busy forever and my successor to the Clan Head position will find this seal and think about going after it. Who knows, it might turn into a whole generational thing."

"Every family does need traditions, sir."

"Sure enough. Anyway, wrapping up the 'things I need to ask Kagome-sensei about' section.
Hopefully this is enough for the Dog-clan to go off of. Although I am pretty doubtful, maybe if we can get a really good tracker...
"Question 4: Nekkar, the boss of the Cat Clan, implied a greater threat than the Dragons. Kagome-sensei once said that the residents of the Seventh Path were human ninja, transformed and imprisoned by the Sage. Would that suggest that the 7th Path have other weapons, and would he know about those?" He shook his head, smiling slightly. "No progress was made during the conversation. Remind me to bring it up again at another time, but he needed to get to a lesson with Honoka so we had to cut things short." Also, Kagome-sensei had grabbed him and started shining a Jiraiya's Awesome Daybright Lantern Seal in his ears while peering far too closely.

"Noted, sir."

"Cool." He covered a yawn with his hand and winced when the movement pulled unpleasantly at his still not completely healed ribs. "Okay, last item: Step up the number of chakra-purchase missions we're posting. I need to dig a tunnel sixty miles or so across Spider territory and I'm going to be leaning on Noburi heavily for it."

"A tunnel, sir? If I may ask, why a tunnel and why so long?"

"It's the HOWS seals—Harumitsu's Outstanding Worldsaving Seals. They're basically just longer-lived lantern seals that need a lot more power. We're planting them all around the Great Seal in order to use up the chakra that it's leaking so the Seal itself doesn't erode as quickly. Problem is, there's a bunch of Dragons camped out on the top of the butte and there's only so many times that Kumokōgō can lure them away in order for me to sneak in there and replace the seals. I'm using the Tunnel Excavation Technique to dig a tunnel that lets me travel underground to the butte, then come up under the relevant locations. It should let me place the seals without being seen."

Gaku's brush swirled as he noted down the need for more missions. "They can be placed underground, sir?" he asked as he wrote.

"No—well, probably not. Even if they can, putting them on the surface would be better."

"That sounds risky sir. Doesn't the Tunnel Excavation Technique always produce a tunnel two arms across? It seems like that would be very visible to the very entities you are trying to avoid."

"Yes, it would be risky and yes, the technique does produce a two-arms-wide tunnel...roughly, anyway. How did you know?"

"With Lord Hokage's permission, I was briefed by the head of ANBU on all techniques available to Leaf. It is, after all, one of my key responsibilities to have available whatever information you might need."

Hazō eyed his secretary steadily, sipping his tea as he waited. Sadly, Gaku did not break. He continued smiling faintly and looking attentive.

"Gaku."

"Yes, m'lord?"

"How did you actually know?"

"I consulted with Madame Zaizen, sir. The fortune teller? Very knowledgeable woman."

Hazō couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. "Come on, give it up."

"Lord Noburi sought me out last night, sir, after you spoke with him. He asked me to arrange the extra chakra purchase missions because he wasn't certain you would remember."

"No respect," Hazō said, shaking his head. "He's a terrible brother."

"If I may ask, sir, how will you handle the issue? Surely the Dragons would notice such a large tunnel?"

"I'll tunnel to just below the surface and use the Stoneshaping technique to do the last little bit. Create holes just big enough to reach a hand through. Three or four should be enough. Not ideal, but sufficient."

"Very good, sir."

Hazō snorted, shaking his head in amusement at his Chancellor's games, and sipped his tea for a moment before going back to it.
This kinda seems difficult, last time we had to do 400+ seals IIRC, maybe if we use Living Roots we can minimize the chance of an accidental Dragon interactions.
"New category," he said. "The Seventh Path.

"Item 1: I asked Kumokōgō how the Dragons' aura felt to her. She couldn't really describe it, aside from rambling on with words like 'disconcerting', 'painful', and 'dizzying'. Make a note that when the other Bosses get there I need to see if they'll give me their impressions as well."

"Noted, sir."

"Okay, that's all I had. I need to go see Cannai in about an hour and then I'll be at the seal research facility working with Kagome-sensei on the dimensional seals, so we'll need to move quickly through whatever you've got. What's going on with those supply reports we were looking at yesterday? Is that cloth dealer cheating us?"

"Unclear but probably, sir. I've got a summary here, as well as a list of potential replacement vendors. If you'll turn your attention to page six..."

o-o-o-o​
"Good morning, sir. You look better."

"Thank you, Gaku. I feel better." Indeed, he had caught himself smiling. Yesterday had involved a few conversations and then the rest of the day was spent on actual seal research with Kagome-sensei. Not just seal research, but research on seals that would detect the rift to the afterlife through which perhaps they could eventually start retrieving people. Starting with Jiraiya, meaning that Hazō could eventually dump the Clan Head job back on him and focus on doing things that were actually fun.

"I take it you had a good day yesterday? Anything for the journal?"

"Indeed! This goes in the Seventh Path category." He pulled today's mug of tea out of the storage scroll Gaku had set out for him and sipped. His eyebrows rose at the smokiness and the faint tingle of mint.

"Weird mix," he said. "Weird but good."

"I'm glad you like it, sir. I acquired it from a peddler who came by to use the clinic yesterday. I have quite enjoyed it."

Hazō took another sip, then put his feet up on the desk. "Okay, let's see...let's have 'Cannai' as a subcategory from Seventh Path."

"I shall prep a new drawer, sir."

"I've been carefully avoiding asking how you keep all this stuff organized, you know."

"Drawers, sir. Many, many drawers. Also, lists of cross-references."

"You know it's easier to use—" He cut himself off as his brain caught up to the fact that Gaku could not use storage seals.

"I'm sure it is, sir. I, however, am quite happy with my drawers. Now, I believe you had some items related to Cannai?"

"Yes. Right. Item 1: Still no word on the Bear Scroll. Remind me to ask again next week."
Irritating that the QMs insist on simulating a world without convenient clues as to its construction scattered everywhere. This is seriously hampering our efforts to become God
"Of course, sir."

"Item 2: I shared with Cannai that idea about having all the bosses travel together across the continent to go help fight the Dragons. Let's just say it didn't go well."

o-o-o-o​
"...and that brings us around to an idea that Ami had for how to get the Crusade through Cat territory—"

"The Crusade?" Cannai asked, his ears pricking up.

"Right, I hadn't mentioned that. The idea was that all the Bosses go to Arachnid Territory to fight the Dragons, but they all agree that their people will jointly defend each other while they're away. If, for example, the Otters attacked the Toads, then the Monkeys, the Pangolins, and everyone else would all jump on the Otters. It should keep things stable."

Cannai frowned. "If I understand the explanation you gave me for the eastern land's geography, are not the Monkeys a thousand miles from the Otters? How can they provide any useful deterrent?"

"Uh, well..."

"Furthermore, if the xenophobic and militaristic Pangolins move to attack the Otters in support of this treaty, do they not leave themselves vulnerable to attack in the rear? Is the plan not vulnerable to false-image attacks, where one clan frames another?"

"Uh, well..."

Cannai gave a canine shrug. "It is not my concern. I am sure they will work it out. Will they be traveling in waves or taking different routes?"

"Waves? What?"

"The clan rulers. Remember, I previously told you that it might be difficult for them to travel together?"

"Right, of course." Actually, he had completely forgotten that. "Not sure, actually. Up to them, I guess? Anyway, I was talking with Ami—she's Keiko's sister and she's super smart. She suggested that crossing Cat Territory is going to be the big sticking point, and the way to do it would be for everyone to gather on the Cat border and then send in a messenger with tribute as thanks to the Cat Boss for allowing and ensuring safe passage through their territory. No single clan is going to go up against several bosses when there's a face-saving alternative." Hazō nodded, proud of his species.

Cannai frowned. "You are going to tell clan rulers to offer
tribute?"

Alarm bells began ringing in his head. "Uh, well..."

"Tell me, Hazō, did you plan to recruit me into this Crusade of yours? The one where I would be expected to offer
tribute to the Cats?"

"Uh, well..." Abort! Abort! "I think I misspoke. When I said 'tribute' what I actually meant was 'hostess gift'. It's a custom that humans have. When you go to visit someone that you don't know well, you bring a small gift as a gesture of appreciation for being invited into their home. The Cats either have to accept the gift and implicitly grant permission to enter, or they have to give the gift back and offend all those Clan Heads."

"I see. So you're saying that on the Human Path someone can force you to pay them tribute simply by inviting you into their home?"

"Uh, well..."

"I take it this is done as a method of demonstrating one's superiority? Something like when the older children force the younger away from the food until they are finished?"
Sigh, I guess the Clans are too xenophobic to consider a strategy like that. I suppose they don't bother with a ton of diplomacy in the day-to-day. Chalk one up for Ami having a good idea of human diplomacy but not understanding the Seventh Path.
"Uh, well...hey, speaking of abrupt segues, I wanted to ask: We have a line on the Squirrel Summoning contract but it's lost in the woods somewhere. Do you have any trackers who could help us find it?"

"Canvass cannot do it for you?"

Hazō shook his head. "I spoke to her earlier. I told her that we looked around for her ancestor's pack and couldn't find them without more information."

"A shame. You are free to ask around among our other trackers."

"Okay, thank you. Um, about the bison...those were a huge help and I'm very grateful. A lot of people have been eating better than ever before because of them. I was wondering what I could offer that would make it worthwhile for you to keep supplying us?"

Cannai considered, massive head cocked in thought. "I personally have no interest but you are free to look for individuals who wish to trade with you. Perhaps you could work out an arrangement where they buy passage to the Human Path in exchange for meat? You would need to have interesting activities for them to pursue. Some sort of visitors program, perhaps."

That was going to be full of exhausting skull-sweat, Hazō could just feel it.

"Thank you, I appreciate the suggestion."
I like Cannai's distribution of authority into packs, I would far prefer to live as a Dog than a Pangolin. But it does make getting contracts a tad more difficult than Keiko, since Pantsaa can just order Pangolins to contract with her. OTOH I would much rather be friends with Cannai, and if you look a what he did for the famine in Leaf I think we come out vastly ahead.
"Good morning, My Lord."

"Morning Gaku...oh, hey, sushi. How did you know I was in the mood for sushi?"

"Madame Zaizen sacrificed a pig, My Lord. Its entrails fell in the shape of a nigiri."

"Uh-huh." He glowered expectantly at his Chancellor who maintained a frustrating level of calm.

"Okay, Gaku. That's enough. How did you actually know?"

"A good Chancellor never tells his secrets, My Lord."

"That's magicians. Fess up."

"Pure luck, sir. I simply took the one on top of the pile in the cafeteria."
Gaku/Hazou interactions never fail to put a smile on my face.
Hazō snorted. "Right. Okay, well, we've got some exciting news."

"Very good, sir. What is the news?"

"I talked to Asuma last night, and the Conclave is still not finished."

Gaku looked up from his notes in surprise. "Ah. So, when you said 'exciting' you were in fact being sarcastic, sir?"

"Indeed. Pantsā is provisionally willing to help but Nezuni and Hyōtauni, the reps for Rat and Leopard, aren't willing to let anyone pass through their land. Enma thinks it might just be a bargaining position, but they're sticking to it hard. Without passing through those lands everyone would need to go north to get around the mountains instead of immediately heading west, and they'd need to pass through Hyena Territory. No one trusts those guys."

Gaku pursed his lips. "Would Turtle be feasible, sir? From what I recall of the map you showed me they have an excellent river network and are able to provide water transport easily."

Hazō shrugged. "It would have been nice, but they didn't attend. I don't know if they weren't willing to go because it was being held in Pangolin or just wouldn't have gone regardless. Still, we got Monkey, Pangolin, Condor, Toad, Otter, Rat, and Leopard. That's more than I expected."

"Not Porcupine, sir?"

"No, and not Slug or Snake either, although I'm not sure if anyone got Orochimaru to pitch it to them.

"In better news, the Toads sent Fukasaku and Shima, the two Toad Sages, so at least they're taking it seriously. Unfortunately, Enma says that they're more interested in negotiating for pipeweed and booze than forming the Crusade. And Condone is still too afraid to speak up because she thinks that if she says anything wrong then Pantsā might murder her and swap in another administrator for Condor Territory."
This actually sounds a little bit like some of what I've heard about big diplomatic summits IRL like the Congress of Vienna. Love that EJ can capture that feeling with so few words, possibly unintentionally.
"Oh, dear. That sounds—" He broke off at the sound of feet pounding down the hall.

"My Lord Gōketsu!" the messenger painted, bursting in the door of Hazō's office with Atomu immediately behind him. "The Hokage summons you, sir!" The boy was ten, perhaps eleven, clad in the grey of civilian service with the gold ribbon of the Hokage's personal messengers tied around his left arm and the blue of the messenger corps around his right.

Hazō was immediately on his feet, cane in hand. (Graduating from the crutches to the cane had been a wonderful day.) "Gaku, we'll finish this later." He turned to the messenger. "What's going on? You can speak in front of these people."

"Rock is attacking, sir! All along the western border!"
OH FUCK
Shit is about to get real, and Akane and Yuno are in the middle of the meatgrinder.
The good thing is that if we can make it through the war, we can probably make S-Rank. If

EDIT: I also really wanted to see if 5SB'd silk and implosion seals had any effect on the Dragons. Oh well
 
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"Suuuure you wouldn't. Anyway. Lots of good stuff on the Seventh Path. Canso got to Bear Territory a week ago and yesterday evening she got a meeting with their ruler and several of his advisors. She asked about their Scroll and if they want a Summoner. Kumafuwafuwa, the Bear Lord, said 'Yeah, that would be cool. I'll check on where it last was and get back to you.' When she asked them if they wanted in on the trade network one of the advisors said 'Hey, cool! Thanks, little dude.' She then had to explain that she was a girl, a mistake which apparently the other bears found very funny and mocked the speaker for. The bear in question apologized once everyone else quieted down and let him get a word in edgewise." He chuckled. "Anyway, here's a list of things the Bears have to offer, please pass it around to the other Summoners and have them send me an updated list of what their Clans are offering. Maybe we can find a match."
@eaglejarl @Velorien It's been ~2 weeks since this, have the Bears given a response?
 
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