Only a few days after AKAI KUMA's victory in Korea, the result had already taken Japan's gaming world by storm.
For years, Japanese esports fans had become used to hearing the same painful conclusion whenever their teams entered major international competitions: talented individually, dangerous in certain situations, but still not organised enough to defeat Korea's strongest teams. Japanese players could dominate fighting games, but in team-based titles such as DoTA, Counter-Strike, Warcraft, and StarCraft team leagues, Korea remained the wall that almost nobody could climb.
That was why AKAI KUMA's victory felt so important.
They had not defeated an unknown team or a weak regional squad. They had beaten Samsung Fabulous, one of Korea's top-tier DoTA teams, in a full five-game series. Even more impressively, the final game had ended through a dramatic team fight in which every AKAI KUMA player contributed before Keisuke's Anti-Mage secured an Ultra Kill and survived his final battle against Sven with almost no health remaining.
The clips spread everywhere.
Tomoyasu's long-distance Raijin Thunderkeg play to steal Roshan became one of the most replayed moments of the tournament. Videos slowed down the exact timing of his Ball Lightning, showing how he entered the pit, killed Chen, secured the Aegis, and later revived with full health and mana to nearly destroy Invoker and Bristleback.
Koichi's sentry ward also received unexpected praise. Many casual viewers had barely noticed it during the live match, but analysts quickly pointed out that the ward prevented Invoker from escaping with Ghost Walk. Without Koichi's earlier preparation, MoonSeer might have survived and changed the result of the battle.
Iwataro's Rocket Flare interruptions against Chen's jungle stacks became another popular discussion. His actions had looked simple on the surface, but experienced players understood how much economic damage he had created throughout the match. Some Japanese viewers even began calling him the "Lazy Missile," a nickname Iwataro immediately claimed to hate despite secretly enjoying it.
Rikiya's leadership also gained attention. He had remained composed even after dying, continuing to guide Keisuke through the final battle and reminding him not to become reckless. Many analysts praised him as the quiet foundation of AKAI KUMA, the captain who kept four completely different personalities moving toward the same goal.
But naturally, the loudest attention belonged to Keisuke.
The image of Anti-Mage defeating Sven with only one per cent health remaining appeared across gaming magazines, television programmes, forum banners, and fan-made posters. His Ultra Kill became the perfect dramatic ending to the series, and the name Hot Rod suddenly became known far beyond Japan's competitive DoTA community.
Keisuke loved every second of it.
Several interviews showed him loudly declaring that this was only the beginning and that AKAI KUMA would eventually become world champion. Fans found his confidence entertaining, although his teammates repeatedly reminded journalists that he had nearly died and should not pretend the victory had been easy.
More importantly, the victory also strengthened confidence in Zaboru's training system.
Months earlier, Zaboru had personally recommended a much more professional structure for AKAI KUMA. The players were required to follow organised practice blocks, replay reviews, communication drills, controlled scrims, physical exercise, regulated sleep, nutrition plans, mental training, and team-building exercises.
At first, many players had complained.
Iwataro had treated the schedule like a prison sentence. Koichi had worried that his body would not survive the exercise. Tomoyasu had calmly described it as hell. Rikiya had accepted it seriously, while Keisuke had been the only one genuinely excited from the beginning.
But now, the results were impossible to ignore.
AKAI KUMA looked completely different from the team Zaboru had first watched in April. Their individual skill had improved, but their largest transformation came from how they moved together. Their rotations were faster, their communication was clearer, and their players understood how to create opportunities for one another rather than simply waiting for personal moments.
Other Japanese esports organisations had already begun studying similar systems.
Some copied AKAI KUMA's exercise routines. Others hired nutritionists or introduced stricter sleep schedules. Several teams began using structured replay analysis instead of simply playing endless practice matches. The changes were still new, but Japanese teams were already beginning to win more frequently in smaller international events.
Japan had not suddenly become the strongest esports country in the world.
Korea remained ahead.
China remained dangerous.
European and American teams were still growing rapidly.
However, Japanese esports fans finally felt that the distance between them was beginning to shrink.
YouTube became filled with videos discussing AKAI KUMA's victory and the future of Japanese competitive gaming. Some titles were serious, while others were naturally exaggerated.
"HAS JAPAN FINALLY CAUGHT KOREA?"
"THE TRAINING SYSTEM THAT CHANGED AKAI KUMA."
"HOT ROD'S ONE-PER-CENT MIRACLE."
"SHOOKKU'S IMPOSSIBLE ROSHAN STEAL EXPLAINED."
Even though HIGH FLY was still a relatively small tournament compared to the largest international championships, Japanese fans did not care.
A tournament victory was still a victory.
And defeating a top Korean team meant far more than the size of the prize pool.
Wednesday, 18 September 2001.
After returning from Korea, the AKAI KUMA DoTA team was finally allowed to rest.
For several days, the players had dealt with interviews, photographs, sponsor meetings, media questions, and endless requests to explain the final match. Ryota Tanabe understood that forcing them back into serious training immediately would be pointless, so he gave them one full day without schedules, drills, exercise, or replay analysis.
The training room looked completely different from usual.
Instead of strategy documents and carefully arranged practice materials, the central table was covered with takeaway boxes. There were plates of gyoza, several large bowls of ramen, fried chicken, rice dishes, sandwiches, and enough pizza boxes to make the room smell like an international food festival.
For once, there were no nutritional restrictions.
Ryota stood near the table with his arms crossed. "Today, you can eat whatever you want. No counting portions. No training afterward. Just rest."
Iwataro stared at him suspiciously. "Is this a trap?"
Ryota sighed. "Why would it be a trap?"
"Because you usually say something kind before giving us another schedule."
"That happened once."
"It was traumatic."
Keisuke had already taken two slices of pizza and several pieces of fried chicken. "Stop complaining and eat! This is champion food!"
Rikiya looked at him. "We won one tournament."
Keisuke immediately pointed at him with a slice of pizza. "An international tournament."
"A small international tournament."
"A victory does not become smaller because you say it calmly."
Iwataro opened another food container and nodded. "He has a point. Also, the food becomes smaller whenever Keisuke stands near it."
Koichi quietly sat beside the table with a bowl of ramen. He still looked slightly uncomfortable whenever anyone mentioned their sudden fame, but he smiled more easily than before. "T-There are already people recognising me near the station."
Keisuke grinned. "Of course they recognise us. We're famous now."
"They recognised Koichi," Iwataro replied. "Nobody said they recognised you."
Keisuke stared at him. "Everyone recognises me."
"Because you shout your own name during interviews."
"I was promoting the team."
Tomoyasu sat at the end of the table, eating gyoza quietly while the others argued. Unlike Keisuke, he seemed almost completely unaffected by the attention surrounding their victory.
Rikiya glanced toward him. "Tomoyasu, someone made a twenty-minute analysis video about your Roshan play."
Tomoyasu nodded once. "I saw it."
"And?"
"It was long."
Iwataro looked at him in disbelief. "That is your reaction to becoming a national esports hero?"
Tomoyasu took another bite. "The analysis was accurate."
Keisuke laughed loudly. "That's Shookku for you! He can steal Roshan in front of Korea and still react like he completed normal homework."
Koichi smiled into his bowl.
Despite their constant teasing, the atmosphere between them felt warmer than before. Months of strict training had exhausted them, irritated them, and forced them to confront habits they would rather have ignored. But it had also made them closer.
They had learned how each person reacted under pressure.
Koichi became nervous but rarely abandoned his responsibility.
Iwataro complained constantly but always noticed details that others missed.
Tomoyasu barely spoke, yet his short calls were usually important.
Keisuke could become reckless, but his confidence could also carry the team through impossible moments.
Rikiya kept all of them balanced.
Their victory in Korea had not created that trust.
It had proven that the trust already existed.
Ryota watched them from nearby with a satisfied smile. For years, he had dreamed of seeing a Japanese team defeat a powerful Korean opponent. Now that it had finally happened, the reality still felt slightly unreal.
Keisuke suddenly raised a glass of soda. "To AKAI KUMA's first international trophy!"
Rikiya raised his own glass. "And to making sure it isn't the last."
Koichi followed carefully. "T-To winning again."
Iwataro lifted a cup without leaving his chair. "To resting before Ryota remembers we have training tomorrow."
Tomoyasu raised his drink last. "To the team."
They lightly struck their glasses together.
At that exact moment, the door opened.
Nobody noticed immediately.
Keisuke was already telling the others how he had perfectly calculated the final attack against Sven, while Iwataro repeatedly interrupted to remind him that he had survived with only one per cent health.
Then Koichi looked toward the entrance.
His expression froze.
"Z-Zaboru-san…"
The room became silent almost instantly.
Keisuke stopped speaking with a piece of pizza halfway toward his mouth. Iwataro slowly lowered the food container he had been holding. Rikiya immediately sat straighter, while even Tomoyasu paused before taking another bite.
Zaboru stood at the doorway wearing casual clothes, one hand resting inside his pocket. He looked around at the food, the messy table, and the five suddenly nervous players.
"What?" he asked. "Did I interrupt something?"
Ryota quickly stood. "Zaboru-san! I didn't know you were coming today."
"That's because I didn't tell you."
That answer did not make the players feel any safer.
Iwataro glanced at the large amount of food on the table, then quietly moved one pizza box behind another as if hiding it would somehow protect him.
Zaboru noticed immediately. "Why are you hiding the pizza?"
"I'm not."
"You moved it."
"It needed privacy."
Keisuke finally swallowed his food and stood. "Zaboru-san! Did you watch the final match?"
Zaboru nodded. "I did."
Keisuke's eyes immediately brightened. "And the Ultra Kill?"
"I saw that too."
Keisuke waited expectantly.
Zaboru looked at him for a moment before saying, "Good work."
The simple praise hit Keisuke harder than a dramatic speech would have. His confident grin appeared immediately, but before he could begin boasting again, Rikiya lightly pulled him back toward his chair.
Zaboru walked closer to the table. "Relax. I'm not here to restart your training today. Ryota-san told me you were celebrating."
Iwataro visibly relaxed. "Thank God."
"But training starts again tomorrow."
Iwataro's relief disappeared.
Zaboru chuckled before taking several envelopes from inside his jacket. He placed five of them on the table, one in front of each player.
The team stared at them.
Koichi looked uncertain. "W-What is this?"
"A bonus," Zaboru answered. "Two hundred and fifty thousand yen for each of you."
For several seconds, nobody reacted.
Then Keisuke's eyes widened. "Two hundred and fifty thousand?"
"Each?" Rikiya asked, making certain he had heard correctly.
Zaboru nodded. "Each."
Koichi looked at the envelope as though touching it might cause it to disappear. Iwataro slowly picked his up and checked the front, while Tomoyasu quietly opened his to confirm the amount.
Even Ryota looked surprised. "Zaboru-san, this is extremely generous."
"You won," Zaboru replied simply. "I promised that if the training produced results, they would be rewarded properly."
Keisuke held the envelope with both hands, his excitement returning with twice the strength. "Then when we win an even larger tournament, will the bonus become larger too?"
Rikiya immediately sighed. "You thanked him for less than three seconds."
"It is an important professional question."
Zaboru smiled slightly. "Win a larger tournament first. Then we'll discuss it."
Keisuke pointed dramatically toward the others. "You heard him! We need to win the world championship!"
Iwataro stared at his envelope. "I was already motivated, but now I'm financially motivated."
Koichi gave a small laugh. "Y-You complained through the entire training."
"I complained efficiently."
Tomoyasu looked toward Zaboru and lowered his head slightly. "Thank you."
Rikiya did the same. "We appreciate it, Zaboru-san. Truly."
Zaboru waved one hand casually. "You earned it. Just don't let one victory make you arrogant. Samsung Fabulous will study that match. The next time you face them, they'll be better prepared."
The room became slightly quieter.
They all understood that.
Their victory had made Japan celebrate, but it had also placed a target on them. Korean teams would no longer treat AKAI KUMA as an inexperienced Japanese squad. Their strategies, habits, and strongest players would now receive serious analysis.
Keisuke tightened his grip around the envelope. "Then we'll improve faster than them."
Iwataro glanced at him. "There is the dangerous enthusiasm again."
"This time, you should have it too."
"I have it internally. It is resting."
Zaboru looked at the food again. "Anyway, are you going to keep staring at me, or can I join?"
Ryota blinked. "Of course! Please sit."
Keisuke quickly moved several boxes aside and created space. "Come on, Zaboru-san! Celebrate with us!"
Zaboru sat beside them and looked over the table. He picked up a piece of gyoza, ate it, then reached for some fried chicken.
The players gradually relaxed again.
Within a few minutes, the room returned to its earlier noise. Keisuke started retelling the final Sven duel, this time adding more dramatic details with every sentence. Iwataro repeatedly corrected him. Koichi quietly laughed whenever the story became too exaggerated, while Rikiya tried to preserve at least some version of what had actually happened.
Tomoyasu continued eating without joining the argument until Keisuke finally turned toward him. "Tell them! Sven was one attack away from killing me, right?"
Tomoyasu nodded. "Yes."
Keisuke pointed triumphantly. "See?"
Tomoyasu added, "You were lucky."
Iwataro nearly choked from laughing.
Keisuke looked betrayed. "Not you too!"
Zaboru watched the argument while eating another piece of chicken. He did not say much. There was no need. The team had earned the right to enjoy this moment without another lecture.
However, after several minutes, he looked across the table again.
Then he frowned.
Ryota noticed. "Is something wrong?"
Zaboru glanced at the nearly empty pizza boxes and the rapidly disappearing food. "There isn't enough."
Everyone looked toward him.
Iwataro slowly lowered the last piece of pizza. "Not enough for whom?"
"For me."
The room became silent.
Ryota looked at the large number of containers already covering the table. "Zaboru-san, we ordered food for almost ten people."
Zaboru nodded. "That explains why it only looks like a light snack."
Keisuke burst out laughing.
Ryota stared at Zaboru, uncertain whether he was joking. Then he noticed Zaboru casually finish another piece of fried chicken and reach for the ramen.
He was not joking.
Zaboru pulled out his phone. "Let's order more."
More food arrived not long afterward.
Additional pizza, grilled meat, noodles, rice bowls, gyoza, and desserts were placed across the table. The celebration became louder as the evening continued. Ryota temporarily stopped acting like their manager and joined the players properly. Koichi became more talkative than usual. Tomoyasu even laughed once after Iwataro attempted to imitate Keisuke's tournament interview.
Keisuke loudly promised that their next target would be a major championship.
Iwataro promised to survive the renewed training.
Rikiya reminded everyone that tomorrow's practice still began on time.
Tomoyasu quietly said that Samsung Fabulous would probably ban Raijin Thunderkeg next time.
Koichi admitted that he wanted to become confident enough to speak during interviews without trembling.
Zaboru listened while continuing to eat.
The victory had changed them.
Not by making them completely different people, but by proving that their effort could lead somewhere real. Months earlier, they had treated Korean teams as almost impossible opponents. Now they understood that Korea could be defeated—not easily, not consistently yet, but genuinely.
That belief was more valuable than the trophy.
By the time the celebration ended, the table was covered with empty containers, the players were exhausted from laughing, and Ryota had already begun worrying about how difficult it would be to make them return to their diets the next morning.
But for one evening, none of that mattered.
AKAI KUMA had won.
And the five players who once looked like nothing more than talented gaming friends had finally taken their first step toward becoming a world-class team.
And after the party ended Zaboru went back to his office's 51st floor as he wanted to brainstorm something related to MOBA.
To be continued.
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