- Location
- Book Fort
- Pronouns
- They/Them
...we have unlimited money from ES50. We can also earthshape the statues, ourselves.
Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest
- Thread starter eaglejarl
- Start date
-
- Tags
- naruto rational 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
- Location
- Book Fort
- Pronouns
- They/Them
We can have one of our junior sealmasters research a longer one.
I suppose I don't have a good estimate on how long this would take. I was assuming 10 or 20 hours, with a bit of help.
This is, literally, not true. In fact, (I can't find the source for this, but if I recall correctly) commissioning the mission from Hidan and Kakuzu was a noticeable expenditure for us, and we didn't even pay for all of it. And no matter what the (hypothetical) exact numbers may be for how much money we have, or how much it would cost to commission hundreds of statues, I am extremely confident there are better uses of our money.
From the rules: "Shaping the material is a slow process, requiring anywhere from minutes to hours depending on the nature of the material, how much there is, and how complex the desired final shape is." I would expect a human-sized statue to take at least an hour, particularly if we want it to (a) actually look good and (b) actually resemble the person it is depicting. And there would be at least a hundred statues. In fact, a substantial obstacle to the proposal to illuminate the entire compound with statues holding lanterns or seals likely would be the difficulty of researching a hundred dead ninja and finding reasonably accurate depictions of them to serve as references for the statues.
Conclave Bonus Chapter 5: Treacherous Trust
- Location
- USA
"Welcome, Summoner," rumbled the low, rich voice of Pantsā of the Adamant Scales. "I see you remain hearty as ever to respond to my summons as promptly as you have. In the interest of your time, which I have no doubt that other clans have made many demands of at the Conclave, I will keep this brief."
"Polemarch," Kei said, lacing her fingers together. The summons hadn't indicated Pantsā's intentions, but even she could have discerned the general thrust of the conversation. A council of Leaf's best had convened to guide Kei away from the repercussions of her own flagrantly treasonous actions. She could only hope that they had given her enough.
"As you might have guessed, this concerns your earlier proposal. I spent a long time rolling the thought over in my head, examining it from different angles. That it appeared as bald-headed blackmail and treason at first glance did not diminish its foulness upon consideration. Yet… Its utility became clearer the longer I considered it."
Kei had learned enough not to let herself have hope while the hammer was still rising.
"Your proposal had a certain inner logic to it that I could not deny," Pantsā said. "A narrative even I could see. You violate Pangolins' laws, then justify yourself by preserving the capacity for such violations. You already have great value as a summoner, and you propose a way that might raise that value to me even higher, in exchange for merely eroding away the chains that bind you, and eroding the foundations upon which our Clan was built.
"Tell me, Nara Kei. Do human leaders do this? Do they select a person or group that they can use to violate their own laws when it is convenient to them?"
"Deniable operatives are a common Human Path contrivance, Polemarch," Kei said. "For reasons that must be plainly obvious to you, certain operations draw the risk of immense retaliation if their provenance can be associated with a nation's formal leadership, and deniable operatives evade that risk."
"One might consider why those deniable assets are not in constant use then," Pantsā said, musing. "Perhaps they suffer a tradeoff in lower reliability, or have other substantial limitations associated with those whose loyalty is merely bought and sold. Regardless, your proposal did not regard other Clans. You did not offer to appear to break our Contract, only to act against other Clans in ways that would somehow prevent Pangolin from drawing their ire. No, you highlighted your value in policing Pangolin itself. Does your Hokage have people reporting to him that undertake covert missions within his own lands, perhaps within the hidden village itself? Spying on the Hokage's brothers and assassinating his friends, while remaining solely loyal to the Hokage?"
Pantsā could not possibly have intentionally crafted such a perfect parallel. With her fears of Akane's impending potential assassination, could she somehow claim that the ANBU kept their absolute secrecy and absolute loyalty to the Hokage in order to be paragons of lawful good? That the ANBU agents, who spent so much of their time within Leaf and within Fire, would never be used against Leaf's own ninja even if those ninja posed a risk to the village and the bedrock beneath it?
"Yes, Polemarch. I know that the Hokage has such agents, though I cannot claim faithful knowledge about the true extent of their activities for obvious reasons."
"Now, tell me, Summoner. Does the knowledge that these agents might act against you make you feel safe? If your secrets are stolen or your clawmate mysteriously disappears under circumstances that you can explain in no other way, do you not feel fear of what might happen to you if you investigate or give voice to your suspicions? When the Hokage himself has motives beyond your comprehension, will you trust any institution of your village, or will you retreat to the narrow world of your siblings and blood-brothers?"
"Polemarch, the circumstances are different. On the Human Path, all know that the Hokage directly commands such agents, whereas you have the prerogative to use such agents discreetly, creating the narrative that this hypothetical foreign element was a renegade you could only barely restrain rather than an operative acting at your behest."
"Oh?" Pantsā asked. "Will that seem like a reasonable explanation to an observer when you act against Pangolin's laws after the third or fourth false 'punishment' I give you? It will not. My people are loyal, but that does not make them fools. And of course, I presume the agents you speak of are not foreign ninja. Surely the Hokage would not let a foreign element run amok among his people even in fiction. Now, my questions, Summoner."
Minami's assassination had indeed diminished Kei's trust in Jiraiya, but it did not kill the prospect of trust outright. Yet, it did erode her already fragile belief in Leaf's safety. She could not claim that she trusted Asuma. To lie was death, but any truthful answer would be treason against Leaf, and with the Lord Hokage mere dozens of miles away, she would not incriminate herself so easily. "I am afraid I cannot say, Polemarch."
"Hm," Pantsā said. "In which case, allow me to pose a different question. Imagine a distant land, with two villages ruled by two Hokage. One is a village where the Hokage is weakened by the lack of extra-legal agents. He may set the law but cannot break it, and this frustrates him. His enemies can act against him with the right level of subtlety, but his subordinates know that he is trustworthy in all things. The other village is the one which you and I have described. If you were a citizen of this distant land, which hypothetical Hokage would you rather have? The one bound by chains he himself forged, or the one who succumbs to all the vices of power?"
Kei held her tongue for a long moment. "...the former, Polemarch."
"And if you were in the former village, would you change it to the latter?"
"No, Polemarch."
"I often trust the wisdom of my subordinates, Nara Kei," Pantsā said, "especially when their unique experiences have granted them knowledge I do not possess. As a result, I deny your proposal. Frankly, I would disdain any leader with so much contempt for their own laws."
Her hastily assembled plan in the aftermath of Operation Murdersnout had failed her, then. She had not only violated Pangolin's justice, but attempted to blackmail the Polemarch to evade punishment. Pantsā could recourse to execution if he so chose, and if he had formulated that intention, she would already have lost the right to reverse summon. She would have to put her faith in her allies' mitigation strategies.
"My apologies, Polemarch. Still, I commend your sagacity and your commitment to upholding Pangolin's laws. With all due apologies for any repeated transgressions, I must insist that I receive the appropriate punishment for insubordination."
"Insubordination, Summoner?" Pantsā asked, curiously.
"Yes, Polemarch. As Summoner, Pangolin's authority binds me. Given the complexity of the operation to capture the Condor insurgents, my actions were legally ambiguous. Consequently, if you do not endorse my actions, my decision to abort the prisoners' execution violated Coordinator's Panditto's orders. Similarly, while I broke no law at the Conclave, I did not comply with every one of Taxiarchos Pankratos' orders. I will not lie before you and claim I have not committed insubordination. Instead, I submit to the appropriate punishment."
Her life depended upon Pantsā's desire to retain her as a Summoner. If he did…
Pantsā laughed, a low rumbling sound made all the more disturbing by its artificiality – Kei had been in Pangolin for long enough to understand that laughter was not how they expressed amusement.
"Summoner, I think you misunderstand me. I am not a slavering hyena, waiting for a pretense to execute you. I continue to see your immense potential as a summoner, and wish to help you grow. Yet, I am not fool enough to ignore your Condor sympathies."
"Polemarch-!"
"Summoner," Pantsā cut in, calm but firm. "Please. I have dealt with humans before, and I am not fool enough to be deceived by one so young with such a consistent pattern of behavior. I do not mean to accuse you. War is harsh especially for a child, and I cannot fault you for not knowing all that the Condors have done to us, the decades and centuries long history of our, yes, mutual feud. Still, you must learn Pangolin ways or else you will forever be an outsider. I do not want you, Nara Kei, to perpetually be an outcast because you cannot accept our culture. I want you to identify with your clawmates and recognize the value of their prosperity.
"Still, your argument coincides with my natural inclination. Very well, Summoner. As a punishment for insubordination, you will do a tour on the front lines without pay or benefits. As it has been left ambiguous for now, your rank will be Ypolochagos, and you will command a squad of three to five Pangolins of my choice. Perhaps I will select Pangolins with histories of insubordination themselves. You will defend our towns against the relentless onslaught of the Hyena raiders. I trust you will find yourself at least able to fight to defend the weak and helpless civilians of Pangolin, merely trying to live an ordinary life."
"Polemarch." The conversational branch had yielded a suboptimal outcome, but far from the worst (in which Ami, Hazō, Noburi and Mari would merely see her Summoning Scroll appear from thin air and clatter to the ground). "As you indicated, the Conclave occupies my attention at present. I will gladly forsake it at your command, but I would appreciate clarity on the tour's duration."
"I see, Summoner. I will not deny the potential importance of the Dragons if Enma can indeed confirm all your brother has claimed, and your work there is important. I will suspend this punishment until all relevant affairs have concluded, and you can afford to spend several months uninterrupted leading this squad."
She would have to endure months uninterrupted on the Seventh Path, alongside Pangolins with a plausible cover to disobey her orders. Pantsā could secretly instruct them to assassinate her at any time, and revoke her ability to reverse summon. Yet, she could not object at this juncture.
"In the meantime, you will obey orders from Taxiarchos Pankratos and any superior officer at the Conclave and break no law of Pangolin. Additionally, you will not communicate with or interact with any Condor, nor any Pangolin who is an active custodian of a Condor. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Polemarch."
"Very well. I do believe you will truly become clawmates with those you fight scale-by-scale, and that you could make a fine summoner one day. You have been separate from us for too long. As with all things, growth takes time. Until your affairs at the Conclave are concluded, you are dismissed."
Hazou has no clue where Confute went.
Conjura could not be reached during the relevant timeframe.
Some social rolls forthcoming.
Given its plot importance, this will not be written unless it's on-screen.
With the main plot continuing to stretch into the future, we want to wrap up the Conclave arc quickly. Therefore, the next Conclave chapter will finish the arc, and will contain Enma's arrival. If you have any particular things you want to do before then, or responses to Enma's arrival you want to have prepared, then please include them in your final [Conclave]-tagged plan.
Enma's plan is to arrive, weave a wonderful story for everyone, and end by telling them to move like their lives depend on it. They'll convince their Bosses to return to Pangolin, and once the Bosses all arrive, Enma will pull together the Crusade. Hazou has two main roles in this: first, he should reinforce Enma's message in private to whichever Clans he befriended and successfully scared with tales of the Dragons, and second, he will need to testify before the Bosses when they arrive. If you want Hazou to do anything above and beyond this, you'll need to specify it.
For next Wednesday's vote close deadline (noon London), please write a plan with the [Conclave] tag. For example:
[][Conclave] Chill out
- You've done your part. Relax till Enma arrives, then go along with what he says.
GM-had-fun XP: 1 (the plan was basically "hey NPCs, solve this problem for us through an arduous planning meeting", but the real scene was fun to write)
Brevity XP: 1 (to be bulk awarded at the end of the arc)
- Location
- Yes.
Clarification: We should be assuming that Hazou will be doing the above and will not need to write it into a plan, correct?
- Location
- USA
Correct, though the final update in this time-shifted mini-arc will only cover Hazou's first role. If you don't want him to do this, or you want him to follow any particular cues that go above and beyond "follow intuition + follow advisors' advice", then you should feel free to specify such details.
PANTSAA: "What you describe is absurd. No political system could possibly function like that."
KEI: "That is exactly how Leaf's political system works."
If only you knew how bad things really are.
Honestly, I respect that. It's a breath of fresh air.
Unstagnation time 😎
Last edited:
- Location
- United States
May I request seeing as much as possible of Enma's arrival and subsequent actions? That sounds supremely interesting.
- Pronouns
- She/Her/They/Them
Eep.
Huh.
I wouldn't have predicted that. Ui? Another clan's summoner? How long did the pangolin scroll sit in Isan, and when did Pantsaa become Boss?
- Location
- The Maple Syrup Mountains
This, too, is a test. Kei knows that she could be killed here by Pantsā without any credible reprisal from the rest of Leaf, and Pantsā knows that she will have deduced that. If Kei is not willing to follow through on this, it proves she believes such assassination likely enough that she fears making herself vulnerable. Sending this signal would speak volumes about how much Kei is aligned against the current Pangolin order, and thus give Pantsā reason to believe that she cannot be trusted as Summoner.
And by going through with it, Kei will know that Pantsā had every opportunity to kill her without retribution and chose not to. While this signal only truly conveys Pantsā's honesty to Kei, it's easy to imagine how a person would instinctively feel grateful that they have not been killed. More than just tying Kei to her Pangolin comrades, Pantsā seeks to diminish Kei's willingness to resist him by putting her in a position where he has absolute power over her life and chose not to exercise it.
- Location
- Book Fort
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Not to mention the social isolation, with her only social interactions being friendly Pangolins, and bloodthirsty Hyenas.
You can be aware of the manipulation and still impacted by it.
- Location
- Pacific standard
[J] [Conclave] Rule of Cool
Purchase Earth infusion going to negative xp
With base level 0 P. S Make a replica of the great seal, to show the conclave the thing they need to defend. Steal Pantsā's authority to turn it on
Purchase Earth infusion going to negative xp
With base level 0 P. S Make a replica of the great seal, to show the conclave the thing they need to defend. Steal Pantsā's authority to turn it on
- Location
- Pacific standard
This is of course itself a misdirection, as Pantsā can kill Kei whenever she comes to the 7th Path merely by not allowing her to return. There's no difference in reality, in terms of risk.
Noumero
Omit Needless Words
Reposting my previous lore plan in case people want to vote for it now. This is essentially just chill out+.
[x] [Conclave] Action Plan: Not One Unusual Thing Has Ever Happened
Word count: <300.
[x] [Conclave] Action Plan: Not One Unusual Thing Has Ever Happened
Word count: <300.
- Meet the Rats again. Sanity-check with Mari.
- Nezala's speculations on the Seventh Path's design interested you. On both Paths, the Sage is steeped in legend, and usually revered, in a way that's hostile to questioning. The Rat Clan, however, seems like it'd interested in the physical truth of what happened during his era...
- You're also interested. The nature of reality is of utmost relevance to improving the sapient condition within it...
- ... And for protecting it. Let us suppose, for this discussion, that the Dragons are real. Not as mythical beings, but as a banal part of the world, sitting some distance thataway. Conditional on that, how do the Rats' beliefs on the past change?
- Notably, you're not asking "what legends are true?"; none are. You care about the latent truths refracted through legends.
- From your end, share the information on Pain's Rinnegan (and whatever ritual Akatsuki planned), the bijuu and the overview of sealing failures (if the Rats don't know about either), Jashin, and whatever insights the Summoning Scroll and the Great Seal granted you.
- Meditate on the Out before the meeting, write insights down, then filter them into sane-sounding speech. (Source: unspecified sealing lore.)
- Topics of interest:
- The Rat Clan's broad agreed-upon inferences about the Sage's era, if they exist. Again: physical truths, not legends. What's the story?
- Any other sealed monstrosities? Between the Dragons (supposedly reclaiming their powers by exterminating Clans) and the bijuu, "split the monster, seal the parts" seems the Sage's modus operandi...
- Don't mention the Five. Do steer the conversation if something relevant seems to have come up.
- What's this about "summoning Death"?
- Cross-dimensional travel. Any helpful lore? What's cosmology like?
- Don't talk about the necromancy project.
- Otherwise: Relax till Enma arrives, then go along with what he says.
Last edited:
Zampano
🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
- Location
- Simping for DSB
Why not? In seven hundred chapters the Rats are going to be like "oh yes, the five. The five sealed horrors. The five sealed malevolent horrors that are chained to the bloodlines of the damned. Those five?"
And then Hazo is gonna be like "this would have been useful to know YESTERDAY"
And then the rats will say "you never asked."
[X][Conclave] Birdwatching & Rat Facts
Word Count: <300
I'm happy to improve on this, suggestions are welcome.
Word Count: <300
- Ask Ruri if she can summon Convei and figure out why she isn't at the Conclave
- Act on this info as Hazoupilot sees fit.
- If Convei is being kept away by Pantsaa, consult with allies(like Asuma, Mari, Enma, Ma/Pa Toad, ect) on how to get her present.
- Talk to the Rats
- Ask them about:
- The Five
- Jashin
- Ninshu
- What "Summoning Death" means
- Ask them about:
- Get the largest piece of Dragon bones/claws you can and bring them to the Conclave.
- When Enma arrives, support him
I'm happy to improve on this, suggestions are welcome.
Last edited: