The moment Benn Beckman signaled the start, the entire training ground went silent. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath. Sterling and Yasopp stood side by side, pistols in hand, eyes locked forward at the first set of stationary targets.
Shanks leaned forward on the railing. "Alright, Sterling, don't choke on the very first round."
Branchina cupped her hands. "Yasopp! Show him why you are the best sniper!"
Sterling cracked his neck. "Don't blink, Yasopp. I don't want you saying you didn't see how clean my shot was."
Yasopp smirked. "You'd have to hit something cleanly for that to matter."
Benn lifted his hand, then dropped it.
"Round One, Basic Precision. Fire."
---
ROUND 1 - BASIC PRECISION
Sterling fired first.
His pistol snapped back in his hand, and the bullet struck the target, off-center, but still inside the scoring ring.
Shanks nodded. "Not bad, not bad. He didn't miss at least."
Yasopp stepped up without a word. His breathing slowed, eyes narrowing to a pinpoint focus. He fired a single shot.
Crack.
The bullet punched the exact center, splitting the painted bullseye cleanly.
Branchina clapped with both hands. "That's my Yassop!"
Sterling clicked his tongue. "Lucky shot."
Yasopp laughed. "There's nothing 'lucky' in precision, Sterling. That's skill. Something you might pick up someday."
Sterling fired back smiling. "That was only one round Yassop, don't get so cocky."
Benn scribbled down the score calmly.
"Yasopp takes Round One."
Sterling holstered his pistol with a small huff but didn't look discouraged. His eyes sharpened instead.
"Alright then," he muttered. "Round two."
---
ROUND 2 - SPEED SHOOTING
The moment Benn signaled, wooden panels across the field burst upward, targets popping into view at unpredictable angles.
Sterling reacted with raw instinct.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His shots were fast, sharp, and aggressive. He clipped four targets in a row, but the fifth he missed cleanly. He didn't slow down, just fired again and managed to hit it slightly off-center as it dropped.
Shanks grinned. "He's quick on the draw, at least."
But Yasopp?
He didn't move fast, but his bullets definitely did.
He waited half a beat longer than Sterling for the first target to reach its full height.
Then he unleashed.
Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang.
Five shots. Five perfect hits. Every target fell instantly, as if they were collapsing in fear of him.
Even Benn raised an eyebrow. "Perfect round."
Sterling's jaw twitched. "Five perfect shots, he has to he cheating right Benn?"
Yasopp blew imaginary smoke off his barrel. "No, Sterling. This is isn't cheating, it's just that easy to me."
Branchina almost doubled over laughing. "Sterling! Stop letting him walk on you like that!"
Sterling pointed at Yasopp. "Don't worry. One of these rounds will be my win."
Yasopp shrugged playfully. "There's nothing wrong with dreaming."
---
ROUND 3 - MOVING TARGETS
Rope-suspended targets glided, swung, or jerked unpredictably across the arena.
Sterling exhaled sharply, lifted his weapon, and fired. His timing was solid. He clipped several targets at awkward angles, showing real awareness and hand-eye coordination. He wasn't graceful, but he wasn't incompetent either. He scored decently.
Shanks cupped a hand around his mouth. "See? I told you guys, Sterling's not completely hopeless."
Sterling responds irritable. "What do you mean not completely hopeless Shanks, Im not hopeless at all. I'm hopeful"
Shanks responds. "I don't think that's how you are supposed to use hopefull in that context Sterling."
Yasopp ignored the chatter and stepped forward, rolled his shoulders, and without even fully raising his arm.
Crack. A swinging target dropped.
Crack. Another fell.
He didn't pause nor seem to struggle. He seemed to understand their movements before they made them.
Even Sterling paused mid-reload, watching.
Yasopp landed every shot with perfect motion tracking.
Benn didn't even write it down immediately, he just stared. "That's… flawless."
Sterling lowered his pistol. "Are you serious, Yasopp? The gap cannot be that big?"
Yasopp smirked. "Experience Sterling. Something you'll get when you stop being a sword-swinging amateur."
Sterling responds. "We still have rounds to go Yasopp, I can still win this. Just watch me."
---
ROUND 4 - LONG RANGE
The target on the distant hillside looked almost like a dot.
Sterling went still, analyzing. His face tightened with rare seriousness. He adjusted his stance, controlled his breathing, accounted for the wind as best as he could and fired.
The bullet missed completely.
"Well," Sterling said. "That was good for a first attempt at least. No one is getting that in one shot anyway."
Shanks clapped lightly. "Good effort, Sterling!"
Yasopp again ignored the chatter and inhaled deeply, adjusting his grip with impossibly small micromovements.
He fired.
The bullet hit dead center, so cleanly it punched a perfect hole without cracking the wood.
Branchina's cheer nearly shook the forest. "YASOOOOPP!! THAT'S MY YASOPP!"
Sterling stared at the target, then at Yasopp.
"…Yasopp. Are you sure you are human. That shouldn't be possible right?"
Yasopp shrugged. "I'm just talented."
Sterling argued. "No, no, no. Just talent alone is not enough to justify hitting a target that far so cleanly on your first try.
Yasopp responds. "Well, I have no other way of explaining it then."
---
ROUND 5 - TRICK SHOTS
Benn stepped aside. "This one's about creativity. All you have to do is Impress me."
Sterling cracked his neck, stepping forward first.
"Watch closely, I'll admit you are a better sniper than me Yasopp, but when it comes to entertainment. No one can best me."
He tossed a bottle into the air, pivoted, fired off a ricochet from a metal plate
The bullet hit the bottle just before it hit the ground.
Shanks whistled. "OOOOH! That was clean!"
Sterling blew imaginary smoke from his pistol dramatically. "See that? Sorry Yasopp, but that's just my Forte, it cannot be helped."
Yasopp smirked. "Alright, my turn."
He tossed a coin into the air, shot it from below, let it ricochet off a rock and hit a second target behind him without turning around.
Branchina screamed and almost jumped. "LET'S GOOOO YASOPP!"
Sterling scratched his head. "Okay… what excuse can I come up with now."
---
ROUND 6 - COMBAT SIMULATION
Smoke bombs popped, targets hid behind boxes, and distractions echoed.
Sterling handled himself well, ducking, rolling, firing sharply. His instincts helped; his accuracy, though rougher, still scored hits under pressure. He nailed several hidden targets with respectable precision.
Shanks punched the air. "That's the spirit! Look at him go!"
But Yasopp?
He moved like he wasn't affected by smoke at all.
He fired once behind a wooden barricade, hit a hidden target.
He turned, listening more than looking, and fired into a smoke cloud, another direct hit.
Sterling shouted over the smoke, half annoyed and half impressed, "Stop hitting things you can't see!"
Yasopp laughed back, "I can see them just fine!"
Benn nodded approvingly. "Yasopp wins this one by a landslide."
---
ROUND 7 went exactly as you'd expect, with Yasopp taking the win.
After everything was over Benn closed his notebook.
"Yasopp wins decisively."
Yasopp pumped his fist once, smiling confidently as Branchina practically leapt onto him with excitement.
Sterling let out a long exhale, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Alright. Fine. You're the better sniper."
Yasopp folded his arms smugly. "Finally admitted."
Sterling jabbed a finger at him. "But I was NOT a joke. I held up well."
Yasopp smirked. "You were actually better than I expected. Not good enough to beat me, but you're not hopeless."
Shanks wrapped an arm around Sterling's shoulders, laughing.
"Well, at least now we know! Sterling is great swordsman but a terrible sniper!"
Sterling shoved him lightly. "Shut up, Shanks."
Benn Beckman nodded. "Good effort, Sterling. But Yasopp? That was amazing sniping, at least now we know your reputation is indeed justified."
Branchina hugged Yasopp's arm proudly. "Of course it is."
Sterling says. "Okay, after such intense competition. I'm hungry again."
Branchina looks horrified. It hasn't been that long since you had that feast tho, she thinks.
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