14 KiB
[FF][RST] Team Anko - Chapter 20
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Author: u/eaglejarl *
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Score: 24
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Created: 2015-09-28T01:57:04
Post:
Comments:
u/XxChronOblivionxX [+9] (3 hours later)
Awesome chapter. Orochimaru continues to wreck all of the good guy's plans, and I'm loving him for it.
Despite Anko's secret pleasure at Hinata's emigration, there's no way that this isn't a crushing blow to their plans. Orochimaru continues to play one level higher than her, and their remaining options just dropped way down. His utter competence is great.
Honestly, I would be totally fine if they ended up joining Sound, or at least the genin, and work with Orochimaru to expand it and save the Elemental Nations from destruction (presumably the Republic, but the Akatsuki and other related things are huge threats as well). I just want to see more of this guy and the nation he's made.
u/eaglejarl [+8] (3 hours later)
Thank you! I'm glad he's coming off so well.
It's actually a bit of a problem; of all the characters in the story, Orochimaru is the most fun to write and, I suspect, the most fun to read. I'm actually considering writing a sequel to this with him as the main character, but I don't think it would work -- he's just too powerful on every axis.
u/Cariyaga [+6] Kyubey did nothing wrong (5 hours later)
Maybe center the sequel around his heir, in the distant future?
u/Tholo [+7] (13 hours later)
I think this is the exact reason Lord Vetinari never got his own discworld book, and I think using Orochimaru in the same role works astoundingly well.
u/eaglejarl [+3] (14 hours later)
"The same role" being what, exactly?
u/Tholo [+3] (15 hours later)
u/Tholo [+2] (15 hours later)
Perhaps I should expound a bit- Vetinari served as the ultimate necessity in discworld- he was ruthless, firm, cunningly peerless, and unquestionably the most powerful man in Ahnk-Morpolk, and yet no one wanted him taken down because it was obvious that he was running things better than anyone else could. I feel like you have set Orochimaru up in much the same way- he is a bit more blatant about his disregard for morality, but only when it actually serves a purpose for advancing his manipulations. His is obviously a capable leader, working to further the better of his people, and graced with the lack of qualms that such betterment calls for. Both are men of exceptional skill and intellect, both attempting to run a society and doing it better than their peers, and both playing a very, very long game. As such, they are very wonderful for propelling the plot- if they ask someone to do something, they always have the upper hand to ensure that it is done, and eventually the person usually discovers that what they were asked to do actually forwards their own goals as well- just because you use your tools, that doesn't mean you mistreat them, a well maintained tool will last ever so much longer.
u/eaglejarl [+7] (a minute later)
More fun with Orochimaru.
u/Transfuturist [+3] Carthago delenda est. (13 hours later)
Yes.
Fun...
u/liamash3 [+6] Mizu (3 hours later)
Anko actually gave them four and a half of sleep before kicking them out the door.
four and a half hours of sleep
Shino mouth still tightened slightly
Shino's mouth still
My, I didn't expect Orochimaru to do what he did when it came to recruiting Hinata. He has quite the plans laid out, I see, and comes off as a lot more intelligent and overall likable than his canon counterpart in my eyes. Why'd he take Naruto with him to repair the gas lines or stop the fires, though? The clones the boy can make being used as firemen?
u/eaglejarl [+6] (3 hours later)
Anko actually gave them four and a half of sleep before kicking them out the door. four and a half hours of sleep Shino mouth still tightened slightly Shino's mouth still
No matter how much I proofread, there's always something. Thanks; fixed.
My, I didn't expect Orochimaru to do what he did when it came to recruiting Hinata. He has quite the plans laid out, I see, and comes off as a lot more intelligent and overall likable than his canon counterpart in my eyes.
Thanks. He's still psychotic, of course. He just killed a lot of Konoha nin and his own agents for the sole purpose of adding verisimilitude to Hinata's dead clone.
Why'd he take Naruto with him to repair the gas lines or stop the fires, though? The clones the boy can make being used as firemen?
Nope. In fact, he's going to tell Naruto not to make any clones.
u/derefr [+3] (4 hours later)
for the sole purpose of adding verisimilitude to Hinata's dead clone
It felt more like the higher-level plan here was to kill Hiashi, and Hinata was just a justification for prioritizing the execution of one of his prepared gambits toward that goal.
u/eaglejarl [+4] (4 hours later)
True, but he wouldn't have been activating that set of plans right now if it weren't for her.
u/Kishoto [+3] (10 hours later)
your father used the Kaiten jutsu to block the actual balls
I'm assuming balls is supposed to be blast?
I liked this chapter a lot. Orochimaru again shines through in an awesomely sociopathic manner. His dismissal of Naruto's usual attitude was also fairly priceless. I would've laughed super hard if I didn't think Naruto was about to get beaten brutally for disrespect, mostly due to how Anko reacted.
u/JackStargazer [+5] Primordial Apologist (10 hours later)
No, it is balls. A claymore mine fires dozens of steel balls as projectiles. The concussion blast wave still got through and plastered Hiashi against a wall.
u/Kishoto [+4] (18 hours later)
Goddammit! You mean it's not some formless explosion? Call of Duty has been lying to me for years!!!
u/DrunkenQuetzalcoatl [+3] (12 hours later)
Biological cloning seems a bit overpowered. Where are Orochimarus secret elite troops with both Byakugan and Sharingan? Anko's skill can not be cloned, same with Shino and the Nine Tail. But what does he really need Hinata for?
u/Mraedis [+4] (17 hours later)
Clone. steal eyes?
u/eaglejarl [+6] (22 hours later)
Yep.
u/eaglejarl [+3] (12 hours later)
Biological cloning seems a bit overpowered.
Yep. And yet, it's canon.
u/Putnam3145 [+3] (18 hours later)
Biological cloning seems a bit overpowered. Where are Orochimarus secret elite troops with both Byakugan and Sharingan
...[about that](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Shin_Uchiha_(Clones))
u/Nevereatcars [+1] The Greatest Is Behind (a day later)
Where the hell were these guys when it mattered?
Another 20 Uchiha with Mangekyo could have ruined MOST of Kaguya's plans.
u/Transfuturist [+3] Carthago delenda est. (9 days later)
Okay, I finally read the chapter, and I have to say. Orochimaru probably blew that gas line up himself. I doubt anything he said to Naruto in that last part was true; he knew perfectly well that Naruto wouldn't agree.
u/eaglejarl [+3] (9 days later)
Blowing up a gas line in his own city and killing his own people?! I'm shocked that you think that's something the Snake Sannin would do! Shocked! Shocked, I tell you!
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (9 days later)
Confirmed for trolling author. :P
u/eaglejarl [+4] (9 days later)
Trolling? Trolling?! I'm shocked that you think that's something
the Snake SanninI would do! Shocked! Shocked, I tell you!;>
u/krakonfour [+1] (18 days later)
Interesting ploy from Orochimaru. I'd never have thought of a strategy like that: cut someone's ties with the village in the most blatant way possible.
A few questions:
-How did Hiashi ever get ambushed?
-The whole deed seems like overkill. Maybe Orochimaru lied about the whole affair. An outrageous lie they cannot verify without compromising themselves...
-There is a solution to the situation though. Kill Orochimaru and bring his body to Konoha. Difficult, but would irrevocably put to rest any doubts.
-Orochimaru was known to work on humans before being sent away from Konoha. Would the village find the clone theory so hard the believe?
-I feel Orochimaru is falling into the bad villain's habit of exposing all of his plans at every turn. Too much tell, too little show.
-If Naruto and Hinata make it back to Konoha, what's the worst that could really happen to them? They wouldn't die...
u/eaglejarl [+2] (19 days later)
-How did Hiashi ever get ambushed?
Assuming it actually happened (since, as you point out, they have no evidence), it wouldn't have been hard. A claymore mine is an OCP for ninja; Hiashi would have had no way of knowing what he was seeing and therefore wouldn't have known to react before it went off. The fact that he managed to Kaiten between the moment of detonation and the moment that the buckshot splattered him into chunky salsa -- and was thereby able to avoid being turned into chunky salsa -- is a testament to what an amazing ninja he is. (Again, assuming it happened.)
Also, congrats on being the only person who has mentioned noticing that the whole thing could be a bluff.
There is a solution to the situation though. Kill Orochimaru and bring his body to Konoha. Difficult, but would irrevocably put to rest any doubts.
Good luck with that.
-I feel Orochimaru is falling into the bad villain's habit of exposing all of his plans at every turn. Too much tell, too little show.
I suppose I could have cut away and shown the attack on Hiashi, but that would have removed any question about whether it happened.
Aside from the attack on Hiashi, what plans do you feel Orochimaru has exposed, and why do you feel that it's all of them?
-If Naruto and Hinata make it back to Konoha, what's the worst that could really happen to them? They wouldn't die...
Hinata could be hospitalized, killed, or demoted to the branch house and given the Caged Bird Seal as punishment for embarrassing the clan.
u/krakonfour [+1] (19 days later)
Thanks for the answers.
OCP... I assume an unidentifiable object. I was more concerned by the fact that Hiashi would find something he can't recognize as a danger, instead of the usual trick of disguising a dangerous object as safe or mundane one. But he's human. He can't keep track of EVERYTHING.
About the exposition, I guess it's the fault of dialogue-heavy chapters. You can't exactly cut away to something happening just for the sake of showing it, when telling it through conversation has more natural flow.
With regards to Hinata's fate, I was going along with the canon 'Princess' Hinata information, where she was a highly valued member of the clan and her ascension to clan head would be inevitable. In canon, she is hampered only by her lack of confidence, in turn making her skills look lackluster, thereby forcing Hiashi to make the difficult decision of appointing her younger sister as head of clan instead of the natural choice.
In your fic, Hinata is much better skilled. It all comes down to how Hinata would be disciplined. Is destroying the value she possesses by killing or placing the Caged Bird Seal on her worth it?
Maybe Hiashi really is plain evil.
u/eaglejarl [+1] (19 days later)
OCP = Outside Context Problem. It specifically means when one civilization encounters one that is more technologically advanced, but it gets used informally to mean "something utterly beyond the mental framework." The asteroid was an OCP for the dinosaurs, for example.
I was more concerned by the fact that Hiashi would find something he can't recognize as a danger, instead of the usual trick of disguising a dangerous object as safe or mundane one. But he's human. He can't keep track of EVERYTHING.
No one in Konoha has ever seen chemical explosives, much less a claymore mine. Hiashi would have seen it, but would have had no way to understand what he was seeing.
I was going along with the canon 'Princess' Hinata information, where she was a highly valued member of the clan and her ascension to clan head would be inevitable.
In Team Anko (and, I had thought, in canon, but apparently not explicitly stated) Hinata is being abused by her father. He's not doing the beatings himself, he's having Neji, Hanabi, and other clan members administer them as "training". Neji is older and a prodigy, so when he spars with Hinata she looks bad. Hanabi is six years younger but Hinata refuses to hit her, so again Hinata looks bad. It gives the impression that she is bad, and her lack of self-confidence is not acceptable in a clan head. It hasn't been stated, but I imagine that Hiashi spent years trying to make her be more like what he wants, but he did it through harshness instead of nurturing, which only made the problem worse. He got more and more frustrated as time went on, which made him harsher, which was a vicious cycle. Add to that the fact that every time he looks at her h is reminded of how his brother died because of her. If she came back from time in a traitor's village and embarrassed the clan, I can easily imagine him beating her into the hospital or the grave.
Maybe Hiashi really is plain evil.
No, I don't think so. I imagine he does love her in his own way, but he is naturally cold, sharp-tongued, and has so many negative emotions tied up with her that it leads to bad results.