Chapter 169 God of Lightning
Looking at the direction of the ball while falling down, for a while Masanaga felt like the time was flowing slower for him.
Slightly raising their body forward, anxious fans of Aomori were following the direction of the ball while holding on to their breath.
At that time one player in the field was reacting completely opposite to the rest. Instead of rushing towards his own goal-post, Hiro was running towards the opposing goalpost.
And as the ball flew towards the post, performing a short run-up, Shun leaped towards the direction of the ball.
Shun's jump was as impressive as ever and his reflexes, unquestionable. Shun easily managed to punch the ball away.
Even so despite punching the ball away, Shun instantly stood up to prepare himself for second round of attack.
As impressive as Shun's reflexes were, Shun was also aware of his weakness- he took time to get back on his feet after diving.
Thus, as soon as he landed on the ground, he immediately rose up. Although he was still somewhat sloppy and his body was still not coordinative well enough, his will to correct his mistakes was real.
But as he stood up and prepared himself for second round of attack, he noticed Hiro rushing towards the opposing goalpost with the ball in his feet.
Behind Hiro, almost the entire squad of Aomori was chasing him. And for a while it seemed like Hiro was fighting 1 vs 11.
The rain water which had accumulated in the pitch was slowing everybody in the field. But not Hiro. Making use of his skill "Lightning Steps", Hiro was running towards the opposing goalpost which was totally open.
However while he was making his run, referee was constantly checking his watch while tailing Hiro. And it seemed like, he would blow his whistle at any moment.
And Hiro was well aware that he didn't have much time to run all the way to the opposing goalpost. Thus as he reached the halfline, he shot the ball from his own side of the pitch towards the opposing goalpost.
Without the presence of Aomori's keeper, Aomori's post was like a watermelon in a chopping board which was ready to be chopped.
Hiro only required enough power in his shot to make it to the post and perfect precision so that he won't miss the post.
Both of which, Hiro wasn't lacking. Afterall his shot accuracy and shot power could already rival some pro players.
The ball as it flew towards the direction of Aomori's goalpost was cutting through the rain while making it's way towards the post.
"Gooooaaaaallllllll!!!!"
[Gooooaaaaallllllll!!]
Both the crowd and commentator erupted as they witnessed the ball crossing the goal-line. Smiles on their faces, fans of Kawasaki began to cheer happily while following the movement of Hiro.
Hiro on the other hand, directly ran towards the sidelines to celebrate his goal. Upon reaching the sidelines, he made a gesture of pulling an arrow towards the sky.
And just as he released the imaginary arrow from his hands, lightning flashed in the sky all of a sudden.
The flash of lightning inturn illuminated the whole stadium. And for a while it seemed like it was Hiro who was summoning the lightning in the sky.
A thunderous sound of thunder which reverberated all over the stadium made Hiro's celebration even more dramatic.
[Hoho... Can you believe that? Is it only a coincidence or has Hiro really summoned the lightning? For a while it seemed like the "God of Lightning" itself had shown it's appearance on the pitch. May be now that explains why he is so fast.] The commentator joked while exaggerating Hiro's flashy celebration, linking him to God of Lightning.
While some fans were closing their eyes and covering their ears, some were looking at Hiro in awe.
Under the flash of lightning, silhouette of Hiro seemed very oppressive for a moment.
And although the sound of thunder had silenced the crowd for a while, just as the sound of thunder faded away, those fans who were staring at Hiro in awe, once again errupted in cheers.
Hiro's teammates did the same as well. While the lightning was flashing in the sky, they dared not to approach Hiro.
But just as both the flashes of lightning and thunderous sound of lightning vanished away, they all ran towards Hiro to celebrate his goal.
Hiro on the other hand remained completely calm for the entirety of his flashy celebration.
Somewhat flabbergasted, Hiro was at a loss of words. Since he himself wasn't expecting such a coincident to happen to him.
And after a while as the celebration ended, the referee blew his whistle and ended the game as well.
Beep!! Beep!! Beeeeeeeep!!
[And with this the thrilling game between the 1st and 2nd team finally has come to an end. And both of these two teams has delivered as per expected. Unfortunately Aomori has still lost the game despite the performance they put up in the game.]
[Even so all of us, let us congratulate Kawasaki Frontale U-18 for winning the game. For the entirety of the match, they have put an amazing performance and showed us the beauty of attacking gameplay.]
[The man of the match obviously goes to Hiro who has scored two goals and provided an assist. Without his contribution, the outcome might have been different. Not to mention his flashy celebration after scoring that goal in the stoppage time. The flashes of lightning may be coincidental but his skills aren't. All I can say is that he's a true star in the making.]
Laughing while joking and hugging each other, Hiro's teammates were celebrating their victory with eachother.
Tatsuki and few other guys in his team who had took of their t-shirt were flinging their t-shirts while celebrating their victory.
Hiro on the other hand was waiting for the notification of the system to hear the outcome of his quest.
Although he had scored two goal and delivered an assist, he was still somewhat skeptical about the outcome of the quest, since he believed that his performance wasn't on par with his performance in the previous two matches.
And while his teammates were celebrating their victory, Hiro finally heard the notification of the system.
[Congratulations host for completing the quest]
[You have attained an impressive rating of 9.3]
"Sweet" murmured Hiro as he heard the notification of the quest completion.
Smile on his face, Hiro's face looked unusually fresh for someone who had ran for more than 90 minutes.
And while almost everyone in the pitch was panting, Hiro's breath was as stable as the head of a chicken.
Completely drenched in rain, players of both the team exchanged quick handshakes and made their way out of the pitch since the rain was getting stronger.
And also to prevent the players from falling sick, coaching staffs of both the team were rushing the players to head inside.
Inside the tunell while all the players were making their way towards the locker room, Shun approached Hiro with somewhat puzzled look on his face.
And as he got closer to Hiro, Shun questioned Hiro out of nowhere, "No matter how much I think about it, I still can't figure out why you decided to run forward at the last moment?"
"With one less player, it would have been really dangerous if somehow the ball was still inside the box. So why did you decide to take that risk?" Shun continued.
Upon hearing Shun's doubts, Hiro started to panic. Since he couldn't tell him the truth that he made that run in the last moment whimsically, Hiro had no other choice but to think of an excuse.
Inwardly Hiro was sweating profusely. However he maintained a calm appearance outwardly.
And while Hiro was taking time replying, Shun's gaze towards him was getting more intense. And even though Hiro wasn't looking at his direction, Hiro could still feel Shun's intense gazes on him.
Just as Shun ran out of patience and was about to speak something, Hiro spoke, "At that last moment I noticed Masanaga's touch on the ball. Although it seemed perfect to others, Masanaga was still being pushed. Thus, he couldn't execute a perfect header."
"And there was no way that you'd have conceded that weak of a header. I know how sharp your reflexes are. So I just trusted your reflexes and made that run."
Answered Hiro with a solemn look on his face. Shun who was staring at Hiro couldn't even tell that Hiro was lying. Without questioning anything, Shun simply believed Hiro's words.
Not because Hiro's words were believable, but because Hiro was praising him.
Upon hearing such praises, Shun's stiffened face suddenly brightened as a smile formed on his face. Shun then replied with a big wide grin on his face, "Hahaha... Yeah you did the right thing. You can just leave the worries of the post to me. You just need to attack. With me in the goal, we'll never lose. Hahahah"
Hearing his cheerful words, Hiro let out a subtle smile as he squeezed some words out of his mouth, "Simpleton"
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