You are Uzumaki Naori, formerly a member of the mercenary organization Akatsuki, now the ‘great Sage’ of the Hidden Rain and of the ancient Shrike clan. After turning against that organization due to a difference in moral compasses – you had one and too many of the Akatsuki did not – you faced many strong enemies in the span of one extraordinary year. That year ended with you facing the awakened Ōtsutsuki Kaguya-hime alone, a duel in which a single misstep could cost your life and quite possibly the freedom of every single living person in the world.Now, more than a decade after the end of the old Akatsuki largely at the edge of your blade, the top-level terrorist organization of the day is Kara. Divided into the ‘Inners’ off the organization proper and the ‘Outers’ who serve as their business associates, Kara has kept a far lower profile than Akatsuki ever intended to.Your daughter Makoto has long been helping your village as it’s spearheaded the effort to deal with the Outers, dragging them out into the light for judgment, while your son Shiki almost seems like your favorite kind of ‘lucky idiot’. He played an outsized role in the defeat and capture of an Inner, the foul-tempered artificial woman named Delta, as well as securing the peaceful surrender of a former Inner going by the name Ōga. You should probably be teasing him more about the fact that he’s somehow managed to weasel his way into the good graces of the only two female members of Kara that you know of, but there will be plenty of time for that later. After all, it’s more important in your mind to finish cleaning up after your own generation’s messes while you’re still in your prime.“Are there any other targets?” you press.Kashin Koji, an enhanced clone of the legendary toad-sage Jiraiya, is apparently part of some kind of internal schism within the organization and therefore represents your best avenue for advancing against them. After besting him in a fight, he event seems to be cooperative.“There are plenty of people who have been given advanced prosthetics,” Koji tells you. “If you wanted to go for some kind of ‘clean sweep’ you could target them. But aside from that… there are two. I’m not certain about them however.”“Why not?” Fū asks.“Because they were meant to be ‘decomissioned’ by Boro some time ago,” Koji clarifies with a slight frown. “I know I always suspected he could not do so the way Jigen intended.”“… why not?” Sasori repeats.>1/?
>>6165297“One of the two has a troubling effect on people,” Koji continues. “In fact, ‘infatuation’ is not even adequate description – ‘mind control’ would be closer to the truth.”“Hate abilities like that,” Fū grumbles.“So how does this ability work?” Sasori asks calmly, with slightly-narrowed eyes. “That I cannot say,” Koji admits, “because I do not know. Only Amado-san knows how this affect was achieved.”“So it isn’t a natural ability…” you muse to yourself.“Does that help?”“Yeah, so maybe,” you reply. “I’ve spent a bit of effort modernizing traditional kenjutsu with the philosophy that any technological trick or ridiculous ninjutsu has a comparatively straightforward answer. That hasn’t been untrue so far.”“It sounds as if you have two options,” Sasori observes, “either speak to this ‘Amado’ directly, or find these two creations of his.”“Assuming they’re still alive,” you frown. “If they were, where might we find them?”“All of Kara have their own ‘secret’ facilities,” Koji tells you, revealing through his tone what he thinks of his mostly now-former comrades in the organization. “Including Boro, who had a cult of Ōtsutsuki-worshippers to do his bidding.”“You think that’s worth looking into?” Fū wonders. “Certainly sounds like something you might wanna clean up, Nakkun.”>I think it makes sense to deal with the cultists before they turn into a problem.>The cult isn't my problem right now. But if these 'cyborgs' are there, we should investigate.>Can't we just... you know. Deal with this last guy you mentioned? Code, wasn't it?
>>6165303>>The cult isn't my problem right now. But if these 'cyborgs' are there, we should investigate.This isn't how I remembered Shinigami Savant
>>6165309... so here's what happened. The keyboard on my laptop is failing, and so when it gave me an autofill option I went for it instead of fighting my keyboard.It autofilled to the wrong quest.Well.
>>6165315It was a close call, but rather than add to the confusion by putting up a second thread with the same OP image and sorting out the archive I'm leaning towards leaving this thread up. I'll give it a few more hours, see who turns up, and determine what needs to happen from there.
>>6165303>>I think it makes sense to deal with the cultists before they turn into a problem.
>>6165303>>The cult isn't my problem right now. But if these 'cyborgs' are there, we should investigate.
>>6165303>Can't we just... you know. Deal with this last guy you mentioned? Code, wasn't it?
>>6165303>3d6>best of three
Rolled 1 (1d6)>>6165990
>>6165992>>6166075>>6166077
>>6165990“That cult isn’t my problem right now,” you decide after considering the matter for a few moments. “Unless they suddenly start doing murders or terrorism on quite a large scale.”“It seems doubtful,” Sasori-han muses.“Why’s that?” Fū asks, curious to follow the logic.“Most people do not make such leaps so quickly or readily,” Sasori-han explains patiently. “If this group of cultists were already prone to mass murder they would already be well known, like the Jashinists.”“And I would’ve wiped them out sooner,” you add.Sasori-han inclines his head politely. “As you say. That fact is unlikely to change without some drastic outside influence, which we have no evidence to suggest is imminent.”“And you’re not worried about Jigen becoming that ‘outside’ influence?” Koji asks with a frown.“No,” Sasori-han frowns back. “Jigen clearly does not care enough about humans to do anything of the sort.”“Why did you say that so aggressively?” Koji demands, gesturing at Fū. “This one got a pass.”“Because Fū-san is a special case,” Sasori-han answers. “She is still quite innocent, where you should have known better than to ask questions to which you should have known the answer.”“The man has a point,” you shrug. “So yeah, anyway, we’ll need to start looking into these cyborgs. Thank you for your assistance, Sasori-han… if you want to head off we can part ways at any point that’s convenient.”“Yes, I think I will take my leave here,” Sasori decides. “I will continue to listen for any information which you might find interesting. If you would be so kind, a shadow clone to take me to the Land of Grass would be appreciated.”…“Well, that was every bit as destructive as I expected.”Ever since you took Sasori where he wanted to be you’ve been going about sealing various bits of machinery and possible evidence into a scroll, while Fū keeps an eye on Koji for you. Two eyes, as a matter of fact, as well as the senses she has which you gather are improved by Chōmei’s presence.>1/2
>>6167510“Think you’ve got enough to go on?” Fū asks curiously.“Doubt it,” you admit. “But someone might see something I didn’t.”“Fair,” she shrugs.It takes you just a few minutes longer to process the scene, collecting all the evidence you can including photographs you take on your phone. This way, a specialist can stitch it all together in such a way as to have have a coherent view of things even without having to come out here and look at everything themselves.“Alright,” you sigh, “I think this is about as good as we’re going to get.”…When you return to the hiraishin marking outside Ichiraku’s, you’re greeted with an immediate sense that something is wrong. Unfortunately you can’t quite put your finger on what. So you reach out and summon Isoka-han onto your fingertip.“Ma’am,” she chirrups politely. “Something up?”You place your fingertips over your left eye, invisibly linking your own optic nerve to hers. “Maybe.”“What?”“Something, maybe nothing,” you grumble, “it’s hard to say.”“So you want me to help you with the context, that it?”“Please.”“No problem!” she tweets, before zooming off into the sky.“Problem?” Fū asks quietly.“Maybe,” you admit. “My kid’s not here.”“Shikkun? Off on a mission maybe?”“Yeah, so they don’t tell me for the small stuff,” you shrug, forming a seal with your left hand and creating three shadow clones. “It’s weird though… who else you sense ain’t here right now?”“… can’t sense the fox,” Fū realizes.“Nor Sasuke,” you add. >2/3
