Hide and Erase the Weak Self

On the other side, the atmosphere in the second-year formation was completely different. Although Miyabi Nagumo had recovered somewhat, she was still giving instructions with a dark face. The students of Class 2-B had just finished playing against Class 1-D and their physical strength had dropped. However, Miyabi Nagumo seemed to have not taken this into consideration at all. She did not make any concessions or take any tactical precautions, leaving Kiriyama feeling bitter but helpless.

The students of Class C and Class D had just been defeated by Class 3-C and Class 1-C, respectively. The latter was due to their lack of strength, but the former clearly had a chance to win. However, due to Miyabi Nagumo's emergency deployment, the top athletes who were originally supposed to be the trump cards for the last two team events were forced to come and participate in this match of Class 2-A, and their morale was extremely low.

On the contrary, the Class A members, who had been given special care by Miyabi Nagumo and had even given up the competition with Class 1-C to get a break, were all in high spirits. Compared to their mental state, Mizowaki Sakuto frowned and scolded them.

"Everyone, pay attention! This is a crucial competition for the second year!"

This only fueled the crowd's anger. Although they didn't dare to protest openly, they were already subtly preparing to escalate the situation.

Ultimately, this is just a competition between Class 2-A and Class 1-A. If they lose, it will only be a loss of face for Class 2-A Miyabi Nagumo.

Thinking about the potential setbacks that Miyabi Nagumo might suffer, the wavering Kiriyama's mind suddenly became active again. He winked at the other two in his class, signaling them to play more casually later. After all, if something went wrong, they could use lack of stamina as a shield. Since Class 2-A didn't help Class 2-B win the match, why were they putting in so much effort?

Still absorbed in Horikita Manabu's words, Miyabi Nagumo didn't notice that her teammates were already harboring their own agendas. If it were just Kitagawa Ryo, she would have been mentally prepared no matter how much the other mocked her. However, Horikita Manabu's appearance and the praise he gave Kitagawa Ryo completely made Miyabi Nagumo lose her composure.

"Did you understand?"

"Make arrangements targeting the opponent's potential weaknesses," Miyabi Nagumo instructed in a deep voice.

His sharp, hawk-like gaze slowly swept over all the players present, and he made a promise:

"If you perform well in this match, your name will be added to the list of those who make it into Class A next time."

Miyabi Nagumo's rule over the entire second year wasn't solely based on coercion. The status of being in Class A was the most suitable form of enticement. It was through this method that many elites from the originally lower-ranked classes began to consider joining Nagumo's side to obtain a spot in Class A, rather than leading such a trashy class forward. This is how Class 2-A managed to defeat and subdue the other three classes one by one.

The second-year students, having barely mustered a bit of energy, nodded in agreement.

However, after the referee blew the whistle to start the game, the situation on the field was quite different from what Miyabi Nagumo had envisioned.

Apart from the students in his own class who were barely managing to follow his instructions, the other members almost completely collapsed under the First Year's offensive.

Koenji Rokusuke, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Horikita Manabu, and Kitagawa Ryo, acting as the vanguard, directly broke through the second-year students' defense.

Kitagawa Ryo the ball, has already reached the second-year students' half of the court.

Mizowaki and Tonokawa from Class 2-A, who were also Nagumo's right-hand men and served as secretaries in the Student Council, pounced on him from the left and right.

However, Kitagawa Ryo remained unusually calm. He first used the inside of his left foot to dribble the ball to the left, dodging Tonokawa's tackle from the right. Then, he raised his right foot and flicked the ball back to the right, once again avoiding Mizowaki's interception.

"Elastico!"

Sakagami Kazuma homeroom teacher of Class 1-B, stood in the audience and shouted loudly. Anyone who didn't know better would think that he was the one making a big splash on the field.

"Elastico? Are they edible?"

The homeroom teacher of Class 1-A chimed in, asking a question. Since it concerned their class's victory, he was also watching the court with extreme focus, unwilling to miss even the slightest detail.

"You mean that way of passing the ball, like the one we just did."

Sitting below, Sakayanagi Arisu explained that although she couldn't participate in sports due to her health, she knew a little about soccer.

Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to want to say something more, but the huge cheers that erupted from the entire audience drowned out her voice.

The girl shook her head helplessly and refocused her attention on Kitagawa Ryo on the field.

He is now the center of attention, and every move he makes draws the eyes of all the viewers.

He stopped and pulled back, turning his body ninety degrees to easily bypass a defender who came to block him.

He dribbled the ball upwards and lobbed it away, dodging a sliding tackle from the left.

If it weren't happening right now, everyone would think it was a staged program.

He almost showed off his skills by dribbling past four players in a row. The second-year defense, which had no fighting spirit, was completely broken through by him. Kitagawa Ryo, who was about 30 meters away from the goal, moved half a meter to the left, looking like he was looking for an angle to prepare for a long shot. Miyabi Nagumo, who was defending, did not think much and went straight to meet him.

"Shoot!"

"Shoot!"

The cheers from the crowd suddenly rose, since most spectators didn't really understand the specific rules of football, but everyone could understand a shot, and the atmosphere in the stadium was brought to its highest point.

Kitagawa Ryo swung his foot, but the ball didn't fly towards the goal as everyone expected. Instead, it was caught by Kitagawa Ryo's outstretched right foot, and the ball and Miyabi Nagumo's left side as she returned to defend.

"A fake shot, a real dunk!"

Sakagami Kazuma's voice was almost hoarse from shouting. At this point, he wished he could unfurl a banner to declare that the one currently dribbling the ball and wreaking havoc on the second-year defense was Kitagawa Ryo from Class 1-B, his student!

Caught off guard, Miyabi Nagumo could only watch helplessly as Kitagawa Ryo rushed into her own restricted area.

Kitagawa Ryo bypassed the goalkeeper's diving save, casually lifting his foot as if taking a leisurely stroll.

All the First Year students present couldn't help but stand up. Hotaru was even pinched hard by Karuizawa Kei's finger without her noticing, and she meowed in confusion.

The soccer ball crashed into the snow-white net.

Three minutes into the game, the First Year took a 1-0 lead over the second grade.

Kitagawa Ryo, who had orchestrated the play, received cheers from the entire audience. The students, bursting with emotion, unleashed a deafening roar that echoed like a dam breaking, reverberating throughout almost the entire Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

In terms of atmosphere alone, this has surpassed any previous Sports Festival.

Goal!

Sakagami Kazuma opened his arms and hugged Mashima Tomoya, the homeroom teacher of Class A, who was standing next to him. Because this was a do-or-die situation for Class 1-A, Mashima Tomoya lost his usual composure and hugged and cheered with Sakagami Kazuma like a child.

Miyabi Nagumo's face was filled with shock and anger. He had been defeated by Kitagawa Ryo single-handedly. Even when he had temporarily teamed up with the students from Class 2-B, Kitagawa Ryo had not done such a thing.

Those who had been defeated by Kitagawa Ryo also looked at Miyabi Nagumo with apprehension.

But Miyabi Nagumo didn't care about any of that; he just looked at Kitagawa Ryo, who was exchanging high-fives with the others.

He seemed to see himself a year ago, leading the soccer club to victory in the Summer Tournament finals. Back then, he hadn't joined the Student Council yet, and he had the same group of teammates around him.

In that instant, a genuine feeling of regret welled up in Miyabi Nagumo's heart.

Perhaps his ideas are truly wrong.

Having lost her fighting spirit, Miyabi Nagumo wandered around the field almost like a sleepwalker for the rest of the First Year students became more and more aggressive, and almost everyone except the goalkeeper scored a goal. By the second half, many second-year students had chosen to leave the field, unable to bear seeing the gap on the scoreboard widen any further.

The final score was nine to one.

Class 1-A defeated Class 2-A four to three.

Class 2-A suffered their second consecutive defeat at this Sports Festival.

This is a turning point in history.

All the students who watched the game realized this.

They looked at Horikita Manabu and Kitagawa Ryo, who were fighting side by side, and then cast pitying glances at Miyabi Nagumo, who was already in a daze.

However, it belongs to two other people.

By the afternoon of the Sports Festival, people had no time to pay attention to Class 3-A's relentless challenge to Class 2-A.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the battle results displayed on the electronic screen.

[Class 1-D VS Class 1-B]

The class that initiated the challenge was Class 1-D.

I need to go back to my hometown to pay respects to my ancestors and take a day off.

I went back to my hometown to pay respects at the ancestral graves during the Ghost Festival (July 15th of the lunar calendar), so I couldn't bring my computer to write this. I can only ask for a day off. I hope everyone understands.

By the way, every year during the Ghost Festival in the countryside, the roadsides are lined with people burning paper money and incense. It's quite scary to see at night, and it makes you shiver.

Everyone should get some rest. I'll add a chapter when I get back tomorrow morning, around noon.

Chapter 75: Hiding and Erasing One's Weak Self

[Class 1-D VS Class 1-B]

This was a showdown that almost none of the students had anticipated. After all, judging from the situation in the morning, the First Year should have formed an alliance. Moreover, without the help of Class 1-B, Class 1-D would most likely have lost to Class 2-B.

However, facing Class 1-B, who had helped them, Class 1-D actually took the initiative to challenge them. For a time, some people even speculated whether the two sides had agreed in advance to deliberately let Class 1-D give Class 1-B points.

[Karuizawa?]

Karuizawa Kei from Class 1-C Ichinose Honami- C was also completely bewildered when she tagged Karuizawa Megumi in their group chat, but her message went unanswered, as if it had sunk into the sea.

Seeing that Karuizawa Kei didn't reply, Ichinose Honami clicked on the Sakayanagi Arisu from Class 1-A and started a private chat, wanting to ask if the other party knew the specifics of what had happened.

The First Year students had clearly agreed to avoid civil war, but...

[This was decided long ago by Class 1-D.]

Sakayanagi Arisu's reply sent a chill down Ichinose Honami, but the next sentence from her made her even more dizzy:

[Class 1-A will also join Class 1-D in this match.]

Ichinose Honami bit her lip lightly. The grand scene of the entire grade working together in the morning made her almost forget that the four First Year classes were still in a state of competition with each other. She also overlooked the fact that Class 1-B had already amassed 240 Class Points in this Sports Festival and was advancing towards Class A.

[Was this... something you planned all along? Even Ryo didn't know?]

Sakayanagi Arisu did not respond further, even though the message status changed from [unread] to [read].

"Squad leader, what do we do next?"

Just then, a student from the class stepped forward to ask Ichinose Honami about Class 1-C's next move. Although no upper-grade class had yet challenged Class 1-C couldn't just sit idly by. After all, once the other classes had determined their opponents for this round, the last two remaining classes would be forcibly assigned as opponents.

Therefore, taking action early and seizing the initiative from the opponent is extremely important.

"We're going to the Matoba Class 1-B..."

Ichinose Honami could finish speaking, Shiranami Chihiro, the Commander of Class 1-C, urgently explained through the earpiece:

"That won't do, Class 1-A hasn't chosen an opponent yet!"

The half-step she had already taken was abruptly halted. Ichinose Honami knew that as the backbone of Class 1-C, she absolutely could not leave at this moment. After all, if Class 1-C acted to aid Class 1-B, Class 1-A might directly attack Class 1-C. And Class 1-C, which was likely to lose this match, definitely couldn't afford to pay out 20 million Private Points to offset Shiranami Chihiro's expulsion punishment.

[Now, can you calm down?]

Sakayanagi Arisu sent a new message, and whether it was just her imagination or not, Ichinose Honami could even sense the playful expression on the other person's face through the leisurely tone of the words.

She gripped her phone tightly, typing each word with great force:

What exactly do you want?

[All you need to do is stay here obediently.]

[It's good to see Class 1-B get defeated...]

"That's a bit unexpected."

Kitagawa Ryo sat on the large chair with his knees drawn up to his chest, his dark eyes reflecting the fluorescent light from the screen in front of him.

[Class 1-D vs. Class 1-B]

The situation, which was almost unforeseen before the start of the Sports Festival, actually happened before their eyes, but Kitagawa Ryo wasn't too surprised.

In fact, Kitagawa Ryo had already noticed some clues during the morning's competition. Horikita Suzune did not participate in any events. As the girl with the strongest physical abilities in Class D, it was impossible for Class 1-D not to have designed related events for her. Now it seems that she was one of the trump cards she had reserved for him.

Kitagawa Ryo manipulated the mouse with his fingers; sooner or later, he would officially face off against Karuizawa Kei.

I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly; it seems what happened during the summer vacation really provoked the other party.

In a sense, Kitagawa Ryo is getting close to his goal.

In same-grade competitions, apart from the challenged class being allowed to designate one item, the other six items are randomly selected by the school from the twenty items submitted by both classes.

Compared to matches between different grades, matches between students of the same grade test the overall athletic abilities of both classes more comprehensively, but luck also plays a greater role.

After Kitagawa Ryo, the Commander of the challenged class, successfully submitted a project, the battle between the two classes officially began.

[The first individual item will be selected below.]

[Draw complete]

[The first individual event was wrestling, submitted by Class 1-B]

[Both Commander please confirm the participating players]

[Confirmation complete]

[Please proceed to your designated areas and take your positions.]

"The opponent's wrestler will likely be Yamada Albert. I heard during training a few days ago that he's been having some problems with his lower back."

"Although the sport is called wrestling, Yamada himself is actually more skilled in Judo, so his wrestling techniques incorporate many Judo moves. Please pay close attention."