Chapter 432: The Camp Opening!
The next morning, the relaxed atmosphere was already gone. Hell, even before breakfast, people had already been busy, moving around like it was a big day.
Well, it was indeed a big day, since today was officially the start of the camp. All of the players gathered quite early in the morning, making a line as they stood in front of the camp’s gate. There, they saw a big quote placed on top of it, showing the spirit of the team.
IT’S TIME TO BATTLE, SAMURAI BLUE!
This gate was the very start line of so many legends, from Hidetoshi Nakata and Shunsuke Nakamura in the early 2000s to Shinji Kagawa, who had been a living legend in the community for so many years.
Even though when he came in, Higo didn’t feel anything about it, seeing the quote straight in front of him, coupled with this somber atmosphere, he couldn’t help but let out a melancholic sigh.
’Yeah, this is when things get serious.’
Soon, six people suddenly arrived, standing in front of the line. Higo was stunned when he saw that Kumiko was also one of them. However, he could already guess what was going on here.
’So, they are the coaching team, huh?’
The situation was not suitable for a casual greeting, but Kumiko still had her eyes sparkling as she caught Higo in the crowd. The boy couldn’t help but smile a little, but a single cough from the man in the middle was enough to disturb his thoughts.
"Welcome to the Japan National Team U-20 Training Camp, Boys!" The man spoke with a deep, heavy tone, enough to make everyone treat him seriously. "Some of you might know me already, while some still don’t, so I will introduce myself here. Masanaga Kageyama, the team’s head coach from Fukushima. Nice to meet you, everyone!"
"Nice to meet you, Sensei!" All the players bowed simultaneously to greet the man.
The man, Masanaga Kageyama, didn’t look that old, probably around 40. He also had this youthful demeanor, having fire burning in his eyes as if he was ready to deliver the speech that would pump up the spirit here. It was clear that he was suitable to handle a bunch of teenagers like this.
As for any other information about him... Well, this was definitely a miss on Higo’s part. Without Kumiko around reminding him, somehow, he charged into a new battle zone blindly, not knowing anything about that man in front of him.
’No, after this day is over, I have to rectify the problem as quickly as possible.’ He muttered, promising himself.
"For your information, this is going to be our last training camp before the team departs for Poland two months later." The man continued speaking, not knowing that Higo had just set an eye on him. "33 best players in the country... 10 will be eliminated for the final team, so this is going to be your last chance to showcase your talent here, showing me why you deserve to be in this team."
The temperature dropped instantly as the words spilled out of the man’s mouth. If before, the players here could still look at each other friendly enough to treat them all as their future teammates, this time, the hostility and wariness were clear, burning in the air like gunpowder.
Somehow, they all started to look at each other as enemies, probably wary of getting backstabbed by any of them just because of a mere mistake or something like that.
Fortunately, it seemed that this wasn’t the first time Kageyama-sensei dealt with this matter.
"I say this as a warning to you guys..." The man’s growl was low and dangerous. "I foster a competitive nature, but I will say one thing. Everything has to be done cleanly, competing on pure ability. If someone tries to do a dirty trick to stump the others, you can just get the fuck out of here. Our team doesn’t need someone like that, do you understand?!"
This was enough to send a chill down everyone’s spine as they all shouted simultaneously, "YES, SENSEI!"
"Good. At least, the bottom line has been set, so don’t you dare cross it." The coach nodded satisfactorily. Right after this, the atmosphere started to go back to normal again, and the tension seemed to ebb away in a blink. "Then, let me introduce you guys to the people who are going to help me in this camp. First, Norio Takahashi, the goalkeeper coach."
A tall man who looked like Hajime Saito from the Rurouni Kenshin series stepped forward with a flat face, giving the impression that he was a man of few words.
"Nice to meet you guys." The man nodded shortly before stepping back to his own spot.
Higo straightened his posture immediately, knowing that he was going to deal with the man a lot in the next ten days. Based on the man’s posture, it was clear that he was also a former goalkeeper.
’Still, Takahashi, huh? Any relationship with him?’ The boy couldn’t help but wonder, glancing at Naoya Takahashi secretly. However, based on Naoya’s flat expression, it was clear that they were basically strangers. ’Nah, I am overthinking here.’ He shook his head secretly.
After this, the coach introduced two more assistants, one who was responsible for the analysis part, named Tadahiro Akiba, and one who was going to deal with their physical part, named Tomohiro Ogai. Higo recognized the first name as the one whom Kumiko had shadowed yesterday.
"Lastly, we will have two more people who are going to assist us here." Kageyama-sensei cleared his throat, knowing that this would create commotion among the boys. "Two brilliant girls who have shown their capability in terms of coaching, coming here to learn more. Kumiko Shishida from Hakodate and Shizuka Aizawa from Urawa."
True enough, after he announced it, whispers of excitement started to spread among the boys.
’Damn, that glasses one is a goddess! I think I’ve fallen in love!’
’Hey, don’t sleep on the other one! Her high ponytail really highlights her white neck!’
’What are you talking about, you perv!’
Higo growled secretly, wanting nothing but to jump on those who dared to spout nonsense about Kumiko, consequence be damned. Fortunately, before he could do anything stupid, the coach suddenly interrupted with a sharp glare.
"Even though they are here to assist, they also have the same authority as us, the other coaches, so don’t be stupid teenagers who cannot hold back their intrusive thoughts and do anything stupid, okay?"
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