The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 121: Kickoff! A Successful Blitzkrieg Attack?!

Fweee!

The moment the referee blew the whistle, Kenji kicked the ball back to the team’s territory before walking leisurely to the front line. He didn’t show any hint of nervousness about playing a high school game for the first time, acting like this was just the back of his yard.

Takaaki also couldn’t care less with his attitude. The glasses boy knew that without Kuroki as the vocal point, he couldn’t send a long ball there, knowing full well that Kenji’s aerial ability wasn’t as strong as his senpai’s. No, instead, he caught the movement on the right wing, and without hesitation, he used his instep to send a pinpoint pass straight to that side.

"Oh! A good pass, Senpai!" Denji, another newcomer to the team, grinned when he saw the ball was flying into the space in front of him.

"Left back, stop him!"

"Slow him down! Don’t foul him!"

Seeing Denji penetrating deep into the flank, Echigo’s defense shifted on that side unconsciously. Before any opponent could get closer, though, the boy acted quickly.

Not continuing the dribble, of course, as he would only get cornered on the baseline. No, the boy noticed his senpai was also rushing, even though a little bit behind him, so he just passed it back with a grin on his face.

’Well, Hiroshi-senpai, you want to show off something, right? Here, this is your chance!’

This move caught all the Echigo players off guard. They had already come to Denji, and yet, the ball was sent back to the middle instantly. This time, Hiroshi got the ball so close to the penalty box, albeit the angle was way tricky, in the half-space area that was still closer to the flank.

The boy didn’t disappoint. He just glanced at the box for a second, and before anyone could stop him, he had already sent a low, curling cross to the far post.

Everything happened so fast, and before the Echigo’s goalkeeper could react properly, he saw Hakodate’s player, moving slowly like an overweight elephant, slide forward with one leg extended far, and in the end...

Thud!

With a gentle poke with his sole, Kenji managed to net the first goal of the tournament, stealing it from the home team within just a minute.

Silence fell instantly on the pitch, with everyone having their jaws dropped. The people on the stand rose, staring at the pitch in disbelief. This... This was indeed a little bit too fast. Hell, some people still walked around, wanting to get a better seat in the stand.

Fweee!

The moment the referee blew the whistle, though, confirming the goal was valid, hell broke loose.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Is this fucking real?! Where did they come from?!"

"I swear, I have never seen a quick goal like this!"

"It is a team from Hakodate! Damn, those cavemen are going crazy!"

Meanwhile, after scoring the goal, Kenji just walked nonchalantly, acting as if this was already within the plan. He just raised his fist in the air, and with the bright smile on his face and glistering sweat on his forehead, the boy instantly became an idol for all the young girls on the stand.

"Goddamnit, Handsome! You really are awesome!" Yuji laughed as he jumped on the boy’s back.

"Yeah! Who would’ve thought that you would sneak secretly from behind like that?! I didn’t expect you to be able to do that at all!" Fujinaga grinned, slapping the boy on the back.

All the Hakodate players came to the boy to celebrate, knowing full well that they had just completed their mission. With one goal on the bag, the opponent would be forced to fight back immediately, and that was when Hakodate’s strength was shown.

If there was a person who was dissatisfied with the goal, though, it would be Denji. The boy just stared at Kenji in disdain, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "Tch! Why are you so happy like that? You just stole Hiroshi-senpai’s thunder! Without his pass, your run would just be a waste of stamina, right?"

"Eh, don’t worry about it." Hiroshi’s smile was so pure and with no hint of hostility, even though his rival to win the MVP just got an edge today. "The goal is important to set the tone. Also, the game is still long, so there will be more chances to show off later.

In return, Denji just nodded with a foolish grin, following his beloved senpai like a lost puppy.

This goal really surprised Echigo Academy. After this, the tempo increased astronomically. No more lazy running from the opponent’s players, as they all occupied more than half of the pitch within a second. Just in a blink, the whole pitch was full of yellow jerseys, moving so coordinately to break Hakodate’s defense.

They showed why they were the second-best team in this prefecture. Their resourcefulness in offense was just like Sappotani. All of their players were good at holding the ball and moving off the ball, allowing them to create chances whenever they wanted.

Unfortunately, though, today, they met Hakodate Nishi, the best defensive team in Hokkaido.

Hakodate’s defense was like an ice wall, not bulging even for a second, no matter what kind of storm was wailing in front of them.

An aerial cross? Higo and Jun would always be there to catch it.

A physical duel? Makino was more than enough to kick everyone out of the penalty box.

Breaking through from the flank? Ishinori and Denji were rock-solid full-backs, pestering the opponent’s wingers to fight to the death before killing them on the edge.

A sophisticated combination attack in a compacted area? Their defensive shape was so coordinated, clearing away all the threats approaching their goal.

Echigo Central Academy had exhausted almost everything in their arsenal, and yet, not a single shot was launched to threaten Higo on the back. Hell, besides several meaningless crossings that he picked, the goalkeeper was basically doing nothing today, just shouting once or twice whenever he saw his teammates slacking off.

However, it was clear that things were going to be different because in the 33rd minute of the first half, Echigo suddenly made the first substitution of the game, catching everyone off guard. The new player was about to come, and that boy’s presence alone was enough to lift the home team’s mood.