Would like discussion on alternate chunin exam tourney setup

[Thrythlind]

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5067899/1/Chi_and_Chakra

Technically this is a crossover between Naruto and Ranma (though I'm not doing serious crossover junk till I hit Shippuden and can insert the Ranma politics I'm developing into the Naruto politics) with next gen Ranma characters (of a sort).

Said characters originally were developed for a freeform Ranma next gen RP that ran for three years after my joining.

Ryoko is my character, Joseibi is someone elses.

now, what I'm kinda really doing is toying around with developing Ryoko and Joseibi more fully to give them their own world later.

I find fanfic is good for that since you have a ready made cast which relieves some of the work and lets you focus more.

Anyway, I'm getting up to the chunin exam preliminaries and I'm going to have to set up the tournament (both actually) here.

I'm looking for some suggestions...I've thought about having Ryoko lose in the prelims but every time I do I remember I want her mother to be in the stands watching for when she fights, so I need her to get to the final rounds.

I also need to fit in the three chi-users that are sneaking around trying to find and kill Kodachi

and also account for the fact that Sakura isn't in the tournament and is likely to be getting dragged away by Anbu or at least medical when she gets found wandering around the exam grounds as she is. Maybe both.

[spudman]

Well, for starters let's establish who will be at the prelims. Going off what we've seen in canon and what we know from your fic...

Naruto
Sasuke
Ryoko
Hinata
Shino
Kiba
Shikamaru
Ino
Chouji
Neji
Lee
Tenten
Gaara
Temari
Kankuro
Dosu
Kin
Zaku
Kabuto
Yoroi
Misumi

And of course, the three chi-adepts. All in all, that's 24 if Kabuto doesn't back out this time. If he does, some some lucky person gets a bye into the final round?

Also, are you saying all three chi-adepts need to make it the final round, or just be in the prelims, at least?

Oh, I'm imagining if Ryoko and Naruto made it but not Sasuke. Not to bash Sasuke but mainly to see how that would affect training plans, etc.

But you probably have something in mind for Naruto and Sasuke already.

[Thrythlind]

Okay, starting with final rounds and working back

I'd like Team 7 to each have a face off with someone strong (another member of their own team included)

I'd like to have Chi matched against Chakra for the moment...though Chi vs Chi is also interesting

As much as I LOVE the Neji-Naruto match up in canon, I'm going to go a different route to make myself avoid the easy route of simply copying it down...

Either Ryoko or Hinata vs Neji

Ryoko v Neji - they have several parallels in personality, both of them feel they have no choice but to follow a predestined path with no social possibilities and both feel that they are more or less invincible in battle (Ryoko is less of this, but fighting is one of the few places she feels free and confident and she is DAMN good), also uncertain how Gentle Fist will affect Chi Channeling...the mirrored philosophies could conceivably have either high impact on each other or just fall flat or confirm the attitude

Hinata v Neji (final round) - Hinata with the benefit of extra planning, this would be another way to attempt to warm up Neji, especially if Hinata channels Naruto as she tends to.

Also just suddenly thought Ryoko v Kiba in final round - though I have determined that sheer luck will cause her to lose any fight against Kiba as a running joke, Kiba is also the only one of the kids (other than Sasuke) who's aware that Ryoko seriously believes in seppuku and takes things seriously that others would take for granted. So another match between them could be very heavily emotionally involved and might start the pairing there that people have been leaning me toward.

Naruto v Gaara for similar reasons to why that happens in Team 8

Shikamaru v Temari (because I love that pairing almost as much as Naruto-Hinata and I can pass that over with a paragraph or two in reference to the real fight)

Sasuke either v Ryoko or one of the Chi adepts

Sasuke v Ryoko - Sasuke is dabbling in chi channeling now and a month gives him enough time to develop something. Likewise, Ryoko is learning chakra use because of her Kishu-Osore problem. So a fight between them would involve both chakra and chi use. In addition, it pits Saotome Analytic Thinking v Sharingan, another parallel. Plus, I know a lot of people have been wanting to see Ryoko beatdown Sasuke-teme.

as to ability:

Ryoko - best aerialist in the set, pretty much anybody that takes the fight to the air against her is in for a rough time...(when I hit Shippuden and involve more Ranma cast, I plan to have Ranma use the following line "Jumping, mutant wings, weird devices, or freaking leviation...if it's in the air, it belongs to a Saotome."), Saotome Analytic Thinking, martial arts/taijutsu near-Lee on ground...very, very basic chakra, can't do much more than nudge her coils so that they quit getting in the way of her chi-senses...however, the Kishu-Osore is an out-of-control chakra tech that manifests as orange flames due to her nature and because she flat doesn't know what to do with the power, so it just burns when it comes...vulnerable to genjutsu

Naruto - better than canon, not near Team 8

Sasuke - dabbling in chi by observing Kodachi, her voice/servant and Ryoko from hiding...as a result he's picking up bad habits since he isn't aware that Kodachi's yang flows are corrupted due to cogenital defect and she's trying to cleanse them (if she balances herself towards yang rather than yin, she shifts more from the kooky eccentric more to the arrogant sociopath some describe her as in other fics). His chakra development is about like canon, so he's about to be another Chi-Chakra user, like Ryoko.

Hinata - implied she trains occasionally with Ryoko, so might be more versatile and developed than in canon, more friends, frequent social interaction with Naruto, though still shy, might be more confident

Kiba - still something of a boor, has already seen Naruto and Ryoko in action and was impressed, considers himself below Ryoko's level in a fight, has won both fights with her due to Ryoko being uncharacteristically distracted at just the wrong times

Ino - went into Ryoko's mind earlier and partially activated the Kishu-Osore, so she's seen a fragment of the fear that Ryoko tries to keep a lid on at most times. She most likely doesn't want to go back in.

************************

[Thrythlind]

you know, I have to say, the population of Naruto fans on TFF is rather rude

[gman391]

Sounds about right. Not a Ramna fan so I can't really help sorry

[Thrythlind]

for the Ranma characters I'm more using Palladium's Ninjas and Superspies and Mystic China books to build powers, but okay

[spudman]

Okay...so twelve fighters in the finals, I'm assuming. Six fights.

As far as Team 7 goes, will the month of training will be different, in how it's planned and what actually happens? If Naruto is up against Gaara in the first round...maybe he's placed with Jiraiya right off the bat? Or maybe Kakashi will plan something that involves informing Naruto of the special quality of shadow clones. It was mentioned that there was some reason he didnt' tell Naruto, maybe he'll elaborate on that?

Anyway,

Naruto v. Gaara
Hinata v. Neji (Ryoko v. Neji is a kinda meh for me)
Shikamaru v. Temari (since you clearly want this one)

I'm kind of torn between Ryoko v. Kiba and Ryoko v. Sasuke. The interaction between Ryoko and Kiba would be interesting, but shy little Ryoko beating up Sasuke does sound fun. But whether it's Ryoko or one of the chi-adepts I imagine the result will be similar.

Either way, there's still a match to spare. Two chi-adepts against each other is one possibility. Or have a chi-adept against some other Naruto character. Maybe Dosu, either going with canon and getting himself crushed during the month or making use of that self-preserving common sense he's shown before (in questioning Orochimaru's intentions) and opting to not pick a fight with the crazy sand kid.

If one of the chi-adepts doesn't make it to the finals, I have to wonder who would manage to beat one of them in the prelims? Perhaps Naruto? Of course that'd involve a lot of grit and at least a bit of luck, I bet.

edit: of course, I wrote this before I noticed that the most recent chapter was up.

[Thrythlind]

Okay...so twelve fighters in the finals, I'm assuming. Six fights.

As far as Team 7 goes, will the month of training will be different, in how it's planned and what actually happens? If Naruto is up against Gaara in the first round...maybe he's placed with Jiraiya right off the bat? Or maybe Kakashi will plan something that involves informing Naruto of the special quality of shadow clones. It was mentioned that there was some reason he didnt' tell Naruto, maybe he'll elaborate on that?

Anyway,

Naruto v. Gaara
Hinata v. Neji (Ryoko v. Neji is a kinda meh for me)
Shikamaru v. Temari (since you clearly want this one)

I'm kind of torn between Ryoko v. Kiba and Ryoko v. Sasuke. The interaction between Ryoko and Kiba would be interesting, but shy little Ryoko beating up Sasuke does sound fun. But whether it's Ryoko or one of the chi-adepts I imagine the result will be similar.

Either way, there's still a match to spare. Two chi-adepts against each other is one possibility. Or have a chi-adept against some other Naruto character. Maybe Dosu, either going with canon and getting himself crushed during the month or making use of that self-preserving common sense he's shown before (in questioning Orochimaru's intentions) and opting to not pick a fight with the crazy sand kid.

If one of the chi-adepts doesn't make it to the finals, I have to wonder who managed to beat one of them in the prelims? Perhaps Naruto? Of course that'd involve a lot of grit and at least a bit of luck, I bet.

Lee could beat one of the two Musk...and Kashou (who is a minor Ranma character, I'm just not using the name he's better known by due to who it would probably immediately associate with events here) would probably resign Kabuto-like rather than involve himself in the one on one tests.

And yeah, thinking of the Ryoko and Neji deal, all that would happen is they'd pound each other and present skill vs skill. Ryoko's life perspective is too close to Neji's for either to have much of an epiphany from the other.

And yeah, Naruto is advancing a bit faster here, so introducing the clone-learning would work...

and Sasuke would be more than eager to test himself against Ryoko, so that's looking like it...

for Ryoko, she's going to demonstrate that she can reliably keep her chi senses open (she's getting a handle on it already) and be taught what some of what she's missing from the Student and Initiate ranks of the Redeemed School and perhaps start on the Disciple rank stuff

She is currently missing:

Student: Kenjutsu, Bojutsu, Kyujutsu...her grappling, striking and escapes are already decent

Initiate: (Tendo-Ryu and Saotome-Ryu) pretty much everything from Tendo-Ryu, though Karite no Hitogomi (Reaper of Crowds) will probably skipped given the one on one nature of things, but the grappling and demon head possibly. She also needs to reach a level of mastery of Ja Jinku no Hebi (which is mostly a defensive footwork and dodging drill, just the training involves basically dancing through fields of poisonous snakes the way Genma does things), some advanced Kenjutsu and Yarijutsu...probably focus on the Kenjutsu

Disciple: Soul of Ice (Ryoko is going to try and fail to learn this...she's basically stuck until she can get the Kishu under control). However, the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken is open to her and that'll come first.

I might have her pick up some basic Chakra tricks, but mostly she'll be honing her chi control...

It'll give a nice counterpart for when Sasuke is coming at her with a mixture of chi and chakra himself.

[spudman]

If Kashou does the same as Kabuto and withdraws during the prelims, that makes 22 to start with.

Finals:

Naruto v. Gaara
Hinata v. Neji
Shikamaru v. Temari
Ryoko v. Sasuke

Still one more match to plan. But if Lee faces and beats one of the Musk in the prelims and advances, he'd be facing the other in the finals most likely, everything else staying the same. That seems kind of repetitive.

Unless...

Lee v. Kiba in the finals (with that monster-dog combo technique showing up early) with the remaining Musk being the odd man out in the first final round. Or sticking Shino in Kiba's place could be a neat fight...

Of course, I bet Sasuke would be eager to test himself against any of the chi-adepts as well. But even if you don't put Ryoko and Kiba in a match for the finals, I love the idea of the running gag where she always loses to him due to dumb luck and hope for more interaction between them.

[Thrythlind]

Hmmm, with 22...I'm looking at 11 in the finals

Ryoko v Sasuke
Naruto v Gaara
Hinata v Neji
Shikamaru v Temari
Speed Musk v Dosu
Kiba v winner of Ryoko v Sasuke

which means the following possible:

Dosu v Choji as normal
Naruto v Shino
Hinata v Stretchy
Ryoko v Chakra-Drainer
Sasuke v Tenten
Shikamaru v Canon Boy
Kiba v Ino
Speed Musk v Bell Girl
Neji v Shino
Temari v Strength Musk
Gaara v Lee

[spudman]

Nice...a healthy dose of canon fights, but lots of new ones. I hope Shino gives Neji a hard time.

I do wonder what switching Hinata and Ryoko's prelim opponents might be like (wins for the girls either way, just slightly different paths), but the matches are probably better as they are anyway.

Edit: wait...I just noticed the Naruto v. Shino and Neji v. Shino overlap.

[Thrythlind]

Nice...a healthy dose of canon fights, but lots of new ones. I hope Shino gives Neji a hard time.

I do wonder what switching Hinata and Ryoko's prelim opponents might be like (wins for the girls either way, just slightly different paths), but the matches are probably better as they are anyway.

Edit: wait...I just noticed the Naruto v. Shino and Neji v. Shino overlap.

grumble...hmm, who am I missing...

found it

Dosu v Choji as normal
Naruto v Shino
Hinata v Stretchy
Ryoko v Chakra-Drainer
Sasuke v Tenten
Shikamaru v Canon Boy
Kiba v Ino
Speed Musk v Bell Girl
Neji v Kankuro
Temari v Strength Musk
Gaara v Lee

[spudman]

AH HA! I got it! It's missing Kankuro. Naruto v. Kankuro?

I did just realize something. Some readers might be expecting to see Lee versus one of the chi-adepts, so there might be some complaints of an opportunity being wasted, etc. But, that doesn't mean Lee won't fight a chi-adept sooner or later in your story (at least that's what I hope ).

Edit: Gah, ninja'd! Neji v. Kankuro works too.

[Thrythlind]

oh...definitely!

If not this arc, then the Sasuke Retrieval arc (or whatever replaces it)

[spudman]

HUZZAH!

[Thrythlind]

okay, somehow, Ino has ascended to a potential bad ass in this last chapter....


she's still losing in the prelims....

but gah...I have no idea where mouthing off against Gaara came out of

[spudman]

Characters go off and do whatever they feel like sometimes.

Couple nitpicks for that chapter though. Haruno, not Haruna, and isn't Gaara a redhead?

[Thrythlind]

Characters go off and do whatever they feel like sometimes.

Couple nitpicks for that chapter though. Haruno, not Haruna, and isn't Gaara a redhead?

The subtitles keep saying red, so I'm guessing it's supposed to be a reddish brown.

as to the mispelling of Sakura's name...ack, oops

[Thrythlind]

think I might change this up a bit based on developments and some interesting conflicts

Prelims

Dosu v Choji (as normal)
Naruto v Shino (tough fight)
Hinata v Misumi (tough fight)
Ryoko v Yoyoi (mismatch - slaughter)
Sasuke v Tenten (tough fight due to Sasuke's limits)
Shikamaru v Zaku (somewhat tough fight)
Kiba v Caper (lots of emotion here)
Thyme v Ino (tougher fight than expected)
Neji v Kankuro (slaughter)
Temari v Kin (slaughter)
Gaara v Lee (as normal)

Finals (have it go into the second round this time instead of ending at the first as canon)

First Round

Ryoko v Sasuke (tough fight, Ryoko win because I know people are waiting for that fight)
Naruto v Dosu (short fight)
Gaara v Thyme (slaughter)
Hinata v Neji (undecided)
Shikamaru v Temari (as normal)
Kiba - first round bye

Second Round

Kiba v Ryoko
Naruto v Gaara
Temari v Hinata (doesn't happen...invasion starts after Gaara/Naruto success)

[spudman]

oooooo....



Not sure what you mean by undecided with the Hinata v. Neji fight, though. Undecided how quick (or not) it should be?

Note: I think the chakra drainer's name is Yoroi, but I might be wrong.

[Thrythlind]

actually, despite having her matched up with Temari (a match that won't happen) I'm basically not sure whether Hinata or Neji will win, despite any impact on Neji

in any case, it will be a very rough fight and emotional.

[spudman]

Ah. Well, I know who I'm rooting for.

chapter 18: Naruto, you dummie...

Neat fight at the end.

Hm, given what has happened to her I wonder just how Sakura will react if (oh, who am I trying to kid?)...when Sasuke defects.

[Thrythlind]

Ah. Well, I know who I'm rooting for.

chapter 18: Naruto, you dummie...

Neat fight at the end.

Hm, given what has happened to her I wonder just how Sakura will react if (oh, who am I trying to kid?)...when Sasuke defects.

As to Naruto's behavior...yeah, he's being stupid, not too much change yet for him from canon...we mostly see his intelligence pop up in Shippuden when you can almost say he shows signs of genius on the introspection and existential categories of the multiple intelligences theory

since I'm using this to bounce ideas

thinking Ino and Sakura heading out to hunt down Orochimaru eventually

[spudman]

Heh, figured I should post an actual review for your story for once. It's not much, though.

Yeah, Naruto being the way he is, Hinata is probably going to have to make the first move at some point.

As for Ino and Sakura, do you mean just up and leaving without notice? Hmmm...

[Thrythlind]

After some training, yeah, maybe around Shippuden time

rumor gets out that he's somewhere and Sakura gets it in her head to track him down...and Ino goes with her

something similar to team ten going after Hidan