Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
Agreed, but I think we should explore our options at least a little before we make that decision; for instance, testing Nobby's VD-stealth.
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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest
- Thread starter eaglejarl
- Start date
-
- Tags
- naruto rationalist romance armageddon is looking better and better damn you kishimoto explosions everywhere explosives solve everyone if in doubt surrender to the mercy of zabuza it seemed like a good idea at the time looks like a really bad case of being a jōnin my god. where does the lore end? precommitting is the winning plan screaming in kagome screw the rules i have explosives something bad might still happen sometimes you gotta sociopath stabby zabby subsection c of paragraph 9 should include we can weaponize this so hard open voting
Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
This thought has also crossed my mind, though if that's the plan we don't actually need to retrieve it from this guy, we could it from whomever he hands it off to; although, known unknowns are a lot better.
- Location
- Yes.
Rather not because if it is necessary to give the scroll to Mr. Very Suspicious person we want to do the job right (i.e., not hand it off). Would rather steal the scroll, and then if we don't want to give the info fake it or claim we set the info on fire. Then give the information to Jiraiya later.
- Location
- ?
Akane's story (finally we find out if she has parents! Also, Konoha.) or what happened in Iron after we left. Mom's daily life is also good. Is she still taking missions? How is she managing her debts? Is the clan bothering her?
This. We, the mindhive, need training as much as genin do. I'd rather we learn during some third grade mission for some shady dude, then when our own interests are at stake.
I say we pass message on, preferably make it look like it wan't tampered with, and save a copy for our J. No need to alert any parties that contents has been compromised.
Though it would be hillarious if upon opening the message we get "Congratulations, if you're reading this you passed the test. Please report to these coordinates for the real assignment."
@Velorien @eaglejarl
Is the suit on the ground floor or higher? How are meals handled if the servants stay inside? Delivery? Do they leave to get snacks? Are they fasting in there?
How's bathing and stuff handled? Hazou said facilities here are better than a latrine. How much better? Is there a bathroom attached to the suit? To the floor? Something else?
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
I personally give it about a 30% probability. It makes more sense then hiring some unknowns for an important assignment. Unless deniability is considered more important than success which considering this is meant to be a demilitarized zone could well be the case.
Quite frankly I don't like the idea for playing to some unknown puppet masters strings. I don't see anything we are getting out of this that is worth it.
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- Location
- USA
So I had thought about how a standard scorch squad might work for an established nation and came up with a few guess on how they might operate without drawing to much attention. Take an average squad size of three to five ninja and give them the skills to blend into a town. One to gather/start rumors to find out if any ninja have been in the area and if they indulged themselves like Honami's situation. Gossip can help narrow down who is expecting a baby and who the dad might be. They then pass this information up the chain and the second stage happens. Second is a doctor within the village or a traveling doctor who happens to arrive every once in a while so that they can cover more villages, as not everyone is having babies 24/7. So the doctor assess the chakra of the child in the womb as they have had plenty of time and R&D to develop skills to carry out their jobs. So they find that the child is over the threshold for removal and they must make a decision on if they should kill the mother too. They take into account her own chakra level, her standing in the village, and several other factors and decide that she is to much of a risk of producing more ninja level children. They kill her and take her place using the other ninja held in reserve. The other ninja take her place with henge/disguise and have her remove herself from society at the recommendation of the doctor that she should give birth at a more well equip city. If they are in a big city they say she wants to give birth in the town she grew up in or some other excuse and leave town.
This is all a guess, but this is how I as a ninja who might set something like this up. It would not even be hard to do with our group and our abilities as they stand. We are not even missing the sensor abilities to gauge chakra level.
This is all a guess, but this is how I as a ninja who might set something like this up. It would not even be hard to do with our group and our abilities as they stand. We are not even missing the sensor abilities to gauge chakra level.
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fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
It seems alot of villages don't bother and just scorch any "enemy" village that is looking too prosperous.
Yeah, and notice that there are frequent wars.
You didn't think these morally abhorrent measures were effective did you?
Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
Maybe there's an (un)spoken agreement between Kages that scorch squads are to be seen as a form of silent warfare?
- Location
- USA
So then we try and gather information about the squads. We search for destroyed villages and engage in some forensic studies about how the village died. We trace them back to their source and shine a little light on them. Send in paper airplanes with information about the practice to those in power who might be sympathetic(aka Jiraiya). Or we set off the next great war and pick up the pieces after it all comes crashing down around the ears of those who would support such things.
- Location
- Switzerland
At the moment our team is in a bit of a bind.
If we try to steal the scroll:
Also, I just cannot imagine, say, Orochimaru running an errand like we do now. I really, really dislike the idea of working for shady people who definitely don't have our bests interests at heart.
I consider our current mission pointless and recommend to abort it. Knowing when to turn back is also an important ninja skill, after all.
If we try to steal the scroll:
- Pro: We get mission reward if we succeed;
- Pro: We get infiltration and stealing practice;
- Con: Trifling with a jounin is dangerous and isn't worth the reward;
- Con: Collateral damage will sour our relationship with Honami;
- Con: We have no idea what global political consequences of our mission are;
- Pro: No immediate threat to our team's health;
- Pro: Our relation with Honami is safe;
- Pro: We can immediately switch to Mission: Icecream Delivery;
- Pro: Hazou can gamble with resort clients to get some money for operational needs;
- Con: No mission reward;
- Con: client will be unhappy with us. (Is he likely to send assassins after us? I personally don't think so);
Also, I just cannot imagine, say, Orochimaru running an errand like we do now. I really, really dislike the idea of working for shady people who definitely don't have our bests interests at heart.
I consider our current mission pointless and recommend to abort it. Knowing when to turn back is also an important ninja skill, after all.
Completing the mission proves (to ourselves) we can do it. If we can't accomplish this extremely simple task, what makes you think we can accomplish any of the insanely grandiose goals you guys are always on about? I think you're underestimating the morale hit of failing due to being scared to try. We said we'd do this thing and we should do it.
Also Orochimaru is no role model. If you can't imagine him doing something, that's not to say we shouldn't do it.
Just make an attempt; that's all I ask. Actually try something. If it doesn't work then it doesn't work and we're well-prepared to flee.
Also Orochimaru is no role model. If you can't imagine him doing something, that's not to say we shouldn't do it.
Just make an attempt; that's all I ask. Actually try something. If it doesn't work then it doesn't work and we're well-prepared to flee.
- Location
- ?
Honestly, the circumstances are very favorable to us, here. We have a well-placed ally, only civilian/genin guards to deal with, dogs that like us, secure escape routes, environment that lets Noburi spread his wings.
If we go through with our grander plans, we'll have to deal with competent enemies sooner or later. This is a chance to test our mettle in a situation which is extremly unlikely to lead to our harm.
And yeah, if we fold here without even trying, convincing the rest of the team to do some of our crazier stuff ill be much harder.
Keep in mind, we don't have to do perfectly here, just well enough. Client was thorough like that. Can't steal quietly? Copy. Can't copy? Destroy. Or steal from the contact after transfer.
Look at all those delicious degrees of success!
If we go through with our grander plans, we'll have to deal with competent enemies sooner or later. This is a chance to test our mettle in a situation which is extremly unlikely to lead to our harm.
And yeah, if we fold here without even trying, convincing the rest of the team to do some of our crazier stuff ill be much harder.
Keep in mind, we don't have to do perfectly here, just well enough. Client was thorough like that. Can't steal quietly? Copy. Can't copy? Destroy. Or steal from the contact after transfer.
Look at all those delicious degrees of success!
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If we abort the mission, we'll gain a reputation as the sort of people to abort missions. This is not a good idea. Also, you keep insisting that this is too big of a risk, but what you seem to be missing is that we will never, ever get safe and simple missions. It's not going to happen.
We're traitors, with no hidden village to protect us and no real allies. We're deniable assets; all of our jobs will be risky and dangerous, and involve pissing off powerful people, because that's how you use deniable assets. You need to re-adjust your expectations for the sort of missions we can get.
We're traitors, with no hidden village to protect us and no real allies. We're deniable assets; all of our jobs will be risky and dangerous, and involve pissing off powerful people, because that's how you use deniable assets. You need to re-adjust your expectations for the sort of missions we can get.
- Location
- Europe
Your pros/cons list doesn't really balance out. If losing the reward is a con for aborting, so should be losing the practice opportunity.
Ice Delivery is not time sensitive and neither is gambling for the resort clients money. In fact we probably should go to some other resort to do that, no reason to shit where you eat so to speak.
Even if our client doesn't send assassins after us, losing a future connect with them is definitely a con. They obviously have some backing since they had information on a jounin making a secure delivery.
You say that like we don't make leaps of faith all the time. It might seem that we are super cautious, but that's only because we have gotten super lucky thus far.
Personally I'm not ready to abort the mission mostly because this is pretty much the optimal setting for us to gather experience without risking too much. Even if Joutaro spots us, I doubt he will immediately escalate to heavy ordinance while conducting a secret mission inside a DMZ. Don't forget that our team's strengths are in order of competency:
1. Killing stuff
2. Running away
...
*other stuff*
...
78. Social shenanigans
If we fail, we will be falling back to our strengths. If you guys are super worried, I would urge you to help in crafting a better plan with good enough contingencies that we can make a hasty retreat if required.
For example, checking out Joutaro's companions and whether they are as scary as he is should be very doable without things ending in hellfire and macerated ninjas.
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- Location
- ?
Well, not quite. We picked the mission more or less anonymously. We won't get a reputation for dropping our missions if we accept them under a throw away henge, but we do lose an opportunity to build a rep as people who get shit done.
I also suspect that the really fun stuff that puts us in contact with heavy hitters is hidden behind gates like these, bc no one in their right mind would bring in people from the street for the really important things.
Now, we might or might not want to meet the special people, but it would be nice to have the option. At the very least, it would be something to write
OOC, avoiding danger is fine and dandy, we can absolutely say no to doing anything for anyone. But we get XP for doing stuff. More for doing dangerous stuff, and for doing it well. And we need that if we want to bring our ambitious projects to life. That Sealing 20 won't earn itself.
- Location
- Switzerland
This extremely simple task requires us to steal from a jounin opponent. Yes, it is easy-ish, but if we fail (or even succeed with collateral damage) we will jeopardize our budding business partnership with Honami. Also, I don't think we really need the confidence boost.
I, for one, consider Orochimaru to be perfectly fine role model in questions of strategy and tactics, if not morality.
I worry that our mssion success will be detrimental to our long-term plans more than I worry about us failing this mission.
If, for example, we succeed but cause ruckus and property damage, causing reputation of the resort to take a hit, we will be worse off than if we just walked away even though we will technically succeed in our mission.
First, an anonymous job for anonymous client is unlikely to affect our reputation.
Second, we can easily get simple missions. We just have to be our own clients. Here are some example missions for you:
- Keiko, Noburi and Hazou spend a night going from bar to bar, gambling. New henge for each bar, gamble for modest bets, leave when slightly ahead.
- Hazou visits a posh casino. While there, he looks for seals to copy for research.
- Noburi chats with the merchant on the market to gauge prices and demand for goods, then team makes a run to neighboring city, buys the goods, seals them and delivers to the first city, where Noburi sells the goods to the merchants he found at the beginning of the mission.
I don't see why our team should work for the people who want to use them as deniable assets. The pay is low, the risk is high, and we don't actually have to work for these people. We can be self-employed, thanks to our teams' bloodlines and skills diversity.
We have sealing (storage scrolls). We have nearly unlimited chakra. We have medicine. Our team's talents are wasted on doing missions for shady low-paying people. We can do better.
- Location
- ?
We could offer Honami to pick some targets, when time comes. We might or might not go for them, but she'd probably like being involved.
Why would we cause property damage? Our plans are all about running away if shit hits fan. Worst thing happens, we break a window during the escape. We certainly don't stand our ground and fight. Any rep hits are unfortunate, but I don't believe we will cause more damage than can be fixed with liberal application of ice.
How much is "low-paying" anyway? Cause last time we did a mission we got away with 24k, which was the richest we've ever been. That money saved us a lot of trouble back then.
I'm asking because I don't recall seeing any hard numbers, and I'm sure Inoue wouldn't sell our cervices for 2 cents.
You referenced low pay twice now. Is this in fact low pay? And if so, would it remain that way?
One of the first things we saw in canon was that when the danger of the mission gets rethought, the pay gets renegotiated. If we take the scroll back to our shady contact we will absolutely demand A-rank mission pay with a "and you should have told us there was a jounin" chaser before handing it over. We're not going to be chumps risking our lives for coppers.
I know you have other reservations about completing the mission and don't' really want to work for anyone, but let's drop this "low-paying" line. We will get our money.
- Location
- Europe
Oh yeah, I've been meaning to voice this opinion about Honami.
If the problem is that she is a woman, why don't we solve that by marrying her off to some guy who doesn't mind to leave all the actual business things to her? That way Honami's father might even intentionally start hoisting more of the resort responsibilities towards the next generation. No need for inelegant solutions like drugs or chakra lobotomy.
Timing the ice delivery (or some other temporary boost) with the new husbands participation in the family business would boost his credibility in the eyes of Honami's father. Or maybe we could even credit him with the whole ice business in the first place? Kinda like a reverse dowry.
I would be surprised if Honami couldn't think of one or two potential applicants who could take a cushy job as a fake husband.
On aborting the mission. Separated from risk/reward analysis, personally I won't be voting for any "abort the mission and camp out in the woods for a month" type of a plan. If you want to sway my vote you need to come up with something exciting for us to do in the next update.
Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
While I agree... I fear the repercussions if this message gets to its intended recipient. I'm not sure what's in it, but I doubt it's good news for everyone involved. That's not to say I think we should return the scroll to our quest giver, but... I dunno. Maybe I'm being egocentric here, but with the kind of mission parameters Dark and Shady gave us, I fear the butterfly effect from letting this message go through.