"Move."

The team decided to organise a training match. The coach agreed, but Ren was to be on the bench. He was to sit on the bench and collect data on the players and wait for his moment to enter.

"Five on five, boys!" said the coach.

Both teams were organised into teams of 5 players.

The players of the first team:

Striker: Arata Hoshino

Right wing: Kiyora Ikeda

Left wing: Izawa Hanji

Defensive midfielder: Aizawa Shiba

Goalkeeper: Araki Ozwyn

Players of the 2nd team:

Striker: Hikari Ryuu

Right wing: Itsuki Minato

Left wing: Takumi Shun

Defensive midfielder/playmaker: Tetsuya Otsuka

Goalkeeper: Taro Seiji

All the teams were ready. And the game started with the coach's whistle. Arata's team was the first to start the game. Arata threw the ball to Kiyora as soon as he started:

"Yes, yes! Let's see how you've improved!" he said excitedly.

With a quick dribble, he passed Hikari in front of him with a cross-legged swipe.

"Oh my god! She's so fast! He passed me before I even saw the tackle!" reacted Hikari.

Kiyora headed to the right side, just near the corner post, and passed a rabona pass inwards.Arata jumped up to head the ball, but Tetsuya saw where the ball was going and played a perfect pass into the distance:

"Ehh, come on. You think I can't cut it?" said Tetsuya sarcastically. Ren was watching the match admiringly from the bench.

"I want to play, too!" Ren said to himself.

Takumi Shun was the one who controlled Tetsuya's perfect pass.Takumi Shun was a left wing player in the starting line-up.Now he was trying to keep his place.He controlled Tetsuya's pass and brought it down. "Come on, shall we start?" said Takumi with a red aura. "Well, guys, can't you keep up?" said Takumi. He passed all the players one by one. He almost got a shooting angle. He moved a little more to the centre. And he shot. But at the last moment, Arata came forward and interfered a little. The ball hit the crossbar.

"Takumi, I have to admit, you've improved, but you need to watch your surroundings. You know we need your speed and agility," said Arata.

"Alright, I'll take that into consideration, but Arata, there's something I want to ask you." replied Takumi.

"What kind of player is that new kid who came to the team?"

Arata looked towards Ren and replied:

"Takumi, listen. That kid has a lot of potential. He can beat you, even me. He didn't hesitate even once when he played with me face to face. I'm going to develop him and use him for the team."

Takumi didn't say anything. A corner was taken. It was Itsuki Minato who took the corner. Itsuki Minato was known for his ability to curl the ball very well. They even gave him a nickname. "Japan's Quaresma."

Itsuki took the corner. He got close to the ball and hit it hard. But it didn't look like a pass. It was a shot. It was a perfect curve towards the goal. Just as it was going to be a goal, Kiyora tried to clear it away. But Hikari scored the first goal with a perfect header. It was 1-0. The coach looked at Ren and said:

"This is our "Raijin United". Ren, listen well, son. If Arata's team makes a comeback and makes it 2-1, I'll put you in."

Ren was overjoyed. He was praying for Arata to score. Arata saw him from the side and smiled. The ball was put into the centre. "Good goal, Hikari." said Arata. The game restarted. Arata threw the ball to Kiyora again as soon as it started, but Kiyora threw it back to Arata. And Arata started running towards the goal with the ball. "Huh?! Is he planning to go alone?" said Ren to himself.Arata first overtook Hikari with a Rainbow Flick.It was a long way to the goal.After Arata passed Hikari, he started to pass the other players. "Tremendous..." said Ren to himself.Arata passed all the players and was alone with the goalkeeper.He scored his goal by beating the goalkeeper.It was 1-1. "This must be the "Arata's storm"..." said Ren with admiration.

"Arata, you're great, but pass the ball, man, you dummy!" Kiyora said to Arata with a laugh. "Good goal, mate." said Tetsuya, smiling at Ren:

"This is the Raijin team, nobody gives up. Arata tries better every time. That's why I always play him as a striker."

"Great! The score is 1-1. If Arata's team scores another goal, I'm going in!"

After Arata scored, he celebrated by looking at Ren.The game restarted.Hikari threw the ball towards Tetsuya.Tetsuya immediately started analysing good passing routes.At that moment, Kiyora was pressing him.Just as he was about to receive the ball, Tetsuya passed Kiyora with a cross-leg tackle. "That was close." "That was close." he breathed. And he chose the best place to pass, and with the outside of his foot, he saw the gap on the right side and threw a pass. No one could stop it. Itsuki was the one who controlled the pass. "Come on, Tetsuya, I'm better off my feet. But that wasn't bad." Itsuki stopped the ball right next to the corner flag. As soon as he stopped, the other players started to press.Itsuki calmly started to move the ball on his foot.The players were confused.Then Itsuki passed between the 2 players with quick step-overs, pulled the ball to the left and shot a perfect shot with the outside of his foot. This shot was travelling very fast. The ball was like a bullet. And just as it was going to be a goal, Izawa got to the ball and stopped the goal. And he immediately threw the ball as far as he could. "Ahh, damn it. I hit it so well." Itsuki thought. The ball was heading for the other goal. The goalkeeper stepped forward to receive the ball, and tried to head the ball away. The goal was empty. Arata saw that the goal was empty, and immediately jumped up in the air for a kick. "This goal...for you Ren." he said, and hit the ball very hard from a distance. The ball hit the crossbar and scored.Arata fell to the ground. Everybody froze in front of this lake. Everybody ran towards Arata:

"Dude, you're the best!"

"Why don't you do it in a real match, slack!"

"Dude, that was really, really cool."

Arata quietly started to walk towards Ren. He approached Ren and said quietly:

"You can come on now, Ren. Let's see what you can do. Coach, I'm out. Put Ren on as a striker instead of me."

The coach agreed.Arata sat on the bench.Ren put on his jersey.His number was 33. "The blue jersey suits you, Ren." Arata tried to cheer tiredly.Ren got ready and came on. "Let's see what you can do, Ren takamura?" the coach whispered to himself.

The game would restart from the centre. It was 2-1. Kiyora approached Ren:

"Relax, mate, pass it to me and run forward."

Ren just nodded.And the other team started the game.Hikari passed the ball to Takumi.Takumi and Tetsuya started to play close.Takumi passed the ball to Tetsuya.Tetsuya came face to face with Ren. "Let's go.Let's go!" said Tetsuya.He thought he could easily get past Ren with quick step-overs.But what was that? Instead of looking at Tetsuya, Ren was just looking at his feet. He was following his feet. "Sorry Ren, but it's futile." he said, stepping forward. As he tried to pull the ball to the right, Ren took the ball off his foot:

"This is it, isn't it, Tetsuya?"

Tetsuya was surprised:

"Ohh, not bad Ren. As Arata said, you're very clever. Show me your skills."

Ren started to move forward.He faced Tetsuya using a body feint. "This must be the perfect body feint that Arata was talking about.It's really as good as he said." Tetsuya said to himself.But just as he was thinking about it, he realised that Ren wasn't there.While he was thinking about it, Ren had already passed him. "This kid...Legend!" the others shouted.After Ren passed Tetsuya, he threw the ball to Kiyora.Kiyora controlled the ball fantastically:

"You're good, Ren. I'll send this serve back to you. FIRE!"

Ren started to run in front of the goal. Kiyora started to dribble. He came face to face with Itsuki. And he passed him. As soon as he passed Itsuki, he threw the ball to Aizawa in the centre. Aizawa controlled the ball and raised his head. He looked around. Meanwhile, Tetsuya took advantage of this and took the ball from Aizawa's foot. "Shit, there's hardly anybody back there!" the team panicked.Tetsuya sprinted towards the goal, faced the goalkeeper and hit a shot.The ball was heading towards the goal.Just as the goal was about to be scored, Ren Takamura was the one who stopped the ball. "What, how?! But you were in front!" Tetsuya reacted in surprise. "Oh, I don't know." Ren replied. Tetsuya reacted in surprise but said nothing. The game continued. Ren threw the ball away to the left wing. Izawa controlled the ball and, seeing the space, threw the ball to Kiyora from a very narrow angle. Kiyora saw Hikari slipping and lifted the ball into the air. "That was close, Hikari. That was close!" Tetsuya said as he shot a volley in the air. The goalkeeper touched the ball as it was heading towards the bottom and it went airborne. "Ahh, shit. That was close." Suddenly the whole place went silent. It was as if something was approaching. Tetsuya was about to jump into the air when he saw Ren levitating next to him. Ren was almost soulless. His aura was very heavy. It was as if it wasn't Ren. He looked at Tetsuya:

"Move." he said in a cold voice. And he hit a perfect volley in the air. It was 3-1. And that's where the coach ended the game. Arata's team won. Everyone jumped on Ren:

"Dude, that was awesome!!!"

"Teach me, Ren!"

Ren was so happy. Tetsuya was on the ground looking at Ren tiredly. "What the hell was that, is this kid really that good? He's not even developed yet."

Hikari moved closer to Tetsuya. "There's something really pure about that kid. But I haven't figured it out yet. But if he develops, he could be one of the best strikers."

Everyone went to the locker room. Arata approached Ren in the locker room and asked:

"Ren, what was in your mind when you scored the last goal?"

"Nothing. It was like I was in a deep ocean, but I was very calm. I just saw the ball go up in the air and started running. I don't remember anything after that."

"Hmm, that's weird. But... congratulations mate. The coach will take note of your performance. Even I wouldn't have thought of that last goal!"

The whole team was singing Ren's praises. Tetsuya moved closer to Ren:

"I really underestimated you, Ren. You win. I'm your friend from now on. Share your information with me."

Kiyora came forward:

"Count me in! I want Ren's information too!"

Ren laughed and shared his information.It was already evening.Ren saw Arata waiting for him on a motorbike as he left the school gate.Arata saw Ren:

"Heeey, Ren. Come on, I'll give you a lift home."

Ren got on the back of the motorbike and they set off.Arata took Ren home. "See you tomorrow, Ren.I expect better performances from you.And before I forget, let me give you these. "Arata took out some papers from his bag.These were training programmes. "If you follow these, you will be healthier, Ren." Ren took the papers and expressed his gratitude.

What events awaited Ren in the days to come?