Gamble Fish 23

Chapter 23

151

Title: Fight 23 Going All in on Myself!!

152

Natsumi: Shirasagi's counterattack begins now!!
Natsumi: In the 3rd set, he has finally been given a chance. But...!!

Natsumi: The 9-ball is forming a wall between the cue ball and the 8-ball he needs to hit in.
Natsumi: How will he deal with the "safety" Asahina has set up for him!?

153

Asahina: Heh heh heh...Only a pro could get out of this situation.
Asahina: This safety is even more difficult than it initially looks.

Natsumi: The only way to deal with it is to aim for the 8-ball with a bank shot.
Natsumi: But hitting it with the right amount of power is difficult.

Natsumi: Also, if he doesn't hit the 8-ball correctly, he'll leave behind a nice, easy shot.
Natsumi: And he could also miss the 8-ball altogether and get a foul.

154

Tomu: This is a tricky shot...If I don't want to hit the 9-ball, I can only aim for the cushion.
Tomu: But I didn't do any bank shot practice at all.

Tomu: Is there no other way to do this...?

Crowd: What are you doing? Hurry up and make your shot, Shirasagi.

Gokijima: Stoppin' the air conditionin' was a pretty good idea for that desperate situation...
Gokijima: but it's over, kid.

155

Gokijima: I only taught that damn kid how to shoot straight.
Gokijima: That was all he was supposed to need for my plan to work.

Gokijima: Too bad I won't get my 2 million yen reward, but I've still got the 2 million I got up front!!
Text around Gokijima: Eheh eheh eheh
Gokijima: I'll see the kid off to the end and then I'll go have a nice feast in the neon city.

Crowd: What are you waiting for, Shirasagi!?
Crowd: Hurry up!

156

Tomu: There's...
Tomu: a way!!!

157

Crowd: Wh-what's Shirasagi doing?
Crowd: After all that, he's just gonna go for it straight on?
Crowd: He'll just hit the 9-ball and get a foul, right?
Crowd: And if he misses it, it'll just go in the corner pocket!!

158

Asahina: What? He isn't jumping it or putting spin on it, he's just going for a normal stroke.
Asahina: That won't get him anything.
Mika: He couldn't be just giving up in desperation, could he?
Mika: No...he wouldn't give up...

Mizuhara: Tomu!!
Mizuhara: Are you doing that...!?

Mizuhara: Are you okay, Tomu?
Tomu: Yeah...Thanks, Mizuhara...

159

Mizuhara: The match is tomorrow, but you're so worn out you can barely walk!!
Mizuhara: Training for the whole ten days with almost no sleep or rest was reckless...
Tomu: Ha ha...Yeah, it was.

Mizuhara: But...you really are amazing.
Tomu: ...Hm?

Mizuhara: I mean...you're taking this match straight on even though you're at such an overwhelming disadvantage.
Mizuhara: A coward like me can't help but admire the kind of guts that takes. Ha ha ha...

Mizuhara: Hey, Tomu. What's your secret to winning all these gambles?
Mizuhara: Is it intelligence? Insight?
Mizuhara: Or is it just good luck?

Tomu: A long time ago...there was someone to whom I asked that same question.
Mizuhara: Eh?
Tomu: And the answer I got was this...

160

Tomu: Courage...
Tomu: The courage to bet on yourself.

161

Tomu: Don't be afraid...
Tomu: Believe in your possibilities and fight!!

Gokijima: That angle and that stroke...
Gokijima: It couldn't be...!

Mizuhara: Go!!! Tomu!!!

162

Tomu: I'm going all in on myself!!!!

163

Natsumi: I-it made it past!! It just barely made it past the 9-ball!!

Natsumi: Ahh!! The cue ball's heading straight for the pocket!!!
Natsumi: Oh, no!! It's going to go in!!!

164

Asahina: A corner scratch!! It's over!!

165

Asahina: What!!?

Gokijima: N-no way!!
Gokijima: That kid really did it...

Natsumi: The cue ball came away from the pocket and hit the 8-ball...
Natsumi: Ah!!

Natsumi: Ah...!!

166

Natsumi: It's iiiin!!!

Crowd: Woooow!!! What a miraculous shot!!
Crowd: I've never seen anything like it!!!

167

Natsumi: Sh-Shirasagi did it!!
Natsumi: That was the "Cockroach Shot"!!!
Natsumi: That's the hustler technique that Gokijima showed us at my uncle's shop!!

Asahina: Th-there's no way!!
Asahina: That couldn't have been on purpose...He just got lucky!!

Mizuhara: No...That wasn't just luck!!

Mizuhara: Tomu used his cell phone without Gokijima noticing...

Mizuhara: to take a video of the Cockroach Shot.

Mizuhara: He chose the hustler technique to be his trump card if he needed it.
Mizuhara: He continued to research the Cockroach Shot by himself after Gokijima's training was over.

168

Mizuhara: It's true he can't pull it off with as much consistency as its creator, Gokijima...
Mizuhara: But Tomu used the pressure to bring out all of his skill so he could pull off the best shot he could!!

Natsumi: Okay, all that's left is the 9-ball!!
Natsumi: Compared to that last shot, this one is quite easy, but...

Gokijima: It even ended up in a nice spot...
Gokijima: Could this be...?

169

Natsumi: The 9-ball's in!!!
Natsumi: Shirasagi just got his long-awaited first victory!!!

Mizuhara: Way to go, Tomu!!

170

Gokijima: Compared to my original version, his handling of the cue ball may have made it a little easier for him...
Gokijima: But he really has guts to use that technique when failure would mean his defeat...

Gokijima: And it looks like luck is smiling on him now...
Gokijima: If he wins, I get an extra 2 million yen reward...

Gokijima: All riiiiight!!!
Gokijima: (bubble): Tomu-chaaan.
Gokijima: My source of money is back!!!!