Chapter 35: Is it really his first time playing as a defender?

Itoshi Sae was arrogant and cold, even showing disdain for family relationships, but he indeed had the capital to be proud. Despite his personality, Itoshi Sae's formidable skills still attracted numerous fans, including the president of the Football Association, who had to flatter him.

Recently, he had accepted an interview from the local television station, where he openly expressed his disappointment and contempt for the country's football.

However, it was on that day that Itoshi Sae accidentally learned about the Blue lock plan, which sparked a slight interest in him. As a result, he instructed his agent to pay closer attention to related matters.

At this moment, two people sat beside Itoshi Sae. One was his agent in the country.

On the other side sat a corpulent man with a face full of excess flesh, clearly lacking exercise. It was the president of the Football Association, Buratsuta Hirotoshi. His face wore a obsequious smile, making the already greasy middle-aged man appear even more repulsive.

In the eyes of the Football Association president, everything related to football was business. Regardless of the team's performance, as long as it fattened his wallet, it was enough.

And now, Itoshi Sae was the one who could bring him substantial earnings.

If he could convince Itoshi Sae to stay and even participate in a match, he would surely make a fortune from ticket sales.

Therefore, Buratsuta had to find a way to please Itoshi Sae, even though he deeply disliked the young man's arrogance.

However, Itoshi Sae didn't even spare him a glance from beginning to end.

Buratsuta handed a USB drive to Itoshi Sae's agent, clasping his hands together and smiling:

"This is the game footage I managed to obtain from a guy named Ego Jinpachi. It seems they have only played a few rounds so far. Of course, this footage is only for you to watch and must not be leaked under any circumstances!"

Because Itoshi Sae had shown interest in the Blue lock plan, Buratsuta had used his authority to forcibly obtain the footage from Ego.

However, in reality, Buratsuta was extremely dissatisfied with the Blue lock plan. He initially supported the plan because he thought it would bring him money, but he didn't expect that Ego would squander the entire budget.

Constructing a building like the Blue lock undoubtedly required a huge cost.

'I need to find a way to shut down the Blue lock plan. But it seems Itoshi Sae is interested in it. I'll figure it out later and see if I can make some profit from it.'

That's what Buratsuta thought, but he still smiled and said,

"If you're really interested in the Blue lock plan, I can have those guys take you in for a visit. After all, they still have to follow my orders."

He seemed to be flaunting his power.

Meanwhile, Itoshi Sae leaned his head on his hand and glanced at Buratsuta indifferently:

"You seem to have misunderstood something. I'm just slightly interested. I want to see if this football underdog can produce someone decent. I don't want to waste my time watching the games of incompetent players. These videos are just for my leisure when I have nothing else to do."

Itoshi Sae's tone was arrogant, completely disregarding Buratsuta.

His agent on the side was sweating profusely, feeling extremely distressed.

After all, the man beside them was the president of the Football Association, someone with immense power in the sports industry. Yet Itoshi Sae dared to speak to him like this?

However, Buratsuta didn't show any signs of anger. In his heart, he was cursing Itoshi Sae, but he knew that Itoshi Sae might be his cash cow now, and he couldn't afford to offend him.

"Haha, understood. But if you need any specific game footage in the future, just let me know anytime!"

Buratsuta said with a smile.

Itoshi Sae didn't say much and simply left his seat. His agent, who took the USB drive, quickly followed suit, wearing a forced smile, and they left together.

.....

Inside the Blue lock, the game continued.

After Team Z scored a goal, Team Y continued with their defensive counter-attacking tactics but failed to score.

Okawa was completely locked down by Kira.

He had another opportunity to directly confront Kira, but it was no different from the first time. He didn't have a chance to make any shooting moves and was stopped by Kira.

No matter what dribbling technique he used, it was as if Kira could predict his every move.

After a few rounds, Okawa had become completely timid and didn't dare to launch another attack in front of Kira.

Team Y's only offensive weapon had lost its edge, and all that awaited Team Y was a slow death.

Every time Okawa's attack was blocked, Kira would turn it into a counter-attack opportunity. Even if Team Y's defense was tight, they couldn't defend against it every time. This time, it was seized by Kunigami Rensuke.

Before the end of the first half, the score had already become 2-0.

The halftime whistle quickly blew, and the players from both sides returned to their respective locker rooms.

Inside Team Y's locker room, the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

"He's supposed to be playing as a defender for the first time, right... How can he be so formidable..."

Niko's face was solemn. His tactics hadn't worked, and instead, they gave the opponent repeated goal-scoring opportunities.

Kira Ryosuke was much stronger than he had imagined.

Even though he was playing in the defensive line, he possessed terrifying dominance.

Not even Okawa, the team's strongest weapon, could break through it.

Niko turned his head and looked at Okawa beside him.

Okawa had a towel covering his head, sweat continuously dripping down from the sides of his cheeks. His expression was filled with disappointment, and even his usual confidence was completely gone.

Okawa had been completely defeated by Kira Ryosuke.

"Relying solely on Okawa isn't enough... He can't break through Kira Ryosuke at all. Ourteam's ace has been completely shut down. If we continue like this, it will have a detrimental effect on the team's morale. Even though we're only two goal behind, if we don't score soon, we're just slowly dying."

Niko was very clear about this.