Icarus stood before Buratsuta, looking coldly at the Japan Football Association chairman who was breaking into a cold sweat.
“I received news from Ego Jinpachi that you are pressuring him to hold the match between the national team and us ahead of schedule.”
“Actually, this is…”
“You don’t have the guts to come to me, so you only dared to find him?” Icarus interrupted before the man could finish. “Is the Japan Football Association short of money recently, so you’re urgently in need of this ticket to fill the hole?”
Buratsuta’s face turned pale upon having his thoughts laid bare, and the cold sweat on his forehead increased. “This, that’s not exactly…”
“Be straightforward; stop with the beating around the bush.” Icarus tilted his head impatiently. “I’ve seen plenty of this sort of thing.”
Although he hadn’t been responsible for managing a team before this, as a member of the Cecil family a long-time sponsor of RE.AL he had seen and heard plenty while following his brother around.
Buratsuta held his breath, his face shifting between shades of green and white.
He had originally intended to contact Ego Jinpachi directly via a notification, presenting him with a fait accompli so as not to give the young master of the Cecil family any chance to react. Who knew that Ego, that guy, would turn around and notify the backer? He didn’t have an ounce of backbone; to think he would actually grovel before an outsider!
“Speak.” Icarus tilted his head. “Is the Football Association looking to change chairmen?”
“Absolutely not.” Seeing that he couldn’t bluff his way out of it, Buratsuta blurted out, “We just wanted to prove to the citizens how excellent the talents cultivated by Blue Lock are.”
Icarus lifted his chin, signaling him to keep making it up.
“It’s like this, we plan to grandly introduce the strikers cultivated by Blue Lock to the nation on the domestic stage.”
“And then? Is there any benefit to it?” Icarus asked, feigning confusion. “I could easily invite world-class strikers to be their sparring partners. So what is the purpose of us playing this show match for you?”
“If… if Blue Lock wins, the Japanese national football team will be replaced by the Blue Lock team!” Buratsuta gritted his teeth, finally making up his mind.
It was heart-wrenchingly painful. It had been so difficult to fully infiltrate the existing Japanese national football team, and every player was kept in his grasp. Now he had to start winning them over from scratch again.
“Just the Japanese national team?” Icarus frowned with disdain. “Forget it. That’s acceptable, I suppose.”
The old men at the Japan Football Association couldn’t set their sights beyond the domestic level anyway.
Buratsuta was livid upon hearing Icarus’s self-muttering.
He had clearly brought out his absolute trump card, yet the youth before him still had that look of disdain! That was the national team! Didn’t this person understand how much of a tremor a reshuffle of the national team would cause domestically?
“To express our sincerity, we will invite an Itoshi-player who comes from the RE.AL youth academy to participate. We hope this will provide you with a satisfactory match.” Buratsuta intentionally put heavy emphasis on the words “RE.AL youth academy.”
A player from a world-top-tier youth academy; are you sure you want to gamble with me? Using those players of yours who were ordinary high school students just a few months ago?
Itoshi Sae, who had just walked to the door, paused his footsteps.
Being used as a bargaining chip for benefits, Itoshi Sae remained expressionless. He had seen too many such things in the football world back in Spain.
Noticing the small, bean-colored-haired youth suddenly stop his footsteps, the agent beside him asked in confusion, “What’s wrong? Wasn’t there something you needed to find Mr. Buratsuta for?”
“Silence,” Itoshi Sae said concisely.
On the other side, the conversation in the room continued.
“Itoshi?” Icarus turned sideways toward Yuan. The latter respectfully handed over a tablet.
The face of the expressionless youth with bean-colored hair appeared on the tablet. Icarus was slightly taken aback.
These lower eyelashes are too similar; as expected of biological brothers.
Yuan was observing the black-haired youth’s expression out of the corner of his eye; seeing this, his heart sank. He tentatively spoke, “Master Icarus?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Icarus closed the tablet and handed it to the side. “Never seen him.”
Yuan took the tablet with a calm expression. Separated by only a wall, the agent watched in terror as Itoshi Sae’s ambient pressure grew lower and lower.
“That’s great, then.” Icarus finally grew interested. “I know the level of players who come out of the RE.AL youth academy. Which striker is it?”
He had left Spain long ago and hadn’t been back to visit RE.AL in years. He didn’t know which Japanese striker they had recruited recently.
“This… it’s not a striker.”
“Then is it a winger?”
“Neither,” Buratsuta stammered. “It’s a midfielder.”
“Just a midfielder?” Icarus tilted his head. “Looking at how confident you were, I thought it was a goal-scoring striker.”
However, it was originally difficult for Japanese players to have an advantage in RE.AL. Even in the youth academy, the striker positions were generally occupied by Europeans with large frames and robust physiques.
“So we have a small request.” Buratsuta’s eyes flashed with a glimmer, taking the opportunity to say, “In order to present a spectacular match, we hope to be able to employ a player in Blue Lock named Shidou Ryusei.”
Separated by a wall, the agent who heard this widened his eyes in surprise and looked at Itoshi Sae. “They didn’t already agree to this long ago? So they didn’t have the right to decide?”
The Japan Football Association’s skill at painting a pretty picture is truly impressive.
Itoshi Sae didn’t respond. He leaned his back against the wall, his arms crossed, listening silently. His brow was filled with an unspeakable gloom.
“Shidou Ryusei?” Icarus laughed. “Great eye. That wasn’t your pick, was it?”
Wasn’t that just bluntly saying he had no eye for talent?
Buratsuta cursed in his heart, but his face was piled with flattering smiles. “Your prediction is truly accurate. This was Itoshi’s request.”
“Sure.” Icarus agreed readily. “As a midfielder, he has the right to choose all the strikers he wants to use.”
Buratsuta hadn’t expected Icarus to be unexpectedly easy to talk to in this regard. Instantly, his eyes crinkled into slits with a smile.
“Phew…” Itoshi Sae’s agent breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the process had been a bit tortuous, luckily the goal had been achieved. Otherwise, he was truly worried that Itoshi Sae would fly back to Spain in a fit of rage.
Itoshi Sae’s eyes shifted when he heard the talk inside the room, and his brow softened slightly.
Buratsuta was overjoyed.
He had originally been worried that the aggressive young master of the Cecil family wouldn’t be willing to release the striker he had promised to Itoshi, but now, both goals had been achieved.
Watching the happy expression of the person before him, Icarus said out of the blue, “It’s not free of charge.”
“Of course, of course.” Buratsuta replied quickly, then tested the waters, “Then, the match date?”
“It’s not that I’m trying to urge you, but since Blue Lock is so confident, I presume they can replace the current national team at any time,” the cunning Buratsuta said intentionally.
Icarus looked at the person before him using such a crude goading method and laughed coldly. Under Buratsuta’s gaze where he was gritting his teeth while forced to keep smiling he said, “Fine, then let’s make it in half a month.”
It just so happened that Yukimiya Kenyu’s eyes would be mostly recovered by then.
Separated by a wall, Itoshi Sae turned his toes and headed in the direction he had come from. His agent lowered his voice and asked nervously behind him, “Weren’t there still things to ask? Why are you leaving?”
“No need to ask anymore.”
“Alright…”
Itoshi Sae’s pace was fast, and the agent hurried to trot after him.
Just as the two figures disappeared around the corner, Icarus, having finished the discussion, pushed open the door with Yuan. Icarus only caught a flash of bean-colored hair at the end of the corridor.
In the room, watching the back of Icarus as he left, Buratsuta gritted his teeth angrily.
Disdaining the Japan Football Association will come at a price. Half a month from now, I will humiliate your Blue Lock before the eyes of the entire Japanese nation. I’ll send you back to Spain in disgrace, carrying the weight of shame, and then I’ll tell everyone that anyone who dares to interfere with their association will pay a heavy price!
…
Icarus returned to Blue Lock and found Ego Jinpachi.
“It’s done, half a month from now.”
As soon as he entered the room, Icarus expertly found himself a seat, looking at Ego Jinpachi, who had a steaming bowl of instant noodles in front of him, and sighed helplessly.
“Instant noodles again? As the head coach, you are always the one taking the lead in eating such unhealthy things.”
“It’s fine as long as the athletes eat healthily.” Ego Jinpachi didn’t care at all; in high spirits, he broke apart a pair of chopsticks and slurped down a mouthful.
“If you want, I could have Yuan prepare a serving for you, too.” Preparing one serving is preparing, preparing two is also preparing.
“No need.” Ego Jinpachi’s eyes, squinted in satisfaction, were hidden behind his lenses, “It seems you are very satisfied with the results of the talk.”
“That’s right. The next target is the national team.” Icarus briefly described the deal he had made with Buratsuta.
“This was originally your goal, wasn’t it? Now you have others begging you to participate; truly a smart businessman.”
“Not at all, you flatter me,” Icarus said modestly.
“In this regard, you are indeed very much like your brother.”
“Is that so?” Icarus changed the subject. “They wanted Shidou Ryusei, and I agreed.”
“That’s truly rare. You actually agreed to send out a striker cultivated by Blue Lock?”
“It’s not sending him out, just for a match.” Icarus was dazed for a moment. “After all, this was that midfielder’s request.”
“Someone you know?”
“Not at all. It seems to be Itoshi Rin’s brother.”
“Oh. It’s your decision.” Ego Jinpachi didn’t care. “You are the biggest financial backer of this project. Naturally, you have the right to decide the stay or departure of every player.”
“It’s not just because of this reason. Shidou Ryusei currently cannot cooperate well with anyone in Blue Lock.” Icarus frowned. “During the adaptability training selection, I don’t even know how many times he’s fought with Itoshi Rin.”
Icarus still remembered the bandage on Itoshi Rin’s face the time he met him in the corridor.
“Not to mention Itoshi Rin, can he cooperate with anyone? Although for a striker, all that matters is being able to score, 1+1 doesn’t equal 2, it even equals 0.5… For such a person, at least for now, I cannot let him participate in the match against the national team; at most, he can be a surprise wild card.”
“And based on my observations during this period, unfortunately, there isn’t a single midfielder in Blue Lock who can use this wild card properly.”
“Since we can’t use him, what harm is there in giving him to the other side?” Icarus smiled slightly. “After all, if the opponent is too boring, that would be meaningless and wouldn’t serve the purpose of being a whetstone.”
“That’s very much your style.” Ego Jinpachi evaluated.
There was one more sentence he refrained from saying.
Icarus, you are becoming more and more like your brother.