A familiar face

As Mimoko gradually began to return to her usual peppy self, Daria decided to hold a strategy meeting with both members of the women's team, and members of the men's team.

Ginji's ban was still in effect so he was still locked up at WWCF HQ, though Daria wouldn't have been too keen on inviting him anyway despite the fact.

What Okisato was most curious about though was meeting the masked man, the supposed final member of the team. While said individual did show up, he spoke with a voice changer hidden within his mask, making it impossible for Okisato to discern his identity. Worse, his WWCF card listed his rating as only 101.

However, Okisato knew better than to take that rating at face value, especially if Daria was vouching for him. Not to mention, a man like Sodeshiro Azami would never allow someone truly rated 101 to participate on the national team.

"Now that we're all here, I think now is a good time to go over some of the top teams we're likely to face," Daria stated as she motioned towards a smartboard.

Images of players from various nations across the world were displayed. A table was also present displaying the names, ratings, and average team rating of the top 10 seeded teams.

"We'll start by going over the top seeded team in both sections; The United States of America. The men certainly have their work cut out for them. In addition to Maestro Wiley Frisch, current number 2 in the world, Peter Morphy is playing along with rising star Hubert Neuman and current world number 5, Luigi Carpani. The legendary player, Levi Aron is also on the reserve board, so needless to say, the line-up is stacked."

"I take it this means we'll sacrifice Ginji on board 1 if we run into them?" Okisato asked.

"Nay, if we come up against them, I'll play Wiley," the masked man declared.

Okisato shot the masked man a skeptical glare, but seeing as Daria was nodding in agreement, made him cease questioning the matter. Though naturally, he did make sure to declare that Peter would be his prey should he get the chance to face him.

"With maestros restricted to only participating in 8 games out of 11, that means it's likely Peter will be going strong for all 11 rounds. And even if he takes one round to rest, he'll definitely play if America faces Japan."

"And that's why we'll have Ginji play on a lesser board. We'll maximize our chances of winning, and if we can beat a top seed like America, that will really help. Especially since the number 2 seed is just as deadly."

"India, right?"

Daria nodded as she pulled up the data for the Indian team. "India's a rising powerhouse and it's talent is young to boot. Govindrao Dhavalikar, the current challenger to the current world champion is only 18 years old and also one of the world's top 10 players. Though if there's anyone you need to worry about it's Arun Jihgan. He specializes in taking out players below 2700 and is also 5th in the world. An there's also the talented Hanuman Dhoot as well as Vihaan Gosain who are both top players. Not to mention there's legend Virat Joshi, who was said to have gone toe-to-toe with legend, Vshwananthan Anand in his prime."

"Oof, looks like the guys got it rough. What about us?" Iori asked.

Daria shifted the screen back to America. "While the American women don't have the might of a maestro, they are still the top seed and have the might of Kuon Nanya, who just swapped federations a few days ago."

Mimoko began to grow somber as she stared at Kuon's photo. She still blamed herself for Kuon not making the national team.

"Kuon aside, the Americans do have some noteworthy talent, namely grandmasters Elenora Broadstone, Agatha Broadstone, and SPCM Mililani Paina. SPCM and International master, Katie Knox is also in the lineup. India's also a doozy. Commentator and top player, Saloni Madhok is heading board 1, while the frequent co-host of her broadcasts, International master, Indira Bhambri, is on board 4. Grandmasters Ishika Hirani and Vibha Jaisi are on boards 2 and 3 respectively, while International master Mona Atel is on the reserve. We may be higher seeded than them, but that line-up is nothing to scoff at. I'd argue America's the bigger threat, though that doesn't mean we should underestimate India."

"So India and America are the two teams both the men's and women's teams will need to look out for," Mimoko nodded.

"Yes, and there's one more powerhouse nation that both need to look out for as well, the German empire of Prussia."

...

A bound and gagged man cried as a blonde-haired woman clad in imperial German military attire slapped his ass with a riding crop.

"What a weak man. Prussia only has need of strong men, not sobbing pigs like you!" the woman sneered as she smacked the man again.

"Ah? That a reserve or just some prisoner of war?" a woman with short green hair that obscured one of her eyes sneered as she walked up.

"The latter of course. He was a strong Austrian man, until I broke him! Now he's just another muscly slave for me to play with."

"Ingrid's gonna yell. We're supposed to be training the new recruit."

"I thought Sibylle was."

"That woman's practically your twin. You think she'll train the recruit, or humiliate her?"

The blonde-haired woman thought for a moment before maliciously smirking and assuming it would be the latter."

...

"The Prussian men's team is the third seed and they've got a nasty lineup. Board 1 is naturally headed by the kaiser himself, Red Reaper von Richthofen, who appears to have gone on a rampage, jumping to 4th in the world with a new rating of 2881. His teammates are no slouches either. Prodigies, Volker Keiner and Diederich von Richthofen, along with grandmasters Übel Bähr and Hans-Ulrich Müller all round out the team. And then there's the number 2 seeded women's team..."

Everyone stared oddly as Daria paused and appeared to be trembling. However, they soon figured out why as she began listing the members of the Prussian women's team.

"First off, there's talented players like Magdalena Yock, Sivylle Wizner, and Ingid von Hessel. They're all grandmasters rated over 2500 so they'll be no pushovers. The biggest problem is their top female player, Edelhaud Ulbricht. I'll likely be facing her due to her being on board 1."

"Is she that terrifying? Her rating's only 2739," Iori scoffed.

"That's respectable, but no, I can easily beat her. What's got my writ trembling though is the one on board 2. Maestros are only allowed to play on board 1, meaning I can't face Hannelore Schroeder."

"Why's that a big deal?"

Daria sighed and zoomed in on Hannelore's photo. Nearly everyone went pale as they stared at it. In addition to having a rating of 2808, Hannelore looked just like the missing Hagemi Shousen.

"Unless this is a doppelganger, I fear this might be the missing Hagemi Shousen."