Nirvana Top Laner, Reborn Tokyo Girl

Chapter 114, Section 111: TES's First Defeat (Third Update)
The arrangement of the nine points is indeed very thoughtful and satisfactory.

Whether it was the direct pick-up and drop-off at the hotel after landing or the decent dinner arranged for them in the evening, everything was top-notch, and everyone was very satisfied.

It's clear that Akari Kujo did a lot of research on her trip there.

But right now, nobody really wants to enjoy this kind of travel in a foreign country.

That evening, after everyone had a good meal at the Chinese restaurant arranged by Akari Kujo, they didn't wander around outside for long.

He quickly refocused and returned to his preparation mode.

Because of Shimamura Yuna's presence, the CFO had a strong desire for results in this competition.

Yuna Shimamura is very strong, and a CFO with Yuna Shimamura may be the strongest CFO in history and even in the future.

But such a CFO may not last long.

Yuna Shimamura's contract continues until the end of MSI, however...
Given her current popularity, it's highly unlikely she'll stay here.

There are just too many teams that want her, so Shimamura Yuna and the CFO are unlikely to be very willing to renew their contracts. Even if she wanted to renew, the CFO couldn't afford her.

Rather than letting Shimamura Yuna continue playing for CFO until her MSI contract expires, it would be better to sell her as soon as possible.

If a team wants to acquire Shimamura Yuna, who is currently in high demand but whose contract with CFO has not yet expired, before the start of the second stage, they will need to pay a large transfer fee to CFO, allowing CFO to earn an extra income that may be higher than the team's total funds.

The CFO will definitely do this; everyone knows it.

Given Shimamura Yuna's current strength and popularity, there's absolutely no shortage of teams willing to buy her; some teams will definitely be willing to pay the price to acquire her in advance.

After all, that's what Shimamura Yuna said when the contract was signed.

"If I sign up for MSI and make a name for myself, you guys can sell me for a decent transfer fee."

But the CFO at the time didn't take it seriously. They didn't think Shimamura Yuna would be that sought after. They simply thought, "If you don't want to sign for a year, then sign for MSI. It doesn't matter whether you renew or not. Just sign for a few months and see how the hype goes."

As Shimamura Yuna's strength has increased, all of this that seemed impossible back then has now become possible.

They didn't expect Shimamura Yuna to be so amazing; they didn't expect that a female player could really be a boost to their team.

At this point, it was no longer realistic to try to keep Shimamura Yuna.

Whether it was Shimamura Yuna's own wish or the fact that keeping her on the team for another two or three months would mean the CFO would earn millions less in transfer fees, it didn't matter.
Even though her teammates and coaching staff all wanted to keep Shimamura Yuna.

Or rather, even if Shimamura Yuna herself wanted to stay and finish the year's matches, she might have preferred to stay.

But the management certainly doesn't want to keep her; they will definitely try to sell Shimamura Yuna as soon as possible before her contract expires.

Therefore, everyone assumed that this competition would be the final dance for this fully-fledged CFO.

They have an unprecedented desire to win and to perform at their best.

With this in mind, the team's morale was higher than ever before.

This time, their goal is to create miracles and history.

That night, Shimamura Yuna and Kujo Akari shared a room.

Each of them had a bed, separated by a bedside table.

At this moment, finally free from the interference of their teammates, they had a rare moment of solitude, which made them feel more at ease and relaxed than during the day.

Akari Kujo had a lot she wanted to say at this moment.

However, considering the upcoming competition, she didn't want Shimamura Yuna to experience too much psychological fluctuation as the competition approached, so she held back.

Before taking a break, he casually asked, "These two or three months of competition, these two or three months away from Japan..."

"How are you feeling? Are you happy? Or do you feel satisfied?"

With her eyes closed, Shimamura Yuna replied softly, "I feel great."

“I feel like I’m closer to there.”

"There?"

"stage."

Akari Kujo originally wanted to ask more questions.

But before she could speak, she heard Shimamura Yuna from the next bed suddenly breathing evenly.

"She fell asleep so quickly?" Akari Kujo sighed helplessly.

She sat up in bed and quietly gazed at Shimamura Yuna's peaceful sleeping face.

She's as adorable as ever, and as always, she evokes a protective instinct in people.

She looks no different now than she did a few months ago; she's still that petite, thin little girl.

Akari Kujo didn't even have the realism of having become an extraordinary person.

It feels like she's still the same as before.

But that's the truth, isn't it?
"You'll go even further, won't you?"

"You've already gotten ahead of me; now it's my turn to catch up."

"I will do my best."

After gazing at Shimamura Yuna for a while, she finally lay down again.

Silent all night.

Time flies by like water.
-
After various media hype and pre-match promotions,

The global pioneer tournament, also known as FS, which was not initially anticipated by many but has now become even more dazzling due to the arrival of Yuna Shimamura, has finally officially begun.

On the day of the match, March 10, Riot Games released a promotional video to warm up the audience during the live stream before the match began.

This is the promotional video for the first day of the 2025 Global Vanguard Tournament round-robin.

The promotional video begins with a South Korean host reading an opening statement.

Next, each of the five teams representing the five regions will select one of their most representative players as the main character to film a cool scene and deliver a cool line.

And naturally, in this promotional video, the most representative player for the LPL region's TES team is JKL.

After the host finished reading the opening remarks, the first shot showed JKL standing on a rooftop somewhere, with a determined look on his face and a slight smirk, as he delivered his line: "In the new international competition, we will definitely go even further."

Then, the five TES players came from all directions, forming a formation resembling an avengers gathering.

Finally, they came together, and JKL once again delivered a new line: "We will make new history."

Just by watching this promotional video, people from regions other than LCK can probably feel the overwhelming aura emanating from JKL and the entire TES team.

How could one not be afraid?

LPL is the second-best region after LCK, and JKL is a top AD player who has won championships and has maintained a top-tier level for many years.

Even when filming a video, this powerful person exudes the aura of someone in a high position.

At least when Shimamura Yuna saw this clip, she naturally had the thought, "I wish I could beat them."

It wasn't so much fear as cowardice.

But I subconsciously put myself in the position of a challenger when thinking about this problem.

Following JKL, players from various regional teams took to the stage one after another.

Filming and reciting lines at various tourist attractions in South Korea.

First came KC from Europe, and then HLE from South Korea.

HLE's lines were undeniably quite cool. Peanut, the team leader, smiled slightly and said, "Please remember one thing. If you make it to the end, then no matter what, we will ultimately win."

However, none of this matters to LPL and LPC fans.

What kind of curse is this?
What kind of husband?

Please, all we want to see right now is the most awesome person in the world, Yuna Shimamura!
Finally, we reached the fourth place.

The CFO segment has finally arrived, and as expected, Shimamura Yuna is in the center position.

Their promotional video was filmed at night in front of a high-rise building.

Shimamura Yuna slowly appeared in the frame, her face displaying an almost completely indifferent expression.

After a brief moment of showing off, Shimamura Yuna quickly began reciting her lines.

"This competition is called FirstStand, and for me, it is also the FirstStage of my life."

“I have always regarded the competition as a stage to showcase myself and shine. Only by showing my best on stage and gaining the audience’s recognition can I be considered to shine.”

"Therefore, in this competition, I will use my heart and soul as fuel and my passion as the fuse, so that everything about me will burn brightly. And then, I will achieve true brilliance."

Yuna Shimamura delivered this entire dialogue in Japanese.

Actually, she originally wanted to speak in Chinese, since the team she's currently on is a Chinese team, and her main fan base is also Chinese fans.

However, Riot Games considered that the character of the Japanese girl speaking Japanese could leverage the popularity of anime and manga and have a better global impact, so they strongly insisted that she speak her own Japanese.

Because of the fist's tough stance, Shimamura Yuna had no choice but to agree to the request.

In the end, the fist was right.

Yuna Shimamura was naturally a bit of a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur).

For other players, like JKL, Riot Games would ask them to "think of a cool line," and then they would submit it, only to have it rejected and revised several times before it barely met Riot's requirements.

However, as soon as Shimamura Yuna's line was submitted, the game developers immediately gave it the green light.

This means "Holy crap, this is it, this line is so cool."

Riot Games commented that Shimamura Yuna really saved them a lot of trouble; she could recite those lines without being taught, which is truly impressive.

Then, these already cringeworthy lines, combined with Japanese, a language already rife with cringeworthy elements due to stereotypes, achieved a 1+1 greater than 2 effect.

Yuna Shimamura's resolute gaze in the promotional materials is no less intense than JKL's.

And that over-the-top, adolescent atmosphere that far surpasses that of others.

And then everyone's reaction upon seeing this was...
This art style is completely different from everyone else's.

It feels like people like JKL and Peanut are just here to seriously compete and casually do some line work.

You, Shimamura Yuna, look like you stepped right out of a two-dimensional wooden cabinet anime.

It really does have a unique, sparkling quality.

[Oh my god, Shimamura-san's delivery of those lines sounds so strong!]

[Shimamura seems to always like to say these kinds of cringey lines, but you have to admit, they're really cool, and they really suit her personality.]

[These lines were definitely written by Shimamura herself; it's impossible that someone else said them for her.]

[This is what the Demon King Yuna is like]

It can only be described as something that is welcomed and appreciated.

Following Shimamura Yuna, the grand finale was the promotional video for North America's Team Liquid, starring legendary player CoreJJ.

But that's it.
Compared to Shimamura Yuna's CFO team, this guy's team seems to be somewhat ignored.

After all, League of Legends in the Americas is truly dead.

Yuna Shimamura's first day of promotional video was really cool and eye-catching.

It was just edited out from this promotional video.

Unfortunately, there was no match scheduled for Shimamura Yuna on March 10th.

The two matches that day were TL vs KC (Europe vs Europe) and HLE vs TES (China vs Korea).

Actually, it was a pretty interesting match in itself.

However, because Shimamura Yuna was absent, everyone was somewhat disappointed.

I had this feeling of "Why do I have to wait another day to see Shimamura's match? I want to faint right now and wake up tomorrow."

Fortunately, there's still a China-Korea match to watch today, which is good for LPL viewers.

As a team that was not favored when it just completed its roster this year.
Even TES performed poorly in the first stage of the regular season, resulting in a very low playoff seeding.

However, this dilapidated old tricycle overcame all the obstacles in the LPL, achieving a stunning dark horse comeback and making its way to FS.

Therefore, fans naturally have a sense of anticipation.

What if?
Although everyone says that TES's lineup has no hope of beating HLE.

Although everyone says that the LPL is no match for the LCK now, the fact that TES can come to FS shows that this region is finished.

But what if?
What if Little Cream, the mid-laner who was disliked by the jungler and support after last year's game, really wakes up?

What if JKL, this seemingly despised and seemingly hopeless old man mid laner, actually pulls off a comeback?

What if 369, this top laner who has been questioned for so long, can actually prove himself once again?

In addition, there's Kanavi, who is already widely recognized as a very strong jungler.

What if we actually win?
TES fans, and viewers who still have expectations for LPL, inevitably have such expectations.

However.
No miracle happened.

The first day's China-South Korea match was a crushing defeat for both teams, with little hope of winning.

The final score was 2-0.

Actually, everyone expected that HLE would lose.

After all, it's normal for the second region to lose to the first region.

However, TES lost so badly and without any chance to fight back that it was hard for everyone to accept.

Not only was it 2-0, but it was also two completely crushing matches.

The day the competition ended, there was already a minor uproar in public opinion.

[Fun fact: There are three other teams in the LCK that are in the same tier as HLE.]

HLE plays every game in the LCK, while TES wins every game 3-1 in the LPL, but TES gets crushed. The difference in strength between the regions is too big.

Those who watched the LCK playoffs should know that HLE played very relaxed today, especially in the second game.

Topbo brand spinning tops are really good.

Being down 2-0 is not the limit for TES, but the limit of the tournament format.

At this point, some people had already started to question it in the comments section.

[TES played terribly. Although it's unlikely, I think if they did, it would be better to let Shimamura win. It would be more entertaining for everyone than to get a humiliating runner-up finish.]

[That's true, I really won't watch LPL anymore. This time, I'll be supporting Shimamura in FS.]

(End of this chapter)