Summary: Hito isolates himself underground, realizes he needs to bring some kind of order to his mind and uses a visual metaphor of bees to do it. Concludes by testing this system out by organizing his thoughts on diplomacy.
Twenty years. For twenty long years, Hito had been trapped within his own personal realm and within his own personal hell. Forcefully pushed from dimension to memory to dimension at any given moment while his body was frozen in a suspended animation of Jikukan origin. For 20 years his mind had been whirring non-stop without being able to do a single, real, tangible thing. He hadn’t written or read anything longer than a sentence in that entire time.
And now he was here again, on the mortal plain and relatively in full control of himself, yet every moment he drew breath felt like he was holding back an army of voices within his mind. Endless thoughts, endless ideas, endless concerns. It was overwhelming and while he knew that this was in part his new reality, he also knew it didn’t have to be this bad.
The problem was not just volume of ideas, but where and how they were being stored. Currently his memory space was randomly allocated to near-infinity, making accessing the parts of his consciousness that he needed in the way he needed difficult. It’s like the neat and organized mind palace he once had grew in size more than 10-fold and became an absolute mess.
It was time to do some housecleaning. With some important logistic issues taken care of, like warning the handful of people that knew he was alive and back, Hito had walked alone into the desert before suddenly disappearing into the ground.
He sunk 20 meters beneath the sand before performing another jutsu to push the sand around him away, forming a 5 square meter cube within the sand. It was pitch black and he absolutely loved it. He had actually brought some candles for lighting and had planned on using them until he eventually worked out the jutsu he wanted to create that would result in some lighting. But now that he was immersed in the darkness, he felt a freeing sense of liberation from his body. It was almost… nostalgic of his 20 years, but in a way that wasn’t horrifying. How strange… like picking at the scab of a mortal wound and finding it oddly satisfying.
So pitch black it remained, and no amount of light adjustment within his eyes would change that. There was no stray beam of light here to be caught, this was true and pure darkness. He had come here to organize his thoughts, decide his priorities and potentially train a little jutsu. But now that his moment of joy was giving away to sheer terror and a strange, ghostly face was forming in his vision, Hito knew he also had another item on the itinerary to tackle:
His sanity.
----
The good news is: there was nobody around. He was in pitch blackness and he wouldn’t have to modulate himself for anyone. He could let himself go, release this infinitely large beehive that was hiding behind his eyes.
Turning his head back, he visualized just that and screamed at the very top of his lungs. As he screamed, he could feel infinite little bugs flowing out from every part of his body, digging their way through every orifice, every skin pore. Each bee was a thought, a memory, a plan. It all flowed out of him, seeming to take his very mass with it as he felt physically lighter with every passing second.
Had somebody been inside to time it, they’d see that Hito had stood their with his head arched back and arms splayed out, screaming with agony at the top of his lungs for a solid 10 minutes. His throat was beyond sore when he finally stopped and envisioned the last of the bees hobbling their way out from within him and then filling the space he had created, not that he could see them, just hearing the asynchronous orchestra of an impossible amount of bee wings humming nearby.
He fought the sudden human urge to create a fire and illuminate this darkness while also eliminating the mysterious swarm, but his central being remembered the purpose of all this and stayed strong. This exercise wasn’t to expel and kill the “bees” it was to remove the chaos from within him and then let it all back inside in a more organized and managable manner.
So he sorted them loosely into categories, waving his hands and manipulating imaginary groups of imaginary bees into imaginary sections of this underground cube. Having decided it was enough of a system, he focused next on how he would do this.
End goal: More control over my mind, more clarity, less being overwhelmed by all my thoughts, create plans, prioritize plans.
Process: Suspend classical logic, lean into new mental understanding gleamed over the last two decades, utilize techniques to sort and organize thoughts appropriately, siuch as placing memories into memory palace while plans go elsewhere.
Alright, that makes sense. Let’s do this.
Having a very loose sense of plans, Hito felt a sense of confidence and hope. This felt ri- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
His sore throat nearly managed a secondary scream as it was forced to scream again, already raw from his full 10 minutes of yelling previously. Pain was coursing through every part of his body, his head pulsated and seemed to ring in his very core as the sensation of flowing bees returned, this time going back into his body in any which way and causing severe damage and pain as they did so.
NO. NO. NO! NO! NONONONONONON
I
AM
IN
CONTROL
Hito’s monosylbical screeching turned to a defiant and forced declaration, almost seeming to have been pulled out of him with great force one at a time. Almost instantly, the pain was gone, but so was the entirety of the buzzing around him. His imaginary swarm was gone, or were they all back inside of him? Did he need to do that all over again?
No, just focus. You’re in control.
With that single affirming thought, the buzzing was suddenly back. It was shocking and actually gave Hito a jumpscare, as there was complete silence followed by unimaginably(sorta) loud buzzing.
OK, ok, let’s take the more tangible, manageable and obvious. My plans, my concerns. The things that i cant stop thinking about every day that actually have real solutions that can be achieved by collaborating with other humans, as opposed to the other issues i hope to tackle today like my fleeting sanity.
Where to begin? Let’s try an overview outline dump and then drilldown into each as necessary? We’ll probably have to group things before that though.
Ready? Ye obviously, who’s even asking or being as-
OOK lets start:
Suna protection, wind country protection, Daimyo relations, Hiyori legacy, Sueatsu, new official position, current council, fire diplomacy, konoha diplomacy, fanho diplomacy, lightning empire diplomacy, hayate diplomacy, new vassal countries diplomacy, wind country transportation system, international transportation system, transportation system diplomacy, suna resource development, suna trade development, education system overhaul, religious culture impacts, modernization, quality of life improvement, utilizing unused land, improving live for oasis and villages, Iwagakure defense, iwagakure attack and espionage, Kiri’s suspiciously quiet, new nations around the world, suna MN, scribes of the sand, eidolon, suna evacuation protocol, personal spirit companions, personal secretary(s), Naegi investment, Clan leader diplomacy,
With each new word or topic, Hito imagined the flowing of bees from one section of the swarm to a new, orderly orientation in the same section of the room. They weren’t doing anything yet, just getting defined and localized. But with each new movement to that section, he felt the intensity of the buzzing throughout the room lessen. Now time to group the similar subjects and then tackle them by grouping. Perhaps best to group and tackle the moment one is grouped, then absorb the thought bees so that there’s less to handle in the room, as opposed to doing this in layered batches resulting in all the thoughts being absorbed relatively at the same time in the end. A pang of relief flooding his body told him this was the right choice.
OK, that was more like it. NOW it truly began.
First obvious category? Diplomacy most likely, considering its specific usage in so many of those. This would include diplomacy regarding: Wind, earth, water, fire countries, Fanho and Hayate specific diplomacy, the vassal countries, the more vulnerable countries that weren’t currently vassals, suna clan leaders, transportaiton system (this one is iffy and shouldn’t be absorbed until other groups have been drilled down. In fact, make a separate group for this kind of thing).
Before we drill down further into the nitty gritty specifics, it feels important to think higher level first. We’ve been through so much, do we even know what we believe anymore? What’s going to be the unifying ideas and philosophies behind these attempts?
We don’t really need to make it neet and well labeled and defined as if we were going to have another philosophical and diplomatic discussion with Ikinari. This isn’t about laying out an ethos so the world can see it, it’s about identifying who I am now, what I believe, what really matters to me when it comes to this subject matter. With the way my mind has been working lately, it’s been near impossible to know who i really am and what i really believe. So many thoughts from lives that never happened, or from versions of me that were from the past and could never be compared to the me of today. Where does all that stop and the real me begin? Or am i just destined to be a completely different person every day depending on the particular mix of nuerotransmitters and chemical signals? No. But that’s not what matters right now, focus.
What unifies my diplomatic goals? Likely my impulse of a thought is Suna’s power. It’s important to recognize there that I’ve said Suna, which I guess immediately tells me i’m not as patriotic as I once thought. While I want the best for all the peoples of our wind nation, it’s really Sunagakure no Sato that holds my heart. Wind country may be my extended family, but it’s suna that’s my nuclear. That said, it’s not like he was the kind of person that would be ok with anything so long as it meant his village’s superiority. Like a good father, he doesn’t just want his child to be strong, he wants his child to be good. And happy. But ok, we identified one motivation: Suna’s strength. But why? For protection mostly, to be able to live the lives we want without having to fear external oppression. Internal oppression is its own problem that needs its own group of bees to tackle. Mostly? What else then? Hmm.. pride? Certainly that’s part of it. I love our people, i love our culture, i love our resilience and frankly think the world doesn’t give us our due respect or admiration. I’m not above feeling pride.
OK good. Suna’s strength for the sake of its continued prosperous survival is a major theme of our diplomacy goals. Next? The same idea but for all humanity. Borders are but borders and its a major part of the reason why i’m realizing I’m not nearly as tied to wind country as I used to be. If Suna’s my nuclear family, Wind Country’s my extended family, then to me, every other human being is essentially a dear, close neighbor. I do not want superiority for my people if it means the subjugation and ruination of all other peoples, because while all humans might not be my family: they are still humans, neighbors going through similar struggles and contexts and doing their best to manage it all. There has never been a people that he knew of that all deserved misfortune, it was always instead a minority that pushed a majority into seeming like they did. He would always seek to resist that minority and root them out wherever they were.
Ok so first is Suna’s protection for itself and way of life. Next is humanity’s inherent, i would definitely have called it divine 20 years ago, right to be who they wish to be (without infringing on others right to be, of course). What else? LOGIC. GOOD. OLD. LOGIC. The world has never made sense, and now less than ever. I want things to make sense, I want a country to only subjugate another coutnry when both countries benefit. I want systems of government and trade and barter to be fair, intelligent and long-lasting. In part because that’s just how I view the world and will always feel more comfortable with what makes sense, but also because what’s logical can be worked with and depended on far more than what’s done out of convenience or purely for some strategic advantage.
Ok what else? What else… I think that’s eve- STABILITY. We touched upon this with logic, but the world should not have changed as much as it did in just 20 years. Instead of returning to a future of magical technology and societal advancements, he returned to a world with a completely different map mostly due to the domino-style of geopolitics and the grand ambitions of greedy leaders, like always. Even if it leaves wind and suna in a worse position than before, I definitely believe stability is vital. A smaller nation that lasts long is greater than a large nation that’s constantly shrinking or changing in size until it loses its very identity.
Ok, great! I don’t see a need to succintly summarize all that into something catchy. If we feel the need some other time, we can reference the above. For now, let’s drill down into the specifics. Remember we’re here to organize and outline, not create a dissertation and get lost in the details of hypothetical futures. Let’s start from the nuclear family and extend outwards.
Within Suna itself, I have much work to do, but specifically for diplomacy, I need to unify the clan leaders and find out how they’re all feeling, I need to get a temperature of how divided our government and people are, for I know my other plans we’ll soon discuss will temporarily make that even worse. I need to understand intricately how our diplomatic and administrative systems work. I need a way for a hidden village to have a public presence and point of interaction for things like trade and conversations we’d rather not have in the village proper. I also need to think of ways of utilizing the large MN network out there, focusing first on our own. This is a thought that actually belongs in another group.
With an invisible face of disdain, Hito flicked the imaginary bee on his palm to another corner of the room. It was extremely unncessary but felt good.
Within wind country, the main focus is connection and unification of all our peoples. We’ve spent the grand part of our history completely separated by the sands, but with the jutsu and technology of today and of the soon-to-be-today, this was extremely unnecessary. As he saw it, wind country was barely a country with an identity because of how spread out and disconnected its people were. Between teh villages, oasis and the major cities, they could be a far more prosperous and bustling nation. A way for all of these nodes to interact has to be formed.
Fire country is the next priority, being our oldest ally on the world stage. We’ll first and foremost need to thank and apologize for all they’ve done and all they’ve suffered. A simple conversation will absolutely not do and something grand is called for. Especially since beyond that, we need further diplomacy to get their aid in any new land battles. From what Hito saw of the situation and was told by Ikinari, that would not at all be easy. In fact, a particularly heavy and nasty bee was representing a sort of back-up option Hito was considering that would force Konoha’s hand in their defense in case of an Iwa or Kiri attack, but it would not be pretty and could potentially end their alliance forever. Let’s leave that for later, the point is: we need konoha to know we value it, but we also need them to know they should value us beyond just a promise of alliance for alliance’s sake. Which means we need to find ways to become invaluable to them. The trade system we’ve created so far is a good start, but far from enough. So expand trade system, find some grand gesture of apology and respect, find other ways to increase our value to the village and the nation, talk to the hokage and the daimyo, perhaps some kind of cultural exchange between the villages to slowly tie our peoples more closely together while we can?
Lightning empire really is just a repetition of the above, except we owe them less of an apology and more of a specific one to the Raikage himself. But the rest all applied in the same way, he needed to make amends and increase Suna’s value in their eyes.
Our new vassal nations are an interesting challenge. We first need to check how each country’s doing and what the existing diplomatic infrastructure is. Then we need to asses the general well being and happiness of each nation, both in general and specifically with wind country. From there it’s just goal-oriented plans to win over hearts and minds, or grant liberation in the unlikely case that’s the best option for both nations. He suspected many in and out of his nation would think this for the mysterious dungeons country, but Hito had other thoughts there. No need to waste processing power on that now, however. Leave it for a future vassal diplomacy planning session.
Thinking of diplomatic relations with Earth & Water immediately bothered Hito and even incensed him to anger, but he was too old and experienced to think he shouldn’t pursue diplomacy with the two of them. From what he’s heard, the Tsuchikage will be impossible to reason with, but that doesn’t mean it wasnt worth a try, nor that he wouldn’t have further luck with the rest of the earth political machine. Water, meanwhile, had always been a bit of a loathsome country to both him and his people, but he was also too old and experienced to let such generalizations impact anything. Water was Earth’s greatest ally and any chance of surviving a future attack from either would require diplomacy with both. There wasn’t much drilling down necessary here as we lack so much information its impossible to determine steps. Likely best to work top-down politically, however, considering both hidden villages reputations.
So in the diplomacy section, this for now left the less certain countries around the world that weren’t currently under any countries sphere of influence. Considering the breakneck speed at which new empires and nations were forming, Hito did not think it was some kindness to leave all these nations alone. It was clear to him that every nation was currently either being infiltrated or poised to be infiltrated. Not necessarily by Iwa, but by the powerful of the world. Heart empire was the best example of this and he still couldn’t believe how much of the world’s land had turned to them. He needed more information on them and jus now realized that’s its own category within the diplomacy group that he would have to drill down on some other time.
Was that it? Likely not, but it would do for now.
Should he absorb these bees yet? Hm. Let’s do this, tag all those bees as being part of the diplomacy category. We’ll absorb the ones representing the specific details and keep out the ones that are just placeholders for the category, as i’m sure we’ll get lost bees when we dig down into our other categories that should have actually been put into this one in the first place.
I agree, me, that’s a good idea.
So with an increasing sense of calm, Hito extended his hand and imagined the sensation of imaginary bees phasing into his hand and up into his mind, settling cozily in the correct spot.
One down, not the faintest clue of how many left to go.
Hito brainsandstorms
Who needs whiteboards when you have sand coffins
Hito brainsandstorms
Last edited by CDF on Fri Jan 12, 2024 4:33 pm, edited 3 times in total.
- zenchou
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
| [color=#C9B037]Ouji Hito | Sunagakure no Sato | |
| A-ranked Missing Ninja |
Hito brainsandstorms
.
Last edited by CDF on Fri Jan 12, 2024 4:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- zenchou
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
| [color=#C9B037]Ouji Hito | Sunagakure no Sato | |
| A-ranked Missing Ninja |
Hito brainsandstorms
Suna protection, wind country protection, Daimyo relations, Hiyori legacy, Sueatsu, new official position, current council, wind country transportation system, international transportation system, transportation system diplomacy, suna resource development, suna trade development, education system overhaul, religious culture impacts, modernization, quality of life improvement, utilizing unused land, improving live for oasis and villages, Iwagakure defense, iwagakure attack and espionage, Kiri’s suspiciously quiet, new nations around the world, suna MN, scribes of the sand, eidolon, suna evacuation protocol, personal spirit companions, personal secretary(s), Naegi investment, Clan leader diplomacy,
Great work, one section down. From the brain dump we produced earlier, jumping from diplomacy, i’m feeling inclined to follow the thread either into defense or politics. I think with our mind and way of thinking, we’re more likely to enjoy the mental exercise of defense planning and thus more likely to get lost in my own sauce. Ha. that rhymed. I wonder how tousha’s doin-
Focus.
Yes, politics is good and very related to Diplomacy, so it’ll be nice to keep those bees close together. Let’s begin with another sub-brain dump, pulling over from our original we have: Daimyo relations, Sueatsu, new official position, current council, education system overhaul (hmm, this might be in the wrong group), Suna defense (not to be confused with the larger subgroup with similar name),
Because of the fact that most of these topics go hand in hand with others, i’m doubting the wisdom of starting here. This is a loose and flexible process however, i can come back later and adjust as needed, though of course the less I have to do that the better. Regardless, like with diplomacy, what’s the overarching theme here? Well, lots of similarities to my suna reasoning so I wont bother repeating all of it, but I’ll emphasize that my goal is the betterment and protection of my people, and once that’s done, the same goal for the rest of the world. I personally do not want responsibility or duties or a following ever again, all I want is the power to shape the world that comes with political/administrative power. If only there was a way to get that without having to play the part. Maybe he could fashion such a position for himself? He was, after all, the first retired kazekage in history to be roaming about. He could probably get away with a whole lot.
Prioritizing that list and adding to it: the most important thing is probably information collection first. While it doesn’t seem like the village changed too much and Ikinari provided us with a very helpful vault of knowledge, we need to know a lot more, especially at ground level. It was probably a good idea to perform transformation jutsu at least twice a week and live different lives within the village to get a true cross-section of how his people are living. Once he had that, he would need to move on to understanding the administrative and political machines next. If he were to making lasting changes in the village, he was going to need to be the old Hito in the sense that he was going to know the name and details of every person serving government as well as any notable relationship dynamics. It was the only way to get things done. But more important than all of that and truly something he has to do as soon as possible was meeting Sueatsu and working together to find a way forward. He knew close to nothing about the powerful ninja other than the fact that he was powerful, and that was before Hito had disappeared. They had much to discuss but the specifics of their context made that one of the most awkward and inconceivable meetings he could imagine for himself. Two kazekages in a room? Yeesh. With understanding gained and a basic conversation had with Kazekage Sueatsu, Hito could move on to creating his own position that gives him the power he needs to enact his ideas. Mainly he’d need the power to pull shinobi and government agents from tasks to his own as well as the ability to have clearance to as much as possible. In fact this group was surprisingly easy to organize as much of it has to remain in a holding pattern until that conversation and information.
Well that’s that then. Let’s aborb this entire group now, considering their context.
Seemingly waiting for a moment for a response and then remembering he was talking to himself, and not even verbally, he chuckled and extended his hand. Once again fake absorbing fake bees, but this time saying out loud “I am so many kinds of crazy right now.” That one was actually audible, he knew not because he heard it, but because his throat pain flared up.
Well then, next?
Before we move on.. What is that sensation? Why is our blood pumping faster? Is that sweat? And I’m certain our thoughts are moving faster. This should be the opposite effect we get from this exercise, what’s happening? Wait no don’t run a diagnostic. Whenever we get that technical, we lose this freeform thing we’ve got going on right now.
Let’s just.. Take a guess. And guessing, i’d say we’re getting a little too caught up in the exercise. Each success is making us more hopeful and energetic about the next one, but doing so will undoubtedly result in a less beneficial and well-done proccess.
So literally take a step back, breathe, and count to 20.
.
…
…..
That did indeed help, but perhaps some of this sense of urgency is actually wise to hang on to. AAAAAAAAANYWAYS, moving on. Seems like the next natural category is defense and, i think we can also add espionage/offense to that title.
Mini brain dump first: Suna defenses, SoS defenses, Wind country defenses, ally defenses, iwa specific defenses and offense, kiri specific defenses and offense, roping in konoha, evacuation system. Feel like something’s missing? Show yourself, bee. Ah yes, shinobi empowerment and training, which is almost its own group so we’ll tackle them together.
Suna: We need to focus on the idea of a village invasion. From what i’ve gathered, there ar emore powerful ninja int he world than ever before. At his peak, Hito was never even close to being the strongest man alive, and now he must be so much farther from that title than before. And he knew just how much damage he could do to a hidden village if he didn’t mind dying as a result. Imagine if even one such person made it to suna with its current defenses? And then what about a squad of such people? An army? Today that might be a laugable thought, but with teh seemingly exponential rate at which power was increasing in individuals around the world, it was far from a fantasy for the future.
The problem with accounting for such people is the knowledge that they’ll be able to get around just about any defensive measure put in, by the very nature of the problem of their strength. Whatever jutsu they installed, he didn’t think they’d need to bother creating things meant to take down normal-strength users. It should either provide useful information and buffs to our allies or find some way to inconvenience the enemy. Surely this would require fuuinjutsu, outposts and clan members. This of course being for permanent defenses that will go on even if everyone in power today dies. Systems like these, however, are more back-up than anything else and can’t be THE plan. Alongside this has to be the shinobi empowerment. No fuuinjutsu traps in the world will be sufficient to stop an invader unless there’s also a seemingly endless supply of capable shinobi to back those traps up. So what did this mean? Revamping the entire shinobi academy? Well, possibly. That’s certainly on the table, but perhaps most immediately beneficial would be the networking and mentoring of the current generation of shinobi. Even the most mediocre of ninja could become an unstoppable powerthouse if the proper people were placed together and given the right mission. There has likely never been anymore more qualified for such a task as Hito and his oh so humble mind. Along with that, every shinobi could also be further empowered with suna-provided assistance by way of things like village protected jutsu, weaponry and especially puppetry. Mental note: puppetry is its own group as there’s so much I want to do there for the village. We should have museums and giant village-sized puppets that do amazing things, but lets leave that for much much later.
These bees he was currently organizing were not just his thoughts, they were the thoughts that were constantly weighing him down these days. The ones that are most in need of wrangling and prioritizing and organizing, puppetry adoration didn’t quite make it there yet, though it was awfully close.
Lastly for suna defense, they needed a sensory net that warned of approaching invaders long before they arrived and long before the invader snoticed they were even sensed. He had a feeling the Naegi would be very useful here.
Which provides the perfect segue into wind country defense. Considering the size of the nation and its desert, even with all the power at their disposal it’d be unfeasible to monitor an entire nation the size of wind country at all times. Instead it’d be smarter to create a zone around suna and other important areas that can be identified later and then monitor that. For wind country, unlike suna, we should think larger scale. Border defenses for keeping out of physical armies, for example. Samurai and non-shinobi specific defenses would also be smart. Once diplomacy is done to identify and understand the landscape of villages, oasis and nomadic tribes, work can also be done into protecting groups or weaponizing them as lines of defense. Especially now that they had been invaded and humiliated, it was essential that their people felt that their nation was protecting them.
We had many plans before leaving regarding how to do SoS’s defense of its massive knowledge base, but now it’s clear that it’d be wise to weave those plans in with suna and wind country defense. With the proper use of jikukan, fuuinjutsu, outposts and diplomacy, they could have an ingenious defense and transportation system that could be used to safe not only his people, but also suna’s secrets and most valuable treasures. Let’s not think about that too much though as it’s particularly exciting and distracting.
In terms of ally defenses, it’d be a little risky but also very beneficial to us if we could find a way to bolster Konoha and Lightning Empire’s defenses as a diplomatic olive branch. It’s potentially risking considering we might be giving future enemies something to use against us, but if we were to think like that, very little diplomacy were to be possible. We’ll just have to make sure to leave very detailed information on whatever we share with them so that future generations know what they’re dealing with if they end up having to. On the topic of allies, we also need to consider that backup plan we previously referenced that would force Fanho’s or maybe evne Hayate’s nations to get dragged into the fight. For example, in the case of an invasion, what if he were able to teleport the entirety of the invading army and suna’s defenders to either Konoha or Kumo’s doorstep? If suna’s defenders fought equally hard to defend the unfortunate new village, they’d likely be able to leave the scenario without having completely obliterated the alliance forever, though he had no doubt it would be a very chilly and precipitous alliance for a while after that, as he would deserve.
Now Iwa attack and defense? That was a pretty large can of worms/bees that almost deserved its own group as well. The current brainstorm would be lacking, of course, due to the massive lack of information, but he certainly had enough to make some plans. For starters, we need an early warning system. all obvious routes from Iwa to Suna had to be monitored in some way. Allies within Iwa would be exceptionally welcome though unlikely, and we’ll absolutely be needing the use of espionage. Which, yes, reminds me we’ll have to discuss the Eidolon.
First focus: withstand iwa - We need the previously mentioned defenses in suna and wind to protect ourselves.
Second focus: Investigate iwa - We need to ramp up espionage to better understand our enemy. Especially right now as they’ve expanded very quickly into areas they weren’t asked to be in, which means plenty of opportunity for sneaking in or winning over informants, spies and secret allies. He’d have to find out what the Eidolon were currently doing as well as any other shinobi amongst their ranks that could fit for espionage. Hito himself was particulary interested in an idea he had a while back of using Shai’tan and sensory to scope out the entire nation on his own, seeing as he had no official position at the moment.
Third focus: Attacking Iwa - Even if we’re invaded and manage to push the invasion back, we’ll just have to deal with them again and again. No bully stops just because they didn’t get to finish the job. Until they broke Iwa’s nose, it would come back every time it felt like it. What would breaking Iwa’s nose look like? Hito was certainly not a fan of indiscriminate violence, but that would surely do it. More interesting, however, was the potential to break their nose AND steal their lunch money. What if he tied a counter-attack response along with an early detection system? If they sent out a third party or a raiding party the moment they knew one was headed to suna, they could either force some of the attackers to pull back into defense or actually manage to infiltrate. Even more tantalizing than the possibilty of causing damage was the possibility of stealing clan or government secrets. How delicious would it be if a failed attack on suna was followed up by the stealing of Iwa’s metal extension? The thought alone brought an uncharacteristcally menacing smile to his face.
Water country’s a little pointless to be thinking about now, i feel more convinced of that than even before when I said the same, so let’s skip that for now.
Evacuation system: this seems particulary important and will tie in with the SoS defense systems, but the further note I need to add is that I want us to have the ability to mass teleport people and items from Suna to somewhere on the coast of wind country. This would give us options beyond jikukan for escape upon arrival.
….
That was the end of his list, but this wasn’t nearly as satisfying as the previous ones. Likely because the stakes were so much higher, but also because very little specific information came from this one. Too many vague ideas that needed much much more specification, but he’d get there.
For now, not liking the taste of this session on his tongue, he moved the bees to an appropriate space amongst the organized and left them there for now, almost giving them a childish look of disdain. We’ll get there.
The last session was a real motivation killer. Without any of the sensation of relaxation and relief from before, the momentum he had going suddenly deflated, and now some unpermitted thoughts took the space. As always, the first instinct was for self-awareness and evaluation. Immediately his centers began processing everything he just did, replaying them a half second after they occurred and judging what was right/wrong/stupid.
No, stop
No you stop, did you catch the malice at the end of our defense and war brainstorming? Who was that? We’ve never felt like that about our enemies, we’ve never felt desire for their misfortune or take pleasure in the satisfaction of revenge. We can argue it was just a twisting of the relief and happiness of the concept of increasing our village’s power and defense, but that would be a lie.
Hitos body contorted within the darkness, like a man struggling to get out of his own skin that he couldn’t even see at the moment. Between the isolation, the darkness and the vulnerability of his current state, his body was practically just some meat machine that the voices in his head were vying to control.
Hito thought he, himself, the core mind was that person, but now as he struggled at his very core against himself, it was clear that not quite. He began to feel physical pain as a silent, but powerful battle within him. It hurt so much, like thick, flaming wire was being worked through his brain in an inexplicable path. Each second hurt more and his entire body was flailing, not with pain but with sheer lack of control of its muscles. His limbs went in every direction and he writhed on the floor, the pain barely registering now as it was inconceivably high.
He needed to give this a visualization. He understood intuitively then that his core self was searching it out, looking for that malicious little bit of himself that was exposed just now. So he imagined it, an angry little ball of energy in his brain darting from lobe to lobe, shooting zaps of energy at another ball of energy that ran from it, until finally ZZZZZZZZZAP.
The little black ball of, he could now describe as, rage & hatred pulsated verociously. This wasn’t always here, this was newer than any other aspect of his personality that he’d been able to analyze so far. Was this a result of the trauma of the last 20 years? He hadn’t had much of a chance to process it, and even now as he just considered that thought, he could feel the fear rising that he’d lose control and his mind once more if he even tried.
And suddenly panic was everywhere. The bees he had neatly organized were flailing along with all the others, like his body had been just shortly before and the sound was the definition of cacophonous. Could it really be that easy to lose all his progress? All it took was a moment of doubt?
Absolutely not.
The noise of Hito’s foot stomping with all his strength onto the floor was followed by sheer silence and the faint echoing of the dull impact. He had stomped so hard he felt pain reverberating up his leg. Real pain. That was real.
The bees that had gone invisible as well as silent suddenly reappeared, right where he had left them, both the organized and unorganized sections. Taking advantage of the moment, he imagined himself picking up a ball labeled momentum and charged forwards, stiff-arming the black ball of energy out of the way and into a jail cell.
We’ll address that later, for now, let’s continue this exercise. Until we’ve done a basic organization of all the top level categories we previously laid out, we will not have rest. He could feel that with certainty. If he left now, he would leave worse than he arrived. If he tried to tackle that black ball of energy within him, he may find himself trapped in this underground coffin of his own making due to sheer lack of ability to control his mind and body again.
Clearing his throat in an attempt to lower the feelings of anxiety that were rising up from the body he was beginning to not even remember having, Hito opened his eyes wide into the pitch black and stared at the imaginary bees. Up until now they had truly been very imaginary, just the product of a very powerful and controlled imagination, but now that crossed over into something else, now it was really there. He could see them as if they were real bees, and it’s not like they were glowing in the dark, they somehow just looked like completely normal bees amongst a pitch black canvas.
He knew that the next topic he wanted to tackle was research & development, but this… this opened up another realization. This wasn’t the first full-on hallucination he’d had since returning to consciousness, but it was the first one he had manifested and controlled on purpose. Marking the way he felt and all the areas of his brain and psyche that were currently active, Hito took a mental picture of his status to analyze and manipulate later, preferably when he was not underground. If he were to tackle the matter of his sanity directly, he clearly realized not long ago, it was much better to do it in a safer environment. Absolutely filing it away to be dissected further, as this seems like an unparalleled therapy system he could utilize for himself.
Now it was time to dive back in.
Why does Suna look almost the same as it did 20 years ago? Do you remem-, well obviously you re- STOP doing that. Just talk to ourselves, you don’t have to keep apologizing or making excuses or stating the obvious. WE know we’re talking to ourselves, WE know that WE’RE just I and YOU’RE just WE. let’s just leave it at that, shall we?
Sure, now back to the question. What the fuck? Ooo why don’t we swear more often? Because it’s unnecessary and we have a near-infinite vocabulary, focus. Suna hasn’t changed much in 20 years for the same reason it barely changed in the generations before we were born. The same reason all the villages have been so slow to change: they don’t know there’s an alternative.
The world is full of constants and humans are raised addicted to those constants, to break out of the mold and consider that perhaps the constants aren’t there because they have to be is a particularly difficult thing.
We and only we, as far as we know up until today, have ever had the far-seeing vision of Suna’s future that we’ve had. Most people can’t imagine all the possibilities, and even those that can, can’t imagine any possible way of getting from here to there. All those that had imagination lacked execution, and all those that could execute lacked imagination. The rare times these two traits came together, it often did so within the meat machine of the people that least deserve it or utilize it.
Ok, so it’s not that our people are fundamentally backwater or dumb, it’s the way of the world. Couple basic human nature and statistics with the conditions of our country, it’s no wonder we’re a society thats more prone to resist change and remain the same once a point at which settling was possible had been attained.
That said, what ARE our visions? What’s actual possible future and what are the ravings of a mad man, which nobody can claim we are not one.
I see a system of fuuinjutsu and machinery that cris cross the entire world. Pathways of jikukan tunnels stealthily planted around the world, the routes between them kept secret and traded like a valuable resource to our allies. The same portals can be used for multiple pathways, creating a near infinite numer of possible combinations, allowing for for insanely quick transportation of goods and people around the world and with their relative control. I see fuuinjutsu being utilized by common households, being used to bring them benefits they could never dream of. I see every child being born with the possibility of becoming whatever they want and having the ability to get the most cutting-edge education system in the world. With his ideas, the scribes knowledge and the raw talent of the shinobi within the village, he was certain they could do some studies to find ways to exponentially advance their education system, learning from the long history of iijutsu prowess and teachings. You realize you keep switching tenses? I thought i told you to stop pointing that kind of thing out and breaking our rhythm. That wasn’t me, that w- WE’RE ALL ME, STOP.
I see so much more. I see every child being born with access to iijutsu specialists that focus on mental and emotional development. I see us utilizing jutsu to create resources where there are none, bringing water to where there’s thirst, food to where there’s hunger, teaching every oasis and every village whatever they need to know to achieve prosperity for themselves while we create the conditions around them that will foster their utilization of that knowledge. I see death rates plummeting, birth rates skyrocketing, housing needing drastic increases, safety nets for those that can’t keep up with change, and so so much more.
As he spoke, he saw the bees moving on their own, no longer needing a kinesis-like manipulation, instead following the flow of his thoughts. His brain almost felt like it was heating up, but this time it wasn’t painful, it was just too exciting. He felt this urge to just burst from the temple and release all of his thoughts and feelings from the top and bypass all this processing. I guess now he knew which of these categories he was most excited about, too bad he’d have to put it on a lower priority considering the existential position both he and the village was in. But it wouldn’t be low priority for long, which means he also needed to get thinking about something else he hadn’t really put in the main brainstorm: Religion.
Ugh. Just the thought of tackling that makes me want to shiver, but we know it must be done. We need to evaluate not only our own religious understanding, but also the state of religiosity in suna as a whole and how that’s going to respond to all these modernizations. It was likely not going to be pretty and he needed ASAP to thoroughly understand that side of his village and people.
Grimacing an invisible grimace at the bees, he set them next to his defense topic bees from earlier and also decided to not yet absorb them. There was more to be said here, but other things had to be said first for it to be completed enough to get absorbed.
How did he know that? He didn’t, or if he did, he didn’t know how. When did existence get so confusing?
Great work, one section down. From the brain dump we produced earlier, jumping from diplomacy, i’m feeling inclined to follow the thread either into defense or politics. I think with our mind and way of thinking, we’re more likely to enjoy the mental exercise of defense planning and thus more likely to get lost in my own sauce. Ha. that rhymed. I wonder how tousha’s doin-
Focus.
Yes, politics is good and very related to Diplomacy, so it’ll be nice to keep those bees close together. Let’s begin with another sub-brain dump, pulling over from our original we have: Daimyo relations, Sueatsu, new official position, current council, education system overhaul (hmm, this might be in the wrong group), Suna defense (not to be confused with the larger subgroup with similar name),
Because of the fact that most of these topics go hand in hand with others, i’m doubting the wisdom of starting here. This is a loose and flexible process however, i can come back later and adjust as needed, though of course the less I have to do that the better. Regardless, like with diplomacy, what’s the overarching theme here? Well, lots of similarities to my suna reasoning so I wont bother repeating all of it, but I’ll emphasize that my goal is the betterment and protection of my people, and once that’s done, the same goal for the rest of the world. I personally do not want responsibility or duties or a following ever again, all I want is the power to shape the world that comes with political/administrative power. If only there was a way to get that without having to play the part. Maybe he could fashion such a position for himself? He was, after all, the first retired kazekage in history to be roaming about. He could probably get away with a whole lot.
Prioritizing that list and adding to it: the most important thing is probably information collection first. While it doesn’t seem like the village changed too much and Ikinari provided us with a very helpful vault of knowledge, we need to know a lot more, especially at ground level. It was probably a good idea to perform transformation jutsu at least twice a week and live different lives within the village to get a true cross-section of how his people are living. Once he had that, he would need to move on to understanding the administrative and political machines next. If he were to making lasting changes in the village, he was going to need to be the old Hito in the sense that he was going to know the name and details of every person serving government as well as any notable relationship dynamics. It was the only way to get things done. But more important than all of that and truly something he has to do as soon as possible was meeting Sueatsu and working together to find a way forward. He knew close to nothing about the powerful ninja other than the fact that he was powerful, and that was before Hito had disappeared. They had much to discuss but the specifics of their context made that one of the most awkward and inconceivable meetings he could imagine for himself. Two kazekages in a room? Yeesh. With understanding gained and a basic conversation had with Kazekage Sueatsu, Hito could move on to creating his own position that gives him the power he needs to enact his ideas. Mainly he’d need the power to pull shinobi and government agents from tasks to his own as well as the ability to have clearance to as much as possible. In fact this group was surprisingly easy to organize as much of it has to remain in a holding pattern until that conversation and information.
Well that’s that then. Let’s aborb this entire group now, considering their context.
Seemingly waiting for a moment for a response and then remembering he was talking to himself, and not even verbally, he chuckled and extended his hand. Once again fake absorbing fake bees, but this time saying out loud “I am so many kinds of crazy right now.” That one was actually audible, he knew not because he heard it, but because his throat pain flared up.
Well then, next?
Before we move on.. What is that sensation? Why is our blood pumping faster? Is that sweat? And I’m certain our thoughts are moving faster. This should be the opposite effect we get from this exercise, what’s happening? Wait no don’t run a diagnostic. Whenever we get that technical, we lose this freeform thing we’ve got going on right now.
Let’s just.. Take a guess. And guessing, i’d say we’re getting a little too caught up in the exercise. Each success is making us more hopeful and energetic about the next one, but doing so will undoubtedly result in a less beneficial and well-done proccess.
So literally take a step back, breathe, and count to 20.
.
…
…..
That did indeed help, but perhaps some of this sense of urgency is actually wise to hang on to. AAAAAAAAANYWAYS, moving on. Seems like the next natural category is defense and, i think we can also add espionage/offense to that title.
Mini brain dump first: Suna defenses, SoS defenses, Wind country defenses, ally defenses, iwa specific defenses and offense, kiri specific defenses and offense, roping in konoha, evacuation system. Feel like something’s missing? Show yourself, bee. Ah yes, shinobi empowerment and training, which is almost its own group so we’ll tackle them together.
Suna: We need to focus on the idea of a village invasion. From what i’ve gathered, there ar emore powerful ninja int he world than ever before. At his peak, Hito was never even close to being the strongest man alive, and now he must be so much farther from that title than before. And he knew just how much damage he could do to a hidden village if he didn’t mind dying as a result. Imagine if even one such person made it to suna with its current defenses? And then what about a squad of such people? An army? Today that might be a laugable thought, but with teh seemingly exponential rate at which power was increasing in individuals around the world, it was far from a fantasy for the future.
The problem with accounting for such people is the knowledge that they’ll be able to get around just about any defensive measure put in, by the very nature of the problem of their strength. Whatever jutsu they installed, he didn’t think they’d need to bother creating things meant to take down normal-strength users. It should either provide useful information and buffs to our allies or find some way to inconvenience the enemy. Surely this would require fuuinjutsu, outposts and clan members. This of course being for permanent defenses that will go on even if everyone in power today dies. Systems like these, however, are more back-up than anything else and can’t be THE plan. Alongside this has to be the shinobi empowerment. No fuuinjutsu traps in the world will be sufficient to stop an invader unless there’s also a seemingly endless supply of capable shinobi to back those traps up. So what did this mean? Revamping the entire shinobi academy? Well, possibly. That’s certainly on the table, but perhaps most immediately beneficial would be the networking and mentoring of the current generation of shinobi. Even the most mediocre of ninja could become an unstoppable powerthouse if the proper people were placed together and given the right mission. There has likely never been anymore more qualified for such a task as Hito and his oh so humble mind. Along with that, every shinobi could also be further empowered with suna-provided assistance by way of things like village protected jutsu, weaponry and especially puppetry. Mental note: puppetry is its own group as there’s so much I want to do there for the village. We should have museums and giant village-sized puppets that do amazing things, but lets leave that for much much later.
These bees he was currently organizing were not just his thoughts, they were the thoughts that were constantly weighing him down these days. The ones that are most in need of wrangling and prioritizing and organizing, puppetry adoration didn’t quite make it there yet, though it was awfully close.
Lastly for suna defense, they needed a sensory net that warned of approaching invaders long before they arrived and long before the invader snoticed they were even sensed. He had a feeling the Naegi would be very useful here.
Which provides the perfect segue into wind country defense. Considering the size of the nation and its desert, even with all the power at their disposal it’d be unfeasible to monitor an entire nation the size of wind country at all times. Instead it’d be smarter to create a zone around suna and other important areas that can be identified later and then monitor that. For wind country, unlike suna, we should think larger scale. Border defenses for keeping out of physical armies, for example. Samurai and non-shinobi specific defenses would also be smart. Once diplomacy is done to identify and understand the landscape of villages, oasis and nomadic tribes, work can also be done into protecting groups or weaponizing them as lines of defense. Especially now that they had been invaded and humiliated, it was essential that their people felt that their nation was protecting them.
We had many plans before leaving regarding how to do SoS’s defense of its massive knowledge base, but now it’s clear that it’d be wise to weave those plans in with suna and wind country defense. With the proper use of jikukan, fuuinjutsu, outposts and diplomacy, they could have an ingenious defense and transportation system that could be used to safe not only his people, but also suna’s secrets and most valuable treasures. Let’s not think about that too much though as it’s particularly exciting and distracting.
In terms of ally defenses, it’d be a little risky but also very beneficial to us if we could find a way to bolster Konoha and Lightning Empire’s defenses as a diplomatic olive branch. It’s potentially risking considering we might be giving future enemies something to use against us, but if we were to think like that, very little diplomacy were to be possible. We’ll just have to make sure to leave very detailed information on whatever we share with them so that future generations know what they’re dealing with if they end up having to. On the topic of allies, we also need to consider that backup plan we previously referenced that would force Fanho’s or maybe evne Hayate’s nations to get dragged into the fight. For example, in the case of an invasion, what if he were able to teleport the entirety of the invading army and suna’s defenders to either Konoha or Kumo’s doorstep? If suna’s defenders fought equally hard to defend the unfortunate new village, they’d likely be able to leave the scenario without having completely obliterated the alliance forever, though he had no doubt it would be a very chilly and precipitous alliance for a while after that, as he would deserve.
Now Iwa attack and defense? That was a pretty large can of worms/bees that almost deserved its own group as well. The current brainstorm would be lacking, of course, due to the massive lack of information, but he certainly had enough to make some plans. For starters, we need an early warning system. all obvious routes from Iwa to Suna had to be monitored in some way. Allies within Iwa would be exceptionally welcome though unlikely, and we’ll absolutely be needing the use of espionage. Which, yes, reminds me we’ll have to discuss the Eidolon.
First focus: withstand iwa - We need the previously mentioned defenses in suna and wind to protect ourselves.
Second focus: Investigate iwa - We need to ramp up espionage to better understand our enemy. Especially right now as they’ve expanded very quickly into areas they weren’t asked to be in, which means plenty of opportunity for sneaking in or winning over informants, spies and secret allies. He’d have to find out what the Eidolon were currently doing as well as any other shinobi amongst their ranks that could fit for espionage. Hito himself was particulary interested in an idea he had a while back of using Shai’tan and sensory to scope out the entire nation on his own, seeing as he had no official position at the moment.
Third focus: Attacking Iwa - Even if we’re invaded and manage to push the invasion back, we’ll just have to deal with them again and again. No bully stops just because they didn’t get to finish the job. Until they broke Iwa’s nose, it would come back every time it felt like it. What would breaking Iwa’s nose look like? Hito was certainly not a fan of indiscriminate violence, but that would surely do it. More interesting, however, was the potential to break their nose AND steal their lunch money. What if he tied a counter-attack response along with an early detection system? If they sent out a third party or a raiding party the moment they knew one was headed to suna, they could either force some of the attackers to pull back into defense or actually manage to infiltrate. Even more tantalizing than the possibilty of causing damage was the possibility of stealing clan or government secrets. How delicious would it be if a failed attack on suna was followed up by the stealing of Iwa’s metal extension? The thought alone brought an uncharacteristcally menacing smile to his face.
Water country’s a little pointless to be thinking about now, i feel more convinced of that than even before when I said the same, so let’s skip that for now.
Evacuation system: this seems particulary important and will tie in with the SoS defense systems, but the further note I need to add is that I want us to have the ability to mass teleport people and items from Suna to somewhere on the coast of wind country. This would give us options beyond jikukan for escape upon arrival.
….
That was the end of his list, but this wasn’t nearly as satisfying as the previous ones. Likely because the stakes were so much higher, but also because very little specific information came from this one. Too many vague ideas that needed much much more specification, but he’d get there.
For now, not liking the taste of this session on his tongue, he moved the bees to an appropriate space amongst the organized and left them there for now, almost giving them a childish look of disdain. We’ll get there.
The last session was a real motivation killer. Without any of the sensation of relaxation and relief from before, the momentum he had going suddenly deflated, and now some unpermitted thoughts took the space. As always, the first instinct was for self-awareness and evaluation. Immediately his centers began processing everything he just did, replaying them a half second after they occurred and judging what was right/wrong/stupid.
No, stop
No you stop, did you catch the malice at the end of our defense and war brainstorming? Who was that? We’ve never felt like that about our enemies, we’ve never felt desire for their misfortune or take pleasure in the satisfaction of revenge. We can argue it was just a twisting of the relief and happiness of the concept of increasing our village’s power and defense, but that would be a lie.
Hitos body contorted within the darkness, like a man struggling to get out of his own skin that he couldn’t even see at the moment. Between the isolation, the darkness and the vulnerability of his current state, his body was practically just some meat machine that the voices in his head were vying to control.
Hito thought he, himself, the core mind was that person, but now as he struggled at his very core against himself, it was clear that not quite. He began to feel physical pain as a silent, but powerful battle within him. It hurt so much, like thick, flaming wire was being worked through his brain in an inexplicable path. Each second hurt more and his entire body was flailing, not with pain but with sheer lack of control of its muscles. His limbs went in every direction and he writhed on the floor, the pain barely registering now as it was inconceivably high.
He needed to give this a visualization. He understood intuitively then that his core self was searching it out, looking for that malicious little bit of himself that was exposed just now. So he imagined it, an angry little ball of energy in his brain darting from lobe to lobe, shooting zaps of energy at another ball of energy that ran from it, until finally ZZZZZZZZZAP.
The little black ball of, he could now describe as, rage & hatred pulsated verociously. This wasn’t always here, this was newer than any other aspect of his personality that he’d been able to analyze so far. Was this a result of the trauma of the last 20 years? He hadn’t had much of a chance to process it, and even now as he just considered that thought, he could feel the fear rising that he’d lose control and his mind once more if he even tried.
And suddenly panic was everywhere. The bees he had neatly organized were flailing along with all the others, like his body had been just shortly before and the sound was the definition of cacophonous. Could it really be that easy to lose all his progress? All it took was a moment of doubt?
Absolutely not.
The noise of Hito’s foot stomping with all his strength onto the floor was followed by sheer silence and the faint echoing of the dull impact. He had stomped so hard he felt pain reverberating up his leg. Real pain. That was real.
The bees that had gone invisible as well as silent suddenly reappeared, right where he had left them, both the organized and unorganized sections. Taking advantage of the moment, he imagined himself picking up a ball labeled momentum and charged forwards, stiff-arming the black ball of energy out of the way and into a jail cell.
We’ll address that later, for now, let’s continue this exercise. Until we’ve done a basic organization of all the top level categories we previously laid out, we will not have rest. He could feel that with certainty. If he left now, he would leave worse than he arrived. If he tried to tackle that black ball of energy within him, he may find himself trapped in this underground coffin of his own making due to sheer lack of ability to control his mind and body again.
Clearing his throat in an attempt to lower the feelings of anxiety that were rising up from the body he was beginning to not even remember having, Hito opened his eyes wide into the pitch black and stared at the imaginary bees. Up until now they had truly been very imaginary, just the product of a very powerful and controlled imagination, but now that crossed over into something else, now it was really there. He could see them as if they were real bees, and it’s not like they were glowing in the dark, they somehow just looked like completely normal bees amongst a pitch black canvas.
He knew that the next topic he wanted to tackle was research & development, but this… this opened up another realization. This wasn’t the first full-on hallucination he’d had since returning to consciousness, but it was the first one he had manifested and controlled on purpose. Marking the way he felt and all the areas of his brain and psyche that were currently active, Hito took a mental picture of his status to analyze and manipulate later, preferably when he was not underground. If he were to tackle the matter of his sanity directly, he clearly realized not long ago, it was much better to do it in a safer environment. Absolutely filing it away to be dissected further, as this seems like an unparalleled therapy system he could utilize for himself.
Now it was time to dive back in.
Why does Suna look almost the same as it did 20 years ago? Do you remem-, well obviously you re- STOP doing that. Just talk to ourselves, you don’t have to keep apologizing or making excuses or stating the obvious. WE know we’re talking to ourselves, WE know that WE’RE just I and YOU’RE just WE. let’s just leave it at that, shall we?
Sure, now back to the question. What the fuck? Ooo why don’t we swear more often? Because it’s unnecessary and we have a near-infinite vocabulary, focus. Suna hasn’t changed much in 20 years for the same reason it barely changed in the generations before we were born. The same reason all the villages have been so slow to change: they don’t know there’s an alternative.
The world is full of constants and humans are raised addicted to those constants, to break out of the mold and consider that perhaps the constants aren’t there because they have to be is a particularly difficult thing.
We and only we, as far as we know up until today, have ever had the far-seeing vision of Suna’s future that we’ve had. Most people can’t imagine all the possibilities, and even those that can, can’t imagine any possible way of getting from here to there. All those that had imagination lacked execution, and all those that could execute lacked imagination. The rare times these two traits came together, it often did so within the meat machine of the people that least deserve it or utilize it.
Ok, so it’s not that our people are fundamentally backwater or dumb, it’s the way of the world. Couple basic human nature and statistics with the conditions of our country, it’s no wonder we’re a society thats more prone to resist change and remain the same once a point at which settling was possible had been attained.
That said, what ARE our visions? What’s actual possible future and what are the ravings of a mad man, which nobody can claim we are not one.
I see a system of fuuinjutsu and machinery that cris cross the entire world. Pathways of jikukan tunnels stealthily planted around the world, the routes between them kept secret and traded like a valuable resource to our allies. The same portals can be used for multiple pathways, creating a near infinite numer of possible combinations, allowing for for insanely quick transportation of goods and people around the world and with their relative control. I see fuuinjutsu being utilized by common households, being used to bring them benefits they could never dream of. I see every child being born with the possibility of becoming whatever they want and having the ability to get the most cutting-edge education system in the world. With his ideas, the scribes knowledge and the raw talent of the shinobi within the village, he was certain they could do some studies to find ways to exponentially advance their education system, learning from the long history of iijutsu prowess and teachings. You realize you keep switching tenses? I thought i told you to stop pointing that kind of thing out and breaking our rhythm. That wasn’t me, that w- WE’RE ALL ME, STOP.
I see so much more. I see every child being born with access to iijutsu specialists that focus on mental and emotional development. I see us utilizing jutsu to create resources where there are none, bringing water to where there’s thirst, food to where there’s hunger, teaching every oasis and every village whatever they need to know to achieve prosperity for themselves while we create the conditions around them that will foster their utilization of that knowledge. I see death rates plummeting, birth rates skyrocketing, housing needing drastic increases, safety nets for those that can’t keep up with change, and so so much more.
As he spoke, he saw the bees moving on their own, no longer needing a kinesis-like manipulation, instead following the flow of his thoughts. His brain almost felt like it was heating up, but this time it wasn’t painful, it was just too exciting. He felt this urge to just burst from the temple and release all of his thoughts and feelings from the top and bypass all this processing. I guess now he knew which of these categories he was most excited about, too bad he’d have to put it on a lower priority considering the existential position both he and the village was in. But it wouldn’t be low priority for long, which means he also needed to get thinking about something else he hadn’t really put in the main brainstorm: Religion.
Ugh. Just the thought of tackling that makes me want to shiver, but we know it must be done. We need to evaluate not only our own religious understanding, but also the state of religiosity in suna as a whole and how that’s going to respond to all these modernizations. It was likely not going to be pretty and he needed ASAP to thoroughly understand that side of his village and people.
Grimacing an invisible grimace at the bees, he set them next to his defense topic bees from earlier and also decided to not yet absorb them. There was more to be said here, but other things had to be said first for it to be completed enough to get absorbed.
How did he know that? He didn’t, or if he did, he didn’t know how. When did existence get so confusing?
Last edited by CDF on Fri Jan 12, 2024 4:35 pm, edited 4 times in total.
- zenchou
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
| [color=#C9B037]Ouji Hito | Sunagakure no Sato | |
| A-ranked Missing Ninja |
Hito brainsandstorms
.
Last edited by CDF on Fri Jan 12, 2024 4:34 pm, edited 3 times in total.
- zenchou
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
| [color=#C9B037]Ouji Hito | Sunagakure no Sato | |
| A-ranked Missing Ninja |
Hito brainsandstorms
.
Last edited by CDF on Fri Jan 12, 2024 4:34 pm, edited 3 times in total.
- zenchou
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
| [color=#C9B037]Ouji Hito | Sunagakure no Sato | |
| A-ranked Missing Ninja |
Hito brainsandstorms
There was an increasing sense of chaos rising from deep within him. At first it felt like an intensifying of the vibration of the bees but quickly it became something that felt much more sinister and dire. He identified the sensation of death approaching and wondered how it could be that every cell in his body currently felt like they were close to annihaltion.
Because you are, you damn fool.
A deep, god-like voice reverberated from within him... a voice that was certainly his but felt so much more distant and.... cosmic? He did not know what that meant, but knew somehow that it was accurate.
You keep trying to control this, you keep trying to order it and dominate it. Finally now i'm able to sort out the mess you made with that seal enough to tell you clearly, if you dont seal us properly within us, you will die. Oh also, if you dont do a lot of things really quickly, your village and everyone we know will die.
He knew it was him talking to himself, so what was with the swapping of tenses and forms? Why was the voice so distant and different and.... not coming from where his voices usually came from? What.... What was this existential fear that scratched furiously at the door of his sanity like a spooked cat trying desperately to escape a bath appointment. It felt almost childlishly comical if it weren't so terrifying.
As the words landed and truly registered, Hito could nearly visualize the sudden appearance of cracks in his world. He saw how barely sentient he currently was and how all the functionality he had displayed up until now had just been one large version of this silly exercise with the bees. He was attempting to use mortal mental models to control what had to be nearly centuries of existence and energy. The massive amount of flaws he displayed with Ikinari was a clear example of how little control he truly was in.
Letting out a half squeek, the voice returned again with an annoyed tone.
If I speak any harder, you're going to burst. So here's as much as i can give you while you figure out how to seal us properly:
Our defenses are inadequete, we need connections between our shinobi, we need to create near endless copies of ourself and do massive amounts of very quick research and espionage around the world to collect data above all. We need so much more information. We need to introduce technology and training programs and we need to hand-guide every single one of these events.
But worst of all, which we'll hate, we're going to have to play god. And then we're going to have to play the devil.
We will need to capitalize on every ounce of their faith and go all in, lying through our teeth for every second of it until we're captured all that's worst in their religious fantacism. When we've both earned their love with the malicious manipulation and by genuinely improving their lives, then we shatter their illusion of faith and reliance upon it. We shatter the image and the office of kazekage and open the door to a new form of government that allows for longevity but fairness the likes of which the world has never seen.
We will need to manipulate literally every single person in the village. You are no longer good hearted, well meaning, honest and transparent hito. You've made it clear you have goals beyond letting us drift through existence, and while I personally dont care, youu clearly do. So whatever, i'll help. What's another lifetime, anyways?
Figure it out, mortal, see you soon.
Hito collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his eyes as particles of sand began to drift from the ceiling and the walls into this underground chamber. He had never felt such sadness, such awe, such overwhelming fragility, vulnerability and meaninglessness. He had just spoken to himself, but the version of himself that had gone through all the things Hito had only up until now been getting brief flashes of, flashes he got as a passenger, not the driver. The real Hito that went through all of that had packaged itself in his makeshift fuuinjutsu solution, preventing his mind and existence from completely shattering against the force of it all. But it was only temporary, and his fuuinjutsu had been all about controlling his mind, not posessing himself with a spirit, much less his own.
This was unprecedented. This was.. This was imposssible? No, but it was going to be very difficult. He should leave and get assistance or a controlled environment, but he couldn't stop, the connection was so strong. It was so close, he was right there... I'm... I'm right there...
Hito collapsed forward and his body seemed to twis tunnaturally, almost like an external force moved it. Flipping onto its back for the landing before turning awkwardly to the side and curling into a ball that was slowly covered with a shimmering coat of golden chakra. Around it, the chamber collapsed to oblivion and buried the former kazekage as he dove deep within the recesses of his mind and chakra network to understand what he could do now.
Because you are, you damn fool.
A deep, god-like voice reverberated from within him... a voice that was certainly his but felt so much more distant and.... cosmic? He did not know what that meant, but knew somehow that it was accurate.
You keep trying to control this, you keep trying to order it and dominate it. Finally now i'm able to sort out the mess you made with that seal enough to tell you clearly, if you dont seal us properly within us, you will die. Oh also, if you dont do a lot of things really quickly, your village and everyone we know will die.
He knew it was him talking to himself, so what was with the swapping of tenses and forms? Why was the voice so distant and different and.... not coming from where his voices usually came from? What.... What was this existential fear that scratched furiously at the door of his sanity like a spooked cat trying desperately to escape a bath appointment. It felt almost childlishly comical if it weren't so terrifying.
As the words landed and truly registered, Hito could nearly visualize the sudden appearance of cracks in his world. He saw how barely sentient he currently was and how all the functionality he had displayed up until now had just been one large version of this silly exercise with the bees. He was attempting to use mortal mental models to control what had to be nearly centuries of existence and energy. The massive amount of flaws he displayed with Ikinari was a clear example of how little control he truly was in.
Letting out a half squeek, the voice returned again with an annoyed tone.
If I speak any harder, you're going to burst. So here's as much as i can give you while you figure out how to seal us properly:
Our defenses are inadequete, we need connections between our shinobi, we need to create near endless copies of ourself and do massive amounts of very quick research and espionage around the world to collect data above all. We need so much more information. We need to introduce technology and training programs and we need to hand-guide every single one of these events.
But worst of all, which we'll hate, we're going to have to play god. And then we're going to have to play the devil.
We will need to capitalize on every ounce of their faith and go all in, lying through our teeth for every second of it until we're captured all that's worst in their religious fantacism. When we've both earned their love with the malicious manipulation and by genuinely improving their lives, then we shatter their illusion of faith and reliance upon it. We shatter the image and the office of kazekage and open the door to a new form of government that allows for longevity but fairness the likes of which the world has never seen.
We will need to manipulate literally every single person in the village. You are no longer good hearted, well meaning, honest and transparent hito. You've made it clear you have goals beyond letting us drift through existence, and while I personally dont care, youu clearly do. So whatever, i'll help. What's another lifetime, anyways?
Figure it out, mortal, see you soon.
Hito collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his eyes as particles of sand began to drift from the ceiling and the walls into this underground chamber. He had never felt such sadness, such awe, such overwhelming fragility, vulnerability and meaninglessness. He had just spoken to himself, but the version of himself that had gone through all the things Hito had only up until now been getting brief flashes of, flashes he got as a passenger, not the driver. The real Hito that went through all of that had packaged itself in his makeshift fuuinjutsu solution, preventing his mind and existence from completely shattering against the force of it all. But it was only temporary, and his fuuinjutsu had been all about controlling his mind, not posessing himself with a spirit, much less his own.
This was unprecedented. This was.. This was imposssible? No, but it was going to be very difficult. He should leave and get assistance or a controlled environment, but he couldn't stop, the connection was so strong. It was so close, he was right there... I'm... I'm right there...
Hito collapsed forward and his body seemed to twis tunnaturally, almost like an external force moved it. Flipping onto its back for the landing before turning awkwardly to the side and curling into a ball that was slowly covered with a shimmering coat of golden chakra. Around it, the chamber collapsed to oblivion and buried the former kazekage as he dove deep within the recesses of his mind and chakra network to understand what he could do now.
- zenchou
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
| [color=#C9B037]Ouji Hito | Sunagakure no Sato | |
| A-ranked Missing Ninja |
Hito brainsandstorms
The sensation of his body seemed to drift out from his awareness. The briefest flicker of panic was subdued by the rest of his mind, assuring him that this wasn't like the last time we lost our sense of self. Looking up, in a reality where up has no meaning, Hito saw the incoming portal of blue light that awaited him as his body wooshed through seemingly nothing towards it.
There was no fear, only confidence and the sensation that a project was about to get done. Like a carpenter approaching a job site, he felt confident and ready for whatever came, even if a significant portion of his mind was questioning what in the actual fuck was going on. The moment his head passed through the portal, nothingness gave way and everything changed.
The very way I think seemed to shift and the remnant of awareness of a corporal body just melted. I flew through the ring and came out the side feeling and, likely looking like a noncorporeal god of light, just a shining orb that flitted through the skies effortlessly. And what magnificently beautiful skies they were. Looking across the horizon, I find my breathless form somehow still gasping for breath at the sight of an almost engineered-looking patch work of clouds moving across the skies. Like large, continuously grafted sheep that have been put into perfect positions and occaisionally shift positions in ways that do not at all seem natural.
Below this massive cloud plotland was endless desert, but not like the one I knew. This was was far from barren and for every stretch of sand, there seemed to be something there, whether it be a habitable or just some seemingly random work of art or piece of sturdy material that screamed function, though exactly which one, I'm not sure. I do fear that investigating too far will ruin my objective, so let's continue.
Turning my orb and zooming forwards at an uncomfortable pace, i find myself looking up at an impressive looming wall of sandstone that pieced seemingly forever into the sky. Instantly i knew this was suna and also that i could just phase right through this impressive wall, which i did. Floating through it, i saw the plethora of weapons, jutsu and secret chambers littering the thick inner workings of the wall, preparing the village for all kinds of scenarios.
Coming across the other side felt like seeing light for the first time as all of my organ-less senses were slapped. An ineffable amount and diversity of noise bustled from a city that had to be 3.... wait no, at this elevation... at least 5 times larger than the suna he knew. It was litered with buildings that made the current tallest building in suna look like a plaything, while the tallest building itself had to stretch at least 400 meters into the sky in an impossibly thin, needle-point shape that defied the laws of physics.
The village was the definition of prosperity, there were no poor or starving faces, there was no msiery. all were happy or at least content, their problems were hair splitting ones, there was no blood. There was freedom and choice, and happiness. Tolerance, humanity, empathy.
I dont need to see it, i know it. i feel it. i understand.
If we work together, this could be reality.
His voice boomed across this reality and I allowed it to vibrate through me and soak into my essence. This was the scariest thing i'd ever experienced just a few moments ago, but now i'd never felt more embraced and understood.
There is much groundwork that needs to be done and we can not trust other humans to do it. We must be our own army, and with this possession, we can do it. There are threats beyond our physical capability of driving off, we were gone for too long and the world has only increased in strength. The very atmosphere is saturated with power and we stand no chance in traditional fighting. We must get creative. We must account for all variables, all timelines, all options. We must change their religion at its roots, change and simultaneously preserve their culture. Bring prosperity while forcing a specific kind of suffering with a planned obselecense so that culture and evolution is maintained while fairness and utopia grows.
Then once we've done what we're capable of to bring this utopia to reality, we let it go and leave it to the rest of them to do with as they wish.
Give yourself over to us, and I shall give myself over to us. We shall be you and you shall be we. We will figure it out, bust what matters now is that we trust us, and that we consent to this together.
Warmth and optimism flooded every pore of my existence, both corporeal and beyond. This was trust i'd never felt before, understanding and knowing beyond my wildest dream. My skeptical nature had never allowed such certainty in anything like I'm certain that this is right.
----
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Hito's scream might have pierced through even all the dense layers of sand above him. Particles of sand vibrating at the absolute limit of their existence were slipping their way through the skin on the back of his neck like a hot butter through knife, effortlessly settling into a position before being joined by more sand that fully linked together, glowed gold as they vibrated a painful burning scar fuuinjutsu onto the former kazekages bag.
As it formed and his skin cooled, the seal simultaneously released seemingly endless waves of chakra while absorbing an equally shocking amount of chakra from Hitos body. It was an exhausting push and pull that overwhelmed every fibre of his being, but the now fully alert and conscious Hito understood the situation. He focused on his chakra network, regulated his level and focused on the balance of flow through the seal.
This wasn't like touching normal chakra, every adjustment changed something within him. He felt different sparks within his mind and moments of connectivity and even intimacy with every moment, like touching a part of his own body. He pursued that feeling, that sameness as he modulated his output and his deeper, inner self did the same.
Slowly a smile grew on his face while from the other side of the seal, he felt a far more apathetic "satisfaction" that the current task was done.
Effortlessly, like it was always the plan, Hito's body was elevated by the sand around him, golden chakra pushing the sand out of the way and up from below.
A new god was born.
There was no fear, only confidence and the sensation that a project was about to get done. Like a carpenter approaching a job site, he felt confident and ready for whatever came, even if a significant portion of his mind was questioning what in the actual fuck was going on. The moment his head passed through the portal, nothingness gave way and everything changed.
The very way I think seemed to shift and the remnant of awareness of a corporal body just melted. I flew through the ring and came out the side feeling and, likely looking like a noncorporeal god of light, just a shining orb that flitted through the skies effortlessly. And what magnificently beautiful skies they were. Looking across the horizon, I find my breathless form somehow still gasping for breath at the sight of an almost engineered-looking patch work of clouds moving across the skies. Like large, continuously grafted sheep that have been put into perfect positions and occaisionally shift positions in ways that do not at all seem natural.
Below this massive cloud plotland was endless desert, but not like the one I knew. This was was far from barren and for every stretch of sand, there seemed to be something there, whether it be a habitable or just some seemingly random work of art or piece of sturdy material that screamed function, though exactly which one, I'm not sure. I do fear that investigating too far will ruin my objective, so let's continue.
Turning my orb and zooming forwards at an uncomfortable pace, i find myself looking up at an impressive looming wall of sandstone that pieced seemingly forever into the sky. Instantly i knew this was suna and also that i could just phase right through this impressive wall, which i did. Floating through it, i saw the plethora of weapons, jutsu and secret chambers littering the thick inner workings of the wall, preparing the village for all kinds of scenarios.
Coming across the other side felt like seeing light for the first time as all of my organ-less senses were slapped. An ineffable amount and diversity of noise bustled from a city that had to be 3.... wait no, at this elevation... at least 5 times larger than the suna he knew. It was litered with buildings that made the current tallest building in suna look like a plaything, while the tallest building itself had to stretch at least 400 meters into the sky in an impossibly thin, needle-point shape that defied the laws of physics.
The village was the definition of prosperity, there were no poor or starving faces, there was no msiery. all were happy or at least content, their problems were hair splitting ones, there was no blood. There was freedom and choice, and happiness. Tolerance, humanity, empathy.
I dont need to see it, i know it. i feel it. i understand.
If we work together, this could be reality.
His voice boomed across this reality and I allowed it to vibrate through me and soak into my essence. This was the scariest thing i'd ever experienced just a few moments ago, but now i'd never felt more embraced and understood.
There is much groundwork that needs to be done and we can not trust other humans to do it. We must be our own army, and with this possession, we can do it. There are threats beyond our physical capability of driving off, we were gone for too long and the world has only increased in strength. The very atmosphere is saturated with power and we stand no chance in traditional fighting. We must get creative. We must account for all variables, all timelines, all options. We must change their religion at its roots, change and simultaneously preserve their culture. Bring prosperity while forcing a specific kind of suffering with a planned obselecense so that culture and evolution is maintained while fairness and utopia grows.
Then once we've done what we're capable of to bring this utopia to reality, we let it go and leave it to the rest of them to do with as they wish.
Give yourself over to us, and I shall give myself over to us. We shall be you and you shall be we. We will figure it out, bust what matters now is that we trust us, and that we consent to this together.
Warmth and optimism flooded every pore of my existence, both corporeal and beyond. This was trust i'd never felt before, understanding and knowing beyond my wildest dream. My skeptical nature had never allowed such certainty in anything like I'm certain that this is right.
----
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Hito's scream might have pierced through even all the dense layers of sand above him. Particles of sand vibrating at the absolute limit of their existence were slipping their way through the skin on the back of his neck like a hot butter through knife, effortlessly settling into a position before being joined by more sand that fully linked together, glowed gold as they vibrated a painful burning scar fuuinjutsu onto the former kazekages bag.
As it formed and his skin cooled, the seal simultaneously released seemingly endless waves of chakra while absorbing an equally shocking amount of chakra from Hitos body. It was an exhausting push and pull that overwhelmed every fibre of his being, but the now fully alert and conscious Hito understood the situation. He focused on his chakra network, regulated his level and focused on the balance of flow through the seal.
This wasn't like touching normal chakra, every adjustment changed something within him. He felt different sparks within his mind and moments of connectivity and even intimacy with every moment, like touching a part of his own body. He pursued that feeling, that sameness as he modulated his output and his deeper, inner self did the same.
Slowly a smile grew on his face while from the other side of the seal, he felt a far more apathetic "satisfaction" that the current task was done.
Effortlessly, like it was always the plan, Hito's body was elevated by the sand around him, golden chakra pushing the sand out of the way and up from below.
A new god was born.
- zenchou
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
Most intense. Mission. EVER.
| [color=#C9B037]Ouji Hito | Sunagakure no Sato | |
| A-ranked Missing Ninja |