>>6086801
You’re greeted by the appearance of someone almost exactly like Hana-sensei but with redder hair, whom you identify immediately as the ‘assassin’.

“Did you really think that…”

Rather than let her keep talking you simply wipe her away, and search further back into Hana’s memories until you can grab hold of something more closely approaching ‘useful’. A bald-headed man with messy teeth, bushy eyebrows, and a lame-looking excuse for a beard dressed in the typical attire of a government minister from the Land of Bamboo. A gathering of young children, many crying or trying not to cry – war orphans.

“How dare you erase me like that!?” the assassin protests, having returned with some effort. “In my own mind no less!?”

“Yeah no, not gonna lie,” you muse, ignoring her protests, “I’m shocked anyone’d be dumb enough to do this sorta stuff personally. It’s actually kinda insulting.”

“You’re ignoring me?”

“You’re a war orphan,” you continue, finally acknowledging her presence. “How many of you were there?”

There’s a pause. “Fifty-three.”

“And how many survived the training, aside from you?”

“And why should I tell you?”

>Because I’m asking politely instead of just taking what I want to know by force – which I think we both know I can do at any time.
>Yeah no, I know what it’s like to be a war orphan, so I’m willing to bet you want nothing more than to screw that bastard over.
>I can help – not just you, but the others like you. In fact depending on where they ended up I may be the ONLY one who will help.
>Other?

>>6086804
>>I can help – not just you, but the others like you. In fact depending on where they ended up I may be the ONLY one who will help.

>>6086804
>Because i can help you, and maybe the other children too.

>>6086804
>>I can help – not just you, but the others like you. In fact depending on where they ended up I may be the ONLY one who will help.

>>6086804
>>I can help – not just you, but the others like you. In fact depending on where they ended up I may be the ONLY one who will help.

>>6086804
>1d6, best three of four

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>6087600

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>6087600

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>6087600

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>6087600

>>6087600
“Can you listen in on Hana-han?”

“Yeah,” she frowns.

“Then yeah, you should know better than to ask dumb questions,” you insist. “You’re only still here ‘cause Hana-han asked me not to get rid of you… and here’s the thing, you and the others like you aren’t likely to get that good of an offer from anyone else.”

“So you’re threatening me now?”

“Nah. Just making sure you know where you stand,” you counter. “I’m already going to go out of my way for you, what you’ve gotta decide is whether I’m gonna only do that for you.”

The Assassin looks over her shoulder, then turns back to you with a frown. “Why did I do that? I don’t even have a shoulder to look over, and there’s nothing over there.”

“Yeah no, everyone does stuff like that,” you admit, “myself included. Seems body language is pretty deeply ingrained.”

“So what’s it gonna be, Assassin-han?”

After a moment, she sighs. “Follow me. I’ll show you the way.”

…

In the Land of Bamboo, a man performs a verbal bow-and-scrape routine for the Lord Yukiwari. This minister is a born schemer, a man who aims well above any station to which he might by nature or nurture be considered well-suited. The thoughts behind this man’s eyes, the obsession to which he has dedicated his existence, can be summarized thus: that power is an avenue for self-advancement, and that self-advancement affords more power. That’s all. There is no clearly-defined goal to achieve, no moral compass to follow, not even the sort of self-imposed rules that tend to govern where morals are absent. There is only a single path at his feet upon which he revels in walking.

Physically booting this man off from that path provides you with an immediate gratification more intense than any other vice ever could.

“Lord Yukiwari,” you greet the man himself. “A pleasure to finally meet face-to-face.”

In the mean time, Sasuke-kun has already gotten the minister into a rather devious headlock.
>1/2

>>6088827
“Could you please explain to me who you are and what my minister here has done to earn such casual disrespect?”

“Yeah no, minister smooth-brain over there made every mistake in the book,” you smirk. “From putting in live appearances while running his illicit assassination program to keeping unsecured physical records.”

The minister’s face blanches. “… how?”

“Putting them in your sock drawer doesn’t count as ‘securing’ them,” you shrug. “Anyway, we’ve been able to obtain testimony and corroborating evidence of your guilt, so don’t even try to argue.”

“And yeah, as for my name, it’s Uzumaki Naori.”

“Uzumaki Naori,” Lord Yukiwari repeats, his expression shifting towards grim. “The village head of Amegakure?”

“The same.”

“Why is it that someone of your reputation would concern herself so personally in such a matter?” Yukiwari asks you curiously. “Even going so far as to kick the man about?”

“Three reasons,” you answer, holding up three raised fingers and counting down. “First, every multinational incident involving shinobi escalates directly to ‘my concern’. Second, my son was the jōnin charged with escorting your daughter and who caught the first of your minister’s trained assassins.”

A pause. “And the third reason?”

“He used war orphans,” you conclude, a tone that drips with an icy venom. “Many of whom did not survive the training. That makes it feel pretty damn personal to me.”

“With your permission, I’d like to take him into custody,” Sasuke interjects. “Before my friend here gives in to her instincts and kills him on the spot.”

After a moment, Lord Yukiwari nods and Sasuke swiftly escorts the minister from the room.

“I take it this man wasn’t scheming alone?” the lord asks, cradling his head in his hand.

You shake your head. “No. But I was able to identify most of his associates. With your permission, I can have them all taken down at once.”

“Did you bring other shinobi into my territory?”

“I didn’t need to.”
>2/3

>>6092417
“Then by all means,” the Lord decides. “Let’s see what your investigations have turned up.”

…

It’s not an especially large conspiracy, so far as these things go. But for any leader, a conspiracy even of this size can be a real problem if the conspirators are well-funded and well-connected, as these men all are. It never ceases to amaze you the lengths to which those who already have power and privilege are willing to go for just that little bit more.

“Where are the remaining assassins?” Sasuke asks you after the initial arrests have all been made – mostly by shadow clones.

“So yeah, there are only three,” you tell him. “One in the Land of Waves one in the Land of Grass, and one in my own village. That third one, Ryūzetsu arrested earlier.”

“You intend to ask permission for the others?”

“Working on it.”

“And how do you intend to handle them once you have permission?”

>Find them, disable them with genjutsu, and take them in for rehabilitation.
>Inform the nations involved, but hold off on acting until it becomes necessary.
>Other?

>>6092507
>>Find them, disable them with genjutsu, and take them in for rehabilitation.

>>6092507
>>Find them, disable them with genjutsu, and take them in for rehabilitation.

>>6092507
>>Find them, disable them with genjutsu, and take them in for rehabilitation.

>>6092507
>1d6 taking the first three

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>6093203

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>6093203

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>6093203

>>6093203
“Yeah, you know me,” you shrug. “Find them, knock them each out with genjutsu, and take them in for rehabilitation.”

“Good luck,” Sasuke grumbles. “I can only hope it goes that smoothly in practice.”

…

You are Uzumaki Shiki, and today is your first day as a substitute teacher at the Konoha Academy. Up until a few days ago you were posing as a fellow student in this particular class, but when Hana-sensei revealed herself as an assassin planted in the village by a rogue minister in the Land of Bamboo you were obliged to drop your cover to stop her. While she’s going through rehabilitation under your mother’s guidance, along with the other assassins who she managed to capture, you will be responsible for the class.

“… what am I doing?” you grumble.

“A very responsible thing,” Sumirin insists calmly.

Wasabi nods in agreement. “It’s exactly like you to get involved like this.”

“I spent a lot of time here growing up,” Kōshū offers. “You want any help just ask.”

“I do have an idea,” you admit. “One big idea… though I’d like you to talk to your uncle to help me pull it off.”

“Alright, Shikkun. What’ve you got cooking?”

…

“Alright everyone!” you raise your voice slightly to come across as more authoritative rather than an abruptly-promoted classmate. “Please keep your arms, legs, and head inside the triangle at all times – and just a warning, this can be a little disorienting for the first time!”

“Ooh!” Hima muses, just a half-step shy of hopping up and down in excitement. “Is this the hiraishin!?”

“Sort of,” you reply, pointing out some of the details of the fūinjutsu array you’ve scrawled on the floor of the hotel lobby. “Adding a barrier fūinjutsu lets you move anything in contact with it – your grandfather created this technique.”
>1/2

>>6094368
You have to give the class a moment or two so that their heads will stop swimming – the first time being taken along by the hiraishin truly is jarring, no matter how ready you think you are for it. But their confusion and slight, passing nausea is quickly replaced with excitement as they see the kingdom of Rōran for the first time.

“Welcome to Rōran,” a strawberry-haired young woman greets you and your class, quickly approaching and spreading her arms for a hug. “Shiki-kun, it’s been too long!”

“It’s great to be back, Sēryū-san,” you reply, accepting the warm embrace of the woman you’ve always considered a cousin of sorts. “Thanks for coming out on such short notice!”

“It’s really no trouble,” she insists. “After all, it’s not every day our kingdom gets a school tour group!”

“Class,” you turn to face the students, “I’d like to introduce you to Queen Sēryū of Rōran.”

There’s a mixture of excitement and nervousness in the chatter that immediately follows, but it’s Kae-hime who speaks first. “Wait, Shiki-san… how is it that you’re so familiar with a Queen?”

“He’s my cousin,” Sēryū-san answers. “Not by blood, but rather by something much more meaningful.”

“The details are still quite classified,” you add, “but my family is also close with Koyuki-hime of the Land of Snow for broadly similar reasons. That’s why I was chosen to be Kae-hime’s guard while she was here.”

“Anyway, you’re here just in time,” Sēryū-san declares. “The festival will begin in about two hours, so just enough time for a nice meal to welcome your class!”

“Festival?” Eiki-kun repeats.

“Celebrating the anniversary of the re-founding of the kingdom,” you explain, “after it was destroyed in the Third World War. You may be some of Konoha’s best and brightest, but there’s still a lot you should learn about the world – and there’s no better way to learn than through experience!”

…

You are Uzumaki Naori, and it’s been twelve days since Shiki-kun captured a rogue member of the ‘Kara’ organization – a young woman by the name of Ōga.
>2/3

>>6095390
After daily therapy sessions, you’ve come to consider it an appropriate time for an experiment. For the first time since Ōga’s defection, she will be in the same room as another member of her former organization – Delta, the other Kara member your son has run into. It’ll almost be like a playdate. Like a weird, psychopathic playdate.

>Set it up as simple as possible – two psychopaths, an empty room, and you. What could go wrong?
>Call in some backup. You doubt things will get too ugly, but better safe than sorry.
>Both subjects should be heavily restrained. No risks means no regrets.
>Other?

>>6095457
>>Set it up as simple as possible – two psychopaths, an empty room, and you. What could go wrong?
it doesn't get safer than having Naori watching

>>6095457
>>Set it up as simple as possible – two psychopaths, an empty room, and you. What could go wrong?

>>6095457
>>Call in some backup. You doubt things will get too ugly, but better safe than sorry.

>>6095457
The setup doesn’t really have to be all that elaborate – the room just needs to be empty of any potential improvised weapons. You’d hate to get this far into the process of turning two members of the elusive Kara organization only to screw it all up with a poorly-positioned ballpoint pen. Both the woman named Ōga and the and the one only referred to as ‘Delta’ are led into the room through separate doors, both under heavy guard, and are forcefully ‘encouraged’ to sit in two metal chairs that have both been bolted to the floor, facing each other.

“Delta-san, it’s been a while,” Ōga muses quietly. “Have you been keeping well?”

“Obviously not,” Delta grumbles. “For a big-brain type you say some dumb shit sometimes.”

“I don’t understand,” Ōga admits. “You’re alive, aren’t you?”

“Alive yeah, but I’m probably on our old boss’s shitlist same as you now,” Delta shoots back.

“In that case, why have you not been more cooperative with Naori-san?”

“And piss Jigen off even more?”

“It would seem reasonable to place your bets on Naori-san at this point. Or have I missed something?”

That just seems to frustrate Delta even further – quite the feat, actually. You weren’t sure that was even possible. “You really think anyone’s got more power packed away than Jigen?”

Ōga shrugs. “Do you really think either of us has an alternative?”

>More to the point, do you really think he wouldn’t have killed you both by now if he were all-powerful?
>Show them your full power, ask Delta how she thinks you stack up to Jigen in terms of raw strength.
>Ask them where Kara has been hiding. It’s long, LONG past time when you should have gone on the offense.
>Other?

>>6096724
>>More to the point, do you really think he wouldn’t have killed you both by now if he were all-powerful?

>>6096724
>>More to the point, do you really think he wouldn’t have killed you both by now if he were all-powerful?
They seem to actually prefer to work from the shadows, the question is do they do this out of choice or necessity?

>>6096724
>>More to the point, do you really think he wouldn’t have killed you both by now if he were all-powerful?

>>6096724
“More to the point,” you observe with a slight frown, “do you think if he were so all-powerful and you were so important he wouldn’t have already killed you?”

“Wait, what?” Delta asks, confused.

“Yeah no, I’m asking why this ‘Jigen’ clown hasn’t come and had a go at me himself,” you clarify. “I don’t exactly make it a secret where I live, so why keep scurrying around?”

“You have no idea how strong that bastard is!” Delta protests.

“No,” you admit, shaking your head. “But there’s no way the reverse could be true. There’s no way he can’t know how strong I am – and yet, here we are. What’s my takeaway supposed to be from that?”

“That he’s too strong to even bother with you?” Delta scoffs.

You can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the notion, then your laughter stops abruptly. “Nah, lemme explain to you why that’s bullshit – he’s no idiot, the fact that he’s kept his whole operation this hidden this long is proof of that. He’s smart enough to know he’s gonna have to get me, Naruto, and Sasuke out of the way at some point if he’s gonna pull off whatever it is he’s got in mind. But he hasn’t done it yet.”

You turn your attention elsewhere. “Ōga-kun, you’re a puppeteer, right?”

“I am,” she confirms.

“So yeah, how would you say you stack up against Sasori of the Red Sand?”

“He’s probably a better puppeteer than I am,” Ōga admits without a hint of shame.

“And in terms of genjutsu, how would you say you stack up against my kengen-ryū?”

“If the stories are to be believed,” she answers, “I would stand a chance in a pure battle of genjutsu.”

“Odds?”

“Three to two in your favor.”

You ponder this for a moment. “Probably not unfair. And you’ve also got a Sage I hear – has he only ever used regular senjutsu, or has he attained an elemental Sage Mode?”

“I wasn’t aware that was a thing.”

“Delta,” you continue, turning back to the cyborg. “How many members of your group are actually immortal?”

“What do you mean ‘actually’ immortal?”

“As in you can cut their head off and they’ll still be shouting at you.”
>1/2

>>6097629
“None,” she replies, confused again. “That’s not really a thing.”

“Hate to be the one to tell you but you’re wrong,” you shrug. “How many could revive themselves through some sort of ninjutsu, then?”

“I have backup bodies?” she answers.

“How many?”

“Who’s askin?”

“Drop the act and give me a rough guess.”

“Maybe three at any given time?”

“Sasori-han had more than three hundred at one point,” you recall. “Almost didn’t do him any good. Can any of your guys suck a man’s soul out through their mouth?”

“No…”

“Use blood curse magic?”

“What even is that?”

“Turn themselves into paper? Teleport? How many have five hearts and all the basic chakra affinities? Can any of them blow up a city at the atomic level? Control your perception of time with genjutsu? Use a Susanō’ō?”

“One guy can turn his skin into diamonds.”

“Yeah no, I knew a guy who was half shark and spit small oceans at people,” you retort. “And that guy was basically the most NORMAL member of the Akatsuki.”

“Where’s this going?”

“So yeah, even with your body modifications your physical abilities are just what I’d call ‘above average’ by Akatsuki standards,” you shrug, “and your techniques are plain boring. I’d hazard a guess that ‘Jigen’ knows what I’ve come to suspect – that even if all the other members of your organization came at me all at once, the two of you included, it wouldn’t be much more than a nuisance.”

“Basically, you would argue that between yourself, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto,” Ōga connects the threads, “Jigen may feel unable to act?”

“Correct,” you reply simply. “Calculate those odds if you’d like.”
>2/3

>>6097644
“And what’s the point of all this?” Delta demands. “Where’s this all going, what does it mean for us?”

“Oh, Delta,” Ōga intones. “You always were criminally lacking in the creativity department.”

“The point,” you answer, “is that if you can tell us where to go this can all be over.”

>1d6 first three, DC 12
>SP: 6/6
>ES: 2/2

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>6098462

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>6098462

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>6098462

>>6098462
Burn some SP to get to the heart of the matter? I've decided that ES usage here would have only made sense with a different initial input.

>>6098617
yes

>>6098617
Aye

>>6098617
yeah

>>6098617
yes

>>6098617
“You really think you can kill all the rest of Kara?” Delta demands. “Even if I buy it that you’re strong enough to beat Jigen that’s still a big claim.”

You shrug. “Yeah no, don’t get it wrong. When I kill a villain I’m just the ‘manner of death’, the ‘cause of death’ is still suicide by Uzumaki.”

“I feel like that distinction might not hold up in court,” Ōga muses.

“So in any event,” you declare, “whether they live or die is more up to them than it is to me. But yes – I do think I can beat them all, especially if I have help.”

To add a little punctuation onto that declaration, you make and hold direct eye contact with Delta as you let your constantly-suppressed chakra slip out. While it’s not quite as intense as if you’d used Sage Mode, it’s all chakra that your viewers can sense – and enough of it that it actually shakes the building you’re in. Both the captured members of Kara stare at you in alarm.

Delta’s breath catches in her throat, and she seems to struggle for a moment before you go back to suppressing your chakra.

“I… wasn’t expecting that,” she admits breathlessly. “Shit.”

“You’ll be okay,” you insist curtly. “So yeah… what can you two tell me?”

“I have very little to say that Delta could not,” Ōga admits. “But out of respect towards yourself and towards Shiki-san, I will tell you what I can. What type of information would you find most useful?”

“Locations and common defensive measures,” you reply, your tone suddenly so businesslike as to momentarily distract yourself. “Akatsuki members always had their own personal haunts, some of which were hidden from and defended against even other Akatsuki members.”

“Sounds like Victor,” Delta shrugs.

Ōga glances at her. “You mean to say that he is still conducting his own private research?”

Delta makes an admission. “I don’t even really get what he tells us he’s up to there, but I kinda always figured it’s cover anyway. That’s just how those scientist-types are, no offense.”

“None taken,” Ōga replies – if she’s annoyed at any implications there’s no chance it’d come across. “I consider myself a researcher, not a scientist.”

“There’s a difference?” Delta asks.

“One observes, the other tests,” Ōga clarifies.

You definitely file that self-proclaimed fact about Ōga and her role within Kara away.
>1/2

>>6099899
“So this ‘Victor’ falls more into the ‘scientist’ camp in your mind?” you ask Ōga.

She nods in agreement. “The man’s public persona is that of a caring, ethical researcher in the field of medical science. Behind the facade he’s…”

“A bastard,” Delta supplies her own assessment.

“Fair,” Ōga agrees. “He cares nothing for the well-being of others, and is completely obsessed with his own power.”

“Yeah no, that’s not unusual,” you shrug. “What makes him special?”

“Access to certain resources,” Ōga offers. “Resources which allow him to continue research which the likes of Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō were prevented from completing.”

… the latter of those two names still offends you.

“Hashirama-han’s cells,” you realize. “He was the one trying to secure them?”

“You’re on a first-name basis with a dead guy?” Delta frowns.

“If that kinda thing hangs you up,” you muse, “we’re gonna be here all day. So Ōga-han, am I mistaken?”

She shakes her head. “No.”

“Then that suggests ‘Victor’ is a compelling place for me to start,” you decide. “Anything else I should know?”

“He’s been fucking around with Deepa a lot lately,” Delta offers. “That’s the diamond skin guy I mentioned.”

“Also what Delta-san would call a ‘bastard’, but for different reasons,” Ōga adds.

“More a personality thing,” Delta clarifies.

“A disappointing human in general,” Ōga shrugs.

“Anyway, the weird little company Victor runs is based in the Land of Valleys,” Delta informs you. “Go kick up some trouble there and you’ll hear from him.”

>Depart immediately, and go alone. Take them completely by surprise.
>Go talk to Naruto and Ryūzetsu, see if they can coordinate intelligence-gathering activities.
>Inform a few of your allies about what you’re doing, see if they have input. But deal with this today.
>Other?

>>6099913
>>Inform a few of your allies about what you’re doing, see if they have input. But deal with this today.

>>6099913
>>Inform a few of your allies about what you’re doing, see if they have input. But deal with this today.

>>6099913
>>Go talk to Naruto and Ryūzetsu, see if they can coordinate intelligence-gathering activities.

>>6099913
>>Inform a few of your allies about what you’re doing, see if they have input. But deal with this today.
this doesn't conflict with informing Naruto and our wife. This will stir up a lot of shit and its better if the intelligence is alert to make us of it, whatever turns up.

>>6099913
Tempted though you may be by the idea of dealing with these two members of Kara right now and by yourself, you think better of it in the next instant as you’re already creating some shadow clones.

…

“Ryūkkun.”

“Nakkun.”

“So yeah,” you muse, “I’ve got a line on one, maybe two members of Kara.”

“The girl Shiki ran into talk?” Ryūzetsu asks, setting aside the book she’d been reading out on the veranda between your house and your garden.

“That and Delta finally decided to share,” you shrug.

“Took long enough,” she sighs. “I’d be willing to bet you’re itching to go after them.”

“Oh, definitely,” you admit.

“Where are they?”

“The Land of Valleys,” you inform her. “There’s a medical technology company there that’s a front for one of them.”

“I see. You plan to go deal with it yourself, of course?”

“Of course.”

Your wife considers the situation for a moment. “We have no relations with the Land of Valleys.”

“Yeah no, I figured.”

“”I’ll do the usual political interference then,” Ryūzetsu decides. “Don’t expect me to put in an appearance though – I’m waiting on the results of a raid.”

“Against the Storms daimyō?” you ask, suddenly curious.

“Very same.”

“Man, that’s been what…” you muse. “Two years in the making?”

“A little short,” she corrects you, “but near enough, yes.”

“Think your team’ll get the evidence he’s been undermining our diplomatic efforts for profit?”

“You know me when it comes to political bullshit,” Ryūzetsu smirks. “If I didn’t know the outcome I wouldn’t pick the fight.”
>1/2

>>6101767
“Naruto,” you greet your cousin calmly.

“Naori,” he replies, setting aside his paperwork. “You’re in luck, ya know – now’s actually a good time for once. What’s going on?”

“So yeah, when I put the rogue Kara member Ōga-kun in the same room with Delta,” you explain, “I found some stuff out.”

“Go on, go on,” he insists with a curious look. “By all means, don’t leave me hanging.”

“One of them owns a biomedical research company in the Land of Valleys,” you explain. “A man by the name of Victor. Apparently some kind of tough old guy. There’s also a guy who may be hanging around with him poking into his private research – that second guy can apparently turn his skin into diamonds or something.”

“You have a plan for that one?”

“Yeah no, I figured that made him a good candidate for restraint and capture.”

“Agreed,” he nods. “You have any other plans?”

“I’m contacting Ryūkun and Fūrin,” you reply. “They’ll be my backup this time. If things get too much more intense than I expect I’ll let you know as well – but I doubt it’ll come to that.”

“Well,” Naruto sighs, “I doubt there’s anything I can say or they can do to derail whatever it is you have in mind, so just let me know how it goes, ya know.”

“Will do.”

>Go in quietly under the guise of an employment interview – your skill with genjutsu means nobody will disagree.
>Go in calmly through the front door like a normal person, introduce yourself, and ask to speak to the manager.
>Go in loud, but monitor the enemy’s responses. How they act when they’ve been caught may be illuminating.
>Other?

>>6102235
>>Go in quietly under the guise of an employment interview – your skill with genjutsu means nobody will disagree.

>>6102235
>>Go in quietly under the guise of an employment interview – your skill with genjutsu means nobody will disagree.

>>6102235
>>Go in calmly through the front door like a normal person, introduce yourself, and ask to speak to the manager.

>>6102235
>1d6 best three of four
>Sharingan are already in play, but not at a level which requires taking ES

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>6102915

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>6102915

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>6102915

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>6102915
Well, hope this one is better

>>6102915
You use hiraishin to get most of the way there, selecting a marking as close as possible to the borders of the Land of Valleys – which happens to be at a small safehouse in the Land of Waterfalls. From there you can sprint overland through the dense forests, leaping from branch to branch the way shinobi have for centuries since long before modern conveniences like the thunder rail or airships. It’s been a while since you had to travel quite such a distance on foot, and so after a nice six hours of running you take a moment to refresh yourself with a combination of various ninjutsu to quickly wash yourself and your clothes before instantly drying both and splashing the water off into the bushes.

Then you take another second to change your clothes in a flash, favoring something a bit more professional in appearance and less combat-oriented. So when you step out from an alleyway in the small city which serves as the capital of the Land of Valleys, it’s in a smart skirtsuit with a nice silk tie and heeled shoes. You even add in non-prescription glasses, because to a lot of men in business those soften the image and make a woman look just that extra little bit weaker.

…

It’s not hard to find the main office of the company you head about from Ōga and Delta, and even easier to walk in the front doors and right up to the reception desk.

“I’m here for an 11:30 interview?” you greet the receptionist, working her over with just a brief moment of eye contact to make her think she remembers something like that being in the schedule. “For that technical opening in your life sciences department?”

“Yes, of course,” the woman replies, with that ever so slightly dulled tone of someone deeply under genjutsu. “Please head up to the conference room on the fourth floor, the elevators are just around this corner to your right.”

“Thank you so much,” you bow politely. “I’m much more used to smaller buildings.”

The receptionist looks at you, still with what to you is a tell-tale vacancy but now with something like a warm, reassuring smile. “I’d be willing to bet you’ll have a chance to get used to it.”

…

You don’t go to the fourth floor. Nobody would be coming to meet you there anyway.

Instead you begin wandering the halls, letting the confidence in your mannerisms drive off most observers and using genjutsu to convince the others that you’ve been working here in this building for years. It’s pretty easy to start putting together a mental map of the facility including its entrances and exits, and with a little more effort you start to rule out entire floors and wings.
>1/2

>>6104375
>naori using genjutsu against normal humans

i mean you don't even need a sharingan for that, i don't think. that's just unfair.
i'm sure she hid her scars and whatnot before heading in, too. probably hard to find a business lady that looks like she's been through a ninja world war.

>>6104447
Unless that war really went badly for your squad, yes.

>>6104375
You quickly realize that given the size of the building and the locations you can identify to particular offices and departments, you can essentially rule out the whole building – at least, the whole building above the ground level. After taking the elevator back down to the lowest basement level listed on the panel of buttons, you take a few minutes to walk around leaving hiraishin marks and sending ‘pinging’ pulses of your chakra downward. This technique, somewhat like echolocation, lets you map out a large and obviously-engineered chamber underneath the building which extends outward past the footprint of the foundation to the north and east. It’s accessed by way of an elevator hidden in the back of a supply closet.

“Hey!” a security guard snaps at you before meeting your eyes. “What are you…”

“Bathroom,” you lie.

“Carry on,” he replies.

“You’ve been given the rest of the day off,” you insist. “Go home early.”

“Now if you’ll excuse me, ma’am,” he nods, “I’ve got the rest of the day off, so I’m going home early.”

“You do that.”

…

The elevator requires a key code, which your ninjutsu can’t replicate. But what it does have is air vents, which your ninjutsu can get you through thanks to a water clone sloshing through out into the shaft where it can re-form and slide down the cables to place and planting one more hiraishin mark on the inside of the doors.

After teleporting there, you force the doors open with your bare hands and step out into the cavern.

“Well, now that’s not something you see every day,” you muse at the sight which greets you.

“No, I should certainly think not,” a man’s voice greets you, his tone harsh. “Who sent you? Was it the daimyō? A suspicious family member? Or someone a bit better-informed, perhaps?”

“Yeah no,” you muse, hurling a few shuriken at the spot where the speaker has hidden himself with ninjutsu. “I’m not the kinda person who ‘gets sent’ by anyone… ‘cept my wife if she asks nicely.”

And now an opportunity to try out a technique you’ve learned since the war – one which was originally designed to help with costume switches, back when a lot more of the general public had some background in basic ninjutsu, but which you’ve elevated in terms of the precision of its execution.

With a single movement of your arm you switch your outfit, throwing off the business attire and replacing it instantaneously with a lightly-padded, darkly-colored kimono. Then you unseal a familiar set of armor directly onto your body. A single bob of your head lets you tie your hair back without using your hands, and in seconds you’re completely ready for battle.
>2/3

>>6104917
pfft, its like a better jedi mind trick lmao

>>6104917
>using water clones to infiltrate a building
>you could fit through pipes, cracks and grates effortlessly
>only airtight spaces are safe from this one simple technique
>the water clone then creates a shadow clone, which can send memories back to the original
>it's possible to infiltrate almost anywhere and leave zero traces

god, ninjas are bullshit. wow, this is a weird feeling. are we actually doing ninja stuff right now? like, actual ninja stuff?

File: Naori_Kagetora_Spot.jpg (238 KB, 600x1392)

238 KB JPG

>>6104875
“… Uzumaki Naori-taichō,” the speaker, an older man with a prosthetic right leg and a patch over his right eye, realizes. His rather dour and conservative clothing says wealthy corporate executive, particularly the rather tall matching hat, but his body language screams shinobi.

“Taichō?” you muse.

“None of the Allied Shinobi Forces who saw you back then could possibly have forgotten your appearance,” he insists. “Nor the unique accompanying sensation that was equal parts hope and terror.”

“So yeah,” you reply calmly, “you have me at a disadvantage here, Victor-han.”

“In what sense?”

“In the sense that I don’t remember you in the slightest.”

“It isn’t surprising,” he admits. “At the time I did not yet understand what true power even looked like. I had yet to comprehend my own weakness.”

“Is that so.”

“You sound unsurprised.”

“Of course,” you shrug. “Many strong shinobi – not all, but many – had a similar moment. For me, the loss of my team to one of the Seven Swords. For my mentor, the destruction of the original Akatsuki. For Naruto-kun, failing to stop Sasuke-kun from leaving Konoha.”

“But yeah, so which reanimated shinobi did you in?”

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah no, I figured you probably got beaten pretty badly by someone,” you observe. “Least that’s where I figured the story was going before I interrupted. Was I wrong?”

Victor shakes his head. “No, you were not mistaken. If you must know, it was one of Orochimaru’s old subordinates – Kimimaro of the Kaguya.”

You nod in comprehension. “You drew a nasty one.”

>Why don’t you call out Deepa from wherever it is he’s hiding. Let’s all have a nice little chat.
>So, since you’re clearly in the mood to talk, why the hell do you have a fake God Tree down here?
>A guy as experienced as you must know what comes next. Why don’t we cut the crap already?
>Other?

>>6104964
>>Why don’t you call out Deepa from wherever it is he’s hiding. Let’s all have a nice little chat.

>>6104964
>>So, since you’re clearly in the mood to talk, why the hell do you have a fake God Tree down here?

>>6104964
>>So, since you’re clearly in the mood to talk, why the hell do you have a fake God Tree down here?

>>6104964
>>So, since you’re clearly in the mood to talk, why the hell do you have a fake God Tree down here?
Its worth a try.

>>6104964
“Well, since you’re in the mood to talk I guess,” you muse, “care to explain why the hell you’ve got a fake God Tree down here?”

“Well, you see…” Victor begins, before his air of confidence falters. “What do you mean, ‘fake’?”

“I mean, fake,” you repeat the point. “As in it’s not a real God Tree. Sure does look like one though to be fair.”

“This is a real God Tree,” he insists.

“Okay,” you shrug. “But it’s not.”

“And I’m asking you what you even mean by that.”

“No natural energy,” you observe. “A real God Tree sucks up all the natural energy nearby. This one seems to just feed off regular chakra. So it’s not a real God Tree. It’s a fake. For any purpose you could want a God Tree for, it’s also a waste of time.”

“You can tell that much from this distance?”

“If I couldn’t sense natural energy without being in sage mode how could I become a sage in the first place?” you observe.

“How could it not be a real God Tree?” Victor demands. “I created it from grafts taken off the original!”

“Yeah, so I’ll explain that in some detail if you answer another of my questions first,” you smile calmly.

“What the hell do you want to know!?”

“What makes you so confident this ‘Jigen’ guy didn’t know you were gonna fail from the start?”
>1d6 taking the first three

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>6106011

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>6106011

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>6106011

File: Naori_Adult_Nagato.png (2.47 MB, 1119x1400)

2.47 MB PNG

>>6106011
“I’m still not convinced of the underlying premise,” he insists curtly. “Assuming you’re telling the truth about natural energy why wouldn’t taking clippings and propagating them work?”

“So yeah, we killed it,” you observe. “You’ve just been messing around with its corpse.”

“How can you know that?”

“Kaguya.”

“The clan?”

“The Ōtsutsuki princess,” you correct him.

That elicits a slight, but noticeable to your eyes, nervous response. “You’ve spoken to Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?”

“She was inside my mind,” you explain. “Twice in fact. Once before the infinite tsukuyomi, and briefly during.”

It’s almost as if the man can’t quite believe what you’ve told him. “You spoke directly with an Ōtsutsuki – and a hostile one at that – and lived to tell the tale?”

“I did more than that,” you smirk. “I dueled her to a standstill.”

“Those details were kept from the public,” he recognizes. “Why are you telling me now?”

“Yeah no, it’s because I know you won’t tell anyone. You’ll either be locked away in solitary confinement for the rest of your days…”

You draw your sword.

“… or you’ll be dead.”
>1/2

>>6106504
bro is fucking with shit he literally does not have the firmware to comprehend

>>6106504
To his credit, Victor goes into a ‘battle mode’ of his own rather more effectively than you’d expected, parrying your lightning-quick blade with a reinforced cane before unleashing two massive arms which burst from his shoulders. These new appendages push his body backwards, allowing him to disengage and weave a few hand signs with his ‘original’ hands.

Snake, ram, monkey, horse… ah, so that’s it.

“Katon: Gōkyakyū no jutsu!”

You slice the decently-sized fireball in half with a storm-release chakra flow technique through Umekiri’s blade, absorbing part of the fireball that you knew was coming and sending the two remaining halves past each side of your body to gutter out somewhere behind you. Then, with a smirk, you attack him back.

Umekiri rises as you draw it back above your right shoulder, edge facing up and kissaki arcing gracefully downwards, as chakra runs through its whole blade. Much like Tobirama-han, this will be all the water you need.

Oxmonkeyhareratboarbirdoxhorsebirdrattigerdog…

Victor seems alarmed – he must also be skilled at reading hand seals, but not only are you weaving them with one hand you’ve also taken a page from Kakashi’s book and started adding seals specifically to throw off anyone trying to do to you what you just did to Victor. So even if he could keep up with the blinding speed at which you rip through the sequence, there’d basically be no chance he’d know what your intent was until the last seal...

… bird.

“Suiton: Suiryūdan no jutsu!”

The dragon explodes outward from the tip of your sword, forcing Victor to dodge before winding back and opening its maw wide to launch a powerful blast.

As he evaded, Victor was busy weaving hand seals before opening his mouth. “Doton: Doryūheki!”

A muddy earth-release wall… simple, but effective including against water-release. Not totally effective of course, your attack batters the wall quite badly, but the bigger problem is that it’s only one-sided. That allows you to turn Victor’s flank while his line of sight is blocked by the wall, letting you appear suddenly behind him with Umekiri raised.

“Hello there!” you smirk, breaking your own rule about not announcing sneak attacks.

Your decision pays off when Umekiri’s edge meets something unusually resilient.
>2/3

>>6107782
to last more than a couple of exchanges, even if naori's not going all out, he's pretty tough huh?

>>6107782
You break off immediately, backpedaling to open up a little distance between yourself and the new combatant who stuck his iron-skinned arm in the way of your strike.

“You must be Deepa, then,” you smirk. “Thanks for falling for it.”

“Hey, Victor, who’s the chick?” Deepa asks with a sneer. “And why’re you getting your butt kicked?”

Then he looks back at you. “Wait, you already know my name?”

“Yeah,” you reply. “And I knew you were slinking around here someplace. So thanks for showing your face.”

Sallow skin, a slightly angular bone structure, and a tattoo with the figure ‘VII’ across his nose make for what is certainly a memorable first impression, albeit not what you’d consider an appealing one. Deepa is a man whose arrogance practically oozes with every little facial expression, and with every word from his mouth. You have to admit however, if it weren’t you he might just be able to back his confidence up.

Your only real question here is how much force do you want to use now that both the Kara members you know of are in front of you.

>Maximum beatdown. They MAY be tough enough to survive, even if only for a few moments.
>Second gate should be sufficient to overcome anything they could possibly throw at you.
>Dōjutsu and genjutsu should make this a joke. Nobody seriously trains against them anymore.
>Other?

>>6108076
>>Dōjutsu and genjutsu should make this a joke. Nobody seriously trains against them anymore.

>>6108076
>>Dōjutsu and genjutsu should make this a joke. Nobody seriously trains against them anymore.

>>6108076
>>Dōjutsu and genjutsu should make this a joke. Nobody seriously trains against them anymore.

>>6108076
>>Dōjutsu and genjutsu should make this a joke. Nobody seriously trains against them anymore.

>>6108076
probably best not to go into sage mode whatever we do
if the tree's lacking natural energy, who knows, it could try to suck it out of us or something.

>>6108082
>1d6 best three of four

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>6108465

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>6108465

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>6108465

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>6108465

>>6108465
This is almost a joke – ‘almost’ because even with the knowledge you inherited from Kaguya-hime you can’t be totally sure what exposing a ‘zombie’ God Tree to senjutsu chakra would do to it. Beyond a certain threshold senjutsu is the only reliable way of counteracting senjutsu-based techniques, which were this a fully-awakened God Tree or an Ōtsutsuki would mean that you should have already gone into some form of sage mode. But you’re also aware that God Trees have an innate ability to utilize natural energy, and that although it ‘died’ once already this particular specimen retains the ability to absorb chakra. The concern that the tree could actually be revitalized by absorbing a senjutsu-based attack is entirely reasonable, and that is one possibility you must treat with deadly seriousness.

On the other hand that still leaves you two options that make most fights trivial – the first of which is utilizing the first two of the Eight Gates, and the second of which is using your dōjutsu and genjutsu skills. The former lets you overwhelm anyone who might otherwise rival you in your ‘resting’ state, while the latter presses the advantage you have in having mastered things which most shinobi no longer train to fight against.

After taking a moment to think, you choose to save the Eight Gates for later. Besides… this could be fun.

“Deepa!” Victor shouts when he realizes what you’re doing. “Don’t make eye contact with her!”

“What!?” Deepa shouts, before you hit him with a burst of pure force as he’s distracted.

“Uzumaki Naori has two different dōjutsu,” Victor explains as Deepa rolls to his feet. “One has no name, the other is a sharingan.”

The look on his face is grim. “I had no idea it was a mangekyō.”

“It’s a well-kept secret,” you muse. “Each is something of an inheritance – from Itachi-han and Kaguya-han.”

“Well, let’s see if it means you’re any good in a fight!” Deepa shouts, charging at you and transforming his body.

Much to his surprise, you match his taijutsu perfectly for several seconds before he disengages, giving Victor an opening to weave hand seals – seals which you’ve matched perfectly.

“Katon: Gōenka!”
“Katon: Gōenka!”

The multiple fireballs streak wildly through the air, each of yours colliding with one of Victor’s. Even in the midst of this wild series of blasts Deepa rushes forward, protected from the heat and the flames by his ‘carbon armor’, and manifests a series of carbon ‘whips’ to help him fight you. These you match by manifesting an equal number of kongō fūsa chains to perfectly and near-effortlessly frustrate his attacks.

With a hand you free up by sheathing Umekiri, you match Victor’s hand seals again.
>1/2

>>6108947
“Doton: Sajinarashi!”
“Doton: Sajinarashi!”

Two massive clouds of fast-moving sand and dust collide right where Deepa had been standing before he dodged, the combined blast forcing him even higher.

“What gives, old man!?” he shouts as he turns through the air to land some distance from you or Victor. “How’s she doing that?”

“I’m not sure,” Victor admits, appraising the situation. “I’m certain I never made eye contact with her… so how can she be predicting my moves even when she cannot see my hands?”

“Yeah, who can say?” you muse playfully. “Perhaps this is what kids these days call a ‘skill issue’?”

With an angry cry Deepa attacks again, only for his sword-shaped mass of carbon to be parried skillfully by Umekiri’s edge as you sweep her from her saya. Then you land a roundhouse kick to his ribs that puts him right in the line of Victor’s attack, forcing the older shinobi to evade and start weaving more hand seals.

“Fūton: Gōfūsen!”
“Fūton: Gōfūsen!”

Interesting… a wind-nature technique where the direction of rotation depends on the hand seals you use to perform it. In neutralizing it with a matching technique that rotates the opposite direction, you accidentally create the impression you were aiming for.

“That counter…” Victor muses, his face contorting slightly with barely-controlled rage. “The ability for a sharingan to copy an opponent’s hand seals is well-known… but there’s an old rumor about a truly skilled user.”

“Spit it out, damn you!” Deepa insists loudly.

Victor continues. “Can you truly see into the future, Uzumaki Naori?”

>There’s still time for the two of you to cooperate, you know.
>I can. In fact, even now I can see both of your deaths.
>Other?

>>6108976
>>I can. In fact, even now I can see both of your deaths.
Hilarious

>>6108976
>>There’s still time for the two of you to cooperate, you know.

>>6108976
>I can. In fact, even now I can see both of your deaths.

Can't help but think of the time Madara used the time stuff against Naori, only for it to not work like he wanted it to.

>>6108976
1d6, taking the best three of four

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>6109688

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>6109688

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>6109688

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>6109688

>>6109688
“Yeah no, I can,” you smile. “In fact, I can see both of your deaths.”

Deepa snorts. “Yeah right.”

“I’m serious,” you reply calmly. “You still have a choice of course, that’s how this always works. It’s not set in stone.”

Deepa’s response is taijutsu – it almost gives you the impression that aside from his body modification technique he can’t really fight any other way. Your own taijutsu in response to those attacks is brutally efficient, redirecting each strike with practiced ease and launching counterstrikes of your own many of which would ordinarily have killed or crippled any other opponent. It ends with you actually smacking him across the bottom with the broad side of Umekiri’s blade, like an old sifu scolding a cocky new student in some old martial arts movie.

Then you quickly match Victor’s hand signs again.

“Raiton: Sandāboruto!”
“Raiton: Sandāboruto!”

The lightning meets between your outstretched arms, and afterwards Victor is almost panicked to see that you’ve closed the distance in spite of the ensuing blast.

“Gotcha!” Deepa crows, having also charged in to attack you as you’re focused on Victor and scored what he thinks is a lethal blow.

“What are you doing!?” Victor demands, and you allow Deepa to realize that he’s shoved his hand through Victor’s side rather than yours.

“Shit!” Deepa curses. “When did you…”

Both men separate as you exhale a cloud of poison right into Deepa’s face, then you turn to aim at Victor as he weaves even more seals.

“Raiton: Shiden.”

This time you aren’t playing around, and the violet lightning blast takes out a chunk of Victor’s head just over his eyepatch… or rather, where that was before you reduced it into non-existence. His body hits the ground, and in nearly the same instant you pin Deepa to the ground with your foot against his chest. He coughs loudly, having taken a good dose of your poison into his lungs.

“What’s wrong?” you wonder aloud, already knowing the answer to the question. “Can’t keep your lungs carbonized forever?”

>Explain how you’ve duped them both to give the poison time to work, and ratchet up the tension.
>Inform Deepa that you have the antidote that could save him – but that you need something in return.
>Hit Victor again while he’s down. “Destroy the body” is still a good principle to observe.
>Other?

>>6110480
>>Explain how you’ve duped them both to give the poison time to work, and ratchet up the tension.
These poor fools, how could they think they had even the slightest chance

>>6110480
>Hit Victor again while he’s down. “Destroy the body” is still a good principle to observe.

Mad scientist types always have regen.

>>6110480
>>Inform Deepa that you have the antidote that could save him – but that you need something in return.

>>6110480
>Inform Deepa that you have the antidote that could save him – but that you need something in return.

when you have someone by the balls, that's the best time for "negotiations"

>>6110480
>>Inform Deepa that you have the antidote that could save him – but that you need something in return.

>>6110480
>1d6 best three of four

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>6111055

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>6111055

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>6111055