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Though Kaoru’s performance had been rather impressive, Hiro held some doubts regarding his selection previously. But at this moment, he felt genuinely happy for him.

A subtle smile adorned his visage as he heard the announcement.

‘So, you’ve made it’

He thought while looking at him.

Kaoru on the other hand had a look of disbelief on his face. It appeared that he was having trouble processing the news.

However, it wasn’t just him who had the look of disbelief. Many other players on the field were equally stunned at the announcement.

Just how did he get selected?

Sure, his performance had been impressive. But he was already nearing his thirties. In this generation of fast-paced games, he paled.

Though his defending seemed rather impeccable, he was slow and inflexible.

So against all those speedy ball-playing defenders, how did this old man come out on top?

Their prejudice was mainly because he played in the second division. It had nothing to do with his ability. After all, despite the progressing gameplay, a defender’s main responsibility is to defend. What use would a defender be if he can’t defend properly?

Sure, ball-playing speedy defenders had taken over the game presently due to the increasing intensity of the matches. But traditional defenders were still sought after even in this era of modern defenders.

Awareness, defending, and courage.

Any defender who possesses these abilities can be regarded as a top-notch defender. And though Kaoru might not possess other abilities of a modern defender, he possessed all those qualities.

There was no doubt about his defending abilities.

After enough celebration as he came to his senses, he immediately apologized to the coach for his unresponsive attitude. It wasn’t his intention to ignore his calls. But the excitement had simply outweighed him.

Nervously, he glanced in the direction of Hiro.

One of the major factors leading to this moment was Hiro’s help. If not for his help, he might not have succeeded. Hiro had gone out of his way to help him. After the regular training

session, he had helped him individually by dueling against him.

From their past exchange, he had learned a lot from him.

But it wasn’t all because of Hiro either. Though he had helped him, if not for his attitude toward learning, it might not have been possible. After all, he was way older than Hiro. So precisely because he put his ego aside and kept his mind open, he was able to develop.

It was his attitude toward learning that had allowed him to grow exponentially in such a short period. If he had rejected the criticism from Hiro simply because he was older than him then he might not have grown into the player he was today.

As he turned to look at him with eyes full of appreciation their eyes locked.

Hiro nodded his head as he raised his thumb, giving him a thumbs up.

While the two were silently exchanging gestures of appreciation, Coach Nanami proceeded to announce the names of other players.

‘Just what did the coach even see in him?’

‘If such a slow player can be selected then why shouldn’t I be selected?’

Though there were players who appreciated his effort and dedication some players in the pitch right now were burning with envy.

The more the announcement drew to an end the more they grew envious. It was to the point that they subconsciously started blaming him for their elimination.

‘Has the coach gone senile selecting such second-division rubbish instead of a first-rate player like me?’

They had nothing but hatred against him.

Yet while all those malevolent thoughts were swirling inside their head they maintained a smile on their face outwardly. It was as if they were happy for him.

If only one could read mind. Alas! Kaoru was too generous to suspect. Having shared the same pitch and place for almost a week, he had bonded well with other players.

At first, he was pretty reserved. But as days passed and other players began to open up, a sense of camaraderie grew in the team.

Or that’s what he thought.

However, it was merely a facade.

The sweet talks, laughter, and many of the exchanges they had were merely a facade to fulfill their selfish desire.

A lamb separated from the herd is the first one to get devoured.

As the announcement proceeded further, many players’ faces turned unsightly from envy. Rather than analyzing their shortcomings, they blamed the coaching staff for poor decisions and envied those who got selected.

Hiro on the other hand was genuinely happy for those who got selected.

If one followed the progress of the players in recent days, it wasn’t hard to figure out the players that had the greater probability to get selected. And Hiro who had closely monitored the performance of a few of the players close to him had somewhat guessed the players.

Though he couldn’t keep tabs on everyone, he had kept tabs on those who had shown remarkable growth in this limited period.

Finally, he was called as well.

“Takahashi Hiro, Kenji Fujimoto,…..”

Even though he had expected him to make it to the team when he heard his name called out, his heart skipped a beat nonetheless.

An intense feeling of elation welled inside his heart, making his heart beat faster. At the same time, he felt light for some reason. It was almost as if something heavy had been lifted off of

his body.

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“Let’s go, Kiddo,” Kenji who was standing close to him said with a subtle smile on his face.

Nodding his head, he responded with a smile before proceeding to step forward to join the players that had been selected.

As for the reaction of the crowd, it was rather mixed.

Most of them had almost expected him to make it to the team. So, it wasn’t much surprising

for them to hear his name.

While few contorted their face disdainfully. A look of disdain flashed on their faces as they sneered inside their heart.

They weren’t happy about his selection.

Though they had expected him to make it to the team, it wasn’t a pleasant experience for those of them who held a grudge against him to witness his success.