Written Exam: Baruga

Mon Jan 16, 2023 11:17 pm

	BURNING CITIES AND NAPALM SKIES
	Q & A. 1. I joined Kumogakure's Ninja Academy at my own insistence after speaking with an anonymous guard detail who, at the time, assumed the ANBU mask of Shark. During the 34th Lightning Country Summer Promenade, hosted by the daimyo's estate, I had the privilege of having Shark serve as my bodyguard as a child. During that time, I spoke with Shark about what it meant to be shinobi, and what it meant to serve Kumogakure and Lightning Country as a whole. His words resounded with me. "Might makes right" is an ample summary of his personal philosophy, but in truth, his beliefs and the consequences of his philosophy extend far beyond the simple kratocracy he adhered to. In a world filled with uncertainty, fearmongering, and violence, the only true variable that could feasibly protect the things that matter is one's own ability to defend and retaliate. Trust, fear, and love are ultimately fleeting, no matter how beautiful they are, and the only true way to retain order is by law and consistent, upheld enforcement of law. Of course, my younger self couldn't fully comprehend the deeper implications of his words, but I clung onto the abstract enough that I decided to become a kunoichi. On a more political level, my father agreed with my choices partly because they gave him leverage over Kumogakure's shinobi corps in terms of eyewitness information, as well as provide a show of both force and comradery for his political enemies and shinobi alliances, respectively. This is an open secret: both he and I have admitted this, and any politically-minded ninja in the upper divisions of Kumogakure could deduce it. As such, the royal court accepted his decision, even if it may jeapordize his line of succession. I believe my father's choice to sponsor my training is rational and prudent, as well. 2. I would be, and still am, the righteous heir to the throne of Lightning Country. Should the daimyo decide to retire or otherwise become unfit for his position, I will retire from my traditional field position in Kumogakure's corps and inherit the title of daimyo. I am opulently wealthy by birthright, I have been groomed to be proficient in traversing politics, logistics, and etiquette, and I am the daimyo's firstborn. I have no need for a traditional trade. In the absolute worst case scenario, I would be a one-percent stockbroker. 3. Order above all. Peace no matter the price. That is my ninja way. On a more specific level, I am an authoritarian capitalist and a firm believer in autocracy. In addition, Machiavellian and Darwinist philosophies suit me best. 4. My strengths include political and monetary domination, my summons, my nature chakra proficiency, and my defensive capabilities. My weaknesses include close range combat and my lack of weapon proficiency. My current skills rely heavily on chakra control and volume: if I can minimize my close-range threats, I can maximize my chakra capabilities, especially on an open battlefield. 5. Fuujin and Raijin are the predominant deities worshipped. Other sects of religion also exist: notable deities include Izanami, Izanagi, and Bishamonten, whom I personally devote my faith to. 6. To be the strongest. Might makes right. Power is everything. Several different iterations exist of this philosophy in Kumogakure's history, as well as several different levels of acceptable loss and acceptable means. However, the tenants of natural selection and jingoist militarism are consistent throughout not only the ninja village's history, but Lightning Country as a whole. 7. As my specialties are in bureaucracy, politics, scouting, and open battlefield combat, it is highly unlikely that I will be in a situation where I can be "discovered". Nevertheless, I will assume an espionage mission hypothetical. Ignoring any shinobi rulebook in favor of practical application, the first objective would be to eliminate any witnesses discreetly, or if permissible, openly. Failing this, the next course of action would be retreat: I am a valuable human resource and can still return with partial mission success while alive. In addition, failure to survive on my part would likely lead to the loss of the daimyo's favor, and most likely war. Surrender is not an option: I would sooner kill myself than allow either state or village secrets into enemy hands. 8. Presuming Kumogakure's bureaucratic and mission assessment division is doing its job, this will not occur. However, in this situation, resource assessment must occur. If the mission is more vital than the lives of the genin, then the mission will be attempted. If the mission is non-vital to Kumogakure, then it will be aborted. That being said, if a mission were improperly ranked, then it would clearly not be seen as vital by the bureaucratic division. As such, in most cases, the mission would be aborted. Exceptions can be made, but I would rather preserve human resources over the pursuit of personal glory or altruism. 9. Again, assessment must occur. If possible, I save both. If one stranger is more vital than the other, I save that one. If neither or both strangers are equally vital, and I have the free ability to save one, I will save the one that is more efficient to save. For example, if one is closer to me. If neither stranger is vital compared to my objective, I let both die and proceed to complete my mission. In essence, this question boils down to assigning value to human life. Which, although usually impossible to do if taken philosophically, is quite easy to do in the parameters of a mission. Again, humans are resources, and as such, consequences provide an understandable risk-reward matrix in terms of political and material gain. 10. I choose, and continue to choose, serving Kumogakure to the best of my ability and creating the most net gain for Kumogakure through my efforts. I will do this until such a time that my father is removed from the throne, after which, I will likely either receive special accommodations in my position in the shinobi corps, or otherwise resign as a kunoichi. From there, I will become daimyo and rule Lightning Country to the best of my ability for the good of my people. I will bear an heir, bring wealth and prosperity, and then die and move on to the next reincarnation. To summarize: On a throne, with a crown. *Situation 1.* Tiger, Snake, Dragon, Monkey. Dog. Two true water clones stood in front of Baruga, before they transformed into unmarked Kirigakure ANBU, one twice her age and twice her size, the other with the size and build of a child. Nodding to her, they jumped to the rooftops and begun to scout ahead, their flickering shadows barely seen in the dead of the night. In the meantime, Baruga lowered herself into the manhole. Once deep in the recesses of the city infrastructure, she sat down in the dark, dank recesses of the sewer system, the mask over her face helping her block out the smell as she meditated and reached for nature chakra. The rivers that run underneath the city thrummed with life and energy — she just had to dig past the foundations to find them. Reaching for the underground lakes and attuning to them, Baruga gathered nature into herself while she waited. Her clones returned in time to report their findings. Seeing as both her entrance and exit path were open, Baruga committed to her infiltration. She stood up — and Cetacean Sage Mode took hold, her eyes blazing gold. Both Baruga and her masked ANBU clones made their way to stand on the fetid sewer water and begun to flash through the same hand seals. Ox, Dog, Snake, Boar, Horse, Hare. Their bodies merged with the muck underneath, and they begun moving. Baruga completely memorized the pipeline system as it pertained to her mission directive, and using her Sage Mode, she was able to see completely freely within the darkness of the disgusting sewage. She turned left and veered right as necessary, keeping a mental note of where she was relative to the streets and buildings above. Soon enough, she arrived at her destination. Exiting the water and sliding open the manhole cover silently, Baruga maneuvered through the back alleys behind the building stealthily, while her clones performed the same hand sign — Dog — and once more transformed, this time into homeless bums wandering through the area and keeping an eye on her exit points. To get rid of the smell and anything that would leave a mark, Baruga used Ryuuguu-jou and phased any remaining sewer water and dirt through herself. (She snorted at such low-end usage of an S-Rank technique, but as needs must.) Now once more without scent or stain, Baruga eyed the most visible window closest to her target, one without a light in it. There was a "ping" as Urashima Taro's Reward went off, and Baruga was off the streets and in the building. From there, Baruga had free reign. Transforming into a known guard and acting as her with measured practice, she followed the patrol pattern of the usual security, detouring every so often to teleport herself in and out of rooms containing confidential information and copying them. She noted room placement, guard details, and eavesdropped into whatever conversations she could find. All valuable information. Once she was done, she excused herself to the bathroom, and proceeded to long-distance teleport back to her rendezvous point. And thus, Baruga Ryoinsatsu completed her recon mission, investigating and infiltrating the target without any physical sign that she ever entered or exited the premises. *Situation 2.* Baruga tapped her pen on her lips. Hm. A bit of a step up from the last chuunin exams that attempted this trick, but a known trick nonetheless. She should have expected this, but the point of the chuunin exams was that you couldn't exactly study for it, since there wasn't really any subject criteria other than "things genin are expected to know". And even that was flimsy, at best. She had two ways to go about this. With her abilities: Baruga held her pen in her fist, pressing the button side of it to her mouth. Then, she lifted her index and middle finger — And made the Seal of Confrontation in a thinking pose. Suddenly, three Rashomon Gates started to burst from the ground from outside the exam area, causing a local earthquake and knocking several examinees off-balance. As ninja burst out of the doors and some stood up in case of an attack, Baruga made a show of dropping her pen in the fray and reaching down to grab it — When, really, she was using slight of hand to flash through hand signs. Rat, Monkey. One girl had finished the exam in record pace, judging by her body language and lowered pen before Baruga started the commotion, so she was Baruga's target. As the chaos continued, Baruga used her Mass Shift Technique to make the girl's exam paper gravitate towards her, grabbing it out of the air before anyone noticed. Dispelling the Rashomon Gates and leaving the examiners bewildered, Baruga did her best to act somewhat confused but still calm enough to take the exam. Carefully, she slipped the exam paper face-up into her Ryoinsatsu bank, slipping looks at it as necessary while copying down the answers. Without her abilities: Baruga answered the questions she could and skipped the ones she couldn't. Since she was classically trained by Lightning Country's finest tutors in the essential academia, she had an easier time with some of the trivia and mathematical equations than others. Still, she was struggling with some of them. Luckily, there was an easy answer to this. She was Baruga Ryoinsatsu, and these exams were graded in an office by a hired shinobi. As soon as she left the examination area after testing was completed, she teleported to her father. (Giving him quite a scare, since he was alone in his study doing work at the time. The guard detail from her own village nearly gutted her out of sheer instinct.) Five minutes later, Baruga delivered a scroll, and the proctor handling her exam paper was given a special mission straight from the daimyo concerning the grading criteria. Three guesses as to how Baruga passed with a perfect score, and the first two don't count. — ⌖ — ꜱᴛᴀᴛꜱ ɪɴꜰᴏ:
	FLARES INSIDE THOSE OCEAN EYES

Tue Jan 17, 2023 5:27 am

Approved Baruga

Written Exam: Baruga

Written Exam: Baruga

Re: Written Exam: Baruga