Author’s note: Special thanks to Hattorin and Crazyjr_96 for the first Golden Ticket of the month for this story! I appreciate the support here!

With the additional six Golden Tickets, there will be five double-update days starting from tomorrow, with one day break in each one of them. If you want to add more to the schedule, please, give me your support!

Thank you!

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After this, they spent the next fifteen minutes doing a warm-up, trying to get used to the grass pitch as quickly as possible. Fortunately, after their experience in Niigata, everyone had already experienced this feeling, so they just had to recall their memory again right here.

The situation inside was still a little bit empty, with only a few people coming this early to watch the game. The parents’ association would only come in, probably for one hour, so this was basically a neutral ground for both teams. Hell, most of the supporters on the stand were ones with sky-blue jerseys, which were the color of Sapporo Otani High here.

Even though that team would only play later, they had already gathered here, wanting to scout their next opponent for the final.

"Damn! Look at Hakodate Nishi! They seem to be in a better situation, right?"

"Yeah, they are in a high spirit right now! I mean, after their Niigata tournament, they should be hungry for a win, right?"

"Don’t count Esashi out yet! They still have that old geezer Jirokichi on the bench!"

"Really?! Honestly, I don’t know why he hasn’t retired yet! I mean, he has been here since I was in high school, and that was 10 years ago!"

Of course, there would also be some people who were mixed up in the scene. Local reporters were there, and some dudes who were just taking notes on their hands were also sitting in a spot where they could see the pitch as a whole.

This was a proper semifinal match for the prefectural tournament, and all eyes on the island were on this historical dome.

"Don’t get too nervous, Sano." Higo patted his kouhai’s back when he saw the tough-looking boy freezing before entering the pitch. "Just remember, if the ball is not coming to you, protect the space. But if the ball is coming, kill it instantly!"

Sano glanced at the goalkeeper for a moment before nodding slowly. "Don’t worry, Senpai. I think... I think I get it."

The boy’s progress was satisfying here. The more he spent his time on the pitch, the less he showed any nervousness. Hell, he even started to shout back at Makino, which was definitely an improvement compared to himself earlier.

Soon enough, the opponent’s team also started to do their warm-up. They wore their home jersey as well, the bright yellow color with the name of the school on the chest. All of their players just stared coldly at Hakodate Nishi’s members, though, looking at them as if they had just kidnapped their mother or something like that.

"Damn, I don’t know what that old geezer said, but whatever it is, I am sure they are effective as hell." Makino cursed. "We have to prepare for an aggressive game today."

Soon enough, they finished their warmup already, going to the locker room to get the last pep talk before the game. There, Kumiko had already waited for them, putting a chair in the middle of the room so that everyone could pay attention to her.

"Okay, first things first." She took a deep breath, starting her speech. "You have learned about their intelligence, and you know which one we have to keep an eye on carefully. Just don’t let Nishimura roam freely on the left side. Denji-kun, this will be a hard task for you."

The boy just gave a thumbs-up here. "Don’t worry, Senpai! Consider the job done!" Although wing-back was never his natural position, the boy was still confident with his defensive instinct and football IQ here.

"Good. I want you guys to cover each other, and don’t stop communicating! Keep the whole shape compact, and once an opportunity arrives, strike decisively! Hiroshi-kun, Takaaki-kun, the team will be counting on you!"

"Yes, Ma’am!" The two orchestrators of the team nodded simultaneously.

"Lastly, they are also a top defensive team, probably second to us in this island." Kumiko’s tone was solemn. "So, you guys better get ready, for an extra time or even a penalty kick could happen in this game, okay?!"

"YES, MA’AM!"

After that, they checked themselves one last time, trying to make sure that their jerseys and kits were okay today. Soon enough, one of the referees suddenly knocked on the door, signaling them to make a line in the tunnel.

"Okay, that’s our cue!" Kumiko nodded. "Good luck, everyone! Bench players, come together with me!"

Once the girl left with the jealous bench players, all the starting players went out immediately, with Makino and Higo leading them forward. There, it seemed, Esashi High were also ready for the game, not even taking a glance at them.

"Yeah, Teme, it seems you are right. Today’s intensity will be quite high. Get ready and try to warn the others." Higo whispered.

"Sure, let’s do that later." Makino nodded silently.

The next ten minutes were spent on the formality, from having to walk together to the pitch, then shaking hands with each other, to the point that Makino and the opponent’s captain, Nishimura, had to go for a coin toss battle in the middle. Unfortunately, they didn’t get a chance to have a blitzkrieg attack first, since Esashi High got the kickoff first today.

"Okay, everyone! Start moving!" Makino shouted, pointing to each one of his teammates where their position should be. "Sano, remember to keep the communication on! Always talk whenever you are about to do something, and keep your eyes on the others!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Meanwhile, on the opponent’s bench, Jirokichi, the team’s head coach, snorted when he saw Hakodate Nishi’s players getting onto the pitch. "Hmph! A bunch of brats who don’t even know how high the sky is! Just because they won in a friendly match, they thought we were not their opponent anymore. Come on! Let’s show them who is the better southern team!"

"Hell, yeah!"

Now, with all the players from both teams ready, the referee also did one last check, trying to make sure that no equipment would be malfunctioning today. After waiting for a while, the man finally walked to the center of the pitch, and a whistle was seen on his lips. The moment he blew it, hell broke loose, as chaos succumbed on the pitch. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The first semifinal of the Hokkaido Tournament finally began, and it was going to be a wild ride for both teams.