Rival Ninja

The third boss, at 1,500 metres in the Snow Peaks: a red ninja as fast as yours. He's the one boss you beat by getting in his way rather than hitting him from afar.

Where: 1,500 m, Snow Peaks
Hits to win: 4
Best ink: Any ink trips him; rubber for caltrops
Watch out for: Shadow clones and smoke bombs
First-win badge: No rival, 120 coins and an outfit
Every lap: One more hit to win

What he does

He arrives from behind, dashes past you and settles into a run ahead. Every so often he does one of two things:

Throws kunai. He skids to a stop, turns round, shows red dots and throws a kunai back at you. Once he's down to his last hit, he throws two at a time.
Drops caltrops. He scatters a patch of spikes on the ground behind him, right in your path.

After throwing, he sprints off to regain his lead.

How to beat him

Trip him. A line crossing his path, anywhere from ankle to chest height, sends him tumbling when he runs into it, but only if it's right at his feet. He sees a line coming: draw it further ahead and he leaps clean over it. The best moment is while he's stopped to throw: draw a short upright stroke on the ground just in front of his toes. When he dashes off again, he runs straight into it.

He learns, too. After each trip the line has to be a little closer to him, so the last trip needs the tightest stroke of all.

A tripped rival falls, vanishes in a puff of smoke and comes flying past you again a second later. Four trips and he's done.

You can also hurt him by sending a kunai back, exactly like an archer's arrow. That's a harder shot because he's small and moving, but it counts the same.

Handling his attacks

Kunai: block them across the dots, like arrows. If you have ink to spare, tilt the block back toward him.
Caltrops: treat them like thorns. A low bridge over them, or a rubber bounce just before them.

Best ink

The trip line can be any ink, even fire. For the caltrops, rubber is great: one short stroke and he bounces clean over.

Common mistakes

Drawing the trip line too far ahead. He leaps any line he sees coming. Draw it right at his feet while he's stopped, not a few steps in front of him.
Forgetting his kunai. Tripping him is satisfying, but the kunai he just threw is still coming. Block first, trip second if ink is short.

Shadow clones and smoke bombs

The Rival is now a charcoal ninja with a long red hood. His new move is shadow clones: two see-through copies appear beside him and all three throw at once, each along its own dotted path. Block all three kunai; only the real Rival (the solid one) can be hurt when you send one back.

After your first hit he gets angry. Instead of caltrops he throws a smoke bomb, vanishes, and reappears much closer, already throwing. Keep a line ready.

Reward

50 coins, points and the No rival badge, which also unlocks the Shadow outfit in the Shop. Next: the Great Hawk under the moon.