The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 339: Third Round’s Opponent!

"Okay, everyone! Can I have a moment here?!" Kumiko raised her voice as all the members of the team gathered in the meeting room here.

Honestly, she was so touched by the overwhelming—even blind—support that she received from the team. The girl knew that she always played ugly football and once she rose high enough, this matter wouldn’t be let slide that easily. After all, people always had an aversion toward what the Daily Sports called ’Negative Football’. She just didn’t expect that a platform would bash her on this matter without hesitation, even calling her an inexperienced girl to bring down her position on this matter.

That was why the article really rubbed her the wrong way here.

"Kumiko-chan, are you not angry about this shitty article?!" Makino growled furiously, waving his phone as if the girl could read it from afar.

"Yeah! Fucking hell, Shishida-senpai! Say a single word, and we will do anything to kill them!" Fujinaga shouted from the back row.

"Um... Shishida-senpai... Do you need me to call my father for help here?" Even the shy Usami couldn’t help but ask her.

Kumiko twitched the corner of her lips when she heard this. While she appreciated the support, they seemed to be a little bit overboard here. Hell, the girl herself didn’t know how far the influence of Usami’s father, the hidden tycoon in Hakodate, could reach, and she didn’t want to test it.

"Okay, first of all, yes, I am as angry as you. However, I have some help from people outside there." Kumiko answered calmly. "Some media friends will upload an interview video with me, coupled with several unreleased pieces of footage that will show what is going on there. At least this will help explain Fujinaga-kun’s situation, helping them understand that we are the victim here."

The moment she spoke that, everyone was so stunned, not expecting this kind of development. "Fucking hell, Senpai! We are still cursing them on the first level, and you have already climbed through the fifth level to deal with this situation?! Awesome!"

"Yeah, that’s what an inexperienced little girl can do, Bastard!"

"Come on! Come on!"

Kumiko’s smile widened as she continued, "As for the Daily Sports... Well, since they dare to drag down our school and the whole of Hokkaido in this shenanigan, of course, they have to be ready for the consequences. The headmaster and some Hokkaido representatives have already prepared a legal action for defamation here, thinking that the article contains malicious intent to humiliate the whole island. So, they will be quite busy in the next couple of months."

Some jaws started to drop as they all stared at the girl in disbelief. However, Kumiko didn’t intend to stop just like that.

"For the cherry on top, we also have the overwhelming support from all the media in Hokkaido. When you read the news from Sapporo Times and Soccaido, you will see that those two, the biggest platforms back home, have already shown their stand, condemning the Daily Sports for its reckless action in insulting the representative of Hokkaido. So, we have the whole island supporting us; don’t worry too much about anything else."

"...Fucking hell, I think I’m in love here..." Makino muttered unconsciously as he stared at the girl in awe.

"Back down, Teme! She is mine!" Higo growled angrily when he heard that.

Still, the boy couldn’t blame his captain for this reaction. He himself was also in the same predicament, too dumbfounded by everything that the girl said. Hell, not just him; everyone had a similar reaction, still couldn’t believe that her words were real. After all, it was only twenty minutes since they all read the news, and while the players were still cursing, the coach somehow managed to deal with almost everything by herself.

"Someone, please remind me not to offend Kumiko-senpai in the future..." Kenji shivered involuntarily. "She is pretty, but scary as hell..."

Seeing that the anger started to subside and their rational mind was back here, Kumiko continued, "I know that you guys are angry. Hell, I myself want nothing but to bring hell on them. However, this is not the time for us to do that. No, we are still in the tournament, and the best way to shut them up is to go further in this tournament! Don’t you agree with that?!"

"Hell fucking yeah!"

"Okay, then, it is time for us to focus on our next opponent!" The girl turned on the projector, sharing the screen on her laptop with everyone. "Hannan University High School, a strong team from Osaka! This team has several players coming from Vissel Kobe’s youth team, so you can expect a fundamentally solid team from them. However, this team is not as prominent as Shohei High, so don’t be burdened too much by any useless thing inside your head!"

Hearing that, some boys let out a relieved sigh secretly. While they didn’t dare to underestimate their opponent, the terror bombarded by Hiroki Kawabe in the last game was indeed a little bit too much, leaving a psychological scar that would take a long time to heal. Denki, particularly, was so glad that he didn’t have to face his senpai again after this.

"Unfortunately, our two anchors will not be able to start due to the red card suspension..." Her glance turned to Kazawa and Fujinaga, who just rubbed their back awkwardly. The former regretted his reckless handball in the last game, while the latter just hoped that he did more toward that bastard referee. "So, we have to go for our emergency plan. Jun-kun, you will be pushed slightly forward to be our holding midfielder, while Sano-kun will be in from the start."

"Yes, Ma’am!" Sano clenched his fist unconsciously. Although Kumiko had already discussed the possibility of his having to start in the next game, when he heard his name was mentioned directly like this, the boy couldn’t help but get excited now. "Don’t worry, I will never let anyone get past me!" He swore solemnly.

"Don’t be too tense, Sano-kun, or it will be easier for you to make a mistake." Kumiko chuckled a little here. "Anyway, before we go further with our analysis, I have one more question for you guys."

"Um?" The others were startled, slightly confused at this sudden change of topic. "What question?"

For that, Kumiko just smiled mischievously before saying, "Are you guys ready to make history?"