Chapter 200: Speaking of Cute Pink-Haired Girls, Who Is the First One You Think Of?
.....
"Wait, the answer isn't Hinata?"
Sally was completely bewildered. How could that possibly be wrong? What was going on?
"Shallow!"
Seito barked with a low laugh. "You've only seen the surface-level plot of Naruto. But if you look at all seven hundred-plus episodes, there is only one person Naruto has truly loved from the very beginning!"
At this, Seito snapped his gaze toward Iori Kitahara.
"Where does it hurt?!"
"My throat is dry!!"
Ding!
As the two finished their synchronized meme-routine, Shiro pressed her buzzer.
"Sasuke Uchiha~"
[Correct Answer.]
Shiro's score climbed to eight. The rest of the players sat there like statues, frozen in place.
Sasuke Uchiha? What in the world?
They didn't understand "The Culture." Consequently, they had no idea about the legendary memes and "ships" that defined the community. From the looks of it, the difficulty of these questions had spiked significantly.
[Question 32]
[In the world of anime, if true love had a color, what color would it be?]
Ding!
"If true love had a color, it must be Blue!" Seito answered instantly.
[Question 33]
[The catchphrase 'Ara Ara' was made famous by which character?]
Ding!
"My waifu, Kurumi! Kurumi Tokisaki!" Seito roared.
[Question 34]
[What does the character 'Jotaro Kujo' usually look like in terms of facial expression?]
Ding!
"I am the invincible Star Platinum-da!"
[Question 35]
[Which anime does the quote 'We found you' (The flower we saw that day) belong to?]
Ding!
"Menma is my waifu! Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day!"
[Question 36]
[In anime, whose 'Kuchikamizake' (mouth-chewed sake) do countless otakus dream of?]
"My waifu! Mitsuha Miyamizu!"
Question after question flashed by. Seito didn't hesitate for even a second before firing off answers. The spectacle left the other players utterly shell-shocked.
Dammit! He's not even pausing! Does he have a database in his brain?!
The room fell into a heavy silence as they watched Seito's unstoppable momentum. Since these were all niche trivia questions, they couldn't even manage a guess!
As time ticked away, the game reached Question 48. Only three questions remained! Seito's score had soared to a staggering twenty-four points, securing him a rock-solid first place.
"The top five are decided. Let's just have some fun with the rest," Seito said, grinning ear-to-ear as he looked at the leaderboard. He had effectively vacuumed up half the points available. Now, the top five spots belonged entirely to the Fatui.
The players who hadn't answered a single question felt a wave of crushing misery. They were still sitting at zero.
[Question 48]
[Name the most classic and beautiful line from the anime 'Plastic Memories'.]
"Plastic Memories?"
The few anime fans in the room stiffened.
Ding!
Iori Kitahara slammed the button. "Guild Leader, Sora, Shiro, Sally, Ako—want to shout it together?" he asked with a mischievous grin.
"I'm in," Seito said, patting his chest.
Sora and Shiro shared a glance. "No objections here."
Sally and Ako looked at each other, feeling a bit embarrassed, but they gave a firm nod regardless.
Then, in perfect unison, they shouted:
"I hope that one day, you will be reunited with the person you cherish!" (May you be reunited with the one you love.)
Outside the Game... In the Safe Zones.
Countless Otaku players began wailing at the top of their lungs.
"Waaaaah! Isla, my little angel! The 'knife' (angst) came out of nowhere! Waaaaah!"
"I hope that one day, you will be reunited with the person you cherish!"
"Isla-chan!!"
The Otaku community was in an uproar! Since this final round was centered on anime culture, it had ignited a fire in their hearts. Not only were Seito and his group answering, but the eliminated fans outside were screaming the answers at their screens.
Tragedy, after all, was the most effective way to trigger a collective emotional resonance.
Back with Seito and the Group.
"Waaaaah, Isla..."
Out of nowhere, the grown man Iori Kitahara actually started sobbing. This left the non-fan players completely baffled. It's just a question, is it really worth crying that loudly?
Seito looked at Iori, feeling a deep sense of shared pain. When he first watched Plastic Memories, the "knives" had rained down on him relentlessly. There was no escape. The only way to describe the feeling afterward was one word:
Pain. Just pure pain.
[Question 49]
The penultimate question began. Seito and the others snapped back to attention, watching the screen intently.
[Speaking of cute pink-haired girls, who is the first one you think of?]
Ding!
One player slammed his button and jumped out of his seat. "Sakura Haruno!"
[Incorrect Answer.]
"Huh? Isn't Sakura pink-haired? And shouldn't this question have no 'standard' answer?" the player asked, dumbfounded.
To him, asking which pink-haired girl they thought of first felt like a free point. Surely any pink-haired girl would count?
"Brother, this question definitely has a standard answer," Iori couldn't help but say. If it appeared in this game, there was no way it was a "giveaway."
"Is... is that so?" The player scratched his head awkwardly and sat back down.
Seito, however, looked at the question with a very peculiar expression. A cute pink-haired girl? No matter how you look at it, this feels like a trap.
Ding!
Seito pressed the button, his face wearing an expression of "absolute victory."
"Diavolo!"
[Correct Answer!]
Instantly, the big screen switched images. Instead of a waifu, a buff, pink-haired man appeared on the screen.
The sight made the eyes of everyone in the hall nearly pop out of their heads.
That's a freaking MAN! Why is HE the correct answer?!
....
Thank you for reading.