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>>5416817

You’ve announced yourself like that before, you think as you effortlessly dance away from any danger your attackers may think they present. But that’s because if you ambushed targets like these with intent to kill you’d have killed them instantly, and learned nothing. And in the world of shinobi, information is often everything.

>Just kill them and be done with it. Orochimaru-han can learn from their corpses.
>They’re probably using scientific tools against you. Identify and destroy them.
>Give them just a taste of what REAL power is like. Completely demoralize them.
>Other?

>>5416822
>>They’re probably using scientific tools against you. Identify and destroy them.

>>5416822
>>Give them just a taste of what REAL power is like. Completely demoralize them.

>>5416822
>>They’re probably using scientific tools against you. Identify and destroy them.

Raw power is a crutch

>>5416822
>They’re probably using scientific tools against you. Identify and destroy them.

>>5416822
>>They’re probably using scientific tools against you. Identify and destroy them.

>1d6 high roll first four for finessing it

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5417865

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5417865

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5417865

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5417865

>>5417865
You have to admit it’s entirely possible that these two brats have genuine curse marks, but there’s no way they got them from Orochimaru and beside you and him there’s a very limited number of people who could possibly be responsible. At least… if you’re only considering ‘genuine’ curse marks, that is.

“Oh, that’s cute,” you smirk, realizing what’s going on here.

The two come at you in a rapid sequence, not particularly coordinated of course but you’ll admit they’re reasonably quick. “How long can you keep dancing, hm?” the young man crows.

“Long enough,” you reply curtly, sidestepping his wild swing. You get a nice good look at him as he passes, and quickly spot the high-tech looking gadget around his neck. His partner, who you take to be his sister, is also wearing one. Good a place as any to start.

As his massively oversized fist misses you again you grab him around the wrist with your right hand, pulling him off balance and letting you grab around the collar you picked out as his scientific ninja tool.

“What’re you doing!?” he demands. “Hey, don’t mess with that!”

You pull him into position to serve as a human shield, so his sister has to back off her intended line of attack. Her expression is hard to read, since her face looks a bit like a shark right now, but you think she realizes that you’ve figured out their secret.

“Yeah no, I’m not sure why you’d expect me to listen to you,” you muse. “This looks important. If I break it, will you die?”

“Now, wait a minute,” he replies. “We don’t have to find out, so let’s just all be patient here and talk this out…”

“Wow, ‘talk it out’, you say,” you continue, tightening your grip. “What happened to all that tough talk a few moments ago?”

“Let him go!” the sister demands.

“Mmmm… no,” you reply. “I have a better idea.”

>Break the collar, see what happens.
>Tell me who gave you these little toys?
>How about I take you both into custody?
>Other?

>>5418296
>wrap sealing chains around his neck, suck the chakra out of his collar
>ditto for the girl

>>5418296
>>Break the collar, see what happens.

>>5418296
>break the collar

>>5418296
>Break the collar, see what happens.

>>5418296
>1d6, high roll
>best three of four

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5419153

>>5419153

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5419153

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5419153

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5419153

>>5419153
You examine the collar a bit more closely - it’s a hard metal case with illuminated strips visible through cutouts, meaning it must carry some sort of small replaceable or rechargeable power supply. The juinjutsu formula is probably marked onto a board or band inside the collar like a printed circuit, which is a technique you recall Sasori-han pioneering in order to mimic and interface with a natural nervous system. It’s not quite clear how this little device allows its wearer to obtain the effects of the juinjutsu marked into it, but that really doesn’t matter. What matters is that you know the basic principles of its operation, and when you know how something works it tends to make it much easier to break.

“Uzumaki-ryū: Shadanki!” you name your response to this type of tool impulsively, and the sealing technique abruptly breaks the ‘circuitry’ inside the collar that powers the juinjutsu by placing an Uzumaki-style fūinjutsu formula within the juinjutsu formula.

The young man howls as the curse mark state ends, his body slowly and painfully reverting to normal, before you flow chakra into your fingertips and crush the device around his neck. It comes free in your left hand without decapitating him, before you punch him in the gut with your right. He doubles over, and falls to the forest floor.

“Brother!?” the other one shouts in alarm. “What did you do!?”

“Yeah no, you wouldn’t understand it,” you frown. “But to oversimplify it, I placed a ‘virus’ into the juinjutsu formula circuits that gave him that power.”

“The hell!? Is that even possible!?”

“Not for an idiot like you,” you scoff, “but you’re dealing with an expert. These little toys of yours use a metallic paint as both electric circuitry and the juinjutsu formula, so if you move that paint around it’s pretty easy to change what the circuit does.”

“Just be grateful I didn’t turn it into a bomb.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“Yeah, so I think the results should speak for themselves,” you counter, gesturing towards her brother on the ground where he’s dry heaving. “Even with those little toys I’m much stronger than you, and unlike you I actually understand where that power you’re using comes from.”

>Quiz her a little bit. See if you can discern who she is and who she works for.
>Just beat her right here on the spot. Interrogations can come afterwards.
>Leave. She clearly knows nothing and wouldn’t be an interesting fight.
>Other?

>>5419856
>>Quiz her a little bit. See if you can discern who she is and who she works for.

>>5419856
>Quiz her a little bit. See if you can discern who she is and who she works for.
I sense bullshit. She's gonna get away somehow, isn't she?

>>5419856
>>Quiz her a little bit. See if you can discern who she is and who she works for.

>>5419856
>Quiz her a little bit. See if you can discern who she is and who she works for.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

King says to roll 1d6, best of five. He's banned on mobile.

>>5420453
best 3 of 5, sorry

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5420453

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5420453

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5420453
MY DICE WILL PIERCE THE HEAVEN!

>>5420473
And the drill was dull...

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5420453

>>5419856
You get the brother out of the way with a swift kick - nothing that could kill an ordinary person, but enough to knock him into a tree. His sister of course is nothing short of incensed.

“Why you…”

She rushes forth, only to find your blade at her throat. She manages to stop short, with a little help from you by way of drawing Umekiri’s edge back ever so slightly - and she glares.

“Yeah no, I needed your brother to be incapacitated,” you clarify. “A precaution, so that we could have a little chat without any interruptions. See, I need to know a few things.”

“And I assume if I don’t tell you anything you’ll take my head off,” she snarls. “Is that it?”

“No,” you reply, blade held perfectly against her throat, moving it ever so slightly as she breathes to preserve the illusion that it’s absolutely immobile. “I won’t be executing anyone today, but how hard this goes for you depends solely on you.”

“Do we have an understanding?”

After a moment, she nods.

“Good,” you declare, still not lowering Umekiri even for an instant. “Now, someone gave you those collars. Who was it?”

“I don’t know the guy’s name,” she admits in a growl. “We work for a go-between.”

“Who?”

“Security bureau for the Land of Rivers,” she tells you. “Or a part of it at least. I think you’d say they’re ‘in business for themselves’.”

“Are they in the area?”

“They should be on their way to check progress on this project.”

“Is Tosaka-han involved?”

“Who?”

She’s not lying - she probably hasn’t met the one responsible for creating these shinobi tools, and has only been in contact with their handlers in the Land of Rivers.
>1/2

>>5421085
With a flick of your wrist you slice through the collar, and it falls to the ground. The sister writhes in pain for a few moments, cursing you all the while, before she returns to her form before the curse mark.

She glares at you, panting heavily. “So what now?”

>Now I go after your patrons. I don’t really care what either of you do with yourselves so long as I never have to deal with you again.
>Now I take you into custody while this situation is resolved. What happens to you depends on what we determine you’ve done.
>I have one last question - why did you get involved in any of this in the first place?
>Other?

>>5421136
>I have one last question - why did you get involved in any of this in the first place?
If it's some bullshit, it's off to ninja jail

>>5421136
>Now I take you into custody while this situation is resolved. What happens to you depends on what we determine you’ve done.
>I have one last question - why did you get involved in any of this in the first place?

>>5421136
>>Now I take you into custody while this situation is resolved. What happens to you depends on what we determine you’ve done.
I assume t

>>5421136
>>Now I take you into custody while this situation is resolved. What happens to you depends on what we determine you’ve done.

>>5421136
“Yeah, so what happens now is I take you and your brother into custody,” you declare. “What happens after that depends on what we learn about what you’ve done and why.”

“Why do I feel like you’re judging us?” she demands.

You shrug. “Probably because I am, at least a little.”

“You don’t know the first thing about us!” she accuses. “It must be so damn easy for you!”

“Try me,” you growl, rapidly running out of patience. “I know you want to spill your guts to me, but make it quick. I’ve got things to do.”

“Me and my brother, we’re war orphans,” she declares. “Our parents were killed during the last world war. Our handler, in the Land of Rivers? He’s the only reason we’re alive, the only reason we have a purpose. Do you have any idea what that’s like?”

“You have no idea,” you glare at her. “I’m not heartless, for sure, so I do get it. But nothing comes easy when you’ve been on the wrong side of things.”

“Even just ‘moving on’ is something you have to earn.”
>1d6, best three of four

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5422255

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5422255

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5422255

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5422255

>>5422255
You are Uzumaki Shiki, and your team has just seen off Orochimaru of the Sannin when you get a call.

“Sarada, what is it?” you grunt. “You found something?”

There’s nothing on the other end, which is actually rather disturbing. “Sarada?”

After a few moments, the call ends abruptly.

Your teammates watch you carefully, even as Sumirin packs off your wound. “What is it?” she asks with a frown.

“I just got a weird call from Sarada,” you reply, flipping your phone closed.

“Weird like worrisome?” Wasabi asks, concern apparent in her expression. “What did she say?”

“Nothing,” you clarify, feeling that same concern. “No sound at all from the other end of the line.”

“That… isn’t normal,” Sumirin decides. “Should we… I dunno, go check on them?”

>Naori-ue should be here shortly. We can wait for her and go together.
>We should wake Jugo. He’s strong, we can use his help.
>We should go quickly. My wound will be fine in a few moments.
>Other?

>>5423130
>>We should go quickly. My wound will be fine in a few moments.

>>5423130
>We should wake Jugo. He’s strong, we can use his help.

>>5423130
>Naori-ue should be here shortly. We can wait for her and go together.
Our mom, who is an unstoppable god-slayer, is literally right here. Any other option is just putting salad in danger.

>>5423139
Well being self-sufficient is good too.

>>5423130
>We should wake Jugo. He’s strong, we can use his help.

>We should wake Jugo. He’s strong, we can use his help.

On one hand we should probably hurry, on the other it's probably not wise to just leave Jugo here.

>>5423130
>>We should go quickly. My wound will be fine in a few moments.
I don't trust Jugo

>>5423130
“We could use some backup,” you decide, brushing yourself off.

“Your wound…” Sumirin frowns.

“Will heal,” you insist. “But right now we need to help Team Three. And I think I know who’s going to help us.”

Wasabi gets it immediately. “Wait… no way.”

Sumirin catches on just as quickly. “Him?” she wonders, glancing down at Jugo. “I’m sorry, Shiki-kun, but you can’t be serious.”

“I’m very serious,” you insist, staggering over towards Jugo and standing over him. “You’re already awake, right?”

Jugo’s eyes open. “You knew?”

“I suspected,” you reply. “So what do you think?”

“I didn’t want any trouble,” he tells you calmly. “I just wanted to stay out of everyone’s way, and not get anyone else involved.”

“That’s nice and all, but if you haven’t noticed we’re all super involved now!” Wasabi protests.

“That much is true,” Jugo admits, sitting up now and completely abandoning the act. “Just not for the reasons you seem to think.”

“... what?” Sumire asks blankly. “Sorry, you’ll have to be clearer.”

“I can help your friends,” Jugo tells you with a frown. “But I’m not the source of the problem - the geese here were sick when I found them.”

…

“So you’ve been drawing natural energy out of the geese, same way I did with Konohamaru-sensei,” you summarize what Jugo tells you on your way to where Team Three should be.

“And when you overdo it, you lose control,” Sumire adds. “Like when you attacked us.”

“For what it’s worth, I apologize for that,” Jugo replies. “But that’s why I had wanted to avoid others at all costs. It’s a side effect of my kekkei genkai.”
>1/2

>>5425538
“They were supposed to be somewhere around here, at the lakeside,” you muse, after you and your team have spent a few minutes looking around. “Wasabi, can you sense anything?”

“I smell people,” she tells you, having sniffed at the air. “Lucky for us it seems they’re upwind.”

>We should approach cautiously. There’s no telling what condition they’re in.
>We should move in quickly. If they were attacked we may catch their attacker.
>We should do this tactically. Assume there’s an active threat and set a trap.
>Other?

>>5425826
>We should move in quickly. If they were attacked we may catch their attacker.

>>5425826
>We should move in quickly. If they were attacked we may catch their attacker.

>>5425826
>>We should move in quickly. If they were attacked we may catch their attacker.

>>5425826
>1d6, high roll, first three

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5426564

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5426564

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5426564

>>5426564
“If we move quickly we might catch someone in the act,” you insist curtly. “We move now. Two-stage ambush.”

…

You lead your team into a clearing, bursting from the treeline with your weapons raised to find Team Three in rough shape. Boruto and Sarada are both down on the ground, and uniformed men in respirator masks have them surrounded. Tsubaki is barely standing, her outfit just about ruined and her sword held low, facing a creature that looks a lot like Jugo did when you fought before. Grey skin and a distorted physique, with visibly reinforced plates covering bulging muscles. Its hair is a different shade of grey… Tosaka-san, is it?

“Gas!” Wasabi-chan warns you loudly, forcing your whole team to break off your attack for a moment.

“My, so it seems all three of you are sharp!” Tosaka grins wildly. “No matter.”

An older uniformed man with a grey mustache steps forward. “Men, seize them!”

These clearly aren’t shinobi, and Wasabi’s faintest whiff of poison gas was more than quick enough to give you a chance to don masks of your own - you had already suspected this when you saw that the enemy were wearing them, and were already preparing to unseal your own. Thankfully all three of you have trained for this sort of eventuality, and by the time the masked men get close enough to you with their weapons drawn you’re ready to make short work of them.

Their weapons turn out to be a form of shock baton, less powerful than lightning chakra flow but still worth a nasty hit if you’re not careful - or simply fast, which you, Wasabi, and Sumire all are after having been trained for so long in one on one combat with Hanabi-sensei. Wasabi sends several men flying into the trees as she darts about, and Sumire drops a few where they stand with firm blows to the backs of their necks. As for the ones unlucky enough to face you, none of them seem so tough when you start beating them senseless with their own stun batons.
>1/2

>>5426655
“Well, at least you’re tougher than these other brats!” Tosaka declares, having cast aside any pretenses that he’s somehow not the villain. “I thought you’d started to suspect me somehow, but none of that matters anymore does it!? Since you’re not gonna tell anyone, right!?”

He moves almost as fast as Jugo does, but this time you’re more prepared for it.

Tosaka seems startled when his fist bounces off the glowing, white-hot chain you create to protect yourself.

“... what’s this about?” he wonders, his oversized fist still smouldering from the contact. “You have a strange technique.”

“Hiden: Tenrō Fūsa,” you reply flatly, winding the chains in arcs around your body.

“Let’s see what you’re ma-”

You don’t let him finish.

>Go all-out. It’s clear he’s too much of a threat for anything less.
>This is what you brought Jugo here for. Why is he not doing anything?
>You need to capture Tosaka, as much of a pain as that will be.
>Other?

>>5426679
>>Go all-out. It’s clear he’s too much of a threat for anything less.

>>5426679
>Go all out

>>5426679
>>You need to capture Tosaka, as much of a pain as that will be.

>>5426679
>Go all-out. It’s clear he’s too much of a threat for anything less.

>>5426679
>>You need to capture Tosaka, as much of a pain as that will be.

>>5426679
>1d6, best three of four

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5427352

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5427352

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5427352
Begone cursed numbers!

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5427352

>>5427352
You flow chakra through your legs and dash forward, letting your individual chakra chains trail in sweeping arcs, trailing flickering flames. Your blade is nudged aside as you thrust forward, and you reverse it in your hand to bring the edge towards the back of Tosaka’s neck as you draw your arm back. Tosaka manages to avoid the scything swing, and you manage to block his fist with your Tenrō Fūsa, pulling it into position by drawing chains across your body with your left hand.

Now that you’re closer in, you mould your chakra and exhale deeply… and Tosaka’s face is left wet, like a fogged mirror. That’s not at all what you were trying to do.

Tosaka backs off when Sumire throws a few tagged kunai into the mix, and you disengage as well before the explosions. Wasabi, transformed by her cat covering technique, turns his flank as he tries to backpedal, and takes a swipe or two at him.

>Get Jugo involved - that’s why you brought the man after all.
>Work together with your team. Jugo can help Team Three withdraw.
>Bring in the shadow clones you positioned ahead of time as the ‘second ambush’.
>Other?

>>5427563
>>Get Jugo involved - that’s why you brought the man after all.

>>5427563
>Work together with your team. Jugo can help Team Three withdraw.

>>5427563
>>Work together with your team. Jugo can help Team Three withdraw.

>>5427563
>>Work together with your team. Jugo can help Team Three withdraw.

>>5427563
>1d6, high roll, best three of four

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5428711
uh oh stinky

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5428711

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5428711

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5428711

>>5428711
Messed up schedule this weekend, will update tomorrow morning.

>>5428711
“Jugo, get the others to safety!” you demand. “My team and I will handle this together.”

After a moment you glance over your shoulder to make sure your words were heard, and Jugo nods to you. “Alright. I can do that.”

“So, you two get a good feel for this guy yet?” you ask your teammates.

“He’s pretty fast and strong,” Wasabi-chan informs you. “But you knew that.”

“I’m not sure how well he’s been trained,” Sumirin adds cautiously. “His movements have a certain…”

“Sloppiness?” Wasabi-chan interrupts. “I noticed it too.”

“I was going to say inelegance,” Sumirin replies, “but yes, I suppose that works.”

“Ah, yes, three snot-nosed brats are going to use their finely-honed skills and year of experience to overcome a vastly stronger opponent!” Tosaka taunts you. “Aren’t you kids a bit too old for fairy tales?”

“If you think this makes you strong,” you growl, whipping up your chakra chains and setting your flames burning brighter, “then you have no idea what true ‘strength’ looks like.”

“Interesting…” Tosaka muses, before grinning maniacally. “Just kidding!”

You manage to avoid his charge with some light footwork, countering with a swing of your knife’s edge that trails fiery white flower petals. Tosaka rolls to his right as he charges past you, stumbling for an instant that lets Wasabi-chan slide in under his outstretched arm.

“Gotcha!” she shouts as she clambers onto his back, digging her chakra claws in deep.

He roars in anger, trying desperately to either shake her off or strike her as she clings fast, which leaves him open to a low slash across the backs of his legs which you deliver with all the speed and precision of an expert fencer. As Tosaka goes down to his knees Wasabi finds purchase on his hair and yanks his head back.
>1/2

>>5429309
“Suiton: Suireiha!”

Sumirin blasts Tosaka several times in the exposed chest and neck area before he manages to grab Wasabi, rip her off his back, and throw her at a nearby tree. She twists and sinks her claws into the trunk, swinging round it in a spray of bark and splinters so she can roll to her feet.

“This guy’s tough,” Wasabi growls. “We need to change it up!”

Sumirin bites the tip of her thumb and weaves a few hand seals before placing her hands against the ground. “Kuchiyose: Nue!”

…

You bite the tips of both your thumbs and weave the same seals, before summoning with each hand. “Kuchiyose!”

…

Meanwhile Nue takes to tying down Tosaka together with Wasabi, who helps Nue’s white snake steal great bites of Tosaka’s chakra by splitting his attention - a strategy he doesn't seem to notice.

>Your clone went to the trouble of summoning your partners. Time to make the final move.
>Whittle Tosaka down just a little bit more. Make sure there’s no chance of failure.
>Get a little more creative - try using Lightning release as a combo with Sumire’s Water.
>Other?

>>5429638
>>Get a little more creative - try using Lightning release as a combo with Sumire’s Water.

>>5429638
>Get a little more creative - try using Lightning release as a combo with Sumire’s Water.
Why, that sounds dangerously close to a finishing move!

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5429638
>>Get a little more creative - try using Lightning release as a combo with Sumire’s Water.

Predicting shit rolls, like this one

>>5429638
>>Whittle Tosaka down just a little bit more. Make sure there’s no chance of failure.

>>5429638
>>Get a little more creative - try using Lightning release as a combo with Sumire’s Water.

>>5429638
>1d6, best three of four

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5430326

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5430326
Uh oh, stinky!

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5430326

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5430326
All of these rolls are garbage. Watch this!

>>5429638
>>>Get a little more creative - try using Lightning release as a combo with Sumire’s Water.

>>5430326
You decide that the best way you can proceed is to use a combination attack, and you have just the thing in mind.

“Wasabi, ripple!” you call out.

She seems to pick up on what you mean after a moment’s hesitation, and weaves a few hand seals while Nue covers for her. “Doton: Tsuchinami!”

The technique sends ripples through the earth beneath Tosaka’s feet, ripples which gradually push the fallen Land of Rivers guards towards the edge of the clearing before leaving a raised ring at their outer limits. Then you make the next move, trapping Tosaka’s legs.

“Wha -” he exclaims as you pull him off his feet, giving Nue a chance to link up with Sumire just outside the earthen ring Wasabi created, literally wrapping his snake-like tail around her arm as she weaves hand seals, gathering a mass of powerful chakra that sets her hair floating ominously.

“Suiton: Suishōheki!”

A mass of water crashes against Tosaka and spreads out after Wasabi, dispelling the shadow clone that stayed close to him to keep him chained up. You swapped out with that clone while Tosaka was distracted by the rolling earth at his feet, and now he spots you in a tree, looking down on him with your arm drawn back, your knife crackling with lightning.

“Raiton: Nagare Shiden!”

The blade trails a bolt of lightning that connects it to your outstretched hand, glowing a vivid purple. When it sinks into the mud at Tosaka’s feet the surge spreads through the water pooling there by a combination of your teammates’ efforts, arcing madly as he screams until his skin starts to smoke and peel.

After a few moments of this you pull on a wire you attached to the frame of your knife, yanking it free of the mud and back into your waiting hand.

Tosaka stands, knees seemingly half-buckled, arms down in front of him and his head hung low, as if barely able to keep himself up off the ground. His grey skin has blackened in places and his hair is singed.
>1/2

>>5430595
Your team regroups as Tosaka just doesn’t seem to want to fall, and you weigh your options.

“He took that and he’s still standing?” Wasabi wonders aloud.

>Barely. One more push will finish him off for sure.
>He’s cornered, and dangerous because of it. Be careful.
>Other?

>>5430618
>He’s cornered, and dangerous because of it. Be careful.
>More lightning, if he dies he dies

>>5430618
>He’s cornered, and dangerous because of it. Be careful.

>>5430618
>>He’s cornered, and dangerous because of it. Be careful.
Jesus fucking christ

>>5430618
>>He’s cornered, and dangerous because of it. Be careful.

>>5427563
You’re aware of the fact that you’re looking at a man who once thought himself the predator, but now finds himself cornered. Traditionally speaking, predators and corners don’t mix - the latter tending to bring out the worst in the former. So because of that you hold your hand up, in a gesture to your team to hold back and observe for a moment. Then you gesture for Wasabi to move around one direction, and for Sumire and a visibly-smaller Nue to move in the other direction.

Above you, you’re also aware of Kiburi circling - thanks to one of your clones, you’re also aware of Momo lurking below. [Hold back for a moment,] you tell everyone within range using the wave transmission method.

Then Tosaka lets loose an ear-splitting roar, one that shakes the branches of the trees and pushes the water around his feet outwards, sloshing out of the crater it’s settled into.
>1d6, best three of four

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5431731

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5431731

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5431731

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5431731

>>5431731
Then you hear a melody - distant, yet loud enough and clear enough from the first tone that it seems as if you’re sitting in the middle of an orchestra, albeit with just one instrument or else many of the same playing in perfect unison. A flute, you realize, weaving together several strains of seemingly unrelated themes.

The effect on Tosaka is immediate, and clearly painful. His mouth hangs open in a scream, seemingly so winded that the sound that escapes his lungs sounds distant and weak, but his muscles seize up and he falls to his knees, frozen on the spot.

“Do it!” you order, and immediately two shadow clones, a giant salamander, and whatever Nue is grapple Tosaka’s limbs and hold him fast. His transformation starts to slip as Nue draws chakra straight from his veins, and very soon Tosaka is back to his normal, unremarkable-looking self.

“Nue, that’s enough!” Sumire insists, prying the summoning beast away from Tosaka’s arm so that one of your shadow clones can bind his wrists in a very real, physical length of chain.

Meanwhile, Wasabi has faced off against the flutist who chose this moment to step in.

“Who the heck are you?” she demands of the red-haired woman.

“Auntie Tayuya?” you ask, shocked at her abrupt appearance. “I mean I’m really glad to see you, but why?”

“Don’t worry about it, kiddo, I’m not here for you,” she snorts. “That’s just a happy coincidence.”

“And of course you know her,” Wasabi-chan sighs wearily.

“Thank you for your assistance,” Sumire bows politely. “But… I’m sorry, I have the same question as Shiki-kun. Why are you here… ‘Tayuya-san’, was it?”

“I’m here for that idiot Jugo,” Tayuya-san insists curtly. “You kids did pretty good, fighting two curse mark users back to back, but if this loser’d gone into stage two things might’ve gotten out of hand.”

“Stage two?” you repeat.
>1/2

>>5432668
“Yeah,” Tayuya-san confirms. “That snake-faced bastard Orochimaru made some pretty nasty juinjutsu, and if this one’s a ripoff of his work like I’m guessing, it has a second stage. It’s something you use when you don’t care about ‘winning’ as much as taking the enemy out at any cost.”

“And that ‘snake-faced bastard’ agrees,” you hear Orochimaru declare as he slithers out from between the trees, having successfully hidden his presence from all of you this whole time. “Tayuya-kun. I hadn’t expected to see you here.”

“Same,” she frowns, obviously less than pleased at the development. “Otherwise I’d’ve stayed the fuck home.”

>So if you’re not here WITH Jugo, then why were you looking for him?
>It seems like you two have a history. Will that be a problem?
>I’m probably not lucky enough for our respective purposes to match.
>Other?

>>5432672
>>So if you’re not here WITH Jugo, then why were you looking for him?
>>It seems like you two have a history. Will that be a problem?

>>5432672
>>I’m probably not lucky enough for our respective purposes to match.

>>5432672
>So if you’re not here WITH Jugo, then why were you looking for him?

>>5432672
>So if you’re not here WITH Jugo, then why were you looking for him?

>>5432672
>>So if you’re not here WITH Jugo, then why were you looking for him?

>>5432672
>>So if you’re not here WITH Jugo, then why were you looking for him?

>>5432672
“So if you’re not here with Jugo-san,” you wonder aloud, “then why are you looking for him?”

“Cause I’ve got a curse mark based on his kekkei genkai, and I wanna get rid of it,” Tayuya-san insists flatly. “Your mom did as good a job sealing it as anyone could, but it still bugs the shit outta me.”

“Odd,” Orochimaru muses thoughtfully. “I seem to recall you accepting it quite readily when you were about Shiki-kun’s age.”

“Yeah, you didn’t really leave us much choice, rat-breath,” Tayuya-san growls. “The deathmatches kinda set that tone.”

“... oh,” Orochimaru replies, sounding as though he had just remembered something disappointing. “Excuse me.”

“Whatever,” she snorts. “That shit’s way in the past - all I care about is what happens next.”

“That is not entirely sensible,” Orochimaru replies with a frown. “The past is something to learn from. Without doing so, future foolishness is all but guaranteed.”

“You tryin’ to pick a fight?”

“Not at all. That is merely my observation.”

“Well bless your scaly little heart for caring,” Tayuya-san shoots back, “but I’m not about to forget anything. So spare me.”

“Has it been causing you problems?” Orochimaru inquires.

“Hurts,” Tayuya replies curtly. “Sometimes.”

“That sounds like it comes as a surprise to you,” Sumire realizes, before Orochimaru’s appraising gaze falls on her and she grows uneasy. “I-I mean, you designed it… so it’s just surprising you’d be surprised, you know?”
>1/2

>>5433597
“Yes, well there are only two cases where someone has carried one of my juinjutsu markings for this long,” Orochimaru muses. “Tayuya-kun here used hers much more when she was young than the other recipient, so although they were similar designs the two cases really aren’t that comparable.”

“Great, so I’m ‘special’ or some shit,” Tayuya rolls her eyes. “I don’t wanna be special anymore is the problem.”

>... Tayuya-san, what were you going to do after you found Jugo-san?
>Orochimaru-san, surely there must be some way to do what Tayuya-san’s asking?
>Orochimaru-san, can you produce a detailed overview of this juinjutsu formula?
>Other?

>>5433772
>Orochimaru-san, surely there must be some way to do what Tayuya-san’s asking?

>>5433772
>>... Tayuya-san, what were you going to do after you found Jugo-san?

>>5433772
>>Orochimaru-san, surely there must be some way to do what Tayuya-san’s asking?

>>5433772
“Surely there must be some way to achieve what she’s talking about, Orochimaru-san?” you insist with a frown. “Jugo-san may be the source of your technique, but you were still the one who created it, weren’t you?”

“My skills with fūinjutsu are much more advanced than the average shinobi,” Orochimaru admits, “though my application tends to be a bit coarse.”

“How do you mean?” Wasabi asks.

“I mean that my seals are not always as refined in practice as they are well-grounded in theory. If you want truly discerning, precise control and creative application of theory at the same time, you ask an Uzumaki. That has long been the case, with a few notable exceptions.”

Your teammates glance at you, and you pause for a second.

"I mean I think you're overestimating here," you sigh, "but it can't hurt to take a look. Tayuya-san, where is the juinjutsu marking in question?"

...

Well that would do it.

After some poking and prodding at the base of Tayuya's neck, you tell her to pull her shirt back on while you consider the situation.

"It looks like my mom put a Fūja Hōin seal over the curse mark," you explain, "which has since weakened. That's why it's been causing you pain intermittently."

>I can try to strengthen the seal myself, but I can't promise anything.
>I can try to remove the seal and replace it entirely if you'd like.
>I'd rather not mess with it. Last thing I want is to make it worse.
>Other?

>>5434282
>>I can try to remove the seal and replace it entirely if you'd like.

>>5434282
>I can try to remove the seal and replace it entirely if you'd like.

>>5434282
>>I can try to strengthen the seal myself, but I can't promise anything.

>>5434282
>1d6, first three
>DC 11
>SP: 3/4

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5434804

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5434804

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5434804
Uh oh, stinky!

>>5434804
You examine your mother’s work carefully - the first time you ever met Tayuya-san, before she even taught you and your sister how to curse, you recall overhearing a brief conversation between them. Your understanding is that Naori-ue placed this fūinjutsu when they were both very young - Tayuya-san, a few years older than your mother, was just fourteen at the time. So that would make you about the same as now as your mother was back then, with the experience of having been trained by someone who essentially revived the Uzumaki fūinjutsu tradition from the brink of extinction.

So it really shouldn’t come as any surprise that you’re fairly confident you can do at least as well as she did.

“I can remove it and replace it,” you eventually decide. “That should relieve your discomfort while you try to work out a more permanent solution. Would that be acceptable?”

After thinking on it for a few moments, Tayuya-san nods. “I’d rather it be gone, but ‘less shitty’ is fine for now. Thanks.”

“You’re replacing a seal?” Wasabi-chan wonders. “Hey, mind if we watch?”

“Whatever,” Tayuya-san shrugs, already unbuttoning her top.

“Wh-what are you doing!?” Sumirin demands awkwardly.

“You really are a kid after all,” Tayuya-san chuckles impishly, kneeling in seiza and pulling her hair forward and out of your way. “This is how the technique is done, girlie. Watch and learn.”

“I’ll be preparing the replacement first,” you inform her, drawing your knife and letting a little blood from the shoulder you’ll be working on. “I shouldn’t have to tell you this but please hold still, Tayuya-san.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she replies nonchalantly, before squirming slightly anyway. “Okay… so it tickles a bit. Sorry, I forgot that.”
>1/2

>>5435265
You carefully trace long lines of sealing script along the lengths of Tayuya-san’s arms, down her back, and onto the ground at her knees, then around in a circular array. The process takes some time, since you move slowly to ensure that each letter and symbol is in precisely the right order - perhaps doubly so, since you have an audience. Not only are your teammates watching carefully, but so to is your shrike summoning partner, who has perched in a nearby tree to remain out of the way, as well as none other than Orochimaru of the famed Sannin. Once you’re confident that the array is properly laid out, you begin in earnest.

After weaving several seals with your hands you place the fingertips of your right hand against the existing array and turn them, breaking the seal. Then with your left hand you weave the seals for the new fūinjutsu, before turning the fingertips of your right hand back in the opposite direction. The many lines of sealing script withdraw and Tayuya-san winces in pain, and the marking steams angrily for a few seconds as it condenses into black lines. Finally Tayuya-san slumps backwards, the seal having formed a complete ring of black script, where you catch her.

“What a gentleman,” she grunts.

“I try,” you reply curtly. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she insists. “This ain’t my first time, kid.”

>Check on Team 3 now. They were already pretty messed-up when you arrived earlier.
>Deal with Tosaka and his compatriots first. This is clearly a conspiracy you’ve stumbled into.
>There may still be demon ducks about. They’re a threat to the locals that have to be dealt with.
>Other?

>>5435355
>>Check on Team 3 now. They were already pretty messed-up when you arrived earlier.

>>5435355
>>Check on Team 3 now. They were already pretty messed-up when you arrived earlier.

>>5435355
>check on team three

>>5435355
>>Check on Team 3 now. They were already pretty messed-up when you arrived earlier.

>>5435355
>1d6, best three of four

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5435741

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5435741

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5435741

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5435741

>>5435355
“Well, since you seem like you’ll be okay,” you muse, moving to wrap her up in her own shirt for modesty - not something Tayuya-san typically cares about, but a nice gesture that costs you nothing - and scooping her up into your arms.

“W-what!?” she demands awkwardly. “What the hell’re you doing!?”

“Taking you over to where Team 3 is at,” you declare. “Wasabi-chan, Sumirin, I’ll be counting on you to escort Tosaka-san.”

“What about these losers?” Wasabi-chan asks about the men from the Land of Rivers.

“Not to mention Orochimaru-san,” Sumirin adds, clearly uncertain about the whole thing.

“I have means,” you declare, and with a whistle you call your shadow clones in from the surrounding woods. “We’ll place these guys in custody - and if Orochimaru wants to leave he’s free to. Not like we can stop him anyway.”

“He’s right you know,” Orochimaru muses.

…

This time it’s your teammates’ turn to take the lead, using their training in medical ninjutsu to heal the wounds Sarada, Boruto, and Tsubaki all took before your team arrived to bail them out. Jugo really pulled through this time, and made sure that Team 3 was safe as could be for the entire fight against Tosaka-san… but he wanders off as Wasabi is seeing to Boruto and Sumirin to Sarada, Tsubaki having by unanimous agreement come first. Her stubbornness meant that despite being the last one standing she was the one hurt worst by the end of it.

A few minutes later Jugo comes running back for you.

“... Orochimaru…”

He doesn’t finish the thought, and to get your attention he didn’t have to. Your initial concerns proved unfounded, as when you return to the lakeshore you find that Orochimaru is still there, and not seemingly causing any trouble.

“He’s wiping out the geese,” Jugo clarifies.

Sure enough, there are a lot of feathers drifting on the surface of the lake.

>Well yeah, it’s them or us. Some perspective please, Jugo-san.
>I mean, maybe this isn’t necessary? Orochimaru-san, please consider showing some restraint.
>I don’t think we can wipe a population of wild animals out just because they’re inconvenient.
>Other?

>>5436136
>>Well yeah, it’s them or us. Some perspective please, Jugo-san.

>>5436136
>Maybe that isn't necessary?
If he could explain his thinking and provide alternatives that would be great

>>5436136
>Well yeah, it’s them or us. Some perspective please, Jugo-san.

Geese are evil

>>5436136
>Well if you wanted the most pragmatic way to clear a way to the source, that would probably be it.
Once you rule out the forest, the lake is basically the only place left.

>>5436136
“Jugo-san,” you sigh, “I’m not exactly a fan of it either, but between even a LOT of geese and letting this problem spread throughout the Land of Rivers, maybe even into the Land of Fire, it’s not even a choice. Please try to maintain some perspective here.”

“That sort of objectivity is rare in one your age,” Orochimaru muses, evidently impressed. “But that objectivity is what lets an experienced shinobi make the unpleasant decisions we are often faced with.”

“There’s also the fact that we’ve already established that we can’t stop you anyway,” you grumble. “So it’s a moot point.”

“Still, that too is wisdom of a sort,” Orochimaru continues. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a problem to take care of. I believe you do as well.”

…

“So how is it?” you ask Kiburi quietly after you rejoin the others.

“Not good,” she tells you bluntly. “It’s going to be difficult to keep their condition from advancing further.”

“I can help there,” Jugo insists, quietly but firmly. “My kekkei genkai is compatible. While it seems you and your shrike summons can treat their condition, I can actually cure them.”

>I don’t trust you that much. We’ll find a better way.
>One at a time. Kiburi and I will triage for you first.
>Well, things can’t get THAT much worse. Go for it.
>Other?

>>5436968
>>Well, things can’t get THAT much worse. Go for it.

>>5436968
>One at a time

>>5436968
>One at a time. Kiburi and I will triage for you first.
Slow and steady.

>>5436968
>>One at a time. Kiburi and I will triage for you first.

>>5436968
>1d6 best three of four

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5437685
Uh oh, stinky!

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5437685

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5437685

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5437685

>>5437685
“Kiburi and I will triage,” you decide aloud. “Start with the worst-off and we’ll reassess. Agreed?”

“We’ll do this your way then,” Jugo-san agrees.

…

“So,” you ask Kiburi in a quiet voice, some ways away from the others, “how bad is it really?”

“Very,” Kiburi tells you. “That samurai-girl is the worst off… not even close.”

“She was the last one standing through sheer stubbornness,” you explain.

She nods, a gesture mostly emphasized by the movement of her needle-thin beak. “We’re not entirely helpless here, Shiki-san.”

“How so?”

“We can do more than triage. But we’ll need to do it together.”

“... I see.”

…

What Kiburi had in mind was similar to how you helped out Konohamaru-sensei before, placing your right hand right below the base of Tsubaki-kun’s throat and letting the little bird perch on top of your hand in turn. That way, you can draw the natural energy out of Tsubaki-kun’s body to give Jugo a head start.

…

He draws out the last of the natural energy, and you immediately notice an improvement in Tsubaki-kun’s condition. “Wasabi-kun, let’s make sure her wounds heal completely,” Sumirin suggests.

Wasabi-kun eyes Jugo warily as she agrees. “Good idea. Let’s have it done by the time the next one’s ready.”

>Kiburi and I will stabilize Boruto and Sarada. Then Jugo can act at his leisure.
>Next we’ll go with Sarada. She’ll be the most helpful once she’s healed.
>We’ll go with Boruto next. Have his shadow clones help guard our prisoners.
>Other?

>>5437832
>>Next we’ll go with Sarada. She’ll be the most helpful once she’s healed.

>>5437832
>Next we’ll go with Sarada. She’ll be the most helpful once she’s healed.

>>5437832
>>We’ll go with Boruto next. Have his shadow clones help guard our prisoners.

>>5437832
>Kiburi and I will stabilize Boruto and Sarada. Then Jugo can act at his leisure.
Let's have at least a modicum of tact and not leave another teammate injured just because he's "useless" in comparison to another.

>>5437832
>>Next we’ll go with Sarada. She’ll be the most helpful once she’s healed.

>>5437832
>>Kiburi and I will stabilize Boruto and Sarada. Then Jugo can act at his leisure.

>>5437832
“We’ll concentrate on Sarada next,” you decide.

“... not Boruto-kun?” Sumire wonders.

You shake your head as you and Kiburi set to work without argument. “They have similar wounds and share the Uzumaki bloodline, so it really comes down to who’s more useful to have conscious first. And since Sarada has her mother’s bloodline techniques, that’s her.”

…

The process goes well for Sarada as well, who unlike Tsubaki-kun stirs almost immediately. “What happened… Shikkun?”

“You were attacked by that nutbag,” Wasabi-chan jerks her thumb at Tosaka as you get to work on Boruto.

“I… vaguely remember that,” Sarada muses, holding her head. “Are Boruto-kun and Tsubaki-kun…”

“Tsubaki-kun was worse the wear, but she was the first we treated,” Sumire explains.

“We’re getting ready to treat Boruto next,” you add. “How are you feeling?”

“Bad,” Sarada admits. “But recovering quickly.”

“Here,” you take a moment to unseal a food pill and toss it to her. “Hang on to that.”

“... you want me to let Boruto bite me,” Sarada realizes.

“I’d like to keep that option available,” you confirm. “That or Tsubaki-kun may need it, I just don’t know at this point. I hope neither is the case.”
>1/2

>>5438656
Thankfully, things go well with Jugo-san and Boruto quickly starts to recover as well. He and Tsubaki-kun rest easily while Wasabi and Sumire catch their breath. Sarada on the other hand sits up alert now and ready to step in if there’s any threat to her teammates.

The only problem is Jugo.

He looks like he’s run a footrace, maybe even feverish, breathing heavily and visibly sweating. The situation still feels somewhat perilous, as Jugo himself is quick to admit.

“Doing this too much can cause me to lose control,” he admits to you and your teammates. “When I get like that… you’ve seen what happens. Its why I’ve always tried to stay away from other people. Why I let Orochimaru take me in the first place.”

>Why not let my mother take a look? Tayuya-san can vouch for her skills.
>You could always get Orochimaru to do it now. He’s not in a position to refuse.
>I could siphon off some of your excess natural energy too. Maybe teach you how to do it yourself.
>Other?

>>5439204
>>Why not let my mother take a look? Tayuya-san can vouch for her skills.

>>5439204
>Why not let my mother take a look? Tayuya-san can vouch for her skills.

>>5439204
>I could siphon off some of your excess natural energy too. Maybe teach you how to do it yourself.

>>5439204
>>I could siphon off some of your excess natural energy too. Maybe teach you how to do it yourself.

>>5439214
>1d6 best of three

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5440136

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5440136

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5440136

>>5440136
“Give it a few minutes and my mother will be here,” you suggest as Orochimaru returns, seemingly done killing geese for the time being. He definitely looks bored. “One or the other of us could probably help.”

“By doing what?” he demands.

“That’s the question,” you admit with a sigh. “I mean, I could teach you how to siphon off some of the natural energy your body gathers because of your kekkei genkai, or someone could use a fūinjutsu to do it.”

“The evil sealing method won’t work,” Tayuya points out.

You shrug. “Who said anything about that? All you’d have to do is create a formula key that collects natural energy within the body and ‘bleeds’ it back out into the environment.”

“Like Tsunade’s Strength of a Hundred,” Orochimaru muses thoughtfully. “Only radiating the chakra instead of storing it, to prevent it becoming a poison within the body’s cells.”

“That’s what I thought, yes,” you confirm. “But between that and simply siphoning it off occasionally, it’s hard to say which would be better in the long run. That, and some of the details behind designing a seal like that are beyond me right now.”

“I should say so,” Orochimaru concurs. “Even I lack the experience necessary.”

“You?” Tayuya snorts.

“Yes,” Orochimaru replies - if he took offense he doesn’t show it. “My body proved incompatible with that form. Even Jiraiya was only ever mediocre as a sage.”

“Wait, you mean Lord Jiraiya?” Wasabi-chan wonders aloud. “You mean there was something that guy was a screwup at something?”

“At many things,” Orochimaru corrects her.
>1/2

>>5441291
Eventually your mother does catch up with you, apologizing for the delay - evidently Tosaka had two test subjects, a pair of siblings that could make use of curse marks in the form of collars that transformed them into monsters. She had been ‘dealing with that’, which for her included everything from ensuring the siblings were placed into a maximum security cell under the watchful eyes of Ryūzetsu-ue, to taking a piece of one of their collars to each of several experts for analysis.

“So yeah, no, technology like this shouldn’t be a problem again,” she concludes. “Not for anyone with actual skill.”

“More pressing right now is Jugo-san’s situation,” you insist. “What can you suggest we do?”

“Well, so you probably don’t need me to tell you what the options are,” your mother tells you, cradling her chin in thought. “I suppose what you were waiting for was my judgment on which method would be preferable?”

You nod silently.

“Well then, here’s the thing,” she muses. “Bleeding off the excess, or teaching Jugo-kun to do it himself, is the easier method for sure. But to do it himself he’d have to learn to manipulate natural energy at will - a skill which requires an exceedingly rare aptitude.”

“So he’d be reliant on one of us doing it for him.”

“On a recurring basis until the day he breathes his last, yeah,” Naori-ue confirms. “But it’s much simpler than the alternative.”

“Crafting a new seal.”

“Right,” she nods. “I was able to craft a seal that left the collars Tosaka designed inert, however that is a much simpler matter of inserting a new segment of fūinjutsu formula into the existing design, which can either interrupt the intended effect or negate it entirely. But Jugo-kun’s ability has nothing to do with fūinjutsu.”
>2/3

>>5441688
“So wait, hold up,” Tayuya demands. “You’re tellen me you’ve got a way to fix my curse mark?”

“Most likely,” your mother replies calmly, “yeah. I never tried it before today but it seems the principle works. For me.”

“So the choice comes down to a known but inconvenient solution,” you summarize, “versus an unknown solution that involved treating Jugo-san as an experiment.”

“Yeah pretty much,” Naori-ue agrees.

You glance at Jugo-san, who has been listening patiently.

>Well, I guess it depends on what Jugo-san wants to do. I have no real advice to offer.
>I’d personally advise the simpler solution - teaching you to release your natural energy.
>I can’t make you, but I think going with the fūinjutsu would be the only “real” solution.
>Other?

>>5441782
>>Well, I guess it depends on what Jugo-san wants to do. I have no real advice to offer.

>>5441782
>>I can’t make you, but I think going with the fūinjutsu would be the only “real” solution.

>>5441782
>I can’t make you, but I think going with the fūinjutsu would be the only “real” solution.

>>5441782
>>Well, I guess it depends on what Jugo-san wants to do. I have no real advice to offer.

>>5441782
>I’d personally advise the simpler solution - teaching you to release your natural energy.

>>5441782
“I can’t really tell you anything,” you admit. “All I can say is that if it were me, I’d prefer a permanent solution.”

After thinking about that for a few minutes, Jugo-san nods in agreement. “When I lose control, it puts people in danger. I’d like that to finally not be a problem anymore.”

…

A few days later you find yourself back in Konohagakure, sitting out on your balcony in the morning sun. All of the people from the Land of Rivers were taken into custody on suspicion of engaging in unethical human experimentation (courtesy of some strings Naori-ue pulled) and all of the infected geese have been purged (thanks to Orochimaru-san). Despite the necessity for the ‘cleanup’ to be handled by others your team’s role in investigating, uncovering, and ending the events Tosaka had set into motion was quickly recognized by Lord Seventh and by your sensei, Hanabi, and your reward was a few days off to relax however you see fit.

>Head to Senju Park and meditate, try to gather natural energy under Kiburi’s watch.
>Head to the dojo to spar with Mirai-senpai. She’s more of a knife-fighter these days too.
>Just go out wandering. It’s been a while since you spent time NOT doing ninja stuff.
>Other?

>>5442730
>Head to Senju Park and meditate, try to gather natural energy under Kiburi’s watch.
I sense an opportunity

>>5442730
>>Head to the dojo to spar with Mirai-senpai. She’s more of a knife-fighter these days too.

>>5442730
>Just go out wandering
Mystery box!

>>5442730
>>Just go out wandering. It’s been a while since you spent time NOT doing ninja stuff.

Don't be a work a holic

Rolled 11 (1d12)

King said 1d12, taking the 2nd roll

Rolled 10 (1d12)

>>5443242

>>5442730
You decide to just go out and have a wander, since you haven’t had an opportunity like this for a while. In many places, particularly in the new town, Konohagakure has been built up over the years into a bustling and hyper-modern city that reminds you in some ways of the old town of Amegakure. But there are also nicer places here, where you can enjoy a more relaxed pace, and take advantage of the fact that it’s not raining all the time.

One such place is a park in the old town, by the river. It’s not as impressive as the Fire or Senju parks - there’s no zoo here, no monuments, no training facilities. People walk their dogs here, past a small community garden where locals plant radishes. It’s in this park that you relax, with a shamisen in your hands. Your playing attracts the occasional curious listener, but it’s fairly clear in context that despite your actual ability you’re not looking for tips or anything like that, but instead are doing it purely to enjoy playing, and to be outside on a fine day.

Unfortunately, this park is on the path between Boruto’s house and his favorite Lightning Burger hangout, and so when he stomps past complaining about something to Shikadai it’s impossible to ignore.

>Try anyway.
>Tail them. You’re at least a LITTLE curious.
>Ask him flat-out what’s on his mind.
>Other?

>>5443732
>>Ask him flat-out what’s on his mind.

>>5443732
>Ask him flat-out what’s on his mind.

>>5443732
>>Ask him flat-out what’s on his mind.

>>5443732
>>Try anyway.

>>5443732
“So what’s on your mind, cousin?” you ask curiously, only for him to start. “Was it something I said?”

“What’re you doin’ here?” Boruto demands.

“Well, I was enjoying a day off from missions and training,” you muse with a frown, “when I heard you all worked up about something, so I thought I’d try to be nice.”

“Sorry, sorry!” he protests. “You just surprised me, that’s all.”

“So?” you repeat. “What’s going on?”

“Well, I’ve gotta go fishing with my mom and grandpa this weekend,” Boruto grumbles mutinously. “But I’d rather be training with Sasuke-san.”

“Sarada’s dad?” you muse. “Isn’t he out of the village right now?”

“He has been for some time,” Shikadai confirms. “But before that Boruto here managed to get Sasuke-san to agree to train him.”

“Why?” you ask Boruto. “You not training with Naruto-san feels kinda like if Shikadai-kun insisted on training with Chōchō-kun’s dad - I mean technically yeah, he could, but why?”

“Me? Train with my stupid old man?” Boruto scoffs. “Guy couldn’t even find an hour to come to Hima’s birthday, you really think he’d take the time to train with me? As if!”

You can tell that bugs him more than he thinks he’s letting on, but that’s not saying much. It should be obvious to anyone listening, and based on Shikadai’s change in expression you can tell he knows it too but also chooses not to say anything. You really have to wonder sometimes how it is that Naruto-san seems to struggle so much to be a good parent when he has most of the same tools as Naoru-ue and Ryūzetsu-ue.

“Still, why Sasuke-san?” you press.

“Cause he’s like the coolest!” Boruto explains without really explaining anything. “Besides, Sarada’s the one who’s obsessed with being the Hokage - if she really wants to be like my stupid old man I say let her have it, ya know?”

“You know, Boruto-kun,” Shikadai sighs wearily, “that still hasn’t answered his question? And I have to admit I’m curious too - I never took you for a ‘follower’ I guess.”

“Sasuke-san’s not a ‘follower’ at all,” Boruto dismisses his friend with a wave of his hand. “Sasuke-san does his own thing in the shadows, like a real ninja - that’s like the complete opposite!”

>... do you even know what “from the shadows” means for a shinobi these days?
>So you’re rebelling against Naruto-san by following his childhood friend around, got it.
>You DO know there’s more than one person out there worth learning from, right?
>Other?

>>5444806
>>So you’re rebelling against Naruto-san by following his childhood friend around, got it.

>>5444806
>>So you’re rebelling against Naruto-san by following his childhood friend around, got it.
"Not that there is something wrong with that, just be honest with yourself."

>>5444806
>>... do you even know what “from the shadows” means for a shinobi these days?

>>5444806
>So you’re rebelling against Naruto-san by following his childhood friend around, got it.

For a guy that was known for shadow clone spam, he never seems to use it for family time.

>>5444806
>>So you’re rebelling against Naruto-san by following his childhood friend around, got it.

>>5444806
“You… you do realize that you’re basically just rebelling against Naruto-san by running around with his childhood rival, right?” you muse aloud. Perhaps you shouldn’t have. “I mean, right?”

“I… but that…” Boruto grapples with that assessment. “... huh.”

“To be fair it’s your dad,” you shrug, backpedaling somewhat. “You’re probably right, he’s probably really busy.”

“Yeah,” Boruto replies. “Yeah, that’s definitely true.”

“But don’t you kinda wish it werent?” you frown. “I mean, I know that’s how I’d feel if my parents never took the time for me and Makoto.”

“... can I be real with you?” Boruto asks after a moment.

“You’ve been fake with me?”

“It does actually kinda bug me,” Boruto admits. “At the same time, I kinda feel like Sasuke-san would be a better teacher for me.”

“Your dad does sometimes seem kinda… unreliable,” Shikadai agrees. “At least for stuff like that.”

“And to be honest, as much as I’d rather have my stupid dad in my life more,” Boruto continues, “I wouldn’t wanna just do everything the way he did it, ya know?”

“I can relate,” you admit. “I mean, even with my moms’ techniques I feel like I’ve got to put my own spin on them, leave my own mark on the clan’s traditions. Otherwise it’s kind of like I was never really here.”

“Ya know, I’m kinda glad we talked like this,” Boruto admits. “Anyway, I’m still gonna go try and figure out where Sasuke-san’s been, so catch you guys later!”

…

“How long do you think before he causes trouble and drags us into it?” you ask.

Shikadai glances down at his watch for a moment. “Enough time for lunch if you’re game.”

“Sure, why not,” you sigh.
>1/2

>>5445667
The special this time at Lightning Burger is a bit of an odd one that kind of suits your tastes - chopped wagyu skirt steak with burger toppings on a ‘bun’ made from sticky rice pressed into a sort of cake on a griddle. Instead of fries you get it with the ‘greens set’, with a side salad topped by a sort of mango salsa and flax seeds, and iced mugi-cha to drink. Shikadai, feeling a little less wholesome today, just gets his usual cheeseburger and fries.

“Well this is a rare pair,” a cheerful voice greets you as they settle down into the booth with you.

“Hey Chōchō, Inojin,” Shikadai greets his teammates.

“So what gives?” Chōchō continues. “You’re not fighting with your team or anything, right Shiki-kun?”

“As if,” Inojin insists loudly. “I mean, their team gets along in their off time even better than ours does.”

“Everything’s fine,” you shrug. “Wasabi-chan’s clan called her out for some kind of special training and Sumirin is getting a lesson with Shizune-san on poisons. Neither of those is exactly my area, so I’d just be a distraction… besides, Hanabi-sensei pretty much ordered me to take a break.”

“You’ve been taking on extra solo missions as a chūnin, right?” Inojin asks you curiously. “What’s that been like?”

They don’t know that you’ve been training to become a Sage - it’s a bit of a secret to anyone outside your family, your team, and the Hokage’s office. As far as the Shinobi Union has come since your birth, the appearance of a Sage is still cause for concern among certain factions which concern themselves with things like political maneuvers and ‘balances of power’ between the villages. If some of the old-timers knew that not one but two children of the Uzumaki ‘main family’ in Ame were being trained in those ancient arts there’d be threats of war.

But, as your mothers no doubt figured out long ago, there’s not a lot anyone can say or do once your potential has become inarguable fact.

…

As it turns out Shikadai was correct - you’re not even at the point in the evening when it’s time to think about dinner when a call comes in about Boruto. Evidently he’s disappeared, and is suspected to have gone across the border into the Land of Wind chasing after Sasuke-san.

>Ask the Hokage for a team of genin that Boruto would know. You know how he gets.
>Ask the Hokage for a team of chūnin - this has the chance of getting out of hand.
>Ask the Hokage to have Gaara-dono send a Suna team to meet you halfway.
>Other?

>>5445668
>>Ask the Hokage to have Gaara-dono send a Suna team to meet you halfway.

>>5445668
>>Ask the Hokage for a team of genin that Boruto would know. You know how he gets.

>>5445667
That moment of understanding between these two was acutally really touching.
I always got the feeling that Shiki overshadows Boruto, or that we simply don't get along, so seeing them talking open like this was really wholesome.

>>5445668
>>Ask the Hokage for a team of genin that Boruto would know. You know how he gets.

>>5445668
“Shikamaru-san,” you sigh, speaking to the Hokage’s left hand man on the other end of your mobile phone. “I could use a team that Boruto-kun would know. That always seems to help - what do you have available?”

“Well,” he muses, “there is one team…”

…

“So that’s the situation,” you tell the assembled Team 5 - Denki, Iwabee, and Metal were the team Shikamaru-san had in mind for you, since Ino-Shika-Chō is scheduled to leave on a mission early tomorrow morning, and that mission is a higher priority than wrangling Boruto. “Our mission is to rendezvous with Uchiha Sasuke-san and bring Boruto-kun back from the Land of Wind.”

“So, our opponent is Boruto-kun this time?” Metal muses, pounding his fist into his hand. “This will be a good opportunity to show everyone what we are capable of!”

“Listen,” you insist, “this may be an allied nation we’re heading for, and it may just be to knock some sense into Boruto, but we’re still shinobi heading into a foreign nation unannounced. So the first thing you’d better be capable of is following my lead, got it?”

“Y-yes, sir!” Metal snaps awkwardly.

“You don’t have to call him ‘sir’, Metal,” Iwabee grumbles. “And you don’t have to get so worked up, okay? It’s still just Shiki-kun.”

“Well, he is a chūnin now,” Denki reminds his teammates. “So even if it’s our classmate, we do have to follow his orders.”

“Thank you, Denki-kun,” you reply, before glancing at Iwabee. “He’s right - I am in command here. But mostly what I meant was that if we run into any shinobi from Sunagakure, things could escalate quickly - that’s why I need to be the one to handle any such situations alone, without any unfortunate outbursts or interjections.”

“I do have one question,” Denki admits. “What happens if Boruto-kun doesn’t want to come back with us?”

>Sasuke-san will side with us. So don’t worry about it.
>He doesn’t have a choice. If need be, we’ll fight him.
>We’ll have no choice but to inform Sunagakure.
>Other?

>>5446022
>>Sasuke-san will side with us. So don’t worry about it.

>>5446022
>>Sasuke-san will side with us. So don’t worry about it.

Mhm.... this feels the least violent/confrontational. Well, insofar as "our pseudo-uncle demigod can kick your ass into complying" can be described as non-violent.

>>5446254
He's married to Karin, he's actually our uncle.

>>5446334
Technically first cousin once removed, since Karin isn't actually Naori's sister. But in Japanese it'd just be "oba" or "oji" with a context-sensitive honorific.

>>5446022
“Sasuke-san will definitely side with us,” you insist curtly, knowing a bit more about the legendary shinobi’s past than your new, temporary, subordinates do. “Now then, it seems Boruto-kun’s trying to get to the location Sasuke-san mentioned in his letter ahead of time, so we can catch the early morning train and still make it there in time to escort Boruto-kun back across the border.”

“Shouldn’t we be leaving immediately?” Metal suggests.

You shake your head. “By my estimates even if we left right now, it’d still take us longer to get there on foot than if we just waited, and this way we won’t have to plan for an overland trip through the desert.”

“I’m sure if we put in the effort…” Metal protests.

“Metal…” Iwabee insists quietly, placing a hand on Metal’s shoulder. He shakes his head. “The Captain’s right.”

“Alright,” you nod. “Meet at the station tomorrow, half an hour early. I’ll have tickets for us before then.”

…

“This is because of Denki-kun, isn’t it?” Iwabee asks you after the others have left.

“It’s more than that,” you sigh wearily. “I could pull it off no problem. But I’d be concerned Metal-kun would get carried away turning it into a training exercise, Denki-kun would exhaust himself just trying to keep pace but not admit it to anyone, and that you’d run yourself ragged trying to handle everything by yourself.”

“Have you read our mission reports or something?” Iwabee grumbles.

“I just have a sense for people,” you shake your head. “Get some rest and get your kit together, Iwabee-kun. See you bright and early.”

…

The train ride into the Land of Wind is completely uneventful, and you reach the station around lunch time. It’s little more than a rail crossroads in the mid-desert - a little piece of well-connected nowhere that just happens to be on the way between somewhere and somewhere else in two directions.
>1/2

>>5446851
“So, what would I do first if I were Boruto…” you muse, looking around the station. You take the team over to the rail union office, and find that there’s a worker observing the turnstiles to exit the platform.

“Can I help you young gentlemen?” the older man asks you curiously - you instructed the team to remove your headbands and carry them in secret, ready to present if confronted but trying hard to avoid attracting any interest.

“Sorry to bother you, sir,” you ask, glancing over your shoulder quickly to make sure nobody is eavesdropping. “Were you working here yesterday?”

“About what time?”

You glance at Denki, who quickly consults a service brochure. “Five-thirty in the evening?”

“I was here, yes,” the man nods. “Why are you interested to know?”

“Did you see a boy about our age come through here by himself?” you ask. “Blonde, wearing a kind of ugly tracksuit?”

“No, can’t say I recall seeing anyone like that,” the man admits. “We don’t get too many people stopping off here, you see. Not much worth stopping for - no, mostly people come through here trying to catch a transfer. So I’d remember if a young man traveling by himself left the platform and wandered off… we try and corral folks like that pretty quickly. It’s usually that they’re confused about how to make a platform transfer.”

“Thank you, you’ve been very helpful sir,” you bow politely, before gesturing subtly for your team to follow you to a nearby bench.”

“Do you think he’s lying?” Iwabee asks you quietly.

You shake your head. “He isn’t lying. He’s exactly as he seems - an old man with very little to do but try and be helpful to people who usually don’t appreciate it.”

“When you say it like that it makes me feel kind of guilty,” Denki sighs nervously, rubbing the back of his head. “Even though I know I haven’t done anything wrong, you know?”

“So what do we do?” Metal wonders.

>We check the line heading back towards the border. Maybe Boruto got off early.
>We head for the rendezvous point with Sasuke-san and wait. All we can do really.
>There should be nearby settlements. We should find a map and plan a search.
>Other?

>>5447124
>>There should be nearby settlements. We should find a map and plan a search.

Might as well be proactive.

>>5447124
>>We check the line heading back towards the border. Maybe Boruto got off early.

>>5447124
>There should be nearby settlements. We should find a map and plan a search.

>>5447124
>>There should be nearby settlements. We should find a map and plan a search.

>>5447124
>We check the line heading back towards the border. Maybe Boruto got off early.
That sounds like him, being impatient

>>5447124
“We should find a map of the area,” you decide, walking back towards the office. “Plan out a search.”

“Should we not just go back along the tracks to see if Boruto-kun got off the train early?” Metal suggests.

You shake your head. “Denki-kun? Care to explain?”

“If Boruto-kun got off the train accidentally he’d have just followed the tracks,” Denki-kun reasons, “so we would’ve seen him on our way along the same route. And if he got off deliberately, he wouldn’t be going for the meeting point yet - so he’d be looking for someplace to stay.”

“Thus with the map,” you repeat.

…

“Well, it looks like there’s only one place nearby,” you realize. “A small farm, out there in the desert.”

“Well then let’s get going,” Iwabe declares.

>Yeah. All four of us will go, then proceed to the rendezvous if Boruto isn’t there.
>We’ll wait here. I’ll send out a few pairs of shadow clones to scout.
>We’ll wait here. I’ll scout using the Ryūmei’s soul projection technique.
>Other?

>>5448438
>We’ll wait here. I’ll scout using the Ryūmei’s soul projection technique.

>>5448438
>>Yeah. All four of us will go, then proceed to the rendezvous if Boruto isn’t there.

>>5448438
>>Yeah. All four of us will go, then proceed to the rendezvous if Boruto isn’t there.

>>5448438
>>Yeah. All four of us will go, then proceed to the rendezvous if Boruto isn’t there.

>>5448438
“All four of us will go,” you declare. “We’ll check the place out and if we don’t find Boruto-kun, we’ll revise our plan. I will leave two shadow clones here as a rearguard in case Boruto-kun finds his way here after us somehow - I can’t rule that possibility out.”

…

The path to the farm is well-trodden, and so well cared-for. It winds its way through the desert between wind-carved pillars of sandstone that cast the only shade you can see for miles around - you try to take short breaks in that shade for water. Eventually you reach the farm after a few hour’s trek, and find some farmers milling about doing… well, farm things you figure. It’s not entirely clear what they’re growing on this little patch of nothing in particular, but two things are abundantly clear. First, there must be some sort of water source here - a spring, you reason based on the trees and grasses growing near what looks like the main house. Second, it seems like the people working here all live right here on the farm itself in their own small homes, the largest of them maybe the size of a modest two-bedroom apartment back in Konohagakure.

“Good morning!” you greet the first farmer you run across, a young man somewhere between five and ten years your senior.

“Indeed,” the young man raises a skeptical eyebrow. “We rarely get visitors out here, what brings you this far out of anyone’s way?”

“We’re looking for someone,” Iwabee declares. “Maybe you can help us?”

“That depends,” the young man answers, and you shoot Iwabee a quick glare. “Who is it you’re looking for, and why?”

“A friend of ours who may be lost,” you speak up before any of your classmates get the chance. “He would’ve come in on the train last night.”

“Why would he have come here?” the young man persists.

“He was heading for Sunagakure, his birth father owns a little pilaf kitchen,” you lie, carefully controlling your tone and expressions - a bit like a high-functioning sociopath does, albeit born from a surplus of empathy rather than a lack thereof. “Between the messy divorce and his stepfather being a bit of a jerk, he has problems sometimes. Acts out.”

“And he doesn’t really know where he’s going,” the young man fills in the gaps for you.

“It’s rough,” you sigh. “For everyone involved. That’s why we’re eager to get him home without raising a fuss.”
>1/2

>>5449021
“Well, I’ll let my father know,” the young man assures you, “and he’ll tell all the workers. But I can’t say we’ve seen anyone new around here in a few weeks.”

“I see,” you nod, affecting a worried tone. “Well then, if you do see him you’ll know - a blonde boy about our age, he’ll probably be wearing a dark tracksuit.”

“What name does he go by?”

“His name is Menma,” you lie, “but he insists on people calling him ‘Boruto’ when he gets like this… it’s an odd coping thing, yes. But it’s easiest to just go with it until it passes.”

“Okay then,” the young man nods in understanding. “Thanks for the warning.”

…

“How is it you lied like that?” Denki asks in confusion once you’re well on your way back. “I mean, all those things came out so easily and quickly, and you kept the story so straight it almost had me convinced.”

“Well, you know how my sister and I can tell what people really mean when they’re speaking?” you muse. “Especially when they’re lying? I simply don’t do any of the things that give them away. It just takes a little thought and practice.”
>3d10, taking the third roll

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>5449027

>>5449027
I always get so paranoid, do want 3 rolls of 3d10 or 3 1d10s?

>>5449039
3d10s. I made a mistake in calling for that but I'm rolling with it.

Rolled 6, 4, 8 = 18 (3d10)

>>5449027
>>5449047
3d10 it is

Rolled 2, 2, 7 = 11 (3d10)

>>5449027

Rolled 1, 7, 2 = 10 (3d10)

>>5449027

>>5449027
At the station you run across something you gather is rare - a group of men who clearly aren’t shinobi but who are clearly thugs of some variety, talking as they pass your group.

“We’ll be in position before sundown at this rate,” one of them declares. “Good. This time we’ll deal with that Gojō loser and his brat for sure.”

“Good,” one of his partners grumbles. “This was supposed to be quick and easy money, running a farmer off from his dump.”

“Company wants it quiet,” the man with the most sense in the group insists. “So stop talking about it and let’s get to the platform.”

You and Iwabee both have to hold Metal back.

“You heard what they said,” he insists. “We cannot simply stand aside and do nothing?”

>We can and we will. Stay on-mission.
>Not until they actually do something - then my shadow clones will handle it.
>I’ll take care of it.
>Other?

>>5450074
>>Not until they actually do something - then my shadow clones will handle it.

>>5450074
>Destroy them

>>5450074
>Not until they actually do something - then my shadow clones will handle it.

>>5450074
>>Not until they actually do something - then my shadow clones will handle it.

>>5450074
>>>Not until they actually do something - then my shadow clones will handle it.

>>5450074
You shake your head. “We can and we will, at least until they do something worth stopping. Then my shadow clones will be there to step in.”

You form the seal with your left hand and produce two clones, which should be twice as many as you need for dealing with a handful of common thugs. “Do good work, boys.”

“You know us,” one of them smirks before the two take off.

…

You are a shadow clone of Uzumaki Shiki, and you and your fellow clone are tracking down a bunch of reprobates who are getting ready to rough up some poor dirt-farmers in the Land of Wind. It’s not hard to sneak onto the train behind them and follow them to the next stop back along the way to the Land of Fire, where they disembark and head out into the desert along a simple unmarked road.

Bored with their slow pace you actually send your fellow clone out ahead of them, and he eventually returns and informs you that you’re approaching an isolated farmstead. The thugs arrive shortly before nightfall.
>1d6, best three of five

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5450963
>best three of five

wow these thugs have no idea what hell is about to fall upon them.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5450963

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5450963

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5450963

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5450963
And again the 1's are on the offensive

>>5450963
You’re committed to letting these guys make the first move, then reacting appropriately once you’ve managed to discern their intent - since becoming a genin you’ve learned that what people say and what they do are often different, particularly when you’re dealing with a hostile opponent.

…

Night falls, and you separate from your partner clone to move in closer while he observes. Slinking in close behind the thugs, sticking to the shadows all the while, reveals their intent. They damage the plants in this poor dirt-farmer’s yard and tear up the fences meant to protect them, pulling up vegetables and throwing them around. Nothing more than a scare tactic at this point, and not something that justifies violence on your part. However it’s also not something you feel like ignoring, and it presents an easy opportunity for you to let them escalate.

“What do you think you’re doing?” you demand, dropping down from atop a nearby pillar of stone and landing lightly on the sands below.

“I could ask you the same thing, brat,” one of the thugs sneers. “Where’d you come from anyway?”

“He’s a witness,” a second thug insists, reaching out to grab you by the shoulder. “Either way, we’ve gotta… we’ve gotta…”

He pauses as he finds that it’s impossible for him to force you to move - like trying to push around a bronze statue. You grab him by his wrist while he gawks at you in disbelief, before spinning once and slamming him into the sand.

“Big mistake, brat!” the first thug declares, drawing a long knife and swinging it past your face - you leaned back at the last second, then leaned back forward once the danger passed. You lean to the left to avoid a second slash, then do a quarter-turn pivoting off your right foot to avoid a thrust.

“... what the hell!?”

You realize that fighting them too seriously would be little better than bullying.

>Just rough them up a little, try to scare them off.
>Incapacitate the others and interrogate whichever seems to be in charge.
>Try to get some information out of them, then release them.
>Other?

>>5451822
>Incapacitate the others and interrogate whichever seems to be in charge.

>>5451822
>>Incapacitate the others and interrogate whichever seems to be in charge.

>>5451822
>>Incapacitate the others and interrogate whichever seems to be in charge.

>>5451822
>Destroy them

>>5451822
So here's a brief tangentially related notice: I'll be deactivating my Twitter account in the next few days and relying solely on links/announcements in thread to keep people updated on my plans as well as posts in my discord. A permanent link to said discord and to relevant archives will be added to my usual OP formatting, and last updates in each thread will link to the new thread more reliably.

There are three reasons for this. First, all the news outlets I followed have gone over to subscription models and all the QMs I followed have been inactive for years, so I haven't gotten anything out of it since before the pandemic. Second, my (notionally) daily update schedule really makes Twitter updates a little redundant - if you know where the thread is, you can be pretty sure any given day will have an update or two, spaced apart, to be read/voted on at your leisure. Finally, I don't really feel the need to help the richest man in the world cover the interest payments on his own bad investment decision, so now's a good time to do the thing I was already leaning towards doing.

I don't anticipate this having any practical effect, but I did want to give fair notice so nobody goes looking for me on Twitter only to get confused when my handle is gone.

>>5451822
You deliver a powerful stunning blow to the first man’s chest, which sends him reeling until his heel catches and he tumbles to the ground, several feet back from where he started. The second throws a straight punch that you block, driving your elbow deep into his wrist as his momentum carries him into range. This one, you finish with a backhanded blow to the side of the head that sends him crashing to the sand where he slides several feet before coming to a stop.

The third man draws a knife from somewhere on his belt and swings at you twice, awkward, sweeping attacks that he telegraphs for what feels like minutes before they actually come. Eventually you match one of his swings with a carefully-controlled move of your own, positioning your hand behind his blade so that you can grab it by the spine and pull it out of his hand in one smooth-flowing effort.

Stepping in, leading with your left shoulder, drops the third thug to the ground with a heavy blow, leaving just one man standing - the one you took to have enough brains for a leader, at least among these idiots. The man takes an instinctive step back, as if to start trying to escape your presence.

“... what are you?” he demands.

>Interrogate via genjutsu. Figure out who sent him, then hand him over to the local authorities.
>You have no jurisdiction to act here. Offer to “let this slide” if he tells you who sent him.
>Interrogate without genjutsu, then tie them up and leave them at the nearest train station.
>Other?

>>5452882
>>You have no jurisdiction to act here. Offer to “let this slide” if he tells you who sent him.

>>5452882
>Interrogate via genjutsu. Figure out who sent him, then hand him over to the local authorities.
>Quietly, though. Not officially.

>>5452882
>>Interrogate via genjutsu. Figure out who sent him, then hand him over to the local authorities.

>>5452882
>Interrogate without genjutsu, then tie them up and leave them at the nearest train station.