Cosmos Quest (Naruto/Lupin III)

Any suggestions? Canon's kinda thin on the ground when it comes to stuff like that and the classification system is too wonky for me to make up non-canon D-rank jutsu.

 

Small scale utility jutsu. Flint and tinder are so outclassed by fingersnap lighters... Water purification is also a thing.

Rope escape jutsu is also a thing.

 

Maybe a minor sound manipulation jutsu? That is, muffling sounds a bit, or creating sounds at a distance (think "throw voice" shout from Skyrim ) ? Poison detection might also be good, as well Water Purification. Hmmm, we do have awesome chakra control and feeling, as well as a air/water nature. How about a sonar jutsu or a movement detection/sense passive jutsu by feeling the minor displacements in air and water? Hard to learn, but very cheap to use, so it might fit us pretty well at the moment.

Let me run through GURPS magic a bit more for ideas.

 

Even setting aside the distinct possibility that Sasuke was being sarcastic when he said that to Naruto, have you noticed how the seal-tutorial back in your infancy took like three updates to sort out, whereas when you simply ask to escape from something or I just let you escape, it takes one line?

As for the other stuff, write-ins are cool, I suppose. Just remember to mark 'em with an [X].

Ones approved so far:

[X] Water Purification Jutsu (technically a C-rank, but only because of chakra-control issues, which are nonexistent for you and your dad knows it)
[X] Matchless Flame Jutsu (D-rank) - will be difficult for you, considering your primary affinity, but is a good place to start if you want to learn more fire techniques down the line.
[X] Utsusemi no Jutsu (D-rank, supplementary) - it's anime only and used by a Sound nin, but I guess considering how infinitely useful and simple it is the other villages would have to have it as well. This would be a ventriloquism jutsu, usable at short- mid- or long-range.

 

[X] Chouji

Don't even Care about what else we do, I want us to spend time with Chouji. I was enraged when people decided being a thief was better than Ino-Shika-Cho alliance, and I've just finished the backlog of the quest.
You people WILL work towards keeping and restoring our friendship with Chouji, or I will find a way to Weaponize the Internet against your faces.

Sorry if this comes off as angry, but seeing you guys stop caring about one of our closest childhood friends is an Incredibly unhappy thing for me.

 

Ventriloquist jutsu? I love the idea of this, if Lupino never learned to do it the old fashioned way.

 

Better men have tried to weaponize the internet against me and failed.
It can not be done for the internet is the VERY SOURCE OF MY POWER!!!

Also, if I recall correctly, one of the main reasons for people deciding against Chouji is that Furiko said, it would turn the quest into hard mode or something.

Edit:
Found the relevant quote:

 

That says Issei route. I don't see what that has to do with keeping our childhood friend a Real Friend.

 

Basically, we'd be roleplaying a honest to god klepto who was trying not to steal all the shinies.

 

We were told to pick between that, which would have let us keep Chouji, and what was picked.
If you follow the quote's link back to the original comment, you should end up on the page the decision was given to us, commented on and voted for.

 

Roughly, Sansei = the Third, Issei = the First, referring in this case to Lupin III and the original Arsène Lupin.

On Issei mode, personal connections are often maintained by constant deception and the strangling of one's natural impulses in order to better please the object of one's affection. It's the route where you can't be your full self, because you have to modify your behaviour so much that you basically pretend to be someone else every time you're around your loved one.

On Sansei mode, your thoughts on the matter are basically that sometimes people who don't have enough in common drift apart, and that's okay. You still care about Chouji, and he cares about you, and you still think of each other as friends, but that's because you have a history; it's not because you have a future.

I'm not bashing or anything; both options are admirable in their way. I just have to be honest and tell you the Sansei route is way easier to write and probably less tiresome to read, given the Issei route would have had occasional vampire-esque 'wanna take it wanna take it wanna take it mineminemine- nng, no, bad Ino' moments. And you wouldn't have been able to train up your sneaky-goodness stats.

Also, as you may have noticed, I suck so hard at writing some of these characters, and Chouji is second only to Itachi in difficulty level for me.

 

Which did we vote again. I think it was Sansei.

 

Yep. As evidenced by the fact that I stopped phrasing my hangout options as 'apart from Shika and Chouji, who do you wanna spend time with?'

 

[X] This

 

[1] FUCK YEAH HENGE TIME!
[6] The Shunshin!
[3] Bunshin - instant distractions? Oh, my, yes.
[1] Kawarimi - aka, fuck that, you deal with him, Mr Log.
[1] Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique - genjutsu is where you show the most promise, after all.
[X] Water Purification Jutsu (technically a C-rank, but only because of chakra-control issues, which are nonexistent for you and your dad knows it)
[X] Matchless Flame Jutsu (D-rank) - will be difficult for you, considering your primary affinity, but is a good place to start if you want to learn more fire techniques down the line.
[X] Utsusemi no Jutsu (D-rank, supplementary) - it's anime only and used by a Sound nin, but I guess considering how infinitely useful and simple it is the other villages would have to have it as well. This would be a ventriloquism jutsu, usable at short- mid- or long-range.

[4] Kiba
[2] Menka
[5] Hinata

[2] Be a good penpal! A letter every day keeps boredom loneliness away~

 

[X] The Shunshin!
[X] Bunshin - instant distractions? Oh, my, yes.
[X] Kawarimi - aka, fuck that, you deal with him, Mr Log.

[X] Hinata

 

[X] Kawarimi - aka, fuck that, you deal with him, Mr Log. (Lupin can do this, so it should be easy for us to learn.)
[X] Hinata

 

If I can get a tie breaker vote for Hinata vs. Kiba, I can start writing.

 

Hinata is already on the lead, so there is no need for a tie breaker vote.

 

Blah! Writing now.

 

Damn, was hoping to have time to vote for

[X] Utsusemi no Jutsu - Because Zul Mey Gut is awesome for stealth and infiltration.

[X] Hinata


Ehh, maybe we can learn Throw Voice later. (because Utsusemi is just too hard to remember )

 

[X] *whistlin'* Ma~gic Mo~ments...

"Why don't any of my friends' parents like me except Shika's?" you whine.

"I don't think father dislikes you," Hinata says, sounding a little hurt. "He's just not used to... boisterous people."

You snicker. "In this village? As a jounin?" Granted, you haven't met all that many jounin yourself, but Shikaku is their commander, and when he's in the right mood (that is, ever-so-slightly tipsy) he has some absolutely classic stories to tell. Apparently there's some guy in a green bodysuit who can cast minor genjutsu through sheer force of personality in much the same way other people can cause slight hallucinations with their killing intent - that's just kick-ass, as far as you're concerned.

The two of you are enjoying a tea break on the wrap-around walkway next to one of the gazillion sitting rooms the Hyuuga have for company, each tailored to a specific level of formality. You know it isn't just to flaunt their power, either; the Hyuuga have a long history of dealing with their 'fellow' aristocrats (capital scholars tend to be a bit huffy about granting the designation 'noble' to clans that kill for money) directly, rather than through proxies like most clans. Setting one's clientèle at ease with familiar surroundings is something you can appreciate, even if you think they must spend a fortune on maids to keep the whole place tidy.

The two of you have been practising the Shunshin and, to be honest, you're kind of let down by how easy it is; Hinata picks it up almost as quickly as you do. You can vary the amount of chakra you use on it perfectly, so any exhaustion issues are nipped in the bud right out of the gate. All that's left to train is your precision in ending up exactly where you intend to and (eventually) seal-less casting.

As you sip your tea, you suddenly sense a small child entering your range, and almost immediately thereafter pup-pup-pup comes the pounding of tiny feet down the hallway.

"Nee-san~!" calls a high pitched voice. The tiny brunette attached to it eventually passes the room you're in, but doubles back as quickly as possible. "Nee-san!" she says delightedly. Hinata smiles warmly.

"Ino-chan, this is my sister Hanabi. Hanabi, this is Yamanaka Ino."

"How do you do?" Hanabi chirps politely, bowing.

"Pretty well, thanks. And you?"

She nods, then asks shyly, "... you made 'Sagi-san?"

"That's what we call the bunny you made for me," Hinata explains. "She asked me the other day where Sagi-san's mommy was, and, well..."

You grin. "Yeah, that was me."

Hanabi's pale eyes widen. "One of her ears is crooked," she declares.

"Hanabi," Hinata says reproachfully.

"It is!" Hanabi protests.

You scratch the back of your neck, embarrassed. "Yeah, I was just learning how to sew back then. I'm a lot better now." You pull a needle and a spool of thread out of your sleeve. "I can fix that ear, if you want."

Hanabi gives you the biggest smile you've ever seen on a Hyuuga and runs off to get the black rabbit.

"What's it like, having a sibling?" you ask Hinata.

She hesitates, then admits, "... I don't really remember not having one. I don't think I would want to be an only child, though," she adds. "It seems like it would be quiet a lot of the time."

"Sometimes I wish I had an identical twin," you muse, threading the needle and pulling out your scissors to snip it free. "We could switch places whenever one of us got in trouble. Cover for each other, you know, like-"

"Oh, Ino-chan, you shouldn't wish for that!" Hinata says passionately. "Twins are really bad luck!'

You blink. "I hadn't heard that one before. Yuji-sensei used to say they were good luck. I think Tora and his sister are twins."

"... maybe it's different in other clans," Hinata says, biting her lip. "I'm very glad Hanabi is my little sister."

"What say?" Hanabi asks eagerly, carrying Sagi-san over to you.

"You should say 'what are you talking about', Hanabi," Hinata says, patting the girl on the head.

"What- what are you... talking about?" Hanabi enunciates patiently.

"Hinata-chan was telling me about how awesome a little sister you are."

"Mm!" She nods proudly. "I'm gonna protect nee-san."

"From whom?" you ask politely.

Hanabi makes a face. "Boys," she declares, with a surprising amount of disdain for a 4-year-old.

You try not to laugh, but the look on Hinata's face just makes it. "I'll bet your dad will be happy to hear that," you say.

"Yes," Hanabi says sweetly.

"But Hanabi-chan," you ask, "what about girls?"

She looks a little perplexed for a moment, then smiles and gives you a big thumbs-up.

"Good to know," you say with a grin.

"What's this about girls?" Hinata asks in confusion.

Fixing the ear takes about five minutes, tops. Hanabi looks over your handiwork and pronounces it 'good'. Then she gives you a hug out of nowhere and runs off to play.

"I take it Hanabi doesn't know about sempai?" you ask.

Hinata droops visibly.

"Hey, you have nothing to worry about on that front," you say, patting her hand. "Lee is exactly the kind of guy fathers will begrudgingly admit isn't a monster in human flesh. I doubt even your dad could find fault with his manners."

"It won't work anyway," she says sadly. "Lee-sempai can't mould chakra... what if his condition is hereditary? I have to think of what's best for the clan."

"... who said anything about marrying him?" you ask incredulously. Man, that's Hinata-chan all over; serious to a fault. "You aren't the Clan Head yet, you know. You have years to do all sorts of stuff if you want." You pose dramatically. "Chase true love, even if you trip along the way!"

Hinata's expression brightens a bit in amusement. "I knew you'd say something like that."

=

Time skip a year. You want to see memories made with:

[X] Who?

Jutsu learned (pick three):

[X] Henge
[X] Bunshin
[X] Kawarimi
[X] Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique
[X] Water Purification Jutsu (technically a C-rank, but only because of chakra-control issues, which are nonexistent for you and your dad knows it)
[X] Matchless Flame Jutsu (D-rank) - will be difficult for you, considering your primary affinity, but is a good place to start if you want to learn more fire techniques down the line.
[X] Utsusemi no Jutsu (D-rank, supplementary) - aka 'throw voice'

Free-time:

[X] Tessen
[X] Work on memory palace constructs
[X] Gun research
[X] Pester Mom to learn about poisons and healing salves and stuff

----------

So I was thinking about it, and I wondered, "Is there any real reason Hanabi or Hinata have to be sealed?" I mean, in order to keep that 'strength' they go on about in the Main line, shouldn't there be a stable of Main line people for the clan head's heir to potentially marry? Especially if these clans are big enough to warrant their own compounds within the city. The whole Hizashi/Hiashi thing was more to do with avoiding internal strife, I thought; twins having potentially-equal claim, and such. I dunno, what do you guys think?

 

[X] Kawarimi
[X] Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique
[X] Utsusemi no Jutsu (D-rank, supplementary) - aka 'throw voice'

[X] Work on memory palace constructs

Reasoning: Kawarimi for getting out of dodge, Hell Viewing for honing genjutsu and seeing what we can do with it, throw voice cause we're a sneaky little brat.

Memory palace because that is ace and it's the gift that keeps on giving.

No henge for now, that's what masks and the like are for. Bunshin, not useless, but not useful either and we can do better.

 

Time skip a year. You want to see memories made with:
Mom

Jutsu learned (pick three):
[X] Utsusemi no Jutsu (D-rank, supplementary) - aka 'throw voice'
[X] Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique
[X] Kawarimi

Free-time:
[X] Pester Mom to learn about poisons and healing salves and stuff

 

[X] Hinata
[X] Kawarimi
[X] Bunshin
[X] Utsusemi no Jutsu (D-rank, supplementary) - aka 'throw voice'
[X] Tessen

Yeah, Utsusemi and Bunshin combo could be useful.

 

[X] Who?
I really do want to do Neji/Lee/Ino (manly taijutsu respect mode) and Kiba (roughhousing), but over the course of a year?
I want to see what we've been sending Itachi.

[X] Bunshin
[X] Kawarimi
[X] Utsusemi no Jutsu (D-rank, supplementary) - aka 'throw voice'

[X] Pester Mom to learn about poisons and healing salves and stuff


>So I was thinking about it, and I wondered, "Is there any real reason Hanabi or Hinata have to be sealed?" I mean, in order to keep that 'strength' they go on about in the Main line, shouldn't there be a stable of Main line people for the clan head's heir to potentially marry? Especially if these clans are big enough to warrant their own compounds within the city. The whole Hizashi Hiashi thing was more to do with avoiding internal strife I dunno, what do you guys think?

Depends on how you want to do it. Either its about Byakugan-safety (only three Hyuuga are unsealed: the previous Head, the current Head, and the heir), in which the 'Main House' is that one, single line. They'll marry a Branch House member to keep the line pure, and their first child will be the unsealed Heir (or subsequent child if the first proves unsuitable); all others are sealed. Or else its about having a stable, strong pool as you described (having more strong breeding stock is a good thing). The 'main house' wouldn't ever leave the village, focusing on intra-village ninja business or simply being trained by the main house elders. They spend their lives in politics, in nin/taijutsu innovation and creation and bloodline research. The Branch house is the face the Hyuuga show the other nations, the ninja that go on long-ranging scouting/espionage missions. The Hizashi/Hiashi thing explained as avoiding inter-clan trouble.

Just depends on how you want the Hyuuga clan to go.

 

[X] Mom

[X] Bunshin
[X] Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique
[X] Utsusemi no Jutsu (D-rank, supplementary) - aka 'throw voice'

[X] Tessen

 

[X] Mom

[X] Kawarimi
[X] Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique
[X] Water Purification Jutsu

[X] Work on memory palace constructs

Canon Hyūga politics are very prone to idiot and villain ball actions.

A seal which would prevent bad things from happening to you by making it pointless to capture you would be easily understandable. One that "makes it easier to control the branch family" in a setting where seals are common and many people know how to mess with them starts to seem risky. Add in that the sealing process apparently causes angst and hatred towards the main house (admittedly we only really see Neji, so the sample size is poor), and you've found an idiot ball.

The Kumo situation, where defending the Clan Heir of a hyper secure village asset from being kidnapped becomes a reason a Hyūga needs to die, is a pretty extreme example as well. "Yes, if your diplomats are killed while committing the kind of crime that only someone already at war with us should be doing, we'll say it's our fault." Is about as close to good as I can get there. I could go into a detailed rant on this subject, but that's been done a lot already.

Basically, the Hyūga are really well set up to be horrible horrible villains if you look closely. Likely because Kishimoto didn't intend to go into detail. He didn't want to explore internal politics, he just wanted motivation for his characters. So he left a lot of things unexplained and unexamined, things which make trying to portray those running the clan as people, and not monsters, hard.

Any changes you make will probably conflict with something, whether by fridge logic or direct contradiction. Don't let that stop you. If Main House politics become a big thing you'll be mostly creating it from scratch anyway. Or fanon, all of which has its own set of problems.

TL;DR: Not forcing Hinata or Hiashi into a sadistic choice is a good idea if you don't want to portray the Hyūga as bad guys.

 

I'm just so sick of them all being bad guys in other stories. I mean, I'm sick of Hiashi-bashing and Hiashi-apologism (yeah, yeah, cultural dissonance, fuck you, he's emotionally distant and the reason Hinata's afraid of her own shadow), but at least making Hiashi a guy who cares a lot about his family has a basis in canon.

Because of Hinata and Hanabi's mother not being sealed, along with the fact that, as the admittedly-iffy wiki states, the predominance of patronymics mean that women can't found cadet branches in most cultures, I think I'm gonna go with the Main Line being larger and more politics-focused, as useless suggests, and stick with my personal less-stupid-than-canon explanation that the Caged Bird Seal is detonated remotely when someone's KIA or MIA, to deal with any "why don't they just fake the death of a Branch house member kid and kidnap them?" questions. Obviously some Hyuuga have to be assholes for the seal to exist at all (or at least, for it not to be universal and lacking the zap-collar aspects), so I might as well make them evil in a practical and sensible way. Y'know, aside from making their clan leaders walking targets out of bullshit posturing.

Man, I feel bad/envious for/of whoever gets to be on Hinata's team; they aren't gonna get any field assignments, damn near.

I think someone had a good point in the Naruto fanfiction thread on tvtropes (IANCE, I think it was) when they said Kishi was going for samurai drama and just didn't think everything through in his pursuit of that goal. Hostage-taking and formally demanding people's heads is the kind of thing nobles do, not ninja.

Also, does it amuse anyone else that Kumo is the only villlage besides Oto that seems to realize that all you need to do to get bloodline limits is kidnap a kid from the clan in question and raise them? I mean, you'd think Iwa or maybe even Wind (on the DL) would try something at some point, but no, it's always Kumo, every time.

Aw, Christ, now I'm thinking of a Hinata edition of Princess Maker, only it's Kumo Clan Head maker. XD Oh god, and a Raikage AMV set to Bed Intruder!

 

Hey Furiko, if you can have the Hyuuga come off as not super-evil, that'd be swell.

As for sending the unsealed clan heir out on missions as a genin - particularly on a tracking team rather than a heavy-combat team like Naruto/Sasuke, particularly particularly with the youngest, most inexperienced jounin teacher, SUPER particularly when she's already shown to be a kidnap-risk - is totally freaking crazy.

I don't know, maybe Team 8 just pulls close recon duty all the time or something.