For several seconds after the battle ended, nobody in Koyagakure understood what they had just witnessed.
The frozen image of the battlefield remained above them, with the enormous bear suspended in midair and Koga standing beneath it, while the tiny Ignilion lay somewhere below the bear’s massive body, and yet the Sky Screen had already declared the result with absolute certainty.
INUZUZA KOGA WINS.
The Villager Chat exploded first.
Villager Mina: WHAT HAPPENED?!
Villager Toma: HOW DID HE WIN?!
Villager Haku: THE BEAR WAS ABOUT TO RIP HIM APART!
Villager Sora: I DIDN’T SEE ANYTHING!
Villager Mina: DID ANYONE SEE THE ATTACK?!
The messages appeared so quickly that they almost covered the entire window.
The Ninja Chat was no calmer.
Genin Raku: What happened?!
Chunin Sora: I don’t know!
Jonin Taro: Did anyone see Koga use a technique?
Kuma Ninja Goro: Our Clan Head was about to finish him!
Karasu Ninja: Then why did the battle suddenly end?
Yukiju Ninja: I didn’t see an attack either.
The Top Overlord Chat was equally confused.
Yukiju Ken: Rai, what happened?
Karasu Moira: Did you see anything?
Inuzuza Kiza: Explain what happened inside the battlefield.
For a moment, there was no response from Kuma Rai. Then his message finally appeared.
Kuma Rai: I don’t know.
The entire village seemed to become even quieter.
Another message appeared.
Yukiju Ken: What do you mean you don’t know?
Kuma Rai: I mean exactly that. I don’t know.
Karasu Moira: You were facing him directly.
Kuma Rai: Yes.
Inuzuza Kiza: Your bear had already reached him.
Kuma Rai: Yes.
Yukiju Ken: Then how did you lose?
There was another pause.
Then Kuma Rai finally answered.
Kuma Rai: I was underground when the battle started, and I watched him from below. He was trembling, his summoned beast was tiny, and I believed I had completely misunderstood him.
The messages stopped for a moment. Then another appeared.
Kuma Rai: My bear attacked his summoned beast. It crushed it several times. Then it turned toward Koga.
Karasu Moira: And?
Kuma Rai: I saw my bear jump toward him.
Inuzuza Kiza: Then what happened?
Kuma Rai: Heat.
The word appeared alone.
Kuma Rai: I felt heat.
Yukiju Ken: Heat?
Kuma Rai: Yes. Nothing else. No hand sign. No visible attack. No chakra technique that I could recognize. Just a flash of heat, and then everything went black.
The villagers stared at the chat.
A few seconds later, the Kuma Clan members began sending messages.
Kuma Ninja Goro: Clan Head, did the bear attack him?
Kuma Rai: Yes.
Kuma Ninja Seki: Did you see Koga attack?
Kuma Rai: No.
Kuma Ninja Goro: Then how did you die?
Kuma Rai’s answer appeared.
Kuma Rai: I already told everyone, I doooonnn’t knowww.
That answer sent another wave of confusion through the village. Even the strongest people in Koyagakure had no explanation. Then the Sky Screen flickered. The battlefield disappeared. A brilliant light spread across the heavens.
OUTRAGEOUS!
The villagers looked up. Another message appeared.
ASTONISHING!
Then another.
TRULY EXTRAORDINARY!
Koga’s eyebrows rose.
"What now?"
The Sky Screen continued.
THE NUMBER ONE OVERLORD, INUZUZA KOGA, HAS ONCE AGAIN SHATTERED EXPECTATIONS!
Koga stared.
"Uh..."
The next words became even more dramatic.
HE DID NOT NEED TO DISPLAY HIS OVERWHELMING PHYSICAL POWER!
HE DID NOT NEED TO DISPLAY HIS MYSTERIOUS HIDDEN ABILITIES!
HE DID NOT NEED TO USE A SINGLE NINJA TECHNIQUE!
INSTEAD, THE NUMBER ONE OVERLORD USED A NEWBORN LEGENDARY BEAST!
The villagers immediately became loud.
"Newborn?"
"That little thing was newborn?"
"It was a legendary beast?"
The Sky Screen continued its praise.
WITH A SUMMONED BEAST THAT HAD ONLY JUST ARRIVED IN THIS WORLD, INUZUZA KOGA DEFEATED KUMA RAI, THE SECOND RANKED OVERLORD OF KOYAGAKURE!
THE DIFFERENCE IN EXPERIENCE WAS ENORMOUS!
THE DIFFERENCE IN BATTLE KNOWLEDGE WAS ENORMOUS!
THE DIFFERENCE IN COMBAT HISTORY WAS ENORMOUS!
YET THE NUMBER ONE OVERLORD REMAINED VICTORIOUS!
Meanwhile, Koga’s face became increasingly uncomfortable. "It’s making this sound much more impressive than it was."
The Sky Screen continued.
THIS IS THE TRUE GREATNESS OF AN OVERLORD!
HE DOES NOT NEED TO REVEAL EVERYTHING!
HE DOES NOT NEED TO DISPLAY HIS FULL STRENGTH!
HE DOES NOT NEED TO PROVE HIMSELF THROUGH MINDLESS DESTRUCTION!
HE SIMPLY STANDS AT THE TOP!
The villagers began cheering.
"The number one!"
"Overlord Koga!"
"That’s incredible!"
Koga covered his face.
"Please stop."
The Sky Screen did not stop.
EVEN WHEN HIS LEGENDARY BEAST WAS ONLY A NEWBORN, HE TRUSTED IT!
Koga blinked.
"I did what?"
EVEN WHEN HIS OPPONENT USED A TERRIFYING SECRET TECHNIQUE, HE REMAINED CALM!
Koga stared blankly. He remembered how terrified he was that time. System, isn’t this glazing too much?
EVEN WHEN HIS OPPONENT DISAPPEARED UNDERGROUND, HE REMAINED COMPOSED!
Koga’s eye twitched.
EVEN WHEN THE ENEMY’S SUMMONED BEAST ATTACKED, HE NEVER LOST HIS CONFIDENCE!
The sky screen continued cheering while Koga stood there wishing the ground would swallow him.
Then the Sky Screen finally displayed one ending line.
CONGRATULATIONS, INUZUZA KOGA.
YOUR VICTORY HAS ONCE AGAIN PROVEN THAT THE NUMBER ONE POSITION BELONGS TO YOU.
Koga slowly lowered his hand.
"..."
He had no idea what to say.
Meanwhile, the chats became impossible to control.
Villager Mina: SKY SCREEN, EXPLAIN!
Villager Toma: HOW DID KOGA WIN?!
Genin Raku: WHAT DID HE DO?!
Chunin Sora: WHAT WAS THAT ATTACK?!
Jonin Taro: WE NEED AN EXPLANATION!
Kuma Ninja Goro: HOW DID OUR CLAN HEAD DIE?!
Yukiju Ninja: WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED?!
Karasu Ninja: WHAT DID KOGA USE?!
The Top Overlord Chat became active again.
Yukiju Ken: Sky Screen, explain the attack.
Karasu Moira: We need to understand what happened.
Inuzuza Kiza: Explain why Kuma Rai lost.
The Sky Screen finally responded.
THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE.
Everyone waited.
THE LEGENDARY BEAST IGNILION POSSESSES AN ABILITY.
The villagers stared.
THIS ABILITY CAN DEFEAT ANY TARGET IN A SINGLE SUCCESSFUL HIT.
Silence.
Then the village erupted.
"ANY TARGET?!"
"It can kill anyone?!"
"How can we defend against that?"
"Then how can anyone fight Koga?"
Even the Ninja became visibly uneasy.
The Kuma Clan members stared at one another.
Kuma Ninja Goro: Any target?
Kuma Ninja Seki: Even a Sannin?
Yukiju Ninja: Even a Clan Head?
Karasu Ninja: Even someone stronger than them?
The Top Overlord Chat became silent.
Then the System answered.
YES.
The word was enormous.
BESIDE KOGA, EARTH ERUPTION CAN DEFEAT ANY TARGET IF IT SUCCESSFULLY HITS.
Koga’s eyes widened.
"So it really does work like that?"
He looked toward his tiny Ignilion. The little beast happily wagged its tail. Koga suddenly felt a little better. At least his reward was not completely useless. Then the Sky Screen added another line.
HOWEVER, THE ABILITY HAS A MAJOR LIMITATION.
Everyone waited.
IT HAS ONLY A FIVE PERCENT CHANCE OF SUCCESSFULLY HITTING A TARGET.
The village became silent.
Someone finally spoke.
"Five percent?"
The System continued.
EVEN A CHILD COULD EVADE THE ATTACK IF THEY UNDERSTOOD ITS MECHANICS AND MOVED AT THE CORRECT MOMENT.
That statement changed everything. The villagers slowly exchanged glances.
"So it isn’t an automatic victory."
"No."
"It only works if it hits."
"And it has a five percent chance."
"That sounds almost impossible."
The Ninja began thinking.
Yukiju Ken narrowed his eyes.
"So Koga somehow managed to land an attack with only a five percent success rate."
Karasu Moira stared at the battlefield.
"Against Kuma Rai."
Inuzuza Kiza remained silent.
The Kuma Clan members looked even more confused. Their Clan Head had used an underground technique. He had hidden himself. He had waited. His bear had attacked. The number one Koga in the ranking even appeared terrified. The tiny newborn Ignilion had been crushed. And yet somehow, that five percent attack had connected.
Kuma Rai himself had admitted that he felt nothing except heat. The System’s explanation only created another mystery.
THE ATTACK WAS SUCCESSFUL.
That was all.
No further explanation came.
The Villager Chat exploded again.
Villager Mina: BUT HOW?!
Villager Toma: FIVE PERCENT!
Villager Haku: HOW DID HE DO THAT?!
The Ninja Chat followed.
Genin Raku: Was it luck?
Chunin Sora: Five percent is possible.
Jonin Taro: Yes, but something still doesn’t make sense.
Kuma Ninja Goro: Our Clan Head was underground.
Yukiju Ninja: That might be important.
Kuma Rai remained silent.
He remembered Koga trembling. He remembered the tiny Ignilion. He remembered the heat. He remembered how impossible the entire battle had seemed. Then the Sky Screen displayed one final message.
THE QUESTION REMAINS.
The villagers leaned forward. The Ninja stopped typing. The clan leaders stared. Koga’s own heart began pounding. Everyone wanted the same answer. The question appeared across the heavens in enormous letters.
HOW DID INUZUZA KOGA LAND A FIVE PERCENT HIT ON KUMA RAI?