Genma Shiranui tilted his head and rubbed the dry corners of his eyes with a finger.
He shifted the slightly blunted senbon between his lips a couple of times.
With some effort, he hauled the constantly coughing Hayate off the ground and handed him over to the medical team nearby.
Then.
He raised his hoarse voice and shouted, sounding rather reluctant.
"First match, Sen Senju wins!"
Only then did the villagers and ninja in the stands erupt into belated, somewhat strained cheers.
Under a sea of gazes mingled with alarm and fear, Sen moved.
Dragging his battered shoes, covered in white dust, he slowly climbed the creaking wooden stairs back to the stands.
Naruto ran over.
He offered a damp towel, yellowed from use and reeking of mildew.
"Bro, wipe yourself off! You were so damn cool back there!"
Sen ignored him and merely pushed the towel away in disgust.
He slumped onto the stone steps in the farthest corner and pressed the Frog-Eyed Mask firmly over his face again.
"Keep it down."
"I'm going back to sleep."
The next few matches played out one after another, accompanied by halfhearted responses from the crowd.
The sky grew increasingly gloomy, and drafts through the hall made the torches roar.
A pungent smell of black pine-resin smoke hung in the air.
Finally.
The red light on the big screen flashed again.
Sasuke Uchiha versus Gaara.
In that instant, the atmosphere erupted.
"Why isn't Sasuke here yet?!"
Sakura anxiously wrung her fingers, her palms slick with cold sweat, gripping her hem so tightly she creased it.
"Don't tell me... something happened to him?"
The Third Hokage, seated on the raised platform, also looked grim as he turned his new pipe over and over in his hand.
Just as Genma Shiranui was about to