The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 347: Usami’s Move!

It was just a glimpse of a second. However, at that exact moment, the feeling that Usami had in the game against Sapporo Otani, the feeling that he tried his best to replicate without finding any positive result, suddenly emerged in his head. A light path that only his eyes could see appeared in his sight, as if guiding him where he should go.

"Takaaki-kun, here!" He asked for the ball.

It was just an ordinary request, and the boy himself was still on his own half. All the Hannan University High players didn’t take this seriously, just putting one player to shadow Usami from two feet away. However, Takaaki knew his friend the best, and he could see a glimmer of inspiration in the boy’s eyes.

’Wait, does he have it again?’ One of Takaaki’s eyebrows perked up slightly when he saw his best friend’s expression. ’Oh, well, even though it isn’t the same, there is no threat here, so we can afford this. Come on, Usami! Show off your skill a little bit more!’

Thud!

The pass was quite regular, even slowing down a little due to the snow on the pitch. However, the moment Usami picked it up, the boy moved swiftly, startling his marker behind. Just with one touch to push the ball forward, Usami had already crossed the center line, and now, everything was clearer in his eyes.

’Their midfield might look strong with those two patrolling around, but this little gap in between them will create an awkward tension here, so I need to attack that joint!’

It was just a simple thought. The joint was weak, so he had to go there. However, sometimes, in a football game where everything changed so quickly, it only took a simple thought to have a break out. This was exactly what Usami did, as the boy started to hit the accelerator, penetrating the opponent’s defense so boldly through the middle.

"I get this, I get this!"

"Clear the way; he is mine!"

Both Kei Murakami and Matthew Edwards moved together when they noticed Usami coming. It was a rare occasion, since in defense, they had an area that they were responsible for themselves, and usually, they didn’t really interfere with each other that much. However, Usami attacked the intersection of that area, and it created an awkward moment where they both were startled by each other, not expecting their partner to make a move.

This was only a few milliseconds, but Usami had already foreseen this coming. He pushed the ball further, taking advantage of that split second to get through them both to face the two central defenders immediately.

"Fucking hell, Matth! Get back!" Kei Murakami cursed when he saw Usami flash in front of him.

"Fuck! Tiger-san, get ready!" Matthew shouted at the defenders while also trying to slow down Usami with his little jersey-tugging trick. Not enough to warrant a foul, but still annoying enough to disturb Usami’s momentum.

"I get this! I get this!"

Taiga Nagai shifted his attention to Usami immediately. He lowered his stance, even stepping back a little to get ready to turn around if Usami tried to break through with speed. Not only him, but Ritsu Onishi, the other defender, also made a move. It was a subtle one, shifting toward Usami’s direction. It was as if he was ready to shut down any route on that side, wanting to corner Usami on the flank.

However, with all the eyes turning to him, it was easier for Usami to deal with the attack. He didn’t even need to glance further, noticing Hiroshi snuck from Ritsu Onishi’s blind spot. Seeing this, the boy didn’t hesitate, sending a through pass that got through Ritsu Onishi’s reach, getting in behind him straight to Hiroshi’s foot.

"HA! Nice pass, Usami!" The boy grinned as he got the ball here.

Even though he was still a few meters away from the box, at this point, no defenders were in front of him. No, all of them got attracted by Usami’s gravity, and now he only needed to make a little run to get a better position before taking a shot on his own.

However, before he could accelerate further, the boy could feel a little tug on his jersey. It was just a gentle one, but enough to throw off his balance. Then, with the instinct that he honed as an attacker for a long time, Hiroshi made a little exaggerated gesture, throwing himself quite violently to the ground.

BRUGH!

"ARGH!" He groaned while clutching his shoulder in pain before turning his face around to the referee to complain. "Sensei, that’s a card!" He threw his hand in exasperation.

The referee could see it clearly, so he didn’t hesitate to throw the yellow card here. Their right back also accepted silently, knowing that this was coming. It was the sacrifice he had to make, and the boy was quite happy that he didn’t get a yellow card.

Still, as the play stopped, everyone shifted their attention to Usami, and they couldn’t help but pay more attention to the boy.

"What is his name? How could we not know anything about him?"

"That dribble, and that vision to pass the ball at the right moment, at the right angle... He is definitely not an ordinary player!"

"It seems Hakodate Nishi still has an unpolished gem in their team. We have to dig deeper here."

At this point, it had been about one and a half months since the final prefecture against Sapporo Otani, and not a lot of people dug deeper when it came to Hakodate Nishi. It was no wonder that most people here didn’t recognize Usami, the one who scored a miracle goal after getting through six defenders in one go.

However, the last attack was like Usami’s announcement to the world that he existed. Now, the whole attention was on him, and while the boy was so embarrassed at being the talk of the town, he couldn’t hide his grin anymore.

"Good job, Usami." Takaaki patted his shoulder as he praised his friend. "That dribble is awesome! I know you can do that!"

"Yeah, you hide yourself so well, Usami. It is time for you to come out of your shell..." Makino also added the praise, enough to make the boy’s face as red as a boiled lobster.

"Ah... I am just doing my job, Senpai..." The boy rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"And you did it perfectly, so be proud of your work," Makino said once again, not letting the boy downplay his achievement any further. After this, he glanced to the front line, especially to Hiroshi who was ready to execute the free kick, and the captain couldn’t help but mutter, "Now that you have done your job... It is time for Hiroshi to do his as well, right? Let’s just hope that he doesn’t throw all of your effort away, Usami..."