Special Chapter

____Yuji Pov____

"Pass it to me!"

Kicking the ball at my feet to my closest companion, I moved quickly towards midfield to get the ball back.

"You will not pass!"

Controlling the ball, I was about to run, but a defender got in front of me, trying to stop my attack.

You may ask yourself, why was I, a martial artist, playing soccer, of all sports there are?

And my answer to this is simple: Curiosity.

As someone who didn't care about other sports that didn't involve combat, soccer was never on my mind. Even in the World Cups of my former life, I didn't pay much attention to the sport, preferring to spend the day at my gym to improve my boxing.

The biggest contact I had with the sport happened right after I returned to Japan, when I was recovering from some injuries. With some time off, I ended up watching some soccer games to pass the time.

I never stopped to pay attention to this, but similar to Korea, which encouraged the practice of martial arts, and even had schools completely focused on training fighters, Japan did the same for Soccer.

This was interesting, and made me think a lot about the idea of investing in the sport.

Still, this interest was nothing more than a vision to make a lot of profit, since I still found the sport rather boring.

But then, why was I suddenly in a match?

Well, it was out of sheer curiosity that I accepted an invitation from one of the athletes who frequented the gym I was using to prepare for my professional fights.

And now, here I am.

Finting an advance to the left, I made the defender lose his balance, this gave me freedom to run with the ball, and it didn't take long for me to reach the penalty area.

While I didn't find soccer interesting, I wasn't a complete layman... Well, my ability to copy helped me so that I didn't look like one.

"!"

Through my peripheral vision, I immediately noticed a person from the opposing team approaching to my left at a surprisingly fast speed, which made me not think twice about simply shooting, the ball advancing at a speed that the goalkeeper was barely able to react to.

"Goal!"

I heard my team celebrating, before they approached me to congratulate me.

I didn't react much to the situation, since even though I scored, I didn't feel excited. Everything was so... easy. I couldn't even feel happy about winning against these people. It was like I was cheating...

Well, maybe soccer just wasn't for me.

Turning my attention to the one who tried to intercept me at the last second, I noticed him breathing heavily as he grabbed his knees.

The boy may not have a strong aura, but he had enormous determination. Unlike the other players in the place, he was the only one showing this aura, which immediately caught my attention.

'Observe.'

.

[Status]

Name: Isagi Yoichi

Age: 16

Strength: B+

Durability: B

Stamina: A

Speed: A

Intelligence: SS

Potential: XX

[State]

Frustrated.

Seeing his team lose, even though it was only a friendly match, frustrates Isagi. He knows you, and knows that you are a professional wrestler, so seeing you completely dominate the match makes him even more frustrated.

.

It was a pity that the boy had no interest in martial arts. Many fighters would like to have his potential. At least, with that potential, he could completely dominate soccer if he trained properly.

"Let's keep going!"

Returning to my position, which from what I had been told was center forward, I waited until the game restarted with the opponent's pass.

And as I was expecting, the moment the game started, Isagi immediately received a pass, but before he could move forward, I headed in his direction and intercepted him, taking the ball away from his feet and starting another attack.

This seemed to surprise the boy, who didn't react fast enough to chase me, leaving the defense to try to stop my attack.

"Don't let him pass!"

One of the defenders shouted, but I simply ignored him as I passed the ball between his legs and kept moving forward, a move I copied from Isagi earlier in the match.

Some of the defenders tried to catch up with me, but even though I limited myself to try to amuse myself, I was still too fast for them.

Reaching the penalty area, I prepared to shoot.

"!"

But surprising me, Isagi suddenly appeared beside me and jumped in front of me to try to intercept the kick, a move that made me sure that if Isagi wanted to, he could become a fine martial artist.

Kicking the ball over the boy's body, I ran past him and intercepted the ball in mid-air with a powerful shot, which flew towards the goal in such a way that the goalkeeper could do nothing to stop it.

"GOAL!"

My team celebrated by crowding around me. I heard some compliments about my abilities, but I didn't pay much attention to it. Soccer really wasn't something for me.

"The game is over!"

In the end the score was 4-0, with me scoring three goals and providing an assist. I received a lot of compliments from my teammates, which I thanked them for.

Turning my attention back to where the opposing team was resting, I noticed Isagi thoughtful, which made me interested. His aura seemed to oscillate, which meant that his will was wavering.

'Playing against me shook him up that much? Geez...'

I would feel bad if I were the reason for the boy to give up his career, but seeing his aura, I think that would hardly happen. Even though he was wavering, his determination still hadn't disappeared.

I will be rooting for his success, after all, it's not like I want to become a professional in soccer, so there was no reason to view him negatively.

'Maybe I can create my own club...'

The idea sounded great, but that was something I would leave for the future.