Hattori's expression hardens. He whirls on the youngest staffer, the very one he had sent to fetch the replacement.
"You! Idiot! You brought me a broken scale? Do you have any idea what this means? Fix it. Now."
The boy pales, bowing frantically. "I… I'm so sorry, Hattori-san. I'll calibrate it right away!"
Hattori simply waves him off with exaggerated frustration. "Then hurry. And call back everyone who's weighed in. We can't trust a single result until this is corrected."
The room roars in protest.
"You've got to be kidding!"
"Again?"
"This is a circus!"
Then Hattori calls a name, not Ryoma's, but…
"Toru Kanzaki from Minato Bayside Gym. Please step forward. We need to repeat the weighing…"
Nakahara snaps. He storms forward, seizes Hattori by the collar, yanking him close enough to smell his breath.
"Enough of this bullshit!" he roars. "Stop stalling and weigh my fighter. Or what…? Did Kirizume already pay you to drag this out?"
