Usogui - Vol. 24 Ch. 259 - Victory Road

[Veshv]

@299792458 I don't know about the ability being the conclusive hint, but your train of thought did help me realize why Suteguma skipped 13 and went straight to 14 at the end of the second round. In choosing 14, Suteguma established his number was not 3. This is important because if Baku had 10 beads, then there's no chance he would pick 13. In other words, on top of everything you just pointed out, Suteguma also knew Baku's number was "definitely" not 10.

This would confirm that Baku's number, as of his 13 entry, is one of 6,7,8,9, for Suteguma. It could be any of those 4, and Suteguma was probably lulled into a false sense of security upon Baku's reaction. To Baku, who may have had either 6 or 7, 13 being wrong is impossible. I also think the hint in the last chapter, about inputting one more than your actual number being dangerous is pointing towards Suteguma's number being 9 and not 8, even though either of them would make sense at this point in time.

So for Suteguma who, based on the fact that he can see Baku's face, believed Baku has one of 6 or 7, his last input was used to verify between 15 and 16 for the real number. If he was unable to see Baku's face, I think he would have opted to skip 15 and input 16 in the dotty instead.

Ultimately the point here is that Baku's number has to be one of 8-9-10 for him to win, and to me, 10 makes the most sense in the scope of the overall game progression. This way, that hint about selecting a number 1 greater than your own plays into both Baku and Suteguma's very first inputs, and additionally, it establishes Baku having made his own blind spot for the input when he put in 13.

On a side note, all of the stalling after the 2nd round by Suteguma, with the offer to go up together, to waiting for that doll, was specifically in order to make Baku get the invalid input and then make the wrong assumptions that Suteguma wanted him to make.

 

[299792458]

@Veshv Hmm, I see what you mean. It would certainly be ingenious of Baku to have laid his own counter trap by using the blind spot of 10 beads, it's certainly a possibility, but we won't really know what exactly Baku's number is until we see the correct password. The thing about the hint with choosing a number that's one number higher than your bead count is that it's supposed to be Nowa's realization, and Nowa is pretty certain that 16 is the correct password, so I'm not so sure about it also being a hint for Baku's number, unless it was something intentional and cheeky by the author. Other than that you and I are in agreement and that should be basically it for this match, all that remains is to see whether Baku's bead number is 8 or 10 (or 7 if Suteguma is correct, which I find unlikely, or 9 if we're both wrong). But it won't really make that much of a difference, I feel. Either Suteguma won with the 8 input trap we've explained, or Baku won by either simply baiting Suteguma into thinking he fell for the trap alone (with 8 beads), or by doing that and also setting his own trap (with 10 beads). That and what exactly the note said are the only things left to be revealed, if we're right.

 

[tack215]

@299792458 The scene you mentioned is indeed significant as it's the moment Suteguma's ability determined Baku, but it's not that. The evidence does answer your question of how Baku determined Suteguma's intentions. Another hint, the evidence was after the 1st round ended. It's kinda meaningless because the upcoming chapters are going to explain all this, but since the next batch is probably still a few days away, I'm going to post the answer below in spoilers anyway. If you do want to keep looking, then ignore the spoiler.

Spoiler

The evidence is when Baku tried to follow Suteguma after the 1st round ended. Baku concluded that in order to find out whether the number Suteguma made Hyougo press (which is 8, but Baku didn't know at this point) was a genuine guess or a bluff, he would have to risk his life by following Suteguma to the terminal. If he came back alive, and/or was met with superficial killing intent then the number would be a bluff. If he was faced with real killing intent and was killed or nearly killed...well, I think that speaks for itself. But just like you read, and to Baku's dismay, he was met with real killing intent from Suteguma. His eye was gouged out and he was left with no clue as to what Suteguma's intent was. But before the scuffle(chapter 215 page 6), you can see that Suteguma is focusing on a opening which Baku is walking towards. Later on (chapter 219 page 4) Suteguma reacts to gun fire by looking towards said opening, and Baku deduces afterwards that Suteguma was actually trying to save him from a potential sniping that might've occurred if he kept on going. Additionally, he also realizes that Suteguma unbuttoned his suit(chapter 223 page 3), which means that Suteguma was planning to do round 2 of Dotty from the beginning. This deduction is shown as a dream that Baku had when he was unconscious (chapter 224), and the actual realization comes during chapter 228 page 9. Thus, Baku was able to determine Suteguma's intentions.

 

[299792458]

@tack215 Damn. I kind of wish you hadn't told me since I would've liked to figure it out myself, but having seen it, I don't think I would've ever caught that. I did reread that part and all and I was thinking that that was Baku's intention, but he mentioned multiple times how his prediction was wrong, so I didn't think much of it. Also, I couldn't notice

Spoiler

the gunshot part, since the sfx didn't get translated so I never would've known that the moment Suteguma looked away was when the SAT started firing, which might have helped me make the connection. Additionally I don't think I would've been able to figure out the meaning of the dream sequence on my own. So I was close, but no cigar. It goes to show how good or an actor Suteguma is, and everything else speaks to how smart he is as well, he almost gave away no clues that his input was actually a bluff, even almost fooling Baku himself. Suteguma is insane, definitely one of the strongest opponents (mentally) that Baku has ever faced.

It's a bit frustrating to know how close I was, though, haha.

Well, that's most mysteries solved then. All that remains is to see which number is the correct password, although it's not a broad choice. Insane arc.

 

[Kenju]

Damn, Baku knows how to make an entrance.

 

[a2j04vm0]

@299792458
Damn, I didn’t notice that there’s a sfx in that panel even though I’ve read the whole series so many times, my bad.
I always forget to check sfx in the background.

I translated it in ch.219, but the mistake has been made.
I wish I can go back in time.

 

[299792458]

@a2j04vm0 Haha it's okay. It wouldn't have made a huge difference. You guys are great anyway.

 

[tack215]

@299792458 I'm sorry about spoiling it, I thought it would be annoying if I kept throwing around hints. And you were really close, probably the closest I've ever seen. Maybe I should've kept it to myself a little bit longer haha.

You're right about how formidable Suteguma is, and I think that's the most underrated thing about him. Up until now Baku's opponents have been relying solely on their tricks to set their opponents up, and after their tricks get exposed they crumble easily. But Suteguma is different, he's an extremely intelligent gambler who doesn't yield, and can pull the ballsiest moves without hesitating for a moment. Suteguma is the first opponent in this series who is, in a way, on the same level as Baku.

 

[299792458]

@tack215 Don't worry about it, hahaha. I kind of asked for it, I even clicked on it, and there was no way I would've caught that last bit, so.

Yeah, Suteguma is insane, honestly. Physically formidable, a very strong ability (he destroyed Fukuro with it), and close to Baku tier intellectually. But I guess there's just no outsmarting the Usogui, is there. Even though it was very close.

Now that Caracal is dead, the last Kakerou membership that Ideal has left is the leader's, so I assume he'll have to make his move soon if he's still planning to take over Kakerou. I hope we get the next batch soon, can't wait for some Usogui smugness.

 

[Sinful_egg]

@tack215 I didnt notice those things until you pointed them out. Appart from the first thing with the sniper. Thank you for having a large brain

 

[299792458]

We getting our new batch of releases today? Or can I sleep early?

 

[catx3]

@299792458

Likely either today or tomorrow. It's a gamble 😋.

Also, loved the deductions going on here! 😍 Wish I could've thrown in some of my thoughts as well.

 

[marcyvq]

ye-he-hess put him in his place baku