After Zaboru announced that the team needed to gather around, the timing happened to be perfect. The DoTA team had just finished their match, and since it was Sunday, they were the only competitive squad currently inside the building. Zaboru did not mind at all. Eventually, he planned to create different but similar training systems for every AKAI KUMA division, from Counter-Strike to StarCraft, Warcraft, and fighting games. But for now, the DoTA team would be enough as the first experiment.
The five players slowly gathered in front of him, still sweaty from their match and clearly confused about why their president had suddenly called them over. They already knew someone had been watching them together with Ryota, but none of them expected that person to be Zaboru himself. The moment they realized who was standing there, their expressions froze almost instantly.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
One player's mouth opened slightly.
Another unconsciously straightened his posture.
Even the loudest member of the team suddenly became silent.
To them, Zaboru was not just some company owner. He was the man behind ZAGE, the person who helped shape modern gaming, and a legendary player whose tournament clips were already being passed around like sacred footage among competitive gamers. Seeing him inside their own training room felt completely unreal.
Zaboru noticed their reactions and chuckled lightly.
"Relax," he said with an amused smile. "I'm not here to eat you guys."
That somehow made them even more nervous.
"First of all… introduce yourselves," Zaboru said casually.
The five players immediately looked surprised before awkwardly glancing at one another. The atmosphere became incredibly stiff, and Koichi was the first one forced forward after the others quietly pushed him from behind.
"A-Ah… I'm Koichi," he muttered while scratching his cheek awkwardly. "My in-game name is… also Koichi. I play support." His voice kept getting quieter near the end, and he immediately stepped backward the moment he finished introducing himself. Zaboru could already tell Koichi was extremely shy.
Then another player suddenly stepped forward with completely different energy. "I'm Keisuke!" he declared loudly. "In-game name Hot Rod! Carry player! Future world champion too!" The energy difference was so massive that even Zaboru blinked once. Keisuke crossed his arms confidently afterward, as if he had just entered a fighting game tournament instead of a normal introduction. "…And probably future MVP too," he added proudly.
"Shut up," Iwataro immediately muttered from behind him.
The tall offlaner lazily raised one hand. "Iwataro. IGN UMIBOZU. Offlane." Compared to Keisuke's explosive energy, Iwataro looked like he had just woken up five minutes ago. His hoodie was messy, his posture was terrible, and somehow, despite looking half asleep, his expression still naturally looked funny. "Honestly, I wanted to skip practice today," he admitted shamelessly.
"YOU SAY THAT EVERY DAY," Keisuke shouted instantly.
Meanwhile, another player quietly stepped forward. "…Tomoyasu," he said calmly. Then silence followed. Everyone waited. "…Shookku. Mid." Then he stepped backward again.
Zaboru stared at him for several seconds. "…That's it?"
Tomoyasu nodded once. "…Yeah."
Even Ryota sighed helplessly. Tomoyasu was apparently just naturally that quiet.
Finally, the last member awkwardly scratched his head before stepping forward. "I-I'm Rikiya. In-game name Kimbo. Semi-support… and also the captain." Compared to the others, Rikiya looked the most normal. He was not overly loud, not too shy, not lazy, and not terrifyingly quiet. Just normal. But somehow, that normality made him look the most reliable among the five.
The others immediately pointed toward him the moment Zaboru asked who was calling the shots inside the team. Rikiya awkwardly nodded afterward. "I'm the captain, Zaboru-san… and honestly, I'm a really big fan, by the way."
Zaboru chuckled softly while looking at the chaotic group in front of him. Honestly, they really did feel more like a group of gaming friends than a professional E-sports team.
Zaboru smiled and nodded before asking a simple question. "Say… why do all of you play DoTA competitively? Aside from earning money while playing games, what is the real reason?"
The five players immediately became quiet.
It was not a difficult question, but somehow, none of them could answer it easily.
Koichi was the first to speak. He scratched his cheek awkwardly while avoiding Zaboru's eyes. "I… I think it's just to earn money. That's all, I guess?"
Keisuke sighed before crossing his arms with his usual fiery confidence. "I want to be famous! I want to become a godlike figure one day! World Champion! MVP! The kind of player everyone remembers!"
Iwataro lazily tilted his head while thinking about it. "Hmm… probably to compete? Because it looks cool? And, well…"
He paused for a second.
"…to get girls?"
Keisuke immediately glared at him. "At least pretend to have a serious answer!"
Iwataro shrugged shamelessly. "I am being serious."
Meanwhile, Tomoyasu only shook his head quietly. "I don't know."
His answer was so short that the others instinctively looked at him, waiting for more.
But nothing else came.
Finally, Rikiya scratched the back of his head awkwardly before speaking. "Well… for me, it's because this is what I can do best."
His voice was calmer than the others, but there was a strange honesty behind it. He was not trying to sound cool, ambitious, or funny. He simply said what he truly felt.
Zaboru listened to all of their answers carefully.
None of them were completely wrong.
But none of them were enough either.
Zaboru let out a long sigh. "Those are pretty basic answers… but honestly?" A grin slowly appeared on his face. "None of you sound like you actually love winning."
The room immediately became awkward. Keisuke instantly frowned. "H-Hey! I literally said I want to become World Champion!"
Zaboru pointed at him immediately. "Yeah, Hot Rod wants to become World Champion…" Then his grin became even wider. "…but right now, it still sounds like all talk."
"WHAT!?" Keisuke almost jumped forward immediately, but Iwataro quietly grabbed his hoodie from behind before he could actually charge at Zaboru.
"Calm down, future MVP," Iwataro muttered lazily.
"I AM CALM!" Keisuke shouted.
"Your forehead vein says otherwise."
Even Koichi instinctively moved slightly backward because Keisuke suddenly looked like he wanted to start a boss fight. Meanwhile, Tomoyasu stayed completely expressionless.
"…He's angry," Tomoyasu muttered quietly.
"NO SH*T I'M ANGRY!" Keisuke snapped.
That immediately made even Zaboru laugh. Then Zaboru looked toward the entire team again, his voice becoming calmer. "I already know what all of you are thinking right now. 'You don't know how hard it is.'"
The players immediately froze slightly.
"'Korean teams are just too strong.'"
Now even Rikiya looked awkward.
"And of course…" Zaboru looked directly at Keisuke. "'I'M NOT ALL TALK!!'"
Keisuke instantly pointed at him dramatically. "THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING!"
The room immediately exploded with laughter. Even Ryota had to cover his mouth. Meanwhile, Keisuke suddenly realized he had exposed himself completely and immediately looked embarrassed.
"…Damn it."
Iwataro lazily patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Hot Rod. At least your thoughts are easy to read."
"That's not comforting at all!"
Zaboru sighed deeply before shaking his head. "What a loser mentality…"
The five players immediately stiffened.
Then Zaboru looked at them and asked, "Say… do you guys know Hayabusa?"
Everyone nodded almost instantly. Of course they knew him. Hayabusa was already infamous in Japan's fighting game E-sports scene. He was also the only player who had almost beaten Zaboru in Tekken 2 during the previous year's tournament. Even though he still lost in the end, that match had already become legendary among competitive gamers.
Zaboru grinned slightly. "He has a winning mentality. Do you know why? Because even after losing, he keeps trying again and again. When people asked him, 'Why do you want to beat Zaboru so badly?' everyone knows what his answer was."
The room became quieter.
Zaboru's grin sharpened. "Because I love winning and hate losing."
That sentence landed heavily on the five players.
"That is how all of you should think as well," Zaboru continued. "You can lose. You can feel like winning is impossible. You can admit that Korean teams are strong. But that should never become your mindset. It should only become an obstacle."
His eyes slowly moved across the team before finally stopping on Keisuke.
"And you, Hot Rod Keisuke…"
Keisuke's shoulders tensed immediately.
Zaboru's grin became colder. "What have you actually done to become an MVP? What have you actually done to become a World Champion? Aside from playing Sven like a fucking coward?"
The room went silent.
Even Ryota froze.
Nobody expected Zaboru to say something that harsh so directly. Koichi looked like he wanted to disappear into the floor, Iwataro suddenly looked fully awake for the first time today, and even Tomoyasu's eyes widened slightly.
Keisuke clenched his fists, his face turning red from embarrassment and anger, but Zaboru did not stop.
"If you had actually tried in the previous game, your Sven would have been much stronger," Zaboru said sharply. "Sven is the Rogue Knight, right? Then he must be crying somewhere because you played him like a Safe Knight. Honestly, if Sven saw that match, he would probably retire from shame."
Keisuke's face twitched violently, but nobody dared interrupt.
Zaboru then glanced at the other four players. "And don't relax just because I'm scolding him first. All four of you have terrible habits too. I'll point them out later one by one, so prepare your hearts."
Koichi immediately looked like his soul had left his body. Iwataro slowly muttered, "Can I prepare my bed instead?"
"No," Zaboru replied instantly.
Iwataro sighed in defeat.
Zaboru then looked at all five players more seriously. "But before that, let me ask you a question."
The room became quiet.
"Do any of you not want to become DoTA World Champions? Whether it happens this year or next year, do any of you genuinely not want to win?"
The five players swallowed almost at the same time. Nobody answered immediately, but after a few seconds, they all slowly shook their heads.
Of course they wanted to win.
Even Koichi, who looked terrified, still clenched his hands slightly. Keisuke's eyes burned with frustration. Rikiya looked serious. Tomoyasu remained silent, but his gaze sharpened. Even Iwataro, despite his lazy expression, no longer looked like he was joking.
Zaboru chuckled after seeing their reactions. "Good. At least you still have that much spirit."
Then his expression became colder again.
"Honestly, I can train you guys."
The five players instantly looked up.
"But there is a cost," Zaboru continued. "For a while, you might stop thinking this is fun."
That sentence hit them harder than expected.
Zaboru did not sugarcoat it. "You'll practice when you're tired. You'll review mistakes you don't want to admit. You'll repeat drills until your hands and brains hate you. You'll eat properly, sleep properly, exercise properly, and treat this like a real sport instead of just five friends playing games together."
The players became silent.
Then Zaboru grinned. "Of course, your contracts will receive additional bonuses. Let's just say it's from me. If you manage to follow the training properly, you'll be rewarded properly too."
Keisuke blinked. "A bonus…?"
Iwataro suddenly looked more awake. "How much bonus are we talking about?"
Zaboru ignored him completely and continued, "But more importantly, if this training works, I believe you can beat Korean teams next time."
The entire room froze.
For AKAI KUMA, those words sounded almost impossible.
But because they came from Zaboru, nobody could laugh.
Then all five players slowly nodded, and Zaboru laughed softly. "Good. At least you guys still have spirit. Ryota-san, please give them the training list."
Ryota let out a tired sigh before handing printed schedules to each player.
The moment they started reading, their eyes widened almost instantly.
"Sleep seven hours a day…?"
"Controlled food!?"
"Exercise too!?"
"And what the hell is 'team bonding exercise'!?"
The entire room immediately became noisy.
Koichi looked genuinely terrified while holding the paper with trembling hands. "T-This looks way too serious…"
Iwataro stared at the schedule like he had just received a prison sentence. "Why is there jogging here? Since when do gamers jog?"
Tomoyasu quietly looked at the page for several seconds before finally speaking.
"…This is hell."
Even Ryota almost laughed after hearing that.
Meanwhile, Keisuke's eyes were actually shining with excitement.
"This looks awesome!" he said loudly. "This is like secret champion training!"
Rikiya sighed while rubbing his forehead. "You're literally the only person excited right now."
Keisuke pointed at him dramatically. "That's because all of you lack fighting spirit!"
Iwataro immediately pointed back at him. "No, we just enjoy having functioning legs."
Meanwhile, Rikiya looked back toward Zaboru more seriously. "Zaboru-san… this is basically athlete-level training. And also… why do we need bond training? Isn't playing the same game already enough bonding?"
Zaboru chuckled softly. "Don't worry. This might look strict now, but it'll turn you guys into completely different players. Trust me."
Then he looked toward Ryota with a grin. "I'll personally provide funding for nutritionists too. And Ryota-san, it's your job to make sure all of them actually follow the schedule."
Ryota immediately looked exhausted already. "…Why do I suddenly feel like I became a kindergarten teacher?"
"Because you basically did," Zaboru replied instantly.
That immediately made Keisuke laugh loudly.
Then Zaboru looked back toward Rikiya. "And to answer your question, E-sports are still sports. You guys need coordination, discipline, communication, and a healthy mind more than anything else. That's why all of this matters."
Iwataro slowly raised his hand like a tired student. "But Zaboru-san… Korean teams don't even do this stuff. Some of them are fat. Some of them even smoke."
Zaboru grinned immediately.
"Yeah."
Then his smile became sharper.
"And they can still beat your asses."
The entire team flinched.
Even Keisuke looked personally attacked.
Iwataro pointed at himself weakly. "…Damn. Why did that hurt emotionally?"
"Because it's true," Tomoyasu answered calmly.
"That's not helping either!"
Meanwhile, Keisuke suddenly slammed the schedule against the table dramatically. "GOOD! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED!"
Everyone immediately looked at him.
Keisuke's eyes were practically burning now. "If Korean teams are already stronger than us while living like goblins, then we'll just become even stronger by training harder than them!"
Iwataro stared at him like he was insane. "Please stop sounding like a shonen protagonist. Some of us enjoy surviving peacefully."
Keisuke pointed at him dramatically. "THAT IS LOSER TALK!"
"And your legs are going to become loser legs after all this jogging."
Even Koichi quietly nodded in agreement this time. "…I-I think my body will die…"
Zaboru laughed after seeing their reactions before speaking again. "For the record, this training is mandatory. If you refuse to follow it properly, your contracts will be considered breached."
The entire team groaned instantly.
"…This really is military training…" Iwataro muttered weakly.
But despite all the complaints, none of them actually rejected it.
Because deep down, every single one of them understood something.
If they truly wanted to stand on the world stage Champion someday… then things could not stay the same forever.
Finally, Zaboru and Ryota left the players behind as the team slowly prepared to go home. Even then, the training list remained in their hands like some kind of terrifying prophecy. Koichi still looked pale, Iwataro was already complaining about tomorrow's jogging, Tomoyasu quietly folded the schedule without saying a word, Rikiya studied it seriously, and Keisuke looked like he wanted to start the training immediately.
As they walked away from the practice room, Ryota let out a long sigh. "Zaboru-san… is this really all right?"
Zaboru smiled calmly. "Don't worry, Ryota-san. This is the best thing for them. Trust me."
Ryota glanced back toward the players through the glass window. He could still hear their muffled voices, half complaining and half arguing about who would survive the new schedule first. For a moment, his expression became complicated. These boys were chaotic, immature, and far from perfect, but he had watched them struggle for years. He knew how hard they had tried, and he knew how painful it was every time they lost to Korean teams despite giving everything they had.
Zaboru noticed his hesitation and continued, "Japanese people can work extremely well under pressure and discipline. Right now, your players don't lack passion. They lack structure."
Ryota slowly turned back toward him.
Zaboru grinned slightly. "Maybe they don't have the same raw E-sports culture that Korea has right now. Maybe they don't have the same talent pool yet. But this is a team game, Ryota-san. Talent can be challenged. Talent can be trapped. Talent can be nullified by teamwork, preparation, discipline, and strategy."
Those words quietly hit Ryota harder than he expected.
For years, he had secretly wondered whether Japan was simply not meant to dominate team-based E-sports. Maybe Korean teams were just built differently. Maybe Chinese teams had deeper talent pools. Maybe Japan could only shine in fighting games forever.
But hearing Zaboru say it like that made something inside him stir again.
Maybe they were not doomed.
Maybe they were only untrained.
Ryota slowly looked back at the practice room, and this time, his tired expression changed. Beneath the worry and pressure, excitement started to appear in his eyes.
"If this works…" Ryota muttered quietly.
Zaboru chuckled. "When it works."
Ryota paused for a second before finally smiling.
For the first time in a long while, AKAI KUMA's future no longer felt like an impossible dream. It felt terrifying, yes. Brutal, definitely. But it is also possible.
And that possibility alone was enough to make Ryota's heart race.
Then after this Zaboru came back home and raised another problem… which related to Zenshin..
To be continue
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