Hyogo Prefecture's team captain, Motoichiro Hokushin, slowly walked to the battle seat.
He was tall and thin, with a stern face and deep eyes like an ancient well, revealing no emotion.
In previous matches, he had always used random characters, winning each game with ease, his strength unfathomable, which shrouded him in a mysterious veil.
However, at this most crucial moment of the finals, he acted out of character.
When the character selection screen appeared, Motoichiro Hokushin's finger lightly flicked the joystick, and the cursor steadily landed on a character that almost all professional players would instinctively avoid—
The final BOSS, Geese Howard!
On the screen, the image of the gang leader, dressed in traditional Japanese martial arts attire and with eyes that looked down on all living beings, appeared in everyone's view, bringing with him a suffocating sense of oppression.
The entire Budokan instantly fell into a dead silence, followed by an explosion of exclamations and discussions like a mountain tsunami.
"Geese?! He actually chose Geese!"
"He must be crazy! Using Geese in an official match? The difficulty of controlling him is simply inhuman!"
The commentator's voice was also filled with incredible astonishment.
Because the character Geese Howard, although his moves had strong hitboxes, was extremely complex to control, especially his core skill "Counter Throw," which required an extremely precise grasp of timing, very few players dared to use him in such an important match.
Shirano readjusted his breathing, trying to calm his heart, which was somewhat chaotic from the continuous intense battles.
He met Motoichiro Hokushin's unruffled eyes.
The match began.
Geese, controlled by Hokushin, displayed a terrifying aura from the very start, completely different from all previous opponents.
Shirano's Andy's every tentative attack, every cautious movement, seemed pale and powerless in front of Hokushin's precise judgment, which was as if he possessed precognitive abilities.
Even more terrifying was Geese's "Counter Throw."
Whether it was a high attack or a low attack, as long as Shirano's attacking intention was slightly revealed, Geese could always use the corresponding counter skill by a hair's breadth, neutralizing Andy's attack invisibly and in turn delivering a heavy blow.
Shirano felt as if his every movement, every thought, was completely seen through by his opponent.
On the screen, Andy's health bar rapidly decreased.
In the first round, Shirano was defeated by Hokushin's Geese with a Perfect (full health) almost without any ability to retaliate.
In the second round, Shirano tried to change the rhythm and play more aggressively, but still could not break through Geese's impenetrable defense.
Soon, it was another clean K.O.
0 to 2.
Shirano looked at the dimmed screen, his fingers stiffly resting on the joystick, his mind blank.
That feeling of powerlessness was something he had never experienced since he started participating in competitions.
Next, the Tokyo team's middle player entered the stage.
This experienced player, facing the formidable Hokushin and his Geese, was also beaten without any temper.
Hokushin's Geese, in his hands, seemed to have transformed into a ruthless killing machine.
Continuous command throws and precise "Hurricane Punch" suppression prevented the Tokyo team's middle player from organizing any effective offense.
It was another 2:0.
In the second round, the middle player was even defeated by a Perfect again.
The Tokyo team instantly fell from heaven to hell, pushed to the brink of despair.
All the pressure fell on the shoulders of the last player to appear, the captain—Nagai Kenta.
Nagai Kenta took a deep breath and slowly walked to the battle seat.
He took off his red and white baseball cap, revealing resolute eyes.
He chose his most familiar and trusted partner—Terry Bogard.
All eyes in the arena were focused on this last hope.
The first game began.
Nagai Kenta, facing Hokushin's Geese's continuous pressure like a tide and his elusive counter skills, also seemed somewhat unprepared.
Terry's several probing attacks were precisely "countered" by Geese.
Soon, Nagai Kenta lost the first game.
The atmosphere in the Budokan was extremely heavy, and the hearts of the Tokyo team's supporters were in their throats.
The second game began.
Nagai Kenta's eyes became exceptionally focused.
He quickly adjusted his tactics.
He no longer rushed to attack like in the first game, but instead fully utilized Terry's flexible movement and rhythm-changing projectiles for long-range zoning.
"Power Wave!"
Power Waves of different speeds and angles, like maggots on bones, Entangled Geese.
Nagai Kenta began to frequently use feints, testing Hokushin's timing for using counter skills.
His offensive rhythm became more varied, combining feints and real attacks, sometimes pressing fiercely like a storm, and other times luring the opponent to attack like a venomous snake.
Although Hokushin's Geese was still powerful, facing the experienced and tactically versatile Nagai, he also began to make some subtle mistakes.
After a clever feint that tricked Geese into using a whiffed "High Counter," Nagai Kenta's eyes suddenly lit up!
Now!
Terry pounced like a tiger descending from the mountain, a set of dazzling combos, practiced thousands of times, slammed heavily onto Geese!
Hokushin's rhythm was disrupted for the first time.
Nagai Kenta, relying on his superior match experience and flexible tactics, gradually found a way to counter Geese.
With difficulty, he won a round!
1 to 1!
The entire arena erupted in thunderous cheers!
The decisive round!
The air seemed to freeze, and everyone held their breath.
Both sides played extremely cautiously, every move was carefully considered.
On the screen, the health bars of the two characters alternately decreased, the situation was extremely close and suffocating.
Time passed minute by minute, and both sides' health was already at the bottom, entering the kill zone where a single move could decide the winner at any moment.
Hokushin's Geese seized an opportunity, charged forward suddenly, and a powerful "Raging Storm" went straight for Terry!
This was Geese's super special move, and once it hit, the match would be over!
In a flash!
Nagai Kenta's pupils constricted sharply, his fingers seemed to be perfectly synchronized with his nerves.
An extreme reaction back step!
Terry's body narrowly avoided Geese's fatal blow!
Almost at the same time, Nagai Kenta's thumb slammed hard on the attack button!
"Burn Knuckle!"
A fist burning with raging flames, like a cannonball, accurately struck Geese's chest, who was in a huge rigid state due to the whiffed super special move!
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
On the screen, Geese's health bar instantly emptied.
The giant "K.O.!" letters filled the entire screen!
Nagai Kenta won!
The Tokyo team won!
After a brief silence, the entire Budokan erupted in deafening cheers, screams, and applause, the sound waves almost tearing off the roof!
Countless ribbons rained down from the sky, and the lights shone, illuminating Nagai Kenta's figure with his arms raised, as if he were a deity!
A grand award ceremony was then held.
Takuya Nakayama and several Sega executives personally presented the pure gold championship trophy and a huge prize money to the winning Tokyo team.
Nagai Kenta held the championship trophy high, and his teammates, including Shirano, gathered tightly around him, sharing this supreme glory.
Shirano looked at the ribbons flying all over the sky, listened to the cheers like a mountain tsunami, and then looked at the excited Senior Nagai beside him, his eyes filled with the purest desire for victory and infinite yearning for a broader stage in the future.
He knew this was just the beginning.
Far away in Aomori, at the entrance of an electronics store.
Umehara Daigo and his friends watched in front of the TV, their faces flushed with excitement.
When they saw Nagai Kenta's final Flame Punch KO his opponent, they all jumped up from the ground in unison, screaming and shouting like madmen.
Umehara Daigo's small fists were tightly clenched, his heart pounding.
That thrill, that tension, that joy of victory, were deeply imprinted in his six-year-old heart.