The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 330: Penalty Shootout! (III)

Author’s note: Thanks a lot for Chato12, Masatoshi_K, Crazyjr_96, and so many more readers who give this story their Golden Tickets! So far this month, we have already gotten 50, and I really appreciate all of this support! It will be impossible to always give double-update days here, especially since the month’s schedule is quite full. So, if you want to have something else, please tell me in the comment!

Thank you!

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"Fucking hell... We might lose the game today..."

No one on Shohei High’s bench knew who was the one saying that. However, the voice echoed in the air, enough to give a chill to their back. Somehow, the realization hit hard, and their mood was at rock bottom.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t thought about that before. No, when they were so close to the end of the game and still failed to score earlier, that thought constantly lingered inside their head. However, at that time, they still could do something, forcing themselves to run more. At least, that was enough to alleviate their anxiety.

This time, it was completely different. In this penalty shootout, only one per turn could take an action, and as for the others, they could only witness helplessly how their dream started to get crushed here. Each penalty failure was like another piece breaking inside their head, and now that they were just one foot away from going home, they all felt like their stomach was twisted right now, not daring to see what would happen next.

"So, who are they going to send next?" Kawabe couldn’t help but mutter. His stomach fell instantly when he saw a familiar boy stepping into the penalty box, taking the ball before placing it into the white spot there. "Roshi... They are going to use him to bury our dream?" He hissed.

"This is over, I guess, huh?" Sakura, the team’s manager, sighed in resignation. Her ponytail hair was already off as it let loose on her shoulder, slightly disheveled. Still, the girl couldn’t care less about her appearance right now. Her eyes were like the others, hollow. "No way in hell Roshi will miss this penalty."

Even though it had been a long time since she watched Hiroshi’s game live like today, the girl knew quite well his quality. After all, Sakura was also from the same middle school as Kawabe and Hiroshi, so she knew what they both could do. Unlike Kawabe, who was so volatile on the pitch, Hiroshi was the perfect picture of calm water. He would never get flustered at any moment, always facing everything clear-headedly.

Little did she know, though, that Hiroshi had changed slightly from the past. This time, even though no one really saw it, the boy walked with wobbling legs. Hell, the boy was so nervous that he walked with his arm and leg on the same side, swinging together unconsciously, making it look like he was just a cheap robot that tried to walk for the first time.

’Kawabe-senpai, Sakura-senpai, everyone... What should I do...’

His nervousness didn’t stem from him having to execute the penalty, but from his inability to come up with any words to say when he was about to face all of his former teammates later. He was always so kind that the image of him being confronted by all of his middle school friends for causing them to lose was enough to mess with his mind.

Haunted by that thought, the journey from the center line to the penalty box seemed to be so far away for Hiroshi at that moment.

From the outsider’s perspective, no one could see the turmoil inside his mind. However, Higo, who still hadn’t moved that far from the goal, noticed something wrong with the boy. Although the goalkeeper didn’t know what was going on, he did what he thought was best he could do right now.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The referee was alarmed when he saw Higo coming to the penalty spot. "If this is not your turn, go back behind the goal! Don’t mess around here!"

Higo just snorted, ignoring the man’s warning completely. At this point, he was just like any of the Hakodate Nishi players, losing all respect for the referee. The boy went to the ball on the white spot before calling his kouhai, "Hey, Hiroshi!"

"Um?" Hiroshi was startled, snapped out of his thought.

"Here!" Higo didn’t even wait, passing the ball toward his friend before walking back to the area behind the goal.

Thud!

Hiroshi received the pass easily, but the boy was still puzzled by the sudden action. However, the moment he felt the ball on his feet, a wave of calmness suddenly washed over him, giving him peace of mind out of nowhere. The boy was so stunned that he turned around, just to find Higo was giving him a thumbs-up.

"Come on, Hiroshi! Get it done!"

The boy paused for a second before a small smile formed on his face. ’Thank you, Senpai...’ He muttered under his breath.

Yeah, instead of walking awkwardly while also letting his anxiety take over his mind, it was definitely better for him to concentrate on the ball. Dribbling it slowly before putting it into the spot was the best way for a football addict like him to calm himself. Now that his mind was at ease, the boy also started to get rid of all the messy things inside his head.

’Sorry, everyone... Unfortunately, I have to kill you today!’

FWEEE!

The moment the referee blew the whistle, Hiroshi took a deep breath, starting his run-up. The opponent’s goalkeeper, someone he didn’t really know about, tried to guess where he wanted to place the ball. However, right two steps before Hiroshi whacked the ball, he stuttered his run a little bit, trying to mess the goalkeeper’s timing.

’FUCK!’

The goalkeeper cursed as he had already moved his center of gravity. It wasn’t much, but the subtle movement was caught in Hiroshi’s eyes. As a result, the boy didn’t even have any difficulty jumping straight next to the ball before launching the most powerful one he could ever muster in this situation in the opposite direction.

BAM!

The goalkeeper couldn’t even move, watching helplessly as the ball slammed into the back of the net. For a moment, another round of silence descended on the pitch, with everyone looking at the ball in disbelief. However, it only lasted for a few seconds before Hiroshi raised his fist in the air quietly, and that was when hell truly broke loose.