Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

faflec · Nov 28, 2021

Black King said:
A thought, but can you train a stat without XP? Like if Hazo straps 2 ton weights to his body and trains with them, does his strength/speed/athletics raise? Or is it more XP in general?

Or if he does chakra reserve training (expending it constantly and having Noburi fill him up), does his CR go up? Or is it again, just XP?

The mechanics (XP gain et al) serve to simulate the narrative (Hazo training with 2T weights).

Icehawk78 · Nov 28, 2021

roobee said:
Keeping secrets from family is bad.

Strong disagree, keeping secrets that are harmful is bad. Sharing things that you know would hurt them to hear is bad. Radical honesty is an idealistic pipe dream that is borderline abusive when employed in reality.

Halberdier · Nov 28, 2021

Followed the link from about ago about beating downfall, and reread all of chunin exam part 5. It was as glorious as I remembered. Some highlights from a reread perspective.

eaglejarl said:
The glowing shell of the Ghost Scales jutsu left Hazō looking like a human boy trapped inside a vaguely luminescent outline of a pangolin;

Anyone else play magic the gathering? There's a series of Umbras that this reminds me of. If I have a lot of spare spoons in December, I may even try to mock up a homemade fake card of a Pangolin Umbra

Velorien said:
Me? Please. Like I'd exploit my BFF for tactical advantage, and Shikamaru can go fuck himself if he starts getting any ideas. Besides, Yamanaka Ino here. You think I need insider info to have Gōketsu wrapped around my little finger

This is now very topical, especially with the latest update.

Velorien said:
Noburi, Water Whip + Hōzuki's Mantle (+1/3 of Water Whip) + Pantokrator's Hammer (1 tag on 'Power of the Pangolin') + tag 'Flat-Footed' + tag 'Deafened': 78

These are some baller numbers. Too bad we haven't been rolling big combat like that since, but that's "make a Jonin actually put resources into not getting hit" rolls. This really makes me feel less bad about wanting Noburi to focus on medicine for a bit. But, also has me really wanting Sage Mode Water God Noburi.

Velorien said:
Incredibly, I've gotten tired of writing punching. We'll assume that the other two bases have been demolished and call it a night. It's cost you an enormous number of explosives, but it's left a pretty epic message behind

I briefly thought Eaglejarl had said this, and had a whole existential crisis planned.

eaglejarl said:
"So that's what you're facing," Noburi said. "A base built by a trio of former missing-nin who made the wilderness their bitch for two straight years."

"Reinforced by a sealmaster," Hazō added.

"And surrounded by monsters from beyond time and space, who tossed you around like children's toys last time."

"Face it," Hazō said. "None of you are good enough to beat us. If you're too cowardly to face that truth, feel free to come at us again. We've got plenty of tea, and the sound of idiots running into the perimeter is very relaxing."

The room was utterly silent as Clan Gōketsu sauntered the length of the table, jumped down, and left the room.

The reverse psychology thing should work here, but really y'all just seem mean

eaglejarl said:
This was your Red Team," Yamanaka said, gesturing to the bodies draped over Akimichi's massive shoulders. "We're here to pick up seals and pangolins so that we can go take out everyone else."

Hazō and Noburi exchanged looks. "What happened to organizing the massive assault?" Noburi asked.

"Much too troublesome," Nara sighed. "We only discussed it in front of your teammates to ensure that it wouldn't happen. And to ensure that everyone would be too paranoid to work together, even on their own teams. Now, the pangolins, please? We need to go capture the rest of your prisoners."

I'm so glad Shika is solidly in our corner and not planning around us (normally) anymore.

Now to recent updates. Also, this is me pre-committing I won't post any more reactions until I actually properly engage in plan discussion, because I've become bad for that.

Velorien said:
The mistress of infiltration who could memorise a dozen people's names, appearances, and mannerisms in the blink of an eye should not have been having more trouble than Kagome when it came to the Keiko-Kei conversion. Also, while he couldn't swear to it, he was pretty sure that in Mari's more unguarded moments he'd caught a subtle undercurrent of anger when she used the name. If Mari's decision to sacrifice Kei instead of him (or instead of a better option) had been even 1% determined by a grudge, that was a thing Noburi could never forgive. It was lucky that he'd probably never know.

I definitely think this is Mari projecting her own Mari/Mariko transition onto Kei, despite it being very different in nature.

Velorien said:
No, forget Mari, who'd put herself on the line to make it all work out in the end. Where had Noburi been, obliviously playing games while around the corner, his best friend and brother was being crushed into submission, one of the most precious people in the world was being lined up for murder, and the woman who'd kidnapped him from a life of mediocrity and into a life of infinite possibilities was being psychically ripped to pieces? Maybe she'd been right to overlook him. Who cared about besieging fortresses when he couldn't even protect his own family?

Even in the aftermath, all Noburi could do was sit at home and look after Mari while Hazō and the geniuses went off to save the day with brilliant political manoeuvres he wasn't cleared to know about.

But not the point. Noburi would bounce back. He always did.

Yikes! The unfair burden of heroic responsibility. This totally wasn't his fault, and he really had little way to know what was up. Poor nobs.

Velorien said:
Hazō's own contribution, and he was moved by the fact that past-Noburi had trusted him to be in Asuma's good books at the right time rather than teetering on the edge of the killbox, was to burn some capital to buy special Hokage dispensation for "a dramatic recreation for the purposes of cultural exchange", or more precisely a blatantly pagan ritual that would give Hagoromo Ritsuo conniptions

See, THIS is the kind of trust that's very sweet, but exactly how we told Kei not to trust us before.

Velorien said:
It's great to meet you, Lord Gōketsu," Kichi Gai said with a beaming smile nearly worthy of his namesake. "I love what you've done with the place. The whole granite thing? Very modern. My name's Kichi Gai—I mean, you just heard that, but any good thing is worth saying twice."

"It's good to meet you too, Kichi," Hazō said. "So I take it you know Kei as well?"

"Kei? Oh, you mean Lady Nara. Sure do." Kichi's smile narrowed a little, but that just meant it returned to what Hazō considered the normal spectrum. "I work with her sister on the Final Gift Programme as Chief Procurement Officer. Nothing like not getting kidnapped and vivisected to motivate you to give back to the community, am I right?"

"Tell me about it," Hazō muttered.

"Sorry, didn't catch that."

"I said, what does a Chief Procurement Officer do?"

"Oh, it's not as big a deal as it sounds," Kichi said with a dismissive swipe of his hand. "Sometimes you get a ninja who could really benefit from signing up for the Programme, but they're afraid of pain—and who can blame them?—or they have religious compunctions or what have you, and they just need a bit of guidance to encourage them to take that last step."

Hazō felt a chill go down his spine. "And… Ami's OK with that?"

"When she first found out I was doing it, I thought she was going to kill me," Kichi said airily. "But then we had a major shortfall one month, and Dr Yakushi turned up and warned us that Orochimaru was losing interest in the arrangement, and she saw the light pretty quick. There's no greater virtue in a leader than flexibility, am I right?"

"I-I think you'd better go get your costume sorted," Hazō said weakly. "Wouldn't want to delay the ceremony."

"You got it, boss."

Kichi gave him another quick bow and sauntered off after the other guests, leaving Hazō staring at his back

That's a lot of red flags. The reminder that Oro still gets that and STILL was going to press his luck means he really just is terribly greedy. Or else is going to peace out of the village soon, but he has experiments running here. For now.

Velorien said:
The Hokage summoned Shikamaru earlier this morning."

"What did he say?" Hazō asked. And if it was about the Orochimaru incident, why only Shikamaru?

"He began by congratulating him on successfully navigating a challenging crisis without collateral damage," Kei said. "However, he went on to note that while citing obscure Leaf laws, or intending to invoke them, is not in itself illegal, blackmail most certainly is. He reaffirmed his promise to prioritise the spirit of the law with regard to this incident, but also stated that, should Shikamaru ever use this particular matter as a means of leverage again, he could expect to meet the same fate as Amori Goemon."

"Why," Hazō asked, "what happened to Amori Goemon?"

"When I asked Shikamaru," Kei replied, "he said only that I had already suffered through a traumatic enough couple of days. Naturally, I checked the records, but no shinobi of that name has ever existed as far as Leaf is concerned—not that Leaf recordkeeping is anything more than an embarrassment to any well-structured mind."

"Well," Hazō said quietly, "that's nice and terrifying."

Now I want to know what Goemon did! We should totally ask the Amori!
[×] Ask the Amori who Goemon is. We've heard good things!

Velorien said:
Kei put her hand to her forehead. "Hazō, I am ever so grateful that you showed this to me before anyone else, especially anyone in a position of authority. While you are correct in assuming that the state of the war is severely interfering with our usual import routes, we cannot reroute naval traffic through Haran Bay. With Cloud having entered the war, we cannot simply assume that Hot Springs will remain neutral, or, for that matter, that Cloud is not monitoring approaches to it in anticipation of exactly this workaround. Your proposed detour through Degarashi Port, meanwhile, ignores the practicalities of foodstuff spoilage. As for Wave, if we can reliably get a messenger to Wave, we can reliably get a messenger to Mist, at which point we will in any case have assistance in expelling Cloud and restoring shipping to normal. I realise you are seeking new ways to be useful to the Hokage, but please trust that the Logistics Corps, much of it Nara or Nara-trained, has such mundane problems well in hand. This attempt would only have cost you respect from professionals unimpressed by ultracrepidation."

Hazō could do nothing but nod in contrition and return to carrying out Noburi's winning plan.

Thank you for your benevolence and meta criticism.

Velorien said:
They'd had trouble figuring out what to do about Asuma's sole stipulation, which was that there had to be an element to the ceremony that made it screamingly obvious that the whole thing was fake and not a challenge to the spiritual monopoly of the Will of Fire. Snowflake's solution had been inspired:

I appreciate moments like his, highlighting Snowflake's filling a role Kei can't normally fill.

Velorien said:
The Watcher, naturally, was Kagome-sensei.

Naturally.

Velorien said:
His duty was to stand there for the entire ceremony and watch for incursions by the Old Gods, for which purpose he held the Mirror of No Reflection in one hand and the Bell of Panic in the other

Honestly he was made for his role. Are we sure he isn't ancient and the source of this Isanese tradition?

Velorien said:
Noburi had unilaterally declared that, as the one by nature most suited to repetitive manual labour, his clan head would be the one to spend hours weaving the Thrice-Bound Cage, a complex, irregularly-shaped wickerwork construction that had to be crafted completely underwater so that its eldritch powers wouldn't escape before they were sealed in during the final step (and that had ended up recording a variety of movements like nothing Hazō had ever made into the Iron Nerve). Happily, Noburi hadn't realised that this would leave him with the worst part, which was painting a live and angry chicken.

Underwater basket weaving joke, check.
The idea of having a WEIRD IN library is appealing though, for different circumstances.

Velorien said:
Maiden Beneath the Stars, a.k.a. Snowflake, swathed in layers of white cloth with a dangling red obi that made her look like a Sagemas present waiting to be unwrapped, proffered the fruit of Hazō's labours to Yuno, together with the silver Implement of Oracular Exsanguination (which looked like a spoon and a fork had been caught in multiple sealing failures together, and which Kei was planning to donate to T&I afterwards as thanks for their stellar customer service).

Our collective interaction with T&I is weird.

Velorien said:
Hazō could see Kei and all the Snowflakes frowning in concentration as they strove to keep their Zephyr's Reaches coordinated.

ItFinallyCameInHandy!

(OhNoNotAgain.)

Velorien said:
Actually," he said, "speaking of narrowly-averted disaster, you know how I went down to the hospital last night to thank Tsunade for saving all our asses?"

Hazō nodded. "I don't like the start of that sentence."

"You'll like this even less," Noburi promised. "Apparently, she's just got round to collating the reports from the Battle of the Five Clans, and all those summoners who were feeling sick afterwards but didn't say anything because you don't make jōnin by being able to show weakness and it was probably just a sign that they weren't exercising their chakra coils enough anyway? Same symptoms."

"And you're about to tell me that it's not because they weren't exercising their chakra coils enough," Hazō guessed.

"Nope. Water poisoning."

"What?" Hazō demanded. "But it's water! Pure water, the least poisonous thing in this Sage-blessed world! And besides, if drinking your chakra water was bad, everyone in Team Uplift would be with the ancestors ten times over by now."

Noburi sighed and put his plate down. "Don't yell at me, yell at the world's greatest doctor. No, actually, do yell at me, because this is all my fault. I bet you anything, the second a Wakahisa hits chūnin, they get told about this weakness of the Vampiric Dew that they didn't need to know about before because their reserves weren't big enough anyway. I was so proud of myself for figuring out that other Bloodline Limit ability that I'm not going to mention in public because I'm not an idiot, but I didn't even think of something so simple. Of course if it was that easy, every Wakahisa in the field would be followed about by a gaggle of genin at a safe distance. Ugh."

"But—but wait!" Hazō exclaimed, reaching out to grab at the future as it slipped through his fingers. "The body absorbs chakra faster than it absorbs water, right? Couldn't you just keep vomiting up the chakra water before it could poison you?"

"I asked Tsunade the same thing," Noburi said. "After she was done giving me her 'Have you ever unfurled a medicine scroll in your life, boy?' look, she said if you vomit over and over, your stomach juices will rip up your throat and just generally do all kinds of awful stuff I won't repeat.

"Long and short, we're lucky the Battle of Five Clans was such an overwhelming curbstomp that they got the summoning done early—probably thanks to Orochimaru taking down the gate, much as I hate to admit it. The Hokage's going to be hopping mad when he hears we nearly hospitalised most of Leaf's summoners in one fell swoop. Hopefully, the fact that Tsunade knew the plan and didn't catch it either will make things easier on us—though, again, as a Wakahisa, I should've known better. Ugh."

"Ugh," Hazō agreed. He sincerely hoped the Summoner Army proposal he'd recently sent Asuma hadn't included his musings about having the Hokage drink all the chakra water they could make.

That's perfectly sensible, if rather inconvenient. Now to discover GATORADe.

Velorien said:
Would that such relative bliss had lasted longer, as the absolute last person Kei wanted to see in the world (who wasn't a literal snake) suddenly barred her way.

"Kei, Snowflake," Mari began, shivering in her winter coat even though the temperature was barely below zero, "can we talk?

This can't be good. Let's hOPe it doesn'T Fracture The Clan.

Velorien said:
But it was…" For a second, Snowflake choked up. "It was what a mother would have done!"

"Snowflake, enough."

Kei did not want to be defended. There was no point, and it was too late. Kei had not chosen to bare her soul, and though she was moved—perhaps even a little shaken—by Snowflake's actions, it was not Snowflake's place to do so for her.

"Mari, as part of your optimal scenario, you chose to sacrifice my trust in you. I do not have the power to undo that sacrifice any more than I do the other events that transpired, even should I conclude it to be the rational course of action. Our relationship is no longer a problem to be solved, or a scale to be rebalanced through apologies and atonement. It is over."

Kei walked away, and Snowflake with her.

At the last moment, before Mari was too far away to hear, Kei had two final words she could not make herself not say.

"Be well."

Those Last Two Words Are Chilling. A Much More Decisive FinalITY ToThem.

Velorien said:
How different is 'sacrificed unless everything works out just right' from 'sacrificed for real'?"

That's A Valid Question Honestly. She's Right, there was a lot that could have gone wrong, and we got lucky. Inviting Oro into our house was a mistake though.

Velorien said:
Hazō," Yuno interrupted, "I know you are very intelligent while I'm only about average, but please don't patronise me. I've been a ninja longer than you, and I've been on many hunts where things go wrong and you can't save everyone and you're a bad person no matter who you pick—not to other people, because that tapir has long since fled, but to yourself."

YUnO, No! IJust Want To Give HerAn ISaEsE HuG. ONcE I Figure OUT WhatThatIs.

Velorien said:
"I think…" she said slowly, "that even if you don't recognise the Pangolin Summoner as holy, it is proper for a person who can consent to sacrifice themselves for a person who can't, and for a brother to sacrifice himself for a sister, and for a leader to sacrifice himself for the people he's sworn to protect. I think there is a difference between being faced with a choice and inventing one. I may not understand right and wrong the way other people do, but I think that wrong doesn't become right just because the kami smile on you in the end."

Consequentialist Thinking DisAGrEEs. Still, SheHas A Point. This Plan CouldHave Doubled OUr Casualty Rate, Weighted AgainstSome ChanceAt Perfect OuTCoME. Though, (AndThisIsAlsoAfterTheFact), LeAF Destruction DueTo Civil War HaS To Be There Somewhere.

eaglejarl said:
"It occurs to me," Akane mused, "that standard procedure states operatives are not to attempt descent from a skytower at night."

"Oh dear," Ino said. "I suppose we have no choice but to stay the night up here in the freezing cold. However shall we survive? I suppose we shall have no choice but to huddle for warmth. Hazō, you are a terrible person for not anticipating this problem and stranding us all up here."

"I regret nothing," Hazō said happily, pressing a kiss to Akane's temple and then turning to give a similar one to Ino.

Latest Chapter Is Very Sweet. Technically Ends OUR Marriage, OoPS, WhOLE World DIeS. ButVeryCute.

Icehawk78 · Nov 28, 2021

Black King said:
A thought, but can you train a stat without XP? Like if Hazo straps 2 ton weights to his body and trains with them, does his strength/speed/athletics raise? Or is it more XP in general?

Or if he does chakra reserve training (expending it constantly and having Noburi fill him up), does his CR go up? Or is it again, just XP?

faflec said:
The mechanics (XP gain et al) serve to simulate the narrative (Hazo training with 2T weights).

But to expand on this, the Ami-style training XP bonus that we either did or do get served to narratively capture more interesting training methods, like thinking of strapping a large weight to you before doing normal training.

Lysbeth Succubus · Nov 28, 2021

roobee said:
Keeping secrets from family is bad.

*nervous laugh in queer* only a cis deals in absolutes, as they say

Daikloktos said:
Rivals always level up to be a relevant threat later.

eaglejarl · Nov 28, 2021

Halberdier said:
I briefly thought Eaglejarl had said this, and had a whole existential crisis planned.

Check the top line. I wrote it, @Velorien posted it.

Halberdier said:
Now to recent updates. Also, this is me pre-committing I won't post any more reactions until I actually properly engage in plan discussion, because I've become bad for that.

Note that the QMs enjoy the reaction posts, so that's a thing to consider.

Oneiros · Nov 28, 2021

Lysbeth Succubus said:
*nervous laugh in queer* only a cis deals in absolutes, as they say

Mood
Also hugs

roobee · Nov 28, 2021

Icehawk78 said:
Strong disagree, keeping secrets that are harmful is bad. Sharing things that you know would hurt them to hear is bad. Radical honesty is an idealistic pipe dream that is borderline abusive when employed in reality.

Hazou keiko have a strong bond. Suggesting using honesty to maintain/strengthen their bond is feasible.
Although Kei disowning Mari puts some doubt on that. But actions are stronger than words. So talking is less likely to lead to being disowned

Lysbeth Succubus · Nov 28, 2021

Eisenhelm said:
Ah yes, France, that one town in grass

Fun fact: the original text (found here) actually referenced a small-ish (but rich) town in Grass with a reputation for simple elegance, known as 尋ねるな市名 (Tazuneruna Shimei, Grass towns often have longer names to reflect their rich history). You need to keep in mind the QMs are doing an incredible translation job to make this all understandable to us.

eaglejarl said:
Author's Note: The written language of the Elemental Nations is, of course, kanji and not the Latin alphabet. All of MfD is, of course, a translation from the original, and that's always a tricky process, especially when it comes to humor.

... I really should vote or work on plans, I've been doing nothing here but laughing and observing how the voting meta happens for weeks now

Oneiros · Nov 28, 2021

Speaking of plans what do people want to do right now? I have no idea what the thread is leaning towards right now and that spooks me

MrRobot · Nov 28, 2021

Eh in mfd Screaming about things is make a plan.

Oneiros said:
Speaking of plans what do people want to do right now? I have no idea what the thread is leaning towards right now and that spooks me

I leaning towards making a anti-skywalker combat maybe something that disrupts chakra flow on seals and cause the verry complicated skywalkers malfunction.

Shrooms · Nov 28, 2021

We basically have to timeskip now if Hazou is doing Kagome's training full-time (and teaching Harumitsu/strategizing when he's not) and he can't use Shadow Clone for a few more weeks.

RandomOTP · Nov 28, 2021

Shrooms said:
We basically have to timeskip now if Hazou is doing Kagome's training full-time (and teaching Harumitsu/strategizing when he's not) and he can't use Shadow Clone for a few more weeks.

I'd be okay with that. Maybe a relaxing on-screen scene with Snowflake in the interim, set during the evening? We probably won't be able to off-screen too much work (teaching full time, no shadow clones), but still. Worth considering.

faflec · Nov 28, 2021

Shrooms said:
We basically have to timeskip now if Hazou is doing Kagome's training full-time (and teaching Harumitsu/strategizing when he's not) and he can't use Shadow Clone for a few more weeks.

One month later...

HANABI: The vote is unanimous. Goketsu Hazou, you are confirmed as the Fourty-Ninth Hokage. What are your orders, Lord Hokage?

HAZOU: Hanabi, only 23 people voted for me, that's not unanimous.

HANABI: Only the clan votes count.

HAZOU: There's only 3 clans left!

MrRobot · Nov 28, 2021

We could shift focus o wait things out until hazou gets clearance to do seal or something big happenes.

Velorien · Nov 28, 2021

faflec said:
One month later...

HANABI: The vote is unanimous. Goketsu Hazou, you are confirmed as the Fourty-Ninth Hokage. What are your orders, Lord Hokage?

HAZOU: Hanabi, only 23 people voted for me, that's not unanimous.

HANABI: Only the clan votes count.

HAZOU: There's only 3 clans left!

Alternatively:

HANABI: The vote is unanimous. Gōketsu Hazō, you are confirmed as the Forty-Ninth Hokage. What are your orders, Lord Hokage?

HAZŌ: Hanabi, Lord Hagoromo voted against me. That's not unanimous.

[splat]

HANABI: The vote is unanimous. Gōketsu Hazō, you are confirmed as the Forty-Ninth Hokage. What are your orders, Lord Hokage?

RandomOTP · Nov 28, 2021

Velorien said:
Alternatively:

HANABI: The vote is unanimous. Goketsu Hazou, you are confirmed as the Fourty-Ninth Hokage. What are your orders, Lord Hokage?

HAZOU: Hanabi, Lord Hagoromo voted against me. That's not unanimous.

[splat]

HANABI: The vote is unanimous. Goketsu Hazou, you are confirmed as the Fourty-Ninth Hokage. What are your orders, Lord Hokage?

...Totally unrelated, what were EJ's rates for a non-canon Omake, again? /Jk

faflec · Nov 28, 2021

Velorien said:
Alternatively:

HANABI: The vote is unanimous. Gōketsu Hazō, you are confirmed as the Fourty-Ninth Hokage. What are your orders, Lord Hokage?

HAZŌ: Hanabi, Lord Hagoromo voted against me. That's not unanimous.

[splat]

HANABI: The vote is unanimous. Gōketsu Hazō, you are confirmed as the Fourty-Ninth Hokage. What are your orders, Lord Hokage?

HAZOU: You realize that he was our strongest fighter, right?

HANABI: And?̪͚̩

HAZOU: You ͠hav̡en͝'͝t̵ ̧ev͞e͞n ̷͘g̕͟҉ŗ͘a̕d̷͏̷ua̷̧̡t͢͞͠e͜͢d͘͡͏ ͝͏t̨͜h͢͡e̷̵͏ ͝͞À͏͏c̨͢҉͏ą̶̵͟͝d̴̛͢͝e҉͝m̸̀ý̨͝͠ ̨̕͜y̸̢͘͞é̷͜t̵͠͝,̷҉͏̛̀ ̵͝h̶̶́͢͞ó͝ẁ̵̢̛͜ ̧͏d̛͞i̶̧d҉͜͞͞ ̀̀͢͞ỳ̕͘͝ò̸͝͠

Velorien · Nov 28, 2021

faflec said:
HAZOU: You realize that he was our strongest fighter, right?

HANABI: And?̪͚̩

HAZOU: You ͠hav̡en͝'͝t̵ ̧ev͞e͞n ̷͘g̕͟҉ŗ͘a̕d̷͏̷ua̷̧̡t͢͞͠e͜͢d͘͡͏ ͝͏t̨͜h͢͡e̷̵͏ ͝͞À͏͏c̨͢҉͏ą̶̵͟͝d̴̛͢͝e҉͝m̸̀ý̨͝͠ ̨̕͜y̸̢͘͞é̷͜t̵͠͝,̷҉͏̛̀ ̵͝h̶̶́͢͞ó͝ẁ̵̢̛͜ ̧͏d̛͞i̶̧d҉͜͞͞ ̀̀͢͞ỳ̕͘͝ò̸͝͠

KEI: I am ever so proud.

HAZŌ: Wait, Kei, what are you doing at this clan head-only meeting?

KEI: Oh, Hanabi felt I would make a more effective leader for the Nara than Shikamaru. Please help.

hYGP · Nov 28, 2021

Velorien said:
Alternatively:

HANABI: The vote is unanimous. Gōketsu Hazō, you are confirmed as the Forty-Ninth Hokage. What are your orders, Lord Hokage?

HAZŌ: Hanabi, Lord Hagoromo voted against me. That's not unanimous.

[splat]

HANABI: The vote is unanimous. Gōketsu Hazō, you are confirmed as the Forty-Ninth Hokage. What are your orders, Lord Hokage?

HAZOU: I nominate you as my successor.

HAZOU/HANABI: I resign as Hokage/as the successor to the Hokage.

HAZOU: By unanimous consent, you are now the 50th Hokage, Lord Hokage Hanabi. Shoulda been one syllable faster.

seekingflame · Nov 28, 2021

I like to think that the past 42 Kokages were all shadow clones of Hazou that dispelled themself upon immediate nomination.

Edit: Also

faflec said:
HAZOU: There's only 3 clans left!

Cue to Hazou glaring at Kei, while she wear the clanhead hat of Gōketsu, Nara and Kei.

HANABI: The clans have spoken.

Halberdier · Nov 28, 2021

eaglejarl said:
Check the top line. I wrote it, @Velorien posted it.

Note that the QMs enjoy the reaction posts, so that's a thing to consider.

Ah, so I can resume my *Screaming in Kagome, the Lupchazpen have eaten Eaglejarl, he's been gone for years AAAAIEEEEEE* plan? Excellent.

Oh, and I enjoy the reaction posts. I just don't want to be posting things without properly engaging with other quest members, because that isn't the overarching structure I want to see. Incidentally, not wanting to let y'all down is, in fact, part of the punishment for violating the commitment.

Velorien · Nov 28, 2021

Halberdier said:
Ah, so I can resume my *Screaming in Kagome, the Lupchazpen have eaten Eaglejarl, he's been gone for years AAAAIEEEEEE* plan? Excellent.

"Eaten"? What makes you think you ever knew the real @eaglejarl?

MrRobot · Nov 28, 2021

seekingflame said:
I like to think that the past 42 Kokages were all shadow clones of Hazou that dispelled themself upon immediate nomination.

Naruto: Fuck yeah! I gona be hokage!
Hazou: Fuck no! There's no way in hell i will be hokage!
One of them have dealt with clan paperwork before...

seekingflame · Nov 28, 2021

MrRobot said:
Naruto: Fuck yeah! I gona be hokage!
Hazou: Fuck no! There's no way in hell i will be hokage!
One of them have dealt with clan paperwork before...

One of then have truly unlimited shadow clones to deal with the paperwork, there is a reason for Hiruzen discovering that he can use shadow clones for paperwork a popular scene in the fanfics.

But yeah, a scene with Hazou throwing the hat at Naruto because of the paperwork would be funny in a cracky way, and a follow up where each Naruto clone create an extra clone and promptly foist over paperwork duty.

By the way, lovely chapter, some brotherly exchange with nob and a fluffy part with Akane and Ino.

In regard to what immediately next, I'm not sure about the thread rules / QM preferences about voting on interludes, but we do have Akane and Snowflake ~~field research~~ date to continue, and it is an Velorien chapter upcoming.

Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

In doubt there's always the Sun!

In doubt there's always the Sun!

In doubt there's always the Sun!