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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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Twinnstars said:
You're right of course, but the potential payoff of subverting Orochimaru is absurd. All those ideas of staying in Oro's basement and trusting his deceit/intimidation to make Akatsuki fuck off? Suddenly very possible if Oro is just another traumatized senior uplift member. Oro could go missing with us, if we subvert him. He'd almost definitely be able to secure a chakra farm for us. At minimum, he would be a safe Leaf contact.

After the Dragons are dealt with, we need to have a plan for Oro. He *will* take over the setting otherwise. Throwing an army of mini s rankers at him should work, but that puts us on a tighter leash: find enough strength in the afterlife to kill oro before he gets too strong to assault, or decides to kill the uppity brat he called Nephew.

One consensual buff for the Snake could change that. He clearly likes the idea of upgrading his allies, he's frustrated Manda is the only one who'll accept biomods. He'd probably be a bit more willing to go under our metaphysical knife if we went under his, but he still might.
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I think getting bioseals from Orochimaru is too much at the moment. For all the charisma and Snuncle jokes, he is still a monster and a sleezy snake. Can we change that over time if we stay on his good side? Possibly. Is it worth it? Probably. With all the benefits? Definitely.

But lets not delude ourselves that we are not playing with fire here. I'm all for collaboration but I think we would need at least a year of everything going well before we could extend him any real amount of trust or show vulnerability like that.
 
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Inferno Vulpix said:
My first thought is "within a certain radius, ensure ink flows with perfect consistency and brush-hairs never clump or misalign". It's not clear how much those problems tend to bother sealmasters, but it seems at least a reasonable guess that supernaturally-precise brushes and ink would translate to easier calligraphy-work and thus better numbers. No diverting attention to ensuring the ink didn't clump, no subtle twists of the hand realigning the brush so the hairs don't stray out of place, etc.
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@eaglejarl @Paperclipped @Velorien

Does Hazou think something like this would provide a bonus to his Calligraphy? I'm not asking how difficult a rune like this would be to research, just if Hazou thinks the issues it solves are worth pursuing solutions to.
Inferno Vulpix said:
My second thought is something related to the hyperbolic time chamber rune chain. If we can get a rune that slows down time but not our perception of time (perhaps its raidus is small enough our hand is inside the effect while our head is not) then Hazou can take all the time in the world to adjust his brushstrokes, in essence allowing us to time-ladder down on the research roll. I could see this one encountering complications, but I could also see it working swimmingly.
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How about this idea QMs? As far as I know, research rolls are already maximally time-laddered down by prep days, so it's not clear that this would provide a benefit to Calligraphy.
 
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A lot of people and plans are currently assuming that Hazou will be going missing nin at some point close to the future. I was under the impression that this has *not* been determined and that threat sentiment was a bit more split than others have been making it sound.

So out of curiousity, can people please vote for what they would expect to vote if the choice to actually go missing nin comes up? 'Something else' would include faking death, staying in Oro's basement, etc.

Some choices:

[ ] [MissingNin] I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[ ] [MissingNin] I am undecided as to whether I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[ ] [MissingNin] I vote for Hazou to stay in leaf.
[ ] [MissingNin] I would vote for something else.

[X] [MissingNin] I vote for Hazou to stay in leaf.
 
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[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for something else.

To represent what I think is a common stance- I have no specific desire to go missing but it seems like the only plausible solution to many problems we're facing. I would vote for another plausible solution if one were presented.

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[x ] [MissingNin] Can't have shit in Konoha.
 
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[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.

[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for something else.

[x ] [MissingNin] Can't have shit in Konoha.
 
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[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for something else.
[x ] [MissingNin] Can't have shit in Konoha.
 
[x] [MissingNin] I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[x ] [MissingNin] Can't have shit in Konoha.

I don't want to leave Leaf, but I also don't see a way we can stay within Leaf. Remaining here is an opsec risk for Lithosealing, we're still planning on doing Rift research, and definitely planning on killing the Akatsuki. If we're discovered, then the Akatsuki will come back, beat shinies out of us like a pinata, and then kill us.

It's like when we had to raise ES to level 50 for 3D Sealing: I don't want to, there's a big cost, but I also don't really see any other way.
 
[X] [MissingNin] I am undecided as to whether I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[X] [MissingNin] I vote for Hazou to stay in leaf.
 
[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for something else.
[x ] [MissingNin] Can't have shit in Konoha
 
[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[x ] [MissingNin] Can't have shit in Konoha.
 
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[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for something else.
[x ] [MissingNin] Can't have shit in Konoha.

I am not married to the option of leaving, so it's not like I wouldn't vote for something else, but as things stand I do not see a viable alternative to going missing. The default route, we stay in Leaf and do non-necromancy research like a good little Hazou, leads to the rift either being closed by Orochimaru or claimed by Akatuski to resurrect Pain, both of which are very unfavourable outcomes. Hazou continuing to practice runecrafting likely means that OPSEC leaks to the Akatsuki when they eventually interrogate Hazou.

I don't like the idea of the Akatsuki learning about runecrafting. I especially don't like the idea of Deidara getting interested enough to twist our arm into teaching it to him. I dislike the idea of Pain coming back and trying to bring AMITY under his thumb, particularly when accounting for 1) him being seen as ninja satan in this world, 2) the rest of the Akatsuki being barely-coordinated lunatics, and 3) the risk Pain is diminished enough from the afterlife that the above issues exacerbate even further. And most of all, I abhor the idea of just giving up on Jiraiya, who we most likely will never see again unless we personally claim the rift for ourselves. Even Akane we'd be risking, because Orochimaru might win and close the rift forever, or Akatsuki might find Pain first and then stop searching entirely.

It's not that I think it would be a game over, if we stayed. But what are we staying for? We joined Leaf to change the world, because we had a burning idealistic vision of the future that we'd do anything to make real. If staying in Leaf means we get penned into a box, forced by hostile demigods to temper our ambitions and play nice, if it means we have to spend the entire rest of the quest puttering around with little projects here and there while the world continues to slide into the abyss, then what's even the point of staying?

This is an act of desperation, the pressure-release valve after we made the mistake of gaining too much of the Akatsuki's attention. The Akatsuki as they stand can be considered anathema to Uplift because our ambitions are disruptive and they will not abide their plans being disrupted. They can, will, and have minimized our power and influence, and the only way to avoid being made a side-character in our own dang quest is if we make it impossible for them to keep doing so. As it stands, I do not see an alternative here other than going missing.

Honestly, I might prefer going missing-nin to staying even if we lose the race. It'd suck, it'd horribly suck to not get Jiraiya and Akane back and then return to Leaf in glory and tell the Akatsuki to shove off. It'd be the biggest L of the quest by a mile. But when the dust settled, we'd still be free. Free in a way that Akatsuki would never tolerate us being if we stayed in Leaf. We'd be free to scour the world for lore, to grow in power and runic sophistication. We'd be free to save the world from old threats like the Great Seal and new threats that surely still exist out there. And maybe, in the fullness of time, we could pick off the Akatsuki at our leisure, grow into an S-Ranker, and return to Leaf the same way Orochimaru did: by being simply too valuable for them to say no. Losing here isn't a hopeless situation, it's not the claustrophobic despair I'd feel at being stuck in Leaf knowing Itachi might show up at any moment and throw us around like a ragdoll until he's satisfied we haven't offended him.

This was always a quest about taking risks and shooting for the stars, trying to achieve the impossible and save a world that's so intent on its own destruction. The one thing I cannot abide is betraying that which this entire quest has been built upon.
 
[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for something else.
[x ] [MissingNin] Can't have shit in Konoha.


Staying in Leaf is an inherently loosing move.
 
[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for something else.
[X] [MissingNin] Can't have shit in Konoha.

I would stay if that was a viable option.

I could see us remaining in Leaf if the cards fell exactly right with Orochimaru, such as if we were able to rope him into Project Necromancy - I'm sure he very much abhors the idea of a resurrected Nagato making all Akatsuki effectively unkillable while hunting him down to the ends of the earth. Plus, he likely has some sentiment for Jiraiya and such. But this carries its own set of risks, even if we managed to pull that off.

Another option would be negotiating with Akatsuki and helping them to the Rift via our Primordial Sealing prowess while getting any Leaf-nin we can find in the Afterlife (Jiraiya, Asuma, Akane etc) back in exchange. I don't think its difficulty : impossible but it would likely be pretty hard.

So all in all I think we are most likely going missing eventually, unless a better opportunity presents itself.
 
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Error Checking.
Rune to check seal blanks for mistakes. It takes five minutes to draw a blank and one hour to check for mistakes. A rune that saves human time checking for mistakes is like knowing the TN is impossible or locking in +12 for Iron Nerve users.

Ctrl+Z.
Rune to perfectly erase the last stroke or combine strokes after drawing them on separate layers like modern image editing programs.

ES Instructions.
Encode instructions to draw a seal in an ES 3D blank of the seal. Rune interprets instructions to telekinetically draw the seal. Cheat in powered up ES for the Penmanship roll.

Mass Production.
Draw a seal blank while wearing a glove. Rune telekinetically controls the glove to repeat motions made while drawing the blank, including dipping the brush for more ink + replacing the paper. Assistant refills ink and paper.
 
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eaglejarl said:
Everyone was motivated to get the shelter covered over...mostly so that Inoue-sensei would stop teasing them with her exaggerated laziness and faux-innocent 'suggestions' that they work harder. Eight days later their artificial cave was coated in a layer of dirt six inches thick in which large patches of ferns and one small bush had been planted. The area was essentially undetectable unless you already knew what you were looking for.
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Idea:

Learn Mud Hut and use that for our bases when Missing Nin. Use Earthshaping at max AoE to move surrounding dirt/topsoil/plants to cover the area, making an artificial cave.

It'd create a disguise with Earthshaping 50, and Examination would the thing to beat it. Alertness is rolled at, what, (1/3) effectiveness? (2/3) effectiveness?

I can't imagine most hunter nin have Examination in the 50s (again, it's a very valuable pyramid slot), and even if they have Alertness 76 to spot the fort (assuming it is (2/3) effectiveness, and neutral dice. If they burn FP to Invoke and find us, then that's just to our benefit for when combat breaks out).

And even then, once they spot our fort, they still have to deal with Kagome-level traps, runes, Summons, and whatever other defenses we can cook up in the meantime.
 
RandomOTP said:
Idea:

Learn Mud Hut and use that for our bases when Missing Nin. Use Earthshaping at max AoE to move surrounding dirt/topsoil/plants to cover the area, making an artificial cave.

It'd create a disguise with Earthshaping 50, and Examination would the thing to beat it. Alertness is rolled at, what, (1/3) effectiveness? (2/3) effectiveness?

I can't imagine most hunter nin have Examination in the 50s (again, it's a very valuable pyramid slot), and even if they have Alertness 76 to spot the fort (assuming it is (2/3) effectiveness, and neutral dice. If they burn FP to Invoke and find us, then that's just to our benefit for when combat breaks out).

And even then, once they spot our fort, they still have to deal with Kagome-level traps, runes, Summons, and whatever other defenses we can cook up in the meantime.
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Alertness is rolled at full value, examination is rolled at 1.5x that.
 
RandomOTP said:
Idea:

Learn Mud Hut and use that for our bases when Missing Nin. Use Earthshaping at max AoE to move surrounding dirt/topsoil/plants to cover the area, making an artificial cave.

It'd create a disguise with Earthshaping 50, and Examination would the thing to beat it. Alertness is rolled at, what, (1/3) effectiveness? (2/3) effectiveness?

I can't imagine most hunter nin have Examination in the 50s (again, it's a very valuable pyramid slot), and even if they have Alertness 76 to spot the fort (assuming it is (2/3) effectiveness, and neutral dice. If they burn FP to Invoke and find us, then that's just to our benefit for when combat breaks out).

And even then, once they spot our fort, they still have to deal with Kagome-level traps, runes, Summons, and whatever other defenses we can cook up in the meantime.
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The core idea sounds good, especially with Oro-sourced Notice-Me-Not Seals to make people disregard the area and provide extra safety.

Kagome level traps are not worth much though. He is a chuunin and they have been casually bypassed by S-rankers every time they laid foot in our estate.

Defensive Runes, on the other hand... If we developed a Jounin-tier Runic Barrier by collaborating with Orochimaru, we could install that on site and it would provide a lot of safety (and potentially killing power).

...Lets found a Hidden Village in some distant country? Like in Moon or Demon.
 
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[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for Hazou to go missing nin from leaf.
[X] [MissingNin] I would vote for something else.
 
eaglejarl said:
"Success!" Kagome-sensei said, smiling happily.

Hazō looked askance at him. "It wasn't successful, sensei," he said. "Nothing happened—I don't even think the seal activated."

"We're still alive, aren't we?" Kagome-sensei said. "I call that a success. C'mon, I'll have the clones clear it out and we can try again."

o-o-o-o​
"Damn," Hazō said, his heart plummeting. It had seemed so simple, he'd really thought it would work this time.

"Woohoo!" cheered Kagome-sensei, throwing both fists in the air. "Nine tries and it hasn't done anything awful!"

o-o-o-o​
"Rats," said Hazō.

"Thirty-seven attempts and no horrible monstrosities trying to eat our faces! It's a record!" Kagome-sensei capered like a madman, shaking his butt and waving his hands spastically.

o-o-o-o​
"Ninety-one, yay!"

o-o-o-o​
"Two hundred and sixteen and the berry exploded! Too bad the scroll turned into mud."

Hazō sighed.
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This kind of makes me want to do more SCIENCE with Kagome :p
 
DanZapman said:
There's a proposed stunt about Master of Explosives that we might be able to get from Kagome if we spend a while hanging out and chatting about our mutual passion.
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This must happen. I precommit votes to doing this, and will be willing to overlook a great many plan-disagreements if that same plan contains this.

Now, how to bribe the QMs into approving the stunt...
 
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