Naruto Sound ITP OOC 1

[Lord Raziere]

Very cool. Those texts alone inspire me ideas for storylines.
I also, enjoy the tension of Super Vs Normal people.

Do super powerful Samurai exist? With long range slashes and all that?

Glad to know that I can inspire that, and that you enjoy it.

I mean....probably? Yes? It wouldn't surprise me? the far slashes wouldn't make that much of a difference, ninja are still more flexible and tricksy. the only question is whether its a pure chakra technique or a wind chakra technique.

[Rater202]

Glad to know that I can inspire that, and that you enjoy it.

I mean....probably? Yes? It wouldn't surprise me? the far slashes wouldn't make that much of a difference, ninja are still more flexible and tricksy. the only question is whether its a pure chakra technique or a wind chakra technique.

In cannon, pure chakra. The Samurai Saber technique I linked isn't just a massive improvement to cutting power but also allows for a Flash, a cutting cresent of chakra, Ruptuve, a wave of chakra, and Secret Sword: Snowstorm Beheading, which generates a massive shockwave that creates a giant tornado(similar to how Gai can shape air by punching it hard enough instead of using wind release.)

Mifune also uses the Chakra Shockwave slash, where the Chara focused in his sword lets him slash the air to create shockwaves that can cut multiple people at range.

In the anime, the enhanced cutting edge generated by the Samurai Saber technique can also have shape manipulation applied to it, allowing the Wakizashi used by Land of Iron Samurai to be used as Katana, seven-branched swords, and axes.

[igordragonian]

At least I am not the one been waited for.
Heh.

So.
I have a murder mystery arc outside of the village planned for, and then a finale of the Futilty storyline... which probably change things, and probably end 'phase 1'
If you have storylines to fit, maybe it good place as any to share

[Rater202]

Other than Senko going to Ryuchi cave?

I figure I can handle that in one of two ways: Either I run one of my other ideas with Senko sitting out most of it and coming back afterward, or the whole squad makes the trip to the Cave but Kimiko, Yuyuyu, Odayama, and Usagi get separated from Senko and have their own side adventure while Senko is taking the tests off-screen.

[Lord Raziere]

No, my storyline for Kimiko is done for now. Unless we want to do something with Jirou knowing the secret of Clan Ishikawa, I'm just planning on him deliberating on whether or not to tell the Otokage until he dies, as whether Nozojo knows or not would be a moot point by then.

until the Chuunin Exams, I'm just going to develop the awkward relationship between Kimiko and her mother in a positive direction. I have something planned in case the spy from Ameoku shows up infiltrating the Ishikawas (through it doesn't happen if Mitsuko somehow manages to become the spy sent, and thus control the info given to Ameoku to keep her off Jirou's movements) but no big plots or missions.

[Rater202]

Raz? You okay? You're normally a bit more active than this.

Anyway, I've kind of got a mental image of the PCs deliberately or accidentally recruiting people to the Sound Village to slowly make up for its crippling lack of numbers.

Like a band of Ronin who abandoned their lord because they were given an order that they just couldn't abide by and chose exile over sepeku becuase, well, there were like a dozen of them. Their Lord has the money and political connections to keep from being ruined if they spilled what they were ordered. Able to share samurai techniques to improve the quality of individual ninja.

Or members of the Hyuga Branch house who sneak out after hearing that the Ishikawa are almost as good at seals as the Uzumaki in hopes that they can remove their curse marks. Not much right away, but eventually they're gonna be having kids...

An older distant cousin of Senko's who lives in the mountains somewhere and has self-trained into controlling his transformations. Knows the connection between their clan and the Senju/Uzumaki... And things that the Senju and Uzumaki would like to avoid coming to light. More of a monk, hermit type character, valuable more for his wisdom and the political potential of the knowledge he has than any tactical knowledge or power he has.

[Lord Raziere]

Oh I'm okay. its just....my attention wanders sometimes. sometimes I binge a lets play, sometimes I want to make progress on a videogame of the many I have my computer form steam, sometimes I agonize on trying to write my own novels to no avail. its really no one thing. sometimes I wish I could just get started and keep going on a story all by myself without constantly second-guessing and being indecisive about it.

those all sound like great ideas for stories, yes. the challenge is coming up with interesting complications for some of those that don't result in something that completely ruins Sound Village or something like that.

[Rater202]

The last one probably works if you assume that the Senju and Uzumaki can be blackmailed into using their influence to keep the Leaf from doing anything that risks their dirty laundry from being aired.

They're trying to eliminate evidence of the black mark on their history at the same time Team 3 is investigating... Maybe the people they send in don't even know wha it is, but once it gets back to sound they're willing to try some under the table diplomacy to keep sound from letting it be known?

I imagine that the mission would involve a settlement hiring a squad of ninja to investigate strange sounds and lights in and around the mountain, which would turn out to be fights between the older relative.

Incidentally, according to some data books, Kushina's elemental affinities are Wind, Water, and Yin

Karin's are Earth, Water, Yin, and Yang.

So, there's circumstantial evidence that Water is a common affinity among them, as you suggested, and even more circumstantial evidence for my theory about relation between the clans based on elemental affinities.

[igordragonian]

Other than Senko going to Ryuchi cave?

I figure I can handle that in one of two ways: Either I run one of my other ideas with Senko sitting out most of it and coming back afterward, or the whole squad makes the trip to the Cave but Kimiko, Yuyuyu, Odayama, and Usagi get separated from Senko and have their own side adventure while Senko is taking the tests off-screen.

MMm,maybe another snake summoner from other village getting to the cave as well with her/his team?
Sort of a pre-chunin exam battle?

No, my storyline for Kimiko is done for now. Unless we want to do something with Jirou knowing the secret of Clan Ishikawa, I'm just planning on him deliberating on whether or not to tell the Otokage until he dies, as whether Nozojo knows or not would be a moot point by then.

until the Chuunin Exams, I'm just going to develop the awkward relationship between Kimiko and her mother in a positive direction. I have something planned in case the spy from Ameoku shows up infiltrating the Ishikawas (through it doesn't happen if Mitsuko somehow manages to become the spy sent, and thus control the info given to Ameoku to keep her off Jirou's movements) but no big plots or missions.

MMm, well, Ameoku actually, won't work too hard on that. She will send summoned cats to spy on Jirou here and there.
She won't use Anbus against him- she doesn't see justification for this. He doesn't endanger the village as a whole, he is challenging HER seat, so she used her 'private' retainers.

Ameoku simply disrespect Jirou, and think he doesn't deserve it.
So far, this kitty looks at him with narrowed eyes, and wagging her tail thinking what to do

[Rater202]

The rival snake summoner from leaf runs the risk of delegitimizing Senko's claim as the Snake Sage. The snakes wouldn't care, but the leaf village could just call her out as an interloper who stole a contract and faked it.

Also, to Menko's knowledge, there currently aren't any other snake summoners. While Mekko was only an apprentice snake and an inattentive one at that, she was still being trained as one of the White Snake sAge's attendants and to be in the running to replace her when she finally dies, so Menko would know.

On Ameoku: Are we gonna have to beat up the kitty at some point? Becuase she's acting like someone who needs a good ass whooping at somepoint.

[igordragonian]

The rival snake summoner from leaf runs the risk of delegitimizing Senko's claim as the Snake Sage. The snakes wouldn't care, but the leaf village could just call her out as an interloper who stole a contract and faked it.

Also, to Menko's knowledge, there currently aren't any other snake summoners. While Mekko was only an apprentice snake and an inattentive one at that, she was still being trained as one of the White Snake sAge's attendants and to be in the running to replace her when she finally dies, so Menko would know.

On Ameoku: Are we gonna have to beat up the kitty at some point? Becuase she's acting like someone who needs a good ass whooping at somepoint.

Ameoku is one the three Junins, so good luck.
Well, she see herself fit to be the next leader, and doesn't trust Jiirou to do the job, because he is a weakling.
So.
shrug*
Also she is sort of a geniouse, she started a bloodline clan during the war.
She probably will challenge Jirou, but she is loyal to the village.

----

It was just an offer, how to make it more of a group storyline, thing.

[Rater202]

I'm just saying, I think that randomly attacking a fellow ninja in the middle of the village while he's going about his day would be considered a crime.

[Lord Raziere]

The last one probably works if you assume that the Senju and Uzumaki can be blackmailed into using their influence to keep the Leaf from doing anything that risks their dirty laundry from being aired.

They're trying to eliminate evidence of the black mark on their history at the same time Team 3 is investigating... Maybe the people they send in don't even know wha it is, but once it gets back to sound they're willing to try some under the table diplomacy to keep sound from letting it be known?

I imagine that the mission would involve a settlement hiring a squad of ninja to investigate strange sounds and lights in and around the mountain, which would turn out to be fights between the older relative.

Incidentally, according to some data books, Kushina's elemental affinities are Wind, Water, and Yin

Karin's are Earth, Water, Yin, and Yang.

So, there's circumstantial evidence that Water is a common affinity among them, as you suggested, and even more circumstantial evidence for my theory about relation between the clans based on elemental affinities.

1. I'm more concerned about the Hyuuga honestly. the cousin if he is so remote probably isn't known by anyone, so how would the Uzumaki or the Senju even know about him? but the Hyuuga have potential to be tracked. I mean as long as it secret, the main challenge will be figuring out how a weakened recovering clan solves the bird cage seal, though that might just be Kimiko thing to do.

2. yeah, those affinities plus the geographic location of the Land of Whirlpools is what makes think the Uzumaki are Water Affinity, I looked those up when trying to determine because I originally read a fanfic I liked that decided their affinity was water so I had to double check what was known about them to confirm whether the reasoning was sound, and it seems to be that it is. though keep mind that affinity is softer than a bloodline, as it seems possibly to have double affinities and affinities different from your parents, its just that a clan has a stronger tendency towards certain elements. furthermore the Uzumakis were technically larger than most clans, as they had their own village so its possible that they had more variance than most clans.

like Karin could've been from a Earth-Water line closer to Senju and Kushina from a Water-Wind line farther away, but it could also be that they just had additional affinities atop the usual water affinity. but ultimately, this is the best we have to go on. if they are Senju relatives it just makes that they have water and some earth the most combined with their geography influencing it.

also on the Hyuuga in general: I'm thinking that their Jyuuken is underwhelming as is and I will probably be making Hyuuga nintaijutsu thats basically bending to reflect their great chakra control. because the Byakugan has great potential, but its limited by the jutsu its used for in canon.

will probably be getting writeups of my thoughts on crime and media in the shinobi nations at some point, they're progressing nicely.

@ As for Ameoku:
Yeah, a duel might work, but an ambush like she did previously is at best pushing it and at worst an unprovoked attack. especially when not on any training grounds where civilians could be hurt. like I don't recall any point in canon where attacking another ninja of your village outside the training grounds was okay? except maybe when played for comedy. Sasuke and Naruto's duel on that rooftop was broken up pretty quickly by Kakashi.

[Rater202]

Juken is deadly.

It's not that the Hyuuga have better r chakra control, it's that they have two Kekei Genkai. The Byakugan, but also an unnamed ability to be aware of and control every tenketsu in their body.

The gentle fist is the combination of this ability, allowing them to better control the flow of chakra in their body, and the Byakugan letting them see other people's organs. Striking the tenketsu directly is only part of the technique, by coating eir entire hand with chakra they can send their chakra into someone's body to majorly mess someone up, similar to the Chakra Scalpels technique.

In the fight between Hinata and Neji, it's explained that even a glancing blow or near miss can still cause major damage. Neji tapped Hianata's chest and she started coughing up blood while he heart stopped beating.

In Boruto, it is revealed that Naruto missed his inauguration ceremony becuase Boruto and Himawari got into a fight and the eight-year-old girl's first-ever use of Juken was enough to knock his ass out cold for a full day when he got between his fighting children. It also implicitly knocked out Kurama.

The reason the Gentle fist seems underwhelming is that for the entire rest of the series either the user wasn't going for the kill or they were fighting someone who was on a level where such powerful taijutsu was a minimum requirement to be effective.

Furthermore, the Vaccum Palm and it's variation, Heavenly Rotation, the Twin Lion Fist, and so on are considered Gentle Fist techniques, so there's verisitility. Ranged attacks, a defense, and "screw precision, I just want to break you" ataack.

Realistically, any of the PCs should be pissing themselves if they end up having to fight a Hyuga in the Chinin exams.

[igordragonian]

About Ameoku it was half comedic scene.
And also she is more or less does what ever she want, and more into 'Might Make Right' without being 'classic villian' about it if it make sense.

More like, ninja life is harsh. And she grown to power during a war, by NOT following any code, doing dangerouse expriements on herself, trained by a powerful sucuidal leader, who didn't even expected to win.
She were chosen to be Anbu Captain to tone her down with responsiblity.


Remember the Hope Generation, are the first Genins who became Genins simply by passing tests. Until them, they had to bring a confirmed kill.
Diffrent times,diffrent people.

Nozojo has worked hard to change that, and that why he is so proud of the 'Hope Generation.'


If Ameoku is a villian or not, well I didnt planned her to be.
She supposed to be an opposition, a challenge. She actually inspired as Shunnen protagnists, hot headed and yada yada


----

Hyuga is perfect as adversary for this very reason, and that why In have chosen Hyuga to murder Usagi's village

[Lord Raziere]

Igor: Yeah I get that, its just that Rater doesn't seem to care about tropes like that? So I'm never sure how breach the divide between that and his realistic concerns.

On Hyuuga:
I mean if you both consider it dangerous enough....okay...but I just see a taijutsu style thats very vulnerable to Earth Release, trap-based and environment control fighting styles, with a defensive technique that only their greatest masters can supposedly wield making most of the Hyuuga unable to respond to ranged attacks, a defensive technique that is vulnerable to entangling methods anyways given Neji's Fight with the Sound Four, with a blind spot that can be figured out.

all because the Hyuugas look at having not one, but two bloodlines to shape and use chakra in ways that most ninja would KILL for to learn so fast....and just use it to be kenshiro from first of the north star. when there is so much more that can be done with it. You see a dangerous opponent? I see wasted potential, an entire clan that was a short hop away from inventing Rasengan themselves if they thought outside their tradition box, and generic energy blast no jutsu when you could've invented at least five different nintaijutsu styles from basic elemental releases being combined with the Hyuuga's advantages alone. or what their potential is if they combine their Hyuuga advantages with medical jutsu, or yin release!

I mean they're still a danger, but I personally consider Hyuuga a shining example of "good enough is the bane of progress".

[Rater202]

I mean, Nintaijutsu is mostly just coating yourself with an element and then using normal martial arts. It's all but outright said to be a cloud thing in the Manga, and based on A and A's example it's very much a brute force thing.

I imagine there's a reason why most people would be reluctant to expel fire or electricity from all of their pressure points at once, yeah? And if you count the Chakra-Mode itself as Nintaijusu then the only people who use it are those two and various Jinchuriki... Maybe Frog Style Sage Mode users, since Frog Kata works by creating an invisible aura.

It's probably hard to coat your entire body in an element without either dispersing the chakra into the environment or hurting yourself.

But okay, let's look at the Hyuuga's elemental affinities: Not counting Bort, only Hinata and Neji have listed elements they can use: Hinata can use Fire and Lightning, and Neji can use Fire, Water, and Earth.

If we assume they're typical, then the Hyuuga's most common element is probably "fire" so... Basically they could set themselves on fire... But that doesn't really seem their style. Nintaijutsu and "Chakra Modes" in general seems to be about raw power while the Hyuga are about finish and precision. I could see a Fire Release: Heavenly Spin where you're shooting chakra enhanced fire out of your tenketsu instead of regular chakra to burn away any entanglements and add damage to anyone trying to engage in melee instead of just pushing back... But Heavenly Spin is already a technique that only the Main Branch are normally allowed to learn.

I could also see using juken to inject burning hot fire-chakra into someone's body directly and cook them from the inside, which seems like a the kind of assassination move that people focused on precise attacks the vitals are.

I could also see firerelease variation of Vaccuum Palm and is' variations being common, and would be more like the "Bending" you're looking for... But a gout of fire would probably be less effective than a concentrated shell of chakra aimed right at a pressure point or vital organs from range or a wall of pure concussive force.

More seriously: Nintaijutu is about using chakra flow and Nature transformation to Augment Taijutsu. Something comperable to bending would be... Taininjutsu. Using Marital Arts to Augment Ninjutsu, and woul probably require you to either have an Elemental Bloodline(see, Haku) or be really, really good at both nature and shape transformation in addition to a comperable martial art.

[Rater202]

Can I make a proposal?

There are no "Western Lands."

There are probably several small countries to the west of the known map since there are more nations that we know of than there are unnamed countries, but no vast unclaimed territory still in the midst of constant warfare between dozens of clans of Ninja who have secrets that make the strongest ninja of the "elemental nations"(a fan term, btw) but somehow a single genin who was betrayed and exiled for stupid reasons can conquer it and unite it's warring factions before his testicles drop.

The very idea of this concept has been irreparably tainted by countless bad fanfics ad we're better than that. I'd rather avoid the concept entirely and just say that there are a few small counties, some of which have their own minor villages, but after a certain point, it's just wasteland or an impassible mountain range or something.

It often only exists to justify story beats that can be done better without it.

[Lord Raziere]

Can I make a proposal?

There are no "Western Lands."

There are probably several small countries to the west of the known map since there are more nations that we know of than there are unnamed countries, but no vast unclaimed territory still in the midst of constant warfare between dozens of clans of Ninja who have secrets that make the strongest ninja of the "elemental nations"(a fan term, btw) but somehow a single genin who was betrayed and exiled for stupid reasons can conquer it and unite it's warring factions before his testicles drop.

The very idea of this concept has been irreparably tainted by countless bad fanfics ad we're better than that. I'd rather avoid the concept entirely and just say that there are a few small counties, some of which have their own minor villages, but after a certain point, it's just wasteland or an impassible mountain range or something.

It often only exists to justify story beats that can be done better without it.

I was planning on making the lands to the west an impassable wasteland of death anyways due to the twin deserts of Stone and Wind being in that direction. that you'd find nothing but rocks, dirt/sand and the skeletons of missing nins who tried to cross to see the other side.

To the north I was planning on being a icy wasteland of death if not the north pole.

to the east, ocean, and an earlier less advanced Land of Sea that has yet to utilize its full potential into a rival power for Land of Water like in Boruto.

and the south.....probably more ocean, maybe lush india-like lands who use chakra differently but no less powerfully who name all the techniques by hindu concepts instead, but nothing relevant to us if they exist at all, and that the shinobi nations are insular and focused on one another anyways. maybe at some point the nations will develop in a manner to start going imperial/colonial europe on the world ninja remix style, but if we're going to do anywhere near a plot like that its probably going to be the kind that gets stopped in its infancy before it ever gets going by sneaky sabotage and secret espionage fights

basically any other peoples or lands that could exist are too remote or far away for the ninjas to be concerned about, and also isolationism and such to make sure that if they did get contact with anyone, it'd be much like japan trading with the portugese during like japans really isolationist period that went on for 200 years. its completely in character for the culture we're portraying to just hardcore not care about anything outside of its own business unless someone barges right up to them and makes them care.

like we wouldn't even have katanas or ninjas if the mongolians didn't try to invade japan twice. they were just so brutal and different in their warfare they forced blacksmiths to come up with new ways of forging to cut through their armor and for some people to steal their blackpowder weapons and start sneaking around and poisoning people. most of the biggest changes to japan's culture have been foreigners coming in and making them change. so any use of foreigners would be to change the shinobi nations up dramatically. meaning if anyone foreign shows up, its probably a prelude to a big shift in paradigm and an S-Rank mission, meaning its not going to happen any time soon, if at all.

[Rater202]

The closest thing to "foreign/outside influence" I think we'll reasonably get is convincing some rogue samurai to teach the PCs/the sound village kenjutsu and the chakra flow principals behind the Samurai Saber techniques and it's child techniques.

[igordragonian]

thinking of a reply

[Rater202]

lush india-like lands who use chakra differently but no less powerfully who name all the techniques by hindu concepts instead, but nothing relevant to us if they exist at all, and that the shinobi nations are insular and focused on one another anyways. maybe at some point the nations will develop in a manner to start going imperial/colonial europe on the world ninja remix style, but if we're going to do anywhere near a plot like that its probably going to be the kind that gets stopped in its infancy before it ever gets going by sneaky sabotage and secret espionage fights

Actually, bit of trivia: Kishimoto based Chakra on how ki was depicted and described as working in Dragon Ball, but was also researching indian elements at the same time. Then he had a brain fart and wrote "chakra" instead of "ki" and by the time he noticed his mistake it was too late to fix it.

So if we do this, it might be a neat meta-joke if that culture called it ki.

[Lord Raziere]

Actually, bit of trivia: Kishimoto based Chakra on how ki was depicted and described as working in Dragon Ball, but was also researching indian elements at the same time. Then he had a brain fart and wrote "chakra" instead of "ki" and by the time he noticed his mistake it was too late to fix it.

So if we do this, it might be a neat meta-joke if that culture called it ki.

I don't plan on it being important, just a detail that yeah, other cultures probably exist in some far off manner and they might use chakra as well, and that india would be a good culture that would fit with this world while being different enough to be worth noting, but not too different as to be out of place. but yeah that joke can be done, if we ever decide to come up with a reason to go forth beyond the shinobi nations.

two write ups which I feel are important:

Spoiler: Media in the Shinobi Nations:

Show

Newspapers, films, manga, radio, books, letters, these are the media that connect the world of shinobi. If computers exist, it is as either big rooms of analog or electro-mechanical computers or rooms full of people using abacuses. All the films are on the big screen, and most people have never been beyond their home nation, and the media is the primary way they know of anything beyond themselves. But of course, the media is controlled. Free speech isn't exactly something the shinobi nations guarantee.

When it comes to films and books, war stories are a common theme. Many authors were once ashigaru serving on the front line. They write of how horrible war is, of how death happens often and you shouldn't desire it. The ashigaru often starting out as idealistic young men and ending up as burnt out veterans if they survive at all. Another common theme is samurai stories set during the warring states period the samurai romanticized as heroes like sheriffs or knights protecting people in a time of instability and chaos, falling in love with elegant geisha or peasant women wanting a better life, the warring states turned into a seemingly simpler time to escape to. A growing genre is yokai B-horror movies where commoners run from janky kappa or oni monsters that are just people in costumes.

When it comes to depicting shinobi, the media is never accurate, and ninjas themselves actively encourage the film makers to make as many artistic liberties as possible. Such films are a form of misinformation on a massive scale and keep the mystique of the ninja alive. In fact those who try to do the research to depict ninja accurately are the ones in the most danger: such attempts at research invariably involve trying to learn about their lives which involve many secrets worth killing to protect. A film that depicts shinobi accurately, is a film that is danger of being destroyed and its creator silently taken out. Most shinobi depictions are thus the most cliché, with all black clothes hiding their identities wielding katanas slaughtering any who get in their way and displaying random powers.

Upper class people of course, enjoy more refined entertainment, such as kabuki theater and Noh plays, elegant geisha for companionship, musicians playing gagaku court music, dances like Nihon buyo and noh mai, while samurai compose haiku and senryu, while laughing the poetic comic genre of haikai. The nations of course also hold their own mikaguras at certain shrines every year during festivals. Meanwhile the common people do various folk kaguras and hold various festivals and ceremonies celebrating the harvest and the changing of the seasons. Ceremonies to honor a kami are often long and complex and need to be perfect to satisfy them.

With the news, newspapers are local or national, with no real connection to ones in other nations. The news is accurate for anything local or within one's own nation but useless for anything outside of it. However ninjas in their eternal mercenary nature sometime accepts jobs from journalists to investigate things they cannot. Sometimes they even have enough money to investigate something of A-Rank level. When this happens a ninja must be prepared to balance the interests of the nation and the interests of the journalist. They must make judgments about whether something is dark secret that needs revealing or a personal matter that shouldn't be snooped into. Of course ninjas sometimes reveal scandals about others for their own personal reasons, as there is more than one way to defeat a foe. Either way sometimes the media does expose someone in power and ruin their day for better or worse.

Of course journalists that get too foolish in what they investigate often end up dead. Like filmmakers, they need to stay away form revealing any secrets of chakra or things that destabilize the status quo. A corrupt man exposed once in a while enforces and upholds the government, a great many exposed at once or constantly leads to rebellion, possibly revolution, with samurai and ninja possibly joining in on the rebels side. At the same time, competent shinobi don't go full oppressive, instead making sure information control is wielded with finesse. Going full oppressive and orwellian makes it real obvious what your doing to everyone, especially ninjas from other nations who might see what your doing, smell the secrets your keeping and try to expose them and incite civil war. Such blunt force methods of deception reek of desperation or incompetence. Keeping more people from wielding chakra than is needed is often enough to keep the commoners in line.

The ideal as far as ninja are concerned is that everything looks normal and people don't care enough to bother to try changing the status quo. Thus the shinobi let people go about their business and think what they will as long as they don't stick their noses into their business or try to upset how the game is played, keeping their information control to the shadows.

Spoiler: Crime in the Shinobi Nations

Show

Crime is a complex topic in the shinobi nations. Shinobi stride on both sides of the law as it suits them abusing or breaking rules when the situation calls for it. In a way, they are expected to break the law when no one is looking, to be the weapon that silently breaks societies rules while society keeps its hands clean, essentially handing any problems it can't normally deal using the normal rigid ways of tradition and social control through a collectivist hierarchical culture to the ninjas without caring how they do it. This makes the ninjas relationship to the rest of the world strange: to some degree everyone “knows” the ninja get up to illegal things, but don't investigate into it and say its not their business, because its an unspoken rule that its the ninjas job to do those things and if they are doing those things its clearly to benefit society in some way that can't be accomplished within the law, otherwise why would they have ninja? Its just silently assumed that anything ninjas do is ninja business and worked out among ninja, and not anyone else.

Of course, shinobi break up crime and criminals like pirates, bandits, gangs and such when those get too troublesome and disruptive, for violent crimes make things unstable. The relationship with organized crime however is different: shinobi like their crime organized and orderly. If a criminal organization exists in the nations they probably have some ninja allowing, supporting or leading it. Such organizations make sure that the candle is burnt from both ends and that crime if it is done, is done in a non-disruptive way that will minimize harm and chaos. At the same time, they use criminal organizations to get materials and information they need, often having deals with the yakuza not to engineer their downfall as long as they remain useful for their purposes. The black market is also a good source of various things you normally can't get from your own nation or village.

Of course, this gets complicated when another ninja comes and starts playing investigator to try and break this sort of organization up. Whether its from your own village or another's only makes it different flavors of complicated. If its from your own village, that ninja is probably on a mission they need to complete and get paid for, and you can't exactly harm them. If its a ninja from another village, it means that a fight between you two could be a political incident of some kind. A missing-nin is the simplest possibility, as they are criminals as well and can be safely disposed of. The problem is when both ninjas have some form of legitimacy to their actions. While justice is all well and good, causing power vacuums in the criminal underworld is not always a good idea. Especially when there are missing-nin controlling some of these organizations out there. Not only would deposing a current yakuza cause short term fighting and death, a new yakuza loyal to a different ninja might move in and start spying and working for them.

Ninja generally won't do anything to save any criminal that gets caught by the police though. Most of the time the organization matters more than a specific criminal, and people need to feel as if something is being done about crime once in a while. That and if they do need information from a criminal- they don't need to break them out. Ninjas have enough authority to work alongside police and get interrogation access, and they can sneak in and interrogate the guy themselves if they really need to do it without the police knowing.

Of course, the black market depends on trade routes. Most trade routes are on water, going along the eastern, northern and southern coasts, with smugglers and pirates sailing up and down all three. However to connect the north and south in the west, smugglers instead sail down the Western River that flows down from the Land of Waterfalls through Grass and Rain to finally end at the Land of Rivers where it flows into the sea at Kawadoroboshi, a port city known for its seedy dealings, completing the circle of smuggling. A nice and neat circle to the shinobi's wishes of predictable orderly organized crime to make their jobs easier, while the criminals rake in the profit from the stability. Of course clever pirates realize the nature of the smuggling business and figure out how to intercept such smugglers, but this is a trap as this makes for more jobs for the shinobi to get paid for, and in predictable places for them to go to, to take care of such pirates. The Smuggler's Circle is both to keep it orderly and work as a form of bait for other more violent criminals.

When it comes to drugs and other pleasures, ninja often use them as ways to gather information and keep less upstanding individuals under control. As long as drugs don't impact the productivity of large numbers of people they don't take action. Every city has some red light district full of prostitutes, sake, gambling and harder drugs that people inevitably go to for one reason or another, and they are kept controlled with shinobis balancing the need for luring in fools to get information with the moral concerns of civilians. At times when some drug grows too popular or some cartel or establishment grows too powerful, the shinobi are sent to break it up and get things back to controllable levels. Having a red light district is okay, but allowing the entire city to become one generally is not.

Missing nin of course can take part in all of this, taking control of various parts for their own profit, and are hunted for being outside their ninjas control. The Land of Rain meanwhile is an exception to how the rules of deserters, ronins and missing-nin work, as Rain is always willing to take in any of these to serve them instead as an open offer. Does this have negative consequences for Rain? Yes. They don't really care. As far as they are concerned, they need all the forces they can get, from wherever they can recruit them. Rain is pretty much seen as the last refuge of the desperate.

Other less obvious crimes like embezzlement, fraud, ponzi schemes, penny shaving, rainmaking and so on require more refined ways to prove and prosecute for, if they aren't just killing those responsible. Such abstract money-based crimes are the domain of investigative jonin who must be careful in their investigations as these kinds of crimes are often connected to powerful people and companies who have access to either other other nations ninja, samurai or missing nin and ronin. Another crime that is done is fake charity, by regular con men and ninjas or missing nin who want to raise money for their own interests. Of course some missing nin find legitimate companies then kill and replace one of their executives to get their money so they can live a cushy life. Some even take over the upper management of the companies to use the company for their own ends. Indeed, some of the richest people in the world may be ninjas, and some of the most valuable things in the world outside of things like tailed beasts and whatnot may be the accounting books of the wealthy.

[Rater202]

So, would a Yakuza family based in the land of sound be the kind of people to talk to if a sound ninja wanted a body stolen but didn't want it traced back to them?

[Lord Raziere]

So, would a Yakuza family based in the land of sound be the kind of people to talk to if a sound ninja wanted a body stolen but didn't want it traced back to them?

"I mean, it depends on the body being stolen yeah? Is it warm, cold already, we got connections to other lands sure, but the longer the distance the more the costs go up see cause we got to pay other yakuzas we know and they gotta pay yakuzas they know, and then of course you want warm shinobi bodies that costs even more cause we gotta get another shinobi to do it, see? lots of connections and guys knowing other guys and those guys doing things and we need to get paid for doing them."

in short its possible, but logically speaking its not free. having enough money is the only obstacle. so....how do we handle the money part?

[Rater202]

"I mean, it depends on the body being stolen yeah? Is it warm, cold already, we got connections to other lands sure, but the longer the distance the more the costs go up see cause we got to pay other yakuzas we know and they gotta pay yakuzas they know, and then of course you want warm shinobi bodies that costs even more cause we gotta get another shinobi to do it, see? lots of connections and guys knowing other guys and those guys doing things and we need to get paid for doing them."

in short its possible, but logically speaking its not free. having enough money is the only obstacle. so....how do we handle the money part?

Presumable ninja are being paid for missions.

It just depends on what the equivalent mission is.

We know based on Kabuto managing to rob hundreds of graves from multiple villages without anyone noticing that there's a frightening lack of security around cemeteries. I imagine anything short of making off with the entirety of a famous corpse wouldn't be that hard.

[igordragonian]

I.. still stuck.
I dont know what to do
I think it's beyond my abiility to fix...

I mostly thinking of how to quit without exploding the game.
No drama and stuff.. just me, being an incompetent writer...

I really like this setting and all,but I drag this down and it's a shame.
Again, no drama. All is fine. Sort of.
I meant to write things in a certain way, and things derailed to the point I dont know what to do.

[Rater202]

You don't need to quit, really.

You just need to say whether Senko's punch hit or not.

And... You're not a bad writer. Everything's fine.

[Lord Raziere]

Yeah, all your doing is beating yourself up while procrastinating over what to actually write. thats just what I do when trying to figure out what novel I want to make on a small scale.

its fine. there is no problem. we don't expect you to do anything but be yourself Igor. there is no standard you need to clear. your literally beating yourself up over nothing, and I have no idea where this is coming from.

and if its really that big a deal to you....maybe you won't ever be as good a writer as me or whatever....who cares? have fun. its not as if I'll be as good as say Neil Gaiman or anything. life is too short to spend comparing yourself to others to the point where you think you go out of your way to fit in. and you can still try to be better at writing even knowing that. its not a contest or anything.

[Rater202]

Yeah. It doesn't need to be perfect, it just...

I'm sorry if my presence int he game has derailed things.

If it's too much trouble, Raz and I can handle most of the story stuff and you only take over when ti's something you have a good idea for? I'd hate to see you leave a game that you helped create.

Unrelated: Do you think Orochimaru's long tongue is a Soft Body Modification thing or a snake-sage thing?