The Fukuda Sōgō players stood there stunned for a moment. Then, one after another, they gathered beside the scoreboard.
They even had their coach pull out his phone and take a picture of them.
This scene left not only Seijuro Akashi dumbfounded, but also the rest of Rakuzan and the spectators.
Seriously, guys? You are taking a photo with a humiliating score like that?
Anyone who did not know better would think you had beaten Rakuzan 111 to 11.
Kotaro Hayama walked over to Fukuda Sōgō's coach in confusion and asked,
"Um, don't you guys find this humiliating?"
To Kotaro Hayama's surprise, Fukuda Sōgō's coach not only did not get angry, he even replied casually,
"So what?"
"If we can't beat them, then we can't beat them. What's humiliating about that? Move aside, you're blocking me from recording this beautiful moment."
Kotaro Hayama was pushed aside by Fukuda Sōgō's coach, his face full of confusion as he stared at them blankly.
They simply could not believe what was happening in front of them. It felt almost like a dream.
Reo Mibuchi was also stunned for a moment, but then he seemed to realize something. He stiffly turned his head and glanced at Seijuro Akashi.
Seijuro Akashi's face was frighteningly dark as he stared fixedly at Fukuda Sōgō.
Noticing Reo Mibuchi's gaze, Seijuro Akashi said coldly,
"When we get back, think up your own punishments."
After saying that, Seijuro Akashi turned around and went to pack up his things.
Reo Mibuchi felt like crying.
Damn it! Who could have known the other side was made up of pure slackers?
... The humiliating score quickly made the front page, and the news that Fukuda Sōgō's players had taken photos after the game soon reached Fukuda Sōgō's board of directors.
Fukuda Sōgō's board was furious and immediately kicked out that entire batch of players along with the coach.
The coach did not care at all, and the players were just as indifferent.
The coach only needed to collect his full salary and leave. After that, he could just find a position at another school.
Coaches were still quite rare in Japan, so he was not worried about finding a school willing to hire him.
As for the players, they were even more relaxed. As long as the school did not expel them, they did not care.
Fukuda Sōgō's board could not possibly expel students just because of one photo.
After all, they had made it into the National Tournament, and their opponent had been a strong school like Rakuzan High School.
If they expelled the players over that, who would dare enroll there in the future?
With no other choice, the board could only look for other coaches and players again.
... After the match between Rakuzan High School and Fukuda Sōgō ended, the preliminary round of the Winter Cup National Tournament officially came to a close.
The teams advancing from the preliminaries were also decided.
First were the two teams that had tied in the opening match.
Seirin High School and Kaijō High School.
Then came Tōō High School, which defeated Yōsen High School and secured its spot.
After that was Shūtoku High School, which advanced after defeating Seihō High School.
Next was Rakuzan High School, which advanced after defeating Fukuda Sōgō.
And finally, our King of Luck, the [Emperor] school that received a first round bye.
Kirisaki Daiichi.
A total of six schools.
Seirin, Kaijō, Tōō, Shūtoku, Rakuzan, and Kirisaki Daiichi.
Since six schools had advanced this time, it meant that not only would the battle for the championship be fierce, but the competition for second and third place would also be intense.
At the same time, it also meant that the schools advancing would have to play several more games.
That would place a huge physical burden on the players.
It was worth mentioning that after the National Tournament preliminaries ended, every school in Japan received forms according to the requirement.
Whether universities or high schools, anyone with the ability to think independently received one.
The content of the form was:
[Your View of Dragon Nation]
As soon as the forms were distributed, the government required everyone to fill them out and turn them in the next day.
The government also publicly promised that the forms were anonymous and could be filled out without concern.
Anonymous?
Then why did they require identity verification when handing out and collecting the forms?
And if someone did not turn in the form, why were they sending officers to their house to search for it?
They clearly knew exactly who had received a form and who had not. How was that anonymous?
But there was nothing anyone could do. This was a demand from their new emperor.
Ordinary people did not think too much about it.
Some of the smarter ones, however, thought of many possibilities.
It was just that some guessed correctly, while others overthought it.
Some smart people figured Japan might be cooperating with Dragon Nation, so they filled their forms with praise.
Others thought Japan was about to go to war with Dragon Nation and wanted them to show their loyalty to the emperor, so they filled their forms with criticism.
If Miyamoto Tokima knew what the latter group was thinking, he would definitely say...
You have already found your path to death!
Fortunately, everyone in Kirisaki Daiichi had nothing but praise for Dragon Nation.
Because anyone who did not praise it had already been expelled.
As for the final statistics, Miyamoto Tokima did not know.
Hey, it was all just for fun.
Still, Miyamoto Tokima was a little curious. Since they dared to put this out and test public opinion, that meant the people above, or rather, the preparations, were basically done.
So Miyamoto Tokima called his father.
On the other end, Miyamoto Hiroshi was happily drinking Big Red Robe tea when his phone suddenly rang.
Ring, ring, ring...
Miyamoto Hiroshi slowly took out his phone. After seeing the caller ID, he answered and said,
"Hello, what is it, Tokima?"
Miyamoto Tokima's voice quickly came from the other end.
"Hey, Dad. Is there progress with Sakura Province... Uh, Japan?"
The moment Miyamoto Hiroshi heard the words "Sakura Province," he could not hold back and spat out the tea in his mouth.
"Pfft! Cough, cough. Tokima, what did you just say?"
"Japan's..."
"No, the part before that."
"Hey, Dad?"
"A little after that."
"Sakura Province?"
"How did you know we were planning to turn Japan into Sakura Province?"
Miyamoto Tokima's mouth twitched as he listened to the voice on the phone.
"I guessed it when you took me to meet those people before."
"Hahahaha!"
Miyamoto Hiroshi's laughter quickly came from the other end of the line.
"As expected of my son. Smart, smart! That's right, Tokima. We are indeed preparing to make Japan into Dragon Nation's Sakura Province. This is the task your maternal grandfather gave me."
"And very soon, this task will be complete!"
"Hahahaha. But you really are a clever kid. Since that's the case, I can feel at ease handing the family assets over to you in the future. Hahahaha."
Miyamoto Tokima's mouth twitched as he said,
"Alright then, Dad. I'll look forward to your plan succeeding."
Miyamoto Hiroshi laughed loudly.
"Good, good, good!"
Miyamoto Tokima suddenly remembered something and said,
"Dad, drop some coins."
"Do not make me slap you when I am at my happiest."
Beep!
A recording began to play.
"I'm telling you, your mom, she..."
The moment the recording started, Miyamoto Hiroshi's voice quickly came from the other end of the line.
"How much?"
...