Although many people had already lost their chance to continue in the competition, since they had already spent their 500 yen, they figured they might as well stay and see who would end up winning.
With that in mind, almost none of the participants left. In fact, even more bystanders were drawn in.
As a result, the crowd at the venue had grown even larger.
A few more people walked into the Nintendo specialty store across the street.
"Sorry, there are just too many people outside. Can we stand here for a bit?"
Chiyama Hayato let out a deep sigh.
He was exhausted. Let the world burn.
He stood up and walked toward the storefront.
He wanted to see what on earth was so interesting about this final match that it drew such a crowd.
Just as he stepped outside, Yuji Naka's voice suddenly boomed from the speakers, startling him.
"Has the match already reached such a burning-hot climax?! The Black Flame Dragon versus the Blue-Eyes White Dragon — this is a destined duel! Everyone, prepare yourselves!"
…
…
"Dock his pay. I have to dock his pay."
Kobayashi Tetsu muttered under his breath.
He really wasn't the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!
Right now, he was sitting shoulder to shoulder with the Black Flame Dragon in front of a TV, gripping his joystick. The screen was split into left and right, each side showing a different stack of blocks. Their scores were close — Tetsu had 59, and Black Flame Dragon had 58.
Tetsu even had the leisure to glance around.
On one side, a winner had already been decided. But on Kobayakawa's side, the match wasn't over yet.
Tetsu was waiting.
If she lost, he could finish normally and take third place.
If she won, he could simply surrender — either way, someone else would take third.
There was no point taking first or second. He planned to leave that game console for someone who needed it more.
He pulled his thoughts back and casually tapped the rotate button, sending the Z-shaped block spinning wildly on his screen.
He pondered where to place it.
With no preview of the next block, winning required some strategy. He needed to think.
Meanwhile, the Black Flame Dragon was fired up.
"On the right! My L! Hurry and descend! Let our spirits become one — my fingers are lightning! Come to me, my L! With you, I shall be invincible!"
Tetsu tilted his head.
What a damn chuuni.
But perhaps his prayer really worked.
An L block dropped down, and the Black Flame Dragon slotted it perfectly into a long-prepared inverted gap, clearing three lines at once.
Tetsu was surprised. A nuisance block descended onto his own field — and it couldn't have been more perfectly placed. It blocked the exact hole he had readied for his I-block tetratris.
"I'll shatter your dreams!"
Tetsu roared silently in his mind.
"Is my chuuni power not strong enough? How could I let myself get blocked like this…! But even so, the field must remain under my control!"
Tetsu scanned the screen, soft-dropping blocks one after another. Even if he could only clear a single line, clearing that one line would still open up a path.
But the blocks kept piling up. It looked as if he was building four new lines on top of the four he failed to clear. And now he was dangerously close to the top — with even less time to react.
The Black Flame Dragon's taunting echoed in his ears:
"Mudada mudada! Useless! My lightning has blocked your path to victory! Fate smiles upon me — I am destined to win! Unless your next block is an S, you won't clear anything!"
Tetsu didn't even bother replying. He kept his eyes on the screen.
The next block was a T.
Holding his T-piece, he glanced at one of the outer monitors.
Kobayakawa seemed to have already won — her opponent looked crushed, and she looked relieved.
"Then I guess I can surrender now."
In that moment, Tetsu completely lost interest in the match.
He didn't feel like playing anymore. Losing was fine.
He moved to drop the T piece somewhere irrelevant.
But suddenly, the Black Flame Dragon hit the pause button on the console.
Tetsu froze.
"…Why'd you pause?"
"You bastard, what the hell are you doing?!"
The Black Flame Dragon jumped to his feet, towering over Tetsu.
"Play properly! Don't you dare hold back!"
Tetsu blinked. "Hold back? I don't stand a chance anymore. I was just going to surrender."
"Lies! You ARE holding back! I've been observing you this whole match!
When you're thinking about where to place a block, you rotate it unconsciously!
But when you don't care and are just stacking randomly, you only soft-drop!
And right now you're soft-dropping without purpose! You clearly have openings but you're not going for them! Don't give me that crap — you ARE holding back!"
He grabbed Tetsu by the collar.
"Take this seriously, damn you! Respect the game! Respect the tournament!
You think I'm sitting here just for that SG-1200?!
I want to see sweat and effort poured out in pursuit of victory!!"
The sudden commotion drew the attention of the entire crowd.
Even Yuji Naka didn't know whether he should intervene.
The shouting rattled Tetsu's eardrums, but for some reason…
it ignited something inside him.
He brushed off Black Flame Dragon's hand and straightened his collar.
"I already respect this game. But if you say that's not enough — or if you just won't be satisfied until you see yourself lose — then fine. Let's continue."
He unpaused and immediately rotated the T-piece.
In competitive Tetris, there's a specialized technique called a spin.
It takes advantage of the game's underlying mechanics to rotate a block into a space that seems otherwise impossible.
With the right setup, it protects your scoring structure while launching a counterattack.
But in versus mode, your opponent constantly drops garbage blocks to disrupt your setup, preventing you from executing planned multi-line clears.
That's why players create an overhang block — a protective "roof" over the scoring slot.
Normally, a block can't slip under the overhang.
But with rotation…
You can.
In the blink of an eye—
Tetsu slid the upright T under the overhang he had prepared beforehand, rotating it mid-descent and snapping it perfectly into place.
Two lines vanished instantly.
The blocks above settled downward.
As more blocks fell, a hidden scoring slot reopened, revealing an intended setup beneath.
There was no I-piece on the preview.
Yet, when those two lines cleared, an I-block dropped straight down the reopened path—
And landed perfectly.
A clean four-line clear.
"…Huh? …HUH?!"
The Black Flame Dragon's eyes widened.
For a moment, he was speechless.
He had never imagined such a technique was possible—
not even once.
Tetsu set his joystick down and spread his hands casually.
"You wanted to see it. There you go."
He hadn't wanted a high score…
But now, he could only accept reality.
He had won.
Behind them, the gathered spectators let out a heartfelt sigh.
It was over.
Sure, it had been a chuuni battle between the Black Flame Dragon and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon—
But thanks to that…
They had witnessed an amazing match.
Tetsu pulled the brim of his cap down.
How many times did he have to say it—
he wasn't the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"Sigh…"
The Black Flame Dragon let out a long breath.
He had lost — but whatever.
"That was one hell of a satisfying fight!"
He extended his hand toward Tetsu.
"Shake on it!"
Tetsu looked a little awkward.
"…Why would I shake hands with a guy like you? Fine. Just this once."
He shook hands with him anyway.
A little farther away, Kobayakawa wore a genuinely moved expression.
Then she silently mouthed toward Tetsu:
—Liar. Liar!—
He said he wasn't good at the game, yet he played better than anyone.
But…
Thinking back to that chain-clear…
She couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
He really was incredible.
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 15+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon