For the Love of Ten Yen

Jigoku no 10-en shobu! (地獄の10円勝負！) is the 311th chapter of the manga it is also the third and last chapter of the Kinnosuke Kashao Arc.

Nabiki and Kinnosuke increasingly try to make the other spend at least 10 yen.

Continued from Previous Chapter
Enjoying the view from a luxurious cruise liner, Nabiki and Kinnosuke begin to wrap up their second date. Above them, Akane asks Ranma if he really believes Nabiki when she told them that she loves Kinnosuke. They are both skeptical and continue to watch in case anything happens.

Kinnosuke sees that his date appears moody and asks if there is anything wrong. With a dramatic look she begins talking about the heart of a young maiden. Kinnosuke's puppet assistant April acts as an intermediary so they can both express their true feelings for each other. After a brief talk he understands and leads his master to have a private talk while Nabiki busies herself by plucking petals of a flower to see if he loves her or not. After the talk with his hand puppet Kinnosuke realizes Nabiki's feelings and confesses his feelings as well. The romance continues as Nabiki claims that this battle of 10 yen stands between them and Kinnosuke insisting it doesn't matter.

Love Battle
They then get off the boat and enter the city. They find a fountain which Kinnosuke calls the Love Fountain and suggests that she throw in a 10 yen coin so their love can blossom. Before she can toss the coin, horrified Ranma smashes the fountain in two. The couple simply accepts this and walks away.

Nabiki then asks Kinnosuke to prove his love for her by giving her a ring. They come across a gashapon containing cheap rings worth 10 yen. But before Kinnosuke puts his money in, he notices a recycling bin with empty soda cans. He takes off the tab from one of them and presents it to Nabiki, which they both agree is acceptable.

The four of them finally get back on the helicopter with loads of expensive gifts for their future wedding. Akane is shaking at the prospect of getting into such a large debt, but Ranma has become quite nonchalant about the matter saying that there isn't much difference between 500 and 600 million yen. But even he is shaken when April reminds them that they are actually at 1 billion yen.

10 Yen Love
Suddenly they feel the helicopter shaking. They realize that the helicopter is falling and Kinnosuke and April are escaping. He tells Ranma that the fight is over and to check the cockpit. When they get there, they find a coin slot for 10 yen. Only by losing the battle can they operate the helicopter and land safely.

As he descends, Kinnosuke admits to his puppet that he did like Nabiki, but had to put his training before his love. He pulls the parachute cord only to find it to be a dud, with only his assistant's tiny parachute to slow his fall. Nabiki calls out to him from above with a working parachute. He realizes that Nabiki must have switched the parachute while he wasn't looking. After another sappy love talk Nabiki offers to sell an extra parachute for a mere 10 yen. Kinnosuke remains silent, determined to fall and injure himself rather than losing such an important battle. Nabiki is just as unwilling to simply hand over the parachute to the one she proclaimed her love to.

After the crash, April attempts to revive his master. After coming to his senses, Kinnosuke gives Nabiki a piece of paper with the number of his physician so she can use the nearby payphone to call for help. Akane and Ranma are surprised that after all that's happened they are still battling. But before Nabiki can produce a coin of her own, April digs into his master's pocket and takes out his own coin to be used for the payphone. She doesn't hesitate and takes this opportunity to win the match while Kinnosuke remains incapacitated.

However, after Nabiki makes a call the coin is returned. She realizes that she accidentally called the emergency number instead, which is free of charge. Kinnosuke crawls over to her to continue the battle. Nabiki was overcome by her usual sense of frugality and asks to break up with him. She takes the 10 yen April has given her, effectively winning the battle by taking 10 yen from him. With that, Kinnosuke is hit with many arrows of responsibilities.

It wasn't long before Kinnosuke set himself free from the debt once more as he escaped the hospital without paying, leaving only a single arrow on the bed. Nabiki for her part appears sad to Ranma and Akane, who believe she is still sad from breaking up with Kinnosuke. What they do not realize is that she is actually grieving about the fact that she only made 10 yen and that she should have increased the bet to 10 thousand yen instead.

Cast in Order of Appearance

 * Nabiki Tendo
 * Kinnosuke Kashao
 * April
 * Akane Tendo
 * Ranma Saotome (male)

Trivia

 * Throughout the arc, Kinnosuke's right hand is never seen as it is always controlling his puppet butler.