Chapter 171: Please Do Not Write Homework on Commentary Duty

Fireworks exploded above the dome. The entire venue was a sea of people.

For an underground fighting tournament, it was more extravagant than most international events.

"Thank you all for waiting!"

Sayaka rose from the center of the dome, holding a microphone. She took a deep breath, raised her hand, and shouted, "The Kengan Annihilation Tournament begins now!!"

"Ohhh!!!"

"Finally!!"

"Start already!!!"

The entire crowd erupted. The atmosphere exploded with excitement.

"The tournament will run for six days. Today is the preliminaries: sixteen matches will determine the top sixteen fighters," Sayaka announced. "There's also a new rule this year: the sixteen finalists have two choices. One—proceed to the round of sixteen. Or…"

She pointed to Rinji, who was at the commentary table... doing his homework.

"Challenge Takamine Rinji here! The winner will be declared the overall tournament champion!"

As expected, the entire stadium went into an uproar.

"Wait, win the whole thing just by beating that kid?"

"What's going on with this year's Kengan tournament?"

"What is Chairman Katahara thinking?"

"And what's that kid doing? Is he seriously doing homework?"

There were hundreds of thousands of spectators. When Sayaka pointed to Rinji, the cameras zoomed in, and every movement of his was displayed on the giant screen.

That meant the entire audience—politicians, CEOs, global tycoons—could see Rinji doing his homework. They could even read the questions on his worksheets.

"..."

Sayaka broke into a light sweat. Despite her experience hosting many events, this was definitely a first.

Still, she was used to handling anything.

She quickly continued, "I, Katahara Sayaka, will be your host for today. Please take care of me~"

"Ohhhhh!!!"

"Sayaka, I love you!!"

"Have my baby, Sayaka!!!"

Sayaka clearly had a huge fan base.

"Alright, that's it for the opening remarks. Now, let's get to what you've all been waiting for…"

She turned toward the entrance tunnel and shouted,

"The first match begins now!"

The Kengan Death Elimination Tournament, Preliminaries Match 1—began.

Sayaka returned to the commentary desk, placed her hand over her mic, and whispered to Rinji, "Mr. Takamine, hundreds of thousands of people are watching... could you please stop doing homework?"

"If I don't finish, I'm doomed." Rinji kept scribbling furiously without even looking up. "Don't worry, I'll still do my job."

"Well, alright then."

Since he said so, Sayaka decided not to press further.

She brought the mic to her lips and smiled. "Mr. Takamine recently became a Kengan member. He's immensely powerful and is joining us as a guest commentator. What are your thoughts on today's event?"

She held the mic toward Rinji.

The mic was connected to the venue's loudspeakers, meaning the entire audience could hear even the scribble of his pen.

"Mm, I think the venue's great," Rinji said while writing. "You can tell a lot of effort went into this. The floor isn't slippery, and the space is wide."

"Uh... is that important?"

"Of course. Otherwise, losers will just blame the floor or say it was too cramped. Lame excuses."

"...Haha, thank you for your input."

Sayaka wisely avoided digging into that any further and shifted topics.

She pointed to the fighters' entrance. "Let's welcome our first competitor!"

BOOM!!!

Sparks exploded at the entrance. A young fighter appeared under the lights, visible to the entire crowd.

It was none other than Imai Cosmo, who had previously met Rinji. He waved graciously at the roaring audience.

"Though small in stature, he's tremendously strong. Known for his jiu-jitsu, can he bring flair to today's matches?"

Sayaka lifted the mic and called out, "Height: 171 cm. Weight: 68 kg. Kengan record: 21 wins, 0 losses. Earned 79.2 billion yen for his company. Representing Nishihonji Security Services—'King of Strangles,' Imai Cosmo!!"

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Clearly, Imai Cosmo was a popular and respected fighter.

"He's amazing. Rumor says he started Kengan matches at only 14." Sayaka moved the mic to Rinji again. "Mr. Takamine, as a fellow young powerhouse, what's your impression of him?"

"He's good."

"Can you elaborate?"

"He's shorter than me."

"..."

Sayaka was speechless.

She felt this might be the most exhausting event she'd ever hosted.

Normally, even the most mischievous guests would mind their manners under such scrutiny, but Rinji clearly didn't care.

He always spoke the same way, no matter the setting.

"Next up, we have the Brawling King of Texas!"

As soon as Sayaka said this, sparks shot from the opposite tunnel.

Out walked a hulking white man over 190 cm tall, with a rebellious look, a skull tattoo on his shoulder, terrifying muscles, and the letters F-U-C-K engraved in his upper teeth. He clearly wasn't someone to mess with.

"Height: 192 cm. Weight: 107 kg. Kengan record: 1 win, 0 losses. Earned 7.6 billion yen. Known as 'The Emperor'—Adam Dudley!!"

The crowd roared again.

"An explosive debut versus a battle-tested prodigy—who will win? This match promises to be intense. Mr. Takamine, your thoughts on—"

"Do you know what comes after 'Kasuga in a fog'?" Rinji interrupted, looking up and asking a completely unrelated question.

"...Mr. Guest Commentator, please stop doing your homework and focus on the event."

[Mass release cause, why not?]