153 Naruto Mobile Game

"Welcome back. This is the live scene of the Unlimited Class Finals. I'm your host, Kuroda!"

On the day the Ninja Mobile Game finished updating, everyone had more or less finished experiencing the new content, and the Unlimited Class Tournament continued again that evening.

What was being held today was the losers' bracket—namely, the matches for all players who had lost in the winners' bracket.

This was also their final chance.

Today it would be fought all the way to the end, producing a single victor. That's right! Only one person would be today's winner!

After everyone else was eliminated, the one player who persevered to the end would advance to the grand finals and face the person who had fought through the winners' bracket to the very end.

At this moment, things were still in the preparation stage. On the phones of all viewers watching the match, only the commentary feed was visible.

Besides the well-known official Ninja Mobile Game commentator Kuroda, there was another person also responsible for today's commentary.

That person was—

The final victor of the winners' bracket! Already locked into a grand finals slot! Once High-Class Recruitment went live, the duel arena became insanely active! Too busy to manage it all? Wrong! Six paths united as one! A powerhouse favorite to take the championship!

Pain: Deva Path (scratched out)! Nagato!

Kuroda looked at Deva Path standing beside him. Since the participating player was Deva Path and not Nagato, the commentator present was naturally Deva Path.

"Then, who do you think will be the one to stand out in today's matches and contend with you for the championship?" Kuroda asked, looking at Deva Path.

"I don't care who it is, because no one is stronger than Pain," Deva Path said calmly.

The words were extremely arrogant, yet many viewers reacted quite normally, because in their eyes, that was indeed the case.

In the winners' bracket, Deva Path had defeated every opponent he encountered, sending all other players into the losers' bracket.

Judging by win rate alone, he was the strongest.

Although it couldn't be denied that luck played a part, Ninja Mobile Game competitions—especially Unlimited Class matches—naturally involved an element of luck.

At least in terms of raw strength, in Kuroda's view, Deva Path… no, Nagato, was the strongest in the ninja world.

Not everyone could live one day as six days, let alone this guy—if you counted his true body, that made seven days.

As always, compared to real ninja battles, Ninja Mobile Game duels were a simplified version.

Nagato could simultaneously control six completely different Pain bodies to fight his opponent.

If Konan were standing beside him, he might even still have time to chat with her.

This unimaginably fine level of chakra control was truly overkill when used just to play Ninja Mobile Game.

However, ever since losing the last Organization Dominion Tournament because of that bizarre strategy, Nagato had reflected deeply and resolutely wanted to reclaim the glory that should have been his!

Clearly, he had succeeded. In the third and fourth rounds of the winners' bracket, there hadn't been a single weak opponent, yet he defeated them all.

Now, he was only one step away from victory.

As long as he defeated the person who emerged victorious from today's losers' bracket in the grand finals, the championship would be his.

"Then who do you think has the highest chance of advancing to the grand finals?" Kuroda continued.

Deva Path did not answer immediately.

From the bottom of his heart, he naturally hoped it would be Itachi or Tobi, because that would fulfill his goal of Akatsuki members successfully meeting in the finals.

But those two were still unstable—at least in Nagato's eyes.

Itachi went without saying. Winning against Sasuke in the previous round didn't mean he would definitely win again if they met next.

In the losers' bracket, a single loss meant elimination. There were no revival matches anymore. Anyone who understood this format knew what that meant.

As for Tobi, Nagato had no idea what he was up to. During these past two rest days, he was still livestreaming!

That guy was probably done for…

Countless thoughts ran through Deva Path's mind, though on the surface it only looked like a brief moment of consideration.

"Yakushi Kabuto and Minato Namikaze."

Hearing this, Kuroda nodded. He wasn't surprised by Deva Path's picks.

Both of these players had won the third round and were personally eliminated by Deva Path in the fourth round.

In Nagato's view—

He had already fought Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto had strength—very strong. There were several people in Akatsuki whose technique was inferior to Naruto's, but even if they fought again, he still wouldn't lose.

Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi, Minato Namikaze, the Nara father and son… these Konoha players were clearly among the stronger tier of competitors.

As for other villages, there was Yakushi Kabuto, Chōjūrō, and Kurotsuchi.

And that was it. Just those.

Although they were all top-tier combat power in their respective villages, the only ones Nagato considered true formidable enemies were the ones listed above.

After a bit more casual chat, Kuroda felt the time was about right and directly announced:

"The Unlimited Class Finals—Losers' Bracket, Round One—begins now! Both players, please take the stage!"

...

Orochimaru walked quietly down the entrance tunnel. Why? Because the calls from outside were already ringing out for him.

The losers' bracket matches were planned out.

Those who dropped out in the first round of the winners' bracket would naturally appear in the first round of the losers' bracket.

If they won, they would advance to the second round of the losers' bracket, where they would face players who had dropped out in the second round of the winners' bracket.

Win the second round, and they would fight in the third round, then the fourth… following this pattern all the way to the end.

So if Orochimaru, a first-round losers' bracket participant, truly managed to win all the way to the end, he would undoubtedly be the player with the most matches played among all competitors.

The prerequisite was simple: keep winning.

Orochimaru arrived at his seat and sat down. It was the same position as before. A few days ago, in this very spot, he had been eliminated in the first round.

Would it be the same this time? He didn't know. He merely raised a hand and rubbed his brow.

For some reason, he had been feeling unsettled lately. The last time he had felt like this… was right before he pulled High-Class Recruitment.

Mentioning High-Class Recruitment was a pain Orochimaru could never ignore. Better not say more.

After all, watching other people's High-Class Recruitment wreak havoc in the duel arena, while his own High-Class Recruitment was like a stray on the roadside, getting slaughtered left and right—

That feeling was something ordinary people could hardly understand. Though Uchiha Madara might be able to empathize.

Well, that was before ninja upgrades.

Ding-dong—

It was time to ban and select ninjas. Orochimaru swept his gaze over the ninja pool, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

That S-rank ninja, [Orochimaru], was clearly listed.

He had first ban. If he didn't ban this ninja, the opponent probably wouldn't either.

To be honest, even he himself disliked this thing.

But—

Bang!

"Locked in! After banning, Orochimaru hesitated for a brief instant, then directly locked in his own main ninja!"

Kuroda grabbed the microphone, his tone suddenly heated.

"Is this a case of everyone else being allowed to doubt him, but he himself cannot?"

"This is the charm of a main ninja!"

"Perhaps the strength isn't enough. Perhaps it isn't that popular. But conviction and love never need a reason!"

"At this crucial moment, Orochimaru decisively chose his main ninja. Is he planning to create a miracle?"

"But… this is the S-rank ninja pool!!"