Hello dear readers, I am the author, and I am new to the platform.
I hope you are enjoying my story so far.
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Defeat now seemed like the appropriate fate for Matsukaze.
Haise Sasaki continued stealing the ball with ease while Matsukaze’s players, so used to depending on Kira to push the game forward, were beginning to completely lose the rhythm of the match.
Their passes were filled with hesitation, and their movement had become sluggish.
And worst of all, their promising star looked defeated.
Kira watched Haise from a distance while slowly clenching his fists.
For the first time in a long while, he couldn’t see any way to turn the game around.
‘So you gave up, huh…’ Haise thought for a brief moment while advancing with the ball under control.
‘As expected.
Someone who considers himself special was never truly special.’
FOOSH!
Haise accelerated once again.
A Matsukaze player desperately tried to stop him, but Haise simply carried the ball forward before crossing one leg behind the other.
TOC!
The ball slipped through the defender’s legs in a perfect rabona nutmeg.
The crowd instantly reacted to the humiliating dribble.
“Still haven’t learned?” Haise said calmly while passing by the player.
“Stop embarrassing yourselves… and just get out of the way.”
He reached the ball again without even slowing down.
But this time, two figures appeared blocking his path.
Tsurugi and Kazuma.
“Never!” Tsurugi answered immediately.
“For the sake of this team… we’re stopping you!” Kazuma added while closing the space beside him.
The two stood firmly in front of Haise despite feeling that crushing pressure coming from him.
They were Kira’s partners.
The players who supported Matsukaze’s movements, passing sequences, and offensive buildup.
Even after witnessing that overwhelming difference, they were still trying to fight.
Haise silently observed the two while blue flames burned around him.
Then Tsurugi clenched his teeth and shouted backward:
“So this is why Kira always stands back up!”
Kazuma’s eyes widened slightly upon hearing that.
“We’re going to beat this guy!” Tsurugi continued.
Kira slowly raised his gaze.
His eyes fixed on the backs of the two players trying to stop Haise Sasaki despite knowing just how monstrous he was.
“You’re the Treasure of Japanese Football, aren’t you?”
A voice seemed to echo inside his mind.
In front of Kira, a figure slowly appeared.
It was himself.
Or something close to it.
More like an inverted version of himself.
Its body carried pale white colors, while its eyes were completely black, with white pupils glowing in an unsettling way.
The other Kira looked down at him while a provocative smile formed on his face.
“You’re giving up just like that?” the reverse version said calmly.
“Just because someone better appeared in front of you and surpassed you?”
Kira stared downward in silence.
The stadium’s screams now sounded distant.
Everything around him felt muffled.
“Stop being pathetic and stand back up,” the reverse continued while slowly walking toward him.
“Your team needs you.”
Kira’s eyes trembled slightly.
Then he grabbed the grass tightly.
His fingers dug into the field while his teeth clenched violently.
The image of Haise tearing through the entire team alone kept replaying in his mind—his dribbles, steals, goals, and the monstrous pressure he radiated.
“But…” Kira murmured, his voice slightly shaking.
“How do I beat… that monster?”
For a moment, there was silence.
Kira’s reverse self continued smiling in front of him while the stadium seemed to disappear around them.
THUMP!
A hand pierced through the chest of the figure standing before Kira.
The Matsukaze forward’s eyes widened.
The illusion of the reverse Kira slowly began dissolving into white smoke, revealing the true person behind him.
Haise Sasaki.
Violet eyes filled with black spirals stared coldly at Kira.
“Ah…” Haise murmured while slightly tilting his head.
“A cockroach.”
The cruel voice pierced through Kira like a blade, carving itself into his flesh with force.
But even worse than that was the fact that Haise completely lost interest in him immediately afterward.
As if Kira wasn’t even worthy of his attention.
Haise simply looked away.
Then he lifted the ball with his left leg.
TOC!
The ball rose perfectly into the air.
Without hesitation, Haise pulled his right leg back.
BOOOOM!
He struck an absurdly fast volley.
The ball tore through the 25 meters between Haise and the goal like a gunshot before violently smashing into the back of the net.
GOOOOOAL!
Shotoku [5] – [0] Matsukaze
The stadium exploded once again.
Shotoku’s supporters screamed in madness while Matsukaze’s players remained frozen in absolute shock.
PIIIII!
The whistle echoed throughout the entire stadium.
The first half was over.
Matsukaze’s players practically stopped where they stood on the field, several of them breathing heavily while staring at the glowing scoreboard above the stadium.
The difference was overwhelming.
Meanwhile, Haise calmly walked off the field beneath the insane screams of Shotoku’s supporters.
The blue flames around his body had already disappeared, but the pressure he had created throughout the entire first half still seemed to linger in the air.
“Damn…” Haise murmured while running a hand through his hair and sighing.
“I showed off too much.”
He casually brushed his white hair back, revealing purple roots hidden beneath the albino strands.
His expression seemed slightly irritated.
As if those five goals weren’t even the main issue.
The moment he stepped off the pitch, Haise grabbed a towel and a bottle of water without paying much attention to his surroundings.
But then, he came face-to-face with his coach.
The man stood in front of him with an extremely unpleasant expression while letting out an exaggerated scoff, clearly irritated about something.
Haise slightly raised an eyebrow.
“Huh? What is it?”
he asked before opening the water bottle.
The coach merely pointed toward the locker room hallway.
“We need to talk.”
The silence that followed felt strangely threatening.
Meanwhile, up in the stands, a strange man silently watched the field.
He wore square glasses, had dark eyes, and black bowl-cut hair.
His neck was abnormally long, while an elegant black coat covered most of his body alongside dark pants and… black Crocs.
The figure stood out completely from everyone else present in the stadium.
Then he calmly began walking down the stadium steps.
“Come on, Anri-chan.”
Beside him, a brown-haired woman followed while wearing a confused expression.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
The man continued walking without even looking back, a small smile forming on his face.
“To pick up our genius.”
…
“Huh…?”
Haise looked at the coach with a completely incredulous expression.
“What do you mean… I’m out?”
The locker room hallway fell silent for a few seconds.
The distant sound of the crowd could still be heard from the stadium, but at that moment it felt incredibly far away.
The coach slowly ran a hand over his bald head while maintaining a stiff, complicated expression.
His face showed irritation, but also a certain discomfort.
“The team committee decided this,” he answered dryly.
“I warned you about your selfish attitude. I told you to stop with these solo goals and start working with the team.”
Haise kept staring at him, unable to believe what he was hearing.
“What’s the point of teamwork if they can’t even keep up with me?” he shot back immediately.
“And why exactly are you complaining? We’re winning, aren’t we?”
His logic was simple.
Shotoku was crushing Matsukaze.
He alone had completely destroyed the match.
But instead of responding rationally, the coach’s expression only worsened.
“Kid…” he began while clenching his fists.
“Football is about profit and gains.”
Haise’s eyes slowly narrowed.
“We have an agreement with the JFU.”
At that instant, something inside him seemed to turn ice-cold.
“And that’s it,” the coach continued coldly.
“You didn’t follow the agreement, so it’s over.”
Haise’s eyes widened.
“You people…”
“Yes,” the coach confirmed without hesitation.
“No more sponsorship. No more support for your pathetic orphanage. And no more scholarship.”
Each word hit Haise like a punch.
“In other words…” the coach concluded harshly.
“You’re expelled from the team and the school.”
A heavy silence took over the entire hallway.
BAAAM!
The coach violently crashed onto the floor.
Blood immediately began pouring from his nose while a tooth rolled across the hallway tiles.
Haise breathed heavily, his body trembling slightly with rage.
He grabbed the coach by the collar and brutally pulled him closer to his face.
His violet eyes were now completely distorted by fury.
“Am I…” Haise growled through clenched teeth, “…just your tool or something?!”
The coach’s eyes widened in shock as he grabbed Haise’s arm.
“To use…” Haise continued, his voice shaking with hatred.
“And then throw away once I’m no longer useful?!”
The pressure behind his voice was suffocating.
Years playing football.
Years carrying that team alone.
Years of winning matches, training until his body nearly broke, and destroying opponents just to keep everything functioning.
And now, all of that was being discarded like trash.
Just because he refused to follow the script they wanted.
Haise tightened his grip on the coach’s collar even more.
“So that’s what this was?” he asked as an empty smile slowly formed on his face.
“I score goals, make you people win, turn this team into champions…”
Blue flames slowly began appearing around him once again.
“And in the end…” his eyes trembled slightly, “…all you wanted was to control the way I play?”
Haise stared at the coach for a few seconds while the man trembled lightly on the ground.
Fear now filled his eyes.
The same man who had spoken with authority and strictness could no longer even hold Haise’s gaze properly.
That alone made the Shotoku forward lose all interest.
Slowly, Haise loosened his grip on the collar.
Releasing the coach, who fell back onto the floor clumsily while breathing heavily.
Haise looked down at him in silence.
Then his face twisted in pure disgust.
“Disgusting.”
Haise slowly wiped his hand on his own uniform as if he had touched something filthy.
Then he grabbed his Shotoku jersey by the collar—and tore it off without hesitation.
The fabric landed over the coach’s face in the next instant.
“If that’s how it is…” Haise began while looking down at him.
“Then enjoy your mediocre wannabes.”
The hallway fell completely silent.
In that moment, Haise finally understood.
Neither Shotoku nor the JFU cared about real football.
It was all interest, control, and profit.
That was why they wanted to use him—control him at their convenience.
To turn someone special into nothing more than a useful piece inside their system.
And that…
Was disgusting.
The blue flames around Haise slowly disappeared as he took a deep breath, controlling his own rage.
Because in that instant, he realized something: they didn’t even deserve his anger.
“I’m not giving you anything anymore,” his voice calmly echoed through the corridor.
Then Haise turned his back.
Turning away from Shotoku.
From the JFU, and everything they represented.
His footsteps echoed slowly as he walked into the dark corridor without ever looking back again.
He would never blend into that filth—not after realizing how comfortably they lived in it.
Clap, clap, clap!
When Haise was about to leave the stadium, already far from the pitch and locker rooms, his steps slowed as he noticed someone standing at the entrance of the main corridor.
A strange man.
Very strange.
He wore square glasses, had a bowl-cut of black hair, and an unnaturally long neck covered by an elegant black coat.
But what truly stood out was his smile.
It was wide—abnormally so.
The grin stretched almost to the edges of his face, forming something unsettling, almost monstrous.
Beside him stood a brown-haired woman in formal secretary attire, holding several folders while observing Haise with quiet curiosity.
“Hello, genius.”
The man’s voice echoed calmly through the corridor.
Even Haise instinctively stepped back slightly upon seeing that terrifying smile.
His violet eyes narrowed immediately.
“…And who are you?”
The man placed his hands in his pockets as his grin seemed to widen even further.
“Your savior.” The answer came without hesitation.
“But you can call me Jinpachi Ego. Now prepare yourself… Incipient Genius.”
“Huh…?”
For the first time since everything with Shotoku, Haise showed genuine confusion.
The woman beside Ego quietly sighed, already used to his strange behavior.
But Ego continued walking slowly toward Haise, his eyes gleaming behind his glasses.
“You’ve been selected for Version 1.0 of the project that will create the world’s best striker.”
Haise’s eyes trembled slightly.
Ego then stopped right in front of him.
The monstrous smile remained carved into his face.
“Be proud,” Ego said, his voice dropping lower.
“Genius of Adaptation.”
“That rebellion of yours… has already borne fruit straight from the Garden of Eden.”
NEXT CHAPTER → Garden of Eden