Foolish Survivor -Win and Remain-

Fumihiko Takaba revisits what first drew him to comedy. With his purpose remembered, he steadies himself, apologizes to Kenjaku, and reactivates his technique while swearing to wring laughter out of his opponent, driving the duel toward its peak.

Years earlier, Takaba trained as a comic at Tantan University and confronted a tardy, hungover partner before a rehearsal. The partner snapped back that he was always covering for Takaba, who never drank with the group, never laughed from the wings, and only avoided trouble with seniors thanks to him. When Takaba demanded he take comedy seriously and threw a punch, the partner admitted that performing with Takaba simply was not fun, asking why an audience would laugh if the duo themselves did not.

Later, a harsh review wounded Takaba, but a colleague reminded him no act pleases everyone and urged a brighter outlook. A newer partner then quit, pointing out their middle age while classmates had steady jobs and families, and asked how long Takaba meant to keep going. Alone in his apartment, Takaba recalled answering that he would continue until he fully did what he found funny. He traced his start back to a cold, friendless childhood, when forcing himself to joke around finally won him laughter and acceptance, though he never found a lasting comedy partner. Watching a duo on television, he held back tears and concluded he became a comic so people would know him and he would never feel alone again.

In the present, Takaba sits across from his younger self in a classroom, the boy questioning what doing comedy seriously even means. Takaba realizes his colleague's old advice about not needing everyone's laughter was really a plea not to give up, advice he twisted into self-protection, abandoning seriousness out of fear of being hurt. Kenjaku, meanwhile, admires the flawless prostration form Takaba has dropped into, marveling that he himself only reached such polish in his late twenties before catching himself. Takaba apologizes for dismissing Kenjaku to shield his own ego, renounces his earlier excuses, and declares his resolve to make the whole audience laugh, telling Kenjaku to brace for it. The excitement, quite literally, shows on Kenjaku's face.

This Shinjuku Showdown Arc chapter continues the bout of Fumihiko Takaba against Kenjaku, moving between Tantan University in flashback and the Lake Gosho Colony in Iwate Prefecture. The featured techniques remain Comedian and Cursed Spirit Manipulation, and the title keeps up the chapter run's recurring song reference.