The Rise of the Iron Chapter 120: Before the Game

Chapter 120: Before the Ga

Author’s note: Special thanks to Krackalorn, Crazyjr_96, Blackbird71, and all the readers who have given this story your Golden Ticket. From now on, for every five Golden Tickets, there will be double update in the next day. So, please, support this story more! Thank you!

This ti, the surprise was more blatant, as all eyes were on Kuroki instantly.

It was definitely not the sa case as Hori. For the right back, even though he would be offended by a kouhai replacing his position, it wasn’t the end of the world. He still had one more year to prove his capability.

However, as for the senior mbers like Kuroki, it was a different matter. This was going to be his last tournant, and unless the newcor had an overwhelming talent, not a single senpai would usually be sidelined like this.

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you guys trying to make a big deal here? Kenji is far more capable than I, you know?!" The tall striker laughed self-depreciatingly. Don’t worry, this is not going to be the end! I an, you know that we are going to play three gas in eight days, right? We have to rotate wisely, or one of us will collapse in the second or third ga later!"

This ti, so of them blushed, knowing that they were overthinking. With Kumiko’s nature, how could she be willing to sideline her senior player like that?

"Also, you guys are so skeptical of !" Seeing that the tension finally ebbed away, Kenji jumped to join the fun. "I an, I bet I can steal Hiroshi-senpai’s thunder in the first half!" He patted his chest boastfully.

This triggered a wave of burning spirit, though, as Hiroshi eyed the boy intently while the twins were making a rude gesture, as if they were cursing Kenji in a curse language. However, no one could deny that Kenji was capable of doing that.

Still...

"35 minutes, Kenji-kun," Kumiko warned the boy. "You only have that much ti, and no matter how good your performance is, you are out. I will be saving you for the next round. You okay with that?"

This ti, facing Kumiko’s serious gaze, the boy lost his playfulness for a second before he nodded solemnly. "Don’t worry, before I go out, I will make sure we have at least a three-goal advantage."

"Good!" Kumiko clapped happily. Even though she knew it was just bragging, at least the boy didn’t lose his confidence in his first ga in high school, which was crucial to make sure that he could stay composed until the end. "With the starting lineup on the board, let’s go and show them what the second-best team in Hokkaido can do!"

"Yes, Ma’am!"

Right after that, everyone went into the spot they were ant to be. The bench players were directed to the bench side on the pitch imdiately, while the main players were just standing in the tunnel, waiting for the referee to lead them all onto the pitch.

Higo took a deep breath, blowing both hands for a mont to hide his nervousness. In total, it had been more than two months since he was playing in a competitive ga, and while this tournant itself wasn’t that big, it was still enough to give him a cold sweat on the back.

Once the referee walked and Higo stepped onto the pitch, he narrowed his eyes slightly to protect his vision from the sun, before his gaze fell on the stand. It was definitely not that impressive, as without the other two teams filling two spots there, at least, the number of people who ca could be counted with two hands.

’Oh, well... At least, they are willing to co here.’ Higo muttered under his breath.

He himself didn’t know, but the boy stopped treating statistics as a cold number. Behind it lay real people who wanted to have so entertainnt, and it was the players’ job to deliver it. At least, this approach was more ’human’ and ’approachable’ than just reading the cold number like how a dude recalls his ex’s phone number.

Then, his gaze turned to the other side, where he could see so of the opponent’s players were still joking and laughing around, not even treating the warmup seriously. It was clear that they just treated it as a normal, friendly match, and sohow, this made Higo doubt the credibility of this tournant.

’Is it real, though, that Albirex Niigata will offer a contract for the best player of the tournant? With this kind of attitude, there is no way, right?’

If so, Higo would be disappointed, knowing that the club had a low standard for recruiting players. Well, then again, Albirex Niigata was not one of the top teams in the league, often battling in the relegation stage against the other bottom-tier teams almost every year.

While his mind wandered, the boy saw so people on the stand waving at him, and he smiled back. After kissing both posts for his pre-ga ritual, the boy took a deep breath, shaking his head slightly while also trying to ignore the heat.

He also wore a cap today, not for fashion sense, but due to how low the sun was, which was enough to distract him when facing the opponent’s attack. It would be troubleso later when he was about to face a high ball, so Kumiko forced the boy to wear it from the beginning of the ga.

"So, how is it, Chibi? Ready for the ga?" Makino suddenly ca to his side with a question.

In return, Higo just snorted silently. "Should I be the one who asks that? I an, you guys are quite relaxed here. If I didn’t know better, I would think that none of you want to win the ga." He retorted back.

"Eh, this is what we call preserving our energy, Chibi, getting serious only when we need to be." Makino just shrugged nonchalantly, moving his body lightly to loosen his muscles. "You have to learn it too, Chibi. You cannot be tensed all the ti, or you will collapse in the most crucial mont."

Higo just looked at him in disdain, glancing at the front for a mont just to find out that everyone was ready to start the ga. "Anyway, just focus on your duty first. I swear, if you make a mistake due to your lax attitude, I will whoop your ass later, you rember that?"