The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 41: Counting the Chicken Before the Eggs Hatch?

Two days later, they started training again, and even though the atmosphere was still in a state of near depression, at least, they started to use their brain to process everything they watched that day. Now, they were back, and somehow, the training session shifted its focus.

Even though Kumiko said that they were going to focus on Ritsumeikan, everyone could see that she was also preparing them for Sappotani. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Fweee!

"Come on, Hiroshi-kun! I don’t need you to stick with the ball for too long! Just one touch, and trust your teammates! Your marker is not faster than the speed of the ball!"

"Takaaki-kun, Usami-kun, you are his bodyguard! When he receives the ball, make sure you are entering his sight, and get ready to receive the ball!"

Fweee!

"No, Hori-kun! Don’t follow him too far! Once you bite the bait, the room behind you will be exploited! Just kick him out of your area and trust Fujinaga-kun!"

"Nice, Fujinaga-kun! Stay disciplined! Don’t chase him out of your territory, just kick him out and go back again! Remember the formation’s shape!"

It was crazy how Kumiko conducted training here. She would create a simulation play based on a real-game situation, mostly coming from the game between Sappotani and Ritsumeikan, and there, she was trying to make everyone think what they would do if they were in one of those two teams’ shoes.

The girl really went all-out, blowing her whistle for every few seconds to correct all the micro-mistakes that no one paid attention to. In total, Higo even felt that she was busier than some players here, including himself.

"So... What do you think, Chibi?" Makino suddenly asked.

"About what?"

"Yuwell Carlson."

Silence followed that name, as indeed, even after watching the replay of the game so many times, Higo couldn’t really find anything worthy to stop the man from scoring.

Yuwell Carlson was the typical Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Tall—around 198 cm, probably the tallest one in the tournament—quick with his feet—so agile that it was unbelievable he was about to reach 2 meters—and more importantly, had the speed and power necessary to supplement his other crazy abilities.

It was also a coincidence that Yuwell came from Sweden, the same land that birthed Ibrahimovic. If that boy started talking shit like he was a God or something like that, Makino would be so sure that he was the superstar’s illegitimate son or something like that.

Then, there was also his current hot performance. In the last three games that Yuwell played, he managed to bag 10 goals and 3 assists, showing how on a different level he was compared to the other players in this prefecture.

"Honestly, Teme, even if you ask me, it is useless. I mean, what kind of insight do you want to hear from someone with three weeks of experience?" He shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don’t know... Maybe, a simple one like... What is the probability of our team being able to stop that monster from coming to our goal?"

Higo went quiet, pondering how to answer it. In the end, he just sighed, shrugging helplessly. "No, I cannot do that."

Makino also let out a helpless sigh, knowing that this was the realistic answer. He couldn’t expect a goalkeeper with only three weeks of experience to be able to stop the monster that Yuwell Carlson was with just a very short training.

"I mean," Higo continued, not caring about Makino’s sigh. "Even if I could read the ball coming to his head, as long as he flies higher, I wouldn’t be able to reach his highest point. Then, there is also his first-time shot, which could come out of nowhere, from any different angle on the pitch. With that kind of striker on the other team, what can a goalkeeper do to stop that?"

What Higo didn’t say, though, was that with his clairvoyance ability, as long as it was not an aerial duel, he was confident that he could stop almost everything. Yeah, he was being cocky inside, not knowing the pressure of facing a top striker at all. That was why he didn’t say it out loud, as Makino would only see it as him bragging foolishly.

’No, if I said that in the middle of the game, right after I proved that I could do it, the effect would be better.’ He thought inwardly.

"Ryukkun, get ready!" Kumiko suddenly shouted, snapping him out of his thoughts. "We are going to simulate a crossing scenario with Jun-kun and Kuroki-kun as your opponents! Don’t blink!"

"Yes, Kumiko-chan!"

After that, the training continued at a high intensity, with Kumiko always interrupting every ten seconds to correct everyone’s movement. Honestly, if people who knew anything about coaching saw this scene, they would’ve never expected something so thorough to come from a little girl like her.

Then, days flew by, and before they knew it, the day of the second round of the tournament finally came. Honestly, Higo didn’t really notice it, having his daily habit changed already. If before, he would always go home and prepare for dinner right after the school day was over, now, he spends at least two or three more hours there, practicing together with the team.

The positive side, though, was that his mother now always went back quicker than usual. Hell, she even took her time learning how to cook, the chore that would always be Higo’s or his sister’s responsibility at home.

Most of the results were still on the terrible side rather than the delicious one, yet nevertheless, Higo really enjoyed accompanying his mother learning something so... Domestic like this.

Still, that was a discussion for another time. Now, though, as it was a game day, Higo found himself being fussed over in such an early morning, where the sun itself hadn’t even woken up from its sleep.

"Heat packs?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Double jacket?"

"Here."

"Clothes to change after the game?"

"In the bag already."

"Money? Is it enough?"

"Enough, Mom! Come on, I am not a child anymore!" Higo huffed, somehow feeling exasperated. "Don’t worry, it is just Sapporo! We are not going anywhere far!" He explained, trying to reassure his mother.

"Yeah, I know! But you have never gone so early like this that I worried something would happen!" His mother put her hands on his shoulder firmly, fixing the imaginary mess for probably the hundredth time this morning. "You are right, though. You are not a kid anymore." She smiled wanly.

Noticing the somber atmosphere around, Higo didn’t hesitate, stepping forward and engulfing his mother in a bear hug. "Don’t worry, Mom, I am not mad you are fussing like this. It is just... The train schedule is almost arrived, and I need to catch up with the others first."

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." She smiled while also wiping a single tear on the corner of her face. "Just... Go! Bring back the victory, and don’t forget to have fun, okay?!"