155 Naruto Mobile Game

On the huge screen at the finals venue, two ninjas ran back and forth. Their positioning was bold yet cautious—this was a true battle of wits.

By sheer coincidence, both sides had already used one ninja before—their own main ninja.

However, [Nara Shikamaru · Shippuden] and [Kurotsuchi] had already fallen. What remained on the field now were their respective third-slot ninjas.

In a sense, these two ninjas were among those most deeply and frequently entangled in the Ninja Mobile Game storyline.

And the people themselves were sitting right there in the audience.

"Rasengan… ah! He whiffed it! What is that idiot Shikamaru doing! At a time like this, how dare he throw out a skill into empty space?"

"Hit back! Hurry and hit Sasuke—oh no, that Kurotsuchi girl! Hit back at her!"

"Careful! It's Chidori Sharp Spear!"

"Beautiful! He dodged it! Hurry and catch the recovery! Quick! That's a hard recovery—go!"

After being eliminated, Naruto sat in the audience unable to stay still, shouting excitedly as if the person fighting right now were himself.

Well… that really wasn't wrong.

On the big screen, the two ninjas trading blows were precisely [Uzumaki Naruto · Shippuden] and [Uchiha Sasuke · Shippuden].

The fourth round of matches had already begun.

Because there were only four contestants in the fourth round, it would take just three matches to settle everything.

And this was already the second match after the first one had ended—Shikamaru versus Kurotsuchi, a full bo5 that went all the way.

Ever since Kurotsuchi went into closed-door special training, her technical growth had been terrifying. Now, she looked as though she could fight the Konoha super-genius Shikamaru on even footing.

Her Ninja War Sai tactics also played a key role, securing her the previous game's point.

Otherwise, if Kurotsuchi had lost the previous game, there wouldn't even be this ongoing fifth game of the bo5.

Naruto was indeed nervous for Shikamaru. After all, he himself had already lost—of course he didn't want Shikamaru to lose too.

Beside him, Sasuke sat quietly.

Unlike Naruto, Sasuke looked very calm, fully playing the role of a qualified spectator… at least on the surface.

Sasuke didn't want to lose. He was extremely unwilling.

In truth, in this Unlimited Class Tournament, he wasn't fighting for anyone else—he was fighting for Naruto. He still hadn't repaid Naruto's kindness!

In the last Organization Dominion Tournament, Sasuke was absolutely one of the most serious competitors, all to repay Naruto for reviving his mother back then.

But that still wasn't enough.

So this time was the same. From the very beginning, his goal was nothing else—if there were any chance at resurrection, he would immediately reunite Naruto's family.

Though he never said it out loud, he didn't want to owe anyone anything—especially Naruto.

But now he had failed. In the third round, he lost to his opponent and was officially eliminated. The remaining matches no longer had anything to do with him.

"Sasuke, why aren't you cheering for Shikamaru? He needs our support!" Naruto suddenly tugged at Sasuke.

Sasuke shot Naruto a sidelong glance and said nothing.

His fist quietly clenched, and in his heart he swore that he would remember this defeat. Next time… next time, no matter what competition it was, he would definitely win!

"Let us congratulate Shikamaru for seizing the opportunity created by his opponent's mistake at a critical moment, winning this match 3:2!"

Kuroda's voice echoed throughout the venue. Most of the audience kindly applauded, cheering for the exciting match the players had delivered.

"Yes!!"

Naruto almost jumped out of his seat, his face full of excitement as he vigorously pumped his fist.

At the very end of that game, it seemed like Kurotsuchi made a skill mistake. In reality, it was a trap she deliberately revealed, aiming to lure Shikamaru into exploiting the opening to deal damage.

In the previous games, Kurotsuchi had sensed the competitive drive hidden beneath Shikamaru's calm exterior.

So if Shikamaru took the bait, she would counter with her own skills, directly turning the match into a turn-based damage trade.

And Shippuden Naruto's dual-skill damage was slightly lower than Shippuden Sasuke's.

Moreover, Shippuden Sasuke's basic attack damage was also a bit higher than Shippuden Naruto's. So when it came to trading damage and dragging things into a turn-based exchange, Shippuden Sasuke had the edge.

As for using an ultimate, the risk was simply too great.

But Shikamaru played along with the plan, pretending to miscalculate his substitution and giving Kurotsuchi an opening—what players commonly call baiting a substitution without having one.

If Kurotsuchi wanted to win through skill damage, she had to land it. But with Shippuden Sasuke's skill startup, even Shikamaru's grandma could dodge it.

So Kurotsuchi's idea of exposing an opening to catch the recovery and deal damage failed.

And although Shippuden Naruto's skill effects didn't look as flashy as Shippuden Sasuke's, they were still quite practical.

In the end, Shikamaru took the win.

"How did you see through it?" On stage, Kurotsuchi shook hands with Shikamaru, curiosity on her face.

"Well, anyone who can make it this far isn't someone who would just lose their head impulsively. I trusted that you weren't either," Shikamaru said, scratching his head.

Hearing that, Kurotsuchi smiled.

Yes, she was no longer the same as when she first started. Keeping a straight face while playing Ninja Mobile Game was just basic skill now—otherwise, how could she have reached this point?

So in front of true experts, playing those little tricks really wasn't enough.

"Impressive. If I hadn't happened to roll Ninja War Sai to set up that tactic, I probably would've lost long ago, right?" Kurotsuchi praised.

"Pure luck," Shikamaru replied lazily.

"Keep winning. You just trusted that I wouldn't make a mistake—so I'll trust that you'll win all the way to the end," Kurotsuchi said.

"Heh."

Shikamaru chuckled softly, turned around, and headed back into the passageway.

As the eliminated contestant, Kurotsuchi of course couldn't follow him back. After scanning the audience and spotting her grandfather and father, she directly jumped down toward them.

To accommodate eliminated players, the audience seating had also been expanded, adding quite a few more seats.

"Ahhh, even though I'm really happy Shikamaru won, what are we supposed to do next? It feels wrong no matter who we support," Naruto said with a troubled expression.

"Then don't support anyone—just watch for fun!" Kushina said with a smile.

"That won't do," Minato said, turning to look at Shikaku beside him. "Who are you supporting in the next match, Shikaku?"

"That's a tough one. But if I go by personal bias… I'll bet on that kid Shikamaru," Shikaku sighed.

"Alright, then I'll support Kakashi," Minato said.

Support like this didn't really need a reason, but when it came to closeness of relationships, it was only natural—especially since Minato had just lost to Kakashi.

That's right. In the losers' bracket fourth round, there were four contestants in total: Minato, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Kurotsuchi.

Minato and Kakashi's match had taken place before Shikamaru versus Kurotsuchi. After an exhilarating battle, Minato was successfully defeated by his own student.

Kakashi was inferior to no one. Even though he sometimes acted unserious, liked reading Icha Icha, and often looked half-asleep…

If he went all out, there were very few in the entire ninja world who could confidently say they could beat him.

Not only the people of Konoha, but other factions also largely acknowledged Kakashi's operational skill.

Minato absolutely did not hold back in his match against Kakashi. As always, outside they were teacher and student—here, they were just opponents.

Whoever won was simply stronger.

And next would be the match between the two winners of the fourth round—Hatake Kakashi versus Nara Shikamaru.