In the luxury box for the Finalists, Suzu and Tai didn't take their eyes off the arena for an instant. The latter leaned on the railing for a better view of the match.

"Uwahh..."

"You can see what's going on from here? That's impressive eyesight you have Tai."

"No, I can't see it clearly. But their actions tells the whole story. I don't know what Rei said or did... but I know for a fact it was very, VERY rude."

"I doubt it's as rude as him..." Suzu glared towards her right.

"Hm? Oh yeah... that guy."

While the pair were situated on the left side of the box, an old foe of theirs was on the opposite end, sneering at them.

Etoro Konjiki, having already been declared winner of the third round, casually leaned against the wall. Constantly sent them rude gestures with his face and hands the moment he arrived.

"Ugh...! Still bothers me that immature bastard is roaming around freely, and not rotting in cell for what he and his team did."

"Annoying as he is, Tango-sensei was right in telling us to close our hearts to it. He's just trying to get under our skin."

"I know... but what bothers me even more is Rei getting surrounded by those from Etoro's village. I have no doubt that jerk told them about us and our skills. This rigged tournament sucks."

"We knew something like this would happen the moment it was revealed his village had allied with this one. To be honest, we're fortunate you and I didn't have a similar experience. Besides, there's no way he'd lose before even making it to the finals."

 

"Haha, that's true. Still, I wish we didn't have to share this spot with that... Ugh! Oh, so classy! Now he's flipping us off! Is there any Genin in our village that juvenile?"

 

♦♦♦

 

"N-Ngh! This little fu—!"

"Come ooooonnnn. I was under the impression this finger of my mine was supposed to motivate you losers. Oh wait, could it be...?! Oh... how foolish of me. I'm so sorry guys, this is totally a mistake on my part!"

Rei baffled his opponents when he abruptly bowed to them apologetically. Still holding the remaining eighth Ishi Genin by the leg, still paralyzed from the attack Rei redirected at him.

"?"

"I assumed you cowardly simps act like this was because you're all so butt ugly. I mean, have you seen your faces? Like actually looked in a mirror? Those faces look like something God drew with his left hand. Seriously, were all of your parents a part of some f***ed up sex cult where you get conceived sideways?"

SNAP!

The sound of knuckles cracking could be heard as the blood pressure within Rei's enemies continued to rise. However, the young Genin continued onwards with his provocations without a care in the world.

"But I failed to consider your brains could be just as bad as your appearance. That was quite insensitive of me, it's easy to forget that a bad appearance doesn't necessarily imply one will have bad behavior. Anyways, why are you all so hideous? Is it because you do dumb, crappy shit like this that you inevitably end up looking like shit?"

BAM!

"THAT'S IT! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!! Kuchiyose no Jutsu¹Summoning Technique—?!"

Before the loud Ishi ninja could slam his hand to the ground, Rei appeared in front of him, delivering a swift sweeping kick to his ankles.

"That's not even gonna—?!"

As the Genin was about to hit the ground, he received another kick to chest, which sent him hurdling to the other side of the arena, knocking him off the platform.

The others were once again at a loss for words. Unable to believe one so much younger than them could be so fast and strong.

"Again, your brain cells could probably be counted with one hand. Announcing your move only invites me to kick you into to next week...*SIGH*! This is getting boring... Ah! Alright, I got it! How about we try something new?"

"?!"

"There's six of you left, if you don't count this paralyzed nimrod I'm holding on to for some reason. But I just got an idea, no matter how dumb you are, I'm sure you ugly idiots have heard of that old game... Hanetsuki²Traditional Badminton game with no net right?

"Eh? A kids game?"

"What are you on about now?!"

"I'm about to show you guys how I—"

"Quit screwing around!"

SMACK!

Rei's figure shifted once again, his free hand slapping the one who had just interrupted him into the ground.

"U-Ugh! D-Damn you!"

"I'm not done talking... shithead. Don't interrupt me... ever."

"*GULP*!"

Rei smile reemerged as if he was an innocent child, returning once again to the middle of their encirclement, all the while raising the unconscious Ishi Genin he still hadn't let go of by the leg.

"Like I said, Hanetsuki. That old game. See? I even have the paddle right here! And look at all the shuttlecocks in front of me... how could I resist not playing?"

"Shuttle... oh my god..."

"No... he's not gonna-?!"

The anger in their hearts instantly turned to dread as they quickly released what he planned to do. The innocent smile on his face instantly turning into one that couldn't belong to none but the devil himself.

"And AWAAAAY we go!"

BAM!

With no remorse in stock, he struck the first ninja that attempted to flee, his weapon... the body of the paralyzed Ishi-nin!

Ruthlessly using his body like paddle, he sent his first victim flying into the air before jumping himself! Delivering the final blow to knock him out of the ring.

"Serve! Wait... I said Hanetsuki, not volleyball! The shuttlecock is only supposed to fly away AFTER I hit it, not before! As for the rest of you..."

"YOU BLOODY LUNATIC!"

"CRAP! Attack, do whatever you can! Just take him out! Don't let him get close!!"

"Ninpō³Ninja Art...!"

"Hijutsu⁴Secret Technique...!"

"Raiton⁵Lightning Style...!"

The remaining five unleashed every weapon and jutsu in their arsenal, but Rei's speed proved to be too much! The arena floor cracked under his feet as he continued to shift and move from one spot to the next. Easily avoiding any and every attack sent his way!

"I just told you lot to quit running from me! How am I supposed to play if you do?!"

BAM!!

"GAAAAH!!!"

"Not again!"

One after the other, bodies flew off the arena as the crowd was at a complete loss for words.

His behavior befuddled the minds of thousands in the stands as his hooded figure playfully bounced around as if this battleground was his playground.

Many laughed, some were appalled, others angered... but the majority of them felt as if their minds had been shut off.

"Ahhhhh... that was refreshing. I haven't had fun like that in years. Or maybe it's because I owe Ishigakure a debt after their part in the Company's machinations. Whatever the case, I feel so much better now that I... Oops! Better get rid of this thing"

FWIP!

Done with his opponents, he tossed his "paddle" off the arena, not even expressing the basic courtesy of treating his opponent like a human being. Solidifying his status as victor of this match.

He then stretched without a care in the world, waiting for the referee to make his announcement.

{What in the world did I just watch...?} "A-Ah!" Kitsuchi didn't have time to think about Rei's performance as the quiet snapped him out of his trance.

 

"The winner of the 7th round is... Rei Sano!"

 

♦♦♦

 

The VIP section

Many representatives found this situation to be quite amusing, some even so bold as to burst out into laughter. Ironically, many of them praised the performance of the young Genin from Kumogakure.

In the process, Tetsuo and Shō turned their attention to Mabui.

"So Mabui-san, that was quite a match. Ummm... I had no idea your cousin was so..."

"Please Mori-dono... please don't say anything else."

Mabui held her head as she heaved the heaviest sigh in her entire life. Tetsuo awkwardly tried to downplay the situation as Shō whispered behind him.

"He didn't use the device you provided for this round sir. Is that alright?"

"Honestly Shō... I think it's better he didn't. Only god knows what he would've done if he chose to use it."

"R-Right..."

Tetsuo was a little disappointed none of Team Tango decided to use the inventions he so graciously provided them for the preliminaries. But he knew the Finals were a far better stage to demonstrate his company's prowess.

"At least they all made it to the finals, right Mabui-san? That's one hurdle out of the way."

"*SIGH*! True, but now the hard part begins. Just look around, you can clearly see those three have now become targets."

Mabui used her eyes as a means of identifying their enemies.

Several persons of interests were clenching their teeth out of frustration. The Earth Daimyō's assistant Danjō angrily whispered as he chewed out several representatives from Ishigakure.

"Is this what you promised us?! That was the most pathetic display I've ever seen during my tenture in Iwagakure! That is the best your shinobi is capable of?!"

"This was only the preliminary round, most of the average Genin got here on their own, in spite of the fact YOU barely helped us during the second exam!"

"Maybe if your village wasn't so concerned with hogging all the glory, more proficient ninja from our land would've been present today...!"

"Oh... you're turning this on us?! We've done everything, even placed the odds in your favor for this round! After your prize terrorist trio wouldn't shut up about the three from Kumogakure, we ensured your village would have an edge this round!"

"Hmph! Clearly it wasn't enough!"

"Tsk! We need this to convince the Land of Flowers' representative to ally with us, and not the Land of Fire! If you continue like this, maybe I should rethink our deal!"

"Such a threat would only prove fruitful if you were actually the Daimyō, and not his stooge."

"K-Kuh!" Hit were it hurt, Danjō choked on his words.

The conniving politician long held aspirations of becoming the next Daimyō for the Land of Earth. His village's under-the-table deal with the Land of Flowers for more produce was a golden opportunity to earn favor.

It was none other than Danjō who enacted the various sabotage and foul play throughout the duration of this year's Chūnin Exams. Yet all his plans had failed to bear any fruit.

{Found you. I've burned their names and faces into my memory, Raikage-sama}

One of Mabui objectives was not only to protect and aid Tetsuo, but to discover the ones responsible for their recent headaches.

 

In the event their village comes into conflict with Iwagakure, such information was prove most useful as leverage.

 

♦♦♦

 

"AHAHAHA!"

"Did you see their faces?! Kukuku!"

Back in the stands, Darui and others were at a complete loss for words.

"Come now Omoi, Karui! Behave yourselves!"

"But Mariko-san... Rei-nii was so funny!!"

"Well... I don't deny that. And what about you C? Are you still worried about him?"

"Huh?! N-No. Ahem! T-That was... um... what do you think Darui?!"

"M-Me?! Yeah... I don't know. It certainly wasn't dull but..."

TAK! TAK!

"Hey guys!"

"T-Tango! When did you get here?!"

"The crowds were worse than I thought, plus I got hungry, and there was a stand nearby so I... what's with those faces? Ah! D-Did something happen to Rei during the match?!"

"Something happened alright... just not to Rei."

"H-Huh? I heard the buzzer... did he lose?!"

"No no no. He CERTAINLY didn't lose but... well, the thing is..."

"?"

Tomoe gestured for Tango to sit down next to her.

 

 

"Let's just say... you have quite the interesting student. You won't believe what just happened."