Usogui - Vol. 30 Ch. 323 - Chapter 1, Fin

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Theories and whatnot aside this is an amazing tie up chapter for a bunch of plot points and nostalgia moments props to the team for the amazing translation work
 
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@299792458
Yes, we're ending the batch on 324.

@DQM @Veshv
About the book: all the events that he prepared his StL loss with, finding info on Q-Tarou, thinking about getting Kyara as a real ally, setting up the L-file, they were all done while he had Hal by his side. And this was after he read the storybook. So it's possible that he intentionally tried to mimic the events of the book in a way, or was simply inspired by it when coming up with his own plans.

@RapidLord
Lots of different possibilities to consider indeed.

As for why Hal spared Baku I like the current theory we have of "Hal still remembers the idea of sparing people from Baku." It could be simpler though, Hal himself said that "it's better to keep people chronically in check" instead of killing them, so maybe it was just that.

And about Baku knowing Hal was the leader, my current guess is that he knew during the Bookstore Flashback arc already, perhaps even before then. Primarily because all of the actions he took to prepare for the StL loss happened during that time, meaning he must've knew Hal was the leader since the strategy of losing was based on Hal's personality. It seems like maybe Baku decided to lose after meeting him in the bookstore, and/or perhaps the time he spent with Hal was him trying to alter his personality to help with that strategy.

The main question is why Baku decided to lose in the first place. Based on his own comments (although it's hard to take what Baku says at face value), it might be something like wanting to face Hal in his strongest form, in the most highest stakes match? Since Hal/Souichi said that he would've lost if it was poker, maybe Baku was trying to reset things to pass the time until Souichi got better as a gambler. At this point I have no idea, I'm not even convinced myself that this is the right reason. Someone also speculated before that Baku might be wanting to fix or recover Hal's memory issue.

e: Just thought of a crazy/silly reason. Maybe it's because he didn't want to kill Hal for sentimental reasons, if he won. So if he wins the 2nd StL match, he can say that since you spared me before, I'll spare you this time? Although it is a bit convoluted.

e2: Going further, it could go along with that 'sparing to make people stronger' sort of idea he talked about. Maybe his goal isn't the 2nd StL, but to defeat Souichi in the 2nd StL so that he'll make a comeback and play an even more crazier match in a 3rd StL?
 
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@DQM @Veshv I think the book is just symbolism or something similar to help the reader better understand Baku and Hal's past. That's why some things lined up to reality (the friend is actually the enemy), and some don't (the prince "escaping" the castle due to an "invasion" and "saving" a bee who become his friend)

@catx3 My theory on why Baku decided to lose is to gain allies that are loyal to him, rather than anything to do with Hal.

As Kyara said, the people in Kakerou will only follow Baku if he won and will ditch him if he lose, they aren't his allies. Being the leader of a powerful organisation that has no loyalty toward you is certainly a big cause of concern. Baku knows this and he wants to gain allies loyal to him first then integrate them into Kakerou when he win the 2nd StL, and I think he is doing just that right now.

The big difference between pre-StL and post-StL, is the people at Baku side. He now has Kyara and Marco for strength as well as Kaji, another Kakerou member, who are all seem to care for Baku and have more of a connection to him compare to his past bodyguards, who only help him for their own benefits.
 
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@catx3 @RapidLord
Now that I think about it, he did read the book before the events of the flashback, so it's rather likely that he used it as part of his plans.

Which leads me to a different thought: Did Souichi remember the contents of the book during the StL challenge? It could have affected his own plans in regard to StL by making him want a better gamble as well, and by Baku putting up such a pathetic fight, those desires were further emphasized.
 
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I like the idea that Baku realized he had to tear down his old group of Kakerou associates and get people who were legitimately loyal to him, or pick and choose people he could actually sway (like Yakou). Marco being the outsider was the biggest way for him to ensure he could move outside of Kakerou's rigid rules. He seems to be branded as a rogue based on Nowa's estimation of him so maybe losing the first game put him in a more advantageous situation.

The reason why he threw the first STL game was probably some combination of not wanting to kill Hal and gambling that even as Souichi, Hal wouldn't actually kill him. With him talking about the most thrilling gambles being a rematch with someone who was already stripped down to nothing but his life, it's possible he felt some combination of:
-Putting the idea in Hal's head that it would make for a more thrilling gamble, and it's possible Souichi still had some of that in his subconscious if his memories of Baku were truly wiped
-He wanted to be the one in the position of having nothing but his life and climbing back up into the highest rank to have a truly thrilling gamble from that side

We know that Baku generally doesn't leave things up to luck since you could still lose, so he had to have thrown intentionally. The question is why, and did he intend to lose from the start or did he want to do it only when he realized it was Souichi and not his dad? It's possible he knew Hal's real identity through the bookstore and helped set him up as the Leader before the STL gamble; remember, Kyara's demeanor and meeting with Hal's dad was the reason why he abdicated the Leader position and became a referee. Did Baku set that in motion? The idea that Baku could deduce all this information seems a little farfetched but, well, this is Usogui and weirder things have happened.
 

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