Unbeknownst to the Hakodate Nishi’s players, the group from Sapporo Otani that they thought was too arrogant to pay attention to them was secretly glancing at their side. Their gaze, though, fell to one person particularly, and that was to Higo, who was the team’s goalkeeper.

Some had this complicated gaze, while the others had some sort of jealousy unhidden from their eyes. The reason was simple. They found out that Higo was on the top 100 list of the best young players in the country, something that no one expected before.

This was the first time since the JFA released the list that a player from any other team besides Sapporo Otani in Hokkaido managed to get into it, and Higo’s story was so outrageous that it attracted so much hate from the rival team.

"How could a player who has only practiced for less than one year be considered as one of the top 100 players in Japan?! This is an insult toward those who dedicated their lives to this shit!" Shintaro Okamura, the left back, snarled angrily.

"Well, a genius often comes like a meteor, you know? No need to put your standard on the same level as theirs, or you will get hurt more." Kenji Harada, the attacking midfielder, just replied casually while also doing his warm-up. "You are just saying that because you are jealous, anyway. If you have time to do that, you’d better train harder, you know?"

In return, though, Okamura and the others just glared at him fiercely. "Well, yes, you can say that, you fucker! You yourself are on the list!" He growled angrily.

Indeed, out of the top 100 list, three players from Sapporo Otani were there, together with Higo, to be the four teenagers who represented Hokkaido. Kenji Harada was on the 47th of the list, while Yuma Igari was on the 81st. Meanwhile, the highest one was Rin Mito, who managed to sneak into the top 20 by getting into 19th place on the list. Not that high, yes, but it was an impressive feat for a defender.

"Still debating over that list?" Yuma Igari suddenly came to interrupt his kouhai’s bickering. "Why are you so fixated on this? This is going to be his only achievement, anyway. In front of Yuwell, there is no way he could survive this game."

He said it with confidence as if what he said would be the reality. Well, not that he could be blamed, though. After all, Yuwell was one of the best strikers in the country right now. Hell, the Swedish striker even scored four goals in his two games in the last Inter-High Tournament, and the only way he was deprived of the top scorer title was because the team lost badly in the second round.

With that achievement on his bag, everyone was confident that there was no way any goalkeeper on this island could stop him.

"You are right, Senpai..." Okamura took a deep breath. "So, what if he got into the top 100? After we go to the nationals, my chance to impress the scout will be higher, and I will leave him in the dust. I don’t need to worry too much about him."

"Atta boy!" Yuma Igari grinned, slapping the boy on his back. "Come on! We need to join the others quickly, or Rin will nag us to death again!"

After the conversation was over, all the Sapporo Otani players gathered on the southern side of the pitch, creating a big circle while doing a little game for their warm-up session. Yuwell Carlson could be seen juggling the ball while laughing with the other players freely, not even getting bothered by the camera snaps aimed at him.

Soon enough, though, all the players on the pitch went back to the locker room, changing into their jerseys. Since Sapporo Otani had the sky-blue color as their home kit, Hakodate Nishi, whose main color was black-white-white, had to be willing to go with their second choice, the golden-orange jersey, to avoid the color clash. Higo also changed into his second kit, the blue one that made him stand out the most among his teammates.

Then, before everyone knew it, they were already walking in line to the pitch, as the referee guided them to begin the game. The moment all the players stepped into the battlefield with their proud armor, cheers erupted from all over the stadium, with the loudest one being from the northern part where the small group of Hakodate Nishi’s supporters gathered.

"COME ON, MAKINO! COME ON, MAKINO!"

"WE CAN DO THIS! SHOW US HAKODATE’S PRIDE!"

"BRING THE GLORY BACK HOME! COME ON!"

There was no sync or rhythm to their chants, as everyone shouted so many random things simultaneously. Coupled with the loud and annoying snare drum that they hit, this made the home team’s supporters sneer at them arrogantly.

’Bah! Just a bunch of country bumpkins! What do they know about the art of being supporters?’

However, for Hakodate Nishi, this was as if they had another reinforcement right now, giving them extra spirit for today. This was going to be the game where they received the most supporters in their history, and now, they were so excited to either show off or prove something to the crowd.

"Hakodate Nishi’s captain, Sapporo Otani’s captain, come here!" Just like the usual, before the game began, the referee called both captains for a little speech and a coin toss. "This is the final, where the emotion runs high. I want you guys to control your teammates better and prevent them from doing anything stupid. Any complaint they have, you can rely on me. I want a clean game, okay?"

"Yes, Sensei." Both captains nodded simultaneously.

Once the referee made sure that he had made his point, the man took a coin out of his pocket for the toss. Since this was a luck-based event, no one really minded what they picked here, so the referee just threw the coin into the air before catching it with the back of his hand. Then, once he revealed which side it was, both players nodded together before walking back to their own team.

It was the tail side of the coin, which meant Sapporo Otani would have the right to do the kick-off first.