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>>4064128
The scroll containing the details presents your way in. Hoshigakure is located in the interior of the Land of Bears, closer to the Land of Fire to the west than the Land of Water to the east, and sits on a plateau in the middle of a long, deep ravine called the “Devil’s Ravine”. The village itself appears to be small, maybe twenty or thirty buildings large enough to be noteworthy.

The meeting point is outside the village, near the far eastern end of the plateau.

“We’ll have to cross the ravine,” you muse as you and Team Ibuki begin outfitting yourselves. “So we’ll have to take gas masks and filters. Forget about the main crossing on the map, we’ll head across near the east end of the plateau and head straight to the meeting point.”

“With any luck they won’t be expecting that,” Harusame muses.

It all seems fairly straightforward for the time being, but you can already see the potential for things to start going wrong.

>Cut directly across the Land of Fire, presenting yourself at any checkpoints along the way.
>Cut directly across the Land of Fire, avoid checkpoints and notice as much as possible.
>Head for the Land of Waves and catch a boat to the south coast of the Land of Bears.
>Other?

>>4064131
>>Head for the Land of Waves and catch a boat to the south coast of the Land of Bears.
hm

>>4064131
>>Head for the Land of Waves and catch a boat to the south coast of the Land of Bears.
lets not involve the leaf in this

>>4064131
>Head for the Land of Waves and catch a boat to the south coast of the Land of Bears.

>>4064131
>>Head for the Land of Waves and catch a boat to the south coast of the Land of Bears.

>>4064131
>Head for the Land of Waves and catch a boat to the south coast of the Land of Bears.

>>4064131
>>Head for the Land of Waves and catch a boat to the south coast of the Land of Bears.

>>4064131
>1d6, high roll
>taking the first three

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4064342

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4064342

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4064342

>>4064342
You elect to travel through the Land of Rivers to the sea, then spend a full day looking for a boat that will take you to the Land of Bears. You find a few boats that will get you somewhere in the right neighborhood, mostly to the nearby part of the Land of Fire. So instead you head along the coast and cross the Great Naruto Bridge into the Land of Waves.

There you find a shallow port, with a small rigged ship whose captain is willing to take you into the Land of Bears directly, avoiding the Land of Fire entirely.

“Thank you,” you nod politely as the money changes hands. “This will save us the trouble of running into anyone from Konohagakure.”

“Yeah, I hear those Leaf ninja have been real edgy since the battle in Konoha,” the captain muses. “I get why you’d want to just avoid the whole problem entirely.”

The trip itself is totally uneventful, save for discovering that Arashi gets seasick easily. He spends the entire time leaning off the side of the boat, even long after his stomach is empty. Meanwhile Karin simply finds someplace with some fresh air and shade to hunker down… she clearly doesn’t like it much either. Harusame actually seems to enjoy the smell of the salt spray on the breeze, which makes exactly one of you who’s happy about this arrangement.

“You still alive there buddy?” you ask Arashi the next afternoon as you put ashore.

He stares at you, the face of a young man half-dead of exhaustion. “Hate you. Hate you all.”

The three of you head north towards Hoshigakure, reaching the Devil’s Ravine around nightfall.

“You sense anything?” Harusame asks Karin pointedly.

After a moment, she shakes her head. “One individual, with a fairly strong chakra… and a strange one at that. It’s right where we’re supposed to meet our client.”

“Strange chakra...” you muse. “Interesting.”

“You thinking something?” Harusame asks you.

“I think we have a little more of an idea what’s happening here,” you tell her.

It’s not hard to sneak down into and across the ravine, especially using chakra to help you climb up and down the steep, rocky slopes. The masks prove excellent at filtering out whatever the poison down in the bottom of the ravine is, and you’re careful to make sure any clinging moisture or gas is blown off your outfits before you continue on into the forest.
>1/2

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>>4064513
In a small cave you find the chakra signature Karin noted before, which belongs to a woman who seems about the right age to be your mother. The fact that her hair is also red catches you off your guard for a moment, before you notice the discrepancies. Her hair is more of a brownish-red than yours, Karin’s, or your mother’s, and her eyes are green. Her facial features, while also what you’d call ‘conventionally attractive’, are also somewhat different from your mother.

She wears a grey flak jacket with a tall collar and dark shorts, as well as a headband with the symbol of a star etched into it. So you were right… she’s a shinobi of Hoshigakure.

“So you’re the team from Amegakure?” she wonders aloud with a frown. “You’re all so young…”

“What does that have to do with it?” Arashi grumbles.

Harusame shoots him a sidelong glance. “Watch your tongue, brother.”

“You were thinkin’ it too.”

“We were chosen for a reason,” you assure your client. “I’m Naori, these two are Harusame and Arashi, and this is Karin.”

Karin bows politely.

“I am Natsuhi,” your client introduces herself. “Please forgive me if I caused you any offense.”

“If offense is taken but not given, then that would be our problem, not yours,” you shrug. “So you are a shinobi of Hoshigakure, yet you wanted us to help you steal this ‘star’ of your village? Might we have an explanation?”

“We wanna make sure we’re not walking into something super dumb,” Arashi crosses his arms.

“What Arashi was trying to say is that we don’t know what motivated you to hire us,” you interject. “Isn’t that right, Arashi?”

He glances away. “Yeah, let’s go with that.”
>2/3

>>4064518
“The last Hoshikage entrusted my husband and I to ensure that the star never becomes a threat to the village,” Natsuhi explains. “However, Hotarubi… isn’t here anymore. And now that Akahoshi, the current head of the village, is allowing his ambitions to threaten Hoshigakure’s future in the worst possible way.”

“In what way?” you ask quietly.

“He’s resumed star-training on the village’s children,” Natsuhi explains, her face grim. “That training can have horrific side effects on the body. Even a successful trainee such as myself runs a risk any time we use it, and the effects of overuse erode the body from the inside. That is why we convinced the previous Hoshikage to end the training, and why I must seal away the star now.”

“But with Hotarubi gone, I’m not sure I can do it myself.”

“So let me get this straight,” Karin growls. “This ‘Akahoshi’ is using this… poisoned meteorite, I guess… to force children into life-threatening training?”

Natsuhi nods. You swear you can see Karin’s hair dancing slightly on its own volition, as if lifted gently by a non-existent breeze.

“Then I’m glad you called us,” you nod firmly. “So what are we dealing with here?”

“Our village is even smaller than yours, by far,” Natsuhi explains. “I have lived outside the village for many years now, but from what I have seen there are only six shinobi who qualify as jōnin and about fifty to sixty chūnin. Aside from the Mysterious Peacock Method our village has no special techniques.”

“So a direct confrontation is out of the question, even with your help.”

“It seems so,” you agree. “Best to pick our battles more carefully than that.”

“Even worse,” Natsuhi adds, “Akahoshi hired reinforcements from Konohgakure. They arrived this morning.”

Reinforcements… that’s just great.

>Then we move tonight, before their reinforcements have a chance to orient themselves.
>Then we need to scout the village at a distance. Two of us are very capable of that.
>Then we'll need to get sneaky about it... take the place and appearance of a regular Hoshi patrol.
>Other?

>>4064581
>Then we need to scout the village from a distance

>>4064581
>>Then we need to scout the village at a distance. Two of us are very capable of that.

>>4064581
>>Then we need to scout the village at a distance. Two of us are very capable of that.

>>4064581
>>Then we move tonight, before their reinforcements have a chance to orient themselves.

>>4064581
“We’ll do a little scouting from the edge of Karin’s sensory range,” you decide, “then withdraw. That way we can at least get a good sense of what we may be dealing with. Agreed?”

Natsuhi nods stoically. “Agreed. That’s a sensible plan.”

As it turns out Karin’s sensory abilities mean you don’t have to go far at all from the cave before Hoshigakure is within her range. She signals for you to stop, which clearly confuses Natsuhi.

“Here?” she asks.

You nod, gesturing for Karin to take a seat.

“I can sense them,” Karin tells you. “It seems that broadly speaking Natsuhi-san’s information is accurate. I can also recognize three of the chakra signatures.”

“The team from Konoha?” you guess.

She nods. “Two of them fought each other during the Chūnin exams, in the tower.”

“So that makes it Team Guy,” you realize. “Of all the...”

“Is that not good?” Harusame presses.

“Yeah,” Arashi agrees. “If you know who they are, and they don’t know we’re here...”

“The trouble is their abilities,” you explain. “The weakest of them, Tenten, is probably a fair match for any of the three of you. She’s only the “weakest” because she lacks any sort of unique ability that gives her a decisive edge, sort of like… well, actually a LOT like Ajisai.”

“And the other two?” Natsuhi asks you.

“Taijutsu monsters,” you continue. “One uses a kinjutsu to increase vastly increase his already-impressive speed, strength, and stamina, while the other is a Hyūga.”

“He has the Byakugan?” Natsuhi realizes. “Damn.”

“Agreed,” you nod. “Rock Lee and Tenten I could handle without any trouble, but Neji’s sensory skills and his Gentle Fist are a problem.”

“So that means he’s our main target,” Harusame declares.

“No,” you disagree. “I have a technique that will work against his dōjutsu, so he’s my target. I’ll handle Neji.”

>Team Ibuki will back me up, and we’ll all be a distraction for Natsuhi-han.
>Team Ibuki will recover the star. Natsuhi-han and I will cause chaos as a distraction.
>I may be able to suppress the entire Hoshigakure village, but it’s a technique I haven’t mastered yet.
>Other?

>>4064739
>>Team Ibuki will recover the star. Natsuhi-han and I will cause chaos as a distraction.

>>4064739
>>I may be able to suppress the entire Hoshigakure village, but it’s a technique I haven’t mastered yet.
go big or go home

>>4064739
>>I may be able to suppress the entire Hoshigakure village, but it’s a technique I haven’t mastered yet.

>>4064739
>>I may be able to suppress the entire Hoshigakure village, but it’s a technique I haven’t mastered yet.

>>4064739
>>I may be able to suppress the entire Hoshigakure village, but it’s a technique I haven’t mastered yet.

>>4064749
>inb4 dice is called and we roll two 1s within the first three rolls.

>>4064739
>Team Ibuki will back me up, and we’ll all be a distraction for Natsuhi-han.
I would rather have the one trained with the star handle it, and team Ibuki needs the experience.

>>4064739
>>I may be able to suppress the entire Hoshigakure village, but it’s a technique I haven’t mastered yet.

>>4064739
>I may be able to suppress the entire Hoshigakure village, but it’s a technique I haven’t mastered yet.

>>4064739
Would neji be able to see our eye seal?

>>4065774
no, they can't see through things

>>4065782
the byakugan literally sees through things

>>4065803
they see around things, not through
the things they see around leave a shadow

>>4065805
What? Seeing through things doesn't mean stuff magically stops casting shadows.

Besides, the Byakugan sees chakra networks and flows, and Neji has explicitly used it to see through solid objects (the barrel with Sasuke in the Sound Four encounter). Neither of those things would work if it was 'seeing around things'.

How would 'seeing around things' even work? It'd require bending light constantly on a rather massive scale (kilometers, in Hinata's case, and Kaguya's Byakugan was used to cast genjutsu on -nations-).

>>4065803
i stand corrected, just looked it up and they can indeed see through objects
that does not mean he can discern what the seal means, or that we can use it to use the sharingan
>>4065805
that last part is not an argument in a world with 'inner magic to just vomit a small ocean'

>>4065846
and another mistake, i meant >>4065839

>>4064739
>1d6, DC 11 (hard)
>taking the first three

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4066002
lets see how much i will regret this

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4066002

>>4066007
very.

>>4066007
a lot it seems ...

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4066002

Preemtive yes to spending that one SP.

>>4066014
>>4066002
agreed to this

>>4066002
>SP: 6/6
>ES: 0/2 (0T)
Spend 1SP to pass?
>Yes
>No

>>4066019
>>Yes
literally a no-brainer decision.

>>4066019
No
... yes obviously

>>4066019
>Yes

>>4066019
>>Yes

>>4066019
>>Yes

>>4066019
>>Yes

>>4066019
>>Yes

>>4066019
>writing

>>4066057
“There’s a technique I know of that could suppress the whole village and give Natsuhi-han an adequate distraction to steal the star.”

Natsuhi favors you with a skeptical look. “What technique is this?”

“One that I have admittedly never actually used,” you admit. “A cooperative Water release ninjutsu with one of my summons.”

Eventually, she nods in satisfaction. “Okay. We’ll try it your way… just before sunrise, I’d gather?”

“That was the idea,” you agree. “Team Ibuki, you’ll need to rely on taijutsu while my technique is active. And I think it’d be best if you tried to avoid killing anyone. This is after all ostensibly a mission for the long-term welfare of Hoshigakure.”

“It’s a pain,” Harusame grumbles, “but I get what you’re saying.”

“Easy enough with bōjutsu,” Arashi agrees, before turning to Karin. “You confident with blunted arrows?”

“Enough,” Karin replies. “I’ll hang back at the treeline.”

“Alright,” you nod. “That’s our plan, then.”

You spend the night slowly creeping closer towards Hoshigakure, until shortly before it’s time to move in you summon Nyoka from the forest. You offer her a brief explanation of the plan, and she agrees to linger above Hoshigakure and cause a reasonably hard rainfall for as long as she can… or until you send her a prearranged signal. That signal is a red signal flare, one of several you have sealed into a utility scroll for just such an occasion.
>1/2

>>4066073
When you enter Hoshigakure in the predawn dim, face hidden behind a gas mask, the weather has already started to turn at Nyoka’s direction. The rain is falling steadily, and a heavy mist hangs near the ground and among the trees, veiling much of your surroundings and providing you with exactly the sort of weather that makes techniques like the Kirisame much easier.

You weave the hand signs Nyoka taught you in sequence.

“Water release: Kirisame!”

For the first time, you can feel the results of your kneading chakra into the rain and mist throughout the village as it turns the whole place into one big chakra-suppression field.

It doesn’t take long before you find yourself confronted by the Konoha team, who have started to rouse the local villagers. The ones who seem to have been rested aren’t yet fully awake and focused, and the ones who did the waking are clearly tired from having worked night guard duty.

Neji is the one who addresses you first. “Who are you people, and how did you sneak into the village?”

You don’t respond, except to draw Umekiri from her sheath.

“You mean not to reply?” Rock Lee realizes, settling into a pugilistic stance. “Very well, we can do it your way.”

Does he actually not recognize you, or your sword? Lucky for you he’s unobservant. That makes this easier.

>Stick to kenjutsu and attack Neji. That keeps your other skills hidden and Neji’s defenses will be weakened by the Kirisame.
>Go all-out with your swordplay and chakra flow, tie down all three Konoha-nin and make as big a scene as you can.
>Use Hiding in Rain to disguise paper bombs as you fight, then set them off to add to the chaos. Just try not to kill anyone with it.
>Other?

>>4066098
>Go all-out with your swordplay and chakra flow, tie down all three Konoha-nin and make as big a scene as you can.

>>4066098
>>Go all-out with your swordplay and chakra flow, tie down all three Konoha-nin and make as big a scene as you can.
she's an Uzumaki; making a scene? yes.

>>4066098
>>Go all-out with your swordplay and chakra flow, tie down all three Konoha-nin and make as big a scene as you can.

>>4066098
>>Go all-out with your swordplay and chakra flow, tie down all three Konoha-nin and make as big a scene as you can.

>>4066098
>>Go all-out with your swordplay and chakra flow, tie down all three Konoha-nin and make as big a scene as you can.

>>4066098
>>Use Hiding in Rain to disguise paper bombs as you fight, then set them off to add to the chaos. Just try not to kill anyone with it.

>>4066098
>1d6, DC 9 (Moderate)
>taking the first three

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4066231

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4066231

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4066231

>>4066231
>pass
>writing

>>4066098
You don’t attack Lee at first, instead throwing handfuls of real, metal shuriken at each of them to force them to split up. Then you throw a trio of kunai marked with exploding tags at Neji, who rotates in place to block them and hedge out the explosions. But this time, much to his shock, the technique fails to protect him from the explosions as the usual sphere of chakra dissipates.

“What!?” he cries out as you plunge Umekiri effortlessly through his right shoulder.

His teammates are just as shocked, with Tenten immediately crying out his name as you knock him off your blade by striking him with your knee. He reels across the muddy ground, still trying to figure out what the hell you just did to him while Lee closes in on you from behind.

That’s a mistake.

“Suiton: Kasukēda!” you declare the name of your attack, flooding your swing with chakra-laden water both produced through Umekiri’s blade and wrapped up from out of the air. The surge of water pushes Lee backwards into a boulder that’s been left between two houses in the village, cracking it behind him where he hits. Despite this he stays on his feet.

You manage to evade several sealing tags worth of shuriken from Tenten, planting Umekiri’s point in the earth and lifting your body up off the ground and above it. You can see Lee’s eyes widen as he raises his arms to defend against a downward kick…

… only to be shocked as you run Raiton-transformed chakra through the blade and into the pool of water left around his feet by the Kasukēda.

His screams of pain are cut short as your foot crashes through his guard and into his head, dropping him to the ground.

Tenten clearly wants to intervene, but finds herself hedged in by Harusame’s guided fūma shuriken and battered relentlessly by Arashi’s staff. You even see a blunt-tipped arrow or two strike the odd chūnin in the head, having been fired from out of the forest.

Not a bad distraction, you think.

“I couldn’t...” Neji declares as he readies himself. “I STILL can’t sense her chakra? Is it this rain?”

He seems to realize how outmatched Hoshigakure’s defenders truly are as you strike down another three chūnin in quick succession, each blow carefully adjusted to avoid killing them, as you work your way back towards him.

He draws a pair of kunai, realizing that his usual style won’t work here, and sets to work trying to gain any sort of momentum against your kenjutsu. But he finds little success, and eventually you’re able to parry a thrust with Umekiri’s blade before slamming her pommel into the hole in his shoulder.

Neji cries out, and the moment of pain is enough for you to turn Umekiri through the air and strike with the back of her blade at his liver. The blow knocks him off his feet, and blood from his mouth and shoulder mix with the standing rainwater and the mud.
>1/2

>>4066336
“I will be your opponent now!” Rock Lee yells from behind you, foolishly but somewhat characteristically announcing his presence instead of taking you by surprise.

Thanks to that you have time to prepare a swift substitution, using rainwater as the body.

“What!? It’s just water!?”

You’re sure to shock Lee again for his error, this time thrusting your blade into the water that he attacked with a flying kick thinking it was you. That said, he pops back up off the ground practically the next second, clearly ready for more. It’s actually kind of endearing in a dumb way.

Next you punish him for not wearing his headband properly, feinting to get him to lower his hands before unsealing a kunai that you use to crease his forehead. The open wound starts to bleed profusely, helped along by his wet hair, getting into his eyes.

By the time he looks up you’ve switched Umekiri to Suiton chakra flow, and worked through the one-handed seals for the Hiding in Rain technique. So he’s shocked to find that in the middle of battle, you’ve disappeared.

Good thing too… since you’re coming to realize that aside from the Hyūga’s flashy techniques the Kirisame won’t work against taijutsu or genjutsu. It’s a good thing nobody’s managed to figure that out so far, or else you’d be dealing with Lee’s nonsensical powerup technique. And he’d probably flatten you.

>Use senbon to take out as many chūnin as possible.
>Back up Team Ibuki before the Hoshigakure jōnin can get their act together.
>Use this advantage to set a few dozens of hidden flash and smoke bombs, get Team Ibuki and Natsuhi out of here safely.
>Other?

>>4066350
>Use this advantage to set a few dozens of hidden flash and smoke bombs, get Team Ibuki and Natsuhi out of here safely.

>>4066350
>>Use this advantage to set a few dozens of hidden flash and smoke bombs, get Team Ibuki and Natsuhi out of here safely.

>>4066350
>Use this advantage to set a few dozens of hidden flash and smoke bombs, get Team Ibuki and Natsuhi out of here safely.

>>4066350
>>Back up Team Ibuki before the Hoshigakure jōnin can get their act together.

>>4066350
>>Use this advantage to set a few dozens of hidden flash and smoke bombs, get Team Ibuki and Natsuhi out of here safely.

>>4066350
>>Use this advantage to set a few dozens of hidden flash and smoke bombs, get Team Ibuki and Natsuhi out of here safely.

>>4066350
>>Use senbon to take out as many chūnin as possible.

>>4066350
>1d6, DC 8
>Taking the first three

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4068152

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4068152

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4068152

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4068152

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4068152

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4068152

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4068152
how many rolls can we do without getting a 1?

>>4068152
You rush to take advantage of the momentary confusion, leaping away into the rain and unsealing strings of sealing tags. Each is marked either with a smoke-bomb variation of your exploding tag, or a flash bomb version. You even mix in a few real exploding tags, carefully moved and hidden away from the groups of people so that they’ll throw shrapnel to pelt the chūnin or toss them around with the concussion.

For a moment it seems like the Konoha and Hoshi-nin are about to turn the tables… until the explosions start. It’s absolute chaos, coming out of nowhere and taking your victims by complete surprise. In the middle of that chaos, the Ibuki twins manage to withdraw to the treeline.

You withdraw to the top of a building on the edge of the village, watching as even Natsuhi makes a clean withdrawal, having stolen her target from the training hall at the center of the village.

Neji manages to get his team rallied together despite his injuries, and after several minutes you can literally see the moment when he realizes why casualties were so light from here. The only possible explanation is that all of that was meant as a distraction, and it’s a tall man in a fancier haori that manages to put two and two together. He sprints to the training hall… you feel the rain easing, and make your escape as well while Nyoka provides cover from the clouds.

“That was amazing!” Karin greets you cheerfully when you meet them all back in the cave.

You unroll an empty scroll, and begin scribing lines onto it. “Thanks, that was some good shooting yourself. Arashi, Harusame, your coordination was excellent as always.”

“So that’s it?” Harusame muses.

“Not yet,” you declare, gesturing for Natsuhi to place the stony orb at the center of the sealing array.

Then you enclose the star in a puff of smoke, before rolling the scroll and tying it shut.

“That’s one star stolen,” you muse, handing it to Natsuhi.

“Thank you,” she says, clearly somewhat less than comfortable for some reason.

“Now, there’s one more thing?” Arashi reminds you.

“Ah, yes,” you realize, “payment.”

“That’s the thing...” Natsuhi admits, biting her lip.
>1d6, high roll
>best three of four

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4068226

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4068226

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4068226

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4068226

Someone trying to scam their way out of paying or backstabbing us... joy

>>4068226
Ah. So that’s how it is.

“I wish you’d have just been open with us,” you sigh.

Arashi stares at you, confused. “What?”

“If we left before Akahoshi’s retaliation the job would still be incomplete, in the strictest sense,” you explain for your team, “since he could conceivably get the star back. But since the money needed to pay us is in his hands, we’ll need to deal with him to get paid. So in withholding that detail from us, Natsuhi-han ensured that we would have a reason to see the job through properly even if we had the instinct to leave the instant the star was in her hands.”

You turn to meet her eyes. “Am I warm, Natsuhi-han?”

She sighs. “You’re completely correct.”

“I wish you had just been up-front with us,” you admit, “but I can understand your reasoning. And to be honest, I should have suspected the minute I learned that the client lived in a cave in the woods.”

>We’ll wait here until it becomes clear what Akahoshi’s retaliation will look like.
>We’ll sneak in closer. Between Karin and I we should be able to watch things unfold.
>Simple solution. We go back, gather evidence, and confront Akahoshi and the village.
>Simple. We kill Akahoshi.
>Other?

>>4068260
>>We’ll sneak in closer. Between Karin and I we should be able to watch things unfold.

>>4068260
>>We’ll sneak in closer. Between Karin and I we should be able to watch things unfold.

>>4068260
>We’ll sneak in closer. Between Karin and I we should be able to watch things unfold.

>>4068260
>Simple solution. We go back, gather evidence, and confront Akahoshi and the village.

>>4068260
>>Simple. We kill Akahoshi.

>>4068260
Second question: how close?
>"Karin's sensing and paper butterflies" close
>"Within earshot" close
>"Transform into Anko-han" close
>Other?

>>4068381
>>"Transform into Anko-han" close

>>4068381
>>"Within earshot" close
we haven't had enough training in acting and
haven't spent enough time around anko to reproduce her mannerisms and speech patterns well enough to fool them.

>>4068381
>>"Within earshot" close

>>4068381
>"Transform into Anko-han" close

>>4068381
>>"Within earshot" close

Butterflies is the only answer here I think Neji would spot us out immediately with any other option. He'll probably see the butterfly is paper but might not think much of it if it lands somewhere inconspicuous. Unless one of the others is capable of hiding in the earth.

>>4068381
>within earshot

>>4068410
I wouldn't deliberately present you with an option that Naori wouldn't think in-character that she could actually pull off.

>>4068381
>>"Transform into Anko-han" close

>>4068381
>>"Transform into Anko-han" close

>>4068381
>>"Within earshot" close

>>4068381
>>"Within earshot" close

>>4068381
>"Within earshot" close

>>4068381
>will continue tomorrow

>>4068525
Thanks for running!

>>4068381
>>"Transform into Anko-han" close
Yes hello! I am sexy ninja no one knows well! I am totally arriving to help!

>>4068381
>"Within earshot" close

I'm way late but transformation seems risky.
Problem is Neji is there. I'm pretty sure the Byakugan is bad for clone techniques. The rain may not last.

>>4068525
>1d6, DC 9 (Moderate)
>taking the first three
>SP: 5/6
>ES: 0/2 (0T)

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4069712

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4069712

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4069712

the dice are kind lately

>>4069712
You decide that you need more information if you’re going to stay here, and decide to risk getting closer in to Hoshigakure. You’d rather get within earshot if possible, but it would be difficult to get any closer than the treeline in broad daylight. That’s especially true in case you pique Neji’s interest and he uses his Byakugan… at that point, you’d be hard-pressed to keep hidden.

“I need your help,” you tell Karin, settling into a tree and unsealing a handful of black paper butterflies. “You remember the chakra signatures of the three genin we were fighting this morning?”

Karin nods slowly. “I do. You want me to spy on them?”

You shake your head. “I want you to help guide my butterflies closer to them, so that I can try and figure out what they’re doing and talking about.”

“I see,” Karin agrees. “I couldn’t get that information myself, and you couldn’t find them yourself.”

“Hey, look at that,” Harusame rolls her eyes. “Can we get a move on? I’d rather not get caught out here.”

With Karin’s instructions you send the butterflies into Hoshigakure, placing one on the corner of a roof where you have a clear line of sight to Tenten and Lee. Then you unseal your left eye, covering it over with your hand so that no one here can see that it’s a Sharingan… no need for them to know, especially not Natsuhi-han.

“I can see them now,” you admit, “but I can’t hear them.”

You wonder if the Sharingan can be used to read lips…

“I’m going to try reading their lips.”
>1/2

>>4069930
…

It turns out that the Sharingan can, in fact, help you read lips. It’s actually quite sensible when you think about it carefully, seeing how something similar is most likely what gave Uchiha Sasuke a leg up in the written exams. Combined with your ability to use paper as a sensory relay, you can literally watch Lee and Tenten’s lips moving and practically ‘hear’ them, as the movements are interpreted by your brain.

[But we cannot simply do nothing!]

[He’s right, Neji… but still…]

Neji says something… you can only see his back, so you maneuver a butterfly so that you can see him instead.

[But…!]

[You need to ask yourself this: is it consistent?]

[What do you mean?]

[The masked shinobi went to a lot of trouble to avoid killing anyone, despite the extravagance of their diversionary attack. They succeeded in stealing the star out from under our noses… so why also kidnap a child?]

[You have a point… the two that I was fighting were tough, but that girl was insane. She could have killed a lot of the villagers if she wanted to.]

[She could have killed ME had she wanted to. Targetting my shoulder wound the second time told me that she could have hit me in a vital spot with the first thrust had she wanted to… whether that was intentional or not I cannot say.]

[You think there was some kind of message hidden in all that?]

[It’s hard to say. But the way that they conducted themselves made their intentions fairly clear, as though they had told us themselves. And I don’t think that kidnapping Sumaru-kun is consistent with that.]

You decide that you've "heard" enough, and withdraw your black butterflies while you’re still unnoticed.
>2/3

>>4069942
“It seems a child by the name Sumaru has been kidnapped from the village,” you declare, sealing your Sharingan for the time being.

“Sumaru!?” Natsuhi gasps. “You’re sure that’s what they said?”

You nod curtly.

“Wait, DID we do that?” Arashi asks, oblivious to the tone right now.

You shake your head. “But I’m guessing Natsuhi-han has an idea who did?”

“It was Akahoshi,” Natsuhi declares with the utmost certainty. “I know it was.”

“What, the village leader?” Harusame frowns. “Why the hell would he kidnap one of his own?”

“Because Sumaru is the name of my son,” Natsuhi replies. “Akahoshi must have guessed that I was involved based on the fact that no one was killed this morning… there aren’t many who know of the Star who would go to that amount of trouble in the midst of stealing it.”

“So this is a threat,” you surmise.

Natsuhi nods in agreement. “I believe so, yes.”

Damn. So you’ve been figured out even after going to all that trouble… no, BECAUSE you went to that trouble.

>I wasn’t going to suggest it before, but we need to kill Akahoshi. There’s nothing else for it.
>Then we give him what he wants… or at least appear to. We draw him out for all to see.
>He’s your son, Natsuhi-han. It’s your call… but you’re NOT going in there alone like an idiot.
>Other?

>>4069953
>>Then we give him what he wants… or at least appear to. We draw him out for all to see.

>>4069953
>He’s your son, Natsuhi-han. It’s your call… but you’re NOT going in there alone like an idiot.

>>4069953
>>I wasn’t going to suggest it before, but we need to kill Akahoshi. There’s nothing else for it.

>>4069953
>then we draw him out

>>4069953
>>I wasn’t going to suggest it before, but we need to kill Akahoshi. There’s nothing else for it.

>>4069953
>I wasn’t going to suggest it before, but we need to kill Akahoshi. There’s nothing else for it.
>Anyone who'd take a child hostage is scum anyways.

>>4069953
>>I wasn’t going to suggest it before, but we need to kill Akahoshi. There’s nothing else for it.

>>4069953
>>He’s your son, Natsuhi-han. It’s your call… but you’re NOT going in there alone like an idiot.

>>4069953
>>I wasn’t going to suggest it before, but we need to kill Akahoshi. There’s nothing else for it.

>>4069953
>>Then we give him what he wants… or at least appear to. We draw him out for all to see.
>>He’s your son, Natsuhi-han. It’s your call… but you’re NOT going in there alone like an idiot.

>>4069953
>>He’s your son, Natsuhi-han. It’s your call… but you’re NOT going in there alone like an idiot.

>>4069953
So you wanna kill Akahoshi. How?
>Disguise a Shadow Clone as Natsuhi, rig the clone to explode.
>Come in as yourself, try to bluff Team Guy that you're here as backup again.
>Sneak in and do it quietly, assassination-style.
>Other?

Feel free to get creative too. If anything I think is in-character and practical comes up I may end up working it in.

>>4070099
>Sneak in and do it quietly, assassination-style.
Exploding clone is tempting, but can go wrong far too easily.
Going in as ourselves is obviously retarded.

>>4070099
>>Sneak in and do it quietly, assassination-style.

>>4070099
>Sneak in and do it quietly, assassination-style.

>>4070099
>>Sneak in and do it quietly, assassination-style.

>>4070099
>>Disguise a Shadow Clone as Natsuhi, rig the clone to explode.

>>4070099
>>Sneak in and do it quietly, assassination-style.
I get that this guy deserves to die but is this really the way we should be going on about it?

>>4070159
I mean, you're also voting to go in and cut the dude's throat rather than either of the more "get dirt first" sort of options.

>>4070179
I mean, I don't want to kill the guy but that was already decided, if every option ends with us making justice by our own hand (or rather getting our money as fast as we can) instead letting the village sort him out then what am I supposed to vote?

>>4070099
>Disguise a Shadow Clone as Natsuhi, rig the clone to explode.
As a distraction. While he's confronting the clone we should sneak in and either save the kid or get enough dirt to bury him.

>>4070099
“Natsuhi-han,” you turn to your client, addressing her sternly. “Would it be fair to say that so long as Akahoshi lives the Star is not truly safe?”

It takes her a few moments, but eventually Natsuhi nods in agreement. “I think so.”

“And that if he gets the Star back your whole village will be endangered?” you press.

She nods again. “In the long run, we'll go extinct... starting with our children.”

“Then the next question isn’t about what to do, but how to do it,” you decide. “You understand what I’m talking about, yes?”

“You’re saying we should kill Akahoshi,” Natsuhi sighs, shutting her eyes. “Yes, I believe that’s unavoidable at this point. The least damaging to the village would be to assassinate him in his sleep.”

“I was thinking the same,” you agree. “I'll send a shadow clone disguised as a Hoshigakure chūnin, and enter his room using genjutsu to cover my tracks. Karin will guide my clone to the target via short-range wireless radio. Then I’ll use a paralysis genjutsu on him the moment he wakes, interrogate him with genjutsu, then finish him off and dispel the clone.”

“Then we explain the situation after having located all the children, including Sumaru, who can attest to what Akahoshi did,” Natsuhi completes the plan carefully. “That means Sumaru and I cannot meet before that point. I know that telling him who I am would make it seem like he was implicating Akahoshi to protect me, but that wouldn’t stop me from spilling my heart out in front of him and I know it.”

“It’s a maternal thing.”

You chuckle lightly at the excuse. “My mother was the same way.”

“At least she’s honest with herself,” Harusame grumbles.

“You and Arashi will help Natsuhi-han rescue the kids,” you decide, “and my real body will rescue Sumaru. One or the other team will likely encounter Team Guy… the other will likely run into some of Akahoshi’s remaining stooges. Try to avoid killing anyone… we’ve come this far after all.”

"Where will I be?" Karin asks you inquisitively.

"Five kilometers away," you reply. "You're our eyes in a way, can't risk having you directly exposed."

>Any other concerns or potential changes?

>>4070099
>Disguise a Shadow Clone as Natsuhi, rig the clone to explode.
Seems more our style. Naori is a wheels-inside-wheels kinda girl, and that's what makes her so much more dangerous and flexible than her peers. Also this would give us some time to view the conflict from a slight back seat, rather than up close and personal. We've already tuned up team Gai for this mission

>>4070228
>>Any other concerns or potential changes?
Nah seems good to me.

>>4070228
I feel like we should leave someone with Karin just in case. Everyone should always have a battle buddy.

>>4070228
>Send two clones, just in case something happens. Shadow clones are squishy, she might need backup.
>summon a bird to cover us from the air so we can avoid as many people as possible

>>4070228
the interrogation part, how long would it take?

>>4070307
Against a panicked and confused opponent, not long at all. Moments.

>>4070228
The plan goes into motion at sunset.

When you position Karin where you want her for this operation you quickly summon Isoka with instructions to “keep her eyes on YOUR eyes”, so that Karin won’t be by herself out here. Next you disseminate the short-range wireless radio headsets, before sending the twins and Natsuhi-han to one end of the village while you head closer to the Hoshigake residence. When you’ve got your shadow clone prepared and in position, which you can see from the treeline, you contact Karin by radio.

“Alright,” you begin. “You have Akahoshi’s chakra signature?”

After a momentary delay, you receive an encouraging response. “He’s in the Hoshikage residence, second floor, north side of the building.”

“Understood.”

>Shadow Clone Naori

Thankfully the structure is fairly old-fashioned, a good thing given that you’re going to have to sneak in through the rice paper doors. A nice thin later of water between the door and the frame lets you slide it smoothly and silently, just a little bit of water against water, without waking your target.

You creep in across the tatami with practiced steps, carrying nothing more than a copy of a kunai that the original… you guess you’ll call her ‘Naori-Prime’… happened to be carrying. Not a single sound… the Samurai schools of kenjutsu stress this skill, to the point that one set of kata imitate the scenario. In that case you’re encouraged to draw your sword, tap its point against the tatami to one side, then strike your foe as they attack based on that sound.

In this case you unseal your Sharingain, and gently wake Akahoshi who starts when he meets your eye…
>1d6, DC 9 (Moderate)
>Best of three
>SP: 5/6
>ES: 1/2 (2T)

>>4072322
"Taking the first three", rather. Apologies, I've had a busy evening.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4072322

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4072322
i don't get why we'd bother to wake him up but alright

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4072322
Dice go!
>>4072328
Its so we can do a genjustsu interrogation of him to find the kidnapped kids.

>>4072328
See >>4072332
Genjutsu wouldn't really be effective on him when he's unconscious, or at least the type they typically teach wouldn't. Naori would have to develop an entirely different skill to do it to someone's unconscious.

As things stand, waking him up then putting him down is easier.

>>4072332
>>4072338
Oh right, forgot about the genjutsu.

>>4072322
You place him under a genjutsu, freezing him in place staring blankly at you while you probe his unguarded mind for information on Sumaru. As it turns out he’s not exactly a creative man, and has simply left Sumaru unconscious in a back room of the training hall.

That’s convenient.

Moving quickly after releasing your interrogation genjutsu, you slit Akahoshi’s throat from ear to ear before plunging the kunai into his heart. Not out of satisfaction or enjoyment, but out of necessity, you linger until the man gurgles his last ignominious breath. The worst thing for your plan of minimizing chaos and disruption to Hoshigakure would be to find out ten minutes from now that Akahoshi wasn’t actually dead.

Once satisfied that this is neither a clone nor a body double, you dispel yourself.

…

Your shadow clone did a good job, which is to be expected of course. You gently tap your earpiece.

“Sumaru is in the training hall. Karin, what am I looking at there?”

“His two immediate flunkies are there,” she informs you. “The other team informs me that they’re ready to go when you are.”

“Good,” you reply calmly. “Then tell them to move in. I’ll be doing the same… hopefully we can avoid a major scene.”

You break cover, slinking through the darkness towards the training hall. Of course the main entrance is guarded by the two flunkies, both star-chakra-trained chūnin from their appearances and positions in the pecking order around here.

>Walk up to them and tell them that Akahoshi is dead, and they are to lay down their weapons and cooperate.
>Try to catch them in a genjutsu and neutralize them.
>Attack full-bore, cut them down before they can do anything too dramatic or stupid in retaliation.
>Other?

>>4072385
>>Try to catch them in a genjutsu and neutralize them.

>>4072385
>Try to catch them in a genjutsu and neutralize them.
Seems like these guys are pretty small-time.
It's a backwater village after all.

>>4072385
>>Try to catch them in a genjutsu and neutralize them.
Revealing ourself feels dumb, and cutting them down is a bit much in my opinion. Keeping this as a 1-kill run would be good in the long-term of the village's stability.

>>4072385
>>Try to catch them in a genjutsu and neutralize them.

>>4072396
Yeah, no point killing random mooks. It's unnecessary.

>>4072385
>>Try to catch them in a genjutsu and neutralize them.

>>4072385
>Try to catch them in a genjutsu and neutralize them.

>>4072385
>1d6, DC 10 (Moderate-Hard)
>Taking the first three

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4073427

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4073427

>>4073432
>>4073454
well, at least we will get the SP back we will have to spend on passing

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4073427

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4073427

>>4073427
Inb4 'Spend 3 SP to pass?
>yes

>>4073427
>SP: 5/6
Spend 3 SP to pass?
>Yes: use the genjutsu to improve their chances of survival
>No: save your effort and rely on more lethal means

Also keep in mind that you will get 1 SP back for the double 3's. I just haven't added that yet for procedural reasons.

>>4073468
>>Yes: use the genjutsu to improve their chances of survival

>>4073468
>>Yes: use the genjutsu to improve their chances of survival

>>4073468
>>Yes: use the genjutsu to improve their chances of survival

>>4073468
see >>4073464

>>4073468
>Yes: use the genjutsu to improve their chances of survival

>>4073468
>SP: 3/6
>ES: 1/2 (1T)
Writing

>>4073550
You draw Umekiri from her saya and begin to flow yin-nature chakra through her blade, making the required seals with your left hand as you approach the two chūnin. It requires nothing more than to conceal your presence long enough to get into range for a knockout blow, which you deliver to the first man with Umekiri’s hilt.

The second, however, realizes that something is wrong and makes a hand seal of his own.

“Kujaku Myōhō!”

Before you can take him down violet chakra emerges from his body, acting as a pair of wings which lift him up off the ground and back away from you.

“An intruder!?” he realizes. So this method of using the star to enhance their chakra… it disturbs the user’s chakra enough to serve as a genjutsu-releasing technique?

“Interesting,” you admit. “I had no idea that was an application of your village’s training method. But it’s over anyway, Akahoshi died at my hand just now.”

“Surrender peacefully and I won’t need to subdue you.”

“Yeah, like I’d fall for such an obvious lie!” the man proclaims, manifesting the chakra and moulding it around a kunai.

He charges you, slower than you’d expect if you’re honest, and with a wider swing than you’d have expected. So he really is an unremarkable chūnin, but with remarkable chakra? What an oddly unreadable set of information you’ve gathered so far.

“I can’t tell if you’re strong or weak,” you admit with an awkward grin. “So I apologize if I end up overdoing it!”

“Dōjigiri Raigen!”

You disappear in the bright flash, this time using a yin-based technique that will work in spite of what you’ve learned to be one of the star chakra’s qualities, and deliver a diagonal slash upward across the chūnin’s back. He yelps in pain and manifests a giant, vaguely beast-shaped mass of chakra.

“Kujaku: Kemono!”

You quickly bite your thumb and slam your palm into the ground, prepared for a powerful ninjutsu attack that if you simply dodge it might damage the village.

“Kuchiyose: Taiyōmon!”

Whatever the attack was supposed to do, the Taiyōmon prevents it from doing that and the chakra dissipates on impact. The massive stone gate disappears in a cloud of dust and smoke, and you hurl several fistfuls of poisoned paper shuriken into the spot where you know that the chūnin should be standing. When the smoke clears you find you’ve hit him a few times, and the anesthetic is already going into effect.
>1/2

>>4073603
“If we’ve got any one advantage on you it’s our stamina!” the chūnin laughs maniacally. “I feel like I can keep this up all day… how ‘bout you!?”

“Kujaku: Kemono!”

“Kuchiyose: Taiyōmon!”

This time you summon the gate directly under your feet, rising above the blast by riding the Taiyōmon into the air. Before it disappears again you’re already falling onto the chūnin with Umekiri ready for a spine-first hammer blow.

The chūnin catches sight of you in midair, and begins to mould chakra again… before he coughs violently, blood splattering out from between his fingers. You twist in midair to land behind him, and kick off your toe lightly as a dancer might leap on the stage.

“What’s happening?” you demand.

But the chūnin is incapable of responding, the coughing fit and gurgling robbing him of that ability.

>Call in Karin, see if you can get him stabilized.
>Knock him unconscious and leave him in a position where he can’t drown in his own blood.
>Not your problem. Go in and rescue the kid while you have the opportunity.
>Other?

>>4073615
>Knock him unconscious and leave him in a position where he can’t drown in his own blood.

>>4073615
>Knock him unconscious and leave him in a position where he can’t drown in his own blood.

>>4073615
>>Not your problem. Go in and rescue the kid while you have the opportunity.

>>4073615
>>Knock him unconscious and leave him in a position where he can’t drown in his own blood.

>>4073615
>>Knock him unconscious and leave him in a position where he can’t drown in his own blood.

>>4073615
>Knock him unconscious and leave him in a position where he can’t drown in his own blood.
was it on the side?

>>4073615
>>Knock him unconscious and leave him in a position where he can’t drown in his own blood.

>>4073615
>>Knock him unconscious and leave him in a position where he can’t drown in his own blood.

>>4073615
>>Knock him unconscious and leave him in a position where he can’t drown in his own blood.

>>4073615
>>Call in Karin, see if you can get him stabilized.

>>4073615
>Knock him unconscious and leave him in a position where he can’t drown in his own blood.

>>4073615
It feels a little unnecessary, but you hit the guy in the back of the head and leave him on his side, propped up in such a way that at very least he won’t drown in his own lung blood. Then you run inside the training hall, working your way to the room where Sumaru has been left tied up and gagged.

“It’s okay,” you assure the boy, who is probably around Naruto’s age. “I’m the one who stole the star… I’m here to free you. Will you cooperate?”

He nods frantically, and so you ungag him and free his limbs from the ropes. “Better?”

“Where is Akahoshi!?” Sumaru demands immediately. “He’s the one who...”

“I dealt with him already,” you interrupt him. “He won’t be forcing you and the other kids in this village to do the star training anymore.”

“What?” he asks. “Why?”

“Reasons,” you reply vaguely, thinking carefully about your situation. “Are you aware of who really kidnapped you?”

Sumaru nods. “Yeah, why?”

“Because he blamed it on me,” you tell him. “I need you to tell the village what really happened… my team went to help your friends. Can you ask them to tell the villagers what the star training does to you?”

“How do you know about that?” he asks.

“The guy I fought outside overused that form of yours,” you explain. “His lungs basically exploded. Not pretty.”

“I see...” Sumaru muses sadly. “I should say that I’m sorry to hear that, but...”

“Just don’t start taking pleasure in news like that,” you shake your head, “and you should be fine.”

…

Outside you find a crowd of villagers all milling about stunned by the sudden appearance of enemy ninja in the heart of their village, and team Guy is understandably on edge.

>Speak to Team Guy first, explain the situation.
>Get the kids together with Sumaru, have them explain to the village.
>Put this in the hands of Natsuhi-han. It’s her village, and she’s the only one you can tell is qualified to lead it.
>Other?

>>4073824
>>Put this in the hands of Natsuhi-han. It’s her village, and she’s the only one you can tell is qualified to lead it.

>>4073824
>Put this in the hands of Natsuhi-han. It’s her village, and she’s the only one you can tell is qualified to lead it.

>>4073824
>>Put this in the hands of Natsuhi-han. It’s her village, and she’s the only one you can tell is qualified to lead it.

>>4073824
>>Put this in the hands of Natsuhi-han. It’s her village, and she’s the only one you can tell is qualified to lead it.

>>4073824
>Natsumi han, it's your show

>>4073824
>Put this in the hands of Natsuhi-han. It’s her village, and she’s the only one you can tell is qualified to lead it.

>>4073824
>>Put this in the hands of Natsuhi-han. It’s her village, and she’s the only one you can tell is qualified to lead it.

>>4073824
“Natsuhi-han,” you gesture for the jōnin to step forward. “This is your village, I’m not qualified to speak to them. You are.”

After considering for a moment, she nods in understanding and the two of you switch places. The Hoshigakure villagers watch her intently, and you gather that some of them realize that she’s one of their own. Some, especially other jōnin, may even remember her face.

“Akahoshi is dead,” she declares firmly as her first words, ensuring that anyone who wasn’t paying attention to her before is now. “I agreed on that measure with the shinobi I hired from Amegakure to assist me in stopping the Star training for good… I had initially wanted to avoid such extreme measures, but the fact that he would stoop to kidnapping a child from our own village as a hostage to recover the star demonstrated that the need.”

“Stop the training?” one of the chūnin demands. “That’s all we have going for us! So why...”

“This is why,” Harusame snarls, nudging one of the children forward, a young, sickly-looking boy.

The boy removes his shirt.

There are gasps from the crowd, and even you have to admit you weren’t expecting this. His body almost looks like it’s covered in bruises, but what they actually are are blood blisters… damage to the shallow tissues of his body that doesn’t quite break the skin. You’ve seen them before, you’ve even had a few from intense sparring and conditioning sessions when you were just starting out at the academy. But these are truly ridiculous in size, covering so much of the boy’s body it’s actually amazing he can even stand… you hate to think of what’s going on deeper inside.

“Those are blood blisters,” Natsuhi confirms, her tone almost bordering on morose. “When I trained with the Star half of us died with wounds like these… had Akahoshi continued with the training regimen this boy would have died in a matter of months. He wouldn’t have survived.”

“Next would have been internal bleeding, shortness of breath, fever, delirium, and eventually death from multiple simultaneous organ failure. I know the pattern all too well… it’s why my husband and I tried to steal the Star in the first place.”

“You tried to steal it!?” Sumaru cries out in shock. “My parents DIED to protect the Star… were you the ones who killed them!? Were you!?”

Natsuhi squints, narrowing her eyes in a vain attempt to hold back her tears. But instead of explaining the situation, the reasoning behind her actions, she does something you couldn’t have expected.
>1/2

>>4075601
“Natsuhiboshi / Why are you so red? / Because I had a sad dream last night / My eyes are red from the tears / ...”

She sings a sad lullaby to an old tune borrowed from what must at one point have been written for a shamisen, spoken as if to the red star of the evening. Hearing it stuns Sumaru instantly, as he begins to tear up from the sudden onrush of memories it must have brought.

“… mom?”

Natsuhi-han nods quietly. “Because of what your father and I tried to do, the Third Hoshikage agreed to end the Star training. In exchange, we agreed to leave the village to spare him any embarrassment from the fallout.”

“Our own childhood friends never got the chance to grow up. But we lived… and your father died… believing that you and your friends would. That was all that mattered to us.”

“That’s impossible!” Sumaru declares. “My parents died as heroes! How could you...”

The loud sound of a smack echoes in the otherwise silent village center, audible in the crisp night air.

Sumaru and Natsuhi both stare at you in surprise as you glare at Sumaru.

“Your parents were willing to give their lives for you,” you insist in a low, firm tone. “Even if you can’t show gratitude, at least try to understand their feelings. You owe them that.”

“Please try not to judge Sumaru too harshly,” Natsuhi-han asks you quietly. “While I understand what you’re saying...”

“I apologize,” you bow politely in response, cutting her off before she can finish the thought. “It may not have been my place, but… the first time I saw you it conjured up memories of my own mother. So Sumaru-kun’s words cut a little close.”

“And forgive me for saying it at this point,” you continue, “but this is far from over. I saw what the Star chakra did to that chūnin who fought under Akahoshi. That happened to your husband… and it’s going to happen to you, isn’t it?”

After a moment, Natsuhi nods. “Yes. Sooner or later, it will.”

Sumaru’s eyes widen slightly at the notion that after just having gotten his mother back, he may soon lose her again… and for real, this time. You’d feel the same way if you were him.

>As an apology for my rudeness, I’d like to take a try using fūinjutsu to seal your Star chakra. Stop the damage from continuing to get worse.
>Call Karin over to take a look at the dead chūnin, see if she can determine a response.
>As luck would have it, Konohagakure is being run by a legendary medical ninja. I could probably guilt Tsunade-han into taking a look at these injuries.
>Other?

>>4075634
>>Call Karin over to take a look at the dead chūnin, see if she can determine a response.
If she does not come up with a remedy.
>As an apology for my rudeness, I’d like to take a try using fūinjutsu to seal your Star chakra. Stop the damage from continuing to get worse.
and maybe tell them of asking Tsunade.

>>4075634
>>Call Karin over to take a look at the dead chūnin, see if she can determine a response.

>>4075634
I'll second >>4075638

>>4075634
>>4075638

>>4075634
Karin links up with you a few minutes later, having run the whole way along with Isoka.

“Thank you for your help, Isoka,” you bow politely. “I think the situation is secure.”

“Sure, sure,” Isoka chirps. “I’m gonna go home and sleep.”

“You’ve earned it,” you nod in agreement before turning to Karin as Isoka disappears. “I need you to take a look at a body, tell me what you think of the injuries.”

After examining the dead chūnin, including making a series of incisions in his torso to peer inside, she offers her insight.

“I thought it looked a little like burning,” she admits at first, “but actually on closer inspection it looks like abrasion.”

“What, like a sanding block?” you wonder aloud.

She nods vigorously. “It was pretty brutal. The internal organs just couldn’t withstand the transformed chakra.”

“How bad is that for the others?” you ask.

“The kids will be fine,” Karin asserts. “There’s no Star chakra active in their systems, even the worst ones off will make a recovery if they’re removed from proximity to the Star itself. Sumaru and his mother however...”

“Their bodies have stored a large amount of it,” you guess.

Karin nods curtly. “That’s right. When the technique isn’t active, their tissues still have this chakra lingering there. It needs to be sealed, as soon as possible.”

“I can do that,” you declare. “Though it will be difficult.”

>I’ll need you to guarantee privacy… because I’ll need to see their chakra flow and concentration with this left eye of mine. (Use Sharingan to be sure)
>I can do it, but I’ll need some time to plan. You go ahead and help the Konoha ninja with the children. (Avoid using the Sharingan)
>Other?

>>4075833
>>I’ll need you to guarantee privacy… because I’ll need to see their chakra flow and concentration with this left eye of mine. (Use Sharingan to be sure)

>>4075833
>>I’ll need you to guarantee privacy… because I’ll need to see their chakra flow and concentration with this left eye of mine. (Use Sharingan to be sure)
Is Neji using his special eyes to spy on us a concern? Do we know some kind of privacy seal? Or are we mostly relying on distance here?

>>4075833
>>I’ll need you to guarantee privacy… because I’ll need to see their chakra flow and concentration with this left eye of mine. (Use Sharingan to be sure)

>>4075833
>>I can do it, but I’ll need some time to plan. You go ahead and help the Konoha ninja with the children. (Avoid using the Sharingan)

>>4075833
>>I’ll need you to guarantee privacy… because I’ll need to see their chakra flow and concentration with this left eye of mine. (Use Sharingan to be sure)

>>4075833
>>I’ll need you to guarantee privacy… because I’ll need to see their chakra flow and concentration with this left eye of mine. (Use Sharingan to be sure)

>>4075833
>I’ll need you to guarantee privacy… because I’ll need to see their chakra flow and concentration with this left eye of mine. (Use Sharingan to be sure)

>>4075833
>I’ll need you to guarantee privacy… because I’ll need to see their chakra flow and concentration with this left eye of mine. (Use Sharingan to be sure)

>>4075833
“If you could do me a favor and get the Konoha team on their way back with the kids who will need treatment,” you tell her quietly, “that would help.”

“Why is that?” Karin asks you, confused.

“I need the Hyūga out of here,” you explain tersely. “I’m concerned that he might be able to see the technique I’ll be using to track their chakra movements.”

“And that would be bad?”

“The elders in his village would want me assassinated,” you reply.

“That sounds like a yes,” Karin sighs. “The twins and I will get rid of them first thing in the morning.”

“Thanks”

…

Just before sunrise team Ibuki is on high alert as the children of Hoshigakure are prepared to follow team Guy out of the village, along with two of the local shinobi who have been selected to keep an eye on them. Before they leave, you put in an actual appearance as yourself rather than hiding behind a gas mask.

“I should have figured it was you behind that mask,” Neji muses, obviously tired by the last few days’ events. “You avoided using genjutsu in our first fight, since that would give you away… and because of that we failed to account for a skilled genjutsu user.”

“Not quite,” you admit. “Our main goal was to keep Natsuhi-han’s involvement a secret for as long as possible. Unfortunately it only fooled the three of you and not Akahoshi.”

“Well, what’s done is done,” Neji sighs.

“Hope the shoulder heals well,” you bow politely.

“I’ll be fine.”

Next it’s Lee who makes some polite smalltalk. “I hope we finally get the chance to fight one on one at some point!”

“No offense,” you sigh dramatically, “but I’d rather not, if you follow me.”

“Yeah, normal people don’t hope for stuff like that,” Tenten bonks her teammate on the head. “Though I’ve also kinda got to admit, I’m a little sorry I didn’t get the chance to show you what I’ve been working on.”

“Yeah, no, maybe we’ll do a cooperative mission or something,” you shrug. “That’d be preferable for both of us, right?”
>1/2

>>4077196
You wait until around noon, when team Guy should be plenty far enough away, before knocking at the door to the Hoshikage residence.

Akahoshi’s body has been removed, and Natsuhi-han has been looking through the official records to re-familiarize herself with the day-to-day running of her home village.

“Akahoshi had marked a substantial amount of money to bribe chūnin in the village to back him,” she tells you by way of greeting. “Enough to pay both Amegakure and Konohagakure what was promised.”

“Honoring Akahoshi’s promises as well?” you muse.

“Without the Star training we’ll be building up our reputation again almost from scratch,” Natsuhi explains. “This is as good a way as any to start doing that.”

“I see,” you muse. “Speaking of the Star training, I need you to take your top off.”

“Excuse you?”

“So that I can see what I’m doing better,” you clarify. “Why does everyone jump to something dirty… I’m a fūinjutsu expert, right?”

“I see,” Natsuhi replies somewhat more calmly. “Sorry for presuming… it’s easy to forget how young you are after having seen your ability.”

Natsuhi-han does as you asked, and presents her back for your inspection. You gently tap at her first thoracic vertebra with one fingertip.

“I’ll be needing you to concentrate your Star chakra here,” you explain, “once I have the sealing array prepared. Will that be a problem?”

“Yes,” Natsuhi admits quietly. “It will hurt, and probably exacerbate my condition, but one last time should be fine.”

“Alright then.”

You prick the skin on her back then use your fūinjutsu skills to spread the formula across her skin, forming the characters from Natsuhi’s own blood. Once the preparations are in place you work through the nineteen seals required for the technique before resting your hands against Natsuhi’s shoulderblades.

“Now concentrate the Star chakra right where I told you before...”
>1d6, DC 9
>taking the first three

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4077198

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4077198

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4077198

>>4077199
>>4077200
>>4077201
Welp, time to prep my yes vote on spending SP. We have to have at least 1 left, right?

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4077198
>>4077201
wish me luck

>>4077201
Incorrectly linked. Please re-roll.

>>4077205
>>4077202
Oh thank god. What a gloriously timed mistake lol

>>4077198
Using the Sharingan, you can confirm that you’ve succeeded in sealing a large amount of chakra into the Evil Sealing formula… and that includes all of the ‘tainted’ chakra which has been infused into her body. Concentrating it that much does in fact aggravate her already delicate condition, wracking her body with pain and leaving her hands stained with blood that she’s coughed into them.

You carry her to a low sofa in another room, gingerly cleaning away the blood and seeing to her comfort… the same way you used to do when your own mother’s condition ultimately caught up to her.

Sumaru runs in, clearly in a panick, from the other room.

“What happened!?” he demands. “What did you…”

You put your finger to your lips, shushing him quietly. “Your mother needs to rest. The Evil Sealing method would have been hard on her under the best of circumstances.”

You keep close tabs on her condition, monitoring her pulse and breathing for any further irregularities. Eventually you’re satisfied that Natsuhi-han isn’t going to die on you any time soon, and so you turn your attention back to Sumaru.

>I’ll need to do the same to you soon enough. Now would actually be good.
>Explain to him what you were doing, and what he needs to do to help his mother.
>Explain to him why doing this “the right way” is so important to you.
>Other?

>>4077264
>I’ll need to do the same to you soon enough. Now would actually be good.
>Explain to him what you were doing, and what he needs to do to help his mother.
>Explain to him why doing this “the right way” is so important to you.

all this is good

>>4077264
>>Explain to him what you were doing, and what he needs to do to help his mother.

>>4077264
>>Explain to him what you were doing, and what he needs to do to help his mother.
>>Explain to him why doing this “the right way” is so important to you.

>>4077264
>>I’ll need to do the same to you soon enough. Now would actually be good.

>>4077264
>>I’ll need to do the same to you soon enough. Now would actually be good.
>>Explain to him what you were doing, and what he needs to do to help his mother.

>>4077264
>>4077265

>>4077264
This
>>4077265

Children aren't dumb, they understand if you properly explain things to them.

>>4077264
Supporting >>4077265

>>4077264
“I’m going to have to do the same to you,” you explain calmly. “It should go more easily in your case… I had to have Natsuhi-han concentrate her Star chakra into a single spot, where I sealed it using an advanced fūinjutsu. She may one day be able to draw on it again safely, but for now it will give her body a chance to recover from the damage done by years of having used that Kujaku technique.”

“How bad was she?”

“If I hadn’t assassinated Akahoshi,” you reply, playing the scenario out in your mind, “your mother would have used her Star chakra to fight him. And even if she beat Akahoshi under those circumstances I wouldn’t have been able to save her.”

“But she’ll be okay now, right?”

You nod calmly. “It depends on her NOT using that form again. But it should be fine, yes.”

“There are also some things you’ll have to do,” you explain. “To take care of her until she’s ready to travel to Konohagakure for treatment.”

“Like what?”

You quickly give him the rundown, recalling how you card for your own mother in her final days. It’s… not pleasant to remember. But with any luck, going through this now will help make sure that Sumaru won’t lose his mother the same way you lost Tenran, or “Uzumaki Makoto” as she was once known.

“How do you know all this?”

You shake your head sadly. “Why do you think?”

He considers your response for a moment, and eventually his expression sours. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you assure him. “I’m not offended, it’s just not a pleasant subject for me.”

“Now, turn around and take your shirt off.”

…

Now Natsuhi-han is lying comfortably on the couch, while Sumaru lies face-first on a futon beside her. You’ve sealed your Sharingan off for the second time, feeling surprisingly alright considering the fact that you’ve used it quite a bit in the last twenty-four hours or so. Since you’ve been left with no one to talk to here, you summon Isoka to you.

“Yeah?” she chirps, “what is it?”
>1/2

>>4077552
“I’m bored,” you admit. “And I have to stay here for a while.”

“So you expect me to just entertain you?” she demands, flitting back and forth in agitation. “How. DARE.”

“I’d like to know how you use that Tenkyū technique of yours,” you reply.

She immediately changes her tune. “Oh, well in that case, listen up to your senpai!”
>1d6, high roll
>Taking the first three

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4077554

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4077554

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4077554

>>4077554
It has to be concentrated in your mouth: that’s the key. You and Isoka find a small balcony where you can sit in under the eaves and take it in turns to shoot potshots at the nearest tree out behind the Hoshikage’s residence. Isoka can easily blast her shots through the tree and into the forest beyond it, while you struggle at first to even perform the technique. But with about an hour’s practice, you finally manage to embed a senbon made from water into the tree.

“Hey!” Isoka chirps. “That was actually pretty good!”

“Thanks!” you pant. “I figured that wouldn’t be too hard a Suiton technique for me, since it’s producing the water that seems to be the problem.”

“You really did pick it up pretty good though,” Isoka muses. “Anyway, senpai says to practice it some more, so keep up the good work!”

Then she disappears.

By that point it seems like Natsuhi-han’s breathing has eased somewhat, and it seems like Sumaru is sleeping it off rather than being “unconscious”, like from the pain. So you think it’s going to be fine.

…

The next morning both Natsuhi-han and Sumaru are already awake, though they seem to be struggling a little at daily tasks. Natsuhi-han is the first to notice you.

“You must have stayed up all night looking out for us,” she smiles. “Thank you, for everything. Your team is a little anxious to leave, but at least let me cook you breakfast as thanks.”

Breakfast consists of fresh mugi-miso, a bowl of rice with a pickled ume in the center, a light salad of cucumber and citrus, fresh sliced melon, and fried tofu. No fish of course, since the only place for a river around here is covered in poison gas… probably most of the food on this plate was either shipped in as staples or grown nearby.

“It was very good,” you thank them politely. “It can’t have been easy considering your conditions.”

>Wish them well, and remind Natsuhi to meet with Tsuna-han as soon as she feels well enough.
>Ask them if they have any ideas how they’ll compensate for losing the Star training.
>You know, Fūma Kagero may have some ideas for how to compensate for losing the Star training.
>Other?

>>4077607
>>You know, Fūma Kagero may have some ideas for how to compensate for losing the Star training.

>>4077607
who was fuma kagero again?

>>4077607
>>You know, Fūma Kagero may have some ideas for how to compensate for losing the Star training.

>>4077617
nvm, looked it up
i was confused by the fuma part

>>4077626
can you share with the class because i'm forgetful and lazy

>>4077713
sure, its the girl we saved from snekmans hideout and deposited her back with her clan, which then resettled. She has some weird enhancement jutsus, including one that gives her chakrawings, so there is some similarity

>>4077607
>You know, Fūma Kagero may have some ideas for how to compensate for losing the Star training.

>>4077607
>You know, Fūma Kagero may have some ideas for how to compensate for losing the Star training.

>>4077607
>You know, Fūma Kagero may have some ideas for how to compensate for losing the Star training.

>>4077607
>>Wish them well, and remind Natsuhi to meet with Tsuna-han as soon as she feels well enough.

>>4077607
“I have an acquaintance who may have some thoughts regarding your situation,” you admit. “Fūma Kagerō, formerly of the Land of Sound.”

“The Land of Sound?” Natsuhi-han repeats skeptically. “You mean that criminal Orochimaru’s private village?”

You nod curtly. “The very same. They’re actually in a similar position, trying to re-establish themselves after losing several of their most gifted members to Orochimaru’s… shall we say ‘neglectful managerial strategies’?”

“I see...”

“I can tell you’re not too enthused,” you sigh, “and I can’t blame you. But would it hurt to at least discuss your respective situations? An outsider’s perspective might be helpful to both sides.”

After a few moments Natsuhi-han agrees, and you take the necessary steps to send Kijani to find Kagerō with a message detailing the proposition. Natsuhi-han also promises to contact you after the meeting to report on how it went. So when you leave, it’s with a warm farewell and an open invitation to return some day.

…

February 20… the day of your sixteenth birthday!

You wake in the morning, with no missions scheduled for the day and no other commitments. The day is your proverbial oyster… raining of course, but that was to be expected. How do you want to spend it?

>Girls’ day out!
>Girls’ day in!
>Just see where your feet take you.
>Other?

>>4079332
>Just see where your feet take you.

>>4079332
>>Just see where your feet take you.
Inb4 ramen

>>4079332
>>Girls’ day out!
Let's go find Ajisai and mess with her

>>4079332
>>Just see where your feet take you.

>>4079351
>>4079332
supporting this!

>>4079332
>Just see where your feet take you.

Can anyone say random encounter?

>>4079332
>>Girls’ day in!

>>4079332
>Just see where your feet take you.

>>4079332
You decide that you can do a lot worse than to just wander around the village in the rain for a little while, seeing what comes to you rather than the other way around. It actually kind of snuck up on you a little, since you haven’t really gone out of the way to celebrate your birthdays since your mother passed, so you didn’t even bother to check if Ajisai and Karin are in town today. You figure Ajisai knows the date, as well as the fact that Karin wouldn’t know, so if they’re both here they’re certain to find you on their own initiative when they’re ready.

By lunch time you’ve saved an old lady who slipped and fell into the waterway, helped a young boy retrieve his family’s cat from the top of a telephone pole, stopped for chai at a lovely little cafe you’ve never been to before, and bought a new package of cleaning paper for Umekiri’s blade.

After a quick lunch platter of sushi, you decide to pick up some fresh flowers to make a new arrangement in the alcove in your room…

>1d6
>taking the third only

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4079494

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4079494

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4079494
incomning 1

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4079494
nat 1?