>>6455218
He throws the blades, which Hinata-kun manages to either deflect or dodge, including rolling away from a kunai with an exploding tag hidden around the tang which she no doubt saw coming with her byakugan.

“She’s totally getting pushed around,” you hear Temari-kun muse somewhere over your right shoulder.

Naruto-kun, who has been leaning over the railing to your left, turns to confront Temari-kun… past where you’re standing.

“So what!?” he counters. “I bet she’s just waiting for an opening to get close and finish this guy off, ya know! You saw how hard that Neji guy pressed Sasuke before!”

“Yeah, but that was him,” Temari-kun answers, crossing her arms. “She’s not.”

“Don’t you dare underestimate her,” Naruto-kun growls, before turning back to the railing. “Hey!”

You don’t let him finish shouting whatever he was going to shout at Hinata-kun, interrupting by sinking a kunai into the floor at his feet. He hops to one side and looks down at the blade where it stuck.

“What the heck was that about!?”

“They’re at your end of the brackets,” you glance at Temari-kun for a moment. “Shouldn’t you focus on watching them?”

Temari-kun makes an indignant noise and turns back to the fight, away from you and Naruto-kun. “Calm down Naruto-kun. Let your friend focus on her fight.”

“She’s got a point,” a new voice observes as Sasuke-kun finally joins the rest of you in watching the fights. “Shouting at people doesn’t always help, knucklehead.”

“Sasuke-kun, where’ve you been!?”

“Sensei and I were getting an earful for being late,” Sasuke-kun admits, strolling towards the railing. “Twice, actually.”

“Welcome to the show,” you muse, watching as Hinata-kun stays firmly on the proverbial ropes… but hangs on nonetheless.

“This is taking far too long!” Misumi-san declares, weaving a set of hand seals you recognize. “Mizubunshin no jutsu!”

He only manages to create one water clone using the water he can produce, with only limited natural water being available on the spot to use such a technique, and uses that clone to close the distance with Hinata-kun while the original continues to attack from a distance. It doesn’t look great for her… but she doesn’t seem any more bothered by the development.

In fact, unless you’re reading the look in her unusual eyes completely wrong, it actually looks like she’s had an idea.
>2/3

>>6455220
At first you wonder if your instincts were mistaken, since she takes a punch to the chin that slips through her guard as she’s trying to block an incoming kunai. Misumi-san’s water clone is doing a good job of drawing in Hinata-kun’s focus, staying in-her-face enough to create openings for the original to attack at a distance but not committing so much that Hinata-kun can dominate it in close quarters.

But it isn’t long before Misumi-san makes the sort of mistake Hinata-kun seems to have been waiting for – he throws another kunai with an explosive tag.

Naruto-kun seems alarmed, but Sasuke-kun and Temari-kun both seem a bit confused at the decision. They clearly both know what you do – that using a timed explosive to finish off his opponent while also relying so heavily on a clone technique introduces a risk, for no clear reason or as part of any immediately obvious plan.

You’re not sure that they see what you and Gaara-kun clearly both do, based on the little verbalized ‘idiot’ that escapes Gaara’s lips from somewhere behind you.

“There!”

Hinata-kun catches the kunai by hooking one finger through the ring-pommel, spins it there for a moment, and carefully times the release so that the paper bomb explodes while it’s inside the water clone she aimed it at.

“Tch…” Misumi-san scoffs. “Not bad… but not good -”

He doesn’t get to finish his thoughts, because Hinata-kun turns and leaps to face him, weaving hand signs as she does so. “Suiton: Mizuhari!”

The water from Misumi-san’s clone doesn’t get a chance to soak into the ground before Hinata-kun is using her chakra to draw it up into the air where it forms a small ball in front of her outstretched palms. Then it starts to spit small needles of condensed water, which Misumi-san struggles to dodge or parry.

Several of those needles bounce off each other midflight, changing their trajectories abruptly while Misumi-san is in the middle of dealing with a previous volley, and two of those surprise needles hit him in the neck. His eyes go wide, and he falls to the ground immediately as though he’s been struck dead on the spot.

“… no way,” Naruto-kun stares, almost as wide-eyed as Misumi-san himself was. “Did Hinata just…”

“It totally looks like she killed that guy,” Temari-kun muses aloud, seemingly both unnerved and slightly impressed. “I didn’t think she had it in her…”

Even Gaara-kun is no longer leaning against the back wall, showing enough interest that you'd almost describe him as having suddenly 'woken up' from daydreaming before.
>1d10, best of three

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>6455340
God damn, did she just fucking paralyze him Haku style after bouncing water needles off each other???

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>6455340

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>6455340

>>6455340
“She didn’t kill him,” you declare.

“Ah… I get it,” Sasuke-kun sighs. “Hey Naruto, you remember the first time our team fought Zabuza?”

“Yeah, when Haku showed up.”

“Still no idea who those people are,” you remind them before continuing. “Needles aren’t good for killing on their own, but there are pressure points in the neck closely tied to the chakra network. Striking them can put a victim into a state where they may as well be dead.”

“I didn’t want to use too much chakra on that technique,” Hinata-kun pants down in the arena. “With no water in this arena, I was afraid I couldn’t use it. So thanks for helping. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Genma-san examines Misumi-san, and quickly realizes that he’s been completely incapacitated.

“Misumi Tsurugi is unable to continue. Hyūga Hinata will advance to the semifinals round.”

“Huh,” Sasuke-kun muses aloud. “Wonder how Neji-kun feels right now…”
>1/2

>>6455392
It would be a complicated feeling, you’d imagine. While she may be “disappointing” to her clan in terms of proficiency with their family fighting style, what she just did is far from unimpressive. Hitting two specific pressure points at range by deflecting water senbon off each other… you couldn’t do it. Elements of it perhaps, but without the byakugan you're not sure you could replicate the feat entirely.

“The next match will be Uchiha Sasuke versus Temari-kun. The candidates will please head down immediately.”

“Well, guess I get a shot at the ‘great’ Uchiha Sasuke myself,” Temari-kun muses. “You better not disappoint me.”

… after this match you’ll be facing Gaara-kun, who seems to have been growing impatient this whole time with no planned opponent. And if you can beat him, you expect you’ll either have to face his sister Temari-kun or Sasuke-kun… since as surprisingly well as Hinata-kun did, you don’t see her beating Sasuke-kun.

>Maybe go talk to Gaara-kun a little. He seems like he could use a distraction from his boredom.
>Go and speak with Hinata-kun. Watching her fight revived your interest in her clan somewhat.
>Just watch the match from the rail. If anyone wants to talk with you they’ll find you.
>Other?

>>6455435
>Go and speak with Hinata-kun. Watching her fight revived your interest in her clan somewhat.

>>6455435
>>Maybe go talk to Gaara-kun a little. He seems like he could use a distraction from his boredom.

I have a Gaara Agenda.

Welcome back, QM! Had been missing this quest, so I'm glad it's back again.

Also, sidenote, did not expect Mr. Fantastic to put up such a fight. Also, turning Hinata into a long-range ninjutsu/senbon user with the Byakugan is fascinating. That was... Water Needle? Distinguishes her from Neji, certainly.

>>6455435
>Just watch the match from the rail. If anyone wants to talk with you they’ll find you.
I wonder if Gaara would approach if we stayed away. Though I'm also interested in who else would be around at this point.

...did our teammates come back to watch the Chunin Exams? I know they were sent back after the second phase, but I don't think there was any mention of them being here.

>>6455435
>Maybe go talk to Gaara-kun a little. He seems like he could use a distraction from his boredom.

Is he tired?

>>6455447
>but I don't think there was any mention of them being here
We're in a "secure" section of the stands for competitors, they probably wouldn't have access. of all thongs it would have been a nice concession but you get what you get.

No Idea how Naruto is here though since he lost.

>>6455435
>Go and speak with Hinata-kun. Watching her fight revived your interest in her clan somewhat.

That was a surprising display of skill by Hinata, certainly a unique turn of events. It makes perfect sense though.

>>6455447
I vaguely recall something about them heading back to the village to train or something, but I may be misremembering.

>>6455435
>Go and speak with Hinata-kun. Watching her fight revived your interest in her clan somewhat.

>>6455435
>Go and speak with Hinata-kun. Watching her fight revived your interest in her clan somewhat.
Bad form to talk to our next opponent now.

>>6455447
Hinata using water needles actually happened in a filler episode, and like so many filler episodes it never comes up again.
>>6455450
Ryoko wouldn't really be in a position to know if her teammates are here or just listening over the radio like Tsunade. As for Naruto being in the candidates' box, that's down to Genma overhearing that Ryoko and Naruto had something to discuss in private.

>>6455435
>Go and speak with Hinata-kun. Watching her fight revived your interest in her clan somewhat.
Tempted to talk to Gaara but we are gonna fight him soon anyway.

>>6455435
>Maybe go talk to Gaara-kun a little. He seems like he could use a distraction from his boredom.

>>6455435
>>Maybe go talk to Gaara-kun a little. He seems like he could use a distraction from his boredom.
I just like him

>>6455435
>Go and speak with Hinata-kun. Watching her fight revived your interest in her clan somewhat.
pulling out filler-only abilities is a nice way to expand on some of the nothing a lot of the side cast got.

>>6455435
You decide not to speak with your upcoming opponent, and instead greet Hinata-kun politely – not quite with a bow, but a little nod of the head reaches the level of cordiality warranted.

“Using deflected senbon to strike uko and dattakotsu,” you observe, gesturing for her to join you by the railing to watch Sasuke-kun and Temari-kun fight. “Impressive.”

“… it wasn’t that much,” she insists quietly.

“Who says?” you counter.

“… I’m not all that strong,” she answers. “I have a hard time using nature transformations. Even with the gentle fist, I’m nothing special… just ‘okay’. Not good enough for the heiress, that’s why I’m not anymore.”

“Still won,” you observe. “You aimed with your byakugan?”

She nods.

“But you didn’t follow your clan’s usual methods?”

She shakes her head. “No.”

“Yet you won,” you repeat. “One’s own strength is still strength, even if it differs from the tradition of one’s clan.”

“Uchiha Sasuke vs Temari,” Genma-san announces from the arena. “You may begin!”
>1/2

there are some parallels between them.
Ryoko also forged her own path instead of following the mainstream of her clan... and now she is one of the only survivors. Often choosing (or having) to walk your own path takes strength

>>6457186
Neither fighter moves first, at least not immediately. And you can sort of understand why – Sasuke-kun tends to use a lot of attacks based around shurikenjutsu, which is useless against Temari-kun’s wind release. But wind is weak to fire release, which Sasuke-kun has. But lightning release, which Sasuke-kun’s apparent newest technique relies on, is weak to wind release. Shurikenjutsu would be very efficient, and making Temari-kun waste her energy might work, but Sasuke-kun’s ninjutsu all seem to drain his chakra much more significantly than Temari-kun’s fan-based ninjutsu.

So… how does Sasuke-kun approach? Does he try to bait out wind release ninjutsu in a coordinated offensive that might leave him completely exhausted if it fails? Does Temari-kun open with an immediate wind release attack that Sasuke-kun might be able to pre-empt with a nature which trumps hers? Neither one is starting off hidden either, so that’s a non-factor by design.

“… they aren’t moving,” Hinata-kun wonders aloud. “Ryōko-san, do you know what’s happening?”

“A standoff,” you summarize.

“That girl can block shuriken with her fan, right?” Naruto-kun wonders, and for a moment you notice that Hinata-kun squirms slightly.

… hm?

“Wind,” you summarize. “Good against shurikenjutsu and lightning, bad against fire.”

“So Sasuke should just bait out the wind and use his fire.”

“With his stamina?” you counter, before shaking your head. “No.”

Sasuke-kun finally makes the first move, drawing a handful of shuriken and throwing them so that several bounce off each other. Most of them fly straight at Temari-kun, who physically blocks them with her fan, but two loop around in a wider arc and come in from behind. Temari-kun simply keeps her fan moving, positioning it behind her back and unfolding it to serve as a shield.

“… can he win?” Hinata-kun wonders aloud.

“Course he’s gonna win,” Naruto-kun declares.

>Sasuke has a strength against wind. He’ll win this… but go no further.
>I give it even odds as things stand right now.
>Temari knows her own disadvantages. She’ll have a strategy. Sasuke is done.
>Other?

>>6457890
>Temari knows her own disadvantages. She’ll have a strategy. Sasuke is done.
Get fucked sauce

>>6457890
>>Temari knows her own disadvantages. She’ll have a strategy. Sasuke is done.
it would be more interesting if he does not

>>6457890
>Temari knows her own disadvantages. She’ll have a strategy. Sasuke is done.
And Ryoko is already noticing the crush. Guess she is more familiar with romance than I thought.

>>6457890
>Temari knows her own disadvantages. She’ll have a strategy. Sasuke is done.

She's not dumb. Sasuke isn't either, but he'll have to get a lucky bait, or have his Sharingan carry him somehow. I do think it is actually closer to even odds right now, but I also think the sauce's options are really limited right now. Even a successful bait into a strong fire jutsu vs wind isn't necessarily a game winner if it doesn't finish her.

>>6457890
“A shinobi should know their own weaknesses,” you observe, “and Temari-kun had a month to work on hers.”

The second attempt begins. Sasuke-kun throws several kunai with explosive tags attached to them, very obviously, to try to draw out a wind release counter. And surprisingly he gets exactly that, albeit with a twist. Temari-kun tosses a small wrapped sphere into the air in front of her and hits it with her fan in a powerful swing.

“Fūton: Kiryū Ranbu!”

The sphere dissipates into a fine dark dust when struck, and the powerful wind gust pushes that dust back towards Sasuke-kun. He’s already weaving hand seals for a counterattack, obviously going with a fire release technique… until he stops short suddenly and scrambles. In a split second you learn what the dust actually was – as the explosive tags go off.

A powerful blast shakes the arena and the stands, whipping a gust out even into the stands.

“The heck was that!?” Naruto-kun shouts.

“Blasting powder,” you chime in. “If Sasuke-kun had finished his ninjutsu, the match would be over already.”

Temari-kun isn’t finished. She follows through with another powerful blast of wind that clears away the smoke from the explosion and hits Sasuke-kun dead on – but immediately reveals a shadow clone. Temari-kun shifts into a defensive posture as she starts searching for where the real Sasuke-kun has disappeared to. Seeing no obvious places where he could have gone underground, her suspicions naturally fall on the trees.

She then draws a handful of kunai from her hip pouch and throws them, executing a tight turn before swinging her fan along with the momentum. “Kiryū Ranbu!”

The blast disperses more blasting powder from small balls trailing the kunai, then the kunai themselves detonate when Temari-kun forms a hand sign – the sign of confrontation. She times it so that the blast envelops the canopies of the trees, forcing Sasuke-kun to dart back towards the far wall, weaving hand seals of his own.

“Katon: Hōsenka no jutsu!”

Several small fireballs, perfectly timed for when the winds unleashed by Temari-kun’s fan subside, race towards her in retaliation. She manages to turn and deflect them with another wind gust, only to find that the fireballs were hiding shuriken inside them, which trail fine metal wires. Sasuke-kun dashes forward with an intense burst of speed, rivaling your own when you’re serious, and weaves more hand seals.

“Katon: Ryūka!”
>1/2

>>6459032
The flames curve towards Temari-kun, following the arcs of the wires. She sinks the edge of her fan into the ground as a shield, and disappears among the flames for a moment. But as the flames start to subside, winds blast back towards Sasuke-kun and knock him off his feet… Temari-kun used the same basic wind style attack you sometimes rely on, using just her outstretched palms, blasting through her own fan. While the attack is familiar, the force behind it is totally different from when you use it to the point where it almost seems like a different attack.

Temari-kun emerges, singed and panting, but otherwise well. Sasuke-kun, after having used several fire release techniques in quick succession, takes a moment longer to stagger to his feet. You’re not sure why, but a few moments after he gets to his feet – and with no obvious trigger so far as you can see – Sasuke-kun winces and instinctively reaches for his left shoulder.

In that moment of distraction, the folded vanes and limbs of an oversized fan lace towards him with surprising speed. Not only is her wind release more powerful than your own, it’s clear that Temari-kun’s raw physical strength is nothing to scoff at by any standards, especially not for a girl her age.

Sasuke-kun dodges the fan and draws a kunai, managing to move forward despite what looks to your eye to be pretty significant pain. He sees that Temari-kun is now without her signature weapon and wants to capitalize… only to find his kunai thrust through a smaller paper fan that Temari-kun produces from under her sash. The vanes and limbs of this regular-sized hand fan are clearly also reinforced for combat, since otherwise she wouldn’t be able to close the fan and pull Sasuke-kun’s thrust off-target with it.

There’s a crack when Temari-kun’s forehead guard meets Sasuke-kun’s face.

This time Sasuke-kun barely manages to rise onto one knee, and clearly can’t go any further. At this point neither candidate would pose much of a threat to anyone else left in the running, but more to the point one of the two can’t even get all the way to his literal feet. That leaves Genma-san with few options.

He examines Sasuke-kun for a moment, and quietly speaks with him as Temari-kun stands aside. Eventually, Genma-san steps back and raises one hand. “Uchiha Sasuke has exhausted his chakra and is no longer able to fight. Temari-kun will therefore be advancing to the quarterfinals.”

The crowd is silent for a moment, before erupting. Some voices are clearly aggravated by the outcome, many more are surprised, but there are also more than a few who are probably cheering against Konohagakure rather than against Sasuke-kun or even for Temari-kun.

Even before Genma-san can announce the next match, you notice movement over your right shoulder.
>2/3

>>6459175
Gaara-kun disappears in a swirl of sand, reappearing in the arena near where Sasuke-kun, Temari-kun, and Genma-san are standing.

“Move,” he insists firmly to the others, before turning his focus to you. “I’ve been waiting long enough.”

“A medical team will be coming out to check over the previous two fighters,” Genma-san counters, watching Gaara-kun with wary eyes. “You’ve waited a month already, you can wait five more minutes.”

The cork stopper at the top of Gaara-kun’s gourd pops loose, and sand trickles out of it onto the ground. “No more delays.”

“Gaara-kun, it’ll only be…” Temari-kun speaks up before being silenced by a sharp glare.

“Leave now or die here, I don’t care which you choose. Just choose. Now.”

“This guy…” Naruto-kun muses with a shiver as Temari-kun swiftly withdraws. “I always thought he was kinda off, ya know? But the way he is right now… it’s like every muscle in my body is trying to run away.”

>Head down there and tell Genma-san to take Sasuke-kun. Smooth things over to the extent you can.
>Open with a few bone bullets. Draw his attention away from the others to give them time to move.
>Wait exactly where you are. Genma-san hasn’t officially started the match yet.
>Other?

>>6459186
>>Wait exactly where you are. Genma-san hasn’t officially started the match yet.
Aura farming cannot be stopped.
Do you think Ryoko could bluff Gaara into backing down by saying if he doesn't play nice Ryoko will forfeit and he will lose the chance to fight her?

>>6459186
>To Naruto "Honestly, I'm tired of waiting as well."
>Jump down and tell Genma to start the match and take Sasuke.

>>6459186
>Wait exactly where you are. Genma-san hasn’t officially started the match yet.
>Other
Ask Gaara if he has the answer to the question we asked him before about having a reason to kill. Also offer to check the contestants condition ourself given our medical expertise.

----
Ryoko as usual fails to notice the bloodlust. Nice to see Sasuke humbled.

>>6459189
Except Ryoko isn't bluffing. Her orders are to put on a show DURING the match, which has yet to be declared. If Ryoko really wanted to fuck with him, she could insist on checking the former contestants herself as a medicnin and tease him about the question she asked him before.

Gaara understands that Ryoko is immune to and doesn't react to his bloodlust. Its why he targeted everyone else instead of directly challenging Ryoko because he knows it won't work. Ryoko however, treats him normally and considers him a good guy, much to the confusion of everyone.

>>6459186
>Wait exactly where you are. Genma-san hasn’t officially started the match yet.

>Temari with Blasting Powder to counteract fire ninjutsu
Damn, that's pretty clever. Ironically, despite the power boosts the main cast got compared to canon, they lost due to the matchups they faced-- two of Team 7 having to fight Ryoko, and one of them having to fight Neji, then Temari. Not to mention that the supporting cast got buffs to compensate too... very cool.

>>6459186
>Wait exactly where you are. Genma-san hasn’t officially started the match yet.
Heya Gaara.

>>6459186
We may not be friends, but still… be careful down there. There’s something seriously wrong with this guy.
She was holding back against me. I almost feel bad for that Gaara guy.
They both seem like bad news to me… and I’ll have to fight one of them even if I beat Temari-kun… I wonder if I can?
Oh man... is it wrong to hope she can actually pull this off so I don't have to fight Gaara?
Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke. Pay careful attention to this match.
The kid who beat Lee and the Kaguya girl… we should really pay attention to this one.
If I am not mistaken this one is also a taijutsu user. I wonder what sort of approach she will employ?
I hope you’re paying attention, Kabuto-kun, because you’re about to see something interesting.
… what is this feeling…
Kaguya Ryōko… now we get to see who you really are.

>>6459186
>>6459201
+1

>>6459186
>Wait exactly where you are. Genma-san hasn’t officially started the match yet.
>>6459284
All of Team 7 losing might cause some interesting effects down the road, like how bad is Sasuke gonna want power this time since by the end of Konoha Crush he'll not even be in the top 3 (might even fall out of top 5 if he's unlucky)

>>6459284
The main cast honestly got screwd really hard compared to canon. Two of them ran straight into Ryoko than got utterly destroyed despite her holding back and the other had tough fights in a row. Ryoko is already BOSS material in their eyes probably big boss material if it weren't for Orochimaru. All Ryoko needs to do is beat up Sasuke to complete the team beatdown. Knowing Sasuke he is definitely gonna give her the excuse to.

>>6459403
Depends on his insight and self reflection I think. Naruto is already being pressured about stuff he would normally only begin thinking about years in the future. Sakura sees Ryoko as a deadly opponent to surpass rather than leaning on pure team support. Sasuke did like how Ryoko interacted with Naruto but that doesn't mean he has the insight to see why Ryoko is so strong.

Why didn't Ryoko just focus on raw power and mastering old jutsus instead of inventing her own? Why did she turn away from pure power to also learn medicine? Why does she refuse to give in to her urges and desires like revenge? Why is she so seemingly obedient yet absolutely terrifying? How does she carry the burden of her Clan?

Ryoko actually has quite a few things that Sasuke could learn a lot from and he cannot hide behind the shield of being a genius sole survivor of a clan from it either. Ryoko meanwhile, is pressuring Sakura to become strong and Naruto to properly think instead of just bullshitting about his ideals. For Naruto, Ryoko isn't just another foe to surpass but someone who directly challenges his very ideals. While for Sakura Ryoko is someone showed her the true power of research and support while still embracing her femininity. That she can be a strong pretty girl too.

Its just in universe Ryoko doesn't see it that way because she doesn't know what the players know. To her, Naruto is an annoying little shit. Sakura is a pushover with guts. Sasuke is a traumatized little boy acting out.

>writing

>>6459186
You don’t make any movement, aside from crossing your arms. “They have time, Gaara-kun.”

He glares back up at you. “Explain.”

“We begin when the proctor says,” you insist, your tone curt. “Civilized people observe the formalities.”

“And if I insist?”

“Then you forfeit,” you counter.

“… fine.”

Upon weighing his obvious desire to fight you with his equally obvious impatience, it seems that Gaara-kun has the sense to understand delaying gratification until the arena has been cleared after the previous match. Medic-nin check over the contestants, and it seems that Sasuke-kun is medically cleared. Naruto-kun actually leaves the contestant viewing box to join his teammate in the crowd like all the others who lost their matches and could still walk did.

Temari-kun, meanwhile, heads for the tunnel and the stairs that lead back up to the viewing box where you’ve been standing.

All the while, Gaara-kun watches in undisguised annoyance.

Finally, once all the other formalities have been observed, Genma-san makes the announcement.

“Thank you all for staying until the end,” he begins. “The first of the semifinals matches will begin momentarily, between Kaguya Ryōko of Yugakure village and Gaara of Sunagakure village. Will Kaguya Ryōko-kun please join us in the arena?”

>Hop down with no fanfare. You’re sure the theatrics are getting stale by now anyway.
>Head down the stairs like a normal person. Make Gaara-kun wait a little longer.
>Gaara-kun has a habit of intimidating people. Try to do the same to him, at least a little.
>Other?

>>6460342
>>Gaara-kun has a habit of intimidating people. Try to do the same to him, at least a little.
Give Ryoko a chance to let loose. I am sure she's a little annoyed herself, and I for one really want to see what it looks like when she is trying to be scary.

>>6460342
>Gaara-kun has a habit of intimidating people. Try to do the same to him, at least a little.

A girl has to get her fun somehow.

>>6460342
>Hop down with no fanfare. You’re sure the theatrics are getting stale by now anyway.

>>6460342
>Gaara-kun has a habit of intimidating people. Try to do the same to him, at least a little.
I'll admit I am dying to know how intimidating Ryoko is with her unleashed bloodlust when she actually tries, instead of what she accidentally leaks and fails to contain. I mean, she is already scary as hell and intimidating as fuck without even trying. Despite her best efforts to do otherwise and without realizing it...

>>6460342
>Gaara-kun has a habit of intimidating people. Try to do the same to him, at least a little.

>>6460342
>Gaara-kun has a habit of intimidating people. Try to do the same to him, at least a little.

>>6460342
>Gaara-kun has a habit of intimidating people. Try to do the same to him, at least a little

>>6460342
>1d10
>best of three

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>6460517

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>6460517
>>6460532 is hard to beat

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>6460517

>>6460517
Gaara-kun has a habit of intimidating people. You’re not sure how much of it is intentional and how much of it comes down to how he simply is. At his best he rubs people the wrong way, at worst he seems to terrify them half out of their minds. It’s hard to say what effect he has on you though, since not only are you incapable of fear you were raised by people whose behavior was far more offensive than his.

You can say one thing with certainty however – that you don’t appreciate the naked bloodlust he’s aiming your way right now. That’s why you feel like messing with him a little, pushing back in your own way.

Instead of jumping down, or trying to make a big show of entering the arena yet again, you opt to take the stairs as well as your sweet time. Along your way you encounter a visibly stunned Temari-kun, who actually comes to a total halt when she sees you.

“… what are you doing down here?”

“Walking to the arena,” you explain flatly as you walk past.

“I can see that,” she counters, speaking after you. “Gaara’s gonna lose it if you don’t get out there fast enough!”

“I’m counting on it.”

…

Gaara-kun is glaring bloody daggers by the time you walk calmly out into the arena, like he could try to take your life at any moment. To his credit, he does not.

“At last…” he growls, his tone and his words increasingly unhinged. “I’ve been so patient… and now I’ll be rewarded… I’ll be rewarded when it all comes spilling out… and I’ll give it all to you, mother… I’ll prove it, I’ll prove that I exist...”

You glance at Genma-san, who seems to have trouble completely suppressing his own instinctive unease in this situation. Then you turn your focus back to Gaara-kun… reaching deep, you draw out and enhance what it is you find lurking there. Not an intent to kill Gaara-kun. It’s not the same as that. But it’s not entirely dissimilar either.

Genma-san picks this moment to quickly call an official start to the match and get himself clear.

The first moves pass in a flash.
>1/2

>>6460734
Two little thuds and, you would imagine, two puffs of dirt somewhere behind you are the visible results of Gaara-kun’s first move – which was to launch the ‘cork’ of his ‘gourd’ at you. You know both to be made from compressed sand, and so when he fired it at you your response was instantaneous. A blade protrudes from the top of your wrist, extending out past your knuckles by about the length of your forearm. This is what you used to split that first attack before it could hit you.

“Temper, temper,” you chide Gaara-kun, redoubling the intensity you direct at him. “You do understand, this is a match?”

His grin has become positively deranged, like those you might have seen on the faces of your clansmen before they all ran off to die. His words, on the other hand, briefly achieve some of their previous coherence.

“You can stop pretending,” he declares as sand spills out of his gourd. “You’re not like them. We never will be. Killing is what proves that we exist, it gives our lives meaning. So I want to thank you… killing you will become the ultimate confirmation of everything I am!”

You feel something well up, a feeling you can’t quite name. “Pathetic.”

“Cheap taunts are beneath you.”

“Every ability has a blind spot,” you observe. “Even yours. When you meet a shinobi you can’t kill, where does that leave you?”

The very idea seems to offend Gaara-kun. “Impossible.”

“Unlikely perhaps,” you counter. “Either way, that shinobi is standing before you.”

The sand that’s fallen to the ground around Gaara-kun already stirs, and lashes forwards in a pincer movement to entrap you. Far too slow. Gaara-kun’s eyes widen as he realizes your arm-blade has, on a probing attack after a straight dash, managed to cut deeply into the sand which moved to protect his neck. You strike with your other palm as a replacement, renewing the force of your strike and breaking free of the sand that had started to trap your arm and turning to aim another sweeping slash at his neck.

This fails to connect, and so you take the opportunity to disengage and put some distance between the two of you.

“You can’t kill me,” you declare. “And I won’t kill you. So… where is your ‘meaning’ now?”

>Use your speed and taijutsu to press Gaara-kun. See if his sand can keep up with your new speed.
>Use your chakra control to enhance your own strength. See what it takes to crack his sand armor.
>Use your full array of techniques, mix things up. This may come down to who finds a weakness first.
>Other?

>>6460751
>Use your full array of techniques, mix things up. This may come down to who finds a weakness first.

We know how intense strength and speed stack up against Gaara. Gonna need our full roster for this. Though I'm tempting to test our strength, just for the sake of seeing how far we've come.

>>6460751
>Use your full array of techniques, mix things up. This may come down to who finds a weakness first.

Hell yeah, it's the moment we've all been waiting for. Love the Ryoko-Gaara dynamic.

>>6460751
>Use your full array of techniques, mix things up. This may come down to who finds a weakness first.
All of these options are neat, honestly. Speed and Taijutsu won't be enough on its own-- we know this from Lee, but it's also a decent opening probing attack. Chakra Control for strength is also interesting; it's what Sakura used against us in our preliminary match, and it's what Tsunade is known for. But in the end, this is supposed to be a showcase of everything we've got, so I don't mind going all out.

>>6460751
>>Use your full array of techniques, mix things up. This may come down to who finds a weakness first.

Advertisement for the Village time babyyyyyy

>>6460751
>1d10 best of three

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>6460854

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>6460854

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>6460854

>>6460854
He’s not entirely wrong of course, the two of you are indeed similar. That’s even true of your techniques.

The first line is speed and combat instinct – you know that the sand flows like a fluid and so you also know that you can use chakra control to walk on it as though it were water or mud, and that if you keep moving he shouldn’t be able to trap you by your feet. While you are faster he typically controls the spacing during a fight, meaning that this isn’t necessarily in your favor. At least, not clearly and decisively so.

The second line is what is outside your body – the bones used in your dances and the sand used in his attacks can both be used offensively as well as to intercept attacks which might otherwise connect. Gaara-kun may have an advantage here, but probably not as much of one as it might seem from the outside looking in.

The third line is where the biggest difference lies – for Gaara-kun this seems like a last-ditch, the layer of hardened sand sitting directly over his skin, leaving no gaps. For you, this is your greatest vulnerability. You know better than anyone else that there’s a gap between the bones you can project outside of your body and the ones you keep inside as ‘armor’. There is a definite advantage however in that your third line defense ‘sips’ chakra, where a defense like Gaara-kun’s sand armor will be ‘gulping’ it down like a man dying of thirst would drink from an oasis.

The fourth line… you’re not sure Gaara-kun has one. But you do – medical ninjutsu. Any injury inflicted on your body between the second and third lines, including poisons and other attempts to exploit the vulnerability of your flesh, must then be addressed through healing and detoxification as appropriate. It’s not ideal. While you’re certainly able to use such techniques efficiently, any use of chakra for such things expends a pooled resource that could otherwise be used offensively.

Basically there are two ways to go about this. The first is to treat it as a pure battle of endurance, seeing which of you can apply more pressure relative to the efficiency of your opponent’s defenses – the winner is the one with enough chakra left at the end to land the final blow. But that neglects the finals match.

So you choose the second approach – to figure out where Gaara-kun’s vulnerability is, comparable to your own gap between dances and the internal armor of your skeleton, and ruthlessly exploit it.
>1/2

>>6460905
In practice, things prove to be more of a challenge than you had expected. You try to close the distance, but find that the sort of attacks he’s using are different from those he used against Lee-kun at this phase in their fight. Instead he’s using wider-area waves of sand, forcing you to choose between engaging with those attacks or maneuvering to attack from a direction of his choosing. The first of those choices proves that the waves of sand offer treacherous footing, with the loose mobile sand offering about as much purchase for your footwork as boiling water. That limits your mobility, and wastes time as you try to negotiate your way across it before eventually backing off.

The second option, after avoiding the next large wave of sand, is to attack from the opposite side. You have to weave your way through sand waterfalls and striking limbs which also slow you down. A second blade protruding from your other arm to match the first lets you keep up with the onslaught, but getting into close range against Gaara-kun remains an elusive goal.

Since neither approach is working, you mix bursts of five bone-tip bullets into your offense. Your hope had been to probe his defenses, trying to catch him leaving openings in his sand where you can thread a few projectiles through. But the sand moves swiftly to cover each gap as you try to exploit it, weaving around and between Gaara-kun’s attacks and kicking off waves of sand. Those bullets can’t seem to get through the sand, though they clearly deform the tendrils wherever they strike.

After a few moments you find yourself nearly tripping over an attack you failed to see coming in time – a tendril that exploded outwards from a wave that you thought you had managed to avoid entirely, the roiling sand changing directions almost in an instant to seize you around the ankle.

You swiftly weave seals in your left hand and take a deep breath. “Fūton: Daitoppa!”

The wind blasts the tendril apart into a cloud of loose sand, giving you the freedom to shake what’s left of it off and reposition yourself away from the source of the attack.

…

“There is something about the way she moves that bothers me,” Rock Lee admits, watching as Kaguya Ryōko negotiates with Gaara’s sand. “It reminds me of how Sasuke-kun fights when using his sharingan… but that is not possible.”

“There’s definitely a certain similarity,” Guy-sensei muses, watching the same fight play out with the two students of his team who did not make it to the public round. “The sharingan lets its user anticipate, but this isn’t that. This is the absence of hesitation.”

“The absence of hesitation?” Tenten repeats. “What do you mean, sensei?”
>2/3

>>6461203
“When it comes to taijutsu, if you’re close enough to strike you’re close enough to be struck,” Guy explains carefully, watching as Ryōko begins to test Gaara’s defenses with bone bullets. “So finding openings where you can safely go on offense is the key, and hesitation causes more openings than anything. But this Kaguya girl doesn’t hesitate.”

In the arena, Ryōko vaults over a wave of sand aimed to knock her off her feet, and with a partial midair flip, kicks off an arm of sand that was clearly aimed to swat her out of the air for doing exactly what she did.

“Wait just a moment, Guy-sensei,” Lee objects. “Every human being has a natural tendency to hesitate when life is on the line… all training can do is provide the discipline a shinobi needs to overcome that natural tendency. Is that not the case?”

Guy continues to watch the match. “Yeah. That’s normally true. The way that girl fights though… it almost seems to me like she doesn’t feel fear in the slightest.”

…

You had hoped that you’d be able to find an opening before Gaara-kun managed to get hold of you, but unfortunately that’s not how things work out.

Despite your continuous flowing movements, it seems that Gaara-kun is eventually able to get a good sense of your style and is able to summon up enough arms of sand that he’s able to start entrapping you. Dodging and weaving, and even kicking off the arms you’ve managed to dodge doesn’t do the trick anymore, and with no fewer than thirteen of those arms surrounding you your enemy then draws them in tighter – like a fisherman pulling his net tight around his catch.

>Create a layer of bone under your skin, like you did in training. Let him think he’s won.
>Use wind release at close range. Any accidental injuries you take, you can heal later.
>It’s just sand. Basically hard ground. And like this, he can’t see a counterattack.
>Other?

>>6461490
>It’s just sand. Basically hard ground. And like this, he can’t see a counterattack.

>>6461490
>Other?
As postulated, poisoned mist. To force him to react and generate space the to summon the dogs.

The longer this goes on the more likely things are to go wrong.


Also the packing factor can't be that great since garra still needs to breath

>>6461490
>Other?
Poison fog time. If he cannot see a counterattack, then he cannot see us unleash our poison jutsu either to catch him by surprise and he hopefully won't realize its poison until its too late.

Plus, he still has to breathe sooner or later. Just gotta keep enough poison in the air assuming we cannot breakthrough his defenses directly to poison him.

---
Also I want to applaud the QM for Ryoko being incapable of feeling fear. The hints for that were there from the very beginning, and I completely missed them. It also explains SO much about Ryoko.

>>6461490
>>Other?
Definitely agree with poison mist/fog. Very subtle, much surprise.

>>6461496
Further it should be considered which additive to use; snake, or plant based since we need to resolve things quickly in order to prevent garra from turtling

>>6461529
Ryoko would know from Gaara's symptoms that he is severely sleep deprived so she will likely go with KO cocktail. Which as both a medicnin and someone who loved poisoning herself would definitely know.

>>6461490
>Other?
poison fog and wind probably go hand in hand (wind as the delivery, not to disperse the poison and make it less concentrated)

then when we have some breathing room (for Ryoko, not for him, heh) then summoning the two dogs should give the crowd some wow factor.

>>6461490
>Poison fog time

>>6461490
>Poison Fog.

>>6461490
>It’s just sand. Basically hard ground. And like this, he can’t see a counterattack.
Write-in looks good too. Though I'm curious-- does Gaara have 'tremorsense', or other earth-based sensory jutsu that isn't the sand eyeball?

>>6461490
>1d10 best of three

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>6461871

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>6461871
Rollin'.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>6461871
here we go
>>6461882
very good anon

>>6461882
Thank the infinite mercy of Christ our girl won't get embarrassed out there. Gaara isn't one to mess around with, particularly early-on.

>>6461885
>>6461886
It all worked out according to the dice kami's will (I superstitiously attempted to time the roll with the turn of the hour, but screwed up because of the 2 second difference between my computer's time and 4chan's time, yet was still rewarded with a 10!).

>>6461871
Before that net closes you swiftly reply with one more attack of your own, weaving signs in your left hand and taking a deep breath, mixing a crude kotarō in with the air in your lungs.

“Ninpō: Kōsuigiri!”

The result actually takes you by surprise, but you’re able to immediately capitalize even before you’re finished working out what just happened. It lets you not only push forward in a burst of speed – albeit with a massive effort and taking some damage to your skin – but through the clouds of swirling sand until you’re close enough to swing at Gaara-kun himself. Your left arm blade meets his sand armor, and with a burst of chakra to enhance your striking power in that same instant the bone edge manages to crack through and cut into actual flesh.

Not a deep wound. Not anything you’d be satisfied with against any other opponent. But it’s a wound that bleeds.

Gaara-kun was already backpedaling as you struck, and so he’s able to finish that movement as you manage your own escape using a shunshin. After disengaging you actually have to take a moment.

You can’t suppress a brief laugh even as you weave a couple of hand seals.

“To think that a guy like you had a fault like that… I feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner.”

Gaara-kun’s breathing is harsh. Not labored, like you’d managed to cut into a lung or anything, but almost like the beginnings of some sort of strange fit. “A fault, you said? A fault? Whatever could you mean!?”

The look in his eyes when he stares at you is completely unhinged. No thoughts. Just hate.

“I’m not sure if it’s instinctive or truly autonomic,” you muse as your skin begins to steam as it heals from what basically amounts to the worst rugburn you’ve ever heard of, “but either way, you’ve never had to learn how to NOT react to a threat, have you?”

His eyes, already wild, widen as he realizes what you’re saying.

The sand automatically defends Gaara-kun from threats, either based on proximity and speed, on chakra, or on his own perception of a threat, in some combination. But whatever the triggering condition may be, once it’s satisfied the sand acts on it. Quickly and efficiently, yes, but also without regard to any sense of long-term strategy. So when your kotarō mist triggered it some of the sand that Gaara-kun was trying to use actively in his attacks diverted in an effort to swirl and divert the air carrying it away from him.

Not all of it, but just enough to create an opening of lower density that you could power through to reach him. In a way it seems his greatest strength can also be viewed as his greatest weakness… but only by someone who isn’t too afraid of him to approach his abilities rationally.
>1/2

>>6462091
“… I’ll kill you…” Gaara-kun mutters first, before his voice reaches a crescendo. “I refuse to disappear!”

He forms a seal with both hands, and the sand draws closer to him… all of it. Much like his attacks he seems to be consciously directing it, forming a thick compressed shell around his body that blocks him in completely. At the same time, it also seems to block you out entirely.

Interesting.

At first you’re wary of some sort of attack, perhaps with that hard egg of sand at the center being its origin or else being used to shelter against a wide-angle technique of some kind. But that never manifests. Instead, you notice a small orb of floating sand high above that collects itself and turns white, like an eye. It’s a sensory technique, probably the same one he used to pass the first stage of the exams.

So he’s not attacking, at least not right now, but he’s keeping a watch on you from inside that little shelter of his?

>See if you can filter kotarō through the sand from the outside?
>A spear against a stationary target? He’s made this too easy.
>Use the moment to summon Īri and/or Agari. Time to cook this egg.
>Other?

>>6462241
>Use the moment to summon Īri and/or Agari. Time to cook this egg.

Honestly, the kotarō is the smart option. His sand's durability is way too high for us to spear through, especially when he's on full defence. But our mission is at least partially to show off. Summoning not only does that in spades, but it gains us an ally on the field who can tip the action economy in our favour, help us out in case Gaara makes a play we don't account for, and seal him if his tailed beast goes crazy. And should nothing crazy happen? Well, then as the prompt says, we'll cook him in his shell. I cringe for our chakra reserves though.

>>6462241
Actually, I changed my mind, switching to...
>See if you can filter kotarō through the sand from the outside?

It's smarter and less costly. I forgot about how we need to have some skill in the jutsu we collaborate to cast with the shishi. While that doesn't affect a wind + fire combo, we won't have the option to seal Gaara ourselves until we properly learn those skills. Given that this makes the option less versatile in this moment, I think we should conserve chakra. They'd be good against Temari, fire against wind, or for the Konoha crush. Not to mention that this fight ain't over yet.

>>6462241
>See if you can filter kotarō through the sand from the outside?

>>6462241
>Other?
Generate a subdermal armor layer.

If he's going to give us downtime we'd probably be best off improving our survivability should we need to go in to get him.

I wonder how badly he's been dosed with kotarō, I think trying to take more in is one of the worst things you could do considering it's sensory effects.

>>6462241
>See if you can filter kotarō through the sand from the outside?
ok lets do this as suggested

>>6462241
>See if you can filter kotarō through the sand from the outside?
He's gonna run out of clean air in that egg of his sooner or later. Until then, we can swamp the arena in poison.

>>6462241
>Use the moment to summon Īri and/or Agari. Time to cook this egg.

>>6462241
>See if you can filter kotarō through the sand from the outside?
He's still gotta breathe.

>>6462241
>1d10 best of three

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>6462429

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>6462429

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>6462429

Ryoko could probably grow some crazy good drugs from her plantation, her? Even fertilized with her own ground-up bones. A shame she only uses it for medicinal or battle purposes, but it's pretty funny to think that she could turn into a druglord if she wanted to.

>>6462638
Well she does have a garden full of medicine, drugs, and poisons. Wasn't allowed to be declared a hobby because it was work related. She also drugs herself with them to develop immunity/antivenom and be able to reproduce it via her glands. She even figured out how to change its transmission ability. She was so good at it that Tsunade directly compared her to Hanzo. Hopefully we can meet him. I'm sure he would be interested in the only shinobi who can properly learn his poison techniques. Ryoko is scary good with her poisons but she avoids using it.

>>6462641
>Hopefully we can meet him
That would be extremely kino. Even if he is as he was moments before death, a sad Hanzo is still a Hanzo.

>>6462658
Hanzo is an interesting character. An experimental shinobi who was experimented upon as a child and was originally an idealist before reality crushed him. He was never able to find a proper student to inherit his poison mastery. Later got along more with Danzo after idealism gave way to disillusioned pragmatism but that was much later in life. Having Ryoko meet him would be kino as fuck because he is someone Ryoko could very well grow up to be. As she is already having the same internal struggles he did and shares his poison mastery which will draw his interest. Even a disillusioned and depressed Hanzo will still want someone to inherit his legacy.

>>6462429
It’s sand… there’s a degree of porosity of course, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to slip your kotarō through that hardened shell. You weave the hand seals for kūkigakure, but instead of wrapping the breezes around your own body you control the air around Gaara-kun’s sand shell. The light shimmers and plays, and sand responds by shifting its surface into conical spikes. His response times feel more or less the same as before, though the range at which he can attack seems to be more limited.

Watching how the sand moves starts you thinking – if you had a water affinity instead of a wind affinity you might already have won this match.

Soaking the sand Gaara-kun uses for both his offense and his defense might be one pathway towards neutralizing both, weighing the sand down and interfering with his ability to coordinate it. It’s not a certain counter, but you can see a certain rationality behind the approach – working kotarō into a liquid would probably even help you soak the drug through the sand in a way that your tests with kūkigakure suggest won’t work with wind.

If only you could pull something like that off… but can’t you?

“Of course,” you mutter to yourself. “Maybe… that might just work.”

You carefully move your jaw and tongue, carefully sensing the inside of your mouth. You’re not sure it’ll work, but it’s worth a try – instead of exhaling the kotarō from your lungs as a fine mist, you begin to knead chakra and concentrate in your mouth. After a few moments, you’re ready to give it a try.

…

In the arena, Kaguya Ryōko makes her move.

After charging towards the eggshell of hardened sand which Gaara erected to defend himself, Ryōko abruptly backpedals to avoid his counterattack. And when she does that, she releases a blast of water from her mouth. Not especially large, nor powerful, but at least a grapefruit-sized globule that impacts against Gaara’s sand shell even as she makes her physical body scarce.

“What was that?” Sasuke-kun wonders aloud. “No way she’s also learned water transformations…”

“No,” Kakashi realizes as he watches Ryōko slightly reposition and dart in again for a similar hit and run style attack. “That wasn’t true suiton… however, Ryōko-kun IS a medical ninja…”

Sakura is the first to put two and two together. “Don’t tell me… saliva?”

Kakashi nods, watching the match through mismatched, un-covered eyes. “She must have stimulated her own salivary glands as an improvised measure… I’m just guessing, but she probably also kneaded her poison into it as well. That way it will soak through Gaara’s sand.”

“… she’s frighteningly clever, that one.”
>1/2

>>6462986
You hit the same spot several times in succession, always managing to back off before the spikes which explode out towards you in retaliation. The saliva bombs soak into Gaara-kun’s sand, and with them your crude kotarō mixture draws closer to its target. But after the fourth bomb, you notice something that changes your plan – a small amount of the sand egg slips off from the outside of the shell and slumps to the ground.

In a split-second decision you shift to a frontal attack.

At the last instant you turn your waist and use your left arm-blade to parry a spike of sand that still rips open your bicep, though the move lets you get close enough to throw a punch with the blade on your right – now narrowed slightly and thickened to optimize its shape for piercing.

The tip lands right where you noticed wet sand slumping off… and this time, the blade pierces through the shell.

A moment later you hear a blood-curdling scream from inside the egg. Wordless, full of pain and fury, the sort of sounds you’d expect more from a wounded animal than from a person. Every instinct you possess urges you to get away, and it takes you planting your feet against the shell and pushing with all your might to withdraw your bone blade and escape.

>1d10 best of three

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>6463162

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>6463162

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>6463162

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>6463162

>>6463162
… it’s hard for you to say why exactly, but your instincts don’t allow you to relax even in the slightest. They’re still screaming at you even after you manage to withdraw away from what had been an immediate threat as your arm-blade was trapped by Gaara-kun’s sand. The perception of a threat just won’t diminish from your mind.

The shell that had been surrounding Gaara-kun collapses, and he falls to his knees. Your sword connected with his shoulder, which is about where you were trying to aim, and has left a deep wound there. Exposure to your kotarō has sickened him, which at first seemed to infuriate him, until the feedback loop drove him to exhaustion.

But that’s not what has the hairs standing on end.

Your vision is disturbed by what seem like floating white feathers, intangible, floating right in front of you and yet far away. Impossible and unreal… so this must be…

“Genjutsu?” you realize aloud, forming a seal with your left hand and concentrating. “Then I should…”

Thankfully you’re able to react in time – especially thanks to your instincts running heightened from the fight with Gaara-kun – and dispel the genjutsu. But looking around at the stands it seems like not everyone was so lucky. Your eyes eventually fall on Genma-san, who is actually coming closer from where he’s been observing the match.

“I guess it wasn’t my imagination,” he grumbles. “That’d be too convenient.”

“A little too far for match-fixing at that,” you realize.

“No, this is the real deal,” Genma-san declares. “It’s not your fight, assuming you’re not in on it, but I wouldn’t say no if you – ”

An explosion cuts him off mid-quip, and a cloud of smoke now hangs around where the Kages were sitting before. You’re not left with much time to process that sight before you find yourselves no longer alone in the arena.

Temari-kun and Kankuro-kun swiftly join Gaara-kun. It’s not until their burly sensei from Sunagakure steps in as well that you have reason to doubt their intentions.

“It’s no good!” Kankuro-kun informs his sensei. “I’ve never seen Gaara so out of it… two wounds and whatever poison that chick’s using? He’s no good to anyone like this!”

“The two of you, get him out of here for now,” their sensei orders, his eyes still flitting between you and Genma-san. “Our plan relies on Gaara being ready to do his part, so now we’re relying on you to get him ready again. So get going.”

The duo get Gaara-kun’s arms over their shoulders, and take off. Their sensei still faces you and Genma-san, as if daring you to go after them... but leaving you absolutely no opening to do so, of course.
>1/2

>>6463361
“Like I was saying,” Genma-san begins. “It’s not your fight… Konoha and Suna are both technically your village’s allies, and so far as I know they’ve only attacked us. Don’t feel like you have to pick a side.”

Some clashes are already audible from the stands as shinobi begin to engage – most of them aren’t Sunagakure shinobi, but instead appear to be attired in Otogakure’s camouflaged uniforms. So… Otogakure has infiltrated the event already? And if Sunagakure was also involved, that means it’s safe to assume that the Kazekage himself is now getting involved up in the box. That hardly constitutes an invasion of course, so you’d also expect that there will be other military assets breaching Konohagakure’s outermost defenses in force.

A shuriken, carelessly thrown by an Oto-nin from the stands, nearly cuts your cheek as it flies past.

“… that assumes they let me choose,” you grumble.

As if to punctuate your point, two Otogakure shinobi move to attack you specifically – as if they have standing orders to do so. It’s not just deliberate, their movements show the obvious signs of coordination and planning… which just means you’ll have the satisfaction of crushing those plans yourself.

>Genma-san said it – this is the real deal. Full lethal force on anyone who gives you a reason.
>Otogakure marked you as a target, so they die. To Sunagakure, you can show some restraint.
>You have no interest in beating up weaklings. Tailor your force to the opponent where you can.
>Other?

>>6463371
>>Genma-san said it – this is the real deal. Full lethal force on anyone who gives you a reason.

Let's fucking goooooo time to earn a huge bounty in the bingo book

>>6463371
>Otogakure marked you as a target, so they die. To Sunagakure, you can show some restraint.
The treaty doesn't include Otogakure and Otogakure has proven its hostility. Also good thing Ryoko kept her chakra consumption to a minimum. The reserves are still good.

>>6463371
>Otogakure marked you as a target, so they die. To Sunagakure, you can show some restraint.
Mutilation to Otogakure, and humiliation for Sunagakure (as in, broken bones and less teeth and shit).

I'm also inclined to go full massacre, but at the same time, it sends a message that we were able to afford some mercy to these other guys. "I could easily kill you but I wasn't on the mood"

Miss Kaguya Ryōko's hallucinogenic sloppy-toppy... Ahem, very cool. Maybe we pick up water as our next elemental release.

>>6463371
>You have no interest in beating up weaklings. Tailor your force to the opponent where you can.
Kind of wonder how the fate of Otogakure will differ if we're merciful.

>>6463371
>Genma-san said it – this is the real deal. Full lethal force on anyone who gives you a reason.
I NEED TO KILL

>>6463371
>Genma-san said it – this is the real deal. Full lethal force on anyone who gives you a reason.

>>6463371
>You have no interest in beating up weaklings. Tailor your force to the opponent where you can.

>>6463371
>Otogakure marked you as a target, so they die. To Sunagakure, you can show some restraint.

>>6463371
>Otogakure marked you as a target, so they die. To Sunagakure, you can show some restraint.
Can’t believe we rolled so well throughout the tournament

>>6463371
>Otogakure marked you as a target, so they die. To Sunagakure, you can show some restraint.

Suna can get the chance to politely walk back the insult of an indiscriminate policy of who to attack, Otogakure doesn't deserve that same courtesy. Besides, while choosing a side is better than being left with no allies, there's no reason to get the big fish involved in what can stay a small scale conflict between our village and the sound during the follow up to the crush..

>>6463472
I'd point out that we can't know that Yugakure hasn't been attacked, as we have yet to establish the scale of events. And if anything like the forces arranged against Konoha was mustered, I doubt much of anything would be left standing after the fact.

It's going to be fairly important to stick with Genma, at least initially so he can vouch to Leaf nin, that we're not involved.

Also checking out that explosion seems like a good idea. It probably won't just have been the Kages on that level or caught in the explosion, and we may well score some points if we can assist as a medic that could be very beneficial to Yugakure standing, or let slip the dogs of justice to track down people that have gone missing, or the Bloodstain Garra left behind.

>>6463371
>Otogakure marked you as a target, so they die. To Sunagakure, you can show some restraint.
They attacked us first, fuck around and find out

>>6463399
>Spoiler

Uuuh, based?

>>6463371
The first of the two enemy shinobi to attack is actually the second of the two to reach you, the first having feinted before trying to turn and flank you together with his partner. But the first actual attacker leads with a mistake – he thrusts with a kunai in his right hand, a straight and predictable line of attack. As if he were a child still in the academy, having gotten hold of a real kunai for the first time and decided to play at being a real ninja.

You don’t let him off with a scolding.

Instead you block his wrist with your right elbow, turning movements of your waist and shoulders building tension before releasing it to trace an arc through the man’s neck. You feel like your razor-sharp arm blade clips one of his cervical vertebrae, but that offers hardly any actual resistance.

His partner’s attack is with a long tantō that cracks against bone protruding from your right forearm, and following through with your turning motion you respond by plunging your left arm-blade through his chest. Bracing against his neck with your right arm helps you withdraw, but leaves a bit more of a mess than was strictly necessary.

“Suna jōnin,” you speak up, staring at the man who had until a moment ago been prepared to face Genma-san. “I will not be the one to break our treaties today.”

“… noted,” he replies curtly.

>1d10 best of three

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>6463774

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>6463774

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>6463774

>>6463774
It seems as if someone somewhere actually realized that wouldn’t be enough, because those first two Oto-nin are almost immediately followed up by three more – and these three seem like they might just present something a little closer to a real challenge. Each looks to be significantly larger and stronger than the two you just dealt with, and they move a little faster in spite of their bulk.

The first quickly discovers the weaknesses of large, cleaver-style swords when he sweeps his in your direction. Its own size limits the angles where he can attack you with an unencumbered swing, so when he follows a horizontal sweep that you lean back to avoid with a downward blow you’re already a step ahead. You actually go vertical, springing off your hands as the man’s blade embeds itself in the ground, and with a turn you sweep aside a spear-thrust launched by his teammate.

Back on your feet, you kick lightly off your toes to open up just a little distance from the third man who favors a pair of large single-edged falchions. By that point the first man has pried his blade free and the spearman has repositioned so that the three of them are surrounding you.

“… interesting,” you muse, noticing Sasuke-kun leaving the arena in the same direction as the Sunagakure candidates. “It seems I may be needed elsewhere.”

“You’ll have to get through US first!” the man with the cleaver blade insists in a booming voice.

“That can be arranged.”

This time you don’t lean back to avoid the oversized cleaver. Instead you produce a handheld weapon of your own from your radius – a simple straight sword with a well-balanced handle and blade, complete with a little round pommel mirroring the shape of the radial head. Bracing it against your arm you parry the cleaver, allowing its own force to cause the blade to crack nearly in half even as its weight pushes you across the ground in a little arc. The spear-thrust you grab by the haft, before twisting the sword in your hand to finish breaking the cleaver and then punching the haft to break it.

The man with the falchions you parry twice in quick succession with your own weapons, ducking under his right arm – which is high enough that doing so is fairly simple – and thrusting your newly-acquired spear into the man’s right foot.

Even as he’s howling in pain you reverse the blade in your hand and thrust it back through his chest, using him as cover for a moment.

Kicking the dying swordsman towards his partner with the now-broken cleaver buys you another moment to turn your focus to the spearman. You’re not sure what he thought blocking with what’s left of an already broken spear-haft would do but it definitely doesn’t even slow your blade down – nor do the man’s clavicle and ribs.

The man with the cleaver falls last, his arms still raised, from a simple thrust through the ribs.
>1/2

>>6464730
You take a moment to catch your breath and assess your situation.

The battle is swirling around the arena, with maybe a dozen hot spots where Konoha shinobi are engaging a combined force of Otogakure shinobi in their camouflage uniforms and face coverings and Sunagakure shinobi in their tan flak jackets. If you had to bet it all on one horse based on what you can see right now you’d bet it on Konoha, though the violet barrier that’s been raised around the viewing box where the Kages were seated has a certain ominous nature to it.

The Sunagakure jōnin and Genma-san are among those smaller engagements – both men still seem to be starting slow with each other, preparing for a longer and more closely-matched fight at the bottom of the arena. There are also jōnin facing down masked assailants in the stands, among which you can see Kakashi-san and Guy-san chiefly among them. Both are fighting in the box where their respective teams have gathered, minus Neji-kun who has been taken to the infirmary. It seems like Kakashi-san is covering for the two of his genin who haven’t already taken off after Gaara-kun and his siblings.

>Try to give chase after Sasuke-kun. He may need help when he catches Gaara-kun.
>For now, back up Genma-san. The two of you will have an advantage against his opponent.
>Head up into the stands. You don’t like that kind of fighting going on around civilians.
>Other?

>>6465991
>Head up into the stands. You don’t like that kind of fighting going on around civilians.
I don't want to fight exposed in the Arena and we are better off using our still good chakra reserves to take down Jonin. As for Gaara he is already poisoned and badly wounded. Ryoko would figure he is out of the fight since she doesn't know about the tailed beast. Technically, Gaara did hold back in the duel because of this just like Ryoko did who didn't go for killing blows or burning through her chakra reserves.

>>6465991
>Head up into the stands. You don’t like that kind of fighting going on around civilians.
I think the aligns with her sensibilities. As a medinin she doesn’t like people unnecessarily injured, and also from past experience doesn’t like bystanders/innocents being hurt.

And she just told the guy facing Genma-san she want going to break the treaty so I figure that means since he didn’t attack her, she can’t really get involved.

She has no reason to help Sasuke in my opinion

>>6465991
>>Head up into the stands. You don’t like that kind of fighting going on around civilians.

>>6465995
Technically, they were the ones who broke the treaty when they attacked her. If they ignored her, Ryoko could use her medical skills as a neutral doctor, but not much else without being guilty of breaching the treaty herself. However, their allies broke the treaty first and the Suna didn't oppose that decision. Ergo, Ryoko is not guilty of breaking the treaty and thus can fight too. In theory, this can even be argued as having been done through Gaara too. So Ryoko does have excuses lined up.

>>6465991
>Head up into the stands. You don’t like that kind of fighting going on around civilians.

Would it be worth trying to trojan-horse our way though the barrier by claiming to want to resume our prior discussion with Snake-kun, we could trade what we know of Tsunade's progress, for our cousin or convince him to leave since I think he'd much more greater insight that he could leverage into progress than getting even since he's playing the long game here.

Alternately Īri, might be very useful to have on hand in consolidating our options to take down the barrier

>>6465991
>Head up into the stands. You don’t like that kind of fighting going on around civilians.

>>6465991
>Head up into the stands. You don’t like that kind of fighting going on around civilians.

>>6465991
>Head up into the stands. You don’t like that kind of fighting going on around civilians.

I don't really think attacking the Suna-nin is a problem as long as we don't kill them. The prompt that ended up winning only said we'd show restraint. The best use of our skills is probably fighting the jōnin, or making sure Gaara stays off the field. That being said, as far as we know in character Gaara is out of play, and I'm not 100% sure we could take both Temari and Kankuro on with our current chakra reserves. And as anon has noted, it is pretty in character for us to value civilian lives. This ultimately isn't our fight necessarily. Not yet at least, until our village issues their policy.

>>6466004
>spoiler

This is a really interesting choice, but I don't think we're talking our way past anyone. Beating the Sound Four is a tall order too, though the challenge intrigues me. Might be doable with Īri and the exposition dumper Anbu squad. It's probably worth it, we'd be pursuing our own interests instead of just kinda being passively 'there' in the event. Might end up saving the third Hokage as a side effect too, and witnessing some forbidden jutsu. I'm all up for it.

>>6466004
Ryoko is the one doing the research. Not Tsunade. It is why, when snakeboy found out who Ryoko's teacher was, he had such an extreme reaction and noted that they would meet again, because Orochimaru had the same idea that Tsunade did with Kaguya. He absolutely does plan to reach out to her again and told Ryoko so. Ryoko, for her part, didn't react as he would have expected no fear. Ryoko saw through much of his usual bluffing/intimdation and noted that he hit hard when asked about him. Which is something he always took for granted. His usual methods don't actually work on Ryoko and they both share a love of research/body horror. Snakeboy is gonna be so mad jelly of Tsunade when he finds that out.

>>6466040
Ryoko would have her own ulterior motives. As she knows Orochimaru has her cousin and she greatly dislikes the Hokage/Leaf Village. She also doesn't believe what is told about Orochimaru. However, Ryoko is only just at the Jonin level. She really wouldn't be able to interfere much and oddly, the Hokage is arguably a bigger threat to her than Orochimaru. As Orochimaru isn't gonna wanna risk harming his chances of getting that research from Ryoko or pissing off Tsunade enough to ruin his day.

Ryoko's greatest leverage is against Orochimaru. She just doesn't know how absolutely obsessed he is with immortality. The leverage against the Hokage is his desire to lure Tsunade and her apprentices back to the Leaf. While Orochimaru has her cousin, it is a very time limited bargaining chip...

Plus, we cannot forget about Danzo who is definitely involved and wants Ryoko for Root.

Ryoko is arguably the wild card. She dislikes the Leaf and has mutual interests with Orochimaru. Technically, nobody can even stop her in her home village and she has completed her orders. So nothing is getting in the way of her doing whatever she wants. Which is a rare luxury for her and she has her own personal motives rather than just professional courtesy.

>>6466040
>but I don't think we're talking our way past anyone.
we only need it to hold for a moment to give us time to set up for an alpha strike.

>Beating the Sound Four
We only need to disable / interrupt one's chakra to drop the barrier, which will provide the third or others a chance to intercede. And without Garra having any influence it's unlike that the Leaf have had to split their focus yet so reinforcements should be focused on massing to respond.


>>6466046
>She really wouldn't be able to interfere much
The main impact she could have is dropping the barrier earlier, which lets others get involved and potentially prevent the Snake-kun from getting away with only the loss of their arms as in cannon Remember it took hours to get to that point, so we have time.

>>6465991
>Head up into the stands. You don’t like that kind of fighting going on around civilians.
On one hand, I want to help out Team 7 beat Gaara (and maybe bail out Shikamaru), but on the other, I'm kind of interested in seeing if we can cause canon to diverge by messing with the Sound Four, heh.

Also, if Īri and Agari are immune to "basic fire nature chakra", could they just pass through the main barrier unimpeded since the cannon barrier technique used was fire based?

>>6466076
Ryoko has only just started learning that stuff(not even a month). Those summons are VERY chakra hungry. While she has clan genius level chakra reserves and second to Tsunade tier effiency its still damned expensive. Its true Ryoko has successfully rationed her chakra this whole time so it's at least feasible, depending on if the summons can handle it.

Keep in mind that barrier is top tier. Not something that Ryoko, even as a genius, can handle with less than a month of training; it requires her to burn all her chakra to get tutoring from her summons.

>>6466150
With both their fire resistance and barrier/sealing mastery, if we can spare the chakra, they could likely find a way to bypass it but it would depend heavily on how much Chakra Ryoko still has to make it happen and Ryoko may not be able to follow if the fire is potent enough to overpower her regen. As both parties did try to Seal the other.

I do think it's technically feasible so long as Ryoko has enough chakra left over but it will likely wipe her out afterward.

>>6466294
>Keep in mind that barrier is top tier.
And as such depends on maintaining both the concentration, and geometry of participants to function.

The key here will be rallying sufficient support so we don't have to do everything ourselves, were going to need at least one of the Jonin to hand.

We've got options

Breach a specific sub-barrier and have leaf-nin dogpile one of the Sound ?5? nin of our choice.
Drop the roof(or a section thereof) into the arena, pretty sure none of them are capable of flight.

>>6465991
>1d10 best of three

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>6466463

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>6466463

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>6466463

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>6466463

>>6466464
>>6466465
>>6466467
>>6466469
What are the odds?

>>6466470
Google AI tells me 12 in 10000, no idea if that is true.

>>6466471
Depends on what exactly you are looking for, any set of of 3d10 rolls that contain a 9,10 & 8, or specifically the rolls in that order.

basically you are just doing the following with different numbers (D10 instead of D6, 3 dice so the mapping makes a cube instead of a square, and the weights for each value are equal)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BIbHGfdjc_g

In short it's at worst 1 in 10^3 if they must be in order

>>6466471
I'd say more like 18 in 10000.

>>6466463
You hate the idea of shinobi fighting a pitched battle in and around civilians – most if not all of whom have absolutely nothing to do with whatever grievances Oto and Suna may have with Konoha. When you think about it though you have to admit that your own skills are almost perfectly suited to avoiding collateral, and so that realization leaves you feeling uniquely empowered to step in.

That’s exactly what you choose to do.

Shunshin accelerates you to the base of the wall, and a second up the wall to the safety railing near where Kakashi-san is fighting. A third places you between Kakashi-san and two masked attackers, who clearly figured they could take attack his students while his back was turned – you doubt a man like Kakashi-san would need your help even under this circumstance, though intercepting that attack is a fine way to announce your intentions.

Sakura-kun watches from behind her raised tantō as you slice cleanly through the first charging shinobi, balancing atop the back of a stadium-style seat, then turn in place, leaning back to avoid the second shinobi’s attack and cut him down in a single fluid motion.

“… putting civilians at risk,” you grumble. “Cowards.”

“Glad to have your assistance,” Kakashi-san greets you. “Sakura-kun, finish waking Naruto-kun up. I’ll explain when you do.”

Another enemy, this one a member of Sunagakure’s regular forces, attacks you while Sakura-kun is jarring her third teammate awake. You catch the newcomer’s kunai with your left hand, feed a little chakra into your muscles to match his physical strength, and knee him in the groin. With a turn of your waist and a dip of your shoulder you throw the man onto the concrete to your left, then stab him in the shoulder with a bone blade, leaving him pinned to the floor while your kotarō does its work.

“Stay out of trouble, coward,” you insist curtly.

Once Naruto-kun is awake, Kakashi-kun takes a moment to give his orders. “I sent Sasuke-kun after the three Suna siblings. Naruto-kun, Sakura-kun, I want the two of you to go back him up.”

Kakashi-san bites his thumb and weaves a familiar series of hand seals before placing his palm on the ground. “Kuchiyose no jutsu!”

The results, when the smoke clears, is a single small dog with a bored expression on his face.

“Pakkun,” Kakashi-san declares, holding out a scrap of bandages for the dog to sniff. “I want you to follow this scent. Lead Naruto-kun and Sakura-kun in the right direction.”

“Yeah,” the dog replies. “Can do.”

“… the dog talked?” Sakura-kun wonders aloud. “Am I… actually under that genjutsu after all?”
>1/2

>>6466748
“I doubt,” you muse, sparing Kakashi-san a glance, “that you have no role in mind for me.”

Kakashi-san deftly catches a masked attacker by his wrist, breaks his elbow with his left hand, then steps in with an elbow to the chin before producing several shuriken in his hands and throwing them. The Oto-nin, sent flying by the elbow strike, takes several shuriken to his body before disappearing over the railing with a wail.

“You three,” he orders. “Why are you still here? Go!”

“Come on, let’s get going,” the dog named Pakkun declares, grabbing Naruto-kun by the hand with his teeth and dragging him towards the nearest exit. Sakura-kun follows close behind, staying down as both Kakashi-san and Guy-san watch over them.

Then Kakashi-san turns to you. “You’re right. How are you at tracking?”

>Decent. On my team I'm not the specialist.
>I have a summons who would be better at it.
>You don’t happen to have another dog?
>Other?

>>6466878
>You don’t happen to have another dog?
Our summons are damned expensive. Pretty sure they were the one expensive option...

To clarify, summoning reasonably sized creatures isn't that much strain - Hiruzen could still safely summon Enma at a point where creating shadow clones was considered dangerous. Particularly large creatures are usually where it gets to be a problem.

In Ryoko's case, it was trying to perform a different summons with each hand simultaneously that caused noticeable strain at first, and even that has lessened with training.

>>6466884
I thought the two were pretty sizeable? Not to mention summoning both isn't cheap.

>You don’t happen to have another dog?
Who / what did he have in mind. We might hove other capabilities that could achieve the same goal.

>>6466884
So what happens after they also start casting, there's a finite supply of chakra and even Ryoko can get around a lot of the downsides of Chakra pills, it's one more thing to have to manage.

>>6466889
A bit larger than a lion, maybe 500 pounds and 5 feet tall at the shoulder.
>>6466890
They have their own chakra for basic needs and fire release techniques. Additional chakra is only required for combination techniques.

>>6466878
>Decent. On my team I'm not the specialist.

We're no Hiroshi.

>>6466878
>Decent. On my team I'm not the specialist.

>>6466878
>Decent. On my team I'm not the specialist.

>>6466878
>Decent. On my team I'm not the specialist.
Save the summon for later.

Also, it's kind of funny... but Ryoko's basically the stand-in for Yugakure's jonin, huh? This might be the Chunin Exams, but she's already a cut above the rest, main characters included.

>>6466878
>I have a summons who would be better at it.
isn't this what the two lions are keen for? justice and avenging?

i mean they're likely just going to do what we want right, but didn't they say that they like to be aligned? anyway, we still want to give an awe factor so doing the summoning here in the stadium where there are more witnesses would be my vote

but since its not going to win, I'm just saying that we don't need to keep it up our sleeves for too much longer, surely.

>>6466878
“Decent, but I’m not the specialist on my team,” you admit.

“What technique can you use?”

“Chakra sensing,” you explain. “Only while stationary.”

“And your sensing radius?” he asks shortly before grabbing and throwing another attacker off the stands.

“Reasonably long.”

Kakashi-san spares you an evaluating glance. “Intercepting my students is what I would do in our enemies’ positions.”

“So you want me to deal with any pursuers?” you realize aloud.

“I have to stay here as part of our village’s planned response to any invasion,” Kakashi-san explains. “You don’t. Consider it a favor I’ll have to return some other time.”

>I accept. It’s a suitable role for me.
>What about the threat to civilians?
>What about the Hokage?
>Other?

>>6467725
>What about the Hokage?
Smoke followed by "ominous purple lights" in the kage's box, and the fact that Gaara, "an important part of the plan" wasn't taken upstairs into it tells us it's not Suna doing it. and knowing that Snake-kun's in the area and has a history with the Hokage it's probably worth at least scoping out to see what's going on.

We know that Gaara is zonked, for the foreseeable future Does Ryoko know of his Jinchūriki status? I don't think its confirmed, yet. but I don think having overheard him talking to his mother during the spar makes it obvious that there is more going on so there's not really much of an issue, on top of his wounded shoulder. We should focus on the recovery Hokage to ensure that Konoha's response to events isn't disjointed for all we know this is the opening gambit to a larger campaign and losing the initiative will prove to be a problem that they won't recover from.

Also if we're going to do something for Team 7 a debrief to see where they think they could improve after the exams, after this blows over.

The fact that Team 7 was sent out piecemeal is really going to cause issues, since they can for the most part be defeated in detail

>>6467725
>>What about the Hokage?
Ryoko doesn't know Gaara is a jinchuriki so she likely assumes he is out of commission with two major injuries and being poisoned.

>>6467725
>What about the Hokage?

>>6467725
>What about the Hokage?
>I have summons that could break the barrier.

>>6467725
>What about the threat to civilians?

>>6467725
>What about the Hokage?
Remind me, the Hokage is the strongest ninja in the Land of Fire, but they're not *our* boss, right? They answer to the Daimyo (which is like, ninja president / feudal lord), but the Hokage works for Konoha (which is why we don't have a Yukage or anything, it's the Five Kages).

Either way, getting the military leader of the village out of here alive to organize the counterattack seems important, so we'll ask. I don't mind going to help Team 7 though, especially since it seems like they don't have Shikamaru with them? Might be neat to be elsewhere, too.

>>6467725
>>What about the Hokage?
>>6467757
Summons that can break the barrier? Let's fucking go

>>6467860
Daimyos are figureheads and handle the civilian side of things. The ninja hold all the military power and normal people cannot resist them but the ninja also don't want to destroy things too badly because they still need those services and a source of recruits. So they partially separated themselves and self isolated via the ninja village system. The top villages also dominate all the smaller villages except for one. The small villages are cannon fodder/battlegrounds/buffer zones to prevent the big villages from wrecking their own place. Depending on how close they are to the big villages determines roughly how they are aligned and while they are technically 'allied' to the nearest big village the truth is it's very much a subordinate relationship because the small villages are too weak to oppose any big village. This is why Ryoko conflicted so much with the Hokage since her village cannot truly oppose him and they are 'supposed' to be allies, not subordinates. Which isn't how it actually works between the big villages and small villages. Something that Ryoko is quite aware of and takes issue with.

>>6467725
>1d10
>best of three

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>6467998
here we goooo

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>6467998

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>6467998
looks like we are jobbering it.

>>6467998
“And the Hokage?”

Kakashi-san stiffens, ever so slightly. “What about him?”

“That barrier was thoroughly planned,” you observe. “Meaning he himself was a target.”

“There’s not much anyone can do about that,” Kakashi-san counters. “I can tell from here that it’s a high level technique that not just anyone can bypass… unless you’re implying that IS one of your specialties?”

“No,” you admit, “but I have a summons who might be able to do something.”

You prick the palm of your right hand with one of your own fingertips, then weave the seals. “Kuchiyose no jutsu – Īri!”

In a burst of smoke, one of the two shisa appears in the aisle next to you, and looks around curiously. “You’ve summoned me to a fascinating place, honored Ryōko. I’d be interested to know why.”

“A barrier is causing a problem,” you begin. “I’d like to -”

Your attention is drawn abruptly to the railing nearby, where a cloaked figure whose face is hidden behind a mask appears.

“ANBU?” Kakashi-san wonders. “What are you doing here?”

The fact that several Otogakure shinobi join him gives you your first hint at the answer. His voice when he speaks up is the second – and final – hint.

“I’d really been hoping to hang back for a little while longer,” the voice muses as the man lowers his hood. “For as long as my cover held.”

“… you…” Kakashi-san growls as Yakushi Kabuto removes the mask.

“If that creature you summoned is what it appears to be,” he continues, dropping the ANBU mask at his feet, “then there’s at least a chance you could succeed in interrupting Orochimaru-sama’s plans. That’s something I can’t allow, Ryōko-san.”

“… -sama,” you muse. “I see.”

“So you had something to do with this production after all, Kabuto,” Kakashi-san declares, raising a kunai and pointing it at the newcomer. “I like you less the more you show your face.”

“Come now, Kakashi-san,” Kabuto-san sighs dramatically. “Can I at least get a -kun out of you anymore?”

>Īri-san, change of plans. First we force this bunch out of the stands.
>So, Kabuto-san… if I left the barrier alone, what would you do?
>No talk. Just exhale a bunch of kotarō in their direction.
>Other?

>>6468019
>Īri-san, change of plans. First we force this bunch out of the stands.
And then summon the other lion and get it to break the barrier, because they'll never expect two of them (cue star wars "This is getting out of hand! Now, there are two of them!")

>>6468019
>No talk. Just exhale a bunch of kotarō in their direction.

Kabuto isn't someone to take lightly.

>>6468021
Not a good idea, imo. It'll eat into our chakra reserves heavily, and Īri is the one that specializes in barrier jutsu. In turn Agari specializes in sealing jutsu. Moreover, there are several Oto-nin with Kabuto, so it isn't like he can't split his forces too. Assuming Īri's jutsu takes a while or requires one to be immobile for a little bit, he wouldn't be able to break the barrier while under harassment.

>>6468019
>No talk. Just exhale a bunch of kotarō in their direction.
Drugs for everyone!

>>6468019
>No talk. Just exhale a bunch of kotarō in their direction.

>>6468019
>No talk. Just exhale a bunch of kotarō in their direction.

Why use Kotarō instead of Mountain Habu poison as the payload here? We don't particularly care if they survive. In fact we'd probably prefer if they die in short order. and if we're going to be given a free shot.

>>6468051
For one thing, Ryoko is still in the stands surrounded by civilians.

>>6468054
Could we deploy it via bone bullets then?

>>6468054
Oh, that is gonna be funny. Didn't realize that makes it even better.

What are Ryoko's deadlier poisons even like? It's obvious how much she loves Kotaru but surely that isn't the only poison she has gathered and become able to synthesize? I imagine at the very least she has a KO and paralytics for medical purposes.

>>6468030
>>6468054
yeah I still think getting away from civvies is the thing to do
but appreciate that getting another summon isn't worth it if the one we have is the barrier buster.

>>6468019
>No talk. Just exhale a bunch of kotarō in their direction.

>Kabuto fight
Heh. To think it'd happen this early... normally he'd be fighting Shizune as Tsunade's apprentice, but now he's got Ryoko, which... might be worse for him.

>>6468019
>Īri-san, change of plans. First we force this bunch out of the stands.
Kotaro is technically non-lethal, but I still don't want to splash civvies or allies with the drug mix if we can help it.

>>6468106
Just going to point out that we should be readily capable of producing an antidote on demand. It was specifically mentioned that there is a generally available counteragent. Though to what degree Ryuko's further developmental efforts have changed its coverage I don't know

In thread #1 >>6376815

>“This is the lowland habu,” she explains, pointing out the greenish scales and the pattern of lightly yellow-colored diamonds along its back with little circles at the centers. “They grow to four or five feet, and they strike quickly with a long reach. They tend to like rocky areas and the transition between fields and forest.”

>You absorb this information, nodding along. “What would you have me to do with this information, Tsunade-san?”

>“Their poison is very potent,” Tsunade-san explains, “and causes a variety of nasty side effects, yet the fatality rate is less than one percent for envenomations – so not many shinobi use it as a poison in battle. An antidote is available to the general public, so with prompt medical treatment prognosis is usually good.”

___

Just to make clear that I'm not suggesting the indiscriminate deployment of a novel bioweapon on nominally "allied" civilians.

The reason it should be useful here is that the side effects should ramp far faster than kotarō has shown to, which should let us move on faster since it's not just a spar anymore.

>>6468226
>the side effects should ramp far faster than kotarō has shown to
The OTHER problem in addition to the setting is that snake venom isn't typically a toxungen - it doesn't typically transfer directly through tissue barriers and requires injection. Spitting cobras have actually evolved so that their cardiotoxins are unusually effective when a spray of venom hits the eyes, and even then inhalation typically triggers asthma-like symptoms instead, particularly in sensitive individuals.

tl;dr gas based on venom would need to be based on a different venom, and will require specific training.

>>6468019
>1d10 best of three

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>6468383

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>6468383

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>6468383

>>6468382
Ryoko CAN use other kinds of poison but she needs to wound the target first and somehow make them vulnerable to it. The easiest way for Ryoko to do so is via mini wind blades in an AoE with poison infused into either a fog or carried with the winds directly. All it takes is a single deadly scratch, which will be nigh impossible to avoid in an AoE format unless you're fully armoured like Gaara. If she is good enough, she can even minimise the wind blades enough that they can be breathed in, shredding the throat and lungs. Even if you hold our breath your still vulnerable unless you fully armour yourself from it. Even then, you still need to breathe eventually...

Other options include earth micro glass/crystals punched up into the air that will have the same effect.

The trickiest but still doable option would be water; you would need to somehow sharpen it enough to cause a scratch or condense it into the opponent's lungs. Ryoko does this indirectly with her fog already; it's how it spreads the poison, but it cannot wound directly yet. That can be accomplished by mixing in fire chakra, specifically using fire chakra to absorb and attract the heat from the area away from the water chakra. This will cause ice to form, which can be sharp enough to scratch and shred still.

The only thing that doesn't work with her poisons is fire chakra, as its heat will damage/destroy the poison compounds however, even it can be fused together with acids but Ryoko hasn't investigated acids yet. As acids are much more resistant to extreme heat.

However, Ryoko has fallen behind with her ninjutsu training; otherwise, it would be very plausible for her to accomplish even jury-rigging it midfight. There is also the chance for her to directly modify the poison compounds to change their means of transmission and effects. Right now, at best, her poison cocktails are just a mix of whatever poisons she has collected in differing ratios and yet to be directly modified.

Right now, what makes Ryoko's poison techniques so dangerous is her natural expertise in them, only beaten by Hanzo himself and how indiscriminately she can spam it out for super cheap. Both in crude AoE format(see her fog) and directly via her own attacks thanks to biological manipulation. There is a reason she adopted the usage of claws over fists. Much easier to poison, not to mention her bone bullets/arrows for precise ranged attacks instead of AoE. Ryoko can still advance quite a bit in her poison mastery, frighteningly enough but it depends on developing better poisons or means of transmission without meeting Hanzo. Right now, her nijutsu falling behind is screwing her over in that regard pretty badly.

That is also ignoring the 'medicines' she can directly produce via her glands. Not many, admittedly but it's not like she cannot share her antivenoms or the poisons she uses for medical purposes. You just have to be brave enough to accept a bone needle from Ryoko directly.

>>6468383
There are a few problems with using poison in the stands – the first is that were your poison lethal you would be killing numerous civilians and unconscious allied shinobi who have all fallen victim to a genjutsu and are currently defenseless. Even if your goal in doing so could somehow justify such measures, you feel certain it would leave a bad taste in your mouth.

The second is that poisons and venoms need to possess specific chemical or biological characteristics to affect a victim by contact or by inhalation rather than by injection into the bloodstream. While kotarō can absolutely be inhaled or injected with little difference in effectiveness, the two habu species you have experience with possess venom totally unsuited to absorption through contact. You’re not even sure it would cause more than moderate irritation to most grown adults if it got in their eyes or throat, like a smoke bomb or maybe at worst a chili-laced smoke bomb. The fact that it wouldn’t actually cause a proper envenomation made it worthless to even test that delivery method in any systematic way.

You make a mental note to shop around for a new basis for making such poison in the future, but that still leaves you with a pressing situation to address.

So you weave signs and exhale a cloud of kotarō, forcing the enemy shinobi in front of you to disperse. They do so swiftly enough that you doubt any of them were significantly exposed to your attack. At very least it got them out of the stands and into the open of the arena below, and forced them to separate somewhat in the scramble. That leaves you more options for how to proceed.

>Press the attack using a combination ninjutsu with Īri… you know the key concepts. Time to put that knowledge to productive use.
>They may have intended a temporary withdrawal, but you can use it as a chance to disengage and head for the Kages’ viewing stand.
>Close the distance and coordinate with Īri, start reducing drugging or killing enemies until you can make a more decisive move.
>Other?

>>6468856
>>They may have intended a temporary withdrawal, but you can use it as a chance to disengage and head for the Kages’ viewing stand.

Hopefully the biggest impact and potential canon derail. Hiruzen does not have our permission to die dammit.

>>6468856
>They may have intended a temporary withdrawal, but you can use it as a chance to disengage and head for the Kages’ viewing stand.

Give us our cousin snek boi!

The good thing is, regardless of what we do, we're no longer in the stands with the civilians. Still, eyes on the prize. Combo ninjutsu is based, but so far the strongest wind ninjutsu we've displayed is C rank, iirc. I don't think the combo would be that strong. We need to up our game to be able to match our summon's output, in all likelihood. I don't regret our training choices at all, but we're finally getting what I consider a missed opportunity for not training with crazy eyeball-plucker man.

>>6468856
>They may have intended a temporary withdrawal, but you can use it as a chance to disengage and head for the Kages’ viewing stand.

>>6468856
>They may have intended a temporary withdrawal, but you can use it as a chance to disengage and head for the Kages’ viewing stand.
We need to get eyes on the barrier.

>>6468856
>They may have intended a temporary withdrawal, but you can use it as a chance to disengage and head for the Kages’ viewing stand.
It's ballsy, admittedly. If we don't capitalize on this, we could get pincered by enemies and separated from our allies. But if it works out, we could be halfway to the Kage Box before they even look at us.

>>6468856
>They may have intended a temporary withdrawal, but you can use it as a chance to disengage and head for the Kages’ viewing stand.

>>6468856
>They may have intended a temporary withdrawal, but you can use it as a chance to disengage and head for the Kages’ viewing stand.

>>6468856
We back
>1d10 best of three

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>6469241

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>6469241

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>6469241

>>6468856
You have to figure that after approaching you and throwing off his disguise, Kabuto-san’s expectation is that you should be chasing him down. But really… why in the world would you do that when your objective is to get to where the Hokage is fighting? So instead of going after the Otogakure shinobi, you take off towards the rooftop and the barrier with a swift shunshin.

Īri follows shortly behind even as you notice your would-be pursuers, who break off after the shisa grabs hold of one of their arms at the shoulder and rips it off in a spray of crimson and a scream.

…

When you arrive at the barrier, the team of Konoha ANBU already waiting on the wrong side bristle at first. They don’t lower their guard at all even after you make it a point to show them your empty hands.

“Yugakure would side with Konoha against Otogakure,” you insist, trying as best you can to address the root of their concerns.

“And your thoughts towards Sunagakure right now?” one of the ANBU, who wears a lighter-colored cloak, demands warily.

“Neutral,” you reply. “Though, I know that it’s Orochimaru in there, not the Kazekage.”

There’s a moment of disbelief, audible in the man’s voice if not visible on his masked face. “How?”

“Kabuto-san mentioned it,” you explain. “So I could reasonably assume.”

“This barrier’s design seems pretty recent,” Īri muses aloud, already examining the barrier up-close.

“Careful!” one of the ANBU insists. “The barrier will…”

“Burn you if you touch it?” Īri scoffs before putting his nose right up against the translucent plane of purple light. “Please. It would take far more than this to burn one like me.”

He examines the barrier for a few moments before rendering his verdict.

“This will be tough, if possible at all, to breach with your current skill,” he summarizes, leading you to one corner where a girl seemingly not too much older than yourself is maintaining part of the technique. “If there's a chance, it'll be by focusing here.”

“Why here?”

“This is a collaborative technique,” Īri explains, “and this one's the weak link.”

“Hey!” the girl growls from inside the barrier. “The fuck did you just say to me, weirdo?”

You ignore the provocation. “I assume you have a reason to say that?”
>1/2

>>6469651
“Of the four I sense two are better at ninjutsu,” Īri explains patiently. “Of the other two, this one’s better with control that endurance.”

Inside the barrier, you can see that the Hokage is actually fighting two men in armor… two men whose faces are familiar. You’ve seen them before, carved into stone. But surely that’s not possible.

“Meaning if we find a way to push here we can overwhelm her,” you realize.

“Just what I was thinking, yes.”

You look over the little corner of the barrier that this particular caster has created for herself – two sides on the exterior reaching to the rooftop, and probably set up in such a way as the seal breaches from below. Otherwise, the ANBU standing around here would have probably done that already. She’s even covered herself from behind as well, adding a third plane to enclose herself entirely within the barrier itself.

“She still has to breathe in there,” you observe aloud, preparing to try to exhale through the barrier.

Īri seems dubious. “I doubt that’ll work, but it’d be amusing if it did. So I think it’s worth a try.”

“Hey, wait, you’re gonna try poisoning me you little bitch!?” the kunoichi shouts.

“More like drugging,” you admit.

“Might sound fun any other time, but could you not?”

You intently blow kotarō towards the barrier, where your breath sizzles against the purple glow – a noise like water droplets on a hot pan, and a shimmer like a cut gem throwing light back at you from within. After a few moments with no obvious effect, the kunoichi on the other side of the barrier breathes a sigh of relief.

“It’s reacting to your poison,” Īri observes.

“Then I guess we’ll need to work together,” you muse, leading the way back to where the ANBU are maintaining a position.

You address them directly. “My summons and I can try to find a way to disable the barrier.”

“No!” you hear a voice from the other side of the barrier insist loudly – loud enough that the other three combatants even pause for a moment.

“Lord Third?” the ANBU captain responds, clearly confused at the stubborn refusal.

Even Orochimaro – for Orochimaru it is in that barrier with the Hokage – seems puzzled. “Surely you don’t think you can win by yourself, old man? Not in your present state?”

“I’ve said it many times, Orochimaru,” the Hokage insists, clearly worn from the battle so far. “There are many important things you fail to grasp.”
>2/3

>>6469967
“Orochimaru seeks to further defile my predecessors by using them against our village, against our people,” the Hokage declares. “This I cannot allow, Kaguya Ryōko, even though it means remaining in this trap willingly. Do you understand?”

… he wants you to not even try. The barrier isn’t just trapping him here, it’s keeping a terrible threat to the village he’s sworn to protect trapped with him. For him dying here wouldn’t be the same as ‘losing’, so long as it ensures that Konohagakure itself will endure. And given what he is facing, and the way he's working to catch his breath, it seems that's likely what it will take.

Orochimaru spares you a glance, after recognizing that even his current opponent is speaking to you instead of focusing solely on him. Both men are clearly waiting for your response.

>“I choose to try anyway.”
>“Good luck, Lord Third Hokage.”
>“Die well, Lord Third Hokage.”
>Do not comment.
>Other?

>>6470715
oh wow this is a really tough decision if nobody else can come up with anything clever...lets see. Letting them continue will piss off everyone else who isn't Orochimaru or the Hokage for letting the old man die like he wants in battle. While Ryoko certainly doesn't like the old guy, he is still her master's master...but Ryoko, of all people, would respect his desire to die fighting rather than continue to wither away.

Ryoko is gonna catch so much flak after this since she revealed she could have broken the barrier but didn't. It would give both of them what they want but oh boy is the leaves gonna be pissed at Ryoko for what she is gonna let happen.

Although the Anbu captain is gonna be in the same shitty spot since the Hokage also ordered him to stand down. Gonna suck to be him when he gets torn a new one by his village after this...

>>6470715
>Other?
"A death chosen is a good one, but a personal feud between master and disciple should have remained private, not forced to become public. A private meeting or duel could easily have been arranged given your history. Instead of allowing for such a public embarrassment and creating an opportunity for others to exploit...so may I suggest that you both not continue to humiliate yourselves so publicly? After all, you were so rude to interrupt the championship match featuring yours truly? Surely moving your battle to somewhere more...discreet would satisfy you both? Over tea, perhaps? Consider it a favor, as it is also most embarrassing for me given our history and my inaction."

Bow to them both after making her plea.

Orochimaru is smart and will suspect being played...while the Hokage wants to minimize the damage. Both want to settle their personal feud which was mainly ideological and largely instigated by Danzo given what Orochimaru was doing was exactly what everyone else was doing too, and it only became a problem after his disbelief in the Will of Fire became publicized. Not mention Danzo never stopped his research in ROOT.... Both know what their connection to Ryoko is and why she would want this feud to not be in public given their mutual connections. Staying out of it entirely would be most problematic for her given those understandable circumstances. Both of them want Ryoko...which becomes much easier with her goodwill.

I doubt it will prevent the duel to the death but moving to another private spot will give them time to think and notice other issues at play.