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>>4392651
“One more thing,” you continue. “Could you maybe try to lean on the Raikage a bit more heavily?”

“Howso?”

“Get him to at least consider letting me and mine help if things get as bad as I suspect they will?”

“He’s proud,” Tsunade rolls her head on her desk. “And his pride blinds him to any alternatives that don’t suit his pride. So unless you’re willing to return Yugitō-san to Kumogakure I don’t see the Raikage’s position changing much.”

“Yeah no, if I do that she and Kumo become the main target,” you shake your head. “And there will be a massive attack there. I won’t gamble with her life, or the lives of the bystanders who’d get caught up in it.”

“I’d rather be seen as a villain than go back to being one.”

Tsunade is quiet for a few moments before shifting her position so that she’s resting her chin on her arms. “I respect that… I really do. So I’ll see what I can do when we discuss his assassins… tomorrow. I just can’t promise you anything.”

“I appreciate it,” you bow politely. “Thank you, Tsunade-han.”

“You’re a sweet kid,” she muses, turning her head and settling in a little bit. “You’ve more than earned this much… just… be sure to close the door quietly on your way out.”

“Okay.”

…

You head out into town, wandering for a little while, trying not to think of anything in particular… until you run into a stroke of luck.

“Chōza-han!” you greet the now-jōnin. “Great timing, I’d like to ask you for directions.”

Chōji, who’d been walking a pace or two behind his father and to the left, steps forward.

“Don’t you mean me?” he asks with a frown.

“No,” you reply, “I knew you were there, Chōji-kun. But I really am asking Chōza-han.”

The elder Akimichi scratches thoughtfully at his head. “Do we know each other, young lady?”

“This is Raishō Naori,” Chōji observes. “She’s… a bit complicated. Maybe it’d be better if Shikamaru explained it to you, thinking about her makes my head hurt.”

“We’ve actually met,” you tell Chōza-han. “On your mission in Rōran twenty years ago.”

“Now, how could that be possible?” he asks you politely.

“There was a temporal incident,” you explain, “it’s all recorded in the Hokage’s files.”
>2/3

>>4392658
“Then I hope you don’t mind me asking if you can prove that?”

You shake your head. “Not at all. Your team was made up of you, Minato-han, Aburame Shibi-han, and a very young Kakshi-sensei. We worked together to protect the princess Sāra from a minister calling himself Anrokuzan, who wanted to use the power of the Ryūmyaku to create a puppet army.”

“My presence there, along with Naruto-kun’s and Yamato-sensei’s, was why Minato-han erased your memories at the end of the mission. Unfortunately for him, Minato-han didn’t realize that he had missed one of my shadow clones, who retained the memories, eventually transferring them to me just last month.”

“Well that’d be a very specific and detailed lie to tell,” Chōza-han muses. “Okay then. Good to see you again, evidently. What did you need?”

“I’d like directions to Kurenai-sensei’s home,” you tell him.

“Ah,” Chōza-han nods curtly. “I can also tell you where Asuma-han’s hospital room is.”

>Visit Asuma-han in the hospital.
>Visit Kurenai… you think she must have had a baby recently?
>Visit Shikamaru. You may not be on GOOD terms but he can tell you what to expect.
>Other?

>>4392664
>Visit Asuma-han in the hospital.
>Visit Kurenai… you think she must have had a baby recently?

Kurenai first so maybe the baby can visit her dad.

>>4392664
>>Visit Asuma-han in the hospital.
>>Visit Kurenai… you think she must have had a baby recently?

Yeah same reasoning as the other anon has. Kurenai first and then Asuma.

>>4392664
>>4392666
i like this plan. seconding

>>4392664
>>Visit Kurenai… you think she must have had a baby recently?
>>Visit Asuma-han in the hospital.

>>4392664
>>Visit Kurenai… you think she must have had a baby recently?

>>4392666
>>4392664
supporting

>>4392664
>Visit Asuma-han in the hospital.
>Visit Kurenai… you think she must have had a baby recently?

>>4392664
>Visit Kurenai… you think she must have had a baby recently?

>>4392664
You decide to start with Kurenai-sensei, in hopes that she can give you an idea of what to expect when you see Asuma-sensei later on. So you follow the directions Chōza-han was polite enough to give you, and soon arrive at a nice-looking bloc of apartments. You find the right number, 207, and knock at the door.

After a few moments, the door opens to reveal an obviously surprised Kurenai-sensei.

“It’s… you?” she stammers.

“… is that a problem?” you ask earnestly. “Cause if it is I can...”

“No, no problem!” Kurenai-sensei insists. “I’m sorry, you just surprised me, that’s all. Please, come in, I’ll make you some tea.”

…

“You don’t have to,” you insist as Kurenai sets about brewing.

“I’ve already started,” she tells you, “so it’s no trouble at all.”

“Okay then,” you reply, standing awkwardly in the entry room.

Eventually you kick off your sandals and take a few tentative steps inside, stepping up out of the entryway and into a sitting room with two big windows, outside of which are hanging boxes full of plants. Below those windows, which let in the filtered, indirect light of the mid-afternoon sun, a baby stirs.

She doesn’t cry, or raise a fuss. Instead she looks up at you with big, red eyes just like her mother’s as you find yourself kneeling next to her crib.

“Hey little one,” you muse in a soft voice, reaching through the bars of the little baby-jail and wagging your finger for the prisoner’s amusement. “How are you?”

Kurenai’s daughter grabs your finger with her tiny little hand, and giggles… you are completely out of your element, and you can practically feel your IQ dropping a little more every second. But you’re also strangely okay with that.

“She’s painfully adorable, isn’t she?” Kurenai muses, coming in from the kitchen and setting down two cups of freshly-brewed tea. “Her name is Mirai.”

“Mirai,” you repeat, taking a seat. “It’s a nice name. I see she has your eyes.”

“And her father’s hair,” Kurenai smiles. “Speaking of which, you were almost her godmother you know.”

That catches your attention. “Really?”

Kurenai-sensei nods quietly. “It’s because of you that Mirai will grow up knowing her father’s face… even if she hates it right now. We’re pretty sure it’s the beard she objects to… so she and I will just have to agree to disagree on that.”
>1/2

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>>4393811
“I… don’t deserve that much credit,” you insist. “I didn’t even know you were expecting when all that happened.”

“All the same, you saved Asuma’s life,” Kurenai points out. “You didn’t have to do that. You didn’t owe him anything, and it would have been easier if you didn’t even try. But… you did. That’s what we were thinking, even if we ended up giving Shikamaru-kun the job instead.”

“See, that’s probably a better choice anyway,” you admit. “Seeing how he’d actually be around to help out with Asuma-han still in the hospital.”

“That’s also what we ended up deciding,” Kurenai informs you. “He’s actually been a lot of help… but I can’t help noticing that he’s been down on himself lately. I mean, even more so than before.”

“Yeah no, considering how things went that day I can’t say I’m surprised,” you shake your head. “Can I change the subject? I’d like to know how Asuma-han is doing, since it seems you and Mirai here are doing well enough.”

Kurenai takes a sip of her tea, then sighs. “It’s alright to ask that… Asuma is… alive, of course. You saw to that yourself. The burns, flesh wounds, and broken bones healed well enough… but the scarring around his heart and lungs may be permanent, and his spine was damaged by that scythe Shikamaru-kun mentioned.”

“That… doesn’t sound hopeful,” you frown. “I’m sorry to hear it. Had I anticipated that they were after the bounty...”

“The injury to his spine happened before you arrived,” Kurenai interrupts you. “That would have been sufficient to end his career as an active shinobi. And had you not been there at all he would have been killed.”

“Please stop looking for ways to beat yourself up.”

After a moment, you nod. “Okay.”

“We’ve been discussing it with Tsunade-sama,” Kurenai eventually continues, “and we think that Asuma would make an excellent teacher at the Academy. It won’t be what he’s used to… but teaching is something he loves anyway.”

“And honestly, I think his team is ready to set out on their own… for the most part, at least.”

“Chōji?” you muse.

She nods. “Chōji.”

“Well, it had to come sooner or later,” you sigh.

“One thing though,” Kurenai adds. “About Shikamaru-kun…”

>I don’t plan to go easy on him. What he did was more than just a “mistake”, he made a CHOICE.
>I’ll go easier on him, but I don’t plan to forgive him until he does something to EARN it.
>If he’s suffering for his decision anymore it’s only because HE’S inflicting it on HIMSELF.
>Other?

>>4393866
>>If he’s suffering for his decision anymore it’s only because HE’S inflicting it on HIMSELF.

>>4393866
>I don’t plan to go easy on him. What he did was more than just a “mistake”, he made a CHOICE.

>>4393866
>>I don’t plan to go easy on him. What he did was more than just a “mistake”, he made a CHOICE.

>I’ll go easier on him, but I don’t plan to forgive him until he does something to EARN it.

I'm a sucker for forgiveness.

>>4393892
then forgive yourself for not linking to the post, so its useless

>>4393889
>>4393866
adding in that he has to earn new trust

>>4393866
>I don’t plan to go easy on him. What he did was more than just a “mistake”, he made a CHOICE and I don’t plan to forgive him until he does something to EARN it. He’s suffering for his decision only because HE’S inflicting it on HIMSELF.

Naori doesn't have to forgive Shikamaru before he realised that he should stop mucking about and that he has to work to earn back Naoris respect. He needs to step up his game and be professional.

>>4393866
>I’ll go easier on him, but I don’t plan to forgive him until he does something to EARN it.

>>4393866
>I don’t plan to go easy on him. What he did was more than just a “mistake”, he made a CHOICE.

>>4393866
>I’ll go easier on him, but I don’t plan to forgive him until he does something to EARN it.

>>4393866
>I’ll go easier on him, but I don’t plan to forgive him until he does something to EARN it.

>>4393866
>>I don’t plan to go easy on him. What he did was more than just a “mistake”, he made a CHOICE.
don't be sorry, be better. Sorry won't help you be a better strategist

>>4393866
>>I don’t plan to go easy on him. What he did was more than just a “mistake”, he made a CHOICE and I don’t plan to forgive him until he does something to EARN it. He’s suffering for his decision only because HE’S inflicting it on HIMSELF.
i like this mishmash

>>4393866

Please consider the following:

>Other
>I think I probably had feelings for him at the time. That's what made it hurt so much more. It still hurts whenever I see him. I don't honestly know what's best for dealing with that.

>>4395128
I have considered it, and my verdict is:

hell naw

>>4395172
Why?

What's your ish?

>>4395128
We trusted him to make good decisions. Naori doesn't trust lightly and he betrayed that. No romantic feelings involved.

>>4395128

Yeah no. Shikamaru has to earn back the trust.

>>4395172
>>4395255
>>4395823

That's fair. For some reason I was remembering things as though they had already hit it off and she was interested in some way. If not as an immediate love interest, then at least as someone she wouldn't be opposed to trying to court her.

That said: she very clearly does have feelings for him, just not romantic ones. For one reason or another, his betrayal really got to her. She couldn't just laugh it off, she cut her palms subconsciously the next time she saw him.

>>4395128
>>4396073

To salvage this a bit and make one thing that is still true clear: drive home the point that his betrayal was especially stinging due to her earlier impressions and respect for him.

He moved from one very short list of people to another: "people younger than herself who she actually respects," to "people who have managed to actually hurt her and are still alive."

>>4396086
yeah this is pretty accurate

>>4393866
“I know what you’re thinking,” you sigh, your quiet tone belying a lingering bitterness, “you’re thinking it was just a mistake, and that I should find it in my heart to forgive him for it. Only I don’t see it that way… the way I see it he made a deliberate choice to betray my trust.”

“So seriously, if he wants to feel better about himself? He’s gonna have to earn it.”

“And how is he meant to do that?” Kurenai asks you with a frown.

“By growing from the experience,” you grumble. “I’m sorry if that seems a bit harsh to you, but we live in a harsh world where children don’t always get to survive when they make a mistake.”

“Just… promise me one thing?” Kurenai sighs. “Just don’t be too hard on him?”

“Yeah no, I wouldn’t do anything to undermine myself,” you agree. “But how he grows has to be up to him or else it’s meaningless. And if he’d rather wallow in self-pity a little while longer that’s his choice to make too.”

“That’s one way of looking at it.”

You nod curtly. “The samurai rubbed off on me a little.”

“How so?” Kurenai asks you curiously.

“Shinobi tend to emphasize loyalty, the importance of the clan and the village, teamwork, and so on,” you explain. “The samurai acknowledge those things, but they’re more individualistic. After all no amount of teamwork can cover a lingering character flaw.”

“So they value individual growth over teamwork?”

You shake your head. “My tutor in the sōkō-ryū would probably insist that it’s before, not over. They know a chain can only be as strong as its weakest link.”

“There can be different kinds of strength,” Kurenai insists.

“And if you lack one of them it becomes a weakness,” you counter. “Shikamaru is clever, and he has decent skills as a shinobi. But when his cleverness failed to provide an easy solution he panicked. The moment exposed his weakness as a person.”

“And what would you say that weakness is?” Kurenai presses.

“He has no resolve,” you quickly declare. “There are some problems that can’t just be out-thought, but that you have to face anyway. Shikamaru met one named Hidan and wasn’t prepared for it.”

There’s a long pause before Kurenai replies, and when she does you’re not sure what to make of it.

“You’re going to make a terrifying teacher one of these days.”
>1/2

>>4396381
You eventually thank Kurenai for the tea, and say goodbye to little Mirai for the time being, before heading towards the hospital.

When you find Asuma’s room, you find him propped up by an adjustable bed, looking out the window.

“It’s been a while, Asuma-han.”

He glances over at you. “Yeah, it sure has. What brings you here?”

“Short version is I was curious,” you shrug. “I visited Kurenai-sensei and Mirai first, then decided I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“And the long version?” he muses.

“I was in town commissioning Tenten for a set of combat armor,” you explain, “and decided to hang around for a little while. Talked with the Hokage, grabbed a bite to eat. No sense rushing back to my hideout like some kinda recluse.”

“At some point I guess I just realized I hadn’t seen you since that day.”

“Well, here I am,” Asuma muses. “In all my glory.”

“How’s your team handling it?” you ask.

Asuma exhales in the sort of way that habitual smokers often do, as though he were blowing cigarette smoke… you realize that given the extent and locations of his injuries that’s one habit he’s going to have to kick once he’s out of the hospital.

“It could be going better,” he admits. “Chōji took it harder than the others, but Ino is handling it with surprising grace… which is good, because Shikamaru isn’t.”

“I’ve heard as much already today,” you admit. “But I think you can understand that I haven’t been seeing much of him lately.”

“He comes over to play shogi a few times a week and talk,” Asuma-han explains. “He’d never admit it, but the way he’s been playing makes it pretty obvious that he’s lost his confidence.”

“I’m not surprised,” you admit. “He nearly lost his sensei.”

“It’s good that you understand,” Asuma-han muses. “Because I have a favor to ask...”

>I’m not going to talk to Shikamaru, sorry.
>Okay, fine. I’ll talk some sense into him.
>What if I had someone ELSE talk to him?
>Other?

>>4396533
>Okay, fine. I’ll talk some sense into him.
>other: "But fair warning. I will not be gentle. How he takes it after the dress down is up to him."
>other: if Asuma presses why Naori's being such a hardass, tell him of your experience against the Seven Swordsman of the Mist that nearly killed you and your team and how you were basically the sole survivor of that encounter.
>other: "Boy needs to learn from his experience. Sooner or later, war and conflict will take away those who are precious to you."

>>4396533
>>Okay, fine. I’ll talk some sense into him.

>>4396533
>What if I had someone ELSE talk to him?

>>4396533
>Okay, fine. I’ll talk some sense into him.

>>4396533
>Okay, fine. I’ll talk some sense into him.

>Okay, fine. I’ll talk some sense into him.

>>4396533
>What if I had someone ELSE talk to him?

>>4396533
>>What if I had someone ELSE talk to him?

>>4396533
>>What if I had someone ELSE talk to him?

>>4396533
Jaded Naori is a go! Supporting >>4396546

>>4396533
>Okay, fine. I’ll talk some sense into him.

>>4396546
Maybe mention: full disclosure, the betrayal is still smarting and WILL temper any speech we give him. So make sure Asuma gets that point to see if he still thinks it's a good idea.

>>4396533
>Okay, fine. I’ll talk some sense into him.

>>4396533
“Fine,” you sigh. “I’ll talk to him, and I’ll try to be civil about it. But it’s not going to be pleasant… it’s going to be ripping the bandaid off in conversation form.”

“Are you okay with that?”

Asuma lets out another one of those sighs that looks like it should come with cigarette smoke, then nods. “That may be what needs to happen. I’ve tried doing it gently.”

…

Asuma gives you directions to find the Nara residence, an old-fashioned residence to suit a well-established clan. The grounds are walled off from the rest of the village, with three individual homes forming a ‘district’ centered on a shared garden. It’s the largest of these that you’ve been sent to, finding a familiar design… the ‘core’ of several tatami rooms is surrounded by hardwood-floored hallways, each room seemingly meant to serve a different function. It’s into one of these hallways that a middle-aged man who looks a fair bit like Shikamaru leads you to wait.

There’s a small alcove in the white-plastered walls with a raised floor where a scroll and a flower arrangement sit, and next to it is a second small alcove with a long writing desk, and a window that faces out onto the garden.

You wait patiently on a floor cushion, as tea is brought out to you to help pass the time.

…

Shikamaru eventually finds you sitting outside the shoin room where you were left, having finished your second serving of tea and snacks and elected to enjoy the garden instead from the edge of the covered walkway. You hear him take a deep breath behind you before he opens his mouth.

“I didn’t mean to keep you waiting,” he insists. “I was out.”

“It’s not a problem,” you insist. “The hospitality was fine while I waited.”

“If you don’t mind me asking...”

“… why am I here?” you complete the thought.

“Yeah,” Shikamaru confirms. “That.”

“Sit down for a moment,” you suggest, waiting for Shikamaru to do so at a healthy distance from you. “Tell me something, how many times have you lost a teammate on a mission?”

After a pause, Shikamaru replies truthfully. “Never… though it’s been close.”

“And how many times have you killed during a mission?” you press. “And seriously, I don’t mean chucking a kunai at someone and it just happened to kill them. What I want to know is have you ever directly, intentionally, with full awareness of the repercussions of your actions ended the life of another human being?”

“… no.”
>1/2

>>4397789
“Then you should be grateful,” you muse, “for the fact that you’ve been [i[very[/i] lucky. But you also need to realize something about the path you’ve chosen in your life: that you won’t always be so lucky.”

“When the Land of Sky attacked your village, I killed dozens of their shinobi,” you tell him sternly, looking out at the garden as you speak. “I did it because I knew if I didn’t they wouldn’t just kill other shinobi… they’d kill bystanders too. Women, children, potentially people I knew. So I made a choice.”

“Where are you going with this?” Shikamaru demands, sounding more exhausted than angry.

“Do you remember the last question in your stage of the joint chūnin exams?” you ask him.

“It was a trick question,” Shikamaru recounts. “The answer was not to sacrifice anyone.”

“And do you remember the tenth question?” you press.

“The answer was to stay in the room.”

“Not quite,” you insist. “The answer was to demonstrate your resolve by staying in the room. But tell me, do you see the contradiction there?”

“Contradiction?”

You nod. “You’re a chūnin. You should already get that sometimes shinobi die on missions. So should you prepare for that? Or should you reject the possibility?”

“I never said that I rejected it,” Shikamaru insists. “But there’s always another answer!”

“Say that to my battle-scarred face,” you counter. “Say that to my dead friends and teammates. Say that to literally every Hokage so far. You’re clever, Shikamaru, way smarter than I am. But the inescapable fact is that nothing you did was going to save your sensei’s life.”

His eyes widen.

“You need to accept that and find a way to move on,” you insist. “And no one can do it for you.”

>Reconsider why you even wanted to become a shinobi, and think hard about what’s important to you.
>Train harder to fight and survive in a direct confrontation. Not every problem can be out-thought.
>The only way to move forward is to grow up and accept reality... though you don't have to LIKE it.
>Other?

>>4398013
>The only way to move forward is to grow up and accept reality... though you don't have to LIKE it.

>>4398013
>Train harder to fight and survive in a direct confrontation. Not every problem can be out-thought.
>You won't always be able to save everyone, but as you give it everything you've got, you'll at least be able to live with yourself afterwards.

>>4398013
>>The only way to move forward is to grow up and accept reality... though you don't have to LIKE it.
to not let your hardened heart become filled with apathy or indifference. To love and fight for despite knowing that things end despite all efforts

>>4398029
>>4398013
A bit to metaphoric but I like the essence of it

>>4398013
>>4398024
I’ll support the general thrust of this.

>>4398013
>>Reconsider why you even wanted to become a shinobi, and think hard about what’s important to you.
>>The only way to move forward is to grow up and accept reality... though you don't have to LIKE it.
move forward as a ninja, if he chooses to continue on this path

>>4398013
>Train harder to fight and survive in a direct confrontation. Not every problem can be out-thought.

>Part of training to be a shinobi is introspective: "What am I willing to kill for? What am I willing to die for?" It's a [i]laudable[/i] goal to preserve life wherever possible, no buts about it. It's honorable to challenge what is and isn't possible to that end. It's integral to know how and why, you will act when death is close at hand and you don't see how it's possible. Finding answers to the former will help with the latter.

>>4398013
>The only way to move forward is to grow up and accept reality... though you don't have to LIKE it.

Supporting this >>4398029
It bit metaphorical, but just like the other anon said, the essence is good.

>>4398013
“The only way for you to move forward is to grow up and accept reality,” you insist sternly.

“So you’re telling me to...” Shikamaru begins, only for you to interrupt.

“I didn’t say you have to like it,” you continue. “But before you start changing the world, don’t you think you should come to an understanding of how the world actually is first? If nobody can agree on that much then how will they agree on a solution?”

Shikamaru frowns, staring at the dirt at the edge of the garden in front of you. “You know… we never really talked about what happened to us in the Forest of Death, did we?”

“I had a great time,” you muse. “Traumatized some punk genin for life for abusing my distant cousin Karin, beat up some losers from Takigakure, and read a lot. I think I managed to scare Kurenai-han’s team though… still don’t really know what I did to deserve that but it’s all in the past now.”

“Yeah, while you finished on the first day, my team was just desperately trying to avoid getting crushed by freaks of nature like you or Gaara,” Shikamaru sighs wistfully.

“Thanks,” you grumble. “I’ll try to take that as a compliment.”

“Anyway, it was the third day I think when we got into a scrap with the team from Otogakure,” Shikamaru continues. “You know. You beat their leader by blowing up his arm?”

“That’s not quite how I remember it happening,” you grumble again. “But yeah, I remember him.”

“When we ran into them they were beating the crap out of Sakura-kun,” Shikamaru recounts. You refrain from asking why they felt the need to intervene. “Ino used her mind-transfer technique to take that Kin girl who was with them hostage.”

The one who had to cut her own arm off so that Gaara wouldn’t murder her. Yeah, you remember that too.

“That one with the punk haircut and the blow holes in his hands was gonna just kill her instead,” Shikamaru admits with a shrug. “At the time I had no idea how our plan could’ve backfired that badly, but now? I feel like I’ve just been avoiding the issue for too long, you know?”

“And what’s the issue?” you press.

“They didn’t hesitate,” Shikamaru sighs, “when it came down to sacrificing a teammate for the mission. I thought it was just plain ruthlessness at the time, but when it came down to risking Asuma-sensei’s life to beat Akatsuki I… couldn’t do it.”

“Admittedly it’s not the same… getting through a glorified test and stopping a terrorist organization full of S-ranked criminals are pretty different as far as goals go. But shouldn’t that just mean the right choice between turning on someone who was trying to help and siding with the guy holding Asuma-sensei hostage should’ve been obvious?”
>1/2

>>4399725
“Yeah, you’d think,” you insist sternly. “You put Asuma-han’s immediate safety over everything else, and almost got him, yourself, your teammates, and me killed as a result.”

“… you’re right.”

“You lost your sense of perspective,” you continue.

“Also right,” he admits. “Though… can I ask you something?”

“You may.”

“Asuma-sensei tried to teach me something before that mission,” Shikamaru admits. “Over a game of shogi. He asked me what I thought ‘the king’ was, in terms of our village.”

“And what did you say?”

“I guessed the Hokage, but you can probably already tell that was the wrong answer,” he admits. “The most important piece… what would you have said?”

>I met her this morning. That’s all the hint I can give you.
>Put yourself in Asuma’s shoes. The answer will become clear.
>I can’t help you. It’d defeat the purpose of the lesson.
>Other?

>>4399730
>>Other?
"I think you're putting too much importance into the title of King."

>>4399730
>I met her this morning. That’s all the hint I can give you

>>4399730
>>Put yourself in Asuma’s shoes. The answer will become clear.

>>4399730
>other
>The 'king' by definition is the one piece that is not expendable: it is whatever you decide must never be sacrificed, no matter what, else the other pieces become pointless.

>In terms of your village? You'd know better than I who or what it is your village can't survive without. Now hurry up and puzzle it out so you can have motivation to survive the absolutely feral regimen I'm going to put you through to ensure you are ready to protect your king. I'll try not to enjoy it. . . too much.

>>4399785
>>4399730
Supporting this one. It's got the right amount of "Figure it out yourself, nerd" while still being helpful. Our answer is different than Asuma's anyway.

>I met her this morning. That’s all the hint I can give you.

>>4399890
Oi, link to the post, or it won't count

>>4399730
>I met her this morning. That’s all the hint I can give you.
Thats strange, i did link the first post

>>4399730
>"The 'King' by definition is the one piece you should never lose on the board, but it also extends to the piece that you find yourself unwilling to sacrifice when making a play. The lynch pin piece in your strategy."
>"Define the one piece you find yourself unwilling to sacrifice. That's all I can give you. But until you find that 'king' in your village that you find yourself unwilling to sacrifice in battle, you won't be able to move on."

>>4399730
>>Shogi is played until a king falls. Without your king, everything is pointless. It's what motivates you to attack, defend, plan, or act.

>>4399730
>"The 'King' by definition is the one piece you should never lose on the board, but it also extends to the piece that you find yourself unwilling to sacrifice when making a play. The lynch pin piece in your strategy."
>"Define the one piece you find yourself unwilling to sacrifice. That's all I can give you. But until you find that 'king' in your village that you find yourself unwilling to sacrifice in battle, you won't be able to move on."

>>4399730
>"The 'King' by definition is the one piece you should never lose on the board, but it also extends to the piece that you find yourself unwilling to sacrifice when making a play. The lynch pin piece in your strategy."
>"Define the one piece you find yourself unwilling to sacrifice. That's all I can give you. But until you find that 'king' in your village that you find yourself unwilling to sacrifice in battle, you won't be able to move on."

>>4399730
"Dear shikamaru, the 'King' is found on discord."

>>4399730
“Yeah no, you’re getting hung up on the window-dressing, numbskull,” you grumble. “Remember that shogi is a game made up by feudalists for feudalists, and then consider the role the king plays in that game.”

“So… it’d be the daimy-”

“Wrong!” you interrupt. “The only people who really care about the daimyō are the daimyō, and that’s all most of them care about. So instead fit it into how Konoha does things.”

“Come on, dummy. Even I can see it.”

There’s a look of dawning comprehension.

“…oh.”

“Yeah?” you press.

“So the reason he wanted to take the lead against Hidan was...” Shikamaru continues.

“Well?” you press again. “Are you going to say it out loud, or are you just going to dance around it a little while longer? Cause I didn’t come here to dance.”

After a moment, Shikamaru’s brain finally re-engages with the present. “The fire’s shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew.”

“Where did that come from?”

“It was a poem that Lord Third wrote once,” Shikamaru explains quietly. “I forgot the first half, but the important part means...”

“That you finally understand it,” you interrupt. “What the ‘new buds’ are that the Hokage should cherish.”

“Yeah,” Shikamaru confirms.

“Then what’re you still talking to me for?” you demand. “Isn’t there someone else who needs to hear this more?”

“You’re right,” Shikamaru agrees, hopping down from the porch and quickly stretching before he runs off.

“By the way,” you interrupt him just before he can take off. “This doesn’t mean we’re good yet… but don’t let that bother you too much.”

After a moment, Shikamaru nods in understanding.
>1d6, taking the second roll only

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4401306
not me

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4401306

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>>4401306
On the sixth day of January, you find yourself on the back of a horse in the hilly deserts north of Sunagakure, wrapped in a lightly-colored cloak to keep the sun off you.

“So… I do like horses,” you admit to Temari, who’s riding just a little more than arm’s distance ahead of you and to your right. “And it’s not every day I get to ride… but remind me, why are we out here again?”

“We’re here checking on something,” she insists vaguely. “I suspect something’s happening out here right now… it’s not much further.”

“Okay,” you reply, not really sure that constitutes an answer. “Keep your secrets then.”

She’s been leading you on a rising path through sparse scrub brush, a slow rise over the last hour or so of a ride that started before dawn, and that path leads up to a line of rocky outcroppings. Eventually you ride over a low saddle between two sheer faces of stone, and what you start to see comes as a surprise.

“… wow,” you muse from the saddle.

“I thought so,” Temari grins to herself. “These rocky hills tend to trap water during our rainy season. I figured after a month or two it would’ve started, we had enough storms out here for this to happen this year.”

“What do you mean, this year?” you ask, riding into the maze of low hills and rocky pillars, strewn with fields of wildflowers of every conceivable color.

“It only happens every several years,” Temari explains, “but sometimes, when the monsoon is just right and the month of December is just warm enough and cloudy enough… parts of the desert explode like this.”

“Welcome to the ‘paintbrush hills’. If you’re curious the yellows are mostly brittlebrush and sand verbena, the whites are evening primrose and desert lily, the purples are bluebell and lupine, and the orange is poppy.”

“I had no idea,” you muse. “It’s gorgeous.”

“I think I remember there’s a little spring over this way,” Temari insists.

…

“You’ve been here before?”

Temari, who has been watching your horses drink from the spring water, nods. It took a little searching, but eventually her memories proved to be more or less correct.

“I was a little girl at the time. Our father brought me and Kankuro out here… I was four and Kankuro was three, I think.”

… so that would be shortly after Gaara was born, and their mother died.
>1/2

>>4401336
“And the saddlebags?” you ask, gesturing towards the bags and saddles, which Temari had you take off the horses’ backs to give them a break.

“Well,” Temari muses, and for a moment you sense her hesitate. “I figured whether I was right or not we’d need something to eat out here...”

“You… packed a picnic?”

She nods. “Yeah, kinda? Is that okay?”

“… is there a reason it wouldn’t be?”

There’s a short pause where neither of you speaks.

“Well, no… I guess...” Temari replies with a frown… and just a bit of a blush. “I was just thinking… you know what, nevermind. It’s not important.”

Temari quickly unpacks the meal from the bags, where the food has been kept chilled along the way by ice or in double-walled metal containers: chilled barley tea, couscous with mint and vegetables, some fresh fruits, creamy goat’s cheese with herbs, all to be eaten with soft flatbread. You each sit on your own blanket on the sandy soil, under a blue sky streaked with wispy clouds.

“Y’know, simple pleasures really are the best,” you muse contentedly. “Seriously, I can’t get why people keep forgetting that.”

“Most of the time people want what they’re taught to want,” Temari muses quietly. “At least I guess that’s how it works.”

“Probably a good point.”

…

After you’ve eaten your fill you spend a little time resting by the spring, looking at the water.

“Think it’s deep enough to swim?” you muse.

Temari shakes her head. “This one isn’t. But there’s an old stone-cut stepwell near here that should be. But how would you...”

Then she sees you twirling one of your marked kunai by its ring pommel.

“… ah.”

…

“This is better,” you sigh, floating in the cool, clear water. Here, someone cut probably about ten feet into the earth to hit the hard rock layer where another small spring once was, and as a result the plastered-over hole is full of water up to the fifth stair down or so, with a shallower shelf to one side where the water is just deep enough to sit.
>2/3

>>4401359
A stomach full of good, simple food, a pool of cool, sparkling water under the blue skies, the sound of birds flittering around and chirping, all surrounded by a riot of colorful flowers… if there’s such a thing as an earthly paradise it must look something like this. No horses though… riding them back for several hours in the desert while wet seemed like a recipe for misery, so you teleported them while fetching your swimsuits.

“Someone looks happy,” Temari muses from the bench against the wall of the stepwell.

“How could you tell?” you reply with a smirk, sinking a little into the water to actually look at her while you’re talking. “My hair’s gonna be a mess though… but that’s an issue for future-Naori. Speaking of, I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you with your hair down.”

“… and?”

You pause. “And what?”

“What do you think?” she wonders.

You shake your head. “I dunno that my opinion counts, but it just doesn’t seem very… you. Could just be I’m not used to seeing it.”

“Just go with your heart, you know?”

After diving down to the bottom of the well for a little while, you resurface and slide back onto the bench next to Temari before pulling your wet mess of red hair out of your face.

“This place is amazing,” you muse, leaning against the wall. “Thanks… for sharing it with me, I mean.”

“Yeah,” she replies, her face slightly red again. “Of course...”

She fidgets, looking like she wants to say something else.

>Say something about it.
>Say nothing about it.
>Push her in to break up the tension.
>Other?

>>4401372
>>Say something about it.

>>4401372
>Say something about it.
End the end, she's the one who actually wanted a relationship, i guess.

>>4401372
>>Say something about it.

>>4401372
>Push her in to break up the tension.

>>4401372
>Say something about it.
>Other?: Wrap an arm around her.

>>4401372
>>Say something about it.

>>4401372
>Say something about it.

>>4401372
>Push her in to break up the tension.

The only choice.

>>4401372
>Say something about it to break the tension
>Thank Temari for this really nice day and all the effort she put into all this, but you don't really know about this.

This is all nice and dandy, but I don't want Temari to win the shipping contest. Sure it is another quest, but I just get instant Shinigami Savant flashbacks. Also to be honest /u/-boats are not my cup of tea.

Temari is one of Naoris best friends and someone who she can trust, but I would like to someone else to win. God forbid, maybe even one of the boys wins.

>>4401372
>>Push her in to break up the tension.

dropping.

>>4401394
>>4401372
this

>>4401465
The bass?

>>4401372
“You know I’m a little weird,” you sigh, suddenly breaking the tension.

“How so?” Temari asks, as if having realized you threw her a lifeline just then.

“Being raised in a brothel, admittedly a classy one, means my ideas about love are kinda different from most people’s our age,” you muse. “For one thing it’s not the same as sex to me… which I’m also a bit weird about.”

There’s a longer pause.

“… how so?”

“No, not weird like that,” you insist. “Gods no. What I mean is that I’ve found both sides can have their own charm, if you catch my meaning.”

“You mean you wouldn’t find it weird… if I… you know...”

You shake your head. “Nah, I’m fine with that. At a certain point sex is sex, no sense shaming people for who they do it with. But at the same time, sex and love are two totally different things, you know?”

“So… you can be attracted to someone, but not want to be with them,” Temari reasons through the implications, “and that’s just fine to you?”

You nod. “Sure. I was kinda into Sasuke’s older brother for a while, I think, but that never happened… he wouldn’t let it happen, and so I respected his wishes. I can also admit that Shikamaru and Naruto-kun are both good-looking, but romantically they’re both a hard nope from me.”

There’s another pause. “And so what about me?”

“Listen,” you insist, holding her by the shoulders and forcing her to turn to face you directly. “I haven’t given this sort of question nearly as much thought as I might’ve made it seem... like, ever. All I know is the last thing I want is for either of us to become a regret for the other.”

“Cause even if we don’t end up together you’re important to me. When this thing with Akatsuki is over and dealt with we can take our time to sort out the rest. Kay?”

After a few moments, Temari responds with a quiet smile. “Thanks… for neither turning me down nor rushing in. You’re right… but you have to admit.”

“What?” you muse.

She smirks. “It was a pretty nice day.”

“… no arguments here.”
>1d6, taking the third roll for the next scenario

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4401506

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4401506

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4401506

>>4401506
Great work. That was exactly my line of thought. Naori hasn't thought much about romance at all, she's been too busy for that

Hmm. What would being raised in a brothel do to someone's views on affection?

I guess they'd be a lot less resistant to seeing the cold, transactional side of relationships. They might have a harder time with the more sentimental side of things; with putting love on a special pedestal and believing in "you give me that funny feeling in my tummy".

There only one husbando/waifu I well bow to and it ours plain noodle girl.

>>4402302
Being raised in a brothel has everything to do with it, really. To Naori, "erotic love" wouldn't even be "love" at all, because if it can literally be bought from a stranger how much can it be worth? She can still appreciate the beauty of and (most importantly) within another person, and there's nothing intrinsically wrong with sex to her. It's just very different from "love".

Because of her upbringing I've let two things define Naori's ideas about "love". First is that a courtesan house has an extra level of social rules beyond even most aristocratic gatherings, so her sense of "xenia" or hospitality-relationships is overdeveloped. That's part of why she's so mad at Shikamaru: it was both a violation of "common decency" as well as a deep personal insult.

Naori also surrounds herself with and cherishes people she feels "philia" towards because that's "real love" to her, going beyond the transactional. She adores Fū and Karin for example, both caring for them deeply and enjoying their presence in her life. Losing that sort of relationship with Ajisai is what awakened her Mangekyo.

In the "philic" or platonic sense Naori loves more openly and naturally than most for having clearly split "love" away from "sex". But the thorny consequence for any romantic relationship is that if sexual attraction isn't love, how can she tell that an affection is deep enough and intimate enough that sex becomes an exploration and an expression of "real love" rather than a goal in and of itself? The sort of emotional intimacy she's really after in a sexual relationship is a lofty standard but, given how and where she grew up, an important one to her.

At least that's the perspective I've tended to take.

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>>4401506
“Like I said when you asked,” you find yourself repeating a few days later, “don’t worry about it! So far as I’m concerned you’ve more than earned a round-trip ticket.”

“Still, thank you,” Ryūzetsu bows. “Without your help it’d be hard to even get out of the castle.”

“And how are you feeling?” you ask Tayuya, whose frazzled expression already gives you an idea of the answer. “The first time can be a bit disorienting.”

“A bit,” Tayuya repeats sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “For a moment there I almost forgot which way was up, Naori. How the hell d’ya get used to that… and while we’re at it what the hell’s with that armor!?”

“Time and perspective,” you shrug. “The armor, I’m still getting used to… better now than in battle, that’s all.”

You’ve arrived at Takumi village, famed for its production of weapons for the larger hidden villages right across the world… because of that trade in weapons the artisans here were both enriched by the various wars over the last century and imperilled, depending on the shifting tides.

The shops here mostly stock those weapons, though a few have obviously given over to the production of fine cutlery and other metal tools like hammers, chisels, and so forth.

“So where to first?” you muse.

“I need to find someplace willing to do a bulk order,” Tayuya explains her reason for wanting to tag along. “Buncha ‘nothing-fancy’ tantōs, ‘cept Natsuhi-san wanted to take a step up in quality.”

“Then this is probably the right place,” Ryūzetsu-han muses. “Kusa has so few ANBU it could afford to spend a bit more on us… my sword came from here.”

“And why were you so keen to come here?” Tayuya asks her.

“A rumor that I’ve been authorized to purchase,” she muses thoughtfully. “Apparently there’s a meitō-quality spear here. As a warden, a spear with a short haft would be a pretty useful weapon to carry… and as the warden of a shinobi prison it’d have to be of good quality.”

“Fancy spear, huh?” Tayuya muses. “Alright, let’s do that first.”

…

It really does strike you as a meitō-level work of art, when Ryūzetsu leads you and Tayuya into a plain-looking shop to see it. A long, straight blade set onto an even longer tang, designed for powerful chopping blows as well as deep thrusts. And the workmanship… flawless in form, with a powerful, distinctive temper line that looks to be the signature of…

“Muramasa, huh?” you muse quietly to Ryūzetsu when the shopowner isn’t hovering too close. “You didn’t mention that.”

“Is it worth what he’s asking for it?” Ryūzetsu asks just as quietly after carefully testing its length and weight a few times. “You’re the one who knows about meitō.”

“Buy it,” you simply insist quietly, keeping your estimate of its true value to yourself for now. "If you don't I might."
>1/2

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>>4403021
“It’s pretty,” Tayuya shakes her head after you’ve paid for the spear. “But was it really worth that much?”

When you tell Tayuya that the only reason you didn’t have to pay ten times as much is because so few people are interested in buying old spears, her jaw drops in disbelief. Tantōs and swords forged by the first and second generation Muramasa command prices nearly on par with the Kotetsu name or one of the notable Ichimonjis.

…

After Tayuya gives the list of requirements that Natsuhi-tono gave her over to a smith (standardized length, a maximum sori or curvature of a quarter centimeter, plain matching fittings), you find yourself browsing idly when your eyes fall on a short sword, more like a long tantō than a short wakizashi. It’s obviously well-made but from one of the later, less famous smiths of the otherwise celebrated Rai school, with fittings, form, and temper line all much less grand than Umekiri-maru. In a sense, it's quaintly 'humble' as far as fine swords go. But it does have a certain flair to it that catches your eye.

>Buy it. You’ve occasionally considered having a companion or backup sword for Umekiri.
>Resist the temptation. You’re not really a two-sword type to begin with.
>Ask the seller if you can put it on hold while you consider the possibility.
>Other?

>>4403026
>>Buy it. You’ve occasionally considered having a companion or backup sword for Umekiri.
teleport sword?
teleport sword!

>>4403026
>Buy it. You’ve occasionally considered having a companion or backup sword for Umekiri.

>>4403026
Naori, that's a lot of responsibility having two swords to look after. And think of how Umekiri will feel! "What, I'm not good enough for you anymore?"

But seriously, this isn't committing to learning Niten Ichi style, is it? Just nice to have a back-up or alternative weapon.

Yes if it's the latter, no if it's the former from me.

>>4403026
>Resist the temptation. You’re not really a two-sword type to begin with.

And on the topic of weapons: does Naori have an armory at any or all of her hideouts? Maybe with some of the equipment she'd need to do maintenance and simple repairs?

. . . could she hypothetically seal a weaponsmith and his entire shop into a scroll?

P.S. does Naori still have any shinobi umbrellas? Those seemed useful and very on brand for a kunoichi raised by courtesans from the hidden rain.

P.P.S. be on the lookout for a war fan. Not for us. For, uhh, Temari. Yea, that's it. Guys, I think I may have a problem.

>>4403026
>Resist the temptation. You’re not really a two-sword type to begin with.
We're better off using the adamantine chains in our off hand, i think.

>>4403057
It's not committing so much as allowing the possibility. There are a lot of different styles Naori can pull off right now that rely on her doing something with her off hand (sealing chains, shuriken, etc).
>>4403067
The hideouts in the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Grass have basic tools for removing/replacing fittings, oil and cloths for cleaning, etc, as well as small crates full of marked kunai. She also has some crates of regular hira shuriken, regular kunai, senbon, and wire for the sake of others, but all that comes fairly cheap. Also, gas masks/respirators, that sort of thing.

Her parasols were mostly totalled years ago and just don't fit her current style even as well as they did when she was a genin (when she rarely used them).

Fans are only really useful for wind release, which Naori is essentially incapable of using.

>>4403026
>Buy it. You’ve occasionally considered having a companion or backup sword for Umekiri.

>>4403026
>Buy it. You’ve occasionally considered having a companion or backup sword for Umekiri.

>>4403026
>>Resist the temptation. You’re not really a two-sword type to begin with.

I like having an off-hand free.

>>4403073
Darn. How will I satisfy my inner Tenten?

Can we at least try out a kuwa before we go? Gotta style on people with weaponized farm equipment.

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>>4403189
>How will I satisfy my inner Tenten?

With lewds of the Weapon girls from Soul Eater?

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>>4403207

>>4403026
>Resist the temptation. You’re not really a two-sword type to begin with.

>>4403026
>>Buy it. You’ve occasionally considered having a companion or backup sword for Umekiri.

>>4403026
The ayes have it, will probably update again some time later this evening.

>>4403290
No picture of a gavel?
I am disappointed

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>>4403297
here.

>>4403321
*yeeeeees*
thank you anon

>>4403026
It’s borderline instinctive, actually. Not nearly at the same level of unaccountable familiarity as when you first held Umekiri-maru in your hands, but it’s a rare case when a physical object just seems right.

And so, quite unexpectedly, you end up purchasing yourself a new tantō, a Rai Tenryushi that looks like it could be a lesser sibling to your own Umekiri Ichimonji Norimune. Not a meitō, but in your eyes a worthy companion to one.

“Nice,” Ryūzetsu nods appreciatively. “What is it?”

“A late product of the Rai school,” you muse. “Good quality, but not what people consider characteristic of the school, and not especially valuable. A good choice for a companion sword.”

“It looks a little odd,” Tayuya frowns. “Right in the middle there, pattern kinda loses its damn mind a bit.”

“It may be a deliberate imitation of the Ichimonji style,” you muse. “Either way it compliments Umekiri nicely. I like it.”

“Is that handle original?” Ryūzetsu asks you curiously.

“No, actually,” you admit, “I had to quickly request one to match Umekiri. The tsuba is original though.”

You pause for a moment, sensing something amiss.

“What’s up?” Tayuya asks you.

It’s two paper tags: first the one you left with Konan-sensei, then a few minutes later the one you left with Tsunade-han that confirms your worst fears about what Konan-sensei had wanted to tell you. Ryūzetsu and Tayuya both watch, first with confusion, then with concern.

“It’s Konohagakure,” you frown, fitting the Tenryushi at your hip along with Umekiri-maru. “It’s time.”

>Take Ryūzetsu and Tayuya home, then go straight to Tsunade alone.
>Take Ryūzetsu and Tayuya home, fetch shadow clones of Fū and Karin, then go to Tsunade.
>Take Ryūzetsu and Tayuya home, fetch Sasuke, then go to Tsunade
>Other?

>>4403353
>>Take Ryūzetsu and Tayuya home, fetch the shadow clones and sasuke and join tsunade

>>4403353
>Take Ryūzetsu and Tayuya home, fetch shadow clones of Fū and Karin, then go to Tsunade.

>>4403353
>>Take Ryūzetsu and Tayuya home, fetch the shadow clones and sasuke and join tsunade

>>4403353
This >>4403366

We need everyone with us to help with the fight. Team Naori Mission Save Konohagakure is a go!

>>4403353
>>Take Ryūzetsu and Tayuya home, fetch shadow clones of Fū and Karin, then go to Tsunade.

>>4403353
>Take Ryūzetsu and Tayuya home
>Fetch EVERYONE and go to tsunade

>>4403353
>Fetch everyone.

>>4403353
>>4403366
>>Take Ryūzetsu and Tayuya home, fetch the shadow clones and sasuke and join tsunade

>>4403353
“I’m taking you both home,” you insist, grabbing both Ryūzetsu and Tayuya by their respective shoulders and teleporting them first to Hoshigakure before letting go of Tayuya.

“If it’s a fight we can help!” Tayuya tells you quickly.

“I know,” you reply calmly, before teleporting to Hozuki Castle and releasing Ryūzetsu. “But I don’t want you to. I won’t let anyone else risk their lives on this on this if I can help it, cause I know what’s coming.”

“… then be careful,” Ryūzetsu frowns. “And if I can help don’t hesitate. I’ll be waiting.”

“Thank you,” you tell her, before teleporting to your hideout and calling everyone out to the courtyard at the same time.

“Konohagakure is under attack by Akatsuki,” you declare. “Karin, Yugito, Fū, you’ll remain here and I’ll take shadow clones to help out. Sasuke, if you want to come with me… it’s your home. I have no right to tell you how to defend it.”

“But decide quickly.”

After a moment, where the others create shadow clones that all put their hands on your shoulders, Sasuke joins them personally.

“I’m going.”

“Then let’s go,” you reply, teleporting to Tsunade-han.

…

She’s watching from the top of the Hokage Residence, and there’s a substantial amount of smoke coming from Konohagakure as regular people are evacuated towards the shelters around the hokage monument.

“You’re here,” Tsunade-han frowns. “Good. The situation...”

“I can feel it, Tsunade-han,” you shut your eyes, already underlined by the red markings of your sage mode. “So much death...”

“Pain has been engaged in multiple sectors,” Tsunade informs you. “He tricked our sensors by coming in with only one body, but there are clearly multiple attackers.”

“The Animal Path summoned them,” you realize. “I can see some of its summons are at work… three of the bodies aren’t primarily combat-oriented though. So the ones that are are probably serving as distractions… likely searching for Naruto-kun.”

“That isn’t a problem,” Tsunade insists cryptically. “What we need to do is contain the damage and evacuate all the civilians we can to safety.”

“We’ll help,” Karin insists. “I’m a medical ninja and a sensor, and Fū here’s pretty good in a fight. We can help evacuate and treat civilians.”
>1/2

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>>4404401
“If there are three ‘Paths’ skulking about,” Yugitō offers, “I can try to draw them out. I’m already a target, so I’d be willing to bet they’d leap at the opportunity if they thought I was really here.”

“I will go with you,” Sasuke-kun declares. “Someone has to help spring the trap, assuming Pain falls for it. I at least want to see his face.”

“Be wary of your emotions,” you warn him. “Akatsuki were your brother’s enemies. Don’t let that turn into something personal.”

“I won’t,” he nods curtly.

“And what about you?” Tsunade-han asks.

>I’ll find the Animal Path. Getting rid of those summons will help tremendously.
>I’ll find Konan-sensei. Even if we’re adversaries right now, she’ll talk to me.
>I’ll call Pain out. If I can tie down multiple Paths that buys time for the evacuations.
>Other?

>>4404411
>I’ll find Konan-sensei. Even if we’re adversaries right now, she’ll talk to me.

>>4404411
>I’ll call Pain out. If I can tie down multiple Paths that buys time for the evacuations.

>>4404411
>>I’ll find Konan-sensei. Even if we’re adversaries right now, she’ll talk to me.

>>4404411
>I’ll find the Animal Path. Getting rid of those summons will help tremendously.

By finding Animal Path and beating it, we will gain the definite attention of Pain. Sure we could find Konan to gain some insight, or by calling out Pain we could stall for some time, but we have to take this fight smartly. Make the opponent weaker for when the big fight starts, we have a small advantage.

>>4404411
>I’ll find the Animal Path. Getting rid of those summons will help tremendously.

>>4404411
Call out pain

>>4404411
>I’ll find Konan-sensei. Even if we’re adversaries right now, she’ll talk to me.

>>4404411
>I’ll find Konan-sensei. Even if we’re adversaries right now, she’ll talk to me.

>>4404411
>>I’ll find the Animal Path. Getting rid of those summons will help tremendously.

>>4404411
>>I’ll find the Animal Path. Getting rid of those summons will help tremendously.

>>4404411
>1d6, best three of four

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4404737

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4404737

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4404737

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4404737

File: 69131626_p0.jpg (122 KB, 512x512)

122 KB JPG

>>4404737
“I’ll do what I can to buy time for the evacuation,” you decide. “Ideally that means dealing with the Animal Path first, but really contacting any of the Paths will do… I think he understands it will take more than one Path to deal with me.”

“Then good luck,” Tsunade nods curtly, before handing you a slug the size of a large hamster. “Take Katsuyu with you.”

You hesitate for a moment, almost ready to ask why, but decide that in such circumstances it’s best not to question her right now. She must have her reasons, so you put the slug into a pouch at your right hip normally intended for large scrolls about that size.

“Thanks,” you reply, before turning to your friends. “And good luck to all of you too.”

…

Large sections of the village have been damaged or destroyed, probably due mostly to the Asura path’s weapons, and dust and smoke hang thick in the air. There was also one particularly large explosion that created a mushroom-like cloud that towers over the surrounding buildings… you can sense that two Paths are fighting there.

But that’s not where the Animal Path is going to be… Pain wouldn’t risk all the devastation his summons are doing by using their summoner as a frontline fighter. So the third one you can sense…

“Found you,” you declare confidently, having crossed half of Konohagakure to find your target. “We meet again, Pa-”

You stop short as you recognize what it is you’re looking at. Your heart pounds in your ears, and your mouth turns dry as parchment.

“You...”

“It’s been a while, Raishō Naori,” she greets you coldly, in a familiar voice. “I’ve been expecting you. Well done in locating the Animal Path in all this destruction… truly, the powers of a Sage are not to be underestimated.”

You can feel your hands clenching and unclenching as you grapple with what you’re feeling. Her face has changed… it’s not just the eyes, or the pins sticking out of her, or the hair color. It’s the expression that utterly lacks humanity, or identifiable emotions: the face of a dead woman, and a monster speaking in her voice.

“Why?” you demand curtly.

“Jiraiya-sensei destroyed the previous Animal Path,” Pain explains in Ajisai’s voice. “So I treated it as an opportunity.”

“What the hell do you mean!?” you raise your voice.

“I did this for your benefit,” Pain insists. “I thought that you and I shared an understanding… but your betrayal...”
>1/2

>>4404832
Your fist connects with her cheek, sending her body crashing through an abandoned storefront like a ragdoll.

“How DARE you talk about betrayals in AJISAI’S voice!?” you scream in rage, the pressure exerted by your chakra cracking the pavement at your feet. “You sent her to her DEATH! And now you’ve defiled her corpse to use her for MASS MURDER!”

There’s a large burst of smoke from inside the remnants of the building.

“I’m not sure why I expected you to understand,” Pain drones listlessly, using Ajisai’s body to climb out of the rubble, having taken remarkably little damage from the experience. Of course… she’s already dead. There’s only so much you can do to her short of catastrophic destruction.

Then two more Paths step out from behind her… the Asura path, and a Path that you recognize, but the capabilities of which you can’t be sure of. This third path stays back at a distance, while the Asura Path steps forward.

“This body understood our goals,” Pain continues. “She was willing to sacrifice herself in their pursuits, to bring justice to the hellscape we call a world. She should feel honored.”

“Ajisai was no murderer,” you insist angrily. “She had friends in this village! Because unlike you Ajisai was a good person who could differentiate people from their nationalities!”

“And now you have the utter gall to use her corpse for something like this? To specifically hurt her closest friend in battle?”

>Let’s see what AJISAI thinks about your psychopathic little plan, shall we?
>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!
>I won’t let you defile her any more. I’ll beat you here, then I’ll find you, and I WILL kill you.
>Other?

>>4404849
>>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!

>>4404849
>>Let’s see what AJISAI thinks about your psychopathic little plan, shall we?
>>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!

>>4404849
>>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!

>>4404849
>>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!
You've done it now Nagato

>>4404849
>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!

>>4404849
>>Let’s see what AJISAI thinks about your psychopathic little plan, shall we?
>>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!
Time for a reunion

>>4404849
>>Let’s see what AJISAI thinks about your psychopathic little plan, shall we?

>>4404894
>Announcer: "It was in that moment when Nagato realized he'd fucked up."

>>4404849
>Let’s see what AJISAI thinks about your psychopathic little plan, shall we?
>If Pain starts spouting about the philosophy of "pain".
>"SHUT UP! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE MEANING OF THAT WORD MEANS!

>>4404849
>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!

>>4404849
>>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!

>>4404849
>>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!

>>4404849
>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!

Hahaha let's fucking go!

>>4404849
>>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!

>>4404849
>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!

>>4404849
>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!
Nagato, I know you have THE Eye power.
But you just messed with the wrong OC.

>>4404907
>>4404849

>>Let’s see what AJISAI thinks about your psychopathic little plan, shall we?
>>You’re not the only one who can revive people’s dead friends, you piece of shit!

Bring em both out. Pain forfeited the kid gloves the moment he brought our dead best friend into this.

>>4404849
>1d6, DC 12
>taking the first three
>SP: 5/6
>ES: 0/2 (0T)

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4405811

LET'S GO ROLL HIGH!

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4405811
COME OOOOONNNNN

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4405811

>>4405811
*Do you want to use 1 SP to succeed?*

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

>>4405811
Use 1 SP to fudge that roll up to a 12?
>Yes
>No

In this case I think using the Sharingan would actually be counterproductive.

>>4405836
>yes
yuppedy

>>4405836
Yes

>>4405836
>>Yes

>>4405836
>Yes

>>4405836
>>Yes

Hoo boy. Using Edo Tensei where tons of people can see it, and out of spite to boot.

If our qm wasn't king, I'd say y'all done fucked up.

A lot of qms would use this moment as a turning point to do something like turn Konan or Tsunade against us forever.

King tends to be a bit more circumspect about taking easy opportunities to write dramatic, spectacularly-disastrous outcomes.

tl;dr: there will almost certainly be consequences, but 's probably fine.

>>4405836
“… I’m glad that Konan-sensei’s not here,” you eventually admit.

“Is that so?” Pain muses, almost as though he’s amused by that.

“Yeah,” you reply, “because even if we disagree about you, I still respect her feelings and understand her position. So I’ve been holding back. I didn’t want to resort to what I’m about to do if I could help it.”

“But now you intend to fight me with everything you have,” Pain sneers through the Path in back.

“Such a quaint notion,” Ajisai’s voice taunts you. “I had no idea you were so...”

“Stop that,” you interrupt. “See, the trick when you’ve dug yourself a hole is to stop digging, dumbass.”

You quickly bite your thumb and slam your palm to the ground, even as the Animal Path does the same, making contact at the same time since she… no, since it can skip a step.

“Kuchiyose!”
“Kuchiyose: Ajisai!”

The Animal Path summoned… nothing, at first glance, though you know it must be the chameleon. But even Pain pauses when he realizes what you’ve done.

“You’re not the only one who can summon the dead,” you declare. “But unlike you I’m not a two-bit hack about it… what matters to me is the soul.”

“Hey… wait a minute,” Ajisai frowns at your side, before leaning in front of you to interrogate you. For being dead, she’s unusually animated compared to how you knew her in life. “What the hell is this!?”

“That’s your corpse,” you explain curtly. “Pain’s using it to destroy Konohagakure and murder thousands of innocent people… while conveniently playing on my emotions in the process. He seems to think you’d be okay with that.”

“Oh hell no!” Ajisai declares, visibly recoiling.

“I’m not impressed,” the Animal Path admits flatly, before the giant chameleon’s tongue grabs her and pulls her into the safe refuge of its invisible mouth. You try to move to intercept it, but the Asura Path moves to block your way… so for now, you let this pass. It’s not hard to use your senjutsu-enhanced senses to track the chameleon anyway, and you figure you can deal with the individual summons much more easily than any normal shinobi could.

Pain continues his villainous monologue through the supporting Path. “Is this the technique you didn’t want to show Konan? She can follow my lead, even when she disagrees with me, because she understands the importance of what I’m doing. You could learn a lot from her.”

“Ajisai,” you muse. “We can use Gojō Kibaku Fūda now.”

“I… sure...” Ajisai replies, still reeling from what she’s just witnessed.

You weave three hand seals, and unroll a scroll onto the ground. “Tensa Jōdo Tensei.”
>1/2

File: Never_Fear_Yahikos_Here.jpg (62 KB, 533x806)

62 KB JPG

>>4405883
The man you’ve summoned, already facing you, from the Pure Land looks exactly like the “main” Path of Pain… the same messy hair, same face, the same body shape and size in every way. But what’s different is equally important: his face is unmarred by the pins and rods Pain uses to control his corpse, and his expression is more human despite the visible faults that come with a resurrected body. There’s a certain confidence there, and a capacity for kindness you can see in his resting smile. His uniform is also plain black, with a wide band keeping his overcoat closed… the uniform of the original Akatsuki.

Then he clutches frantically at his chest.

“Gah!” he shouts, “lady, I’ve been stabbed, get a medi...”

He pauses to look down at his chest.

“… huh. I distinctly recall having a new hole there.”

Then he looks back at you. “Hey, lady… you’re a Sage? Who are you? Where are we? Am I dead?”

“Yes, I’m Naori, we’re in Konoha, and also yes. Sorry.”

You interrupt him before he can ask anything further. “And the guy behind you is in the process of slaughtering the villagers here.”

The man rounds on Pain. “Then I can already tell why I’m here, Naori-san! I may not be a fan of Konoha, but people can’t learn if they’re dead!”

“… Yahiko?”

Yahiko freezes up as he realizes who he’s facing. “The Rinnegan...”

“That’s… Pain?” Ajisai whispers across to you. “I don’t get it.”

“You don’t have to,” you whisper back. “Just be ready… I’ll walk you through the Gojō Kibaku Fūda the first time, so pay attention and take over after that. And seriously, be careful with it.”

“Hey lady,” Yahiko asks, back still turned to you. “The hell is going on here? How can these two have the Rinnegan?”

>Explain that they’re corpse puppets being used by ‘Pain’… who is the third Ame orphan trained by Jiraiya.
>State outright that it was Konan-sensei who gave you this option.
>Just wait. Pain is going to attack any time now and you want to be ready when he does.
>Other?

>>4405888
>>Explain that they’re corpse puppets being used by ‘Pain’… who is the third Ame orphan trained by Jiraiya.

Maximum payback. Probably a bad idea, still wanna do it.

>>4405888
>>State outright that it was Konan-sensei who gave you this option.

>>4405888
>>Explain that they’re corpse puppets being used by ‘Pain’… who is the third Ame orphan trained by Jiraiya.

>>4405888
>explain it all

>>4405888
>State outright that it was Konan-sensei who gave you this option.

>>4405888
>>Explain that they’re corpse puppets being used by ‘Pain’… who is the third Ame orphan trained by Jiraiya.

>"See 'Pain", the thing about the dead is typically when someone dies, they aren't around to defend themselves, so people like YOU get to say whatever they want about their ideals or personality in life, rewriting them into whatever they want. I grew up near a shrine, which means I learned to respect who people still are, even after their death. A lesson you're about to learn. Last chance. Leave Konoha now."

>>4405888
>Explain that they’re corpse puppets being used by ‘Pain’… who is the third Ame orphan trained by Jiraiya.
>State outright that it was Konan-sensei who gave you this option.

But state this quickly.

>>4405888
>Explain that they’re corpse puppets being used by ‘Pain’… who is the third Ame orphan trained by Jiraiya.
>State outright that it was Konan-sensei who gave you this option.

>>4405888
>Explain that they’re corpse puppets being used by ‘Pain’… who is the third Ame orphan trained by Jiraiya.

>>4405888
>>Explain that they’re corpse puppets being used by ‘Pain’… who is the third Ame orphan trained by Jiraiya.

>>4405888
“You were one of three orphans once trained by Jiraiya-tono,” you explain. “The second was Konan, my sensei who made it possible to summon you.”

“Pain, the man controlling those corpse-puppets, is the third.”

Yahiko still doesn’t look at you. “Is that really you… Nagato?”

“I no longer go by that name, Yahiko,” the Path furthest in back insists.

“Why are you attacking Konoha like this!?” Yahiko demands angrily. “Where is Jiraiya-sensei?”

“Jiraiya-sensei is no longer in this world,” the Path explains. “He turned his back on us.”

“Wait, you killed him!?” Yahiko demands. “What happened to you, Nagato?”

“The world turned its back on us,” Pain spits in an unusually bitter tone. “Our dream has changed somewhat as I grew out of childhood fantasies, starting with the day you died.”

Then Pain turns his attention to you. “I know why you did this. Yahiko died a long time ago, showing me his face again to hurt me the same way I hurt you will not work.”

“If you think that’s why I did this, then you’re right about one thing,” you growl. “It was a waste of my time. It seems the man my sensei used to respect died the same day Yahiko did… I just hate that I have to be the one to tell her.”
>1d6, DC 10
>taking the first three
>SP: 5/6
>ES: 0/2 (0T)

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4406513

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4406513

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4406513

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4406513
Didn't have the desired effect, but not biggie. We now have two allies for this fight.

Exactly the DC, good job anon who rolled 5

>>4406513
Update tomorrow morning my time, it's already past 11 here.

>>4406550
Sleep well :)

>>4406513
You aren’t overconfident enough to believe for one minute that this will be a fight that you can end quickly, so you prefer to think of what happens next as just the first of what may be the full twelve rounds.

The Asura Path is the first to act, firing his fist at you trailing a long chain of explosives in an attack you’ve seen before. The trick is to be aggressive, and so you split his chain fist lengthwise to give you safe space to rush forward and vault into the air, small explosions going off everywhere else you could have gone. You’re in perfect position to attack when the Asura Path creates a new problem for your to solve: like a certain combat puppet, it also has a razor-sharp blade like a flexible saw for a tail, which it uses to parry Umekiri’s edge. Impressive.

That forces you back as it lashes out after you, and you use Kongō Fūsa with your left hand to wrap around the offending blade and bind it in an awkward extended position… only for the Asura Path to grow a massive missile out of his shoulder and fire it at you, trailing fire and smoke.

You’re forced to step atop the flat side of his saw-tail, releasing the Kongō Fūsa as you go, allowing you to meet the missile and slice it in half midair. The two halves still manage to destroy a pair of buildings on either side of the street you’re fighting in, buildings which if all has gone well are uninhabited.

Frustratingly, the other Path chooses this precise moment to intercede, hurling a black rod at you from a distance. This time you draw the Rai Tenryushi and throw it to meet the rod, its turning movement deflecting the attack and sending your own blade tumbling off in a totally different direction where it embeds itself in the street some distance away. Perfect.

Just as you intended, the chakra flow through a properly-made blade such as the Tenryushi ensures that there was no damage to the finely-honed edge, unlike a regular kunai which when faced with one of Pain’s chakra receiver rods may have been unusable afterwards.

“Gotcha!” you shout, unsealing and hurling a handful of exploding paper shuriken and forming a one-handed seal. “Shuriken Kagebunshin!”
>1/2

>>4407235
The exploding shuriken multiply into a few dozen, most of which explode all around the Asura Path but some of which it’s forced to either evade or counter with various other tricks its body can perform: which was, of course, the point. It seems that it can absolutely fire smaller projectiles out of its body, extending both of his arms to fire the miniature explosive as well as releasing senbon from a few locations on his body. Nothing you can’t handle so far.

But with a burst of smoke your attention is called to a new development.

“Kuchiyose!”

From somewhere else on the street you hear the Animal Path summon… and you can sense that the chameleon has moved after that summoning. Frustratingly, the fight with the Asura Path has taken a lot of your concentration, so without the chance to use some wide-area sensory technique you’re just kind of stuck with the Animal Path having free rein.

In the short term, you’ll have to deal with the giant rhinoceros that’s charging down the street at you.

>Have Ajisai use the Gojō Kibaku Fūda, “mutually multiplying explosive tags”. No sense keeping it a secret.
>You can easily cut this thing’s legs up and cripple it just like any other dumb giant beast. No sense getting showy,
>This is great. The Animal Path has given you a new toy to beat the other Paths to a pulp with.
>Other?

>>4407236
>>This is great. The Animal Path has given you a new toy to beat the other Paths to a pulp with.

>>4407236
>You can easily cut this thing’s legs up and cripple it just like any other dumb giant beast. No sense getting showy,

I would like to keep Ajisai as the trump card in this fight. Get everyone to make their moves and then get her to blow everything up.

>>4407236
>>This is great. The Animal Path has given you a new toy to beat the other Paths to a pulp with.

>>4407236
>>You can easily cut this thing’s legs up and cripple it just like any other dumb giant beast. No sense getting showy,

>>4407236
>>This is great. The Animal Path has given you a new toy to beat the other Paths to a pulp with.

Well if you’re offering I’d have to be a heretical philistine to pass this up.

>>4407236
>>This is great. The Animal Path has given you a new toy to beat the other Paths to a pulp with.

>>4407236
>>This is great. The Animal Path has given you a new toy to beat the other Paths to a pulp with.

>>4407236
>>This is great. The Animal Path has given you a new toy to beat the other Paths to a pulp with.

>>4407236
>This is great. The Animal Path has given you a new toy to beat the other Paths to a pulp with.

>>4407236
>This is great. The Animal Path has given you a new toy to beat the other Paths to a pulp with.

>>4407236
>1d6, taking the first three
>DC: 11
>SP: 5/6
>ES: 0/2 (0T)

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4407427

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4407427

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4407427

>>4407431
>>4407429
>>4407428
>>4407427
Spend 2 SP please.

>>4407427
Refunds up to SP: 6/6
>Spend 2 SP to pass
>Spend 1 SP and take 1 ES to pass
>Take 2 ES to pass
>Accept a failure on a Hard DC

>>4407436
>Spend 2 SP to pass

>>4407436
>Spend 1 SP and take 1 ES to pass
We should spend a little eye strain, this is going to be a lengthy battle

>>4407436
>Spend 1 SP and take 1 ES to pass

>>4407436
>>Spend 1 SP and take 1 ES to pass

>>4407445
yes, but eyestrain recovers at a fixed rate, we can't control when and how we get dubs

>>4407436
>>Spend 1 SP and take 1 ES to pass
where can I find the eyestrain rules?

>>4407448
ES has a max of 2 and recovers 1 per 2 storyposts
double posts count as one

>>4407436
>Spend 2 SP to pass
I feel like we're gonna need those ES points.

>>4407436
>>Spend 1 SP and take 1 ES to pass

>>4407450
I didn't remember that, changing my vote.

>>4407436
>>Spend 1 SP and take 1 ES to pass
ES regens every two updates

>>4407436
>SP: 5/6
>ES: 1/2 (2T)

Writing now.

>>4407528
Honestly, summoning giant creatures against someone who basically specializes in fighting tailed beasts was a mistake on Pain’s part, but then again that’s all the Animal Path can really do against you. But in reality this just means that he’s given you a new weapon to beat him with.

“Kongō Fūsa!”

The rhino’s horn gives you a perfect spot to aim for, and you not only sink the spiked end of your chakra chain into its skull you wrap the chain around the horn and use your full strength to swing the giant beast around and smash it into the spot where the Asura Path and the support Path behind it have been hiding.

The result is a titanic crash of flying plaster, splinters, and glass from which the two Paths emerge just in time for you to start peppering them with exploding paper shuriken. To pull this next step off you activate your sharingan so that you can get the timing perfect since this is the first time you’ll be trying it in combat against someone who could conceivably kill you if you make a mistake.

In an instant you teleport to a Hiraishin marking that had passed just over the Asura Path’s shoulder, already turning to land the fatal blow, blurring its true location with a Sandanzuki genjutsu. You already suspect that the fields of vision for all the Paths are linked, but you don’t expect to see two extra faces on the Asura Path.

You also don’t expect him to grow two extra arms out of the backs of his elbows.

One catches you by your wrist, and the other starts to fire like some kind of rocket-powered punch that you have to smack aside with your foot, before planting your other foot against the Asura Path’s ribs. You kick off, wrenching your wrist free and using Umekiri to slice off the extra arm that had grappled you, the force of the blow to his ribs bouncing him off the street and into a building on the opposite side of the road.

Your feet hit and destroy the metal patio roof of a shop on the corner, the aluminum sheets simply crumpling under the force like paper. You reorient yourself with your senjutsu-enhanced senses and your sharingan, teleporting yourself to the Tenryushi to avoid another attack by a summoned creature. This time it’s a pressure jet of water unleashed by a giant crab, which slices not only the building you were braced against but several buildings around it. It also rips a deep line into the street as well, rupturing a water main that gushes up from below.
>1/2

>>4407586
After pulling the Rai Tenryushi from the ground you hurl it at the Asura Path, who dodges it only to sacrifice its other extra arm as you use hiraishin-giri a second time and leap away, landing lightly on your toes.

“That body is one tough bastard,” you muse, adopting a guarded stance.

“Kuchiyose!”

You ear the Animal Path perform a summoning again, a giant bird emerging seemingly from a wall and grabbing you in its beak before flying into the air.

>Get free and summon Nyoka, get started on changing the weather as you deal with this bird.
>Cut off its head from inside its neck, then figure out what to do next from there.
>Summon Isoka inside the giant bird’s mouth and have her blast a Tenkyū through its skull.
>Other?

>>4407587
>>Get free and summon Nyoka, get started on changing the weather as you deal with this bird.

>>4407587
>turn to bird to stone with nature chakra and bust out using a rasengan

>>4407587
>>Get free and summon Nyoka, get started on changing the weather as you deal with this bird.

>>4407587
>Get free and summon Nyoka, get started on changing the weather as you deal with this bird.

>>4407587
>Get free and summon Nyoka, get started on changing the weather as you deal with this bird.

>>4407587
>>Get free and summon Nyoka, get started on changing the weather as you deal with this bird.

>>4407587
>>Get free and summon Nyoka, get started on changing the weather as you deal with this bird.

>>4407587
>>Summon Isoka inside the giant bird’s mouth and have her blast a Tenkyū through its skull.

>>4407587
>>Get free and summon Nyoka, get started on changing the weather as you deal with this bird.

>>4407587
>Summon Isoka inside the giant bird’s mouth and have her blast a Tenkyū through its skull.

>>4407587
>1d6, DC 9
>Taking three rolls

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4408599

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4408599

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4408599

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4408599

>>4408599
Use 1 SP? I've decided that there's really no way that sharingan would help, considering Naori's Mangekyo abilities.

>SP: 6/6
>ES: 1/2 (2T)

>Use 1 SP to pass
>Accept the fail

>>4408606
>use 1 sp

>>4408606
>use 1 sp to pass

>>4408606
>>Use 1 SP to pass