After a fierce battle, Tycoon in his Ninja Form was still having trouble keeping up with the relentless offense of the basketball. After all, no one who made it this far was a simple opponent.
Keiwa finally resorted to using the newly acquired Bujin Sword Buckle.
"Set! Insert!"
"Avenge!"
"Black General!"
"Bujin Sword!"
As a plume of jet-black smoke billowed out, Tycoon's body was dyed black. Only small parts of the green armor remained. The overall look was much more imposing. He also sported a cape, the symbol of a strong warrior, on his back.
"I saw Tycoon use this Buckle in the illusion before, but seeing it again, it's so cool!"
"Looks incredibly strong!"
The audience members offered their evaluations, most of which were highly positive.
"Go, Keiwa!"
In the backstage area, the previously eliminated Sara came to stand intimately beside Raven, cheering on Keiwa in the arena.
"He can't lose, don't worry. The power of this Buckle is currently one of the strongest on the entire field," Raven said, wrapping an arm around Sara's slender waist.
The power of the Bujin Sword Buckle was a final form specifically tailored for Tycoon. It was a textbook 'stat monster.' In the Geats series, its battle record was six wins out of six, virtually never suffering a defeat. Dealing with Yaken's Basketball Buckle would be easy.
Feeling Raven's hand resting somewhat mischievously on her waist, Sara's face flushed slightly, but her heart felt sweet.
"Thank you for looking out for Keiwa."
She knew that Keiwa could not have acquired this level of power without Raven's help.
"We're family, there's no need to be polite," Raven embraced Sara tightly, pressing her close to him.
Hearing the phrase "We're family," Sara immediately felt her heart pound. She felt soft all over, deeply moved.
Of course, Raven wouldn't show favoritism; he held Tsumuri on his other side as well. Embracing two beautiful women, his current feeling couldn't be happier.
"Take this, you 'anti-fan'!"
In the arena.
Facing Tycoon in his Bujin Form, Yaken hadn't yet realized the gravity of the situation and rushed forward to attack regardless.
The Black General Tycoon drew the Bujin Sword and met the incoming basketball, slicing it clean in half.
In the next instant, his figure shot forward, rapidly closing the distance on Yaken!
"Haah!"
Keiwa let out a battle cry, unleashing a storm of attacks on Yaken. Every move left no chance or opening. He was no longer the timid, overly-nice Keiwa he once was. Furthermore, using the Black General form naturally altered his personality.
Bang, bang!
Finally, Yaken was sent flying, utterly unable to fight back. Sparks erupted continuously from his armor as he was forced to de-Henshin. This was merely from basic attacks; General Tycoon hadn't even used a finisher.
"Elimination!"
Finally, Yaken lay powerlessly on the ground, completely dazed. He hadn't expected the fight to end so quickly.
With that, the first round of the Rider Tournament concluded.
As announced by Tsumuri, the advancing contestants were as follows:
Kaixa, Masato Kusaka
Ryugen, Mitsuzane Kureshima
Baron, Kaito Kumon
Geats, Esu Ukiyo
Na-Go, Neon Kurama
Lopo, Sae Ganaha
Tycoon, Keiwa Sakurai
The single winner will be decided from these seven individuals. The winner, naturally, will receive the Golden Fruit.
However, just then, uninvited guests intruded upon the game arena.
It was the black-tights loli, Beroba, and the 'Baton Guy,' Zitt.
"This absurd game ends here," Zitt declared arrogantly.
He had formed an alliance with Beroba, who would work with him to oppose Raven. If the operation succeeded, the Desire Grand Prix (DGP) would fulfill her desire afterward by holding a Jyamato Grand Prix.
The moment they appeared, Raven's figure materialized out of thin air.
"Contestants, the game rules are temporarily changing! This will now be a team battle! Pay attention to the man in the purple suit; whoever can seize his Driver will directly qualify for the finals!" Raven announced to the group with a hint of amusement.
"What?"
"All we have to do is take his Driver?!"
Hearing this, the remaining contestants' eyes lit up as they stared at Zitt.
"Tch, do you intend to make me part of your game?" Zitt looked at the Riders charging toward him with disdain. "It seems you still don't understand how I differ from the two before me."
Saying this, the Baton Guy pulled out the Zillion Driver.
"Regad!"
"Access!"
Zitt adopted a transformation pose, looking fearlessly at the rushing Riders.
"Henshin."
After swiping his ID card, a swarm of flying drones quickly aggregated onto his body.
"Violent Execution, Regad!"
Thus, Kamen Rider Regad made his entrance!
At this moment, the seven Riders surged forward, intending to first team up to defeat Zitt before deciding the ownership of the Driver.
However, Zitt showed no fear, facing the ambush of seven Riders single-handedly.
"He's strong!" Masato exclaimed in shock.
"Damn it, why is he this strong!" Mitsuzane was kicked away by Zitt mid-fight.
After just the first probing attack, everyone realized that Zitt was not an opponent to be trifled with. They stopped holding back and immediately unleashed their trump cards.
They each transformed into their strongest forms!
In an instant, the scene became extremely spectacular.
Kachidoki Baron, Destroyer Kaixa, Yomi Ryugen, Fantasy Na-Go, Laser Boost Geats, Twin Command Lopo, and Bujin Sword Tycoon collectively surrounded Zitt.
Anyone else would tremble facing so many formidable warriors.
Seeing this, Beroba also used her Laser Raise Riser to transform into a massive pink cow mecha form, intending to assist Zitt in the counterattack.
However, Raven would not allow her to interfere.
"Don't get in their way, Beroba."
Raven forcibly teleported Beroba to an empty space outside the arena.