Cosmos Quest (Naruto/Lupin III)

[uju32]

Just pointing out possibilities.

Click to shrink...

Okay, try this for size.

PLAN ITALIAN JOB
[X]Walk over to Team Shika and ask Hinata to take a look
Key information being number of chuunin, layout of hut and placement of scrolls

[X]Brief/secure help of all teammates

[X]Double False Surroundings, just in case they detect the first layer
-Cast genjutsu as soon as you enter the hut
-Menka/Akamaru make diversion: jump at a mouse, something, on your signal.
-Speedblitz enough scrolls for at least three teams in the confusion; yourself and team Shika, with a spare/spares
Manipulate genjutsu as necessary to provide cover.

[X]Remove genjutsu after you leave, preferably when another team enters.

OPTIONAL
[X]Team Shika keep Anko occupied outside the tent.

Z-slash in effect.

 

[Vindictus]

I'd... Honestly prefer to just do the bump and grab this time, guys. Lay low, let the heat die down a bit [well as much as possible when we're going to get through the forest in the time it takes to walk to the tower] and have people drop their guards before we pull our next stunt.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

Bump and grab is lame and will likely fool no one, and if people are holding their scroll instead of pocketing it, no go.

Also, False Surroundings can be used to inform Hinata and others via message in air.

But the real reason I'm posting when I should be sleeping is because HOLY FUCKING SHIT IT'S A TRAP!

That thrown voice? How do we know it's Gaara? I think it might be the Mist nin sounding us out. If WE send a message to Gaara, WE reveal who we are that all that trickery was us. And we insult Gaara's brother right out of the blue when Gaara seems to get along better with his family!

I am damn near positive this is the Whispering Mist fucking with us. Infiltration from day one? Changing their voice like us is probably right up their alley. This is recon and counter sabotage, plain and simple. And taking advantage of a demonstrated character flaw by making us run our mouth for a funny. Brilliant. This fits perfectly.

I wanna snark back but this is so easily a damn trap by Mist or Sound to make a fool of us. So while I'm not sure about the plan cause I am tired, need to sleep cause I need to be awake and ready three hours from now, I am sure of this:




[X] IT'S A TRAP!
[X] Act like Gaara just did this out of the blue. Betray only flickers of surprise, unease, odd glances, that sort of thing. See if you can figure out who really did this without giving away that you know.


Maybe if we pass this off they'll be convinced it's not us because if we didn't do something stupid after receiving it when we insulted Ibiki, then if we didn't run our mouth here and act confused they'll think it's Sound or Gaara.







EDIT: See next post...I MAY be paranoid here. But I think I'm justified in being worried because this would be such a perfect play if we could be tricked into this. SO PERFECT. On par with what we just did to the exam at large.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

Okay...calming down an rereading a little...Gaara IS smirking at us. I had forgotten that. That can be a sign.

I may be over-paranoid here.

THAT SAID.....trap by Mist-nin? Still on the table.

 

[Vindictus]

Huh. That's a good point.

... On the other hand, that way lies the SUPER-PARANOIA. How many of our little rivals would even be capable of such a convoluted little trick? Maybe the Mist-Nin?

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

Huh. That's a good point.

... On the other hand, that way lies the SUPER-PARANOIA. How many of our little rivals would even be capable of such a convoluted little trick? Maybe the Mist-Nin?

Click to shrink...

Yeah. I acknowledge I may be going this way.

I seriously think the Mist nin might be able to pull it off though. Infiltration classes required from year one? Throw Voice probably being common, if Zabuza is an example? Maybe Sound could do it.

One Throw Voice to get Gaara looking our way, one at us to make us think it really is Gaara and then we fire back something that gets us in hot water, or confirms suspicions.

Maybe it's just Gaara happens to have Throw Voice here.

I am very, very worried though that we're about to be the Whispering Mist's first victim though.

 

[FurikoMaru]

*sips tea with Anko and Goemon - who is very pointedly not ogling the pretty half-dressed snake mistress* 8)

 

[Vindictus]

Hmm.

Well, I guess Whispering Mist has a rep. And I can't think of where Gaara would learn to throw his voice... BUT. He's in his sister's band, right?

Would it be realistic to assume he's learned some sound-based techniques, given that? Dunno if throw-voice counts, but it kind of fits that sort of theme.

 

[Torgamous]

Another option would be to respond in a not-insulting manner. My suggestion would be something along the lines of "but your voice sounds so much nicer" or "you're still scarier than him", but I'm sure someone here can come up with something more inspired. Watch how he reacts to see whether or not we should be worried about Mist.

 

[uju32]

Okay...calming down an rereading a little...Gaara IS smirking at us. I had forgotten that. That can be a sign.
I may be over-paranoid here.
THAT SAID.....trap by Mist-nin? Still on the table.

Click to shrink...

Over paranoid, I think.
They gain nothing.
Remember, the guy who was spooked would have already identified us when we dehenged from proctor to genin in front of everyone.

And I'm not sure they know what Kankuro's specialty is; they should, but it's not certain.
The balance of probabilities is that it WAS Gaara throwing his voice.
Especially as he was in a band; sonic techniques would have been of some interest.

Of course, it would be turnaround for Gaara to use our voice to traumatize/goad the Mist guys......

 

[The Nobody]

I'mma let you finish, but Goldfinger had the best Bond soundtrack of all time.
Followed closely by Goldeneye.

Click to shrink...

You have no idea how long those have been my default "tune I'm whistling when I have nothing to do"s.

 

[uju32]

Yeah. I acknowledge I may be going this way.
I seriously think the Mist nin might be able to pull it off though. Infiltration classes required from year one? Throw Voice probably being common, if Zabuza is an example? Maybe Sound could do it.
One Throw Voice to get Gaara looking our way, one at us to make us think it really is Gaara and then we fire back something that gets us in hot water, or confirms suspicions.
Maybe it's just Gaara happens to have Throw Voice here.
I am very, very worried though that we're about to be the Whispering Mist's first victim though.

Click to shrink...

So why draw our attention first?
Why not simply do it without drawing our attention, and have Gaara blindside us in the Forest?
Especially since they have no idea if we can actually track Throw Voice.
I just don't see it.

You have no idea how long those have been my default "tune I'm whistling when I have nothing to do"s.

Click to shrink...

Heh.

 

[FurikoMaru]

[X] "Hey, you should be more supportive of your brother! Whatever a grown shinobi and his fully-articulated wooden wife get up to in the privacy of their own home is entirely their own business. Who're we to judge?"

Gaara's smirk becomes a genuine smile, and he turns back toward the exit.

His sister beside him sees his expression and looks behind her. Catching sight of you, she rolls her eyes, and gives her brother a look that clearly says, 'Of all the people in this exam...'

=

Gaara route unlocked!

About the Gaara Route:

Easily unlocked but difficult to maintain. Current compatibility rate estimated at roughly 68%. Sub-paths of Gaara route include but are not limited to the Kankuro route and the Temari route, along with possible sidequests.

Route(s) currently available:

Sasuke Route, Kiba Route, Gaara Route

=

A little somethin' to tide you over until you hammer out what you wanna do. Or should I Rihaku it and take the best arguments?

 

[Selias]

Why do we need routes for a 12-year-old? :-\

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

Rihaku route, please please please. It's much more conducive to brainstorming when people know their ideas will only be used if they're good ones. Less fretting over quality control, more brainstorming.

And it means you can surprise us.

Also, fffft. If we want to maintain Gaara route I'm not sure whether or not ducking out of the exam is a point in his favor. He seems to like us screwing the exam over so maybe he'd be disappointed by not meeting up with us (or the chance to play 'hero', who knows), but amused when he finds out we blitzed the exam by cheating like mad.

 

[FurikoMaru]

Why do we need routes for a 12-year-old? :-\

Click to shrink...

13. You had your birthday like three weeks ago. And for the same reason Ino glomped Anko; being too young to be getting it on is not the same thing as being too young to be attracted to people.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

Hmm. Maybe we should be chatting up Gaara instead? Shika and Hinata are our schemer team to be sure. But getting Gaara in on this?

If that doesn't say chunin/jounin Konoha style, I don't know what does. Making a friend of an allied village's superweapon and convincing them to help you in the exam makes one hell of a statement. Bringing Kankuro and his puppet into play could potentially be helpful.

And seriously, being charismatic enough that we turn neutral/hostile teams into allies is most definitely a note-worthy skill. We don't even have to beat them over the head, we just essentially go, "Hey, I'm fun, I think I have a fun idea, want in?" "Sure, let's hear it." And then adventures.

It's a bit Power of Friendship-y, but it's quite the skill to show. If we doubled down with the Sound eight year old, even more so.

Food for thought.

And if we use these exams not as just a test but an opportunity to make contacts through the Elemental Nations, oh, that's something they wanna see.

 

[iamnuff]

umm.

try and remember that this gaara isn't the canon "begging for/rejecting, human contact" type guy.

he seems reasonably well socialized, and probably a lot smarter

he will probably see any attempt to ally with him for a ploy, regardless of whether it is or not. (and it is)


forget the big fancy shit.

something understated, but reasonably clever is what we need, like swapping out the other teams scrolls before they even enter the forest.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

You know...if we REALLY wanted to make a statement? We could steal enough scrolls so that every team in the exam has enough to pass.

Yes, this would play enormous hell with the prelims and proctors. To be honest there's not much reason to do it except for the lulz. Which could help build up our rep, yeah, but it's rather divergent from what we were doing before. And Team Nurse is frankly fucked. Course that was inevitable.

If we want to go dangerous-but-straight-up-trolling? Steal the keys to victory, stick around to cut down on teams, recon, and screw with them.

We might even get Gaara to work with us on this. That would be interesting.

Want to go for, "What goes ON in your mind," pass the exam, decline training time, and instead ask someone out on totally not a date in the Forest of Death to fuck and screw over the people in it now that your victory is assured. A bit OOC, and honestly similar to something I saw done before (Pass the example, stick around to fuck with people trying to pass because you have the scrolls to do so, from Fuzzy Logic), but demonstrates an interesting mindset. We are probably fast enough to generally nope on out of there, but I wouldn't count on it.

And ianmuff, look at that recent update. Gaara has straight up warmed up to us and has a sense of humor. We have proven ourselves to be competent and funny, I think we have some cred. Especially if it's not just getting lackeys but partners in crime. For The Lulz is something that may well appeal to him.

I'm not counting on him longing for affection, far from it. I'm hoping for, "Hey, I got this cool idea, do you think it's cool too? Yes? Want in on it to make it even cooler?"

That sort of stuff.

 

[Guile]

13. You had your birthday like three weeks ago. And for the same reason Ino glomped Anko; being too young to be getting it on is not the same thing as being too young to be attracted to people.

Click to shrink...

Besides, at this point it's just harmless fun, like stealing Inuzuka Kiba's first kiss.

 

[FurikoMaru]

Besides, at this point it's just harmless fun, like stealing Inuzuka Kiba's first kiss.

Click to shrink...

And serving as your best male friend's emotional anchor. Sasuke's kind of a late bloomer, as per canon, and not in a fit state to date anyone even if he weren't, so really I'm quite pleased you didn't take advantage of his abandonment issues to get your hands on the Uchiha fortune.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

Speaking of emotional anchors, I'd be pretty damn amused if Sasuke ended up forcing Kakashi to teach him Chidori just so he can credibly threaten Gaara with an "If you hurt her" speech. Regardless of whether we plan on aiming for that.

Also, on the Uchiha fortune, I think we're pretty damn close to being able to access it just by asking Sasuke to do us a solid. Not empty it or something but why would we want to?

I wonder if Kakashi is regretting not having Ino on his team. At the moment we seem to be the lynchpin for Sasuke's emotional and social development and Sasuke probably isn't interested in making/strengthening bonds of friendship until he's certain the bonds he has won't disappear on their own. Focus on other people? But what if while he's doing that the people he cares about start drifting away?! Fuck that noise.

 

[katreus]

There's a Temari route? ... Ooooo.

Stick with getting Team Shika and Nurse and ourselves through, I think. No need to screw around much, esp. since we already did so in the first exam. They're going to start to think that we can't keep it under control if we do it too much.

 

[FurikoMaru]

I wonder if Kakashi is regretting not having Ino on his team.

Click to shrink...

Well, the original teams that were brainstormed had you with Kakashi; your Ranton is known to Shikaku and the Hokage, but they haven't seen more than a brief demonstration of sparks from you (you didn't want to destroy the office, and they didn't want you to exhaust yourself, and if you'd done it in the open the secret would be out faster than a light in a haunted house), so they confirmed your father's assessment that it's probably a mix of Raiton and Suiton.

Then Shikaku filed that later report about how an Ino-Shika-Cho with you on it wouldn't work, and then Asuma heard about your circumstances and requested you, and then Naruto graduated at the last minute, and the original team-plan got tossed out.

 

[FurikoMaru]

[X] A little less fight and a little more spark

"Good~ afternoon, Hinata-chan," you say cheerfully, sidling up and wrapping an arm around her shoulder companionably.

She eeps and tenses before realising that it's you. "Ino-chan..."

You nod to your other friends with a wink. "What's the good word, Chouji, Shika-chan?"

"What are you scheming?" Shika asks dryly.

"Well, if you're gonna be like that, maybe I won't let you in on the fast track to a week of downtime between now and whatever the next test is. More naps for me."

"... I'm listening."

=

"Scroll me," Kiba says, handing in your waivers.

The man reaches under the desk and hands over a Heaven scroll to Ami, who reaches over her shoulder to stick it in her backpack, only for it to slip through her fingers and roll away.

(Heaven scroll acquired.)

Before she can so much as say 'oops', Akamaru jumps off Kiba's head, barking joyfully, and snatches it up.

"Good boy!" Kiba says encouragingly, "Now bring it back."

Tail still wagging, Akamaru bounds off with the scroll.

"Oh, not again..." Ami says, exasperated. "I thought nin-dogs were supposed to be intelligent."

"Shut up!" Kiba snaps, and runs off after his canine companion.

"Menka, no!" you say in dismay as your bodyguard darts over the desk. "Crap!"

"Is it too late for me to switch teams?" Ami asks the proctors as one of them scoops up the kitty and tries to wrest an Earth scroll out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry," you tell the two chuunin behind the desk sheepishly, taking Menka from them and dislodging the scroll in question to hand back over. "I've trained him to bring me stuff I want and sometimes he gets carried away." You hold the cat up to look him in the eye and say in a syrupy tone, "No, you're not getting a treat this time, mister. You almost made us fail the exam."

(Earth scroll acquired.)

"He shredded it," Kiba growls, dragging a whimpering Akamaru back into the hut, the remains of the Heaven scroll in his hand.

"I don't believe this," Ami says, eyes wide with anxiety as she starts to hyperventilate. "First Ino's stupid ego trip almost gets us thrown out and now your idiot dog gets us disqualified before we even get a chance to really compete!"

You stroke her on the back comfortingly. "Hey, Ami, it's okay, it's only a six month wait, we can try again next time."

"Calm down," one of the chuunin scolds, pulling out a fresh Heaven scroll from under the desk. "Have some dignity, will you? You're representing the village here."

Ami gasps at the new scroll, blinking back tears as she smiles hopefully at the proctor. "W-we can really have another chance?" she asks, biting her lip.

"W-well, yeah," he says back, suddenly slightly pink around the ears. "You can pay me back by getting to the finals. Konoha's honour is at stake with Suna sending that demon brat here to steamroll the competition."

(Second Heaven scroll acquired.)

Ami snatches up the Heaven scroll and clings to it like a drowning woman, beaming at the chuunin and bowing repeatedly. "Thank you, thank you so much!" A thought seems to strike her, and her expression becomes slightly panicked again. "Please, sir, promise me you won't tell any of the other competitors that I cried?"

"I promise," he says, embarrassed, "just please, move along."

You do so, Ami still repeating her thank yous as you pull her out the door with a fond roll of your eyes.

Menka rejoins you, and the genjutsu collapses with a wave of your hand just as a team from Amegakure enters the hut.

(Third Heaven scroll acquired. Second Earth scroll acquired.)

"How was that?" Ami asks, wiping her eyes. "Did I match your precious Himekawa-sensei?"

"You're lucky it was two guys," you say, shaking your head. "No way would a woman have bought it."

"Why do people think nin-dogs who can't talk are stupid?" Kiba says indignantly. "Have they ever tried to learn to speak Dog? It's way harder than Gyogo!"

"Really?" you ask, intrigued. "Think I could get some lessons?"

"Are you starting a zoo?" Shikamaru asks idly.

You hug him, stuffing a Heaven scroll into the seal you etched into the lining of his shirt.

He twitches, surprised, but returns the hug.

"See you in a bit," you say in his ear. "Take it easy on the way in, yeah? If we all show up at once it'll be undeniable."

"You really are a good friend," he answers, snickering as he pats you on the back.

Hinata squeezes your hands and tells you to be careful. And Chouji is as always an all-out assault on the forces of respiration.

"Try not to blow the whole place up," he says when he lets you go. "I'd like to have something for dinner that isn't charbroiled."

"Team Asuma," a proctor calls, "follow me to your entry gate."

You slip the spare set of scrolls into a pouch on Sayuri's leg as you pass by her.

"Hey, it's the Triple S squad," you say brightly, turning back as you go by as if you'd only just noticed them. "Good luck, you three!"

"Good luck to you too, Ino-chan," Sayuri replies with a smile, unaware for now of the favour you've just done her.

Sagiso nods, but quickly holds the papers she was just examining to her chest, as though afraid you stopped by to snoop on them,

"Mm. Good luck, Ino-san," Sakura says, looking up from the blanket she's sitting on, where she's taking inventory of her medical kit and cleaning her instruments. Her long hair is pulled back into a sensible knot now, just like her teammates'. You notice they each have little サ-shaped hairclips for good luck; Sakura's is holding back her bangs while she works. And now you see why she wears them as long as she does; the poor girl could probably pull in some extra cash renting that space out for advertising.

"Well, yeah," Ami says, grinning when you comment to that effect as your team makes its way to Gate 19, where you'll begin. "Why do you think we used to call her forehead-girl?"

"Yeesh, you really have no knack for nicknames at all," you say, shaking your head. "And I thought you said you didn't remember her."

She shrugs. "Give me a break, the last time I saw her she was a mopey little thing with her hair in her eyes. I have to be honest, I assumed she'd dropped out; I remember her kind of sucking at everything but bookwork."

"Yeah?" You stick out your tongue. "I remember you kind of sucking at everything but Weaponry back then."

"Wasn't she the one you pushed in the river that one time?" Kiba comments.

"What?" Ami asks in surprise. "When was this?"

"Well, was there some other pink-haired girl in our class?" he asks, shrugging. "I remember being on a field trip and seeing you yell something at pinkie-chan, and the next minute the teacher was helping her up out of the stream."

"She must've fallen," Ami says, frowning. "I can't think why I would've pushed her."

You and Kiba share a look, and then raise an eyebrow each at Ami.

"What?" she asks, frown deepening.

"Ami, it could turn out that you pushed her because she picked a flower you wanted and I'd buy it," you say with a snort. "You were not a happy kid."

"Yes I was!" Ami says, shocked.

"You aren't even happy now!" Kiba says incredulously. "Why would it be any different back then?"

"The test begins..." says your escort, staring at his watch, "... now!"

"We'll finish this discussion when we get to the tower!" Ami says as the three of you dive into the foliage.

=

You make it to the centre of the forest in about an hour - a new record, or so an astounded Iruka-sensei informs you.

The tower has a couple dozen rooms set aside for chuunin training in the Forest, and since you have first pick you guys choose:

[X] The one closest to the onsite kitchen.

[X] The one close to the library.

[X] The one with the ensuite bathroom.

Voting on the initial segment is closed. See latest update for further details and continue voting below.

The Hina-Shika-Cho show up around four in the afternoon (whereupon Shikamaru falls into the first bed he finds and refuses to leave until supper), but by nightfall the office ladies still haven't shown up. You wonder if they ran into trouble (with a capital G), or if Sayuri just hasn't checked her pouches lately.

Well, at any rate, you have a lot of free time to fill in the next few days. (Pick two.)

[X] You have this idea about converting storage seals to hold chakra in reserve until you need it. Let's see if that's feasible...

[X] Shintenshin. Hey, are you the clan heir or not? Get it up and running.

[X] Work on your Sasuke army. (Choose up to two.)

-> [X] What's say you add some more... 'exotic' predators to the mix? (Multiple incarnations of any one of the Fab Four, or one construct of each.)
-> [X] Figure out if you can leak your mental static into a memory palace and subject people to it intentionally.
-> [X] Write in?

[X] Make a genjutsu of your own, you lazy brat. (Write in subject to GM approval.)

 

[iamnuff]

[X] Library

[X] You have this idea about converting storage seals to hold chakra in reserve until you need it. Let's see if that's feasible...

[X] Shintenshin. Hey, are you the clan heir or not? Get it up and running.

did we just skip the entire forrest?

seriously, not even a single line about the inside?

did we not cross paths with any teams, or a single dangerous piece of wildlife?

also, team sakura is totally dead.

 

[katreus]

An hour? That's still slower than the canon Sand team, right?

[x] Library
[x] Storage seal for chakra
[x] Shintenshin

Hrm. Worried a bit about Sakura's group as well. But if even they don't know about the scrolls, maybe they get mugged and while thinking on what to do, they open their pouches and see another 2 there.

 

[FurikoMaru]

did we just skip the entire forrest?

seriously, not even a single line about the inside?

did we not cross paths with any teams, or a single dangerous piece of wildlife?

Click to shrink...

It's ten kilometres from the gates to the tower, you entered the Forest at the same time as everyone else, you had both scrolls, and your slowest bipedal teammate is Ami, whose current Speed rank is freaking 3.5.

Canon-Gaara's speed rank was 2, and he made it to the tower with his siblings in an hour and a half, including ass-whupping time.

An hour? That's still slower than the canon Sand team, right?

Click to shrink...

Gaara and his team finished this phase in an hour and thirty-seven minutes, beating the previous record by over four hours, with Gaara not getting so much as a speck of dust on his clothes — a feat they noted that would be very difficult even for an experienced ninja.

Click to shrink...

From the wiki.

 

[uju32]

[X] A little less fight and a little more spark

Click to shrink...

Elvis- A Little Less Conversation
One more to replace my Z-slash.

"Scroll me," Kiba says, handing in your waivers.

Click to shrink...

I like Kiba

(Third Heaven scroll acquired. Third Earth scroll acquired.)

Click to shrink...

That was beautiful.
Fast, effective and left no prints whatsoever.
Unless there were jounin watching.

Just waiting for the post-exam debrief with Asuma

"Why do people think nin-dogs who can't talk are stupid?" Kiba says indignantly. "Have they ever tried to learn to speak Dog? It's way harder than Gyogo!"
"Really?" you ask, intrigued. "Think I could get some lessons?"

Click to shrink...

It wouldn't be a bad idea, assuming we can find the time.
Speaking many languages helps.

"Well, yeah," Ami says, grinning when you comment to that effect as your team makes its way to Gate 19, where you'll begin. "Why do you think we used to call her forehead-girl?"
*snip*
"Ami, it could turn out that you pushed her because she picked a flower you wanted and I'd buy it," you say with a snort. "You were not a happy kid."

Click to shrink...

Ah, selective memory.
She should be thankful the only social media in her day was the human brain, which is fairly unreliable.

You make it to the centre of the forest in about an hour - a new record, or so an astounded Iruka-sensei informs you.

Click to shrink...

YES!
Beating canon Gaara's 90 minutes!

The tower has a couple dozen rooms set aside for chuunin training in the Forest, and since you have first pick you guys choose:

Click to shrink...

Bathroom.
Ino likes her comforts, and Ami would appreciate it.
Library would be nice though.

The Hina-Shika-Cho show up around four in the afternoon (whereupon Shikamaru falls into the first bed he finds and refuses to leave until supper), but by nightfall the office ladies still haven't shown up. You wonder if they ran into trouble (with a capital G), or if Sayuri just hasn't checked her pouches lately.

Click to shrink...

I'm betting on their getting mugged for their original scroll, and only finding the others later.
Question is whether they find it before or after getting to the tower.
Or they could be the dark horse

[X] You have this idea about converting storage seals to hold chakra in reserve until you need it. Let's see if that's feasible...
[X] Shintenshin. Hey, are you the clan heir or not? Get it up and running.
[X] Work on your Sasuke army. (Choose up to two.)
-> [X] What's say you add some more... 'exotic' predators to the mix? (Multiple incarnations of any one of the Fab Four, or one construct of each.)
-> [X] Figure out if you can leak your mental static into a memory palace and subject people to it intentionally.
-> [X] Write in?
[X] Make a genjutsu of your own, you lazy brat. (Write in subject to GM approval.)

Click to shrink...

Okay, this requires more thought.
The memory palace thing is tempting, but so is genjutsu.
And the chakra storage seal is necessary.
But if we figure out Shintenshin, we could put constructs in other people's heads.
Maybe.
Will need to think more.

 

[uju32]

Additional commentary

"W-well, yeah," he says back, suddenly slightly pink around the ears. "You can pay me back by getting to the finals. Konoha's honour is at stake with Suna sending that demon brat here to steamroll the competition."

Click to shrink...

Intelligence GET!
Chuunin-san just dropped a key bit of information; they had no history with Gaara, so had no reason to call him a demon.
Unless they were privy to intelligence she doesn't have.

Ino can certainly connect the dots from here on out, to Gaara and Naruto both.

Menka rejoins you, and the genjutsu collapses with a wave of your hand just as a team from Amegakure enters the hut.
(Third Heaven scroll acquired. Third Earth scroll acquired.)

Click to shrink...

I had to comment on this bit again.
This was just smooth.
I didn't realize Menka was gone and that Ino was using genjutsu to simulate his presence till he came back.
Well done Furiko.
Well done.

"How was that?" Ami asks, wiping her eyes. "Did I match your precious Himekawa-sensei?"
"You're lucky it was two guys," you say, shaking your head. "No way would a woman have bought it."

Click to shrink...

This is very true.
Lady teachers tend to be harder on girls than men are, in my experience; might just be they tend to see through the bullshit much easier.

"Mm. Good luck, Ino-san," Sakura says, looking up from the blanket she's sitting on, where she's taking inventory of her medical kit and cleaning her instruments.

Click to shrink...

Why is she cleaning her instruments just before the exam?
Nervous tic?
Or is she intentionally faking out the other contestants by displaying the image of team medic?