>>21553473

Forums: http://worldoffivenations.proboards.com/
IRC: irc.thisisnotatrueending.com #fivenationsgeneral
Current Character Sheet: http://worldoffivenations.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=kumaoc&thread=156&
;
;page=1

Same as last time.

>>21553473
"All you can do is try to talk to him about his choice and that you're all worried. You can't really force him to come back at this point."

>>21553473
PANIC! QUESTIONS ARE BEING ASKED OF US!

Erm, er...just nod your head?

>>21553473
"Nothing, of course. What's wrong with him making a decision?"

>>21553528
>>21553507

(Also, last thread. http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/21539495/
)

"Right. I guess that's true." Masahiro said as he sighed and flopped down. "I wish sensei were here, but she told me that she was really busy. At least our team will stick together." He said with a soft nod. "Say, do you know what happened to that girl? According to my mom she's been released from the Black Ops agents and has been given an apartment on the state's dime. It looks like she's a countryman now, and it only took a day...isn't that weird?"

>>21553550
"Maybe a little. Unless she told them something useful. Want to go see if we can find her?"

>>21553550
"Yes?"

>>21553550
"I guess..."

>>21553611
>>21553582
>>21553573

He shrugs. "Must just be me. Anyway, Daisuke, I have places to be. I'll see you later." He said and walked off.

The day stretches before you, but the reminder rings clearly in your mind. You have to be ready to go soon. After all, you are now a valuable asset to the village, and you know how the village treats its assets. Lord Hanzo was once in a similar position and was rocketed to the top of the village as Kage. Perhaps such a fate can await you. Do you even wish for such a thing?

As you ponder these thoughts you find yourself leaning against a wall, the rain very sparsely starting as you put your hat on over your head and let the water run down it as you muse. Where should we go and what should we do?

>>21553643
You don't do well at communication, do you? Train up on that...How, not sure? Push ups with your tongue?

Anyway, get ready to leave, and then do training.

>>21553643
I kind of want to see if we can find that girl. Mostly because she's probably all alone in a foreign city at this point.

>>21553672
Can she teach us anything? Because if not, why should we be worrying about her?

>>21553694
Who knows. Considering the state of the village and she was let out of the HQ and given her own place that quickly? Maybe she can.

>>21553706
...maybe. Be careful, then.

>>21553672
Seconding this, if we can't find her go train.

Is...is this...Naruto? And people aren't sperging hard enough to collapse under their own mass and form a black hole? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?

>>21553763
>>21553738
>>21553706
>>21553670

You set off into the city and head to the state-paid housing where Black Ops and other persons of interest lived. As you walked around you found an area where special students, children of important politicians and the like who were trained to be ninja, and the like were living. Guessing that this was as good as anywhere to start looking you head into the apartment and start looking around. However, despite your expert training, you aren't extremely well versed at being sociable like this. Eventually, a young man stops you and says, "Hi, are you lost? I'm Kenji, the Floor Captain here. Are you new to this building?" he asked with a friendly smile. He was, maybe, sixteen and very kind it seemed.

>>21553798
(Yep, this is the 3rd quest thread we've started on this topic! We get some people who get mad every so often, but for the most part we're all having fun.)

>>21553830
"Maybe? I'm looking for someone who moved in very recently. A day or so recently."

>>21553830
I am truly humbled by your fun. Please, continue.

>>21553830
Do not freak out at strange friendly person.

Nod and inform him you are, and are looking for a new girl who only just got here

>>21553763
We can still train while searching - after all, searching is training. We can also do mental exercises as we look, like how to proper kill everyone here, or run through every Jutsu we know, practice building Genjutsu without doing seals.

>>21553830
"... Yes, I'm looking for someone."

>>21553830
looking for a girl. moved in about a day ago. probably had knife wounds

>>21553867
Please just don't be humble. Join in!

>>21553901
>>21553879
>>21553877
>>21553858

"A girl, you say? Well, my floor is all men, but I can check with the Floor Captain in the upstairs floor, come on." He said with a smile as you walk behind him. As he strides you count the distance between his paces, the weight of his feet, and the way he holds himself. This man is a shinobi, though he's dressed like a commoner. Once upstairs you meet a very young looking girl, about your age, who waves at you and at your question she nods, "Of course I know her! Come on, let's go say "hi" to Satori-san!" She leads you the bedroom door and knocks, "Oh Satori, you have a visitor!"

The door opens up and the young girl from before sees you and bows her head, "It's nice to see you again." She says politely and you can see she has bandages all over her from the wounds, despite the medical jutsu. On her forehead, however, you also see the Rain Village headband. "How can I help you?" She asked very politely. The small girl who was Floor Captain gave a smile as she bounced off and waved good-bye. The older boy patted your shoulder and said, "If you need any help, just let me know. Have a good time."

>>21554025
Just wanted to see how you were settling in.

also, are he corps as powerful in your village as in mine?

>>21554025
"I wanted to see if you were doing okay. And you said you wanted to get stronger. Want to train? I can show you around while we're at it."

>>21554025
"Teach me, please."

>>21554025
Seeing how you're doing, also wanted to ask you some stuff

>>21554088
>>21554093
>>21554096

"The corps? Oh, the Black Ops. No, our village is much smaller and more rural than yours." She says as she combs her hair, her dark eyes, tanned skin, and firm mature features showing proof of her being of a country nature.

"We can definitely train. That would be good. But I don't know what you expect me to teach you." She said with a laugh as she closed the door and locked it, bringing her keys along.

A training ground wasn't too far away and the two of you set up on either side of the field. As you get ready she draws a wooden spear with a wooden head and holds it. "Alright, I'm ready." It seems that her village trains with specific training weapons, or she underestimates you. How do we handle this?

>>21554168
not live steel?

>>21554168
Hate that laugh. And if she thinks were weak or down know how to use life steel, show her we do. Fight with our knives.

>>21554168
She seems to be taking us murdering her Sensei, Teammate, and her pretty well.

>>21554168
I'm assuming we have training weapons we can use. Stick with a kunai.

>>21554231
Creepily so

I mean, what kind of freak is she for reacting that well?

>>21554168
so why did you defect so easily? My sensei killed your sensei, my teammate killed yours, and I nearly killed you. Not much there argues for a better life here.

Just wondering, but did the powerlevel issues with FN ever get worked out? I remember the FN quest with seven swordsmen, and us hitting kage level pretty damn fast.

>>21554294
The newer rules, up on the board and talked about int he IRC, seem to be doing a good job of it.

>>21554294
Yeah, it was fixed so we don't rocket up to kage level so quickly. It takes much longer.

>>21554274
According to the last thread, she made a deathbed promise to her mother to be strong and "not be a victim." If that means defecting from her old village after her last team gets destroyed/leaves her for dead, then so be it. Still, it feels weird.

>>21554471
Hence why we should ask about it. it's such a foreign concept that it wouldn't be suprising for us to question her further about it.

so long as she doesn't ask for our opinion

>>21554511
Oh god, please don't let that happen!

>>21554274
>>21554256
>>21554243
>>21554231
>>21554218

You draw two live steel knives and jump towards her. Your attacks are faster, more technical, and stronger than hers. You disarm her with ease and she opens her eyes in shock. "Oh wow! That was really fast!" She said in happy surprise as she kicked up her weapon back to her hands.

"Why? Because my village didn't mean anything to me. You know about my promise, and your village seems strong. I want to be come strong." She said and this time when you attacked it was just as easy...except this time it seemed she was expecting your attack and let herself get disarmed as she experienced exactly how you were doing it. "Interesting."

>>21554511
Maybe her mom is like our dad, and she's afraid that if she doesn't become strong (by joining the people who killed her sensei), her mom's spirit will come back and go after her.

>>21554574
Daisuke is something of a Rain Village patriot, so the concept of throwing away your old village in a cavalier manner to him is absolutely foreign. Ask her if she's worried about her old village coming after her.

>>21554574
You didn't try on that one, you just let me disarm you.

Why are you fighting to lose?

>>21554574
Stop. Watch her very analytically.

"Attack me."

>>21554574
"I want to be strong too. You sound like you'd be a good training partner."

>>21554672
>>21554663
>>21554620
>>21554616

"Sorry! I got a little distracted by your conversation." She said and picked her weapon back up. When you tell her to attack you she swings a big heavy overhead stroke. It's slow, it's lazy, and it's way too big. You parry it easily and push to disarm her, however this time when you do she steps over your leg, pins her shoulder against your back and with a simple hip check throws you onto your back, your weapons hitting the ground as she stands there, holding onto her weapon all the same. "Sorry! That was an accident!" She said and offered you her hand. She understood your attack pattern in two exchanges. She had it beaten in three.

>>21554706
How...How did you do that?

>>21554706
Slap her hand away.

"How did you do that." We will not be coddled. We will learn. We will become better then her.

>>21554706
"You're good at analyzing. You just need to do it quicker, since an opponent might not give you that many attempts on the same move."

Let's mix it up this time and see how well she does. It'll also give us practice switching it up.

>>21554706
"Again!"
This is when Daisuke's competitive edge comes out. No one humiliates him and gets away with it. Do it again. He won't be outdone by this scrub.

>>21554740
Thought we were going with the more humble personality? Driven to be better than others but not going to get huffy if he's beaten. No reason to refuse it.

>>21554751
Daisuke is VERY driven and prides himself on his work ethic. He would tell himself he shouldn't be losing to someone like this and demand retribution.

>>21554785
Indeed, but I figured he'd be professional about it seeing the way his father is and probably beat into him.

>>21554800
That's Dad, though. Dad's scary.
This is a Grass village scrub. We shouldn't be losing to scrubs.

>>21554745
This. And again, next time without telling her. Just BEAT HER.

>>21554800
>>21554751
>>21554745
>>21554741
>>21554824
>>21554821
>>21554740
>>21554722
>>21554741

You rush at her again and this time attack from three different angles. To your horror she stops the first two, and on the third one she stops the attack but you disarm her. She throws her hands up, "Daisuke! You win!" She said, surprise in her eyes as you see a bit of fear in them. You may have gotten a little too competitive, as you see the look of panic in her eyes as you look at yourself, seeing you have a knife above where her liver is and her neck. You back off and offer a hasty apology. After helping her with her weapons she sighs and laughs, "Jeez, Daisuke, you're too intense!" She says and collapses on the ground with a relaxed sigh. "Is this country always so dreary?"

>>21554878
"My mother said as much before she left. Sorry. Couldn't help it."

>>21554878
"You get used to the rain. The wars, not so much."

>>21554878
"I always push myself as much as I can when I do something, don't worry about"

>>21554878
You get used to the rain.


The poverty... a bit.
he corps, never.

Sorry i got intense. That happens

>>21554878
"Again." If she won't teach us, we will learn her trick.

>>21554928
There's no trick to learn there. She's just very quick on the ball. She already conceded, anyway.

>>21554914
>>21554905
>>21554894
>>21554908
>>21554928

"Yeah, I can see it's pretty bleary here." She said and laughed, "Yeah, you look like someone who really works hard. I can see it in your eyes. No one in my village had those eyes. I certainly don't. I just can't let myself fall off the path I set for myself. But I'm not a worker like you." She admitted openly and yawned, "I just take it easy, but I make sure to always be in a good position so that when trouble comes I'm ready to handle myself." She said with a smile, "Isn't that what it means to be a ninja?"

>>21554962
"No." Lazy Geinus? Sister 'ya on the shitlist now!

>>21554962
Oh.
She's one of THOSE people.

"It means always being prepared, to be as strong and as capable as you can possibly be, to not leave anything to chance, to have no excuses for anything, to die for what you believe in! I refuse to be lazy when I can do so much more."

>>21554962
"Not to me. I have to be better than them, so they'll be proud of me."

>>21554984
she has just started out give her time. we will mold her in our image...

>>21554962
"might be your path but it ain't mine"

"How did you figure out my attacks so quickly?"

>>21554998
Do I smell a project?

>>21554984
Being a genius is one thing, and Daisuke can respect that. But doing nothing about it and not making the most of your talents and being all-around lazy is inexcusable.

>>21554998
Nah. She just works differently. No reason to change it it works for her.

>>21554998
Are we talking the sexy kind of molding

>>21554984
>>21554993
>>21554997
>>21555007

"Oh, well you attacked the same way twice in a row. So I figured you'd do it the third time too! You just were playing nice because I'm the new girl, though." She said and smiled. "After all, you had me dead to rights the first time we met. I'm nowhere close to a match for you, and that's ok. It's important to understand one's position in the world." She said and smiled happily. As she leaned back and rolled her weapon in her hands she eventually dropped it and looked at your kunai. "So, you're really into training. I guess you're doing it for someone too? I can understand that really easily. I'm doing this for my mom."

>>21555096
I guess. Might also be conditioning. Dad can yell REALLY loudly

>>21555096
"I do it for myself. I can't afford to fall behind, not when I could be doing more."
We might mention dad, but that's a can of worms she'd be unprepared to open.

>>21555107
WE DO NOT SPEAK OF THAT TO ANYONE.

>>21555096
"Yes." And remember that you just attacked her with Tai. Next time, mix it up. Nin, Gen, Tai.

>>21555096
"If you want to be strong, you can't just accept your position in your world. You have to change it. And I'm doing it for a lot of reasons, I guess."

>>21555116
>>21555129
>>21555130

"I suppose that's true, Daisuke." She said and shrugged, "But if you're happy, why change?" She said and stood up, yawning, "Anyway! I think I need to get home and cook some dinner. You take care of yourself, Daisuke." She said with a smile before waving and skipping along.

You're left alone with her strange ideas and her even stranger combat. She seemed to be allowing you to beat her so that she could learn your moves fully. But, you tell yourself, you did overcome her in that second attack series.

>>21555268
Best to be safe and train more until Rin gets us.

>>21555304
I fully agree with this. Focus on training your Genjutsu and throwing Kunari rather then Taijutsu. And even if you -did- beat her in the second series, she knows it now. You have to do BETTER then that, Daisuke.

>>21555268
It's not a wrong tactic. Get beat up a little bit before you learn your enemy's movements.

and lets NOT turn in to a hell beast

>>21555343
Reptillian monstrosity, please.

>>21555343
>>21555304
>>21555320
>>21555326

You immediately start training with your kunai throwing, your Genjutsu seals as you form seals again and again and again, your chakra welling up as you do so. Time started racing as you focused devotedly on your task.

Eventually night fell and you make your way back to your apartment. You clean the entire place as usual and look at the clock after you're done. It's 2 AM. You feel tired, but fortunately you feel nothing like the monstrosity that took you over last night. It's a good day because of that.

What shall we do? Push through our night with more hard training, or shall we call it a good day and just get ready for whatever tomorrow holds?

>>21555404
Take a goddamn nap

>>21555404
Eh, we're already up. Keep working.

>>21555404
Push through with hard training. We took it easy last night and we need to keep working on our muscles like Rin said.

>>21555404
Go to bed. Don't want to be late to somehwere because we slept through because we pushed ourselves TOO much

>>21555404
More training, please!

>>21555426
>>21555436
>>21555439
>>21555452
>>21555470

For the first time in a while you decide to push yourself into the wee hours with training. You clamber down to the weight room and start lifting with all your might. Today is a bad day for lifting and you feel your muscles scream in protest. However, you push through and finish your routine. It's 4 AM by the time you crawl back upstairs, shower, and then climb into bed, too tired to think.

You wake up the next morning to that smell. Breakfast. Dad's home. You ready yourself and arrive in the kitchen.

Your Father is sitting at the table in almost the same position and posture as he was before. It's 7 AM, you're pretty tired, but your Father seems to be as ready and rested as ever. He keeps reading his scroll and you look over at the coat-rack and see his vest, his headband, and his sword there. Soup is waiting for you.

>>21555515
ohgodDADishomeavoidconflict

>>21555515
Proceed as normal. We were told not to say anything to him about our KG and we might as well wait until we get official orders before telling him we will be gone.

>>21555515
Made no sudden movements. Finish your soup, and get ready to leave as quickly as possible.

>>21555540
>>21555538
>>21555536

"Who is your sensei?" Your Father slices through the air with his razor sharp voice as you stand to leave the table. His eyes are still on the scroll and he is doing his best to pay you as little attention as he can. "And what have you learned?"

>>21555592
"Rin." And shit, what have we learned?

>>21555592
"Rin of Black Ops. Much."

>>21555592
why did i read that in arnolds voice....

>>21555625
"who is your daddy? and what does he do?"

>>21555592
"Rin"

We learened a bit about fighting, and that some people will switch sides for the most bizzarre reasons

>>21555592
I forgot her last name so just say her name.

"I learned I'm the fastest on my team, and can support either member where they are weak. I also learned I still have much to work on."

>>21555649
DO NOT BRING UP THE LITTLE GIRL! Seriously, dad will start asking questions!

>>21555650
>>21555649
>>21555640
>>21555670
>>21555625
>>21555624
>>21555618

His eyes shift very slightly up. They lock onto yours and though you know he hasn't cast a Genjutsu on you it feels like it. All the power sinks away from your limbs and it takes all your will to stay standing. "Rin Shima." He says and nods, "You're in good hands then. Listen to your teacher. Now, I'm sure you're very busy." He said and resumed reading his scroll.

You hustle out with all speed and on your way to the meeting point you feel the softest of touches as Rin puts her hand on your shoulder and stops you. "Good morning, Daisuke. It's time." She says and hefts a big bag for you and passes it to you. "Your Father has been alerted that you will be going with your squadron on an extended mission." She explained with a nod as she pulled on her back and put a black heavy cloth shroud around you, hiding you completely except for your hat. "Now, let's go."

>>21555782
With that, the two of you leave the village again, this time heading to the West. Both of you make a very clean and fast path, heading far away from Amegakure. You pause after a full day's travel. "We're going to a land beyond the Five Nations. There is a country that borders the Land of Stone and the Land of Wind. It is titanic in its size, but much of it is barren blasted wasteland. Rumor has it that a massive nation of warrior priests and monks held sway there before the Sage of the Six Paths rose." As she explains all this she works her hands over the fire between you two and the smoke dances into the shapes she's explaining.

"The Temples all united to wage war against the Sage of the Six Paths who obliterated them and their country. What few survivors there were entered our lands and integrated into the culture, which is where the Temples that dot the landscape come from." She explained to you in her firm voice. The shadows and smoke reveal a war-filled land ended by a swing wave of the Sage's staff and an outpouring of chakra. Massive valleys, forests, and rivers are blasted to dust at the mere whims of this great man.

>>21555782
"What's going to happen to Masahiro?"

>>21555788
I think a low, amazed, whistle is a suitable reaction to this.

Remember, Dai, one day you will be able to do the very same if you train extra, extra hard.

>>21555797
>>21555849

"Masahiro will be adopted by a new sensei." She explained before leaning back. "Alright, we could take a rest, but I get the feeling you want to train. What shall we learn tonight, Daisuke?" She asks as she rises and punches her fist eagerly, ready to get training.

>>21555899
"Everything." When you can't get that, whatever she's the best in. Or try your Tai on her, and ask how easy it would be for a Genin to deal with it?

>>21555899
We've already done some tai. Let's go either ninjutsu or genjutsu. I don't think she even knows we can do genjutsu.

>>21555967
True, I just want to see if Rin has any insight onto why the hell that nice grass girl could read us so well.

>>21556010
>>21555967
>>21555948

"So she read you like a book, eh? Well that's probably because you're still using stock-standard combat techniques and didn't mix it up. You're a hard worker, but you're very stubborn." She observed as she drew one of her kunai for you to see. It was curved and long like a bird's talon, which suited her mask just fine. "This is the kunai I use. I can throw them just as well, but their speed, size, and shape throws people off in hand to hand. That's how I get my edge against even bigger men, by maximizing my strengths."

The two of you study Ninjutsu together and she observes, "Unfortunately it looks like you don't have any bonds to any elements yet, but you could have one with Water if you worked towards it."

>>21556097
"If I did have a bond with water, how should I prepare for needing water to use my jutsu?"

>>21556176

"Water element jutsu are extremely Chakra intensive. They're the most demanding, they require an ambient source of water, but they are also the most damaging of all elemental types." She explained. "A great many in our village use water, as it is all around us. In fact, it is because of Water Element that your Father is so famous." She explained. "I cannot use water, but I know a few water jutsu and have some scrolls with that information on me. I guessed you would be water element, and it appears I'm correct." She said.

The masked woman sat down and looked over at you with the same expressionless face on her mask as she cocked her head to the side. "You're an odd one, Daisuke. You have a burning drive, but you turn that fire upon metal and forge yourself into a tool. You're an ideal shinobi." She praised you.

>>21556277
"Teach me to mix it up." And also show her your Genjutsu. Not a lot of people do Genjutsu, so you should use that more often.

Also! "Thank you, Rin-sensei."

>>21556277
"Instructor Miwa said the same to me a few days ago. Is it so strange to not be improving yourself when you're not doing something?"

File: 1352774601781.png-(81 KB, 769x1111, Sketchy Daisuke.png)

It's a little earlier than I expected but here's my first attempt at Daisuke. Hat not yet included, but it'll be in the finished version. And back to our regularly scheduled thread.

>>21556327
>>21556331

"Most shinobi find themselves burdened with human desires. Few people in the world are so disciplined as you. After all, a lot of shinobi have friends they care for, family they want to be with, and pursue things like wealth and romance and fun." She explained, almost knowing these concepts would be foreign to you. "However, you've only known work, and it shows." She says and takes to her feet as you show your Genjutsu.

"That is a very unpleasant one." She admitted, "I don't know many Genjutsu myself, but my defense against them is acceptable." She said and produced a scroll. "Here is a Genjutsu known in our village. It is very difficult, but if you study hard I believe you can learn it." She says and then nods, "However, we both came out here for one true purpose. Your Kekkei Genkai. What do you want to know?"

>>21556523
"What is it? Why did I suddenly change like that and how come I can't tell anyone about it?"

>>21556523
What is it, how does it work, how can I use it, How can I control it?

>>21556538
>>21556544
These, plus "Where did I get it?"

>>21556523
"Why a lizard?"

>>21556592
>>21556538
>>21556544

She paused as she reflected on your questions. "It is a technique that evolved from a habitual proximity to the chakra-enriched swamplife that used to exist near Amegakure. There used to be a clan of sentient crocodiles who formed contracts with the natives of the country and in exchange for return service, would offer to aid the shinobi in the field of warfare. Eventually, the summoning became so habitual and so present in their day to day lives these early shinobi mutated and gained the ability to change their shape into a half-man half-crocodile form they called a Lurker. This transformation was too uncontrollable and so the Clan Elders created a seal they embedded into the chakra systems of all clan members, the Massacre of Blood seal. To trigger this seal you must spill blood of a human by your hand and it must touch your forehead, directly in the center." She explained, tapping your forehead. "Some of Satori's blood must have hit your forehead and set your transformation off."

>>21556665
"Is this common? I thought you said it died out."

>>21556665
"Does that mean I was trying to find Satori and finish her off that night when I lost control?"

And she didn't mention why we can't tell anyone like father yet.

>>21556665
>a Lurker
So we look like something out of resident evil then

>>21556665
"I imagine it triggered when I carried her and then touched my forehead while taking a shower. Is there any way to control it? You seem to make it sound like it's impossible to control"

>>21556715
Or Starcraft: Broodwar

>>21556698
>>21556706
>>21556715

"Correct. The clan died out in the First Shinobi World War when the swamp was destroyed, the crocodiles slain, and 95% of the Clan killed. The few remaining members couldn't maintain the Clan and faded into obscurity. Perhaps one of your ancestors was one of them and it resurfaced in you. It's very rare for a Kekkei Genkai to resurface like that, but it is a wonderful thing when it does happen." She explained. "As for what you were doing, that is hard to say. Tales of what Lurkers are capable of are mixed with the truths of what they can do. Some say they can smell chakra, others say they devour chakra for strength and size, and others still say they hunt souls. It is difficult to say. The only known facts are that Lurkers are alpha predators on the battlefield."

>>21556784
"So how am I supposed to control it then? Is that what we're here to figure out?"

>>21556731
>>21556732

"You can control it, eventually, with a great deal of practice. With enough struggle and effort you can learn to unleash the beast with only a single droplet of blood to your forehead and a consensual release desire. In fact, stories say that certain masters of the bloodline were even capable of transforming without blood and at a moment's notice, even in time to defend against an impending attack. However, the Lurker is a manifestation of your animal side. If your inner demons are great, then your Lurker will be powerful, tough, and extremely unruly. It will be a war against yourself to tame your inner beast." She explained, still reading from the scroll.

>>21556834
Hoo, that'll be a psychological exercise.
"So how do we do this?"

>>21556868
Wait, what inner beasts? We don't have any inner beasts, this is all very confusing. Be quiet and listen, though. Need to master this, as you must master all things.

>>21556834
"So what do I train to do that?"

>>21556834
I hope we dont rely on this too much, I'd rather not be a fucking crocodile most of the quest

>>21556898
Everyone has inner beasts

>>21556906
This.

>>21556915
>>21556910
>>21556906
>>21556898
>>21556868

"Well, to begin with, we have been provided with vials of blood from six individuals who are all the way back in Amegakure, so you cannot go on the warpath to hunt for them." She said and produced a scroll, releasing the vials. "We can trigger the transformation and force you to endure it again and again until you find yourself more in control." She explained. "The other option, of course, is more holistic. You could spend every day in meditation, coming to understand the truer nature of yourself, and trying to commune with the Lurker within. Again, this is only hearsay, but some mentioned that their Lurker could almost be considered a second consciousness and granted them twice the mental acuity, and even, in one reported case, immunity to Genjutsu."

>>21557002
"Is there a reason we can't try both?"

>>21557018
This. Meditation, then trigger.

>>21557002
The second plan seems more thorough and more apt to provide greater opportunities. We shouldn't leave things like this to chance and will come to master this in time.

>>21557058
>>21557018

"Actually yes." She said and produced another heavy scroll. "It says here there are two branches in the Clan, Aspect of the Hunter and Aspect of the Swamplord. One focuses more on rage and aggression and raw power, while the other focuses on mastery and blurring the line between man and beast." She explained, "It would be a misuse of your great work ethic to force both. I would aim for one and then, if you feel like you must, then aim for the other. However, to warn you fairly, I cannot say that anyone has ever achieved mastery of both Hunter and Swamplord. Additionally, you will be training two opposite goals. One is to incite the beast to rage and then to force it to obey, and the other is to understand yourself and then seek harmony. One is a solution of force, the other of communication." She said, reading off the scroll. "The Amekage before Hanzo was one such person, one of your Clan."

>>21557102
In that case, I kind of want to go with the meditation path and face Daisuke's inner demons. If that fails, I guess we could go for the other path.

>>21557102
Let's be a communicator, then. Daisuke is driven and competitive, but he's no berzerker. Only an idiot relies on his rage to get things done.

>>21557102
"That just means that we will be the first."
Never settle for half measures. First lets go for Swamplord. We are a balanced ninja, so we don't want to lose our mind to raw power.

>>21557102
"Solution through force sounds by far the easier method... how should I begin meditating?"

>>21557102
Meditation then.
>>21557161
'Atta boy! Fuck the easy street!

>>21557161
>>21557153
>>21557151
>>21557140

"Meditation is important for certain shinobi. There are those who have difficult arts to master, such as sealing difficult things, and require an almost religious devotion to their minds. These shinobi become fortresses of willpower." She explained as she led you away from the fire to a small flat rock amidst the twisted scrubland. "Sit there. And I want you to do the most difficult thing for a human being. I want you to empty your mind. For you, especially, this will be difficult." She warned, but didn't explain further as she walked away and left you to your devices.

What else is there to do? You close your eyes, breathe in and out slowly and deeply, and try to empty your mind. For over an hour you try actively thinking of nothing, but find your thoughts churning back to something. You struggle and battle against your own thoughts for another hour before finally just accepting your position and letting your mind exist.

That's when something horrific happens. Your mind is dark, it is empty, and it is calm. Then, a feeling, a consciousness that isn't your own, nudges against your mind and sends you falling backwards off the rock. You are in a cold sweat. That sensation was horrific, something that wasn't you inside of your mind, your sanctuary.

>>21557314
>That sensation was horrific, something that wasn't you inside of your mind, your sanctuary.
We'll call it bob

>>21557314
Huh. Calm ourselves by doing some push ups or cleaning stuff and try to get that to happen again.

>>21557314
Welp, found the croc. Rinse and repeat. The only way to overcome fear is to confront it.

>>21557361
"Come on out, cocksucker. Let's chat."

>>21557345
Clean the rock. Then do pushups.

>>21557314

Rin looks over and helps you back up to the rock. "I see you made contact. The scroll says it is supposed to be a jarring experience." She said and patted your shoulder, "Congratulations though. That is extremely fast. However, it's bedtime. We need to get moving again in the morning." Not booking any complaints she leads you to your bedroll and makes sure you fall asleep before laying down herself.

You wake up the next morning to Rin smelling more like perfume and flowers than usual, and judging from the water on the ground you see she must have bathed while you slept. "Alright, let's get going!" She said, punching her own palm.

The two of you set off deeper into the wasteland and finally come across a blasted out temple. "This seems appropriate." She says and the two of you walk up to it. She draws her kunai and vanishes, reappearing in a few minutes. "Ok, it's clear. Just a little dusty, but we can handle that." She said and after giving you a tour of the place she leads you to the small bed-chamber adjacent to the main worship area. "You can sleep here. I will sleep in the acolyte's quarters in the loft, because I like the height." She explains. "Now, you will do physical training and ninjutsu training with me during the day. At night, you are going to mediate again. Remember, your meditations take at least three or four hours, so after you make contact of any kind it's straight to bed." She said, laying the rules out evenly for you.

>>21557314
Here's an idea, what if we started to do pushups or something we know really well until we started to enter a meditative state?

>>21557389
"Clean, strict and simple, I like that. Just be on guard something happens during meditation, just in case"

>>21557389
We've got an abandoned temple all to ourselves? Score.

>>21557389
Just make sure we don't forget to clean everything, lest Rin get pissed at the first.

>>21557389
Wait about training? Or Cleaning?!

>>21557389
Cleaning a whole goddamn temple sounds like a waste of time. Clean our area, then sleep.

>>21557616
It's not like we know any different, though.

>>21557493
>>21557442
>>21557430
>>21557428

"Sure, I'll keep an eye out. Now come on, we've got all of morning's training to catch up with!"

And so begins your life with Rin. A month of intensive training begins like this, culminating in one event...

Tonight the rain prevented you from doing the usual work you did outside, and so Rin called a day of rest. For you, however, there were no such days. Today you have been focusing on meditation for over seven hours without moving. Rin, who initially you sensed as wanting to disturb you, decided it was better for her to just leave you to your own devices. Your introspection reaches a head as you finally feel the old Lurker again, but this time it doesn't bump you, doesn't snap its jaws at you, and doesn't laugh and play keep away, this time you feel its consciousness drag itself onto the shore of your mind.

Your mind, which was empty only moments ago, is now dominated by the vision of you standing on a small river bank and a truly massive crocodile, easily fifty feet long and just as big as you would expect at that length, smiling down at you. You cannot speak, and nor does it speak, but this connection, this personification of that which rests within you, causes your body to scream in agony as the transformation happens. However, this time it's different.

Where once massive bulging knots of muscle made your shoulders a burly mountain now you were lean and muscular, a narrower snout and tail. Most importantly, however, you were in control. Not for long, however, as soon your body shunts itself back to normal. You have achieved the very first step to becoming a Swamplord.

(We have been using double Train actions for three weeks straight. As such, it's time to spend some MP! So let's start working on character improvement!)

>>21557665
Soooo...Swamplord is the more stealthy type of mancroc?

>>21557665
How much do we have sir?

>>21557696
I'd assume there's still a large boost in speed and strength. Less defense and strength in this case perhaps. Can we still do ninjutsu and shit while in lizardmode? If we can, I wonder if our element is still water.

>>21557696

(Yes, it's the less Berserker Rager type. It's still powerful, but it's not as bulky. More lizard and less killer croc)

(Ok, so in accordance with the downtime rules in the book, we have 4 total Train actions. I allocated them as 2 train actions towards Knowledge, 1 towards Fundamentals, and 1 towards Technique. That gives us the following values.

Knowledge: 32 MP (to Skills and Perks)
Fundamentals: 24 MP (to Stats)
Techniques: 24 MP (To Jutsu and Maneuvers)

We can spend them as we see fit. So what general direction do we want to go?

>>21557758
I say we should definitely bump up our kunai training, since it seems to be our weapons of choice. I say up to 4

>>21557758
Could we start moving our skills to make us a better stealthy tracker? If we aren't very elementally focused we should focus on genjutsu, and technique. I mean get them dazed and confused then turn into a croc while they aren't looking. Should scare the hell outta them.

>>21557758
I'm liking the generalist thing we have going on so far. So I think bumping up our knowledge's and both types of dodge would be wise for skills, as well as kunai skills. Picking up Jack of all Trades is key too.

Stats, keep em balanced of course and in terms of techniques... Might be time to get some other genjutsu up our sleeve since we don't have an element just yet.

>>21557792
>>21557804
>>21557810

Well, actually, we have enough MP to rank up to Chunin. So we have a brand new UA, a new Trait, and our Rank goes up by 1.

Now, because I set our build, we can shift some things around. If you all are interested, we can gain the Trait, "Kekkei Genkai-Massacre's Blood" which will take the place of our Iron Resolve Trait, leaving us room for a 3rd Trait still.

Let's start with Stats. 1 point of Stats is 4 MP. So we have a total of 6 points to spend on our Stats, where do they go?

>>21557838
To stick with the generalist theme, try to spread the points out, with an emphasis on ninjutsu.

>>21557858
I would say an emphasis on kunai and taijutsu would be better. I assume that the Killer-Croc form enhances our strength and speed, not any ninjutsu

>>21557858
I can live with this. Keep them in range of each other so we can get jack of all trades. Also, I think we should grab the KG. Won't be a crutch for us but a nice option to use.

>>21557882
Generalist with this.

>>21557882
>>21557858
>>21557886
>>21557957

Alright, Raising Nin, Tai, and Gen by 2 each.
We're also picking up our Kekkei Genkai. I'll have it's exact effects my next post.

Now for the hard part. 32 MP to Skills and Perks. Good luck!

>>21557995
CHOICESEVERYWHERE

>>21557995
Definitely want Jack of all trades with our stat line. I assume KG training will be important but we should wait to see what it even does. We should probably prioritize our dodge skills and kunai as well.

is there a skill tree or something, been lurking this for two days and on my phone so fairly new

>>21558169
There's a ruleset on the forums posted up top, so I imagine it will be difficult for you to see on the phone.

id say kunai mastery
(its in our blood to be weapon masters)

>>21558369
Not really. As previously mentioned, the sword never quite called for us. We can be doing a lot of other things.

>>21558204

Alright, here's the KKG-

"Kekkei Genkai (Massacre Blood): Inside of you dwells the Beast known as a Lurker, a demi-human creature that you can control with great effort. Simply for acquiring this Trait you gain the benefits of the "Bloodhound" perk so long as you in the water, or in a heavily wet environment. Additionally, you may transform yourself into either the Swamplord or Hunter form, decided upon acquiring this Trait. The cost to do so is 8-Kekkei Genkai Training Ranks amount of Chakra. The transformation lasts a number of rounds equal to your Rank+Kekkei Genkai Training."

Ok, so we'll get some Kunai Training, some Jack of all Trades, the Knowledges and defenses...

Evasion, Shinobi Movement, and Counter Genjutsu Training to 3 each. (Costs 12 MP)

Buy Jack-of-All-Trades (3 MP)

Raise Kunai Training to 4 (Costs 6 MP)

Raise Knowledges to 3 (9 MP)

That all cost 30 MP. We still have 2 MP left, which gives enough to purchase 1 Rank in a Mastery if we feel like it, or we can raise our Genjutsu to 2. Thoughts?

>>21558441
Go ahead and bump up that Genjutsu.

Well do we plan on using a weapon when we turn into a lizard(either form)? If not, then we shouldn't over-invest right?

>>21558441
I say raise genjutsu to 2. Gotta use it eventually so we'll need to be decent at it.

>>21558428
I think at one point we should invest in the weaponmaster perk, which lets us train a skill that will let us use any weapon no problem.

>>21558495
>>21558487
>>21558468

Alright, Genjutsu raised to 2. We still have a free trait. Our current traits, since we changed are.

Kekkei Genkai
Extreme Training Regimen

We can pick up 1 more Trait. Any suggestions or thoughts?

>>21558544
Wasn't there mention of perks to do with passion or dedication? Until Dai works out his demons, those sorts of things will probably apply.

>>21558480
well i was thinking better kunai
claw shaped kunai
and in swamplord form we have claws

>>21558544
I say we grab that water element trait. Then we can make some real jutsu.

>>21558597
>>21558593
>>21558608

There is the "Ardent Passion" Trait, which means we really really stand for our Ninja way.

The other option, as mentioned, is Water Element Affinity, which would allow us to cast water Jutsu. However, we don't have any water element training (the skill) so it would be a largely dead trait.

>>21558622
Ardent Passion sounds like it may fit. Daisuke takes his training and advancement very seriously.

>>21558622
the ardent passion sounds great

>>21558657
>>21558675

Alright, we're ardent passion now. Finally, we have 24 MP to purchase Jutsu and Maneuvers. Since we can't really learn Ninjutsu without an element a few Maneuvers would be good. I'll go ahead and pick those, update the sheet, and post it.

Now, we still need to decide our Nindo and our UA2, but let's save that for another time. We got tonight moving a little bit and we'll pick this up on Wednesday. Thanks for playing! Remember, drop by the IRC for gaming with the system outside of the Quest and any questions you have at all! Thank you very much.