The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 291: A Quick Counterattack! Stealing the First Goal?!

The culprit here was none other than Hakodate Nishi’s left wing back, Denji, who noticed something peculiar here. Even though Naoya’s ability to dictate the tempo was beyond Hakodate Nishi’s expectation, the DM had a subtle tick that put him at a disadvantage.

Whenever he received the ball, the boy always needed to stare at the ground for a moment, as if wanting to make sure that he trapped it properly. At first, this didn’t look weird. But when Denji saw that Naoya always received the ball behind, not getting any pressure from anyone else, a bold idea started to form inside his head.

’Is that why he always receives the ball behind? Is he doing this unconsciously or just trying to bait someone to get him? Shall I take the risk here? Ah, screw it! He looked at the ground for probably less than a second, so the period will be too short. If I have a chance to sneak from his blind spot, I will try my luck there!’

Then, once the situation permitted, he finally started to take action. It was a subtle move at first, what with him just strolling around on the sideline and acting like he was not a threat. However, he also moved closer toward the center line, and once the ball was passed to Naoya, once he saw the DM start to turn his head on the ground, the boy pounced like a wild cheetah.

’Shit! This is my chance!’ freēwēbnovel.com

He moved fast from being in a spy mode to a hunter mode, where he ran like a hungry beast, ready to kill the prey he eyed for a long time. Hell, even those Toin Gakuen players around him were caught off guard, not expecting that he would suddenly turn the accelerator like this. Before anyone could warn Naoya, the boy was already close enough, charging the opponent with his shoulder first before poking the ball far forward for a counterattack chance.

"SHIT!" Naoya cursed the moment he realized he had been stripped of the possession.

If this were any other player, he would start shouting and complaining already, asking the referee for a foul. However, Naoya was different. He knew that no matter how much he complained, the referee would never change his decision. If the referee blew the whistle, it would be his luck, but if not, and yet he stopped to make a fuss, it would only bring disaster to the team.

So, there was only one thing that crossed his mind right now, ’I have to stop him first!’

Meanwhile, seeing that Denji suddenly came out of nowhere in such a heroic fashion, all the Hakodate Nishi players also got excited immediately.

"Shit! Nice one, Denji!"

"Come on! Get it first! Get it first!" freёwebnovel.com

Hiroshi and Kenji also moved quickly, creating more room on the front line. Even though this was not as planned, they were the attackers here. Their nose was quite sharp, and the moment they saw Denji steal the ball, they didn’t think twice before running.

Denji himself was running for his life right now. Even though he managed to poke the ball away from Naoya’s foot, the ball still bounced slightly far from his reach. Normally, he wouldn’t be that nervous in this situation. However, the boy could feel clearly the murderous intention behind him.

’Shit! Shit! Shit! He has already recovered?!’

True enough, even though Denji managed to shake off Naoya’s balance earlier, the man recovered immediately, showing off his core strength and speed as the DM pounced back at him. Even though Naoya was still behind, Denji could feel sweat on his back, somehow getting intimidated by the chase.

’No, I have to pass this! SHIT!’

BRUGH!

"ARGH!" Denji cried in pain.

In a desperate attempt, Naoya pulled the boy’s jersey, ready to get a yellow card to stop this attack. However, Denji was a little bit luckier, managing to poke the ball at the last moment, and it managed to reach Usami’s feet in the center. Even though the foul was committed, the advantage was completely on Hakodate Nishi’s side, so the referee just pointed forward as a sign not to stop the game.

"SHIT! This is the chance!"

"Come on, Usami! Pass the ball!"

Even Kumiko got up from the bench, looking at how the play unfolded with a nervous face. ’Come on, Usami-kun... Pass the ball...’ She bit her lips in anxiety.

The reason why everyone shouted for the boy to pass the ball was simple. After all, Naoya’s recovery time was scary here, and Usami was still close enough to the boy. If he didn’t release the ball, the beast would jump onto him immediately, and no one knew what would happen.

However, a pass, especially to the front line, would leave Naoya to the dust in one go. No matter how fast the opponent’s DM was, he would never be able to catch the speed of the ball. This was just common knowledge in the football world, and fortunately, Usami also remembered this well. Before Naoya could get onto him, the boy had already sent a through ball to the left side of the penalty box, a difficult angle to take a direct shot, but still enough to threaten the opponent.

"Oh, yes, Senpai! Nice pass!" Kenji chased the ball with a grin on his face.

Of course, there was no way Toin Gakuen’s defenders would let this slide. However, there were only two players in their own area right now, so it was easy to get exploited by Kenji. The rest of the defenders were still running frantically, getting caught off guard by this sudden attack. After all, Hakodate Nishi had never shown their fang since the game started, so they lowered their guard unconsciously, something that was taken advantage of right now.

"Come on, Misao! Slow him down!" One of the defenders gritted his teeth, tracking Kenji’s movement while also guarding the area behind him where Hiroshi was lurking around. "At least, push him back!"

"Shut up!" The boy named Misao also scowled here, trying to close the distance.

In the end, Kenji managed to control the ball, while Misao was also putting his body on the line with his hands on the back. Right now, Kenji was in a perfect angle to send a curl shot, so Misao was getting ready to block it.

However, Kenji’s creativity was at its peak right now. He made a shooting motion to trick Misao, and when the defender reacted, Kenji cut the ball with his inside foot, fooling the poor boy completely. Following that, he also didn’t wait for too long, poking the ball with his toe onto the near post. It was clear that the opponent’s goalkeeper didn’t expect the attack, as he failed to react in time. As a result...

Thud!

The ball managed to escape from the goalkeeper’s grasp, rolling gently onto Toin Gakuen’s goal. Thirty minutes since the game began, and Hakodate Nishi managed to get the first lead of the game.