Someone thought the previous A/N spoiled too much when I just wanted to clarify things so I took it down. Sorry if I spoiled anything but thank you to the reader for leaving the review.
Thank you all for your feedback so far. I appreciate it.
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Chapter Three - The difference in Talent
Naruto sat back as the rest of Team V argued over who was playing which position. The goalie position was already given to one of the lankier players. The guy wasn't notable except for his long arms, and he had one of the faster reaction times in the tests. He grew tired of the drable, though. They had to decide fast; the doors to the pitch would be opening soon. He glanced at Kiyora and Karasu and knew they felt the same way.
"I think it's quite obvious who is playing forward," Kiyora declared, his voice cutting through the room, surprising everyone with its depth. "The three of us are the highest ranked on the team, so it's only right that we take the front three positions."
Naruto couldn't deny what Kiyora had said; he was going to say something similar. Naruto stood at his full height of 180 cm, looking far more imposing than Kiyora's 165 cm. He couldn't help but find amusement in the reactions the others were giving him. Since the first day they saw his tattoo and dyed hair, everyone except his friends kept their distance from him, with only Saramadara having the courage to interact with him.
The tension in the room was palpable as he looked over everyone. He glanced at Karasu in his peripheral vision. He was leaning against the wall beside them with his usual look of superiority. With a slight motion of Naruto's hand, he moved to join the other two. While Naruto looked imposing with his appearance, Karasu made due with his constant looking down on others, while Kiyora's quietness and ignoring others made the rest of Team V wary of him.
"He ain't wrong," Naruto stated. "It's only natural for the strong to stand above the weak. And well, we're the strong, and you're the weak." Naruto smirked at the rest of the team. They all knew he and his friends outclassed them, yet this was the first time they had ever been talked to like they were trash. On their teams, they were the kings, the aces. Here, they were his stepping stones to greatness. "Fall in line and submit, or we'll make you."
Naruto and the other two walked past everyone. The room was so stunned that no one tried to stop the three from moving the magnets with their names into the front three positions. Only when the doors started opening in front of the three did the others rush to pick a position.
As they walked down the corridor, Naruto focused on the walls. He didn't know why, but he felt something was off and couldn't pinpoint what. "You feel it too, Naruto." He looked over his shoulder as Kiyora spoke. "You feel like we're being watched." Naruto gave a slight nod.
"You know what," Karasu began. "I've been feeling like that since we started our testing. I get Ego-san has to keep an eye on three hundred teens, but it's more than that. I feel like there are more than just his cameras watching us."
Naruto put that information in the back of his mind for later. While it was important, they had a match to win. Rechecking his uniform, Naruto wished it was more than black with white numbers. Knowing that they were inside an air-conditioned facility, Naruto rolled up the sleeves of his body suit to just above his elbow to show his tattoo. He was proud of his tattoo for Alice; he didn't need to hide it like he did when walking around Tokyo. Now, everyone could see the kunai and thorny stems from the elbow down and the rose on his neck.
When Naruto finally stepped out of the corridor, he took in the arena he was in. It was bigger than a full-sized field; a few yards were given for team benches. Naruto looked up as the ceiling opened to reveal the night sky. "Alice would love this view. Maybe I should find a way to contact her while I'm here."
"Whoa! What's that?!"
Naruto was broken out of his musings by a teammate and looked where they were. On either end of the pitch were two scoreboards. But what caught his teammate's attention was the two larger jumbotrons on the walls above where the teams entered. On the two screens were the rosters with images of who was playing what position, just as you would see before a professional match.
Just as he was going to turn to see if the other team was walking down their corridor, the image changed to show the players to keep an eye on during the match. For the other team, it only showed one person in a red uniform. The person was #4 Hiiragi Reiji; he had long black hair pulled into a bun. The most shocking thing about him was his white irises. "Well, if they think he is someone to watch, he must be decent," Naruto thought.
"You guys thinking what I am," Karasu asked. After Naruto and Kiyora turned to him, he continued. "It should be easy for us three to learn how he plays. From there, it shouldn't be too hard to counter him."
Naruto turned back to the screens, which showed who to watch for his team. He smirked at the list: #10 Uzumaki Naruto, #9 Kiyora Jin, and #11 Karasu Tabito. As he looked down, Naruto saw Team Y enter the pitch, and the Hiiragi fellow was leading them out.
"A VAR system will be used for games to assist with determining fouls."
Naruto walked to position as soon as who he guessed was Anri stopped talking over the speakers. Looking at the other team, Naruto assumed that Team Y was running a 4-4-2 compared to his team's 4-3-3. "Well, Karasu. Let's show these Blue Lockers what we're about." Without needing a response, Naruto passed the ball behind them to Kiyora while they moved a little to the sides.
Naruto would have laughed at how fast Hiiragi and his fellow forward rushed Kiyora if it weren't so predictable. He bet they were playing with the same mindset of the team not mattering as long as one of them had the most goals. Seeing the challenge, Kiyora rushed at them. Just as the opposition neared him, it was clear to see how Team Y's #7 was going to slide. So it didn't surprise him when Kiyora made a small cross to Karasu.
Karasu knew what Naruto wanted from him and Kiyora in this first game. He wanted to make an impact, and what better way than to show the opposition just how outclassed they were? Well, that was to completely decimate them and make a show it while it happened. After receiving the pass, he quickly rushed down the field and passed two midfielders. "Too easy!"
As he moved to the right side of the box, Karasu stuck out his left arm just as another midfielder caught up to him to cover for his teammates. It wasn't hard for him to move while holding back a defender. It was one of his strengths that surprised most players. When he neared the box, another defender came from behind, trying to get the ball; Karasu threw his other arm out. "Well, let's see if they can handle a shot from the corner of the penalty area!" With a strong push off of the defenders, Karasu launched himself two feet past the penalty box line and performed a trivela. Before the shot even went over the extended arm of the goalie, the purple-haired striker was already sliding on his knees to celebrate.
(Team V) 1 - 0 (Team Y)
Karasu Tabito - Goal - 3'
As the ball hit the back of the net, Naruto rushed over to his friend. "You crazy bastard! When the hell did you learn how to do that?!" Naruto didn't know if he should be celebrating or berating his friend. "If you can do that, I gotta change some of my plans for this game."
"Ha, ha, ha!" Karasu smirked as his friend helped him up. "It's just a little something I've been working on. What better place to showcase it than right here? Hell, I bet Kiyora has some new tricks that he hasn't told us about."
Both turned to their shorter friend as he approached, and only the glint in his eyes made them think Karasu's statement was true. After a quick group high-five, the three moved back to midfield. Naruto smirked as he noticed the looks on the rest of Team V's faces. Most were jealousy mixed with shock, and that didn't surprise him. Envy was one of the seven deadly sins, after all.
As Hiiragi passed the ball to his teammate, Naruto was baffled when the four middle fielders behind the two strikers rushed forward. He looked to his right and saw that Karasu was of the same mind. Naruto chose to move into a more relaxed defensive position. He didn't want to be too lax that the other team took him as a joke, but he wanted to be ready to move on the offensive.
Just as Naruto was going to move towards the two opposing strikers, one of Naruto's foolish teammates rushed past him. Before he could even move to pull him back, another ran past him. Looking behind him, only Saramadara was keeping to his position in the middle. This was his teammates' first fatal mistake of that match as Hiiragi ran forward while his fellow striker crossed the ball to one of the midfielders, who rushed forward.
Naruto marked Hiiragi as he went to pass him. It was easy for him to deduce that he was the team leader. "I guess we should have listened and watched this guy," he thought to himself.
Hiiragi himself was smiling. He had been worried when Team V had scored so fast. Yet, it seemed that only the front three actually wanted to work together. Looking at the blonde to his left, he remembered him from the day all three hundred forwards were together in the meeting hall with Ego.
"If he thinks I'm just a stepping stone, he has another thing coming." Too focused on his opponent, he almost didn't realize the pass that came to him. Trapping it with his left foot, he wasted no time passing it to the right of the final midfielder. What confused him was the blonde backing off and turning to run in the other direction.
"You should really pay better attention, kay."
The deep voice forced him to look to his right, and he saw the small forward for Team V intercept his pass. "What?"
"Your eyes are on me when they should be on the Magician." Without another word, Kiyora sends a long pass to Naruto, who did something he had only done in practice with an old acquaintance.
"Come on, Naruto. Just channel your inner Neymar, shouldn't be too hard." As the ball neared him, Naruto moved his right leg behind his left and performed a perfect trap with his right heel. He smirked as the ball lost almost all momentum as it fell to the ground.
Naruto couldn't believe his luck. First, he pulled off a trick he had only pulled off with one other. Now, he only had to beat four defenders. Well, he actually only had to beat two defenders. After what Karasu did, the outside backs seemed hesitant to move to the center. Rushing straight at Naruto, the two center backs moved to intercept him.
"Mistake number one," Naruto thought. The two defenders would reach him relatively simultaneously, but the one on the left would meet him first. He smirked as the defender jabbed a leg forward before he pulled off a quick roulette to the right. "Mistake number two." Without looking for the other defender, he used the ending of his roulette to pull off a rabona that nutmegged the defender, who appeared behind the other defender to the right. "Mistake number three."
"Wha-"
"Come on, guys, give me a challenge to get through." Naruto laughed as he maneuvered through the gap between the two defenders. Dribbling into the penalty box, Naruto slowed down. Smirking as the goalie ran towards him to close where he could shoot, Naruto surprised everyone on the pitch with what he pulled off. Pulling his leg back to shoot, his smirk grew as the goalie slid and extended his body to block his shot. Acting quickly, his shooting leg moved over the ball before pulling it back to perform a heel flick. "Mistake number four."
(Team V) 2 - 0 (Team Y)
Karasu Tabito - Goal - 3'
Uzumaki Naruto - Goal - 14'
"Ha! Nice try, but there's only one defender in Japan who can hope to stop me." Naruto stared down at the goalie, who slid to a stop at his feet. "Was my magic too much for you?" Not caring for the answer, Naruto turned around and gave the rest of the players an extravagant bow as he stuck out his arms. "Perfectly executed."
Naruto then walked back to the center line and met his friends. They all had a silent conversation, and while it would only look like some intense staring with small gestures, the three understood what the others were thinking. They had all come to the same decision: they would decimate the other team. These other strikers would realize the difference between them and the Magician of football.
Team Y was thoroughly scared to push forward now. Teav V had scored twice in the first fifteen minutes of the match. All they had succeeded in doing was to make fools of themselves. Hiiragi was seething on the inside; he was known for his predictions, yet his gameplan had already fallen apart. There shouldn't have been a way for Team V to adapt to his plan after their midfield fell apart, yet they did. "Or their front three did."
His team doubted the one thing he prided himself on: his predictions. If they continued to fall apart, it would be hard to reign them in for their future matches. "If I can keep an eye on those three, then I can still adapt my plan to win this match." Repeating what they did last time, Hiiragi kicked the ball to his teammate… he should have kicked it back to a midfielder, for neither of them was prepared for Naruto to rush at them.
Time appeared to slow down for Hiiragi. He had heard of people having instances where time seemed to move slowly, and now he was experiencing it. When time turned back to normal, Hiiragi saw his teammate fall to the ground as Naruto used a slide tackle to take the ball. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Naruto transition from his slide into running like he had seen some baseball players do.
"I guess Kiyora should show his stuff now," Naruto thought as he trivela passed over two defenders to Kiyora, who was waiting behind them. "Show them what you got pipsqeak." As if he heard his thoughts, Kiyora glared at Naruto as he trapped the ball with his thigh.
Kiyora didn't know why, but he wanted to kill his friend. Turning with the ball, he braced himself as the middle fielder behind him crashed into him. While the defender had the advantage in height and weight, Kiyora didn't pride himself in his physique. Even as he was pushed forward, he never fell to the ground. With a push, he forced himself away from the defender and ran.
Having no intention of slowing down, Kiyora ran right at the center back, who came outside of the box. A quick elastico into a nutmeg was all that was needed. He didn't need to worry about the midfielder behind him as he heard him run into his own teammate. Seeing the other center back running at him from the side, Kiyora shot the ball. It didn't matter if he was still a few feet outside the penalty box; he was confident in his shooting ability.
"Many don't think I can be a striker with my height," Kiyora thought as he looked at the shocked faces of the defenders. "Yet they always act surprised when I pull something off. They need to learn that looks can be deceiving." When the ball bounced off the left post and into the net, Kiyora finally celebrated. He acted as if he was sheathing a blade like a samurai would. "I am the hidden blade no one expects."
(Team V) 3 - 0 (Team Y)
Karasu Tabito - Goal - 3'
Uzumaki Naruto - Goal - 14'
Kiyora Jin - Goal - 19'
When Kiyora turned around, he didn't expect Karasu to punch him in the shoulder. He shot him a quizzical look while Naruto did the same. "We showing off our celebrations now?!" Karasu's tone was sharp as he shot his friends a glare. "I get Naruto doing his; he likes to show off. But you, Kiyora? What happened to you not showing off so people ignore you?"
"Ah," Kiyora started. "You said to show everyone what Tokyo City F.C. can do. So I thought if Naruto could do his, I could do mine." He then pointed at the slow looks of realization on some of the players' faces, specifically their teammate Saramadara. "Some of them have already begun to realize who we are. No point in hiding now."
Karasu let out a sigh of resignation. "You're probably right. Hell, Aryu will show off his anyways. Without Naruto to reign him in, he won't care what he does as long as he looks stylish. Let's just get back to center field. I'm trying to get a hat-trick here, and I know our magician won't feel like he decimated the opponent without one, either." Silently agreeing, all three walked back and got back into position.
Hiiragi was smarter this time as he passed the ball back to a midfielder. But that didn't mean his team got smarter. They became too cautious in their play, clumping up to make short one-two passes. Karasu would have been impressed if they could get near the goal, but they wouldn't while they were on the right side of the field.
It might have seemed odd that he let three of them get past him so quickly, but he wasn't idle. He was analyzing everyone in his direct vision, following behind the three as they reached Saramadara and their right midfielder. Karasu knew he had to bide his time to make the perfect play on the ball. While Kiyora was all about being the deciding factor in plays, Karasu was a leader who analyzed and organized plays, whether they be on defense or offense. Something he learned from playing with Naruto for so many years.
"There!" Karasu wasted no time rushing toward the triangle being set up against his team. "Come on, water boy, if you can't keep up, sit down," Karasu said as he forced himself in the path of the ball, intercepting it. In doing so, he knocked Saramadara down, pushing past him. "Keep up or stay out of our way." Performing a quick roulette, he crossed the ball back to the center, where Naruto was waiting.
Naruto trapped the ball with his chest before landing with Hiiragi right on him. He pushed back against the Team Y striker. While Naruto didn't have the strength to dual with the likes of Dada Silva and Adam Blake, his balance was top-notch. Someone such as Hiiragi wasn't going to make him lose the ball with some pushes to his back. "I didn't think I would have to use this yet, but I can't miss this chance. Time to use my Eagle Eye."
"Kiyora! Sub for Kurona, time for some tiki-taka," Naruto yelled. Without even looking at his teammates, Naruto lifted the ball in the air and to the right before kicking it in the direction over his right shoulder. "Karasu, link up!" Wasting no time, he used his opponent's weight against them when he turned.
Hiiragi shouted in surprise as he was sent to the ground. "Come on! Where's the VAR? That was a foul!"
Naruto ignored the shouting behind him and moved forward. "No one here has vision that surpasses mine. Even if Karasu might be close to unlocking metavision, he had a ways to go." Naruto ran near Kiyora and made it appear that he would receive the pass sent his way. But as the ball neared him, he jumped over it and let Karasu, who was running behind him to the right, receive it.
"These guys are pitiful," Naruto thought. "I'm not even doing my best, yet they can't stop my off-ball movement." Naruto weaved past two defenders before receiving a lob pass from Karasu. He stretched out his left leg to trap the ball. Holding it on his ankle, Naruto pivoted on his right leg before launching the ball towards Kiyora.
Pulling a quick series of feints, Kiyora ran past the left back, who fell to the ground. Deciding against running further in, he sent a cross near the far post. Before the ball was even halfway there, the short striker knew he had put too much power behind the pass. "Come on, you shitty crow, I know you're there somewhere."
As if summoned by the thoughts of Kiyora, Karasu ran between the left center back and the left back. "You gotta be a masochist sending me this kind of pass, you pipsqeak!" He had seen the trajectory of the pass as he reached the final four defenders. While his smaller friend wasn't the best passer of their little group, he could get the ball in an area for someone to score. "But I don't got the flexibility of Naruto or Aryu to pull off a goal from his angle." As the frustrating thought went through his mind, Karasu jumped to meet the ball. As he was level with the ball, he headed it back to where one would take a penalty kick.
Naruto knew he got to where the ball would land early, but that was his intention. With his Eagle Eye, he could see the entire pitch. No one could make a play without him seeing it. His prediction of where others would be also increased to an insane level. "Now, scorpion kick or… yes, that will leave a lasting mark on everyone here." As the ball bounced off the ground, Naruto rolled forward before using his arms to push himself into a spinning handstand. "Just like I showed Alice," Naruto thought before he spun his body and kicked the ball into the open net.
(Team V) 4 - 0 (Team Y)
Karasu Tabito - Goal - 3'
Uzumaki Naruto - Goal - 14', 30'
Kiyora Jin - Goal - 19'
Naruto quickly used his momentum to move his body into an upright position before pulling off his celebration. He barely braced himself in time as Karasu jumped on his back.
"I knew you were a bit off in the head," Karasu exclaimed. "But I didn't think you were insane, you fox-faced bastard." He then grabbed Naruto's short ponytail and pulled Naruto down. Naruto was confused until he felt Kiyora smack the back of his head.
"Dumbass." That might have been all Kiyora said, but the smirk on his face showed that he was happy his friend scored. "What made you take that kind of play? The goal was wide open. You could have walked the ball in."
When Naruto looked up at them, he smirked at them. "I said I wanted to dominate our opposition. Plus, after my last goal, are you really surprised that I would pull that off?!"
"Yes/Yes," the two replied in unison. Naruto crouched down and sulked. Karasu was sure he had seen a miniature rain cloud hovering over his blonde friend before he blinked, but it was gone.
"Alice would have believed I could do it," Naruto whispered. The only response he got was Kiyora hitting him in the head again. "Stop hitting me, dammit!" With a huff, he stood up before looking up at the scoreboard. "Thirty-three minutes, we can probably get one more goal before the half."
Not bothering to hear if his friends agreed, Naruto walked back to get into position. Looking into the eyes of the teammates behind him, there wasn't any defiance in them anymore. But that didn't mean they would follow his lead, just that they wouldn't try to go against him. Only one person intrigued him, though, the gray-haired Predator of Shonan. There was a determination in his eyes that Naruto knew well—a determination to prove one's self to others. "Let's see what you can do, Saramadara. You might have some use to my plans after all."
He didn't turn around to watch the kickoff; he didn't need to anymore. As long as he used his Eagle Eye, he could see everything. As five members of Team Y ran past him, the only thing that interested him was that Hiiragi stayed back with the ball this time. "There!" Naruto ran after Team Y's players right as Hiiragi made a pass. Naruto made full use of his vision and off-ball movement as he weaved through the opponent.
"Coming through! On your left. Now, on your right." Naruto smirked as he surprised Team Y. None of them were prepared for him to show up near them randomly. He looked up and saw the ball still in the air. Looking at where it was going, he saw Saramadara almost at the landing spot. "Come on, show me how serious you are about making an impact." Sadly, the other Team Y forward received the ball before the serious-looking boy could get there.
The resulting collision was something Naruto would have liked to have prevented as he heard a whistle go off from the speakers. "Tweet, Tweet! Foul on Black #3, Saramadara Kairu. Warning given, no card."
Naruto reached the point of impact and helped his teammate up. He didn't need to turn around as he could hear Karasu already pushing the Team Y forward back as he tried to get to him and Saramadara. "You did good, Saramadara. Maybe next time you don't get a foul, though."
Saramadara simply nodded before speaking. "I will try, but I am no middle fielder of any kind. I cannot read the waves from back here."
Naruto tilted his head as he heard the words. This wasn't the first time he heard Saramadara speak as he did. Even after the game of tag, he spoke in a way that included the sea or storms. "For the rest of this game, support me, Karasu, and Kiyora. But in the next game, I'll work you into a system to show you what you can do. If you can't work with my magic, though, you'll be right back here with the rest of the team."
Naruto didn't care if he got a response; he only had one thought in mind as he walked to get into a better position to steal the ball. "We're gonna get that last goal before the half. So you bastards better not try to be heroes on my team." The glare that came to his eyes made more than a few of his teammates back away from him.
"Tweet!"
At the sound of the whistle, one of Team Y's midfielders crossed the ball. Naruto knew where the ball was going before the ball was even kicked. He saw the hierarchy that Hiiragi Reji had instilled in his team, so the pass would be going to him, especially if he was their best player. Meeting him in the air, Naruto had half a head on him and beat him to the cross.
Heading the ball out of the penalty area, Naruto was a bit surprised to see Saramadara get the ball. The subsequent pass to Kiyora made him smirk, though. "So an old dog can learn new tricks." With that thought in mind, Naruto took off with a burst of speed the moment he landed. "Karasu! If you aren't down there waiting for my pass, you won't score again in the next three games." Naruto's yell was heard all across the field.
Karasu took off with speed he didn't know he had. He knew that his friend was serious about his threat, though he was thankful it was one of his lighter threats. The memory of Naruto leaving Kiyora with Mrs. Uzumaki after framing him because he pissed Naruto off was still in his mind. None of their small friend group had seen Kiyora look so haggard.
Running down the right line, he knew he needed to be somewhere near the back four - well, now it was two - or near the penalty area. As he got near the left back, he peaked over his left shoulder and saw Naruto at the center circle. "Shit!" As he got in front of the defender, he heard the telltale sign of Naruto hitting the ball with everything he had. With newfound vigor, Karasu pushed past the defender and ran towards the top center of the penalty area.
He didn't look for the ball in the air above him. Instead, he tracked the shadow it left. Lunging forward, he trapped it on the inside of his right foot, just inside the penalty area. Lifting the ball up to waist height, Karasu performed a volley that sent the ball into the top left corner of the net.
(Team V) 5 - 0 (Team Y)
Karasu Tabito - Goal - 3', 43'
Uzumaki Naruto - Goal - 14', 30'
Kiyora Jin - Goal - 19'
He turned around to celebrate before having second thoughts. "Nah, this goal wasn't worth a celebration. My next one will be, though." Walking back to the center field, he met with his friends. "Well, let's just stop them and go to half." The others agreed, and they did just that. After a quick interception where Karasu kicked the ball out of bounds, the halftime whistle blew.