Suddenly, crimson blood sttered into view.


    "What the...!?"


    Fry Guy, yer number forty-two, was startled and stepped back in shock. Initially, he didn''t even realize he was the one who got hit until he saw his health bar. Something had shed him.


    "Damn."


    <em>[Ninjutsu - Chakra Release]</em>


    <em>Bang!</em>


    He used his chakra to its fullest and propelled himself backward with a leap.


    "Haah..."


    Instantly, he put more than twenty meters between himself and that something. He still had no idea what it was."What in the world?"


    Furrowing his brows, he stared at the spot where he escaped from for a long time before realizing a person was standing there.


    "Oh."


    The person casually walked forward and shook the blood off his sword.


    "I thought I’d split you in half."


    His regretful tone infuriated Fry Guy. Although Almond truly thought he could split him in half, it seemed like a provocation to Fry Guy.


    "That guy..."


    However, he didn''t get wrapped up in the provocation, not that it was one.


    "Is that... a ninjutsu? How did you learn it?"


    He initiated a conversation while drawing his shuriken and nned to end it quickly by distracting Almond.


    "I mainly studied from textbooks."


    "… What?"


    It wasn''t a lie. He learned the technique after reading the scroll.


    <em>— LMAO</em>


    <em>— Textbooks, haha</em>


    <em>— LOL</em>


    <em>— Such a response worthy of the prodigy from the Leaf Vige!</em>


    "Now''s not the time to be smug. You''ll be dead soon."


    Keeping hisposure, Fry Guy nced around and knew the importance of understanding the surroundings in a speed battle between ninjas.


    "Nothing. It''s a in battlefield."


    With the NPCs gone and no obstacles between him and his opponent, it was a direct confrontation.


    He also measured the distance. It was about twenty meters, which wasn’t too far.


    "I have enough chakra to close the distance."


    He had enough chakra for another burst of speed.


    "Check stamina."


    <em>[Stamina: 62%]</em>


    A significant chunk of his stamina was gone.


    "That''s fine."


    It wasn''t really a disadvantage. Hadn''t he seen it already? Stamina didn''t matter much if he could justnd a critical hit in this game.


    "I just need tond a hit."


    Now, he focused entirely on Almond and gathered chakra at his feet. Almond seemed to notice his preparation too. Both harbored the same thought. This battle would end in a single sh.


    "Only one strike..."


    Almond reached behind as if desiring to swap to a smaller de for the one-strike battle.


    "Switching weapons?"


    Fry Guy wouldn''t miss that.


    "No way!!!"


    <em>Bang!</em>


    Fry Guy shot forward like an arrow. His blood still pouring out drew a line behind him.


    "!?"


    <em>Bang!</em>


    Almond''s form darted to the right as he dodged Fry Guy''s strike.


    "Where do you think you''re going!?"


    Matching this, Fry Guy spun around and flung a shuriken with his left hand.


    The shuriken, empowered by centrifugal force, flew precisely into Almond''s path.


    Almond''s vision blurred. Everything in his sight slowed down for a moment. Only his sword moved at the proper speed, creating three slow afterimages as he swung three times.


    "Three."


    Red sparks flew three times.


    <em>Kagang!</em>


    The sound echoed out three times as he deflected all the shurikens.


    "It''s my turn now."


    <em>Whirl!</em>


    Almond spun too and threw shurikens back at Fry Guy while using the centrifugal force. The entire deflecting and throwing-back sequence only took one to two seconds.


    The shurikens tore through the air toward Fry Guy.


    <em>ng!</em>


    Fry Guy deflected one and let the other two pass by harmlessly. All of Almond''s attacks had missed.


    "Your uracy is...cking."


    The other two shurikens were so off-course that Fry Guy didn''t even need to deflect them as they passed over his shoulder. However—


    "What?"


    He saw Almond''s hands swiftly crossing.


    "That''s..."


    It was a ninja''s hand gestures for a ninjutsu.


    <em>Boom!</em>


    <em>‘What ninjutsu is it?’</em>


    As Fry Guy pondered, Almond vanished into white smoke.


    <em>ng!</em>


    A shuriken fell to the ground where Almond had been.


    "The shuriken...?"


    It was one of the shurikens Almond had thrown earlier, which had missed over Fry Guy’s shoulder.


    "Substitution!?"


    A huge shadow loomed behind Fry Guy. The shuriken that had brushed past his shoulder switched ces with Almond. He hadn''t expected the substitution jutsu to be used in such a manner.


    "I got tricked again?"


    <em>sh!</em>


    A red line appeared across Fry Guy''s neck. His vision spun and flipped upside down.


    <em>Thud.</em>


    He found himself looking between his own legs.


    <em>— LOL</em>


    <em>— ??? "Here, you ordered two ketchups?"</em>


    <em>— Fry Guy~ Tricked again!?</em>


    <em>— Wow, he really did it.</em>


    <em>— ??? "Chiketchup!"</em>


    <em>— Tricked again</em>


    <em>[1 → 42]</em>


    <em>[Instant Kill]</em>


    <em>[48/60]</em>


    ***


    "Incredible! Fry Guy! Just when it seemed like he might survive, he ended up drenched in ketchup!"


    <em>— The Ketchup Ending, LOL</em>


    <em>— If he got split in half at the start, it would''ve been a mayonnaise ending lol</em>


    <em>— One strike, so intense.</em>


    "At least he was buried in ketchup. For Fry Guy, that''s an honorable death, right?"


    "Yes, we hope he''s gone to Valha."


    “The concept of using ninjutsu, especially the substitution jutsu, was highlighted in the recent battle, wasn''t it?"


    "Yes, it seems Fry Guy didn''t realize he had been tricked by the substitution jutsu at first, which likely contributed to his defeat."


    "Ah, I see."


    "Yes, and... Fry Guy''s attempt to distract yer number one by talking actually gave his opponent time to perform the substitution jutsu."


    "Time?"


    "Yes, the substitution jutsu requires some time to cast on an object. yer number one was already doing that while they were talking!"


    “But the use of the substitution jutsu was incredibly unique, wasn''t it? Normally, it''s a defensive technique."


    The substitution jutsu was perhaps one of the most famous ninjutsu. It was often used to dodge an attack by swapping ces with a log or something simr, potentially causing the attacker''s weapon to also be stuck.


    "Yes, that''s right! It''s usually used for evasion."


    "Turning it into an offensive move like this must have caught Fry Guy, who is ustomed to ninja games, off guard."


    "yer number one... who could they be? Are they a yer with considerable intelligence?"


    Thementary team thought yer number one disyed great intelligence with their y. However, unlike their interpretation…


    "Uh...?"


    Almond felt perplexed.


    "Isn''t this how you''re supposed to use it?"


    He was rummaging through yer number forty-two’s corpse and interacting with viewers. The viewers were discussing the original purpose of the substitution jutsu.


    <em>— Yes, it’s for evasion.</em>


    <em>— Right.</em>


    <em>— It’s normally for dodging attacks, not attacking.</em>


    "I just read the instructions and thought it was used like a blink dagger. Now that I hear about it, using it in advance for evasion makes sense given the long casting time."


    Almond was familiar with using a blink dagger and interpreted the jutsu in that manner. Regardless, it didn''t really matter since he achieved his goal by eliminating his opponent.


    "But..."


    Almond had a sudden realization. Given how ustomed he was to receiving strategy and gamey advice, he hadn''t considered…


    "How do you all know this? This game just came out today."


    <em>— Oh...</em>


    <em>— Well, heh...</em>


    <em>— That... There are things even guys like you don''t know, dude!</em>


    <em>— Let''s not ask too deeply...</em>


    <em>— A few residents from the Hidden Leaf Vige are here.</em>


    Almond saw a flood of excuses filling the chat.


    "I''ve gathered everything I need."


    He stopped looting the body and stood up.


    "Someone else might target me. Let''s go."


    Almond had to leave the marketce.


    <em>[The siege is closing in.]</em>


    The area had finally fallen within the siege. Almond raised his arms above his head and prepared to ninja run.


    <em>— LOL</em>


    <em>— What''s with that takeoff pose? Haha</em>


    <em>— Why am I the one feeling embarrassed…?</em>


    He started running toward the rising sun like an airne.


    ***


    "The unexpected elimination of yer number forty-two, who held a lot of expectations, is quite a shock. Isn''t it?"


    "Yes, it is. There must be a lot of disappointment among those who bet on number forty-two due to herd mentality. Although I betted on number one."


    Boos echoed from the audience.


    "Now, the identity of yer number one is starting to be known, isn''t it?"


    "Yes, it''s been discussed in our official channel''s chat. I believe some in the audience might know by now."


    Whispers spread among those who were still in the dark.


    "Didn''t thementator bet on number one?"


    "Ah, that''s insider betting!"


    "Who exactly is it?"


    Thementators resolved their curiosity.


    "It''s Almond! The hottest skilled streamer these days!"


    "Indeed, he''s quite popr among skilled streamers. Unlike others, he rarely focuses on a single game for long."


    "Ah, yes. That''s why many who knew it was Almond betted elsewhere!"


    Boos and shouts erupted again from the audience.


    <em>— You''re the only one making money!</em>


    <em>— This is market maniption!</em>


    "Ah, everyone, calm down! This isn''t real money anyway."


    During themotion, a clear shout stood out.


    "Go Almond!"


    Amid the boos, this cheer was distinctly heard and the camera toward the source.


    "Did that person just shout?"


    "Wow, a dedicated fan came to support Almond!"


    Everyone, including thementators, felt impressed.


    "It seems they shouted because they thought Almond was getting booed. Such a kind heart matches her beauty."


    <em>— Almond''s the worst streamer! Retire immediately!</em>


    The fan knew Almond was participating and even brought a support sign. She smiled broadly and waved her sign at the camera.


    "Thank you for theughter! Your sign is hrious."


    "But what does ''Go die, BubbleSniper'' on the sign mean?"


    "Why mention BubbleSniper, a notorious sniper who only targets Bubblegum?"


    It turned out that BubbleSniper, a notorious sniper in battle royale games, also targeted Almond several times but always lost.


    "Why bring up BubbleSniper now…? Ah, is the fan sign suggesting that BubbleSniper is here?"


    The fan nodded at the camera. BubbleSniper was indeed present.


    "How did you know?"


    The organizers briefly checked the general participant applications, suspecting BubbleSniper would have left a clue if the fan knew about it. They confirmed that BubbleSniper was really there.


    "Indeed, he made some shockingments in his challenge registration!"


    They revealed hisments.


    <em>[Nickname: BubbleSniper]</em>


    <em>[Resolution: To kill Almond. That is my only goal.]</em>


    ***


    <em>[Remaining Participants]</em>


    <em>[42/60]</em><blockquote>


    Yenmazing''s Thoughts


    In middle school I dressed up as a ketchup bottle and my friend was the mustard. I needed Fry Guy with me toplete the set.</blockquote>