Root of the Problem (Mission/Solo)

Mission:

Missions like this gave Baruga time to think.

Mostly because of the time it took to get there. There wasn't anything to do but think: and practice her mountain hopping, of course, but that was about every mission that wasn't within the walls. So, whenever she set up camp, and whenever she had to get firewood or procure food from the wilderness, that's exactly what she did: just think. Really hard. Some would call it meditation, but she more liked to think of it as compressing her anxiety into something a bit more manageable.

(Of course, she didn't know she had anxiety from a purely professional standpoint. That would assume that ninjas had therapists, and the gods and their minor deities knew that there were enough of these unhinged assholes with huge denial issues. That, in turn, meant that it was incredibly likely that the therapist population was likely killed off and made extinct by whatever unhinged fools decided that they knew better than the doctor when dealing with their own battlefield trauma, and what a tragedy that is!

With the recent educational system and the Academy made in the Raikage's name, though, maybe there was a glimmer of hope. Maybe. Just maybe. She should probably talk to him about that, just in case: it would be a great boon to Kumogakure's military prowess if their soldiers were in any way well-adjusted and not batshit insane.

Though, to be fair, most powerful ninja were absolute nutcases... hm. Perhaps she should rethink this.)

In any case.

As she trampled through the burnt forests and the wandering paths, she took her time to process all the tasks set upon her from recent news. First and foremost: it seems like Kumogakure may be getting a bit more volatile, especially with the amount of outsiders they've been letting into their walls as of recently. Not an inherent indicator of issues by itself, but the fact that some people would find it necessary to visit a hidden village found in the most hostile of mountain ranges itself was damning. Of course, this was all conjecture on her part, but it was a very educated guess based on how Kumogakure has held itself as of recent.

And that would mean politics. And politics with ninja meant violence: violence that she very well could be pulled into. Of course, she was no blithering idiot, so she knew what she was getting into. Still, as she woke up from a dreamless sleep and packed up her camp and started moving, she couldn't help but think that she still felt a bit weak comparatively to her peers. The genin of Kumogakure were well-known to have a sink-or-swim mentality, and the best of the best could be compared to the chunin or even special jonin of other villages.

Mediocrity was not something that Baruga would settle for, let alone mediocrity in the face of death. As she hopped past the mountains and towards the dark evergreen forests of the Lightning Country borders, she decided to mentally note down all of her advantages over the usual faceless member of the shinobi corps, as well as how to capitalize on her own strengths.

First and foremost, her birthrights. She was both the daimyo's eldest and first child, daughter though she was, and she was also his Ryoinsatsu child. Her condolences to her mother for being whored out to the successor of the most powerful noble in the Lightning Country at the time, truly, but she needed to focus on the here and now. A political role could be beneficial to her, but she doubted she had the heart to resign from her career any time soon: if anything, it would be a step down, since her siblings had so many years to curry favor with her father while she had isolated herself in training in Kumogakure. If she wanted to succeed her father, she knew she'd need the skills to enforce her power by her own force, or at least have the infamy to do so by proxy.

As for her Ryoinsatsu heritage... hm. It wasn't time for her to pull on that. Not yet. Soon, when she's able to sufficiently defend herself from others, she can be a bit more subtle with using her skills on that end, pulling from the clan bank and using it to embolden her estate and power.

But that assumes she's able to defend herself. Any alternative solution assumes her own defense and power.

So she's back to square one. Her Water Release specialty is middling at best, and she's well aware: even as she uses a Water Release technique to clear a path in front of her to her destination, she knows that she's not nearly as strong as others are. Her Space-Time techniques are similar: great in utility, but not astounding in power.

Clearly, she was being too rational these days. Her ultimate goals required that she be bold and brash, rather than being a level-headed ninja aiming to survive through subtle wit. Perhaps she should focus her studies towards being more of a direct combatant and a charismatic face of the frontlines, rather than her current desire to remain a competent all-rounder.

To that end, it's quite fortuitous that she was able to procure the Whales of the Endless Blue. She suspects it would be best if she pursued that line of power. She certainly found them agreeable enough upon meeting them. Their focus on nobility and etiquette very much suited her, and they were certainly powerful: yes, perhaps being a summoner-type of kunoichi would serve her well. Just as well, they were the exact opposite of subtle, and she needed that sort of publicity if she wished to later retire under the potency of her own fame.

Maybe she'd write a book, later in life. Glory hogging never hurt anyone, now did it? Except, well, the actual veterans, but fuck them.

...Oh, look, there are the medicinal flowers. Time to go home, then.

---

WC: 1001
Claims:
— 2000 Ryo from 1 D-Rank Mission + 200 Ryo from Genin Rank
— 10 AP
— +10 Stats (to Vigor)
— 1001 to S-Rank Summon (Ieyasu) (1001/4000)

Alright…sorry to tell you this but when 90% of your post is just word wall fluff to gain some WC without doing the mission…it’s not gonna fly.


However, we are going to let it slide this time. I’d advise you to not go this route in the future.

Approved.