"Long live Liverpool!"
At this moment, Liverpool fans all over the world were roaring these words.
This night, Liverpool was sleepless.
The next day, at Liverpool's internal victory luncheon, the club immediately announced the distribution of bonuses. This season, Liverpool's broadcast revenue share from the Premier League was £150 million, followed closely by Manchester City and Chelsea. In the Champions League, as the champions, Liverpool received €111 million in prize money distribution, just behind Barcelona's €118 million. The Champions League prize money is calculated based on each club's UEFA coefficient, prize money from matches, and television broadcast shares.
From these two competitions alone, Liverpool had brought in nearly €300 million in revenue. Counting home ticket sales, merchandise, and so on, Liverpool's annual income was an astronomical figure.
In his joy, the Liverpool chairman added another bonus. The first team, coaching staff, youth academy, logistics, and commercial teams—all of Liverpool's staff—would share a €40 million bonus. As a first-team regular, Tendou received €2.45 million directly. In addition, there were the bonuses for the Premier League Golden Boot, the Champions League Golden Boot, and his image rights income. In just half a season, his income had reached a staggering €20 million.
Amidst the cheers and laughter, the victory banquet came to an end. Liverpool had finished all of their matches for the season. The players were on holiday.
...
Then, on June 16, 2019, the U20 World Cup final finally kicked off. The two teams facing each other were Japan and Ukraine.
This result did not surprise Tendou. The manga author might not dare to dream of the senior World Cup, but the World Youth Championship was not out of the question. Because the World Youth Championship represents a contest between the younger generations. And in the original world, the final this year was between South Korea and Ukraine. In other words, Japan had replaced South Korea. When Tendou browsed forums from the original world, he could still see translated comments from Korean websites. The Koreans, unsurprisingly, were all exploding with anger, cursing Japan for being shameless and stealing even the runner-up spot. But it was no use.
Under these circumstances, Tendou arrived at the venue for the World Youth Championship final. He didn't bring anyone with him; he came here alone. Because after today, he would be leaving this world.
In fact, he had already met the conditions for departure when he won the Champions League. He hadn't told Riko about this. After all, when he cleared this "dungeon," the time in this world would freeze upon his departure. Telling her would only add to her worries, and he didn't want this overly concerned woman to suspect he was building a harem across the multiverse and insist on coming with him!
...
Soon, the match began. The players from both sides entered the pitch. On the Japanese side, compared to their first match against Nigeria, the lineup had undergone quite a few changes. First, in midfield, Itoshi Sae had accepted his first call-up and provided a key assist in the match against Spain to help the team win. Then there was Nagi Seishiro. This man, who had been eliminated in the Neo Egoist League, had ultimately won the revival match and was selected for the national team. Like Itoshi Sae, he had become a member of the "rebel trio." If you had to say what had changed about him, it was that his egoism had been fully activated. In order to become the best in the world, he was now willing to help the rebels destroy Blue Lock. Of course, destroying Blue Lock now was impossible; Ego Jinpachi's results with the team were there for all to see. But that was the general idea.
The match started quickly. In the original world, the Ukrainian youth team had ultimately defeated the South Koreans 3-1. Their strength was beyond doubt. They had defeated many strong opponents in the knockout stages to reach the final. Therefore, from the very beginning of this match, both sides played with extreme intensity. For the first thirty minutes, they were locked in a fierce back-and-forth battle. The first goal didn't come until the 34th minute. The Ukrainian forward went one-on-one with the keeper, broke into the penalty area, and calmly slotted it past Gagamaru. The Japanese fans in the stadium let out a collective sigh.
But less than 3 minutes later, Isagi Yoichi received a pass from Itoshi Sae and scored. Although this process can be summarized in one sentence, when Tendou watched the anime, this single goal was stretched out over two entire episodes!!! With every action, Isagi's brain went through a frantic brainstorm. The content of his thoughts alone was enough to fill several pages.
1-1! The two teams returned to the locker room with the score tied.
Tendou also made a long-awaited appearance in front of everyone, making his presence felt.
"You guys look pathetic!"
"Tendou?!" The sudden voice made Isagi and the others turn their heads. After half a year, they were finally seeing Tendou face-to-face again.
"Unrelated personnel, please don't just walk in." Ego Jinpachi shot Tendou a sidelong glance. However, though he said that, he had no intention of kicking him out.
"Good thing I'm not unrelated personnel." Tendou chuckled as he closed the door and walked into the locker room.
Then, Ego Jinpachi began to explain the tactics for the second half and the adjustments to be made on the defensive end. Tendou listened quietly from the side. After Ego had finished, Tendou finally spoke to Isagi and the others.
Nothing special. Just the usual stuff about dreams, not giving up, and having to win. The content was unoriginal, but it would never be outdated. At certain moments, like standing on the stage of a final, these old-fashioned words could always lift people's spirits.
"It doesn't matter if you lose. After all, you're missing a new Champions League MVP, a Champions League Golden Boot winner, and a Premier League Golden Boot winner!" Tendou said with a smile, prodding the young men.
As expected, upon hearing his boasting, the group immediately fired back with fierce determination.
"We can win the title even without you!"
Then, the second half began. Tendou returned to the VIP box. Isagi's side, "encouraged" by Tendou, played with exceptional tenacity and determination in the second half. The two teams went from 1-1 all the way to 3-3. Just as people thought the match was heading into extra time, in the final minute of stoppage time, Itoshi Sae launched a counter-attack from midfield. Bachira Meguru, in the attacking midfield position, beat two players and passed the ball to Isagi. Then, something incredible happened. Itoshi Sae and Isagi engaged in a series of one-twos, tearing the opponent's entire defensive line to shreds. The two, who had always seen each other as rivals, were paradoxically the ones who knew each other best. Their telepathic combination ultimately resulted in Isagi scoring the match-winning goal.
4-3.
Japan had won the match, and had also won the 2019 World Youth Championship. Isagi and the group of young men celebrated wildly on the pitch. As they lifted the championship trophy, Tendou did not linger, silently choosing to leave.
He left the world of "Blue Lock."
...
After a dizzying spin, Tendou found that his body had become young again, around 15 or 16 years old. Looking around, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, suggesting that the new school year had just begun. Tendou looked at the school gate, where three large characters were carved: Kanagawa Prefectural Shohoku High School.
"Shohoku?"
"Slam Dunk?"
Tendou stood up and rolled his shoulders. He thought to himself, clearing this dungeon will be too easy. Just as he was about to walk around, a girl's voice sounded beside him. She said in surprise, "Wow, you're so tall, and your muscles are so firm. Are you an athlete?"
The familiar line instantly ignited a memory in his mind. Tendou already knew who it was. He nodded and said, "Yes."
She asked again, "Then, do you like basketball?"
Tendou was about to respond when, at that moment, a figure with bright red hair appeared. He roared, "Who the hell are you, get away from Haruko-san!" Without another word, he charged forward with a powerful headbutt.
Without even looking back, Tendou easily blocked it with his hand, grabbed his head, and slammed it into the wall beside them. After doing all this, Tendou smiled at Haruko Akagi and said, "I love basketball!"
At the same time, a large number of bullet comments appeared in Tendou's vision. A new batch of leeks had made their grand entrance.
And so, the story of the Shohoku delinquent army conquering the nation began. However, much like the original story, Shohoku's journey to the championship was extremely difficult. Not because the opponents were too strong, but because Tendou had discovered a new way to harvest leeks. Compared to completely dominating, a difficult, hot-blooded, united victory over an opponent would earn him more popularity points.
When Tendou discovered this new method of harvesting leeks, this dog of a man began to manipulate the games with his own unreasonable personal ability. And whenever Shohoku encountered a "crisis," he would step up and become the most hot-blooded savior, charging at the opponents while muttering things like "dreams," "promises," and "friendship." Shoyo, Ryonan, Kainan, Sannoh... they were all defeated by him in this way!
Of course, besides the victories, many other things also happened. For Tendou, the intensity of the Slam Dunk world was very low. But he was still very satisfied with this journey, and his harem had also gained a new member.
"Although it's great here, for me, it's still too easy."
...
The day after leading Shohoku to win the national championship, having cleared the dungeon, Tendou once again chose to leave silently. He was beginning to like this kind of life. Playing different roles, meeting characters he had only seen on screen, interacting with them, creating different stories, and experiencing one different life after another. It was very interesting!
...
After who knows how many worlds, on this day, Tendou returned to his own original world as he wished. Seeing his parents again, the toughest man in Liverpool couldn't control his tears. For a whole month, he stayed at home to take care of his parents and didn't go anywhere. Then, he began to think about his next step.
"Should I save the Chinese national football team first, or the basketball team?"
No one knew how strong he was now. But he knew that even leading that group of sea cucumber-eating guys to win the World Cup should be no problem.
Several more years passed. The national football team won the World Cup. The national basketball team won an Olympic gold medal. For a time, the whole world was in awe that such a valiant person could exist. But this god-like man came as quickly as he went. After winning the championships that the domestic fans had dreamed of and igniting the passion of the next generation, Tendou immediately announced his retirement.
"My wishes have been fulfilled. It's time to continue my journey."
"Are you leaving already?"
"Yeah. Anyway, I can come back whenever I want."
With a cat, Tendou once again transformed into a beam of light and disappeared, heading to one 2D world after another.
...
"What kind of role should I play this time?"
...
(End of Book!)
It's been a long journey, hasn't it? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Just a heads-up: I'm publishing a new Kuroko fanfic, we're already 20 chapters in, and I'll leave the title and synopsis right here:
The Ice Emperor of Teiko
Somehow, Nathan Reed has been transported into the world of Kuroko's Basketball, where basketball players have superpowers.
Just as he's feeling down about his situation, a lucky draw lands him Keigo Atobe's "X-ray vision," straight from another series. But after acquiring it, he discovers that the ability hasn't awakened yet. Worse, his natural athletic gifts fall short of the Generation of Miracles.
With the Generation of Miracles set to dominate the national championships for the next three years, what is he supposed to do?
Nathan immediately remembers the golden rule of 2017: if you can't beat them, join them! He'll spend the next three years building himself up and figure out the rest afterward!
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Also, feel free to check out my Webnovel profile to see other fanfics I'm publishing :)
Thanks!