Seven Colours (Naruto)

[centurion1291]

I mean it kinda makes sense for the village to not put her with Karin. Assuming a 3 person team, there's no way our MC doesn't completely ignore the other member of their team to protect and help Karin. They probably don't realize how vindictive and disloyal to the village Ran is though.

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Also I don't think the village has really internalized just how all encompassing a Shimada's specific obsession tends to be.

 

[Planeshunter]

...I said it before, I'll say it again, Village Boss is TRYING to get Assassinated by her isn't he?

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From happening (Murder? Treason? Coup?)

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Next is Boss Dude's Interlude. I think it's been a long time coming.

Also I don't think the village has really internalized just how all encompassing a Shimada's specific obsession tends to be.

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Take the latest generations as examples.

Grandfather's was becoming a merchant, Mother's was to become a shinobi. I doubt many remain alive to remember the 'Smoke Knight', who was also a dedicated shinobi. Anything before that has faded from living memory and thus is considered only hearsay.

Most people -amongst those who are even aware of the Shimada obsessive trait in the first pleace- will assume it refers to their career of choice.

 

[Grinningmadhatter1]

Meh it's a good move by the kage tbh. Gotta try force ties that aren't wholly dependant on one person, and it makes it a lot harder for mc to go rogue with the extra eyes watching.

Honestly I'm starting to love boss man for just dabbing on the mc.

 

[preier]

...I said it before, I'll say it again, Village Boss is TRYING to get Assassinated by her isn't he?

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Of course not, don't be silly! He's going for the 'we will have to redraw maps' jackpot.

 

[Planeshunter]

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024 - Boss Dude interlude: Balancing Act​

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Being leader of a small hidden village, he reflects. Is suffering. A headache after another, herding cats -very big and wilful cats, with deadly claws and little sense-, while trying to keep the place from being run over by the great powers of the world.

Sure they have the Blood Prison, which is actually a fairly good deterrent against the big villages. Nobody wants their criminals being released because they pushed Grass too far after all. And then there's the people who are convinced they have a super weapon from the times of the Sage.

They wouldn't be so worried if they knew what the 'super weapon' actually is about, but it works well against the paranoid people of the shinobi world. Nobody wants to risk a… what was the word? Nuclear option? Yes, nobody wants to risk a nuclear option going off without very good reasons.

Which doesn't really do much to keep the village powers themselves from tearing at each other. What in the world possessed the Haizuki elders to try and ostracize the Shimada Heir he'll never understand. At least that's done and dusted. And, by some miracle, there are no new smoldering craters in the village. Small mercies.

And speaking of herding cats, he's the one who gets to deal with the 'geniuses' being born each generation, all of them believing they're the Sage incarnate, with their spushial powers and their far too sharp for their own good intellects. Intellect without wisdom is, maybe, the worst trait combination ever, and he has to deal with it on a daily basis.

Sure, having a bunch of eccentric powerhouses fighting for your village sounds good and all on paper, but handling normal shinobi already is headache-inducing enough. Everytime a new 'genius of a generation' pops up, his hair goes a bit whiter. He actually built a small shrine to whoever merciful god took pity of him when Muku's psych profile came back stating he was a subdued and fairly agreeable individual.

Of course, the little monster who had shown no interest in shinobi life whatsoever had to enroll in the academy anyway and muddle the waters, because he cannot have nice things without somehow things getting even worse. His only relief sometimes is the fact he only has to deal with a small bunch of them. He shudders to think what the five Kages life is like, with their 'villages brimming with talent'. No wonder they're all crazy.

Sometimes… sometimes it's not that hard to put oneself in the Mizukage's shoes. He also has daydreamed about bloodline purges once or twice.

But that's his lot in life, isn't it? He knew what it meant to become leader, and he went for it anyway. It means long sleepless nights, wondering whether a Daimyo will fancy a strip of your land and you'll have to remind their shinobi why the land is yours to begin with. It means mediating between old feuds capable of throwing the village into a civil war if the wrong word is uttered at the wrong time.

It also means he really needs to deal with that unhealthy codependency between Uzumaki and Shimada before someone besides him learns to exploit it and he's suddenly short two valuable assets. And then the older monster will be pissed, and he's not sure where or when the heads will stop rolling.

Because of course the little monster had to latch to the most troublesome person possible. It wasn't only three of the big five that had a blanket order for anyone of Uzumaki blood. There were a series of independent parties interested in getting their paws on them too, specially young and healthy ones. Usually, he just fends them off either through force or leveraging the specialties of Kusa to make them back off.

That stopped being a viable tactic when, last year, Orochi-I-get-a-boner-murderizing-shinobi-and-playing-around-with-bloodlines-fucking-maru just walked in to have a 'casual talk' with him, making idle comments about his sword1​ that were totally not a threat and doing a fair impression of a meat grinder on his regular forces.

Grass' political deterrences are notably ineffective against missing-nin without any investment in those spheres.

If nothing else, his visit drove home the message that Uzumaki Karin was never going to be a Kusa asset for long. It also took everything the mother had just to save the wounded survivors of the deranged Sannin's 'little social call'. He hadn't lied to the little monster when he said Kurisu had died heroically. Without her intervention, the loss of manpower just from crossing the man would've been catastrophic.

A year ago he'd told the little monster he had to choose between two investments. But the truth is, there was no choice to be made. He's going to lose the Uzumaki to the snake, and has to make sure he didn't lose anything else.

That means separating them after graduation, and doctoring their schedules so they spend as little time together as possible until the inevitable passes. He could've become a world-famous above-jonin shinobi, but he chose the job that involves playing matchmaker for preteens instead.

He has even tried the 'She's a genius you're only holding her back' angle on the Uzumaki, and instead of backing off, the little twerp had doubled down on her own training! He'd had to burn all the psych profiling they had on the girl and hang the author by his toes, because it was all obviously a pile of bullshit.

A puff of smoke on his 'In' tray draws his attention, and he opens the newly arrived scroll in an effort to distract himself for the bullshit that's his life. Another request for the Kusa ANBU. There is no Kusa ANBU!

"It sure would be nice to have an entire corps dedicated to guarding me and doing the dirty jobs… right Dragon?"

"Why devote an entire corps for something I can do by myself?" The presence of a masked shinobi registers out of nowhere right behind him right as her voice is heard and he has to bite down a curse. He's sure the damn woman is doing it on purpose. "That's a dangerous game you're playing with my daughter."

Oh, so that's what has her pissed off. "You drew the line and I've never crossed it, woman." He retorts, acting with a calmness he's far from feeling. "All my 'i's are dotted and all my 't's are crossed. "

"And as long as that remains true, I won't act on her behalf." Good, that's all he needs from her on that matter. "But don't expect me to act in yours against her, either. You keep assuming my daughter is me and will react like me. That will be your undoing, in the end."

Yeah, that wasn't ominous at all…

Oh, well, with some luck, the little monster's loyalty will extend to her new teammates and the single-minded focus becomes something a bit more balanced. From there, it won't be too hard to involve the whole village. Besides, he doesn't plan on keeping the seat long enough for the little monster to become a big monster, so there's that.

Worse comes to worst, there's another advantage to keep the two girls separated and under loyal eyes. It's mighty hard to protect someone that spends their life on the other side of the country, isn't it?

Busy as he is planning contingencies it takes a moment to register that Dragon's last words sounded after she'd already disappeared. A glance around and quick check on his own chakra system reveal no genjutsu. Fucking scary woman.

(1)Kusanagi: Lit. "Grass Cutter".

 

[EternitynChaos]

Ah I see, he's an idiot, he's not even going to get the quick death Orochimaru would have given him, and if he thinks for a moment little miss spiteful will make friends with her team mates because he wants her to he's dreaming /facepalm

 

[Selias]

We already knew that Boss-Dude was a suicidal idiot and that the MC needs to keep Karin out of Orochimaru's clutches, so I'm not sure what the point of this was. Well, I suppose that her mom knows what's happening, but it sounds like she won't be doing anything about it, so it doesn't really matter.

 

[RyubosJ]

Ehhh, he's underestimating how stubborn and loyal Ran is, but otherwise it makes sense. Orochimaru is not worth appeasing Ran.

 

[wigg55]

Ah, an idiot as well as a dead man.

 

[Bolo276]

Ah I see, he's an idiot, he's not even going to get the quick death Orochimaru would have given him, and if he thinks for a moment little miss spiteful will make friends with her team mates because he wants her to he's dreaming /facepalm

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She might befriend her team. It's a long shot, but I wouldn't rule it out entirely. At the very least we might get some interesting characters out of it.

What I would rule out, though, is his plan working even the tiniest bit. The Shimadas, Karin, Orochimaru, he seems set to piss off everyone. I don't know who's going to end up killing him, but he is a dead man walking.

 

[LurkingInTheDeceit]

I mean, I'm more sympathetic to Boss Dude now. If Mother can't be sent to murder Orochimara because she's basically his bodyguard+ANBU, and their best can't be sent with guaranteed success either... Karin seems screwed. I assume he's underestimating the MC on that front, but if Karin+her team seem like they are gonna be taken no matter what, then damage control is what ya gotta do. What's that quote, "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity" or ignorance in this case. Boss Dude lighting the fire up in Protagonist-chan's heart and motivating this convoluted training plan might save Karin's life in the end too.

Enjoyed the chapter btw.

 

[Planeshunter]

Ah I see, he's an idiot, he's not even going to get the quick death Orochimaru would have given him, and if he thinks for a moment little miss spiteful will make friends with her team mates because he wants her to he's dreaming /facepalm

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Ah, an idiot as well as a dead man.

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Ehhh, he's underestimating how stubborn and loyal Ran is, but otherwise it makes sense. Orochimaru is not worth appeasing Ran.

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He tries. There's a long way between trying and succeeding. In his defense in his line of work one has no choice but to rely on predictions and assumptions a lot of the time. Even after Mother's warnings, he's assuming a lot of things that are reasonable but simply don't apply to Ran.

We already knew that Boss-Dude was a suicidal idiot and that the MC needs to keep Karin out of Orochimaru's clutches, so I'm not sure what the point of this was. Well, I suppose that her mom knows what's happening, but it sounds like she won't be doing anything about it, so it doesn't really matter.

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The plan was to show how he thinks, plus little tidbits like revealing how Orochimaru has already made overtures, a bit more of what Mother does for the village... etc.

There's also the fact Boss Dude thinks he's doing this for Ran's own good. The codependency point he raises is a very good one, I think.

 

[Grinningmadhatter1]

Protagonist centred morality is strong in the comments here. I really don't get why people think the Kusa Kage be stupid when frankly they're pretty reasonable and has the tacit approval of Shimomma.

If Orochimaru is sniffing, Karen is fucked frankly, and there really isn't anything grass can do apart from damage control.

Shit, it's a pretty stark reminder that despite how hyped Shimomma Is, they ain't Orochimaru.

It's kinda making me dislike Ran.

 

[Bolo276]

I mean, I'm more sympathetic to Boss Dude now. If Mother can't be sent to murder Orochimara because she's basically his bodyguard+ANBU, and their best can't be sent with guaranteed success either... Karin seems screwed. I assume he's underestimating the MC on that front, but if Karin+her team seem like they are gonna be taken no matter what, then damage control is what ya gotta do. What's that quote, "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity" or ignorance in this case. Boss Dude lighting the fire up in Protagonist-chan's heart and motivating this convoluted training plan might save Karin's life in the end too.

Enjoyed the chapter btw.

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His plan, from what I can tell, is to have Ran become a powerful ninja. Alright, I understand that part. To motivate her to become a killing machine, he threatens her only friend.

This is a bad idea. If his plan succeeds, and Ran becomes truly dangerous, she is not going to be happy with Bossman due to threatening her friend. He might be left alone if he keeps his end of the deal and Karin is kept safe, but if she's taken by Orochimaru, or dies on a mission and Ran's not there to protect her? Ran will be out for his blood, and possibly her stupidly dangerous mother too.

That's ignoring that there are other villages that want Karin as well. She's a high value target who everyone wants. Under other circumstances, cutting her loose as he is would be a good call, but not when doing so will guarantee that the person you are training to become a killer will try to kill you for doing that. If he was seriously trying to protect Karin, he'd at least have the Shimadas as allies, but he's picked the path where at best everyone doesn't care if he lives or dies and at worst wants him dead.

 

[R.A.G.]

Ah, I see. Bossman is actually decently competent, just that he's in a shit situation and fundamentally doesn't understand the Shimada obsession mechanic.

 

[RyubosJ]

His plan, from what I can tell, is to have Ran become a powerful ninja. Alright, I understand that part. To motivate her to become a killing machine, he threatens her only friend.

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You missed the part where she develops real and deep bonds with her teammates. Like her mother would in her situation.

Again the plan is sound 90%. But the boss man has misjudged Man's personality, like due to how similar she is to her mother superficially, and doesn't know that Ran has extra knowledge which has and will result in unexpected decisions by Ran.

 

[Mors]

His plan, from what I can tell, is to have Ran become a powerful ninja. Alright, I understand that part. To motivate her to become a killing machine, he threatens her only friend.

This is a bad idea. If his plan succeeds, and Ran becomes truly dangerous, she is not going to be happy with Bossman due to threatening her friend. He might be left alone if he keeps his end of the deal and Karin is kept safe, but if she's taken by Orochimaru, or dies on a mission and Ran's not there to protect her? Ran will be out for his blood, and possibly her stupidly dangerous mother too.

That's ignoring that there are other villages that want Karin as well. She's a high value target who everyone wants. Under other circumstances, cutting her loose as he is would be a good call, but not when doing so will guarantee that the person you are training to become a killer will try to kill you for doing that. If he was seriously trying to protect Karin, he'd at least have the Shimadas as allies, but he's picked the path where at best everyone doesn't care if he lives or dies and at worst wants him dead.

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Frankly speaking, losing this unhealthy relationship with Karin will be good for the MC. Also since Orochimaru has expressed an interest in Karin, there's no chance the Grass can deny him for long. From the Kage's point of view, he's doing his job - making sure the MC doesn't snap when Karin is inevitably taken away.

Do remember, all the plot armour in the whole of fanfiction dot net won't save a genin if they try fighting Orochimaru and he wants to kill them. It'll take years for the MC to get strong enough to even think about revenge. The Kage figures she's grow up by then and understand his viewpoint, or anyway he'd be dead or out of the job and her line of fire. And that's if she ever even gets to S-rank. (I figure her mother is mid A-rank, same as the Kage.) Which is not guaranteed because he's not a reader reading this story, he's the ninja leader of a village making sane assumptions.

When critiquing character actions, actually consider the setting they live in and how that influences their viewpoint. In fact if anybody's going to be in the wrong here for trying to take revenge would be the protagonist.

 

[LurkingInTheDeceit]

There's also the fact Boss Dude thinks he's doing this for Ran's own good. The codependency point he raises is a very good one, I think.

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Frankly speaking, losing this unhealthy relationship with Karin will be good for the MC.

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I'm on the side of Boss Dudes actions making sense when you take his limited perspective and job title into account (his survival isn't his number one priority), but not so much with the codependency thing. Rather, I agree they are codependent, but disagree that removing that codependency is a good thing. From a logical point of view, having someone you care enough about that their death would traumatise you seems suboptimal, at least have multiple people you care about evenly so you have others to fall back on when one's died/vanished. So playing it realistically I can easily see people might conspire to separate them with charitable or practical intent. From a reader/escapism standpoint though, the fantasy of that close a relationship with (from what I've seen) very little negatives outside of the possible removal of those positives by outside forces... I struggle with calling the fluff unhealthy or it's removal desirable.

I think I lost what my point was midway through, or I never had one and just reacted to the fluff being called unhealthy. Idk, I should really sleep soon.

 

[Bolo276]

You missed the part where she develops real and deep bonds with her teammates. Like her mother would in her situation.

Again the plan is sound 90%. But the boss man has misjudged Man's personality, like due to how similar she is to her mother superficially, and doesn't know that Ran has extra knowledge which has and will result in unexpected decisions by Ran.

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Oh, I saw that part. I just don't think several new friends will overcome the betrayal she'd feel when Karin dies/is abducted/etc. Friends are a rare and very important thing for her, not something to be discarded at will.

Frankly speaking, losing this unhealthy relationship with Karin will be good for the MC. Also since Orochimaru has expressed an interest in Karin, there's no chance the Grass can deny him for long. From the Kage's point of view, he's doing his job - making sure the MC doesn't snap when Karin is inevitably taken away.

Do remember, all the plot armour in the whole of fanfiction dot net won't save a genin if they try fighting Orochimaru and he wants to kill them. It'll take years for the MC to get strong enough to even think about revenge. The Kage figures she's grow up by then and understand his viewpoint, or anyway he'd be dead or out of the job and her line of fire. And that's if she ever even gets to S-rank. (I figure her mother is mid A-rank, same as the Kage.) Which is not guaranteed because he's not a reader reading this story, he's the ninja leader of a village making sane assumptions.

When critiquing character actions, actually consider the setting they live in and how that influences their viewpoint. In fact if anybody's going to be in the wrong here for trying to take revenge would be the protagonist.

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I realize all this. She's not going to just be some badass from day one. Bossman thinks he's doing the right thing here, and from a certain point of view, he is. My point is, if you force someone into becoming a very good killer by threatening their friends, eventually this will bite you in the ass. Not soon, maybe, but eventually. The other villages want Karin, and they don't care about Bossman as long as they get her. Same for Orochimaru, he's scary, but he will leave when he's done.

The problem then is the girl who you've had taught to kill, who has a grudge against you and whoever else hurt Karin. Who you have to be around, year after year, because they live in the same village. Also, the family skill is ripping out hearts with their minds. That's going to make retirement real fun.

If he did anything to help protect Karin, he would at least have the Shimadas on his side, rather than against him. I don't know if he could succeed in protecting her, but as is, he's at best setting himself up for long term problems. That is, if he doesn't die before those problems come home to roost.

EDIT: Even if Bossman just stuck the two of them on the same team, then the anger of something happening would be on the actual enemy. If Ran fails, that's one thing, but being kept from trying at all is going to leave her resenting Bossman too when things go bad.

 

[TheGrog]

A good part of this is setting up a likely time skip. Ran's mother probably isn't the snake's equal. Peer maybe, but not equal. Since Orochimaru specifically wants Karin, as opposed to Karin just kind of ending up with Sound due to disgruntled recruiting, he's going to get her. And if Ran wants her back, she's going to have to do it herself.

I do wonder why Ran hasn't considered this with her future knowledge.

 

[Akritedes]

You missed the part where she develops real and deep bonds with her teammates. Like her mother would in her situation.

Again the plan is sound 90%. But the boss man has misjudged Man's personality, like due to how similar she is to her mother superficially, and doesn't know that Ran has extra knowledge which has and will result in unexpected decisions by Ran.

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He might expect her to befriend her teammates...but if he expects that, he really hasn't paid any attention to her entire academy period. Where, despite close interaction and ostensible cooperation with an entire class of fellow students...she made exactly one close relation.

Given her teammates are likely to come from the same pool of classmates, I don't know why anyone intelligent would expect some kind of genuine relationship to grow when it hasn't in the last four years and change. And that's assuming he doesn't try something arguably more volatile but placing her with an older, more experienced team that is down a member, because that situation is literally asking for interpersonal friction.

Even from his limited point of view, his reasoning smacks of wishful thinking at best. And that is, apparently, with the knowledge that the senior Shimada is all but explicitly telling him that it's going to end in tears and fire on his part, and her only contribution will be to point and laugh while saying "I told you so" because he's been so scrupulous about respecting the letter of whatever agreement he has with her while deliberately and knowingly shitting all over the spirit.

 

[Amazon Climber]

EDIT: Even if Bossman just stuck the two of them on the same team, then the anger of something happening would be on the actual enemy. If Ran fails, that's one thing, but being kept from trying at all is going to leave her resenting Bossman too when things go bad.

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Or she'd die horribly and they'd lose two assets for the price of one. Or she'd get captured by Orochimaru and used as his asset, which is even worse.

That's one extremely important point I think is getting lost. If Ran knows Snakeman is sniffing at Karin, she will probably do something stupid. And right now, she isn't good enough to pull off something stupid against a Sannin.

 

[Planeshunter]

Protagonist centred morality is strong in the comments here.

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Funny thing is, you guys get influenced by the narrator's point of view, then I get influenced by your comments. It's not to the point where the main plot points will change, but there's a lot of small things that I would never have written without your imput.

It's kinda making me dislike Ran.

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I mean, there's been plenty clues before. The poster child of sanity, Ran is not. The difficulty with socializing, indifference towards most people's names, and lack of empathy towards anyone outside the small circle of people she cares for... I am no shrink, but that has a name.

Rather, I agree they are codependent, but disagree that removing that codependency is a good thing.

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I think I lost what my point was midway through, or I never had one and just reacted to the fluff being called unhealthy. Idk, I should really sleep soon.

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I agree with this wholeheartedly. For some reason, that's not the generally accepted point of view though, which is something I have to take into account while writting.

Spoiler: Personal and potentially controversial thoughts ahead

That mentality basically means ruining something good because it'll be worse if it gets ruined later on. Which assumes:
1. That it'll be inevitably ruined
2. That whatever it takes to overcome said ruin won't be worth the results the good thing will achieve in the meantime.

That's doubly defeatist and takes the 'prevention worth a thousand cures' attitude way too far.

 

[One-who-reads]

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024 - Boss Dude interlude: Balancing Act​

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Oh, well, with some luck, the little monster's loyalty will extend to her new teammates and the single-minded focus becomes something a bit more balanced.

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Proof that he doesn't understand the Shimada. At all.

Not understanding why Ran latched on to Karin is understandable though. Ran is acting on meta-knowledge, after all.

 

[alethiophile]

Wrong though he may be, it's enough to give you sympathy for Bossman. He gets to spend all day betting on the psychological quirks of prodigy child soldiers, and if he guesses wrong he dies.

 

[Inbetweenaction]

I mean, there's been plenty clues before. The poster child of sanity, Ran is not. The difficulty with socializing, indifference towards most people's names, and lack of empathy towards anyone outside the small circle of people she cares for... I am no shrink, but that has a name.



I agree with this wholeheartedly. For some reason, that's not the generally accepted point of view though, which is something I have to take into account while writting.

Spoiler: Personal and potentially controversial thoughts ahead

That mentality basically means ruining something good because it'll be worse if it gets ruined later on. Which assumes:
1. That it'll be inevitably ruined
2. That whatever it takes to overcome said ruin won't be worth the results the good thing will achieve in the meantime.

That's doubly defeatist and takes the 'prevention worth a thousand cures' attitude way too far.

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even if everyone agreed that breaking up the codependency was the best thing to do... this is the suicidal way of doing it. Had he instead tried to break it up by forcefully inserting more people in her social life, that might have worked to soften the blow of Karen eventually being kidnapped.

now, he has taken all the emotion of a severely codependent relationship and pored it straight into personal grievance against him, and quite possibly his village. And pretty much achieved nothing to soften the blow of eventually losing Karen, as the loss now is the same, but his fault.

aw well. he was in a shity situation, and it's not as if any ninja are especially sane.

 

[Grinningmadhatter1]

this is the suicidal way of doing it.

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Hate to break it to you but Ran is a fresh genin. It should be years for Ran to be able to do anything stupid, and if they haven't realised that the big bad boss man isn't actually an anime villain, I'd be disappointed.

Also, frankly Ran and Karin's codependancy is unhealthy, and Ran needs to learn to be around nominal allies without putting out (kids) eyes like a lunatic. They need to rein the fuck back really instead of going edgy revenge mode and get some of that lacking wisdom going before a lot of people die in a clusterfuck of their own doing.

 

[Akritedes]

learn to be around nominal allies without putting out (kids) eyes like a lunatic.

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I mean...counterpoint: ninja students should really learn some tact, discretion, and situational awareness. They're going into a career path defined by child soldiers, sociopathic prodigies, PTSD, and mental instability, where the ability to read a situation and gauge the responses and emotional state of their comrades and enemies alike is literally crucial.

And by that point they already had ample evidence of very predictable responses, so it's not as if they had no warning of the likely result.

Learning how to not provoke your comrades into trying to murder you is actually a valuable job skill for shinobi. The canonical setting really doesn't do the whole "train pre-teens into child assassins and killers for hire" thing justice.

 

[Inbetweenaction]

Hate to break it to you but Ran is a fresh genin. It should be years for Ran to be able to do anything stupid, and if they haven't realised that the big bad boss man isn't actually an anime villain, I'd be disappointed.

Also, frankly Ran and Karin's codependancy is unhealthy, and Ran needs to learn to be around nominal allies without putting out (kids) eyes like a lunatic. They need to rein the fuck back really instead of going edgy revenge mode and get some of that lacking wisdom going before a lot of people die in a clusterfuck of their own doing.

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it's not really that she is super strong and thus able to do massive harm to them. It's that her bloodline literally is single minded obsession. yes, she needs to chill the fuck down and be less codependent and stop mutilating her teammates. but this way of breaking the codependency does not do that. forcing her to quit it cold turkey makes her more likely to not care that the bossman isn't an anime villan, and annihilate because that is the current obsession. and if the strength to do so is years away, she will spend those years in a single minded obsession for bloody vengance that would make the Uchiha clan blush.

if she loses Karen in this maner this, she is likely to never question WHY anything happens, as she has noone else in her social circle to ask questions. No one trustworthy anyways, except for mother, whom she doesn't entirely trust to take her over the entire village and really isn't a questions kind of person. and that she would like to have deniability of any of her plans... And probably never would include in her planing stages or discus anything with, as that is something a Shimada would think that their kin should do on their own, unless they specifically asks for input.

had she been on a team with Karen and other genin, she might have bounded with that person, or her jonin into a social circle. They would have been people that she had to work with to keep Karen safe and thus had to interact with, meaning that they stood a chance at actuality breaking the codependency as their health would have meaning to her, if only as usefull tools to start with. Now? they are not people that are friends of her, or friends of her friend. Their survival and wellbeing is utterly inmateriall to her. They are spies that she needs to keep at arms length to forge her secret weapon. all of them.

 

[Sceptic]

At the very least we might get some interesting characters out of it.

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I too look forward to meeting whatshisname and whatshisface, and have complete confidence that they'll be at least as memorable as half of her academy classmates.