"LET’S FUCKING GOOOOO!"

The moment the referee blew the whistle, all the Hakodate Nishi players, even those who were on the bench, jumped immediately. It didn’t take long before they got immersed in excitement, realizing that they had just created history on their own.

"We won, Chibi!" Makino hugged his friend passionately. "We fucking won our first national game! Come on!"

Kuroki could even be seen crying here, as in the last tournament of his high school, he had never thought he would have a chance to do this. Some also followed behind, laughing and cheering enthusiastically. A few were trying to act cool like Kenji, the main character of the game, or even Takaaki, the preparator of the second goal, but no one could hide the happiness in their own eyes.

They really acted like a villain here, not even showing any restraint when celebrating the win in a dead-silent stadium here. The whole crowd was so stunned that they didn’t even know what to say here. This was probably the first time ever that the host team was eliminated in the first round, and they felt like their brain was short-circuited right now.

"We... Lost?"

"... Yeah, I think."

"Wait, this isn’t real, right? I mean, we dominate the whole fucking game! I cannot even remember when the last time Hakodate possessed the ball for more than 20 seconds!"

"We didn’t score enough goals, though..."

Yeah, this was the harsh reality. The statistic might say that Toin Gakuen was a better team, what with them having more possession, more shots on target, more chances created, and so many more. However, they failed to win one statistic that mattered the most, which was the total goal here.

"... Damn..." Naoya Takahashi just looked up to the sky with both hands on his hips, getting too overwhelmed by the uncomfortable silence around him. "My last year in high school, being dubbed as the seventh best player in my generation, playing at my own home, and yet... First round exit? Against what people said, the weakest team in the tournament? Is this fucking real?"

He didn’t even dare to turn around to his teammates. No, even if he didn’t do that, the boy could hear some of them sobbing silently, while those who didn’t, he could imagine them probably lying on the ground in frustration.

The thing that annoyed the home team the most, though, was the fact that they thought the game was winnable. Yeah, compared to the other opponents, like the top teams in this tournament, Hakodate was indeed not as impressive, and even after the game was over, some of them still held that thought in mind.

No one really said it out loud, but they felt like... If they had done a little bit more... If they could’ve taken one more shot on target... Maybe the result would be different right now. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

However, that was always the illusion that a defensive-minded team gave to its opponent. They made their opponent question their life, making them drown in so many what-if scenarios that could never possibly happen. In the end, Toin Gakuen lost, and they had no one to blame but themselves here.

While the players were going crazy on the pitch, Kumiko also had her own fun on the sideline. As part of the routine, the winning team’s head coach would have to join the short official interview with some of the media partners there. The girl herself was quite happy to do this, especially since she could finally speak out what was inside her mind.

"So, the first time appearing in the National Tournament, the first win ever for Hakodate Nishi High in history! Can you tell us how you are feeling right now?" A female reporter asked with a microphone in her hand, pointing at Kumiko while the woman’s co-worker was shooting them with his phone. It seemed the interview would be put on someone’s social media later.

"Oh, I am ecstatic right now," Kumiko answered with the biggest smile she could muster. "Playing against the semifinalist of the last Inter-High, a player who is deemed the seventh best in this generation, and even after being sabotaged during our pitch test, my boys still did everything perfectly. They executed all the instructions well, proving that even though Daily Sports said we are the weakest here, we can still make a little surprise here."

The reporter was taken aback at her answer. Usually, in a high school tournament like this, the answer she got would be polite and official, and yet, here the girl younger than her was, biting everyone so casually as if she were talking about the current weather.

However, this answer was much to her liking as a reporter. "So, what is this about the pitch test’s sabotage?" She inquired, trying to dig deeper.

"Oh, nothing much. Just the usual power play, you know? We arrived in the morning just like scheduled, finding that the home team was still training, took the matter to the management, and then got told to fuck off. You know, the normal thing."

Kumiko’s smile was so wide and sweet while she deliberately cussed in front of the camera. This was enough to give the reporter an idea of how angry the girl was.

"So... What are you going to do?"

"I mean, what else could I do now? I am just a little girl who doesn’t have the experience for the real world, after all. How else would I know how to process this?" Kumiko shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, I am quite lucky that my team wins this game, or I would never be able to speak up like that. Imagine we lost today, and I spoke like this. Daily Sports would have a carnival day tomorrow, saying that I am just a little girl who only knows how to complain and make an excuse, right?"

At this point, the reporter could only smile wryly, realizing how deep Kumiko’s resentment toward Daily Sports was toward the outlet’s casual comment that her being a little girl was the possible cause of the team failing in this tournament.

"So... Is there anything you want to say to the Daily Sports?"

"Hm?" Kumiko’s eyes lit up instantly when she heard the question before she cleared her throat with a cough, trying to look professional here. "Well, I wouldn’t say much; I just want to give a heads-up to them. Get ready, because this little inexperienced girl and her newbie team are going to make a name for themselves here!"