Reiji Nogi displayed overwhelming power, effortlessly defeating Tsurugi Kamishiro (the Scorpion Worm) who was in a state of confusion and couldn't utilize his full strength.
"Let me help you fully remember your memories as a Worm." With that, Reiji Nogi began to brainwash and stimulate the memories in Tsurugi's brain.
"Urgh—!"
However, Nogi clearly underestimated the human memories and emotions in Tsurugi's mind. When he recalled the moment his older sister was killed, the human side of his memory instantly took over.
"This guy..." Reiji Nogi found this strange. This wasn't enough to awaken Tsurugi's Worm memories.
The Scorpion Worm stumbled away in one direction, clearly still affected by the attempt. Reiji Nogi decided not to bother with him for now, figuring Tsurugi would remember eventually.
"Kabuto. Perfect timing." He then looked at the figure walking toward him in the distance.
"Grandmother once said, people walk on the path of people and that which opens that path up is the path of Heaven." Soji Tendo walked forward slowly, maintaining his signature air of high confidence.
Raven, who was accompanying him, did not intervene immediately. He watched from afar, preparing to witness the King of Arrogance's moment of defeat.
Tendo walked up and engaged Reiji Nogi, who had reverted to his human form, in close-quarters combat. The two exchanged bone-jarring blows. Unlike the Three Fools of Hell who were completely overwhelmed, Tendo managed to hold his ground for a while. But ultimately, he was no match.
After being repelled by Reiji Nogi, he chose to transform first.
Raven shook his head at this. There is an unwritten rule in tokusatsu—the one who transforms first loses. Few can break this law, not even the King of Arrogance. Tendo had clearly committed this cardinal sin.
Reiji Nogi immediately followed suit, transforming into his Worm form, further widening the power gap.
After just a moment of fighting, Kabuto was suppressed and forced to take out the Hyper Zecter. In an instant, Hyper Kabuto was fully transformed. Only then could his fighting power rival that of Reiji Nogi, the Worm boss.
To definitively defeat his opponent, the King of Arrogance pulled out his newly acquired toy, the Perfect Zecter! The origin of this weapon was never explained in the show; it simply appeared in Tendo's hands after the Hyper Zecter, likely also from the future. This weapon could forcefully gather and use the power of the TheBee, Drake, and Sasword Zecters. Its power was formidable.
Just as the King of Arrogance was about to show off, Reiji Nogi employed his unfair, bug-like Time Freeze ability. In that moment, time around them stopped.
However, Raven, who was watching from afar, was completely unaffected by the time stop. Reiji Nogi's attention was focused on Kabuto, so he didn't notice.
"Is this the so-called Time Freeze?" Raven felt the flow of spacetime particles around everything except himself suddenly cease, as if frozen solid. Strictly speaking, it was a time freeze. This was fundamentally different from his own true ability to halt time. In other words, his time stop was more direct and superior to Time Freeze.
Reiji Nogi slowly walked forward and forcibly cancelled Hyper Kabuto's transformation with three light strikes. The Time Freeze ended as he completed his attack.
Reiji Nogi reverted to his human form and smiled contemptuously. Tendo collapsed to the ground, completely unable to resist.
"Time flows only for me," Reiji Nogi declared in the posture of a victor. With this ability, he was theoretically invincible. This time, he didn't plan to show mercy; the threat posed by Hyper Kabuto was too great.
Just as Reiji Nogi was about to deliver the killing blow to Tendo.
"Are you sure?"
At that moment, Raven ended his senpai role of watching from the sidelines and finally stepped forward. His single sentence interrupted Reiji Nogi's action.
Reiji Nogi looked at him. "I know you. Rena Mamiya was seemingly killed by you." Reiji Nogi seemed to know something about Raven. He was, after all, a figure of major concern besides Kabuto.
"Hyper Kabuto was no match for me. Do you think you can fight me?" Reiji Nogi looked down on Raven.
"You really have a strange sense of confidence." Raven shook his head, wasting no further words. He rushed forward and engaged him in combat.
Reiji Nogi sneered, not rushing to transform first. After all, he was confident in all aspects of his power and believed himself to be invincible.
But very quickly, he felt a pressure completely unlike any he had felt from previous opponents.
SWOOSH!
Raven's punching speed was faster than his. He repelled Nogi in their first exchange. Nogi's face and abdomen took several hits, a situation he had never encountered before.
"Impossible!"
Seeing that he was about to lose, Reiji Nogi clenched his fist and initiated Time Freeze again. This move could still be used freely even in his human form.
As expected, Raven's movement suddenly stopped as time froze. This brought a triumphant smile to Reiji Nogi's face. So what if you can fight? You'll still die by my hand.
He immediately transformed into his Worm form, charging a strike intended for Raven.
The next moment, his hand passed right through Raven, hitting no physical substance. It was just an afterimage.
"What is going on?" Reiji Nogi said in shock.
"RIDER KICK!" A voice suddenly came from behind him.
The sound instantly sent a shiver down Reiji Nogi's spine! Impossible!
Instantly, a powerful Rider Kick landed on him. For the first time, Reiji Nogi was hit by another person's finisher. He was sent flying backward in utter disarray.
It turned out that when Reiji Nogi initiated Time Freeze, Raven simultaneously used his own Time Stop ability. He left an afterimage in his original position and appeared behind Nogi to deliver a Rider Kick. The Rider he had transformed into was not Faiz, but Kamen Rider Dark Kabuto.
"What is that..." Tendo, sprawled on the ground, was surprised by the sight. When did that Dark Kabuto appear? And judging by the situation, it looks like Raven transformed into him.