Any major international tournament required a long period of preparation and planning.
KOF was naturally no exception.
According to the plan, KOF would first hold elimination rounds at several venues around the world. After the eliminations ended, thirty-two teams would officially qualify and head to Japan for the competition. The elimination rounds did not demand much from their venues. Much like the World Cup, nobody paid attention to teams outside their own area unless they truly advanced, so there would not be many spectators. Renting local boxing arenas or similar venues would be enough.
But once the actual tournament began, different venues were needed. Shizuku naturally could not hold matches in back alleys, streets, or scenic historical sites like in the games, but she had her own choices—Oborozuki Island and Mount Hi-no-e would work perfectly as competition grounds, while the final would take place at Night Spring on Mount Hi-no-e.
That would not only improve Mount Hi-no-e's tourism prospects, but also help drive away its bad luck.
The local government of Mount Hi-no-e was practically overjoyed by Shizuku's proposal. They had originally worried that the mountain's reputation as a suicide Holy Land would make it impossible to develop tourism. Now that Shizuku had decided to hold the finals of the international KOF tournament there, they immediately felt relieved. No matter what, it was an international competition and would definitely attract plenty of attention!
If they could successfully pull off the event, they would not have to bow in apology and resign over their previous losses.
Yet for Shizuku, the final member was nowhere to be found.
Mary had already reported to Shizuku's home and was now training with Honoka—the latter had also begun receiving Shizuku's guidance and learning Shifting Stars.
After examining Honoka, Shizuku discovered that she truly was a