Shozuku, now ill, lays in bed and ponders his past.

---

Dazed and confused, you lay on still on the concrete floor. Your entire body is stiffened from laying in this position for several hours, completely unconscious from overexertion. Draining yourself of all your chakra is never a pleasant affair, much less so in the middle of combat training. Slowly, your eyes crack open. As usual, the only thing illuminating the room is the faint light of an oil lantern hanging on the wall. The room is featureless aside from a series of weapons hung on the wall, a full bookshelf, and a cot. The black iron door at the center of the wall in front of you is, as ever, locked tight.

They threw you back into your room after passing out. It must have been a pretty hearty through, because when you try to pick your head off the ground, the blood stuck to the floor causes you to pause. Placing your palms flat against the concrete, you push yourself off. The throbbing in your mind is explosive, instantly alerting you to the massive swelling on your forehead, even without a mirror to see.

Touching it gently, you quickly withdraw. You lay against one of the concrete walls, and in your daze, stare off at the black iron door.

Ever since you ran away from the village for killing your foster parents, you've lived in a large number of differing rooms. For the past six years your status has fluctuated in this particular assassin community, a grouping of rogue ninja who undertake dirty contracts for money. You've been informed about how the Daimyo have no shortage of issues that the hidden villages would have numerous moral objections to, not even considering the nature of the most recent generation of Kage. Cowards is the word you keep hearing the most. Idealists who refuse to get their hands dirty, for fear of damaging their own personal pride.

You've read many books on the subject out of boredom, but truthfully, you have no strong feelings about it one way or the other. It doesn't matter to you what world leaders do, or what the motivations of assassins are. Their attempts at brainwashing you were fairly effective when you were younger, using your damaged mind against you to turn you into an asset. They thought you a disappointment when they ransacked your mind. They had heard about the history of your clan, but mistakenly believed them to be in possession of powerful kekkei genkai. Truthfully, your family had been similar to one of the three great families of the leaf. Abilities born out of tradition and passing down knowledge, as opposed to hereditary power. What you had been told was that you would learn from your family's scrolls when you came of age. That day never came, of course.

>>1293889
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLoytewvn0g

Six years. It's been six years since they decided to raise you as one of their own. It wasn't uncommon for them to take the children of certain targets, when permitted. A number of the most prominent assassins had been there since birth. They'd all gone through the same rigorous doctrine that you had, and easily integrated. For whatever reason, you refused. Rebelled. While others had dormitories full of modern comforts and dressings, you denied these things. A combination of defiance and self-loathing caused you to repeatedly defy their training. You took from them what you could learn, but absorbed nothing of what they taught. If there was one human aspect of you that still existed, it was the desire to become a great shinobi. Though, at this point in your life, you could never be a real shinobi. You've already killed numerous people, prompted by a combination of fear of punishment, and the desire to take your frustrations out on something, anything, anyone, for any reason.

Slowly, you try to stand up. Your legs are a bit wobbly but before you fall you make it to your cot. At least partially. You use your upper body to pull yourself up, and groan. Everything is stiff. Everything hurts. You're hungry and cold. It's not the worst situation you've ever been in, but you're really annoyed. You might not comply when it comes to any of their dogma, but you always give it your all when you're fighting. Can't they at least set you on the cot? If you're so disposable as to risk a brain injury, you wonder why they don't just kill you now. Sadists, you remind yourself.

Staring at the wall full of weapons, you ponder suicide yet again. There have been times of great remorse and frustration when you nearly opted to nick an artery. Each time you held the tip of a blade to your leg or neck, your quickening heartbeat became too loud to bear. It always pushed away your hand, demanding you try for another day.

Head turning back to stare at the blank ceiling, you sigh. Your instincts refuse you death.

All you can do is wait. You have no idea what time it is, so all you do until they call you again is rest. Closing your eyes, you let your mind drift off. You recount the grudges you hold, going through each time some slight against you was developed. Generally, it was from the other members, or prisoners, as you like to say. Their methods of brainwashing primarily involve pitting the youth against one another. The least competent are broken and disposed of, while the strong are lavished with material goods and comfort. You deny them, even then. Your natural skill grants you survival.

>>1293893
Eventually, you fall asleep. It's only a short amount of time when the black iron door creaks open, however.

"Get up! We're going out again today, we've got a- PFFFhahaha! Look at his head! He's got a grapefruit on his face!"

You sit up, staring at them blank faced. This only further prompts them to laugh from the undeniably ridiculous bump on your head. It's swollen even further.

The skinny, bald assassin points. "Looks like you're trying to grow a horn, like a demon! What'd you do, bang your head on the wall thinkin' it might look cool?"

You feel embers stir in your chest. It's the only real feeling you have anymore. The guilt and remorse you once felt that had been turned against you for the purpose of subjugation, eventually became stagnate and meaningless. "Whoever threw me in here last night hit my head on the floor."

Nodding over, you look at the small bloodstain. The stout, strong assassin with a number of katana on his back grunts. He's got a thick beard, as well. "You shouldn't be passing out during practice. You keep it up, you're gonna end up like the rest. Wouldn't that be fitting. All your useless grumbling, ending with a final whimper."

You just stare up at them hatefully, refusing to speak. You know that if you speak out of turn, they'll strike you relentlessly. Apparently your glare is enough for the skinny one, though.

A backhand strikes you across the head, targeting the huge bump and slight cut on your head. The ring he's wearing scratches over the tender spot, and you grit your teeth, inhaling sharply.

Blood trickles down into your eye. You clench your teeth so hard, they might crack.

Slowly, you turn back to them, and they're both laughing. You can hardly hear it among the ringing in your ears. A sharp buzzing noise, absorbing all other sounds. You fade away beyond a human realm, your anger possessing you as it often does. The embers that had stirred am moment ago are gone, replaced by the sharp cold hatred you feel life itself in moments like these. You could do anything to anyone, when your mind is set like this. You have been broken, but not completely. Only bent.

>>1293899
ou stand up. "Grab a tanto. Hide it in the back of your pants. There's some farmers who've been skipping out on taxes fairly often, and the daimyo wants us to send a message. We're gonna have you act like a lost kid, and stab them whenever you get close. We'll be your backup. Don't fuck this up, got it?"

Wordlessly, you take a tanto off the wall and do as instructed. You're wearing a baggy cloth shirt, and brown cotton shorts. They're tied to you by a frayed rope. You already look the part of a lost, scared, and hurt child.

Escorted by the two, you exit the underground compound that's hidden in the Fire Country. The sun is high in the sky, meaning it's about noon. It's rare you ever see the outside, apart from 'training' like this. The light is oppressive as ever, and you shield your eyes from the harsh light that you're so unaccustomed to.

The skinny one looks at a map. "Seems we'll be walking about ten miles to the northwest, till we hit the road. Then it's just a mile or two north and we're at the farm. It should be gettin' to be early in the evening, by then. Let's a get a move on!"

With every step on the journey, you do your best to contain yourself. As your tenth birthday recently struck, you've truthfully been having great difficulty in stopping yourself from lashing out. It's only the fear of death that stops you. However, you're becoming numb to even that sensation.

The gruff assassin walks behind you, with the skinny one leading the hike. You're going uphill, weaving through the humongous trees.

Your memories hammer away at your mind.

You can't do this forever. Either they're going to totally strip away your human element with time, or you're going to break and commit suicide.

A few miles into the trek, you initiate your plan. "I have to use the bathroom."

The gruff one nods. "Alright, fine. Go behind that tree there. Don't make any funny moves, you little psycho."

You go over behind the tree. It's wide enough to cover several men's wingspans, as is the usual in the Land of Fire.

>>1293902
You kneel down, and preform the Fire Clone Jutsu. Your only saving grace as a shinobi is your skill with fire jutsu, and a limited ability to utilize water jutsu. That and your swordsmanship. Without these assets, you'd have likely been killed off long ago. It's unusual for someone your age to use fire jutsu at all, let alone two elements.

The clone walks back out, while you remain behind the tree. It doesn't speak, only continuing the journey with the men. Like a tiger, you slink through tall grass as quietly as you can and stalk your new prey. You've been taught much the ways of stealth and espionage. Dismantling political figures, corporations, gangs, ideals. Souls. It's time for the final test, the last exam.

The more experienced shinobi in front of you turn around after several hundred feet. The gruff one stops and stares in your direction. He whispers. "We're being followed...stay here."

The moment he starts to turn away, your fire clone takes several steps back to get closer to the skinny man. The bald ninja puts his hands on him to push him away. "Haven't you heard a' personal space you little-"

The next words never come out. The fire clone's explosion is small, but with this immediate proximity, the man's entire right half is lit on fire. He falls to the ground, screaming, unable to communicate to his partner what's happening.

The gruff man, wielding two katana in hand with more on his back, spins around. You pop out of the grass, and draw the tanto off your back. You've always been fairly accurate. Lining up the shot, you throw it with all of your might. The blade sings through the air, and he catches the sound of the whistle just in time.

The man turns to dodge, but it's only barely enough. The tanto sinks into his shoulder, just barely avoiding any major organs. You were aiming for the heart, but he shifted. Regardless, his arm goes limp and drops a sword.

You rush forward, not wanting to waste any time. The other man is still smoldering on the ground. With each step, your adrenaline sharpens. Your entire life has lead to this moment. Just a few more steps, just one more strike, and freedom will be yours!

>>1293907
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnrGMHhnqrw

You never could have anticipated the full speed of the gruff rogue ninja, however. He uses the Shunshin technique, and dashes directly forward to stab through your heart with a sword. He is also a trained assassin, of the highest caliber.

The hilt is driven right up to your chest, and he lets go of the sword. You're flung back, and a terrible ripping sensation flows through your body as the blade is pushed out when you land on your back.

He rushes forward, and pulls another katana off of his back with his good arm. He thrusts it down into your chest, and stabs numerous times. You've been stabbed before, but this time, the pain is totally different. The hot liquid spreading over your chest, your own blood, somehow feels unreal. Comforting, even. You cough, and spurt blood up. He's also crushed several ribs from his frantic stabbing. "You little bastard!! My fucking arm!!"

The man leaves the two swords in your chest, and yanks the tanto out of his back. He tosses it on the ground, and pants. "Goddamnit. Fuck! I can't believe this shit!! We shoulda killed you when we found you, you were always fucking useless! Now you mighta cost me an arm!"

This is it. Your last words. Your last chance to express how you feel to the word. Sputtering blood, you choke them out. "Fuck you."

You grin. You might not live, but you did what you wanted to. You got one over on the people stronger than you.

Good enough.

The man limps away from you, leaving his swords to check on his ally. Something strange is happening, though.

Your arm twitches. Slowly, you reach up, and you pull one sword out of your heart. Then another.

>>1293911
The blood pulses out of you with each heartbeat. You don't know why, but you're not dead. You're not dying, even. The only thing you feel is a burning hole in your chest, and the blood quickly escaping. If you're going to act, you've only got a moment.

Taking a katana, you run forward. The assassin turns to look at you, wide eyed. Sure enough, there is blood flowing freely from your torn heart, and maybe now the bump on your head does look a little bit demonic. Coated in red, you rush down the wounded man. His brief confusion gives you enough time to lurch forward with all the strength you have left, and toss the katana directly at him.

This time, it stabs through his throat. He falls over to the ground, on his side. He stares at you, eyes bulging from his head. He mouths the words he's unable to speak. How? How? How? How? How is he alive?

You march forward several steps, before the last of your strength is still drained away.

You fall to your knees, grinning. Even now, your heart is still beating. You fall face forward, expecting to die in a few moments.

It never comes, though. Despite almost all of your blood leaking out, your heart is still beating. You crawl forward into the high grass, unbelievable pain soaking your entire body. It's like a fire from hell coating you, and quietly, you wonder why you've yet to die.

All you can do is get away from here, and try to recover. After about an hour of crawling you get a decent distance away and crawl under the root of a tree. Here, with the bugs and dirt, you curl into a ball. Moments later you pass out, kept conscious more by your force of will than anything. So dry. Your lips are so dry. Your throat hurts. Everything hurts.

There is little to no blood left in your body.

But still your heart is beating.
-------

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. The last thread's last vote was a tie, but since it's been a while I'll start the post fresh with all options included.
---

On your way to the hospital, you talk with Ai a little more. "You know, you almost got me with that transformation strategy. What did you turn into, anyways?"

She grins. "A squirrel. I crawled up a tree, and waited to see which clone did a handsign to figure out which one was the real you. I'm kinda used to the way you fight, now."

You rub the back of your head, laughing. "Yeah, that makes sense. Do you think I'm getting a little too predictable?"

She nods. "You should be a little more offensive, instead of waiting until you're in danger to pull out all the stops. The older we get, the more we'll run into opponents who are used to tricks like that."

You sigh. "Fair point. It hurts me pretty bad when I lose my element of surprise. Hell, seems like Shozuku's figured out a lot of my tricks at this point, too. Oh, uh, there was something I wanted to mention. I figure you get kinda lonely in that big house sometimes, so we should all hang out as a group sometime, yeah? It's something we've never really done before!"

She looks up at you. "You've been trying to get us to do that since I met you."

You smile. "It'd be fun!"

She smiles back. "Yeah."

The two of you reach the hospital, and get healed head to toe. There's a funny looking scar on your hand now, but no real issues in terms of pain.

You're released the next morning.

It's time to get back into some training. The last few days have been full of heavy thinking, but now you'll be able to clear it out with some good old fashioned training! You need to get better if you want to face Shozuku head on. If you can beat him, you'd be able to beat any other Jashinist, right?

You think for a moment on what to do.

>A. Go to the training field and practice your Acid Neutralization Jutsu
>B. Go see if your bro is home, and if he wants to teach you some Water Jutsu and Taijutsu
>C. Try to find Kichiro and find out if he can teach you some Fire Jutsu and Taijutsu
>D. Travel to visit the Owls for some more advanced Genjutsu

>>1293919
>>B. Go see if your bro is home, and if he wants to teach you some Water Jutsu and Taijutsu

>>1293919
>>B. Go see if your bro is home, and if he wants to teach you some Water Jutsu and Taijutsu

>>1293919
>>C. Try to find Kichiro and find out if he can teach you some Fire Jutsu and Taijutsu

>>1293919
>A. Go to the training field and practice your Acid Neutralization Jutsu
Can we also use it to get squeaky clean?

>>1293919
>A. Go to the training field and practice your Acid Neutralization Jutsu
Literally our only way to truly counter shozuku

>>1293922
>>1293931
>>1293952
>>1293962
Tied between B and A.

Ten minute revote.

>A. Acid Neutralization
>B. Train with your brother.

Note that picking one option doesn't mean the other is closed out, guys. You'll still have time to do other shit.

>>1293973
>A. Acid Neutralization

>>1293973
>>A. Acid Neutralization

>>1293973
>>B. Train with your brother.

>>1293973
>B. Train with your brother.

>>1293973
>A. Acid Neutralization

>>1293973
>A.

Fuck acidic-heartless-won't die-druggie-sadist-nigga

>>1293973
A

>>1293973
>A. Acid Neutralization

File: download (1).jpg (8 KB, 259x194)

8 KB JPG

>>1294015
ACID USIN'

>>1293979
>>1293980
>>1294009
>>1294015
Early in the morning, you make your way to the training grounds. As expected at this ungodly hour, it's more or less barren. The skin-tight suit you're wearing under your clothes keeps you warm, despite wearing only a t-shirt and a light jacket. You're starting to think that the stretchy fabric reacts to whatever the temperature is. When you're warm, your skin is easily able to breath. When it's cold, the heat is held in.

Looking around the empty training field, you recount various memories of fighting people you know here. Much of your youth in general, really. The very first time that you'd battled Hanto with your squad, as well. When you were younger, you remember dreaming of making your own jutsu. Being the type of ninja that everyone looked to for wisdom, and having a vast breadth of skills and knowledge. You're not quite there, yet. There's still a huge number of people you know who could out preform you in many ways, even if you might underhandedly win the fight. While for now winning is all that matters, one day, you'd like to beat them the honest way if you can. Not necessarily because you feel bad about fighting dishonorably, as that is the way of shinobi, but rather, as an expression of power. Speaking to the world.

You do the handsign for the hidden mist jutsu, and then add the fire seal that you've been practicing.

This time, you try to narrow down the area of effect. It's been steadily increasing ever since you developed the technique yesterday, but the cost is always far more than you'd like.

The air in front of you shifts into an orb of off-white mist, the same soapy material. This time the orb of influence is about the size of a soccer ball. Normally, this would be rather unremarkable, but it's not the size of the technique that makes you excited. It's the reduced cost.

Comparatively, you could use this technique a large number of times. The soccer sized orb of mist floats away in a gentle breeze. You'll have to remember that your technique could easily be fanned away, as well. It's not without it's limitations, it seems.

Next, you decide to put your full strength into it. This time, the white mist surrounding you coats a much larger area. It's about double your wingspan for full chakra cost. You estimate that you could do it three, maybe four more times like this. You step back out of the mist, trying to avoid moving through it too much. While the soapy substance is more or less harmless, it's probably still not good to breathe in.

You practice constructing fields of Acid Neutralization for an hour or two, before your chakra is more or less spent. You don't want to stop training for the day, but you need to rest for a little bit.

>>1294090


>A. Go visit Naruto, and ask him if you can see Otozawa to find out how his interrogations went.
>B. Go get something to eat at Ichiraku's
>C. See if you can find Shizune, and ask her about possibly having a lesson on medical jutsu in the near future.

File: 5459259-scotsman_2.png (221 KB, 720x540)

221 KB PNG

>>1294083
DADDY KILLIN'

>>1294096
>C. See if you can find Shizune, and ask her about possibly having a lesson on medical jutsu in the near future.

Gotta keep grinding these skills out, then

>B. Go get something to eat at Ichiraku's

>>1294096
>>B. Go get something to eat at Ichiraku's

>>1294096
>C. See if you can find Shizune, and ask her about possibly having a lesson on medical jutsu in the near future.
Finally some quality medical training. Not that Sakura isn't quality, but Shizune is Shizune

>>1294096
>C. See if you can find Shizune, and ask her about possibly having a lesson on medical jutsu in the near future.
then
>B. Go get something to eat at Ichiraku's

>>1294096
>A. Go visit Naruto, and ask him if you can see Otozawa to find out how his interrogations went.
and then
>B. Go get something to eat at Ichiraku's
With him

>>1294096
>C. See if you can find Shizune, and ask her about possibly having a lesson on medical jutsu in the near future.

>>1294096
>C. See if you can find Shizune, and ask her about possibly having a lesson on medical jutsu in the near future.
Afterwards
>B. Go get something to eat at Ichiraku's

>>1294096
>>C. See if you can find Shizune, and ask her about possibly having a lesson on medical jutsu in the near future.

File: scotsman.gif (673 KB, 500x375)

673 KB GIF

>>1294098
MILQUETOAST LOOKIN'

>>1294096
>C. See if you can find Shizune, and ask her about possibly having a lesson on medical jutsu in the near future.
Finally Shizune time.

>>1294098
>>1294083
Stop, I'm reading it in his voice.

>>1294142
FRIEND EXPLODIN'

>>1293919
>She smiles back.


MUST PROTECT

>>1294165
>>She smiles back.
>MUST PROTECT
Looks like Ai's flying a flag now. A death flag.

>>1294096
>C. See if you can find Shizune, and ask her about possibly having a lesson on medical jutsu in the near future.

You decide to try and track down Shizune, as per a fellow shinobi's advice. She's always seemed to fade into the background a bit, but as far as you know she's loyally served Konoha as a medical ninja for longer than you've been alive. She's undoubtedly got a lot of experience to share with you, if you can somehow get her to find the time to help you out.

Knowing that she's the Hokage's head assistant, you head to the secretary at the front of Naruto's office. She looks up and grins at you. "Hey there. He's kind of busy right now, unfortunately. You want me to leave a message for him, maybe?"

"No, but thank you though. I was actually hoping I could speak to Shizune, the Head Assistant."

She blinks. "Oh, uh, sure I guess. Heh, usually people here to see her are like, other officials. Might I ask why? Just uh, curious."

You nod. "I was hoping to ask her for some medical training, since she was trained by the Fifth."

The secretary taps her pen on the desk. "Huh, alright then. I'll let her know you're on the way. She's down the hall and to the right, four doors down."

A short trip later, and you knock on the door. "Come in." you hear, presumably Shizune, say.

She looks up from her desk as you step inside, blinking in surprise. She's got medium length, dark hair, and a soft, average face. She's quite pretty, aside from a set of fairly tired eyes. You can imagine that she's often stuck in this office, working. You step inside and look briefly around. "I was hoping to...to.."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nb_5QZYw1A

Your brain drifts off completely, several circuits misfiring. There is a colossal pig in the corner of the room, simply resting. It's shoulders come up to your chest, despite it sitting down. In fact, you're not sure how it stands with the stubby legs it has for it's size. Not to mention getting out of the room. The office is a bit tiny, and filled with various stacks of papers all over. An air-conditioning in the window blows at the max setting.

"That's a big pig."

She sets her pen down, and folds her hands. "Ton-Ton's pretty darn old. He doesn't do much these days. You can pet him, if you like. But uhm, might I ask who you are?"

You step over and pet the huge squishy pig. It looks up at you with two beady eyes under a thick brow, and oinks happily. A tiny spiral tail on the end of it wiggles quickly. "My name is Takeshi. I'm a Chunin, have been for some months now."

Shizune leans back in her seat. "Ohhh, right of course. I remember you from those Chunin Exams. Incredible stuff! You really showed Boruto who's boss, hehehe. He's kind of a punk sometimes, but that sure helped sober him up. Great use of senbon, by the way."

You chuckle. "They've got a ton of uses, don't they? I just bought this thing, recently."

>>1294296

Rolling up your sleeve, you show her the senbon launcher strapped to your forearm. At once, Shizune's eyes go a bit wide. "Hm! I didn't know they still sold those. I used to use them myself, when I was still actively participating in combat. These days I'm mostly in charge of dealing with all the heavy paperwork that's too much for Naruto."

"Hmm." you say. "You wouldn't be too busy to teach me then, maybe?"

She spits out a bit of coffee she was taking a drink from, and coughs harshly. "H-hey! Are you alright?"

She nods, fanning herself off. "Yeah, fine, fine. Are you sure you don't have me confused with someone else? You're not looking for Sakura, or Kakashi or someone? Maybe Rock Lee?"

You shake your head. "No, I'm looking for Shizune. Apprentice of the fifth, medical ninja. I figured you'd be a good teacher for me. Of course, if you don't have the time, I-.."

She holds out a hand. "N-No! That's not what I meant at all. It's just that..."

She sniffles, and hangs her head down. "No one's ever asked me this before. Yes..!"

You blink. "Huh..Is that a yes?"

She quickly nods. "Yeah, yeah! It'll be great! Here, let's set an appointment! Or, uh, a training session. Whatever they call it, yeah?"

"How does tomorrow afternoon sound?" you say, a little dumbfounded. This wasn't quite the reaction you were expecting.

She writes it down in a little notepad. "Perfect! Naruto can just make a team of clones to do the work I do for a little bit, he'll be fiiine. I never get to do stuff like this!"

"Right, well, thanks."

She stands up. "No problem Takeshi! Your training starts tomorrow! I won't be going easy on you, I'll have you know!"

You smile. "Great! I'm all about training, I'm sure it'll be fun."

As you're leaving, you think you see her pump her fist once to herself really quick. This must be some sort of hallmark. Huh.

That didn't take very long, so you're still a little tired. What would you like to do?

>A. Go speak to Naruto about Otozawa
>B. Go get something to eat
>C. Head over to the Academy and study for a bit

>>1294299
>>A. Go speak to Naruto about Otozawa
then
>B. Go get something to eat

>>1294299
>A. Go speak to Naruto about Otozawa
then
>B. Go get something to eat

>>1294299
>A. Go speak to Naruto about Otozawa

>>1294299
>B. Go get something to eat

Well, that was the best possible reaction. Poor Shizune.

>>1294303
>>1294308
Something at the ramen shop is it's own separate event, can't bring anyone with you this time. You could still head right over there if you like, just noting that you won't be able to bring naruto again this time.

>>1294315
that's fine.just dont wanna go to bed hungry.

>>1294299
>A. Go speak to Naruto about Otozawa
>B. Go get something to eat

Shizune a-fucking-best

>B. Go get something to eat

>>1294299
>A. Go speak to Naruto about Otozawa
>B. Go get something to eat

File: kawaiiDesuSenpai.gif (1.51 MB, 237x337)

1.51 MB GIF

>>1294299
>B. Go get something to eat

That was cute

>>1294299
>B. Go get something to eat
Is it too late to waifu Shizune?

>>1294299

"Hmm." you say. "You wouldn't be too busy to teach me then, maybe?"

She spits out a bit of coffee she was taking a drink from, and coughs harshly. "H-hey! Are you alright?"

She nods, fanning herself off. "Yeah, fine, fine. Are you sure you don't have me confused with someone else? You're not looking for Sakura, or Kakashi or someone? Maybe Rock Lee?"

You shake your head. "No, I'm looking for Shizune. Apprentice of the fifth, medical ninja. I figured you'd be a good teacher for me. Of course, if you don't have the time, I-.."

She holds out a hand. "N-No! That's not what I meant at all. It's just that..."

She sniffles, and hangs her head down. "No one's ever asked me this before. Yes..!"

You blink. "Huh..Is that a yes?"

She quickly nods. "Yeah, yeah! It'll be great! Here, let's set an appointment! Or, uh, a training session. Whatever they call it, yeah?"

"How does tomorrow afternoon sound?" you say, a little dumbfounded. This wasn't quite the reaction you were expecting.

She writes it down in a little notepad. "Perfect! Naruto can just make a team of clones to do the work I do for a little bit, he'll be fiiine. I never get to do stuff like this!"

This is so adorable. Shizune's been stuck in the hell of neglected anime characters so now she get's to cling gloriously to one last hurrah. I actually think her expertise in poisons will mesh really well with takeshi, i want to craft a signature poison before the end of this quest, hopefully by the end of the timeskip, a hard to remove, slow paralyzing and extreme exhaustion inducing kind would be nice, not deadly, but extremely disabling.

>>1294303
>>1294308
>>1294309
>>1294325
>>1294354
You ask the secretary at the front desk if Naruto is free, now. She takes a look at a small schedule on her desk, and hums. "Yeah, he should be fine. I imagine even if he's busy, he won't mind stopping for a minute just to talk. How'd it go with Shizune, by the way?"

"Oh, we'll be training tomorrow. She seemed pretty excited about it."

The secretary smiles warmly. "That's great, hehe. I think Shizune has secretly always wanted a real apprentice to herself, but she's generally way too busy because of work. No time to have a Genin Squad of her own. With all the trouble recently, I bet this exactly what she needed to help get her spirits up."

You put your hands behind your head. "Huh, well that's good. At least we're both getting something out of it. I'd hate to be taking up her time and distracting her from work, but everyone needs to relax every now and then. Thanks, by the way."

She waves you off, and you head into Naruto's office.

"Lord Hokage? Could I interrupt you for a moment."

Naruto seems to be asleep on his desk, using a head-high stack of paperwork as a makeshift pillow. You step over and poke him.

He doesn't budge. You have to shake him a few more times before he groans. "Uuggghh.."

He blinks at you, slowly opening his eyes. He doesn't lift his head up. "Oh, hey Takeshi. I'm tired."

"Sure looks like it." you say. "I was hoping to borrow a minute of your time, if you're not uh, too busy."

He shrugs. "Well, I was having a very important dream, one where all this work didn't exist. But I suppose it can wait. What's up?"

"I wanted to ask how Otozawa's interrogation went."

Naruto finally sits up, deciding to be a little more serious. "Right, of course. Everything went smoothly. He didn't bother to resist, probably knowing that it wouldn't be difficult for our experts to push through. Overall, from what we can see, he was an only child who lived with his mother. His father seemed to be a mid-ranked shinobi from the Stone, while his mother worked at a clothing shop. It seems that she begged him not to be a ninja, but he went against her will and trained as a very young boy. He got into so many fights, that the village realized that they had to begin to teach him or else he'd completely lack any sort of discipline or control. The rest of his formative years were fairly normal, until his entire squad died in a mission against a series of powerful rogue ninja. Using the Earth Spear technique, a highly advanced Ninjutsu, he managed to survive a terrible blast of fire."

You hang your head low. It's a sad story, but it still doesn't excuse his horrid behavior. He surely killed a lot of people from your village. "So why did he join the Jashinists?"

>>1294447

Naruto sighs, and reads through the file a little more. "Seems he lost faith in his government. He was just fourteen at the time, and he already had a bit of an explosive anger problem. From what we can tell, he honestly just wanted to be immortal, and fight strong people. When we asked him about it afterwards, the only thing he said to us was that 'you couldn't protect anything without being strong.'"

Naruto sets the file down. "I've heard that one before. I'd be pretty hypocritical for me to lock him up, now that I understand his reasoning. He's in a temporary holding cell right now, and we'll be putting him on a trial. We've managed to account for every murder he personally committed. It's nothing short of gross brutality, but that's the life of a shinobi no matter what side you're on. It's unfortunate. What do you think, Takeshi?"

>A. How damaged can someone get before they're too far gone? It just seems dangerous, to me.
>B. If he's willing to totally reform, we should at the very least give him a chance.
>C. I think we should give him to the Stone, and let them handle him. He's their rogue ninja, after all
>D. Write-in

>>1294451
>C. I think we should give him to the Stone, and let them handle him. He's their rogue ninja, after all

>>1294451
>>C. I think we should give him to the Stone, and let them handle him. He's their rogue ninja, after all

>>1294451
>C. I think we should give him to the Stone, and let them handle him. He's their rogue ninja, after all

But if we were forced to make the choice ourselves

>B. If he's willing to totally reform, we should at the very least give him a chance.

File: Spoiler Image (1.55 MB, 320x180)

1.55 MB GIF

>>1294451
>>B. If he's willing to totally reform, we should at the very least give him a chance.

.'you can't protect anything without being strong.'

Where have i heard that before?

>>1294451
>D. You say he just wants to be strong and immortal, but how loyal was he to the Jashinists? Does he just distrust government in general? What would his reaction be to a gesture of good-will on our part, like giving him a chance?
Mainly just making a suggestion that's probably already been floating around, but whatever.

>>1294451
>D. You say he just wants to be strong and immortal, but how loyal was he to the Jashinists? Does he just distrust government in general? What would his reaction be to a gesture of good-will on our part, like giving him a chance?

>>1294456
>>1294464
>>1294468
>>1294501
"Well, why don't we just hand him over to the stone? He's their rogue ninja, after all."

Naruto grins. "That hypocrisy I mentioned, earlier. They'd surely execute him. They're much less progressive than us, overall. Still cling to a lot of old ways. That's part of the reason why Usagi was treated so poorly when you went their. Their mindset is still a generation behind, it feels."

You nod. "Right. Hm. How loyal was he to the Jashinists, do you think?"

Naruto spins around in his chair, and looks out the window. "Not at all. Though, not many of them are. Like most, he just wanted the immortality. A ninja like him, while powerful, has no hope to earn something like that on his own. We're thinking that the massacre of his squad lead to some moral degeneration, and he joined the Jashinists out of a twisted sense of survivor's guilt maybe. He claims that he intended to leave the Jashinists one day, keeping the immortality. Of course, he must know that means he'd have kept killing all his life. Now that he's been under lock-down for a while, we're sure his supernatural ability is gone. From what we can tell, Shozuku is a required element of gaining and regaining it at all. He can introduce you to it, but if you stop the killing, it's gone until he blesses you again. It's strange, fighting the prophet of an old god. Sasuke's been looking into this for so long, but there's so little information out there.."

Naruto's head hangs low, and he sighs. You wait a few moments before speaking. "Does he hate all governments, or just the stone?"

Naruto shakes his head quietly. "Even with the interrogation, it's hard to say. The stone is a lot harsher than we are, so I'm personally willing to give him a rehabilitation trial. The main reason he left was that he was being far too brutal on the battlefield, even going so far as to kill people unrelated to the mission. Being suspect was enough for him. Of course, I know this all just stems from fear for him. He claims he'll do anything to live, and I believe that much. Whether or not he'll actually absorb any sort of lesson from all this is hard to say.."

----

Going to have to call it here for tonight folks, unfortunately. I'll be around for a little while. I've been having to work extra this week so I'm a bit tired, and have a long day tomorrow. I'll also be leaving for the weekend, it looks like.

The next thread is anticipated to be monday. After a little more story stuff, I'm hoping to crack down on a more serious training spree. We'll be doing that model of 1 event for 1 day instead of spreading things out like this thread. Should allow us to get some things accomplished, and then have days like these for breaks between.

>>1294539
Gotcha Mini, thanks for running. Good to see hardcore training in our immediate future as always, the path to power is always a fun one.

Don't let work hit you too hard Mini, see you next time.

>>1294539
Nice runerino, if a bit short.
My redemption boner is strong, but I'll drop this guy in a second if he fucks up.

>>1294554
>>1294564
much appreciated anons

It's a bit difficult to tell what Otozawa will do, and what exactly the extent of his sanity is.

So is our doppelganger gonna be the final boss for the ending before the time skip or will we see him after it?

>>1295061
Stopping him will more or less be the objective of your last mission, yes.

Whether or not he's still in the quest for part 2 will be based on what you do. Of course, you really don't want this guy alive. Especially not for 2.5 years

>>1295177
Can we get Ai to kill him at least?

>>1295177
Oh that's a shame. Its thematically fitting and it would be a great way to end Part 1 but i was hoping he'd be the Dante to our Virgil. I get a big sloppy hard-on for rival characters and shit, you know.

This does bring into question who the enemy of Part 2 will be if not Shozuku. We know it won't be aliens, but maybe some actual gods like Jashin will show up. Maybe the Jashinists will still be a problem without him?
The Jashinists have been such a prominent force in this quest i can think of any other potential threats that can take their place.

Im ready to be surprised though.

>>1296898
Clearly, ninja war number I-don't-remember

We're gonna kill at least one kage bruv

>>1296926
I think it'd be the 5th Shinobi World War by now? Shit's crazy.

>>1296926
>ninja war number I-don't-remember
nevr 5get

>>1296898
Tbh it's looking like the real threat is just the general fact that Naruto's plan for peace is never going to fucking work and the world will inevitably descend back into war.
I expect terrorists in abundance and multiple enemy factions.

>>1296898

I thought *we* were Dante.

Though, I notice another similarity: He's as much of an old-school ninja as we are. Or he was at one point, anyway. That's the vibe I got from this flashback. Though maybe we already knew that and I just forgot.

>>1296327
It's highly unlikely your fight with Shozuku won't be 1 v 1, but it's possible to have Ai with you.

>>1297620
Shozuku has a pretty Warring States Era philosophy compared to Takeshi who's of more of a Second/Third Ninja World War mindset.

>>1298268
Oh well. When's the next run, Mini?

>>1298983
I think he said he was gonna shoot for Monday.

File: It all comes crumbling down.gif (985 KB, 256x192)

985 KB GIF

>>1296898
I wonder, would Jashin have a body, or would he have to take one from his followers, and create an avatar for himself? That would certainly be interesting, but that sounds a little bit too endgame. Perhaps the Jashinists will try to create a fifth world war, and use that war to create the ideal scenario to bring Jashin down from the outer realms or whatever by using all the death to give him power or something.

Furthermore, Mini letting it slip that Takeshi has the potential to be the most powerful ninja ever has really got me thinking, Takeshi wants to be the best as a personal goal, but he also wants to bring some peace to the world, or at least prefers peace over anarchy. So really, what would Takeshi do with all his power? I have some ideas, but if I'd like to hear others opinions.

Unfortunately I won't be running tonight as planned, had to stay at work late for a bit. I work tomorrow too, so I probably wouldn't get started until 8 and finish about 11 for sleep.

I figure waiting until tomorrow would be better than another short thread like this. I hope you all don't mind.

I'll be here for a little to answer some questions.

>>1303517
Shozuku himself could probably be considered the closest thing to an Avatar of Jashin. He's the ground zero of modern immortals, and it's through him all other Jashinists gain their immortality.

>>1308689
hype?

>>1311136
Not tonight. Just got home, was asked to stay later again.

I checked in advance this time. I will certainly be home and running tomorrow!

Apologies everyone.

>>1311244
See you next week!

>>1311244
It's cool man. Can't really expect you to shun work and responsibility for anons now, can we?
Take it easy man.

I'll be postponing things even further as it is. I have some stuff I need to do around the house, so I'll be holding things off until friday as I'll be indisposed tomorrow as well.

Sorry for this everyone. Next week won't be like this, just been busy lately.

>>1315278
See
>>1311249

>>1311249
Fucking called it, anon

File: th.jpg (5 KB, 224x179)

5 KB JPG

I will not be running tonight. Or any night.

Just kidding, I will be running tomorrow. I have the weekend off. I just don't have it in me to go for five hours right now. It's possible I could try to run twice this weekend to make up for these delays.

I was worried this might happen, I always tend to have less free time around the spring and summer.

File: u trid.png (69 KB, 600x618)

69 KB PNG

>>1320827

File: Northern_Spotted_Owl.USFWS.jpg (196 KB, 800x1185)

196 KB JPG

>>1320838
The most I can do right now is give a briefing of what's coming up.

Some training with Shizune, visiting the owls for some better Genjutsu, and learning from Kichiro and your brother. Once that's done then there will be one more thread to hang out and interact with some characters, and then we're off to the last mission.

>>1320859
There any way we can just... stay in Konoha? Not go with either Nalt or Sasuage and just spend the time workshopping boil and hanging with Shizune?