"Othello G"! Masen-Z yelled out in great joy as his friend's well-timed appearance had saved him from taking a considerable blow, which could have, for all intents and purposes, wrecked his Gear-Man suit completely or even damaged the real soft and fleshy Masen inside of the puppet armor.

Lithia clenched her fists angrily, this was probably the first display of real human emotion that the young lady had shown over the past hour. Visibly distressed she looked down on her teammate trying to maybe see a twitch or any other sign that he wasn't completely out and yet nothing of the sort came her way – both Kidenshi Inuzuka and Chominu Akimichi have been eliminated, effectively ending Team Walnut's participation in the Chuunin Exams.

Another, much younger than the middle aged Othello G, kunoichi appeared besides him, walking out into the field of vision of everyone from behind her tall and bulky teammate. She also looked quite flamboyantly with her full-body yellow and pink tights separated with white streaks that made her suit look almost hi-tech in its motifs.

"You heard Othello, Masen. What the heck's going on here?" the young lady, previously referred to by Masen-Z as Sunny Lee, spoke up.

"I apologize, allies, it is because my new friends were attacked by these three foul competitors that I was forced to use the Gearbeam"! Masen-Z bowed his head apologetically, his attitude towards these two appeared almost submissive, as if these two held a certain degree of subordination over Masen-Z.

"Well, two of your friends are down, I suggest you scram, Uchiha. I'm in no mood for your typical gloating so if you stick around I may break your bones as well", Othello-G pointed at Lithia who just arrogantly turned her head and started moving back into the parts of the cave where she came from, leaving her teammates behind. It was then that the muscular wrestler turned his eyes down to see Kiyomi geeking out over his stature and presence, little stars in her eyes and drooling included in the total package.

"Ummm… I dunno what's your shine, but you're freaking me out", Othello G raised his pink shades revealing deep blue eyes underneath. While they looked rather unnatural given his dark complexion, it was within the range of what cosmetic medical ninjutsu could achieve in a strong ninja village such as the Kumogakure given the right amount of money.

"Othello G from CWF!" Kiyomi shrieked out.

"I think she's a fan or something", Sunny Lee turned her head sideways trying to examine the odd symptoms of the Yamanaka genin.

"Ugh, I don't really care about all that stuff, she can shove the groupie shit way up", Othello G grumbled out after his face twisted and he shoved his palm into Kiyomi's face forcing her to fall down on her butt, even as she was humbled and rejected by her beloved wrestler, the girl's geeked out expression remained the same.

"I personally think it is awesome", Masen-Z laughed out as he lifted and swung around his bulky armored arm on which Meiko hung, trying to shake her off. The girl's arms and legs wrapped around it like a those of a monkey gripping at a fruit tree. The blacksmith was overly obsessed examining the exposed and damaged suit's inner workings.

"Fans are a nuisance. One thing twenty years in the biz has taught me is that fans make no sense. They cheer and boo like sheep, collectively one after the other and their behaviors can't be predicted. Their stupid voices interrupt the art I do in the ring"! Othello G flexed his impressive muscles before turning around and walking back into the cave, which he woke up in.

"Wow, he's keeping up kayfabe even outside the ring"! Kiyomi turned at Meiko with a childishly gleeful smile.

"I think he's just an asshole in real life", Meiko scratched her head in confusion after having just jumped off of the exposed parts of Masen-Z's Gear-Man suit.

"So you know a little bit about wrestling? I'm impressed to see fans of Othello G in Konoha, what's your name"? Sunny smiled to Kiyomi before extending her hand to help the Yamanaka get up off her knees from the highly undignified position which the blonde was obsessing over her beloved wrestler in.

"Kiyomi Yamanaka, Team Hokage from Konohagakure", Kiyomi introduced herself completely throwing any hints of caution into the wind.

"Alright, come on over, we'll look at those wounds", the brown haired and expressively dark blue eyed girl smiled warmly.


Under the bioluminescent bright green light of the Snapper-Ants' nest, , and surrounded by the sound of Othello G smashing boulders ten time his size in his grasp into dust Sunny Lee was tending to Kiyomi's wounds, rubbing the glowing green goo from the nesting pods. All the living inhabitants of the cave hung all around, knocked out cold and stuck to the walls using the same cotton-like substance. Meiko, who got her body rubbed completely with the nature's ointment and waited until it helped her natural ninja metabolism deal with the entirety of the injuries she sustained was hanging out with Masen-Z, helping him fix his armor.

"You know, when Masen-Z told us about you guys beating on his armor, I kind of imagined you guys as real dicks, bullying your friend like that", Kiyomi admitted laughing out loud over her own preconceived impressions of the two other members of Team Cumulus.

"Well, Othello G really does bully Masen-Z, initially I thought similarly to you, but when he told me the reason I kind of felt like joining in", Sunny smiled while rubbing off the shiny green goo until it stopped emitting that creepy shine on Kiyomi's skin. "You see, Masen-Z isn't like Othello, he's not really a mighty powerful guy, nor is he like me – a descendant from a powerful and elite ninja clan. He's just a hard-worker with a passion for both his silly superhero stories and actual justice. Othello merely tests his passion, his suit, he keeps on wrecking Masen's armor and bullying him to make him strong, to keep him on edge and encouraging the goof to upgrade his suit every time it gets trashed".

Kiyomi looked to the side, she smiled seeing both the puny and short, ebony skinned and bright cream blue afro wearing gearhead running around with Meiko, screwing in nuts and bolts, rebuilding and improving on the suit where it didn't desecrate the original "source material" and didn't look too far off of the Gear-Man Z manga book. Seeing those two goofing around and just messing with the armor made Kiyomi realize that she hadn't seen such a peaceful moment in a while.

"Actually… I keep wrecking Masen's armor for another reason entirely", Sunny blushed admitting it to Kiyomi.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, has he told you what the armor means to him? Not just the whole "I love Gear-Man Z" story, the deeper meaning"? Sunny wondered.

"Yeah, something about people all just being machines, showing off their robotic outer facades", Kiyomi shrugged making Sunny accidentally drop the rubbing cloth which made the Kumogakure genin give the Yamanaka a scolding look only to be returned an apologetic shameful smile.

"Basically… You see, Masen-Z is a very sensitive boy. People weren't really kind to him that much in his life. His parents only saw him for what he could have become, the job he could have attained given his talents. His friends… Well, he wasn't too popular as long as I remember him. Everyone just used him because he could have gotten them the best things they wanted while expecting those things from him each and every time, like it was just his function. Like he was a machine or something"

"You said you were in an elite ninja clan, what's that all about"? Kiyomi wondered.

"I'm from a branch of the Senju clan, I suppose us clan-people kinda get our own fair share of this utilitarian façade treatment, huh?" Sunny looked at Kiyomi.

The two girls shared a prolonged session of laughter, both remembering similar experiences in their life where each one was treated only for the sum of what they had in them and what they could do instead of for the people they were.

"I hate those feelings, that sentiment that makes Masen-Z hole himself into a suit of armor. To Masen it's a form of protest, a statement – "All of you show me your armor and hide your fleshy bits inside expecting me to be the same, so here it is, my armor" kind of thing", Sunny sulked giving the energetic and obsessed Masen-Z to her right a pitiful look. "To me it's his surrender, a retreat. He becomes that which people treat him as because he can no longer bare the pain".

"Which is why you keep sabotaging the armor, to keep forcing Masen to show his sensitive, fleshy body to the world around", Kiyomi smiled lyrically.

"Yeah, I guess him updating the bucket of rust once in a while is also a good motivation to kick that metal can's ass", Sunny sighed.

Shortly after Kiyomi's treatment and the brief conversation about Masen-Z's life's disappointments was finished, Othello G in his full sweaty muscular goodness walked up to wash himself and treat the little skin irritations he had acquired after a long session of grinding hardened minerals and rock against his skin and reducing boulders to dust.

"Maybe later you can sign one for me"? Kiyomi wondered after handing the bulky giant, who still favored his weird pinky shades for whatever reason, the towel with his actual name and face on it.

"I don't owe you or fuckin' anything"! Othello G rudely cut Kiyomi off before tossing the towel aside and running off to train again.

"Don't hate Othello for being like that", Sunny advised.

"Hate him? I love him, he's my favorite heel ever"! Kiyomi cheerfully smiled at the Senju girl. "Well, maybe that's Porfirio D, either way, he's one of my all-time favorites so I kind of can't help it. I mean how can I hate a guy for taking his in-ring character seriously enough to keep the kayfabe up even outside the ring"?

"It's not kayfabe", Sunny sadly shook her head before looking back at the possibly the oldest participant in the Chuunin Exams that participated in it. "He really dislikes wrestling fans in general. I think that may be why he doubled down on being a ninja instead".

"What do you mean"? Kiyomi wondered with the sad eyes of a fan who had just met their idol and found out that they may not be as perfect and innocent as they had made the man out to be.

"Well, maybe a decade ago, maybe even more, Othello G was a big time wrestling superstar. Back then he still had the Bordello Othello gimmick, it was a different time – the Angst Period where the more aggressive and ridiculously edgy the wrestlers were, the better they were received. At some point, Othello had reached his physical peak and began thinking about retirement, maybe managing some new talent, as wrestlers often did past their prime. He cut this tear-jerking promo about leaving, all the awesome memories he had as the Bordello Othello and how it was time for him to leave the yard for the new guys".

"I've never heard of that"! Kiyomi leaned back, squinting suspiciously, as if refusing to believe what she was hearing about her idol.

"That because back then wrestling could only be experienced by seeing it live or through wrestling magazines that were too busy with flashy pictures and wrestler bio pages. The actual storylines and feuds remained a closed secret to keep the business going and profiting." Sunny sighed.

"Oh, that makes sense. I've had a couple of Bordello Othello posters, have a bunch of magazines with him and even more about him after the gimmick change – that's when I really got into liking him." Kiyomi scratched her head apologetically since she had realized she was surprisingly casual with her passion for this conversation. It didn't appear, from the lack of excitement in her speech, that Sunny Lee was too much into wrestling and she still knew more about the culture than Kiyomi did – a foreign fan.

"During that retirement promo he kind of hinted that he may be starting his own thing, his own promotion. Just when taping wrestling and running it in theaters and all those big tours became a thing – he sensed a market shift and wanted to exploit it. The public really looked completely over that idea, even the management didn't mind promoting a possible competitor as long as they could do a couple of shared events and crossovers, invasion angles etc." Sunny continued to explain. "Right after he finalized his supposed retirement and started managing the big shot new company, initially the money started rolling. Then the fans just stopped getting into it completely out of the blue, they turned on Othello beginning to boo him for selling out, for being a has-been and then the worst happened – they just stopped interacting with the events at all".

"Yeah, I guess when taping and theatre scene kicked into the wrestling business there was a lot of money to be made in that. It doesn't seem that bad for fans to boo him, he was known as a heel before, he could work a heel manager character pretty well working the heat off of that fan hate. It doesn't make much sense that they'd stop supporting him altogether though", Kiyomi kept on pondering to herself about what could have been the problem. The more she thought and listened the more she realized that she knew little to nothing about the business and how it was handled. It was a scary realization but also an exciting one as it appeared that one of her past time entertaining passions had more to explore about it.

"That's 'cause fans are stupid. There's no logic to their behavior, the most random shit gets over and the coolest stuff has to be aborted because it just doesn't interest anyone. They can cheer for you one show and then boo and chant profanities during a match just because the ring apron is of a color they don't like. When they band together they're like animals", Othello G butt in having overheard the conversation during his training before picking up a red mineral-textured rock and smashing it against his head. A pudgy orb rolled out from the tough shell only to be tossed into the wrestler's mouth and munched enjoyably before being swallowed.

"It looks like that rock brings you more joy than your job", Kiyomi sadly noted only for Othello to grin.

"These are what Snapper-Ants feed their young, they smash it with their huge snappers above the nests and let the pudgy thing fall right on their stupid faces, tastes like truffles. That's the reason we're here, amongst some others, we're resupplying on food". Othello G explained.

"You know what, though? I have heard of you during the whole Bordello gimmick run, but I've mostly admired your work as Othello G, it's the gimmick I grew up with and I was always really entranced by the ruthless aggression and utter distaste for everyone's faces you brought with you into the ring", Kiyomi admitted. "Even if you don't like having to return to your old home after having retired and doing this whole new gimmick run, just know that you're really sick at it".

Othello annoyingly played with his tongue, "Did you know that those asshole suits are planning on transmitting the shows on the TV now? Like some stupid strawberry jam commercials… The high class art of wrestling completely lost all meaning, back in my days people used to dress up to watch wrestling", the grumpy middle ager complained seemingly to himself before grinning at Kiyomi.

"You're Kiyomi, from Team Hokage, huh? You're here to take one of our team down, isn't that right? I think that it was me you're after?" Othello G asked the girl completely leaving her breathless.

"Don't worry about it, there's this guy from our village, Otto-B, he's a genius of sorts, real good with the numbers, and he had made a highest probability hunter-target chart which we had a chance of looking at when we exchanged information. He managed to narrow it down with very few question marks, exchanging intel with many different teams, after a dozen of "this guy's after that guy" the rest sort of put itself together", Othello G shrugged before standing up and stretching out.

Kiyomi jumped on her feet facing the twice-larger man and staring at him face-to-face, if the Deceitful What-What Heel Othello G ever tried to pull one of his unexpected attacks on her, the Yamanaka wanted to be ready for it.

"Look, you seem like a nice kid, so if you want a go at it, I've no objections as long as we do it clean and wrestling style. If you want to go at it the shinobi way we'll have to take you on three on two", Othello cracked his knuckle emitting a strangely terrifying thunderous sound, having in mind what those fists and hands could tear asunder and crush it was of no surprise.

"Wrestling style? You'll trust me to surrender after being pinned, because I sure as hell won't trust you", Kiyomi pouted as this whole situation smelled off. Sure, Othello had no reason not to just wrestle her, after all – he was the superstar and she was just a kunoichi from Konoha. Granted, this match would have the additional chaotic chakra control element to it, which was sort of an equalizer but both options smelled equally stinky for the blonde.

"Alright, we can make it a hardcore match without pins. The only ways to win are breaking your opponent's body through submission or knocking them out", Othello shrugged his massive shoulders, Kiyomi took a pair of steps back because the bushy armpits of the wrestler very nearly were exposed to her face and she found the emitting smell atrocious.

"Cool, I guess I'll just visualize the ring", Kiyomi grinned confidently before warming up, with a disapproving sigh Sunny Lee backed off a bit to observe the match from a distance.

"No need for that, I always carry the ring with me, wherever I go"! Othello smiled before biting his thumb and swiftly working through hand seals before driving his extended palm to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu"! He chanted out.

After a loud popping sound and a tremendous cloud of smoke a long wrangling constrictor appeared behind Othello G who proceeded to run right at Kiyomi. The girl just stood there watching the man run right past her while the constrictor's tail extended to right behind her, allowing the man to bounce off of the snake's tail as he would've done off of ring ropes before returning to his primary position to where the snake's immense body once again aided him with his rope game.

"So are we gonna do this, or what"? He asked excitedly.