Rise after Fall

The match between Team Z and Team Y arrived shortly after in Blue Lock's fifth wing, and this time Dennis' team had a thoroughly planned formation, with its rotations greatly emphasizing everyone's so-called 'weapons'. They realized the importance of containing their egos in charts, to not mess with the performance of the team.

Also, they created a competition of sorts; whoever was going to score the most goals would be the striker in the next game. Since Dennis had scored the most and nobody objected to him as the striker except for Raichi (who reluctantly agreed in the end), he took the position. This was an initiative from him as well!

Dennis Kemp had control over his team as the coach, as well as playing in his favorite position. Yes, just saying no to his position for one match gifted him the opportunity to play in it for many more games to come.

Kuon clapped his hands, "We have a plan to win this game as well as those that are to come; Team Z is going to win them all!" Unintentionally, he had already become second in charge of Team Z's strategies and had genuinely good ideas. He was a smart person, and Dennis wasn't against him adding something.

"We will secure our wins and fight until the end!" With the last loud yell from the brown-haired guy, the team left the locker rooms and went to the field.

It was similar to the previous ones. Dennis' eyes darted around to see their opponents get out on the green grass. From the outer appearance, there was nothing special about Team Y. No wonder they lost to an athletically capable team such as Team V.

'Our team is way superior in this—even more than Team V, but they have an excellent player in the attack.' The German smirked for himself, not like their team didn't have someone else. Himself being the center forward made it so much easier. 'Barou didn't use too much force in his shots, which is peculiar, I wonder if I can do the same.'

He already proceeded with his thoughts about how to devour Barou's skillset. "Isagi! Are you ready today? I expect good passes." His supplier was going to be number eleven on their team, and hopefully, he doesn't disappoint today.

As the whistle blew, Dennis was greeted with a thumbs-up from his teammate. He passed the ball to Isagi and ran toward the opponent's box. Their team started the attack as they planned.

Isagi rolled the ball to the right, where Bachira was waiting. The shorty had one of the best skills on the field; his elasticity, along with his quick dribbling, made him a force to be reckoned with. According to a rotation, he had to move on the flank and dribble past the defenders while their team got into the enemy's box.

Instead of being met by one defender, two stood in front of Bachira. 'Huh, two? Not bad!' He was about to get through them despite their numerical advantage; however, the third defender showed up.

"There are three of us." If not for his senses warning him, Bachira would have lost the ball, as the third guy was right behind him. The guy's presence was barely noticeable, but his skills still allowed him to save the football.

"Not bad, bangs-kun." Bachira praised the third defender and immediately gifted him with a nickname due to his weird haircut. 'They are pressing everyone?' His teammates were all being marked, but since three people were on him, some were still left behind, particularly defenders.

Bachira returned the football to their half and continued moving deep into the enemy's territory.

'Hmm, they aren't just marking Meguru this way…' Dennis was positioned right along the off-side line, and to his sides were two center backs that focused most of their attention on him. 'What are they planning, they'll just exhaust themselves more this way.'

Dennis, unlike his teammates, decided to go down and receive the ball in a more comfortable zone than the off-side line. The center backs had followed his lead, but he knew one thing for certain: Team Y was going to do the intense pressing. 'Who changed their tactics so much in just one day?'

The German had to figure out who could have averted Team Y in a better way. The possibility of a good leader in the team was high; someone must have used yesterday's failure as a reason to motivate his team. But who is that one leader?

Team Z was doing something called "tiki-taka," a style of play that involves making short passes to maintain possession. It was exhausting for the enemies and fun for them, since watching those faces when their enemies had to run more was exciting. The team proceeded to move around the field this way, through short passing.

From the right side, they switched to the left, moving the masses in that direction as well. 'I'm going to make way for a moment. Those middle fielders we placed have great passing abilities, surely they will give it to me.' Dennis jogged forward while thinking about this.

'But these guys are always on me, they won't give a space would they?'

Probably noticing the way Dennis looked at them, one of the defenders responded. "We won't let you get away, even for the meter." Their arrogance was admirable, but would it last for long? Dennis was ridiculed.

'You guys won't last long.' "Chigiri!" The redhead received the pass from Isagi and instantly ran on the flank. His gaze scanned the possible openings created by this ferocious defense. For a time, he was unable to do so until he noticed Dennis raising a hand while running away from the defenders.

'Huh, Dennis?' Chigiri was confused to see their center forward so down, but seeing where he was running, there was a possibility to create a good chance. "Dennis, here!" He had to make a very rough pass with the side of his foot; circumstances made it impossible to make a good pass. He accelerated without the football, too.

Dennis processed the ball with his left leg and rushed onto the flank, getting away from the duo of defenders. 'I did say you guys won't last long on me.' His speed with the ball at his feet was still enough to make fools out of the two defenders. 'Chigiri, good boy.'

He slowed down as he approached the corner and waited for the defenders to catch up with him. 'There we go.' He swung the leg, making one of the defenders dive instinctively. 'Gotcha.' The defender only slid past him.

"Dude!" His teammate was there to cover him, but when he thought he was going to get the ball, it was pulled back in time. 'What the fuck?! How can his legs be so quick?' The single thought took a precious second, and Dennis was already far ahead of him.

The box was already filled with players, and going into it was delusional, so Dennis moved to the top right corner of the penalty area. "Cross!" Kunigami shouted as he entered the box at full speed, really expecting his teammate to do so.

'Not today, Kunigami.'

Swish! This time he wasn't faking a swing of his strong right leg. From a distance of around 20 meters, the sphere was launched in a very curved trajectory at the top right corner of the goal. 'It's the first few minutes of the game…' Dennis had not expected to really score this early, but this was a cool shot.

'So, might as well go in.' Bang! The football hit the bar and ricocheted into the net, changing the score to 1-0 in Team Z's favor.

Dennis raised both of his hands in celebration and literally looked down on the defenders, as their attempt to intercept his shot at the last moment failed. "You can try with more intent next time; I haven't felt any pressure at all." He irritated his opponent by giving them a grimaced gaze.

"I want to repeat this again, but from a longer distance."

The angry voices of his opponents felt like lullabies to his ears, and yes, Dennis quite enjoyed winning. The sense of pride swells in his heart, and the first time he felt this was years ago, in a way tougher match than it is right now. Back when he got into the U18 team at Berserk Dortmund. (*Obviously, their names are like this because of copyrights, so don't mind if I use Blue Lock ones here too.*)

The goal was amazing nonetheless, and Isagi was amazed by Dennis' ability to score it this way, "No way you just scored this… we haven't even started the match properly yet."

"Believe it or not, I can do it even better. The next one will be better since this was just a warm-up." This being the first goal in the match made it even more amazing. Isagi's heart was pumping with excitement; hopefully, he is able to score in the same way soon.

Dennis was being congratulated by his teammates when the same guy with the weird haircut that covered most of his upper face walked nearby and told him, "The next time will never come." It was like a whisper addressed only to the German.

'Oh yes, the number seven. He was decent during their match against Team V; he was able to pass just like Isagi. Is it possible that the guy at number seven is a better passer? I feel like he could do even better not that his team listens.'

Whatever it was, Dennis was just as confident as before the match. They had twice as good players on the team individually; now that they are brought together by the same goal, they can get past most of the people here easily.

'Well then, bring it on, whoever you are.'

… … …

Yesterday was like the worst nightmare coming true for Barou Shouei. He wasn't the king he always thought he was, and he indeed halted to consider himself the main cast of the story he was in.

It also happened so quickly that his feelings can't be described at the moment. He is on the ridge to either quit the act he had been putting on or continue becoming stronger in the same way…Since Dennis had humiliated him that day, he had no idea if either of them would be a good idea.

"Barou, aren't you coming out? The match is about to start." One of his teammates entered the locker room and asked.

His expression immediately hardened, 'I'm still thinking about this?' He shook it off and stood up. It was distracting so much that even during the match itself, Barou was unable to concentrate at all.

The match against Team W seemed like torture because Barou lost all his motivation for a single match. The twins named Junichi Wanima and Keisuke Wanima had obliterated their team completely. But they weren't scary at all; if Barou could have felt himself today, the results would have been different.

"Barou, what's going on?!" His teammates were freaking out as the rampage continued. Team X was losing terribly, already by a few goals. If they lose this one, their dream to become the best striker in the world will remain a dream and nothing more. They needed Barou; without him, it was all lost.

He was passive, very passive compared to his usual self. 'What's wrong with him? As if he saw the devil itself.' The teammates thought nervously. Nobody knew what had changed in Barou since he appeared to be possessed by someone else—an evil spirit or something. This wasn't Barou they knew.

'Without me, nobody can play here at all. Then what's the point of going all out? I'll just secure my place to get past this stage... the team completely dependent on me doesn't deserve any win at all.'

And Barou didn't want to leave this project so soon; he had unintentionally given birth to a rivalry. 'They don't deserve my presence.' His team doesn't matter; he was going to remain alone if necessary.

'I don't know what it will take of me, but I want to see that bastard losing only to me.'