The Japanese team were all watching the game between the American Unicorns and the English Knights of Queen. While watching the game everyone was impressed at seeing how much growth Domon and Ichinose had. Domon looked like a new player as he blocked everything that came his way with complete confidence, it reminded some of them of how Terrace played. Ichinose on the other h and proved why he is called the magician of the field as he would control the pitch and would set up passes to his teammates as well as getting past his marker
The Unicorns' other star players Mark and Dylan also played well which led to the Unicorns winning the game. Endou looked at the screen with a confused look as he thought that something had changed about the way Ichinose played which gave him a weird feeling. Kidou also agreed with him but Kazemaru told them that it might be because of his growth that it felt different, which got them to agree with the statement. Endou then said that they should all practise some more which everyone agreed with
The next day the team practised well into the afternoon, they stopped in the afternoon as Coach Kudou told them to relax and do their own things for the day. Everyone went off to do their own things. Some of them stayed to work on hissatsu techniques while others went to cool down or have some fun. Naruto helped Someoka, Hiroto and Gouenji some more on getting Last Resort down but they were still having some with maintaining the move
Before dinner was served the team again gathered at the field and practised with one another as they knew that they were getting close to the match with Domon and Ichinose and they were excited to play with them again
On the day off the game, the team practised in the morning to get warmed up as they all wanted to be at their best for the game. They then rode off towards the stadium, on the ride over the stadium Endou was visibly shaking and when asked why he was shaking he said he was just so excited to play with Domon and Ichinose again which got the others to agree with him.
Once entering the stadium the team started to warm up again before coach Kudou called them over and named the starting eleven
Goalkeeper - Endou
Defenders - Tsunami, Kabeyam a, Fubuki and Naruto
Midfielders - Kidou, Hiroto, Kazemaru
Forwards - Aphrodi, Someoka and Goeunji
The players nodded before going onto the pitch and lined up and greeted the American team. The Unicorn's were giving the kickoff, they immediately passed it to Ichinose who started to run down the field. The Japanese players went to close him off but were held back by the Unicorn players, Ichinose managed to get past Tsunami, Fubuki and Kabeyama before putting the ball in between his legs and then doing a backflip. While halfway through completing the backflip he lets go of the ball which makes it float in mid-air, Ichinose then gets ready to kick the ball. The ball is then covered by a blue aura and a blue pegasus appears behind Ichinose. When the ball gains enough energy the pegasus neighs and loses some of its feathers as Ichinose shoots. While the ball is going towards goal the pegasus gallops behind it(Pegasus Shot)
Endou used Ijigen the Hand to stop the shot but was unsuccessful in doing so as Ichinose's shot proved to be stronger than expected. The Japanese players were in shock at the growth he had as they thought he was already quite strong after watching the game between them and the Knights of Queen the other day but to grow so much in that time was something they didn't expect to happen. Endou congratulated Ichinose on the technique before reminding his team that the game had only just started and it was now their turn to show how much they've grown, which lifted their spirits
0-1
Japan resumed the game and pushed forwards but was immediately stopped by Ichinose who used Flame Dance Remastered, Ichinose then passed the ball to Mark who ran down the field. Dylan called for the ball which caused Hiroto and Fubuki to mark him, Naruto then said it was a trick and it was going to Ichinose, Mark passed the ball to Ichinose who was coming forwards but was blocked by Naruto who stole the ball off him before passing it to Kidou
Kidou controlled the ball before running down the field, a Unicorn defender tried to stop him but Kidou got past him with True Illusion Ball before passing the ball to Gouenji who used Maximum Fire. Domon ran towards the ball and used Volcano Cut V2 but was unable to stop the shot. The Unicorn's goalkeeper did a little bit of footwork as the ball got closer to him before punching out a couple of shockwaves as the surrounding area became slower. He then does an uppercut the moment the ball is in front of him which sent the ball upwards before falling down which allowed him to catch it with ease(Flash Upper)
Gouenji was annoyed that his shot was easily blocked, Domon told him that they don't intend to lose today, and Gouenji also told him that they also don't intend to lose today. The Unicorn goalkeeper then gave the ball to Ichinose who started to run down the field and got past the Japanese midfielder but was again stopped by Naruto who passed the ball to Hiroto who brought the ball forwards before passing the ball to Someoka
Domon intercepted the ball and passed it to Mark who was being marked by Kidou, the two tussled a bit before Mark passed the ball to Ichinose who gave it to Dylan. But before the ball could reach Dylan, Tsunami intercepted the ball and passed it to Fubuki. Fubuki was getting closed down so he passed the ball to Goeunji, Ichinose was running side by side with Gouenji before getting a head of him turning around and using Flame Dance Remastered and stealing the ball off him
Kidou then moved to close him down, Ichinose tried to get around him but Kidou blocked his path. Ichinose seeing no other option passed the ball to Mark who was behind him, Mark then gave the ball to his teammate who then passed it to Ichinose. Kabeyama tried to stop him with The Mountain but couldn't as Ichinose kicked the ball over the top of The Mountain, Ichinose then passed it to Michael who shot which forced a save from Endou
Ichinose picked up the rebound and passed it to Dylan who shot but again Endou made the save and sent it out for a Unicorn corner. Ichinose took the corner short and passed it to Mark who was being closed down by Tsunami and Hiroto. Mark managed to turn his body far enough to pass it back to Ichinose who used Pegasus Shot. This time however Endou stopped the shot with Ijigen the Hand
Endou gave the ball to Kidou who passed it to Someoka but the ball was intercepted by Domon who passed it to Mark. Mark was running down the field before passing the ball to Dylan but the pass was intercepted by Hiroto who passed the ball to Aphrodi. After receiving the pass from Hiroto, Aphrodi was met by a sliding tackle. Aphrodi managed to jump over the tackle and continued to run down the field before using his speed to get passed Domon before he could try to stop the attack, but before Aphrodi could do anything else Ichinose tackled him and sent the ball out of play
Endou gave his team a quick talk before Hiroto took the throw-in and gave it to Fubuki who was making a charge down the field. Ichinose was on his left and was about to tackle him but Fubuki ran past him, Kazemaru then got close to him. Fubuki then called out to him, Kazemaru looked shocked for a moment and asked him if he wanted to use 'that' move here to which Fubuki nodded. Kazemaru nodded and followed him from behind, Ichinose seeing something was up called for the defender to stop Fubuki but Fubuki proved to be too fast for them and ran past them
Fubuki then spun the ball like Eternal Blizzard which turned into a big snowy tornado while in the tornado the ball became frozen in ice, Kazemaru on the other hand ran at great speed and was covered in a veil of wind. Kazemaru then jumped into the snowy tornado and kicked the ball towards goal leaving a trail of snow and wind(The Hurricane)
The Unicorn goalkeeper used Flash Upper to stop the shot but was unsuccessful in doing so as the shot had too much power behind it.
1-1
The Japanese team celebrated the goal and were amazed by the shot that Fubuki and Kazemaru just did. Before the Unicorns could restart the game the referee blew for halftime. Endou told his teammates that they were doing good and that they should continue like they were into the second half. Kazemaru, Gouenji and Kidou pointed out that Ichinose was much stronger than they thought, Kidou pointed out that because of Ichinose's spirit the rest of the Unicorn team was starting to get stronger which made the team slightly nervous. Endou told them that they would fight their spirit with their own, which got the team to get more serious. Before the second half started, Endou ran to use the toilet which made the team shake their heads
The second half started with Japan taking the kick-off and having the ball intercepted straight away and being sent to Ichinose who kicked the ball down the field where Dylan and Mark were. The Japanese defenders tried to intercept the ball but Dylan and Mark had beat them as they jumped into the air and kicked the ball at the same time as a violet unicorn appeared behind them and went towards the goal with the ball(Unicorn Boost) Endou tried to stop it with Ijigen the Hand but was unsuccessful, allowing the Unicron's to take their lead back
1-2
Japan restarted the game and tried to get the momentum back with a quick attack of their own but they were unsuccessful in doing so as Domon stopped their attack and passed the ball to Ichinose. Kidou had tracked back and tried to take the ball off Ichinose but couldn't as Ichinose had jumped into the air with the ball and kicked the ball downfield to Mark and Dylan. Thankfully for the Japanese team, Naruto was there to retrieve the ball before the duo could use Unicorn Boost again
Naruto dribbled past Ichinose before passing the ball to Someoka, Someoka then ran past a Unicorn defender before using Dragon Slayer. The Unicorn goalkeeper managed to stop the shot with Flash Upper but the ball went out for a corner kick. Before the corner was taken Kidou told everyone that they would be looking out for The Hurricane so it would be hard to coordinate with Fubuki, Kazemaru then pointed out that Ichinose would be man-marking Gouenji
While this was going on Tsunami was kicking the air which confused Endou, coach Kudou then walked out and told Tsunami to take the corner which shocked everyone but they didn't say anything and did as they were told. Tsunami got ready for the corner and as soon as he started to move towards the ball Ichinose ran towards him. Tsunami jumped and conjured a tube of water, then flung his leg out and kicked the ball. The ball travelled down the water tube and swam on the surface of the water while it went towards the goal(The Tube)
Ichinose tried to stop the ball but was blown back, the Unicorn goalkeeper turned his body to block the shot but the shot was too fast for him and was unable to stop the shot. Tsunami and the others celebrated the goal.
2-2
The Unicron's restarted the game and had their whole team run down the field which shocked the Japanese team, Mark and Ichinose were running side by side as Mark called out to Dylan and Micheal. Dylan and Micheal then ran opposite sides of the penalty box as Ichinose and Mark cover the middle. While this was going on the Unicorn team man marked the Japanese players to stop them from interfering
The unlucky ones in the Japanese penalty box were Endou, Kabeyama and Tsunami. Ichinose then called out for hissatsu tactic Rolling Thunder. The four Unicorn players would kick the ball and would have it rebound off Tsunami and Kabeyama until the two collided with one another leaving a clear path to the goal. Ichinose and Dylan stood opposite sides of Mark with their arms crossed before Ichinose and Dylan jumped forwards while Mark summoned a large wolf behind him. The wolf then howled as Mark kicked the ball towards Ichinose and Dylan who kicked the ball upwards where Mark kicked the ball towards goal with the wolf following the ball in its entire path(Gran Fenrir)
Endou used Igjigen the Hand to stop the shot but couldn't, as the shot broke past the yellow dome and went into the goal, giving Unicron their lead back.
2-3
Naruto watched as the Unicorn players returned to their half before turning and looking at coach Kudou who nodded at Naruto. Coach Kudou then made a change, Kazemaru, Kabeyama and Tsunami off for Fudou, Kogure and Tobikata
The trio that came on went towards Endou, Kidou and Naruto. Fudou told them it was pathetic seeing them face such a tactic. Endou asked if he had a plan which made Fudou smirk, Naruto seeing the smirk said "You noticed it too"
"It seems at least one of you noticed it" Fudou said
Naruto smiled and said "You can't outfox a fox"
The game resumed with Japan on the attack again but lost possession of the ball leading to the Unicorn going on a counterattack and using Rolling Thunder again but this time Tobikata and Kogure ran towards Micheal together. Micheal then passed the ball to Mark who together with Ichinose and Dylan used Gran Fenrir but before the shot could be made Kogure and Tobikata turned towards the ball. Kogure then jumped towards the ball as Tobikata kicked as hard as he could to use the force generated to send Kogure towards the ball and stopped the shot
Domon got the rebound and gave it back to Mark, Ichinose told the others that they should focus on taking the others down first, which they agreed with. Mark kicked the ball which made it rebound off Kogure but before Dylan could get the rebound, Fubuki got to it and passed it to Kidou. The pass to Kidou was intercepted and given to Ichinose who kicked the ball to make it rebound off Tobikata and just like before Japan got the rebound thanks to Naruto
Naruto then passed the ball to Endou, stopping Rolling Thunder in its tracks. The Unicorn players were shocked that Rolling Thunder was stopped, Fudou then explained to them that the little magic trick they used was just them kicking the ball while calculating the rebounds and all they had to do was collect the ball. Kidou then understood it and said that they anticipated where the ball would return from the way it was kicked. Fudou then finished it off by telling Ichinose that there was also a weakness in the tactic which was that it was weak to counter attacks
After Fudou finished speaking, Goeunji started running down the field, Endou quickly kicked the ball straight towards him. Gouenji was completely free on goal with only Ichinose getting close to him but tripped over his own legs, Goeunji then used Maximum Fire and scored past the Unicorn goalkeeper to level the game again
3-3
The game resumed with the Unicorn's kicking off and charging down the field again, Naruto informed Kidou about a trick pass that they were going to do which allowed Kidou to intercept the ball. Kidou then brought the ball down the field where he was stopped by Domon who used True Killer Slide and took the ball off Kidou. Hiroto and Someoka went to close him down but Domon grabbed Mark's wrist with both his hands and spun him around before letting go as Mark and the ball went into the sky. While Mark is going up he grows bright white wings that start to shine and break away upon reaching the highest point he could go. Someoka and Hiroto were momentarily blinded by the light which allowed Mark to land behind them(The Icarus)
Mark then passed the ball to Ichinose who dribbled past Kogure and passed the ball to Dylan who gave the ball right back and told him to shoot. Ichinose nodded and used Pegasus Shoot, Endou used Ijigen the Hand to stop the shot but couldn't stop it but he managed to make it rebound off the crossbar and into his hands for the save.
It soon became a battle for dominance between the two teams with neither side giving up. The ball soon went out of play for a Unicorn throw, before the throw-in could be taken the Unicorn coach made a substation which brought Ichinose off the field which shocked everyone. Ichinose argued with the coach before finally getting off the field. The game continued again with the fight for dominance becoming more intense but Japan managed to get lucky because of a mishap between the Unicorn defender which allowed Aphrodi to use God Break and score the winning goal at the last second of the game
4-3
The Japanese players celebrated their hard-fought win and were happy that they were able to take down another top team.
Line Break
The team returned to their living area, Naruto was in his room lying on his bed looking at the ceiling and thinking about the game they just played and realised that he could have done more but didn't. After realising that he watched the match over and over again and looked at all the mistakes he made and how he should have done better. Thinking it over, Naruto grabbed his phone and made a call
The phone rang for a moment before the person answered "Hello"
"Teres, it's me Naruto. I want to ask you something" Naruto said
Teres was silent for a moment before saying "What can I do for you?"
"I know you watched the match against the Unicorns and saw that I didn't do as much as I should have. I could have done more and helped out but I didn't" Naruto responded
"Yes, I did. I taught you that defending is something you must adapt to constantly and quickly, not only that but it has to be done as a team. Today you lost focused and allowed Ichinose, Dylan and Mark to walk all over you and your team" Teres said
Naruto knew that and said "That is why I'm calling you. I would like to come and train under you again up until our final matches"
Teres was silent again and said "I would love to but I don't think that will be a good idea. We need to focus on stopping the Unicorn team while you have to stop the Italian team. It just won't work"
Naruto gritted his teeth and said "I know that! But I don't want to make those mistakes again. I know how the Unicorn team plays so I can help you and your team understand them from a first-person standpoint. I know that I won't be able to practise stopping Fidio and the Italian team but at least this way I can make sure I can help my team better. So please help me"
Teres became quiet for what seemed an hour for Naruto but finally, he said "Very well I can see that you are very passionate about what you say and it would be good to have you practise with us again as the team misses you"
Naruto smiled and said "Thank you so much Teres I promise I won't slow you and your team down"
Teres chuckled a little and said "Okay Naruto we practise in the early mornings so make sure you're there on time or else you will be punished and I don't have to remind you about how bad the punishment is remember" Naruto became pale as he remembered his time with Teres and told him he would be there on time
"One more thing Naruto, we can offer you lunch and dinner but you would have to sleep in your residential area" Teres said
"That is not a problem, I am grateful enough for you helping me. Well see you tomorrow then, I can't wait to train with you and the others again" Naruto said as he and Teres ended the call
Naruto was extremely happy about how the call went, he left his phone on his bed before walking out of his room and knocking on coach Kudou's door. Coach Kudou opened the door and looked at Naruto and said "Is there something I can help you with Naruto"
Naruto nodded and said "I would like to request some time off before the Italy game"
Coach Kudou's eyes narrowed slightly and asked "Why do you need time off?"
Naruto looked him in the eyes and said "I realised after the game with the Unicorn's, I need to get better at defending. Teres taught me everything I know and I wasn't good enough today which allowed us to concede three goals. I rewatched the match over and over again and realised that I could do better so I decided to call Teres and ask him to train me again. Teres agreed to help me train, the Argentinian team are allowing me to come over and train with them until the final game. They said they would provide food and drinks for me but I need to return here for the night. That is why I'm asking for time off, I want to train with Teres again and increase my defensive capabilities"
Coach Kudou continued to look at Naruto for a moment before signing and saying "Very well then, I'll allow you to go" Naruto smiled and was about to say something but coach Kudou told him "But if you were to go, I need you to be at your best come the Italy game and you must inform me of everything that you do while training there. Also if you even feel the slightest bit of muscle fatigue while training you must return back here no questions asked as well as training with us the day before the match. Do you understand?"
Naruto nodded and said "Yes sir"
Both Naruto and coach Kudou returned to their rooms and slept throughout the night. The following morning Naruto met up with Furukabu the campervan driver and told him that coach Kudou allowed him to train with the Argentinian players and needed to be driven there in the morning and evenings. Furukabu understood and drove Naruto to the Argentinian residential area
Upon arriving Naruto saw the Argentinian team walking out to the pitch, he quickly thanked Furukabu and ran to greet everyone. The Argentinian players greeted him back and began catching up before the coach stopped it and told everyone to line up, once lined up the coach welcomed Naruto and told him that if he to slow things down for them then he would be sent straight back, Naruto nodded in understanding
The team then started doing some warm-ups before doing some passing practice. Once everyone was fully warmed up the team started to have practice games. Naruto and Terrace were on opposite teams. During the game Naruto was tested over and over again and was forced into difficult situations that forced him to overcome the challenges in different ways such as leading an attacker to another defender, causing a foul to stop a quick attack and forcing the attacker to shoot in one direction which made it easier for the goalkeeper to save
Naruto was starting to get annoyed at himself as he could only stop one-fifth of the attacks that came his way, Teres saw the look Naruto had and told him "You are being too hard on yourself"
Naruto looked at him and wondered what he meant "I told you before remember when you are defending it is always good to clear your mind. If you constantly think, I have to stop it, I have to stop it. Your mind would only focus on the player with the ball and not your surroundings which allows them to beat you. If you keep a level head and watch every aspect of the player you can see the tells their bodies make which can help you stop the player"
Naruto nodded and smiled while saying "Thanks Teres. I can always count on you"
Teres smiled a little and shook his head and said "Just remember there will be a day where you can't stop a player from scoring. You can try every trick you know but there is no perfect defence."
Naruto nodded and said "You're right about that. I just want to make sure I'm good enough that my team can rely on me but so far I can't really do much as our other defenders are growing much more than me and I'm scared that I won't be needed anymore"
Teres nodded his head and said "You don't need to be like that. From what I've seen from your team, I can say they will treat you the same no matter what, so there is nothing to be afraid of"
Naruto nodded and got back to training but this time Naruto was able to calm his mind and think much clearer than before and was able to stop more attacks than before which made him and the others happy to see him back to his former self.
While Naruto was training the Japanese team woke up and wondered where he was, they thought he had gone out for early practice but when he didn't show up for their team practice they became quite worried for him. Endou asked coach Kudou about Naruto to which he told the team "The reason why Naruto isn't here right now is because I've given him time off to go practice with Teres as he requested"
The team were shocked to hear this and wondered why he went to practise with Teres. Coach Kudou told them that they could ask him later once he returns but they should get back to practice.
The day soon ended with both teams practising to their heart's content. Upon arriving back Naruto was questioned by his teammates about why he decided to train with Teres. "The reason why I'm training with Teres is to increase my defensive capabilities. The teams we've faced in this tournament have proven why they belong here. Every single one of you guys has grown stronger than I originally thought was possible from the first time I saw you guys and I feel like I've started to slow down in my progress to become stronger. I realised after the game against the Unicorns that I could have done much better if I played at my best. I then realised that if I want to get back to my best I would have to go back to what worked for me in the first place"
The team looked at Naruto for a moment before Endou walked towards him and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and said "You're not slowing down, you've become stronger than before Naruto so don't worry about that. But if you feel like you need to clear your head by going back to your roots then don't worry. We'll be here for you on your return"
Naruto smiled and thanked Endou and the others before meeting with coach Kudou and telling him everything he did for training before returning to his bedroom. The next day before he left Fuyuppe greeted him with a water bottle with a fox head on it to indicate that it belonged to him. Naruto was amazed at how much effort she was putting into her role and thanked her before heading off with Furukabu to train with the Argentinian team again.
AN - Naruto's training - I know some of you will be thinking why have Naruto train with Teres and say he made mistakes when I didn't show him making mistakes. The reason is that I had the other defenders do much more than him as all he did during the game was stop an attack and pass the ball to the others. I also want to state that just because I'm having Naruto train with Teres it doesn't mean that he would become the best defender. Naruto will be more involved in defending but not to the point where he becomes like Teres and stops everything coming his way
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and have a good day
