The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 176: Preparation for the Winter Tournament!

"Oh, Hori is here!"

"Hahaha! Finally! I told you he would come!"

"Damn, Bastard! Don’t you dare scare the shit out of us like that again!"

Hori just blushed in embarrassment when he was swarmed by the others. However, a small smile curled on his face, clearly telling that he enjoyed this feeling. The depression was gone from his side as well, and now, he was way livelier than ever.

Of course, he wouldn’t escape from the others’ teasing. After the conflict was over, everyone took their turn sending him a jab after another, some just tame while the others were a bit too much.

"Come on, Hori! You cannot run away again now!"

"Bah! With your cowardly punch, there is no way you can get rid of us that easily!"

"Come on! You are just like a little girl, crying away so emotionally when you are not involved in the fun!"

This was indeed bound to happen, and Hori just accepted his fate gracefully. Fortunately, no one really went over the board here, still being polite enough not to trigger any more fights between the team.

At least, this drama was enough to fuel the team’s spirit once again. It was like when the team lost a player, everything went south, and once the man was back, everything returned to normal. However, it wasn’t the same as before, since they had just come back from their lowest state.

Hori also showed a major improvement here. Not in his technique ability, but in his work rate. The boy was willing to run more, chasing everyone like a mad dog and not leaving anyone escaping through his side.

BRUGH!

"YEAH!" The boy roared. It was another successful tackle from his side. "Come on, Denki! You want to snatch my position?! Earn it with all your might!" He glared at his competitor challengingly.

Denki himself just turned his head away, somehow feeling intimidated by the boy. It wasn’t that his glare and his challenge that rubbed the twins the wrong way, but how Hori got into a big fight with Kazawa yesterday that made him afraid of the older boy. It wasn’t just him, but his twin brother was also on the same boat.

Well, this was understandable. After all, they had never been involved in a physical fight like yesterday. A snarky, sarcastic comment? Yes. But to the point that punches were thrown? Hell, they had never been in the vicinity.

Fortunately, other than in the training session, Hori just treated them as usual. A little bit nicer, even. The older boy probably felt guilty for everything he did, knowing full well that it affected Denki in a bad way.

The training session also went quite well, and after the commotion from Higo’s appearance in the magazine and Hori’s resignation from the club was over, everyone finally locked into the more serious training session.

The focus this time, though, was different. If before, they just tried so hard to maintain their defensive shape as compact as possible, this time, Kumiko started to design so many scenarios of them taking a counterattack. With the appearance of Kenji and the twins on the pitch, their offensive choices indeed had more variations, so she could utilize them to the maximum in the future.

"Come on, Denji-kun! A little bit faster! You are one tempo away from the others!"

"Too slow, Hiroshi-kun! You think for too long, and Yuji-kun

has already been guarded tightly! Repeat again!"

"Denki-kun, be decisive when overlapping! If you want to get through the flank, don’t hesitate, or it will make Hiroshi-kun’s situation awkward! Don’t get too close to each other, or you will have no room to create!"

Once again, Kumiko showed her ball knowledge here, giving so many detailed instructions to the point that almost every simulation had to be stopped every few seconds for her to fix a minor detail in it. The problem wasn’t that big, but this tidbit of detail could play a major role when they were playing in a real game.

"Remember, the difference between top defenders and the ordinary ones is not only in their technique, but also in the attention to detail! They are so meticulous in their approach that you cannot even make a little mistake against them! Every chance is important, don’t waste them away!"

As their training also got more intensified and complicated, time also passed quickly. Months changed, and the season as well. Now, they all also wore a warmer uniform since winter usually started earlier in the north. Soon enough, October came, and what they were waiting for finally arrived.

"Hell, yeah!" Makino clenched his fist unconsciously. "The winter tournament is finally here! It is our time to take revenge against Sapporo Otani!"

"Ha! Don’t count the chicken before it hatches, Teme! We don’t know what would happen in the drawing stage. Who knows, maybe we have to fight against them even before the semifinal, you know?" Higo joked around casually.

Unsurprisingly, he got a slap on the back by not just Makino, but even Kuroki. "Don’t jinx us like that, okay?!" Kuroki scolded. However, his tone softened in the next second as he let out a deep sigh here. "I... Don’t really care about winning against Sapporo Otani, but it would indeed be nice to break a record in our last tournament in high school, right?"

Hearing that, those three turned somber, knowing full well that as the senior members of the team, this was going to be their last tournament before retiring.

"Time sure flies fast, huh?" Higo sighed as well. "I swear, I still remember the first day I joined the team so clearly, and yet, here I am, so close to my retirement time."

Makino was even more emotional here. He had been with the team since the beginning, following his senpai through thick and thin to the point that he became the captain and senpai whom everyone looked up to.

"My last tournament, huh..." He looked up to the sky for a moment. Both his friends just waited silently, knowing that he was being emotional here. "Let’s just... Let’s make sure we leave with a bang, okay?" The captain grinned widely.

The grin spread quickly, with both Kuroki and Higo also having the same one right now.

"Hell, yeah! Let’s create a legendary story before we leave!"