Upon seeing how Han was acting, an idea popped in Darui's head.
"Just comply," he interjected. His tone, however, carried an undertone of amusement, which only fueled Han's ire. "You're not going to win this one."
Han's eyes as he snapped, "You'd better keep your mouth shut, Cloud ninja!"
"Oh, come on. Not like you were gonna beat me anyways."
Now Han's expression became one of absolute vexation. "Darui... I'll be sure to remember that name!"
Darui shrugged with a teasing smile. "I'll be sure to stay on your good side then."
Before Han could say another word, the official asked, "Are you refusing to comply, Mr. Han?"
"Your rule is bull crap! I want to speak to the higher-ups."
"We'll take that as a no, so... I'm afraid I have no choice but to disqualify you from this match."
"Fine by me," Han threatened. "But I don't plan on leaving this country until I get some answers."
The announcer, sweat trickling down his temple, repeated on the microphone, "Due to the disregarding of rule number two, Han is disqualified! The winner of this match is Darui!"
Mixed reactions captured the crowd.
Confusion and disappointment mingled with unexpected excitement, but skepticism was present as Han walked back to his cell with boiling rage.
Monga slapped his own forehead in disbelief, unable to comprehend Han's stubbornness.
"Great job, Han," he muttered in a sarcastic tone.
"Shut it!" Han roared, glaring at Monga. He then turned back toward Darui, pointed, and said with a low growl, "You'd better hope I don't see you outside."
Darui only chuckled before whispering to himself, "Not like I'd lose any sleep over it."
"Let's get out of here," Han finally grumbled to his group.
As he exited first, Monga gave a reluctant shrug, torn between his loyalty to Han and his desire to watch the tournament further.
Such was the tumult of Han's stoic nature: when his pride was bruised, he became extremely irate and unpredictable. Almost as bad as Margaret.
Not only had Arthur witnessed this whole ordeal, he knew that Han's investigation on the matter of his profile being leaked would go unresolved. That was because the information given to the officials was by Arthur himself—someone they had no knowledge of.
Darui stood, waving lightly to the applauding audience while mouthing a brief thank you. "I hope lord Fourth isn't upset that I snagged an easy victory."
Looking up to where the Raikage had previously been seated, he was met with an unexpected sight: the chair was empty. As for his cell, no one was there either!
Omoi suddenly approached him with a sense of urgency. "Darui! We have a problem!"
"What's the wrong?"
"It's Bee; he's in trouble, so the Raikage ordered us to return to the village."
Darui's brows knit in confusion. "Dull," he dryly commented. He clearly did not want to abandon the excitement unfolding here. "But I guess we can't disobey orders."
As their conversation drifted into the background, it dawned on Arthur that he was now set to advance into the semi-finals, prepared to face either Lars or Naruto as the next competitor.
The prospect was worthwhile, yet the miscalculation of both Darui and Han not fighting left him wondering how one was too prideful to fight, while the other valued his home over the tournament.
As for Bee, who knew what sort of unexpected filler trouble he was in? Either way, it was none of Arthur's concerns.
Darui turned to the announcer and apologized, "I'm sorry, but I won't be fighting in the next round."
The announcer blinked rapidly before understanding the reason. He sagged, saying, "Understood… Just wish you'd have given me a little more time to announce it."
With that, both Darui and Omoi departed the stage, leaving the announcer grasping for stability amidst the shifting events.
By the time the two were striding down the tunnel leading away from the arena, William was chasing after them.
"Hey, wait, you two!" he called out, waving an urgent hand.
Omoi glanced sideways at Darui. "We don't have time to talk to anyone."
"Let's just see what he wants," Darui shrugged.
Omoi was a tad confused at first. Until he remembered how capable the person approaching them in the tournament actually was.
"William, right?" Darui asked as the latter came to a panting stop. "We're sort of in a hurry with something, so what's up?"
"Sort of is an understatement," Omoi corrected.
To their surprise, William straightened up and seemed a little too excited as he said, "I just wanted to say that I'm a really huge fan of both of you! Especially you, Darui!"
Darui felt discomfort at the informal admiration, not quite knowing how to respond. "Uh, thanks, I guess."
Sensing his uneasiness, William hurriedly continued, "Sorry if that sounded weird; I just think you're awesome! Like, your skills are pretty cool!"
Darui resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the compliment, but the way William gushed over him felt too personal, too enthusiastic for his comfort level.
More so, an unknown ninja from a rival village knowing someone else's skill set wasn't a good thing.
"Yeah, um… thanks again," he said, exchanging awkward glances with Omoi. A tad skeptical, he decided to press. "What do you like about me so much? Ya know, since we don't exactly know each other."
William had completely forgotten that everyone he knew in this world wouldn't know him. In a flustered attempt to articulate his admiration, he stumbled over his words. "Well, it's just… um… I really like your skin!"
Darui's eyes narrowed, feeling offended. "My skin? What's that supposed to mean?"
Panicking, William tried to recover face. "No, wait! That's not what I meant! I mean, I really appreciate your—"
"Are you saying that you like me because I have dark skin?" Darui shot back, crossing his arms over his chest. Omoi also seemed discontent. "Because that's really uncalled for."
"That's not what I—"
"Darui!" Omoi interjected, "We don't have time for this!"
"Right, let's go."
Darui turned abruptly, leaving the flustered William standing there; his enthusiasm had been dashed to shame.
The problem with William was that he was attempting to engage in a fanboy-like conversation without knowing the two were faced with an urgency surrounding Bee.
While his tone may not have come off as self-centered, his eagerness to express admiration failed because of context.
A lump of embarrassment settled in his stomach. He had truly liked Darui. A lot more than he tried to convey.
All he could do now was make his way back to his group, hoping to apologize one day.
When he did return, Jada rushed over with a bright smile. "So, how did it go?"
William gulped, sweat forming on his brow.
Their group was curious as to why all of the Cloud ninjas from their cell left. Even the Raikage departed. So William volunteered to find out. Naruto wanted to tag along, but since he didn't know them, they thought it was best to just send William.
Jada would have joined until she understood that William knew a lot more about their village.
Now that he's returned empty-handed, he quickly put together a fabricated story.
"Oh, it was fine!" he lied. "Darui and I are great friends now. We get along really well!"
Jada seemed delighted to hear that. "That's amazing! You have to introduce me to him someday!"
William's heart raced. "Uh… sure, yeah, definitely!"
"Umm..." Iruka wondered, "But why'd they leave?"
Arthur watched as William came up with another lie. He had seen the entire event unfold from start to finish thanks to his Crimson Gaze. It was almost enough to make him shake his head.
The energy in the arena soon returned after the announcer explained the recent changes.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for our next match! Please welcome our contestants: Iruka Umino versus William Uzumaki!"
There were cheers and hushed whispers. Some expressed excitement for William, who had recently cleared his name from allegations of cheating. Others remained skeptical.
Regardless of what they currently thought, chakra was permitted now. That meant no one could call him out so long as he didn't break the new rules in place.
Iruka and him stepped forward, the latter standing subtly anxious as he faced his opponent.
"Will, I'm really proud of you," Iruka earnestly said. "You've come a long way to make it this far."
William nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei. You've always been a great mentor, so I'll always remember this." He then bowed respectfully, earning a warm look from Iruka that made the man feel both comfortable and determined.
As the announcer called for the match to begin, Iruka quickly launched a series of low-rank jutsu, aiming to catch William off-guard. But William was one step ahead and countered them nicely.
"I know all your moves, sensei!"
"I can see that, Will. Guess I'll have to try harder!"
The crowd began to actually get excited, captivated by the show of skill. "Look at him go!" one spectator yelled. Another expressed doubt. "He's probably cheating again."
As the battle moved along, Iruka finally saw an opportunity to bring the match to a close. "Alright, Will! Let's see how you handle this!" One hand sign caused symbols to quickly illuminate beneath both their feet. "Sealing jutsu: coordinated light formation!"
William was trapped, unable to move.
"Well, Will, unless you break out before the time limit, it looks like I've won."
"Don't count me out just yet, sensei!"
"What do you mean by that?" Suddenly, William poofed away in a cloud of smoke. "A shadow clone?!"
The real William quickly appeared behind Iruka. "Gotcha!" Then, bam! A strong kick sent the man flying out of the arena.
The announcer's voice rang through the air: "The match is over! William Uzumaki is the winner!"