129 Naruto Mobile Game

"Hoo—if it's 78 matches, that should be safe, right?"

Chōjūrō wiped away a cold sweat, took another breath, and leaned back onto the bed.

The no-restriction preliminaries had been going on for three days now. Over these three days, the streets had grown much emptier—everyone was holed up at home playing the ninja mobile game.

By this point, the final outcome was basically settled. It was hard for any major surprises to appear anymore.

[No-Restriction Preliminaries — Hidden Mist Rankings]

[1st Place "Ordinary Person," Total Matches: 78, Win Rate: 100%]

[2nd Place "Kirigakure Blood Blade," Total Matches: 67, Win Rate: 100%]

[3rd Place "Kusanagi Sword," Total Matches: 62, Win Rate: 100%]

[4th Place ...]

With a perfect win rate and the highest number of matches, Chōjūrō sat proudly at first place on the Hidden Mist server.

Winning this many games in a row was enough to prove that his ninja mobile game skills had fully matured.

Mei Terumi had been last season's top rank, so she was directly advanced and didn't need to participate in the preliminaries.

And as one of Mei Terumi's trusted aides, Chōjūrō had really delivered this time. Achieving this ranking proved that his efforts over this period hadn't been wasted.

Next up was the main tournament.

Chōjūrō took a deep breath. If the preliminaries were just about teaching a ninja how to wield a blade, then the main tournament was about using that blade to cut down every opponent.

Each server would advance 16 people to the main tournament.

The ninja world, including the Five Great Nations, had some twenty to thirty countries in total.

That meant that all the qualified participants combined would number over four hundred—nearly five hundred people!

Of course, from this perspective, it seemed somewhat unfair to the vast, resource-rich great nations.

After all, the quality of ninja in a great nation was on a completely different level from that of a small country. Sending out a single elite squad was enough to easily wipe out a small nation.

And even players who got eliminated were still far stronger than those who managed to win their way out of small countries.

But there was no helping it. Every country had the same number of slots. From this point of view, the ninja mobile game was still fair, strictly adhering to server-side limitations.

Under these conditions, there was also room for maneuvering.

The previous season's second-ranked player could choose any server to enter and participate in that server's preliminaries.

In other words, you could continue competing on your home server, or you could go to a foreign server.

Ao from the Hidden Mist had done exactly that.

Given his strength, picking a random small country meant there was basically no chance of losing. After all, he himself was already a top-tier server player.

And with Ao occupying one advancement slot in another country, the Hidden Mist's own server still had 16 qualifiers.

Add in Mei Terumi, who was already directly advanced to the finals, and the Hidden Mist sent a total of 18 people into the no-restriction competition this time!

Though it was only two extra people, it was still worth fighting for.

This wasn't exclusive to great nations—the ranking rewards treated small nations the same. It was just that small-nation players probably wouldn't deliberately cross servers to compete on a great nation's server, right?

...

"Kabuto, how are you doing?"

"Orochimaru-sama, unless something unexpected happens, this ranking shouldn't change."

The Sound Village was its own independent server, and some people had jumped in to compete. Orochimaru didn't care about that at all—he actually had Kabuto jump into the Leaf Village instead.

Kabuto had been second place in last season's ranked matches on his home server.

Normally, going to the Leaf to fight those people for advancement slots was basically madness. No one would do that unless they were bored out of their mind.

But Orochimaru was different. With such a rare opportunity, how could he possibly let it pass?

He directly had Kabuto parachute into the Leaf Village to compete!

And surprisingly enough, Kabuto really delivered. He actually snatched a slot. Orochimaru's grin nearly split his face.

[No-Restriction Preliminaries — Leaf Village Rankings]

[1st Place "Konoha Strategist," Matches: 127, Win Rate: 100%]

[2nd Place "With Rin," Matches: 125, Win Rate: 100%]

[3rd Place "Glory to Uchiha," Matches: 122, Win Rate: 100%]

[4th Place "The True Self," Matches: 119, Win Rate: 100%]

[5th Place ...]

Shikaku had been second last season in the Leaf, but he hadn't gone to another server. He stayed in the Leaf and naturally took first place this time.

Kakashi had never slacked off in practicing his ninja mobile game skills and was right on his heels in second place.

Sasuke had been subjected to constant stimulation during this period. Breaking through bottlenecks had become as routine as eating and drinking for him.

Given his personality, fear had never been part of the equation. Even with this astonishing record, he was still on an unbroken winning streak.

The one who delighted Orochimaru the most was Kabuto—forcefully taking fourth place in the Leaf, that chaotic melting pot of players.

"I have to say, Kabuto, I really underestimated your power," Orochimaru said, licking his lips.

Kabuto didn't respond, fully engrossed in a fierce battle.

Seeing this, Orochimaru didn't disturb him. After all, in the current Sound Village, Kabuto was the only one who still gave him something to look forward to.

As for the others, it didn't matter who advanced. He didn't believe that anyone besides himself and Kabuto could keep winning all the way to the final showdown.

The no-restriction battles were not yet over.

Gucheng thoughtfully opened up a spectator mode. The system would automatically capture certain exciting matches and show them to other players via pop-up windows.

After all, not everyone had confidence in themselves. A large portion of players tried the no-restriction mode briefly, then decisively gave up.

Being a spectator—wasn't that nice?

...

At this moment, many spectators were watching a single match—the hottest one right now.

A peak showdown from the Leaf server: second-place Kakashi versus fourth-place Yakushi Kabuto.

Both sides had already fought down to their final ninja.

Kakashi's [Nohara Rin] still had a bit under half HP, while Kabuto was using his main ninja, but in extremely poor condition.

There were 20 seconds left on the duel timer. If nothing unexpected happened, it should be Kakashi's win.

Bang! (Substitution sound effect)

The sliver-HP [Yakushi Kabuto] substituted, and [Nohara Rin] placed a Ghost Lantern on the spot for protection.

[Yakushi Kabuto] poked [Nohara Rin] once. After taking the hit, [Nohara Rin] leaned toward the Ghost Lantern.

Seeing this, almost everyone thought it was over. If [Yakushi Kabuto] so much as brushed against the Ghost Lantern, he'd die on the spot.

But [Yakushi Kabuto] decisively used Chakra Scalpel in the reverse direction, and the hitbox behind him dragged [Nohara Rin] away!

When the skill ended, [Yakushi Kabuto] dashed back in and landed a full combo. [Nohara Rin] was launched into the air, flying past the Ghost Lantern.

Why go back in?! There's a Ghost Lantern floating there! Many people were baffled—but a few seconds later, they were completely stunned.

At that moment, [Yakushi Kabuto] paused briefly in front of the Ghost Lantern. His second skill, Underground Assault, had just come off cooldown, and he released it without hesitation.

[Yakushi Kabuto] dove underground, passed beneath the Ghost Lantern, and perfectly caught the falling [Nohara Rin]!

[Nohara Rin] substituted instantly the moment she landed.

[Yakushi Kabuto] disengaged downward with no end lag. [Nohara Rin] chased relentlessly. [Yakushi Kabuto] suddenly turned around, crouched, and slammed the secret scroll Water Surge!

[Nohara Rin]'s skill was interrupted, entering hit-stun! [Yakushi Kabuto] immediately activated his ultimate, completely draining [Nohara Rin]'s HP!

[Does a version of me like this frighten you?]

As the ultimate cut-in appeared, the entire audience erupted in an instant—unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

A clutch comeback from a sliver of health, unfolding right before their eyes!