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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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Seeing that fight reminds me how lucky Hazou got in the fight with Daizen. Dude could have taken us with slightly better rolls or differently suspended rule sets.

Also. Our favorite blade mistress has taken down some Jonin at this point, yeah? So we could expect to see some enemies beyond our paygrade AND harder to hit than normal any moment.

This isn't me saying to turn back, it seems like we're close, and overall health and Chakra wise we're doing okay. But I think any plan we make really needs way to increase Kei's utility right now.
 
Inferno Vulpix brought up the idea of the shades being brought up from Hazou's memories on Discord, and with the benefit of hindsight I think he's right. Kagome isn't here, yet his kill(s) showed up first; then there was Team Muramatsu; then Daizen and Arikada's Edo Tensei. All of these people Hazou saw killed, or at least was present when their body was killed.

This means that we've got a couple more potential ninja to face:
I'm going to assume there won't be any Seventh Path enemies that'll show up, because one of those is the Dragon Hazou saw get shredded, and we're all fucked if that's here.
 
faflec said:
I'm going to assume there won't be any Seventh Path enemies that'll show up, because one of those is the Dragon Hazou saw get shredded, and we're all fucked if that's here.
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To be honest "we're fucked if that's here" isn't a valid reason why it couldn't be here. That being said in the April Fools chapter that spawned beta timeline Hazou, we had a bit of a loredump concerning the Tailed Beasts, the Five and the Dragons iirc? It would be a bit unlikely that something of this much cosmological weight could simply be created from memory as a shade by a sealing failure spawned by a special jounin level seal.

...But the Rift was created by chuunish Hazou sealmaster's random whatever seals getting shredded by Daizen's lightning so then again, maybe? How is the mfd world still intact lol.
 
[X] Action plan: Push Through
Wordcount: <300
  • Don't split the party
    • Have Kei use training explosives instead of full power ones
      • If that seems likely to cause a cave-in - don't do it
        • Instead have her use Nara jutsu to support the team.
        • Do Electrocution seals work on the shades?
  • Push onwards for Yūma, keep following the blood trail.
    • Signal him that we're close with low-power explosives (again, if that doesn't seem likely to cause a cave-in)
    • Approach Yūma carefully, he might be behaving oddly
    • After we get him, equip skywalkers and tunnel directly out with Tunnel Excavation.
      • When we get to the surface. Call off the rescue mission. Use Earbusters if necessary to get the attention of the reinforcements.
  • If we face a shade known to be jounin (Jotaru, the Cloud Jounin, Shirogane) run
    • Block off pursuit with a MEW if practicable, but prioritize getting the hell out of there.
 
eaglejarl said:
Note: It's extremely likely that the next update will be an interlude unless @Velorien or @Paperclipped can take it. If so, the vote will reopen.
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[X] Interlude: Chapter 506: Talking with the Boss, Part 2 of Part 1

[X] Interlude: Enma's Arrival at the Conclave
[X] Interlude: Hiruzen and Jiraya Teach the Hyūga Elders the Pink Pony no Jutsu
[X] Interlude: Hazō!β Continues on his Path to Victory
[X] Interlude: Honoka's Adoption Ceremony
[X] Interlude: Hiruzen Learns About EM Nuke, Decides Hazou is going to learn THing, and scoops Hazou off the street like a stray kitten. Hazou is just thrilled to finally get an apprenticeship.

[X] Interlude: Hazō and/or Noburi spending a few hours learning what jutsu the Tower has for them.
[X] Interlude: Hazō reading through some of the high level seals Jiraiya left him.
EDIT: More ideas
[X] Interlude: After invigilating Hazō's exam, Manjiro calls in his last remaining favor token. To Hazō's surprise, the student he's expected to teach…. is Manjiro?!
[X] Interlude: Hazō meets with Asuma to tell him he figured out how to decode the TH sections of Minato's notes. Hazō then demonstrates how he did it by summoning the newly-ressurected Fourth Hokage into the room.
 
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[X] Interlude: Chapter 506: Talking with the Boss, Part 2 of Part 1

[X] Interlude: Enma's Arrival at the Conclave
[X] Interlude: Hiruzen and Jiraya Teach the Hyūga Elders the Pink Pony no Jutsu
[X] Interlude: Hazō!β Continues on his Path to Victory
[X] Interlude: Honoka's Adoption Ceremony
[X] Interlude: Hiruzen Learns About EM Nuke, Decides Hazou is going to learn THing, and scoops Hazou off the street like a stray kitten. Hazou is just thrilled to finally get an apprenticeship.

[X] Interlude: Hazō and/or Noburi spending a few hours learning what jutsu the Tower has for them.
[X] Interlude: Hazō reading through some of the high level seals Jiraiya left him.
 
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[X] Action Plan: Ghosts of Hazōmas Past
Word Count: ???
  • Hazou's immediate thoughts:
    • We're not splitting the party. There's too much of a chance something will attack us.
    • We're not abandoning Yuma. That's not what we do.
    • We're not splitting the party. Splitting the party means if/when we're attacked our forces will be weaker.
  • Suggest for Kei to use Electrocution Seals/Goo Bombs. Alternatively, ask if she has learned any other offensive ninjutsu which may be of use.
    • Don't ask her to use Nara clan jutsu: there may be a good reason she isn't using them that hasn't been said. Just float the idea of "offensive ninjutsu".
  • Point out that every enemy we've seen have been humans Hazou's seen die.
  • Keep going.
    • Approach Yūma carefully, he might be confused or an enemy in disguise.
    • After we get him, equip skywalkers and Tunneling Excavation out.
      • When we get to the surface, call off the rescue mission. Use Earbusters if necessary to get the attention of reinforcements.
 
Sir Stompy said:
[X] Action plan: Push Through
Wordcount: <300
  • Don't split the party
    • Have Kei use training explosives instead of full power ones
      • If that seems likely to cause a cave-in - don't do it
        • Instead have her use Nara jutsu to support the team.
        • Do Electrocution seals work on the shades?
  • Push onwards for Yūma, keep following the blood trail.
    • Signal him that we're close with low-power explosives (again, if that doesn't seem likely to cause a cave-in)
    • Approach Yūma carefully, he might be behaving oddly
    • After we get him, equip skywalkers and tunnel directly out with Tunnel Excavation.
      • When we get to the surface. Call off the rescue mission. Use Earbusters if necessary to get the attention of the reinforcements.
  • If we face a shade known to be jounin (Jotaru, the Cloud Jounin, Shirogane) run
    • Block off pursuit with a MEW if practicable, but prioritize getting the hell out of there.
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Explosions are physical phenomina, so I wouldn't expect them to hurt a shade if a kuni wouldn't.

Also, why not include at least a token effort to subdue and interrogate a genin-level shade if we find one? It seems very low cost, and with some chance of being quite useful.

Even if shades are "only" manifestations from Hazou's memory, they have jutsu and skills he lacks. Do they also have memories he lacks? Can they chose not to fight? Can we psudo-resurect Jotaru, a powerful leaf-jounin?

Please at least try to ask a genin some questions.

@faflec same goes for your plan.
 
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faflec said:
Suggest for Kei to use Electrocution Seals/Goo Bombs. Alternatively, ask if she has learned any other offensive ninjutsu which may be of use.
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eaglejarl said:
The entire scene has the Aspect "Dark Miasma", making sight beyond a Zone nearly impossible. Additionally, deeper in the caves (which includes where the team is now), the miasma thickens, weakening those that have to pass through it. Once per combat, enemies may tag âDark Miasmaâ against you.
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I was thinking that Dark Miasma means that Goo Bombs would be useless. But I think we can probably use them in adjacent Zones. We need to be careful of friendly fire though. I'd make that explicit if I was you.
 
faflec said:
I'm going to assume there won't be any Seventh Path enemies that'll show up, because one of those is the Dragon Hazou saw get shredded, and we're all fucked if that's here.
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Flip it the other way around: if Hazou's presence is causing the shades to appear (there were no shades seen before this expedition), and the Dragon is in the pool of candidate threats, then we must evacuate Hazou immediately before that can happen. At the very least, I'm going to immediately campaign for Hazou leaving if we see a Hyena show up. Tunnel Excavation right through the ceiling, maybe straight-up reverse summon and wait for the cave to be cleared.

It's entirely possible that the rest of the team will have a far easier time without Hazou around, if his departure means they won't encounter any more shades.
 
I'm interested in whether or not everyone is seeing the same dead people as we are and when we might see some people Noburi killed with Kakashi or Yuno killed independently.
 
[X] Action Plan: Ghosts of Hazōmas Past

[X] Interlude: Chapter 506: Talking with the Boss, Part 2 of Part 1
[X] Interlude: Hazō!β Continues on his Path to Victory
[X] Interlude: Hazō and/or Noburi spending a few hours learning what jutsu the Tower has for them.
[X] Interlude: Hazō reading through some of the high level seals Jiraiya left him.
 
[X] Interlude: Hazō!β Continues on his Path to Victory

Vel has mentioned this brings spoons, and I admit to enjoy reading it.
 
faflec said:
[X] Action Plan: Ghosts of Hazōmas Past
Word Count: ???
  • Hazou's immediate thoughts:
    • We're not splitting the party. There's too much of a chance something will attack us.
    • We're not abandoning Yuma. That's not what we do.
    • We're not splitting the party. Splitting the party means if/when we're attacked our forces will be weaker.
  • Suggest for Kei to use Electrocution Seals/Goo Bombs. Alternatively, ask if she has learned any other offensive ninjutsu which may be of use.
    • Don't ask her to use Nara clan jutsu: there may be a good reason she isn't using them that hasn't been said. Just float the idea of "offensive ninjutsu".
  • Point out that every enemy we've seen have been humans Hazou's seen die.
  • Keep going.
    • Approach Yūma carefully, he might be confused or an enemy in disguise.
    • After we get him, equip skywalkers and Tunneling Excavation out.
      • When we get to the surface, call off the rescue mission. Use Earbusters if necessary to get the attention of reinforcements.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
We need some way to warn Mari that she may have to fight past foes and only ninjutsu seems to work on them. She may not want to enter if it's going to summon swarms of jonin. While I'm not eager to spend chakra on it, Kei could send her stealth spec to sneak back to the entrance. Or maybe message Asuma or someone through the 7th Path - though we don't really have the time to wait for confirmation

It's also been pointed out (including in your plan) that all the enemies seem to belong to Hazou - may want to ask if everyone is seeing the same thing or not. If not everyone is seeing the same thing the shades may not be the same strength as whoever they're imitating
 
Shrooms said:
We need some way to warn Mari that she may have to fight past foes and only ninjutsu seems to work on them. She may not want to enter if it's going to summon swarms of jonin. While I'm not eager to spend chakra on it, Kei could send her stealth spec to sneak back to the entrance. Or maybe message Asuma or someone through the 7th Path - though we don't really have the time to wait for confirmation

It's also been pointed out (including in your plan) that all the enemies seem to belong to Hazou - may want to ask if everyone is seeing the same thing or not. If not everyone is seeing the same thing the shades may not be the same strength as whoever they're imitating
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The fact that the shades only showed up when Hazo Prime came into the cave system leads me to believe the sealing failure is attuned to him somehow. Quite possible that only he triggers the shade spawning.
 
We should spend some of our money on THers for the clan. Maybe a Fire Element Athletics boost to help keep Sasha alive, as well as a Lightning Element AoE for the rest of the clan?
 
RandomOTP said:
We should spend some of our money on THers for the clan. Maybe a Fire Element Athletics boost to help keep Sasha alive, as well as a Lightning Element AoE for the rest of the clan?
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Mind bumping this question then? Also some kind of Lighting Superspeed buff would be wayyyy more useful to the rest of the clan. We're practically made of Lightning Element melee fighters. Funnily enough, we are actually having a whole discussion about it on the discord here.

Mmm, just the thought of RRB + Lightning Superspeed makes me want to drool.
 
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