yep, anyone who can do the rasengan is 'high-grade' ninja in my book.
also, Konohamaru did better in the fight against Payne than other six ninjas did, including his jounin instructor.


and other than that, what was the point of it all?
it didn't matter, because payne called back his bodies and killed them himself. just useless padding, like how Kubo does it in bleach.