Usogui - Vol. 42 Ch. 451 - The Shriek Of The Bird Of Prey

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Holy shit.

I would not want to go inside such a torture machine. Dying is final but nobody wants to repeatedly get hurt again and again. I bet even masochists would scream to get out of this monstrosity.
 
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You just know they're saving the gunshot to the head for last.

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Fukurou's text should read hearts and not spades here, correct? It initially threw me for a loop.
 
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@a2j04vm0

You're welcome! Thank you guys for all your hard work. This manga has been a joy to read and your insane release schedule is impressive. You've certainly made an Usogui addict out of me.
 
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I know it's natural for these two to be scared (given the machines they're hooked up to), but it's still weird seeing them sweating bullets. They give off such an air of intimidation -- seeing them in any other disposition beyond inscrutable almost seems out character for both.

Very interesting.
 
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My guess is that the gunshot to the head won't be an instant death. No way can it be painless. There are cases where the bullet ends up traveling underneath the skin, lodged within the cranium, or inside the brain itself. People end up dying to exsanguination several hours later, all while paralyzed and conscious for the entirety.
 
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Should've figured it out already but I guess this is why they are making the strongest hand possible, to avoid this whole insanity. With everything going on I reckon it'd be too difficult to even start thinking of a meta-strategy of sorts (if it's even possible in the first place).

Which is why it'd be a big deal if someone intentionally throws a round as a part of a strategy?? Jk
 
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@idle_af
About meta-strategies
It has to be possible, considering Baku's guaranteed to lose if this keeps up. What do you mean by intentionally throwing a round though?
 
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@idle_af
It should be really hard though. The players above don't know the bottom player's entire hand. The only way I could see throwing a hand is work if somehow the player below managed to get some information about their hand to the player above. But throwing a hand still means going through death, and doing that with a sane mind seems to be an insane move (plus the player below don't know that the player above is going through deathly pain). But right after the third round, we see Baku pounding the table, and knowing that there are players above, I feel like he's sending information about his hand to above. There is a problem with though. The method of him sending the information (I'm guessing sound at this point since that's the only plausible way and a few people pointed this back a few chapters back) would mean that both of the players above could decipher it. Baku isn't a fool though so I wonder how this would unfold.

@ saxifraga
I agree. Seeing these two lofty high position characters looking so scared and human for once is also unsettling to me, but yet it makes perfect sense given the circumstances. One could possibly overcome the fear of death once. Doing that multiple times? That fear of feeling death again is truly etched into their bones right now.
 
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@Veshv
I already mentioned it previously, creating a subpar hand to ruin your opponent's possible hands and save a card of your own for a later round, where the bets are higher. It was just a throwaway comment though because I can't figure out how they can even start on that. They know the pool of cards available because they know the cards the opponent used. They know the numbers that have been used too, because it's announced afterwards
Baku for example managed to deduce the value of Lalo's remaining cards but only because he knows the value of his own cards (chapter 442 page 5). He figured out that the sum of Lalo's remaining cards must be ~150, while his own is 96. He most definitely knows that Lalo's remaining cards are pretty high after the 3rd round. Unfortunately I don't think it'd matter too much for him (I think?), that it should be Hal who figures it out in order to make use of the strategy I mentioned.
It's also been explicitly stated in Chapter 450, page 7 that the player (Hal) doesn't know the opponent's number so it's "useless to reserve cards for later, after all keeping the cards to have them be used by the enemy would be such a waste"
Ironically, the only reason I still haven't given up on the idea is because of those exact words. I don't know if it's a red herring, or a clue/foreshadowing by the mangaka, or if it's something explicitly stated for the readers to fuck off with the idea. The referees also seem keen on bringing up the thought that players (Hal and Fukurou) shouldn't make a mistake. I really hope all of those comments won't just end up being a foreshadowing towards someone making a mistake due to being discombobulated from the pain. As a twist I can imagine everyone, referees and opponent included, thinking that a player made a mistake because of the trauma but it'd end up being all according to keikaku

Not so serious comment regarding agonies
Here's to Hal throwing round 4 and getting some memories back due to the gunshots, and Fukurou losing last round with both him and Lalo dying to drowning (since it's still up in the air as to what it is but I can't imagine that being left out). Or maybe the gunshots will just be a parallel to Hal vs Fukurou before, this time it's Fukurou's turn.


EDIT:
I guess that if any strategy were possible, it'd be on the last round where the players above will have near perfect information (they still won't know the Bios situation). Maybe a player would try to force a calamity, a player avoiding it, a player who avoided it ending up getting the much needed win, etc. etc. so Lalo will play 63 because otherwise he can't form the 63 for the last round, and Baku will play 25 because otherwise his straight flush will be useless (unless Hal "throws the round", deliberately avoids doing so but like I said how would that even be possible), so in the 4th round, Baku wins, 44 vs 26 will be the mindgames. IDK
 
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@xkcdhawk
I don't really think there's a way for any of the players to send signals to their respective allies. I feel like that'd be too easy. On the other hand, without any signals, I agree, how can you even begin to deduce anything. I remember the moments with Baku and Kyara, regarding those "signals". I'm not sure if that will end up being relevant but it just came to mind.
But yes, you're right. Just as Baku figured out Lalo's remaining cards are from his own, I'm sure once Hal gets to know what Baku's cards are, he can create a strategy for it. At the very least, if Baku is somehow able to let Hal know what his cards are, then that's game over.
Regarding Baku pounding the table, in chapter 445, Baku shouted all that shit for some reason but I can't see anything that will end up being useful for Hal. After all, it's only in that moment that there is a path open between the players below and the players above. But still, even in that situation, Hal and Fukurou were inside those contraptions anyway. I doubt they're able to hear anything, especially Hal since he was being shanked at that moment.

Regarding writings on the table
I doubt it'd end up being useful, I can't imagine a scenario where Hal could even begin to glance at it. It's most definitely just a mnemonic or some shit. I don't know what Baku is even trying to calculate however.
 
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So i just noticed, based on these 2v2 rules, their was a 25% of a calamity in round one if Hal chose the four of spades to go with Fukuro's straight flush. Spades are usually a trump suit so maybe Hal was counting on Fukuro using it but still find it ironic how Usogui who hates leaving it up to luck, managed to win a 1 out of 4. Obviously it would have been an anti climatic ending to the duel, but it kinda goes against Usosgui telling law the rule. He told him to a) make him waste oxygen but b) to force his strongest card. even though he had the dream and realizes Hal is apart of this, it is still up to luck espically when he dosnt realize the pain Hal has gone through. He has no way to know that Hal is making the hands and has gone through two rounds of extreme torture
 
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@spence7865
Baku's won what counted as a 1/4 chance before as well. Interestingly enough, he would theoretically still be in the game even if he had lost from a calamity on round 1, although so far behind that he may not be able to recover practically.

@idle_af
The whole time we've been with Hachina, since after the tower gamble, we've seen what is basically his thought process. In this arc, as well as the Flashback, we can notice that Baku has a very similar one. I think this is best shown with the line of "building Rome in a day". Basically, it might be possible for Baku to be the one to hatch a scheme and Hal to catch on just from the played card.
 
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@Veshv
I typed up quite a bit but it didn't make much sense. I won't bother speculating too hard but if we assume no signals to be sent, meaning Baku's only method of communication is by playing a card like you said, then here's the only thing I can imagine. When Hal gets told Baku's number by the referee, he'd wonder why Baku would play a number that is below the average of the possible remaining numbers (originally 40, then if 25/26, then the average of the remaining cards will be ~44). Why won't Baku choose that other number instead of 25/26, knowing the risk of running out of cards? Probably because he doesn't have a choice, that all his numbers are below that average, and from there he can easily deduce that Lalo's number are all above average.

Assuming 26 is played because I can't come up with any way for him to win if he goes for 25 first, the next thing he'd probably think about is if this is Baku's strongest hand or not, because if all of Baku's numbers are below that average, and thus all of Lalo's are above that, then 26 is a pretty shite card because the 6 Full House gets destroyed by a possible 10/Q/K or even 7 Full House.

I don't know what's next from this train of thought, or if it's even plausible.

EDIT:
If 26 is Baku's strongest hand, it probably means he's fucked no matter what. Which means that this round is lost anyway (because it's a shit card compared to a possible 7/10/Q/K Full House) so the next step is for Hal to determine what is Baku's strongest hand so he can prevent fucking it up. Because if he plays the strongest hand possible from 26, it'll eat at Baku's straight flush. He needs to know whether or not Baku needs the quad 7, quad 6, or the straight flush. If that's the case then he'll probably go for 6 6 5 5 4 or 7 7 5 4 3 because either combination saves at least two strong hands for the last round (instead of going for 4 5 5 5 7 which destroys both quad 7 and straight flush) although both save the straight flush so it doesn't really matter story-wise. I wonder how he'd choose between the two though.

Coincidentally, this sort of deduction isn't available to Fukurou because if 63 is played then you're forced into a hand anyway so you can't make any plays. If 44 is played then it's near the average, it'd be difficult to make any inferences from it. However, it is possible for Lalo to play 44 and cause another calamity though (Q Q Q 4 4) but I feel like that is too insane even for Lalo. He doesn't know that Baku will try to do some insane shit in the first place. Going for another calamity in the 4th round just to try for a win (18 v 14 bios in the end) on the chance that Baku tries to play a card that would destroy his straight flush but ultimately avoids it because his ally is a genius, even if he (Lalo) destroys his other number with this sort of play. Yeah fuck that

Just to be explicit, the scheme is for Baku is "to lose round 4 and win round 5 because assuming no more increases in the bet, it's the only way for me to win the match but I need to be able to play 26 but still let the straight flush in 25 survive" and for Hal it's "Baku for some reason* needs to keep his strongest hand for the last round so I'll try to avoid ruining it in round 4"
*I guess this is the hole in this whole scenario
So I'm expecting 63 and 26 to be played, with Fukurou forming a K K K Q Q, and Hal forming either 6 6 5 5 4 or 7 7 5 4 3

Which is probably why in the next chapter, 25 and 44 will be played because fuck you that's why

EDIT3: From Lalo's perspective
Lalo probably thinks that he just needs to avoid a calamity
If he plays 44 (Q Q Q 4 4) and then Baku plays his straight flush (Lalo already thinks that Baku's ace card is a straight flush judging from chapter 442, page 10) he'll get fucked
On the other hand if he just plays K K K Q Q and then 10 10 10 7 7, if Baku plays the straight flush first, whatever Baku plays, the 10 Full House from Lalo (44) is the strongest possible hand in the remaining pool anyway.

If 63 vs 25 (Lalo loses round) -> 44 vs ??? (Lalo wins round and match)
If 63 vs ??? (Lalo wins because it's the strongest hand possible aside from a straight flush -> 44 vs 25 (Just fold in order to avoid calamity, 18 v 18 bios)

If 44 vs 25 (Lalo folds to avoid calamity, loses round) -> 63 vs ??? (Lalo can't form hand and loses round and match)
if 44 vs ??? (Assuming he wins, he loses the possibility of creating a hand in the last round) -> 63 vs 25 (Loses the round, 18 v 18 bios)

With playing 44 first, he is destroying his other number for no apparent reason. He'll most definitely play 63
 

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