The day passed quickly. Fortunately, there was no more drama for Hakodate Nishi, as they were allowed to test the ground at the evening session. Any of you who might think that this was not necessary was wrong.

Any team—not just Hakodate Nishi—that came to a new place had to try the ground first before playing. After all, it would take time to adapt to so many things, like the grass’s height, the humidity, the feeling, and several more that would be detrimental for the team if it were done at game time.

Back to the topic again, it was finally the game day. The Mitsuzawa Football Stadium started to get occupied slowly, as more and more people with the purple jersey started to fill all the empty spaces there. Those were all Toin Gakuen’s supporters, as they were indeed the dearest club of this town.

Honestly, it was impressive how full the stadium was. The capacity there was not that big, only around 15,000, but that only made the crowd look bigger. Anyone who saw this would notice that more than two-thirds of the stadium was occupied by the home team’s supporters, which was quite intimidating for Hakodate Nishi High.

"Holy hell..." Hori muttered under his breath while his gaze wandered around the stadium. "I thought Sapporo Otani is crazy enough, but this should be insanity, right?"

"Well, the stadium here is smaller, so it makes everything look more compact. Still, you are right. The number should be around 10,000 or just slightly below right now." Higo answered while doing his warmup.

"Senpai... How could you be so calm like this?" Fujinaga stared at the boy in awe.

Indeed, none of the players were really used to this kind of hostile atmosphere. Their only experience was against Sapporo Otani, and the two times they met Hokkaido’s powerhouse, the atmosphere was not as insane as this. It was no wonder that some weak-willed ones would have their legs trembling at this point.

"Nervous? Of course, I feel it." Higo snorted amusedly. "However, everyone is expecting Toin Gakuen to have an easy win today. No one is rooting for us, so the pressure is definitely on their side. Also, can you imagine when this stadium turns into a graveyard later, after we spoil the party?" He grinned wickedly.

The others were so speechless right now. Somehow, they forgot that behind all the simp personality Higo developed for Kumiko, behind all the brilliance he showed in front of the goal, the boy had a wicked personality. After all, who else could just sit still for the rest of the day, debating online with people they had never even met before and found satisfaction in doing that?

"Don’t just stand still like that stupidly." Makino suddenly approached them with a stern gaze. "Also, don’t think too much about them. See those who are on the upper part of the eastern stand?" He pointed his head subtly in that direction.

There, the people sitting on that stand weren’t just those with the purple color. In fact, it was way more diverse. There were people with white, red, blue, and even pink jackets, and based on how the people were grouped based on the color, all the Hakodate Nishi players could immediately guess who they were.

"So, they are the other participants of the tournament, huh?" Higo couldn’t help but twitch their lips unconsciously.

"Yeah, the other games will be started simultaneously after our game is over. Right now, there is only one game, and that is the opening we have to face. That’s why all the eyes are on this stadium." Makino nodded. "So, don’t be too nervous and don’t embarrass yourself too much, okay? Our position has already been so bad, no need to let them confirm it with our stupid display."

"Ha! Don’t worry about it!"

In fact, what people didn’t know was that more professional scouts were hidden in the crowd right now. This was something that people often misunderstood about this tournament. The scouts didn’t really hang out in the later stages, but spent more time observing the first and second rounds there.

After all, whoever managed to get into the semifinal or even the final would definitely be scouted by some professional teams, so they had a lot of time to observe later. However, those who were eliminated in the early stage were the hidden gems here. They might fail to shine, but their potential should be there. It was the scouts’ task to uncover it with their observation and assess whether the potential was worth developing for their team or not.

Still, not knowing this thing was definitely a blessing, as all the Hakodate Nishi players could put their focus completely on the game. For some of them, this was probably the biggest stage they had ever played in their life, so they didn’t need to add more pressure on their shoulder right now.

After a quick warming-up session, they all went back to the locker room to change into their armor. Since their main jersey didn’t clash with the opponent, Hakodate Nishi was allowed to wear their proudest black-and-white color. The moment they walked in line with their opponent together into the pitch, the scene was completely different than during the warmup time.

"COME ON! COME ON TOIN GAKUEN!"

"WE ARE GOING! WE ARE GOING TO THE TOP!"

All the people with the purple outfits chanted and clapped their hands loudly, trying to intimidate Hakodate Nishi’s players with their display. The stadium seemed to shake here, as if there was a small earthquake specifically for this building. This was definitely enough to intimidate a bunch of newbies like them. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Still, Higo wasn’t really that nervous here. While shaking his head lightly to loosen up his neck, his gaze wandered around, scanning the whole stadium one last time. His glove-covered fist also got clenched unconsciously as one thought flashed inside his mind.

’Mom is right. If I want to stand on a higher stage, I have to get used to this scene. Come on! First step to glory, I cannot mess this up!’