Dynasty Awakening: Building My Own Football Empire-Chapter 253: Garden of Pain
Yet before he could speak up about his beloved worm Gary, Kenji Sato came over and grabbed a hold of Vladimirโs massive bicep, putting a small amount of pressure on a specific nerve cluster with his expensive thumb. ๐ฏ๐ง๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ๐ค๐๐ฎ๐ต.๐๐ค๐ข
"Fuck!" Vladimir yelped in pain, not expecting such a sharp sensation from such a small man.
"Are you trying to kill me!?" He yelled out, backing away defensively and shielding his potted plant.
Kenji shook his head, adjusting his silk tie. "Iโm a billionaire shark, I would never purposefully damage an asset. I only put a tiny bit of pressure on your pressure point, you should try it yourself to see if Iโm lying."
Although wary, Vladimir eventually did as he was told, pressing the spot on his own arm and almost crying out in pain again.
"W-Whatโs happening?" He stammered, feeling all sorts of confused. "Why does my arm hate me?"
"You need to give up on the โBear Hugโ defense, Vladimir. From what I can tell, you havenโt been using your size properly which is why youโre only feeling sympathy for the strikers. Your mind is not ruthless enough to sustain a title charge." Kenji explained, being as straight-forward as possible.
"But how will we win if I donโt catch them gently? My legs arenโt fast enough to chase Son Heung-min if I miss." Vladimir complained. He had tried tackling hard before, yet the Bear Hug was the only move that felt natural to his gentle soul.
Kenji let out a sigh, lamenting at how soft footballers were these days compared to corporate raiders. "Have you heard about the โHidden Thornโ technique?" He asked.
"Hidden Thorn?" Vladimir tilted his head in confusion, his beard twitching.
Even Michael felt the term was foreign. Having no knowledge of dirty fighting styles, Michaelโs interest was piqued, causing him to lean a little closer.
"Show me how you hold the striker when a corner kick comes in." Kenji directed.
Vladimir did as he was told, wrapping his massive arms around the air as if he was hugging a giant teddy bear.
"Okay, thatโs what we call a โFriendly Giantโ hold. This grip allows for the most safety and warmth, however, it is predictable and lacks intimidation."
Kenji reached forward and moved Vladimirโs hand, turning the fingers inward so the knuckles were digging forward. He then took a step back and explained.
"This is the โHidden Thornโ. Not only can it be used to hold your ground, the pressure of the knuckles on the opponentโs ribs causes them to move erratically away from you. If you use these subtle digs effectively, you wonโt need to learn to be mean before your heart has fully hardened."
Michaelโs eyes lit up. He had never really paid attention to the micro-movements of wrestling in the box when he was managing, something that did not make him very proud at this moment. This was probably the reason why some of his defenders conceded stupid fouls, while the elite ones got away with murder.
Vladimir stared at his own hand for a little while, yet he didnโt seem too convinced. What kind of difference would changing the position of his knuckles really do?
Kenji could see that the giant wouldnโt accept things so easily, so he directed him to try it on a test dummy.
Diego Nunez got into position and waited for the "challenge" to come his way. He of course trusted his new billionaire mentor, so he had plenty of time to brace himself as he ran at Vladimir.
Vladimir blinked a few times after making contact, not believing what had just happened. His usually soft embrace felt like a steel trap as his knuckles dug into Diegoโs side, causing the Bull to yelp and bounce off him.
As he defended with his right arm, he noticed that Diego slid towards the ground just before reaching the ball. If he could add this "Thorn" into his arsenal, it should be just as effective as his height.
"Wow! That hurts like fuck! Thank you Mr. Kenji!" Diego bounded over, the excitement palpable in his features despite the red mark on his ribs.
Kenji waved him off, yet his true feelings were plastered on his face in the form of a boastful, rich smile.
"Now, the next part will probably be the hardest." His face turned serious as he addressed Vladimir.
The giantโs expression darkened, yet he nodded. Now that Michaelโs boss had identified what was wrong with him and even given him a new weapon to his arsenal, he had decided to follow whatever he was going to say next.
"No more gardening until the next game." Kenji said flatly, yet his tone was stern.
"Oh... Sure thatโs fine." Vladimir replied positively.
"Ah... Ahem. Good, very good. Iโll also give you a โmental fertilizerโ book to read which will help increase the strength and flexibility of your killer instinct." Kenji continued.
He had been so sure that Vladimir would object to his request to stop gardening that he had prepared many ways of convincing him, including buying a greenhouse company to bribe him. Yet it turned out that not all Misfits were rash and disobedient like a certain bald someone used to be.
Kenji turned his gaze to Michael who shuddered unconsciously in response. A sudden feeling of guilt crept into his bones for some unknown reason, thinking about how he almost drugged Vladimirโs water with the Adrenaline Elixir, but it quickly disappeared when his friend smiled at him warmly.
โWhat the hell? The guilt I felt from my dark thoughts just overcame me for a moment.โ Michael thought inwardly, before shaking his head and trying to remove the lingering feelings.
His owner took Vladimir through the "Thorn" regime and even had a copy of The Art of War that he had autographed the night before. Michael appreciated how thorough and professional his billionaire friend was, complimenting him inwardly.
After another hour, they finally went their separate ways.
The week flew by, particularly with Kenji being home and having some time off from buying satellites. The trio went to the tactical room a couple of times and Kenji was shocked with the sudden improvement from Michaelโs planning.
Compared to the first time he had watched them this year, Michael was like a whole different manager. Diego had also improved by leaps and bounds, especially since his body had started absorbing the "Thorn" philosophy properly.
The "family" made the most of Kenji being off work, eating meals and going out for expensive sushi together.
The days passed like this until the Premier League fixtures for the weekend were confirmed.
Barnsley had gotten lucky and was given a late Sunday kickoff, meaning they had made it through the recovery week without even having to rush. They would play against Tottenham Hotspur, the team currently sitting in 4th place.
If he had been playing the old defensive style, Michael might have confidence in getting through this fixture with a draw, but he would have to rely on Vladimir to take the reins of the defense. As long as they could limit Son Heung-minโs runs, the Zone of Chaos would do the rest.
"Okay, the game is on later this week. Iโll be releasing the starting lineup tomorrow so this is your last chance to impress me." Michael spoke up, getting the attention of his players in the locker room.
"Yes Boss!"
Vladimir and Diego separated, but not before bumping fists. The two had rarely trained together at full intensity now that Vladimir had been banned from his garden. However, Michael was not worried.
It was for the benefit of the team if Vladimir, a future world-class defender, was moved to his prime mindset sooner rather than later.
With the game coming up this week, Michael targeted some game specific scenarios rather than just honing everyoneโs skills. For this, Michael was on the touchline while he instructed the reserves to press high.
Due to his True Vision skill and his sharp eyes, Michael was perfectly able to catch the fatigue levels of every player on the field. After around 10 minutes of this, Michael switched to a โSon Heung-min counterโ scenario.
The goal was to go for an offside trap by stepping up at the halfway line before sprinting back to cover the space.
This continued before more scenarios were added into the mix. The defensive team was sharp, possibly because a fire had been lit beneath them with the approach of the Tottenham match.
Michael seemed satisfied with the training and only put an end to the session after about an hour. Despite not really moving from his technical area, Michael was drenched in sweat thanks to the Yorkshire sun which bore down on himโor maybe it was the stress of knowing Son was coming.
The following day, Michael brought everyone into the media room. Today was the day that the starting lineup would be revealed. There were a few nervous faces, apart from the likes of Jamie Vardy and Sergio Ramos who had no real competition for their roles as legends.
Lorenzo Ricci seemed to be sweating bullets. Ever since Vladimir had been practicing the "Hidden Thorn," training had become a lot more painful, and Lorenzo had not been able to check his mirror. The Italian model seemed to be made for the position of right-back, but he hated the physical bruising.
Michael too was feeling nervous, casting his gaze over to Kaito Tanaka on the other side of the room. Kaito had long recovered from his sprint fatigue and had been performing well at training throughout the last couple of months.
"Okay," Michael said, looking at his notes. "Tottenham are fast. They are brave. They play a high line."
"Which means..." Diego Nunez interrupted, grinning.
"Which means we need speed," Michael confirmed. "And we need violence."
He looked at Vladimir. The giant was sitting quietly, his knuckles taped up.
"Vladimir," Michael said. "Are you ready to prune the weeds?"
Vladimir looked up. His eyes were different. They werenโt the soft eyes of a gardener anymore. They were the cold, calculating eyes of a man who had spent a week listening to a billionaire tell him how to crush his enemies.
"Yes Boss," Vladimir rumbled. "I have my shears ready."
