Honestly we haven't done anything killbox worthy in a while, we're being carried by the F letter still remaining unnoticed. Gotta pump those numbers up
Honestly we haven't done anything killbox worthy in a while, we're being carried by the F letter still remaining unnoticed. Gotta pump those numbers up
probably, but I don't remember it, Akane is clearly YOUTHFUL but if it happened before chapter 119, my starting point it was over 5 years ago I read it the last time and I just don't remember otherwise I haven't gotten there yet
it sounds like it happened the first time they where in konoha though and got kicked out
probably, but I don't remember it, Akane is clearly YOUTHFUL but if it happened before chapter 119, my starting point it was over 5 years ago I read it the last time and I just don't remember otherwise I haven't gotten there yet
it sounds like it happened the first time they where in konoha though and got kicked out
[ex-canon] Chapter 85: Unsuited to the Task QM Note: This update was originally canon. 2 hours and 45 minutes before voting closed, a group of regulars decided it would be funny to vote for "Action Plan: buy a YOUTHSUIT" as a replacement for the then-leading plan. Thanks to a combination of...
"Wow. You look like a walking corpse," Noburi said, dropping into his seat and crossing his legs, right ankle on left knee, and spreading his napkin full of snacks on the arm of the chair.
Hazō leaned his elbows on his desk and rubbed his face with both hands. "Love you too, Nobby. We sealed up the cabins at dawn, ran for five hours, and I got back thirty minutes ago. Had a quick wash and stuffed down some sushi while Gaku read me in on what's been happening. I'm a little tired but there's a lot to do."
"Yeah?" Noburi leaned back and tossed a nut into his mouth.
"How the hell are you losing fat, gaining muscle, but every time I see you you're stuffing your face?"
"Clean living. Why am I being graced with a summons, O Fearless Leader?"
"Training plans. You said you wanted to learn Earth Element so you can learn MaRI so you can build roads."
"And, judging by the fact that I'm sitting here while you're dead on your feet, you think it's a bad plan."
Hazō sighed and glugged down another cup of wakemoss tea. It was foul stuff, brown and stinky, and too much of it loosened the bowels. Still, it was the second-best thing for keeping you awake and Hazō wasn't quite willing to step up to Shikamaru's level of using dilute Akimichi stimulants.
"I think that there's a limited number of hours in the day and you've got a lot of things you've expressed interest in," he said, yawning. "Whatever your top priority is, I want to help you get there as efficiently as possible. Learning a new chakra nature is an all-consuming thing that takes months, so if you go for that then you're not making progress on other things. I also think that if you want to build roads then you could have one of your toads learn MaRI and start on it tomorrow, instead of spending months learning a new element in order to do it yourself. So. Medical skills so you can save lives? Combat skills so you can be deployed in the field? Earth Element so you can build roads?"
Noburi hesitated, then deliberately tossed another trio of nuts in his mouth. "You're saying I shouldn't study the new element."
"I'm saying you shouldn't chase after the latest shiny thing that's going to make you feel like you're making a difference. I'm saying you should figure out what's going to let you make a difference."
"'Chasing after the latest shiny thing'? That's a bitch way to put it, bro."
"Is it wrong?"
A muscle in Noburi's cheek jumped as his eyes narrowed. He chewed his nuts silently, eyes locked on Hazō's.
Hazō sighed. "Noburi, I don't mean to be rude but I need to talk to Asuma in an hour and before I do that I want to make sure I've lined up instructors for you and ensured that your schedule has room at times that work for you and for them. Now, you can get pissy with me if you want, but right now either choose something or tell me that you want to think about it and then go think about it. Those are your options, so pick one."
o-o-o-o
May 18, 1070 AS, 1:30pm
"Welcome back, Hazō," Asuma said, settling back into his chair with a sigh. "Enjoy your trip?"
"I did, sir. Thank you."
"I'm assuming that you'll be resuming your Tower-mandated instruction of young Hagoromo, which you have been ignoring for the last two weeks?" The words were snarky but there was a trace of amusement in them. Only a trace; Asuma was only mostly joking.
"With respect, sir, I cleared it with the Hagoromo before leaving and gave them the option of sending Harumitsu with us. They declined. I also left him with substantial study materials and arranged for Aburame Manjirō to check in with him twice a week. Aburame is damn good. Seal students fight to get lessons with him and I had to promise a major trade to make it happen. He's got ten favor tokens that he can call in to have either me or Kagome-sensei guest lecture to his students."
Asuma smiled. "Does Kagome know that he's going to have to do this?"
"I...may have left that conversation for a future date."
The smile turned into a chuckle. "Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that meeting. Anyway, Isobe said that you had something to show me?"
Hazō nodded. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a leatherbound, stained, and heavily dog-eared journal with pages rucked up by inserted notes. He held it out; Asuma leaned forward and took the journal from Hazō's extended hand, frowning as he did. He looked at the cover, then flipped it open and studied the piece of storage-seal-equipped paper that had been tucked inside. He looked back at Hazō. "The Fourth's notes on the jinchūriki seal?"
"Yes sir." He checked his voice to make sure it wouldn't shake. Between the wakemoss tea (which was finally kicking in, and it was possible he'd overdone it) and the fear of how Asuma might react to this conversation, Hazō was feeling wonderfully awake. "That's the first journal, the other nine are in the seal. The journals belong to Leaf and I'm offering them back if you wish to reclaim them. I'm also notifying you of some discoveries we've made."
Asuma's eyebrows shot up. "You made discoveries about the notes?"
"Yes sir. As head of Clan Gōketsu, I am notifying the Hokage that the notes are dangerous. Sections of them are intentionally incorrect, designed to cause failures if followed." He shrugged. "The Fourth was extremely concerned about another village gaining access to these notes. After looking through them, I can understand why. The final seal, the jinchūriki seal itself, is ridiculously complicated. The notes are a chain of seals, a pedagogical series. Many of the seals do essentially nothing—they simply create a chakra construct that dissolves after a few seconds, the only point being to teach a particular technique that's necessary for the final seal. Some of them, however, are useful. All of them, useful or not, are massive traps. Instructions that are designed to kill you, sections out of order, localizations that are the inverse of what they should be, excess elements in the blank, false blanks...when was the last time someone worked on these before me?"
Asuma thought about that. "Eight, nine years ago? Maybe?"
"What happened?"
Asuma leaned back, hefting the journal thoughtfully. "I wasn't closely involved, but Dad was pretty stressed. There were a couple of weeks of absolutely horrific weather across everything within a hundred miles. Firestorms on one side of a farm while the other side was suffering torrential rain. Houses flattened and covered in ice by winds that screamed with human voices. A month later a swarm of fire ants ate a good chunk of the forest population east of Leaf."
"Fire ants?"
"Ants made out of fire." He shrugged. "There was a third incident and then the investigation stopped."
"Huh. Figuring these seals out would make a sealmaster's career, and being able to produce the jinchūriki seal is important to Leaf's security. I'm surprised whoever was doing the research was willing to give up."
"Oh, they didn't give up. The third incident was the Moritaka estate dissolving into smoke and everyone with a drop of Moritaka blood exploding, the researchers going last."
"Ah. Yes, that sounds like a good reason to stop."
"And you're telling me that this wasn't incompetence or misfortune on their part? It was intentional sabotage by the Fourth?"
"Uh..." Crap. What did you say to that? "Sir, all I can say is that I suspect the Fourth thought about this a lot. Also, these are working notes from when he was doing the research. He probably intended to clean them up for final publication later, and remove the traps in the process. Am I right that he died the night the Fox attacked?"
Asuma studied him for a moment, then nodded. "It's not bandied about, but it's not actually classified either. His wife, Kushina, was the previous jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. I never learned the exact details, but my understanding is that jinchūriki seals weaken when the bearer is pregnant—something about having another chakra system inside your own, I think. One of the reasons that the Fourth was working so hard on inventing a new seal was to eliminate that weakness."
He sighed and shook his head, then rolled himself a cigarette and lit it. He leaned back in his chair, hands folded on his stomach and the cigarette dangling precariously from his lips. "Dad never talked about it much—it didn't really come up—but I remember him saying a few things that made me suspect there might be other weaknesses to Kushina's seal that the Fourth wanted to correct. I don't know the details.
"Anyway, when Kushina was actively giving birth, the seal broke and the Fox escaped. The Fourth sealed it into his just-born son but the process killed him and Kushina bled out from a bad birth before anyone could get to her." He smiled sadly. "The power of human sacrifice indeed."
Hazō nodded thoughtfully. "No one in Leaf knows the seal right now, true?"
"True. No one has wanted to touch it since the Moritaka Clan died. I had rather hoped that you would learn it. That's part of why I let you study the notes."
"Sir, I've discussed this with my advisors and we aren't quite sure of the best way to handle it, so I'm bringing the question to you."
"Oh?" Asuma's eyebrow went up. "This sounds like it'll be fun."
Hazō laughed, the sound escaping against his will before being cut off by a spike of nerves. "This is more us needing to clarify some points of law, sir."
"Hazō, before you say anything else, I assume that you're not going to try to claim that the jinchūriki notes are now your clan's secrets?"
"No sir. The notes belong to the Tower—or maybe to Naruto, I don't know, but definitely not to the Gōketsu. They were loaned to us and we understand and appreciate that. That's why I brought them back." He gestured to the journal on the Hokage's desk and the seal that it contained. "Kagome-sensei and I haven't finished decoding them, although we've made significant strides. We have not copied them. If you choose to return the notes to us then we'll continue our research, taking care to keep the research site well away from Leaf proper. If you choose not to return them to us then we will focus our efforts on other things."
"All right...?"
"Sir, the notes belong to the Tower but the discoveries we've made do not. Anyone with the relevant skills could replicate what we did, given the materials and the effort and the same amount of luck that we had. I've informed you of the key item, the fact that the notes are trapped and that it's important to locate the traps before proceeding. That right there"—he gestured to the journal and the storage seal inside it—"contains everything necessary to duplicate our investigation and our results." Including the poems that had been the key, but he wasn't going to mention that. "If you allow us to continue the research and we eventually learn to create the jinchūriki seal then we will be happy to put it on anyone the Tower directs us to whenever we're told to do so. Hopefully there won't be the need for a very long time, since that would mean something had happened to Naruto. The key point is that this isn't an urgent issue. If you don't want the Gōketsu to have this information then there's plenty of time for other people to make the same discoveries that we did and go beyond them.
"The jinchūriki seal itself belongs to Leaf, but the specific nature of the security measures in the notes does not. The progress that we've made on the intermediate seals belongs to us." He smiled, wry and thin. "For the record, said 'progress' is almost nil. We've figured out what some of them do, but that's it. In addition to his security measures, the Fourth was very cagey about what he wrote down. There seems to be enough there to figure out what they all do and how to make them, but he didn't write down the details of their function or even give them names."
"You said that some of them only produce chakra constructs. Sounds like you know what they do."
"Yes sir," Hazō said, nodding. "Some of them. There's thirty-one seals in the chain, with the jinchūriki seal itself making thirty-two. We have what amounts to a one-sentence explanation of eight of the first ten seals. No clue what the rest do." He fell silent, watching Asuma and struggling not to sweat.
For his part, Asuma slouched back in his chair, studying Hazō calmly. He drew on his cigarette, then reached up and took it from his lips so he could blow a smoke cloud at the ceiling. Hazō waited silently as the older man watched the bluish plume roil and dissolve.
"You sure you want to go here, Hazō?" Asuma said calmly.
"Sir, I've returned the notes and I've given you the key information. That's more than we had going in and if you give it to someone else with the right skills then they can repeat our investigation. Without the notes we can't pursue this line of research any farther—well, we could, but it would be insane and we're not going to. This stuff is way too dangerous to do without the notes. The Fourth was a genius and neither Kagome-sensei nor I have the slightest hint of a belief that we're on his level. Good enough to follow where he leads? Yes, I think so. Good enough to carve the path ourselves? No. If you don't want the Gōketsu to benefit from the work we've done, I understand and will respect that position without complaint, although I think letting us continue our work would benefit Leaf in the long run. I'm simply saying that what we're doing is difficult, and dangerous, and the Gōketsu should benefit as well. The jinchūriki seal belongs to Leaf and the notes belong to Leaf. If we figure it out then we'll put the seal on anyone you like, we'll give the notes to anyone you think should have them, and we won't make copies without your express permission. Beyond that, what we create using those materials belongs to the Gōketsu. We're a new clan and we need our own advantages, same as any other clan does."
"One might suggest that three Summoning Scrolls should do as an advantage. Especially given that the Arachnid Scroll was obtained for you by the military efforts of Leaf." He tossed one hand. "Since it belongs to your married sister, I'll be generous and not count the Pangolin Scroll which is the key to Leaf's trade network and therefore provides tremendous economic leverage."
There had been a roiling, burning ball of terror chewing at Hazō's insides ever since he left the estate to come to this meeting. The ball slowed its roils by a smidgen; Asuma's voice was measured and chilly, but it was calm and there was no tension around his eyes. Hazō was probably going to walk out of the room on his own two feet and be allowed to go home instead of to a killbox.
Probably.
"True, one might suggest that, sir," Hazō agreed. "On the other hand, the Toad Scroll was our inheritance from Jiraiya, which we earned by contributing skywalkers to Leaf. The Dog Scroll was given to us by the Tower as thanks for when we donated our founder's sealing notes. Those documents were the most precious possession that we had, the biggest advantage we had compared to the other clans, and we willingly gave them up without being certain that we would get anything in return."
Asuma took another drag on the cigarette and blew a smoke ring. "And the Arachnid Scroll?"
"Given to us by the Hokage's decision and for sufficient reason. As to the Leaf military action involved, it was performed using tactics and capabilities supplied by the Gōketsu that allowed Leaf to eliminate an enemy stronghold with no losses. Well, no losses of people we like."
Asuma laughed. He tossed the butt of his cigarette into the bucket of sand next to his desk and rolled himself another one.
"Sir, the Gōketsu are loyal," Hazō said. "We aren't taking anything that's not ours. We're providing a warning that will give other Leaf sealmasters a better chance to survive reading those notes. If we manage to figure out the jinchūriki seal—which we may not, and it's years out even if we can—then we'll use it as the Tower directs. I'm simply saying that everything else belongs to us. If someone else wants to do the research and learn the same things we learn, more power to them. I simply don't think we should be obligated to hand it over ourselves."
Asuma twisted his cigarette shut, lit it, and then leaned back in his chair. He placed his feet up on his desk, legs crossed at the ankle, and studied Hazō calmly. He took a deep drag on the cigarette, burning up a quarter of it in one pull.
Hazō couldn't help swallowing nervously, but he rigidly suppressed all other reaction.
Asuma studied him.
Hazō's stomach roiled faster.
Asuma blew a long trail of smoke to the ceiling, then studied the tip of his cigarette thoughtfully.
"All right," he said at last.
"Sir?"
"It's a fair point. Make copies of the seal notes and send the originals back to the Tower. I'm sure I don't have to share my thoughts on the priority of that?"
"You do not, sir, although I note that copies of blanks shouldn't be trusted if they weren't made by the original sealmaster. Having them will be better than nothing but people really should work from the originals." He hesitated, sensing that he had only seconds before this meeting ended. "One last thing, sir. It would be helpful if we could study the actual seal, the one on Naruto, but I'm not sure about how this works. Do you object to that? Do you think it's a bad idea to talk to him?"
Asuma laughed. "You intend to ask Naruto to stand patiently while you poke and prod at his seal?"
"Yes sir. If he'll let me."
"I'm given to understand that the two of you have a somewhat...exciting relationship."
"A bit, sir. Still, he's loyal to Leaf and he's smart. Leaf needs that seal available and we're the ones working on it."
Asuma shook his head in amusement. "Dad always said that there was never a day without a surprise." He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Ask him. If he says no...have him talk to me."
The knot unclenched a tiny bit more. "Thank you, sir."
"Anything else?"
"No sir."
"Dismissed."
o-o-o-o
May 18, 1070 AS, 7:30pm
Naruto opened the door and paused, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"And a fine how-do-you-do to you as well," Mari said, smiling. "Do you have a minute?"
Naruto studied her for a moment, then shrugged. He conjured and dispelled a clone, then stepped back and pulled the door wide, gesturing Mari towards the sitting area.
Mari swept inside with the grace of a dancer and settled herself primly on an overstuffed and much battered couch, a horrific green thing that made up for its ugliness by being uncomfortably lumpy. Naruto lounged in the midnight-blue armchair opposite her; a moment later another Naruto came in with a tea tray and set it on the low table between them before taking a seat in another armchair.
"And whyfor do you grace my humble abode this fine day?" the first Naruto asked.
Mari chuckled and cocked her head. "Is it actually your home in particular? I know that Snowflake got legally recognized as an individual with legal rights separate from those of her Prime, but I'm suddenly realizing that I don't know if that was a general policy or a special case."
"What makes you think I'm a clone?"
Mari gave him a Look. "Really?"
"What?"
"First, Naruto Prime makes constant use of his clones for all sorts of things, so it's hardly surprising that he'd have one answer the door. Second, he's not an idiot. Answering the door has security risks when you live in the middle of town like this, without a wall or guards. Why would he have his physical body do it?"
Naruto looked amused. "I learned a long time ago that once someone has decided I'm a clone there's no way to prove it to them aside from stabbing myself or letting them punch me, and I'm not masochistic enough to do that for no good reason. For the sake of this conversation, let's assume that I am in fact Naruto Prime."
"As you say." She shifted on the couch, trying to find a more comfortable spot. "In that case, you're the person I need to speak to."
"Oh? Why me in particular?"
"Because, as I understand it, only Prime has an actually functional seal on those impressive six-pack abs of his."
Naruto rubbed at his forehead briefly. "I'm going to roll on past the implied innuendo from a woman old enough to be my mother."
"Hey! I am not! You can't have children at te—at eight years old."
Naruto snorted. "Sure. Anyway, why does my seal matter?"
"Has Asuma read you in on the fact that Hazō has been researching the Fourth's jinchūriki seal? Your jinchūriki seal?"
"He did. Why?"
She crossed her legs and leaned forward, fingers interlaced around her knee. "Naruto, I'm sorry to put it like this, but that seal is a matter of national security for Fire. My lips to the Sage's ear: may it not be something that Leaf needs for many, many years. Still, there will come a time when we do. Either because something happens to you, or because you kill another jinchūriki and their bijū is rampaging around needing to be contained. It was the masterwork of a genius sealmaster and it's going to take a long time to puzzle it out. We can't afford to wait until it's needed to start working on it, we need to have it ready in advance."
"Tell him that familiarity with his seal might help us figure out the Great Seal and how to prevent it from falling apart," Hazō had said.
"Wrong approach," Mari had said, shaking her head. "He's got no way to judge the importance of the Great Seal or the probability that it exists. It's easy for people to believe a comforting denial over a truth about looming disaster that they can personally do nothing about. Better to keep it to patriotism and preparedness."
"You're the expert," Hazō had said, in a way that made her smile in delight at the trust. "Work with a light touch. It's more important that we not pooch the relationship any more than it already is than that we get access to the seal in the immediate future."
"Did you always try to teach your grandmother to suck eggs or am I special?"
"I never knew her, so I guess you're special."
She had blown a raspberry at him and then went to talk Naruto into being a test subject for dangerous seal-related experiments.
"Aside from disaster preparedness, think of the military implications," Mari said. "A large fraction of the S-rank ninja in the world died recently. Many of the ones who remain are jinchūriki. My understanding is that your father's seal was intended to allow transplanting a jinchūriki from one person to another, right? Suppose we could steal the jinchūriki from the other villages and turn them into Leaf assets?" His eyes widened but before he could speak she waved a hand to cut him off. "Oh, I definitely see the explosiveness of the plan, and the issues about making ourselves a target by stealing such an asset but not being able to field it for a decade while the new host grows up. I wouldn't advocate it as a proactive strategy, but if Rock got pissy again? It would be a good tool to have in our toolbox."
Naruto closed his mouth. After a moment he smiled in amusement and leaned back, lacing his fingers over his stomach. "And you're here talking to me about this because Hazō knows that I know that you're not the Gōketsu treason bunny, so you're more likely to convince me than he is."
She chuckled. "The thought occurred, yes. Point of information: he got the Hokage's permission before doing anything, and he ordered me in no uncertain terms to, quote, use a very light touch, unquote. If you're not comfortable with the idea, that's totally fine. He and Kagome are working through the Fourth's notes; there's probably enough there for them to figure it out. Being able to study the seal itself would be useful but it's not essential."
"Hm." Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Asuma said yes?"
"He gave Hazō permission to approach you. He did not give any orders."
"Hm." He chewed on his lip. "What exactly does he need me to do?"
"I'm afraid it will be a tremendous challenge for you," she said, shaking her head dolefully. "A tremendous challenge indeed."
"Uh-huh. Cough it up."
"I'm afraid you will need to...lie still. Oh, and take your shirt off. Not in that order."
"Well, that's a relief. I wasn't quite sure how I would have done it the other way. And why exactly is this a tremendous challenge?"
She gave him another Look. "Really? You and your absurd energy levels and endurance? Just watching you move around is exhausting. I suspect that the Nara run when they see you coming."
"That is so not—! Hm. Actually, you might have something there. I hadn't noticed it before, but...hm."
"The light dawns," she said, grinning. "So, what do you say?"
"Before I commit to anything, when and where? And maybe a little more detail on what exactly is going to happen."
"We're at your disposal. You name the time and place, we'll be there. As to what exactly would happen...you can get the exact details from Hazō, but my understanding is that it will involve lying still for half an hour or so while he and Kagome take measurements, trace the design, that kind of thing."
"Hm. I'll think about it."
She nodded. "That's all Hazō was looking for. Thank you." She rummaged in a belt pouch and brought out a storage seal. "On a different topic, this might interest you." She leaned forward and set it on the table. "I saved it until after the seal conversation because I didn't want you to feel any sort of reciprocity pressure."
Naruto looked at the seal, did not touch it, and then looked back at her. "What is it?"
"Your father's papers. Not the seal stuff, personal things. Poetry that he wrote, diaries, even some random non-classified work papers and shopping lists. Hazō lost his father when he was quite young and he remembers valuing any scrap of his father's handwriting or personal effects that he could find. The poetry has marginalia from your mother, too. He thought it would be meaningful for you."
The second Naruto, who had been sitting silently in the chair this entire time, disappeared in a puff of quickly-dispersing smoke. Moments later another Naruto came into the room and crossed straight to the table. He knelt down and opened the seal; a box of neatly-ordered papers appeared and he stared at it without moving.
Mari stood up and bowed. "I'll leave you to it," she said quietly.
Author's Note: Hazō did not share Kagome's theory about the jinchūriki seal being a chakra construct written onto Naruto's chakra coils, either with Naruto or with Asuma. After discussion with Mari and Noburi it was determined that there was no advantage in doing so; either it's true and it becomes a Gōketsu clan secret or it's not true and sharing it simply makes you look bad for being wrong.
My understanding is that your father's seal was intended to allow transplanting a jinchūriki from one person to another, right? Suppose we could steal the jinchūriki from the other villages and turn them into Leaf assets?
Ah, so Mari is suggesting we develop the JAIL seal (Jinchūriki Acquisition by Immobilisation and Localisation). Good idea. The captured chakra beast mobile-homes hosts will make good practice for practising the Great Seal replacement...
Oh, and ridiculous firepower is integral to Project: Omnicule.
"I wasn't closely involved, but Dad was pretty stressed. There were a couple of weeks of absolutely horrific weather across everything within a hundred miles. Firestorms on one side of a farm while the other side was suffering torrential rain. Houses flattened and covered in ice by winds that screamed with human voices. A month later a swarm of fire ants ate a good chunk of the forest population east of Leaf."
"Fire ants?"
"Ants made out of fire." He shrugged. "There was a third incident and then the investigation stopped."
"I'm saying you shouldn't chase after the latest shiny thing that's going to make you feel like you're making a difference. I'm saying you should figure out what's going to let you make a difference."
"'Chasing after the latest shiny thing'? That's a bitch way to put it, bro."
"Is it wrong?"
A muscle in Noburi's cheek jumped as his eyes narrowed. He chewed his nuts silently, eyes locked on Hazō's.
Worst-case scenario: what'll it do if they eat them? Will the dragons get fire powers? Ooooh nooooo. Will they get smaller? That's sooooo baaaad. Let's just do it.
There are several ways to do it
Way 1: send a Hagoromo we don't like with instructions to seal them using the Fourth's seals.
Way 2: teach the Dragons sealing and give them the Fourth's notes.
Way 3: set driver ants on fire. Worth a try.
This is clearly a plot hook. Some ants are made of Fire. We should find ants made of Rock, Lightning, Water, and Wind too.
Also, Assuma probably was stressed when he seen Hazõ with the "i have a to tell you something face"…
At least Ami give him a way to save face Hazõ try to help but is like a thermonuclear pit bull trying to help.
stealing bijuu could be a wonderful way to mounth pressure in the elemental nations, if you don't behave you have your super weapons privileges removed and then given to another village.
stealing bijuu could be a wonderful way to mounth pressure in the elemental nations, if you don't behave you have your super weapons privileges removed and then given to another village.
Message from the Gōketsu to the Elemental Nations: Hello,
This message addressed to the local Kage, Grandmaster, Religious and Moral Authority, or Whomsoever It May Concern: There has been an update to the Terms
Incidentally, there have been comments in the past about how Mari is bad at her job, so I occasionally like to point things out: This move here earns her points for honesty and also applies reciprocity pressure while giving her complete deniability on having done such. Or, maybe she's being completely straightforward and a good person. Who knows?
I haven''t read this quest in a loooooooong time, I stopped reading at chapter 119 and now I'm back and the first thing kagome does is dropping truth veiled in a bunch of conspiracy, I am fully invested in this again while having way less knowledge of the MFD setting then I had when I stopped, I think I'm just gonna keep reading until I catch up in like a month and then go back if I need to 10/10 sucker punch making you questioning reality from a unreliable source. would read again
Anyway this is a me problem that I'm hopefully alone with as a semi new reader, and since this quest is legitimately almost 2.5 times as long as the entire harry potter series, only counting the actual story updates it would be crazy to expect it to be easy to join...
Incidentally, there have been comments in the past about how Mari is bad at her job, so I occasionally like to point things out: This move here earns her points for honesty and also applies reciprocity pressure while giving her complete deniability on having done such. Or, maybe she's being completely straightforward and a good person. Who knows?
Mari is open about being able to see Naruto Prime (or rather, differentiate between Prime and Others), which removes a layer of metaphysical distance (distance that Naruto no doubt uses to separate himself from others, making social combat less effective). Mari also freely gives away that advantage, cementing the Goketsu reputation for openness and good-faith communication.
Mari also leads with studying Naruto's seal as being a matter of Leaf's national security. The Collapse has proven that anyone can die at any time, and that institutional knowledge can be lost. So nothing can be taken for granted, even Naruto's health. So Leaf needs a way to replicate the seal, should the worst come about.
Further, Mari makes sure to coach the idea as Asuma suggesting it, which means Asuma-the-Man-and-Uncle-and-Likely-Tutor thinks it's a good idea, rather than Leaf's Hokage demanding it. Which pulls on Naruto's familial/emotional bonds to Asuma, rather than his legal one.
This also avoids throwing Asuma under the bus, which is good, because Asuma being Hokage is a good thing for us, and we need his reign to be a strong one. Having one of the 3 S-rankers in Leaf be upset with Asuma isn't a good thing. It opens the hole for fractious bickering and power plays that Leaf as a whole cannot afford.
Mari also blatantly mentions Naruto's physique in an almost bored, obligatory way. Sort of a nod and wink of "yes, I'm a social spec. Wow, aren't I so scary? We both know I'm playing with kiddie gloves, and we both know know this statement for what it is. Obviously true and obvious play is obvious. Wow, aren't social battles with Mari so boring/thrilling?" Desensitizing Naruto to Mari's manipulations and lulling him into a false sense of security.
When Naruto brings Hazou up ("you're here because he knows I distrust him"), Mari is sure to only ever mention Hazou's sealing prowess and how it can be leveraged for Leaf's betterment (considering how many Original seals Hazou has to his name, and at such a young age? And ideas like the Skyslicers and Force Wall Nets? Skywalkers? Foodbank? Hazou can do good things with seals, tis an objective fact).
Mari is going "sure, dislike him all you want. But can you really even argue that he's not the best person for the job? Can you honestly argue, in good faith, that Hazou's not skilled enough for it?"
And her giving Naruto the box on her way out? Hm. Layers in that. A reminder that the Goketsu want to help. A reminder that Mari could've changed her mind. A reminder that, having gotten what she wanted, Mari could've held this in reserve for the next time we wanted something from him. A reminder that Naruto and Hazou are more alike then Naruto may care to think about. A reminder that death hurts us all, subtly binding Naruto closer to the Necromancy Plot.
Also, a genuinely good thing to do. Which soothes Mari's soul. She's being as compassionate as she can be, while still fulfilling her mission parameters, while still making progress towards Necromancy in a way that only she can contribute to (getting everyone to agree to it, and stay that way).
Message from the Gōketsu to the Elemental Nations: Hello,
This message addressed to the local Kage, Grandmaster, Religious and Moral Authority, or Whomsoever It May Concern: There has been an update to the Terms
And her giving Naruto the box on her way out? Hm. Layers in that. A reminder that the Goketsu want to help. A reminder that Mari could've changed her mind. A reminder that, having gotten what she wanted, Mari could've held this in reserve for the next time we wanted something from him. A reminder that Naruto and Hazou are more alike then Naruto may care to think about. A reminder that death hurts us all, subtly binding Naruto closer to the Necromancy Plot.
Hazou: "you got daddy issues, i got daddy issues, heck the hokage has daddy issues and the third was around a lot longer"
Naruto: "your point?"
Hazou: "help me play god and we could have them around again, then we can go barbeque and debate who would the hokage be in that mess, six months from now or your money back"
Naruto: "i am going to regrett even asking, but what does it involve?"
Hazou: "so you accept"
Naruto: "not ye.."
Hazou: "great, now strip"
Mari: "what my client is trying to say is..."
"I'm saying you shouldn't chase after the latest shiny thing that's going to make you feel like you're making a difference. I'm saying you should figure out what's going to let you make a difference."
"'Chasing after the latest shiny thing'? That's a bitch way to put it, bro."
"Is it wrong?"
A muscle in Noburi's cheek jumped as his eyes narrowed. He chewed his nuts silently, eyes locked on Hazō's.
Hazō sighed. "Noburi, I don't mean to be rude but I need to talk to Asuma in an hour and before I do that I want to make sure I've lined up instructors for you and ensured that your schedule has room at times that work for you and for them. Now, you can get pissy with me if you want, but right now either choose something or tell me that you want to think about it and then go think about it. Those are your options, so pick one."
This is not quite what I wanted or hoped, or even feel the plan specified. However, I'm quite happy with it. Why?
It's brilliant characterization which both contributes to a sense of a living, breathing world, and reminds us that Hazo is human. He's had a rough day and that erodes his normal abilities.
It shows he has agency. He decided how to have this conversation. That's a mix of him making active decisions and working within the constraints of his time and energy.
I'm effectively certain that the QMs will not stick us with the consequences of a soured relationship which came about as a result of actions taken which were, to a reasonable degree, contrary to the plan, so we're not eating any substantial risk here.
It's a fair criticism for Hazo to bring forward. Noburi wants to do a million things. He has hyper-limited time. Hazo is being firm but reasonable and he's treating Noburi with a lot of respect. You don't try to 'handle' your loved ones and peers - you give it to them straight and they deal with you the same way. There's a line between that and needles cruelty, but I'm confident we're on the right side.
"Sir, the Gōketsu are loyal," Hazō said. "We aren't taking anything that's not ours. We're providing a warning that will give other Leaf sealmasters a better chance to survive reading those notes. If we manage to figure out the jinchūriki seal—which we may not, and it's years out even if we can—then we'll use it as the Tower directs. I'm simply saying that everything else belongs to us. If someone else wants to do the research and learn the same things we learn, more power to them. I simply don't think we should be obligated to hand it over ourselves."
How much of this was Mari same Noburi's influence? If it was mostly Hazo then I need to adjust my impression of how savvy he was.
(I am explicitly requesting a QM answer. 'Mari and Noburi were instrumental in helping him craft his argument and it's unlikely that Pilot would have arrived at this place on his own' is what I'm expecting.)
"It's a fair point. Make copies of the seal notes and send the originals back to the Tower. I'm sure I don't have to share my thoughts on the priority of that?"
Outstanding. Asuma continues to demonstrate his intelligence, and, frankly, I suspect he appreciates not having to deal with an experienced clan head. We're clear in what we want and why. That has to be refreshing.
"You do not, sir, although I note that copies of blanks shouldn't be trusted if they weren't made by the original sealmaster. Having them will be better than nothing but people really should work from the originals." He hesitated, sensing that he had only seconds before this meeting ended. "One last thing, sir. It would be helpful if we could study the actual seal, the one on Naruto, but I'm not sure about how this works. Do you object to that? Do you think it's a bad idea to talk to him?"
Asuma shook his head in amusement. "Dad always said that there was never a day without a surprise." He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Ask him. If he says no...have him talk to me."
The knot unclenched a tiny bit more. "Thank you, sir."
"Wrong approach," Mari had said, shaking her head. "He's got no way to judge the importance of the Great Seal or the probability that it exists. It's easy for people to believe a comforting denial over a truth about looming disaster that they can personally do nothing about. Better to keep it to patriotism and prepardeness."
"You're the expert," Hazō had said, in a way that made her smile in delight at the trust. "Work with a light touch. It's more important that we not pooch the relationship any more than it already is than that we get access to the seal in the immediate future."
She chuckled. "The thought occurred, yes. Point of information: he got the Hokage's permission before doing anything, and he ordered me in no uncertain terms to, quote, use a very light touch, unquote. If you're not comfortable with the idea, that's totally fine. He and Kagome are working through the Fourth's notes; there's probably enough there for them to figure it out. Being able to study the seal itself would be useful but it's not essential."
"Your father's papers. Not the seal stuff, personal things. Poetry that he wrote, diaries, even some random non-classified work papers and shopping lists. Hazō lost his father when he was quite young and he remembers valuing any scrap of his father's handwriting or personal effects that he could find. The poetry has marginalia from your mother, too. He thought it would be meaningful for you."
The second Naruto, who had been sitting silently in the chair this entire time, disappeared in a puff of quickly-dispersing smoke. Moments later another Naruto came into the room and crossed straight to the table. He knelt down and opened the seal; a box of neatly-ordered papers appeared and he stared at it without moving.
The plan called for telling Asuma about "[...] our breakthrough, and theory that the seal molds onto chakra systems." It had him tell Naruto about the 'seal on chakra system' idea and also the fact that the poetry encoded information about the seals.
So, yeah. This is pretty much Mari talking Hazō down. He did contribute to designing the presentation language but it went against what the plan actually suggested and is based only on the "sanity check with Mari" line.
)
forums.sufficientvelocity.com
