German in Foreign Lands

Chapter 1 - German in Foreign Lands

The three hundred young football players had just crossed the line and entered Japan's football association project, Blue Lock. An ambitious program to create a revolutionary striker for Japan to win the world cup.

At least that's what the director of the project, Jinpachi Ego, told the representative of Japan's Football Association, Anri Teieri. They were a crazy duo, to be honest, but they were the only ones who had decided to act in favor of Japan at the moment.

"Who are we waiting for now? Didn't everyone pass through the gate?" Anri sat down next to Jinpachi on the podium.

The director was looking at the entrance. He hasn't moved his eyes from there for minutes now, and Anri was concerned about what was going on. She hadn't seen Ego act like this before, but she knew he was a strange person.

Ego didn't even look at her and said, "Only 299 of the players I selected passed; the last one is still to arrive, and I don't want to miss him out. After all, he accepted the invitation, and his parents signed the papers." He was egotistical, just like his name, and didn't like when his plans didn't work out the way he expected them to.

Anri looked into the papers she had from Ego; they contained information about the invited players as well as their full list. "Who is late?"

"Only one who isn't a Japanese citizen in this program." Ego mentioned clearly for Anri to hear, and he returned to his staring contest with the lifeless door. "Dennis Kemp, a 16-year-old of German and Georgian descent, is also the only one who hasn't played in any Japanese youth competitions at all."

The beautiful-looking woman raised an eyebrow; she had many questions, but mainly she couldn't understand how. "How did you even find him if he didn't even play in any national competitions at all?"

"Well, I'm a very observant person, and I sometimes look into things that other people consider to be not their job. The major prospect of Dortmund's youth academy, which is in Germany, by the way, has moved abroad and couldn't continue his career back there. Now, guess where he moved?"

Teieri gasped, so that was the one they were waiting for! Why is he in Japan, though? Why would he move here? She isn't an expert, but emigration to Japan is a tough process. Clearly, there must've been a reason, and it wasn't about preferences.

"It's another case of the parent's job messing with the child's life; his father is a researcher that was invited to Japan and moved his entire family here."

"I don't know if this is bad or good for us, but you seem to know quite a lot about him... Dennis Kemp, right?"

"Yes, to be honest, he has the genes, is perfectly built, and is a talented player." Ego said, adjusting his glasses, "It'll be a shame not to introduce European football into Blue Lock; these unpolished gems need to feel the toughness early to adjust."

The conversation came to a sudden stop as someone else opened the doors and entered the hall. It was a tall teenager. He had short brown hair that was turned upwards, but most noticeably, he had blue eyes. His entire face was hidden under the scarf, but you could guess he had nice features. Anri and Ago had instantly realized who the person was the moment he stepped in; this was the invitee.

Ego's keen eyes had instantly noticed the boy's conditioning, which wasn't worse than those he saw in the old videos. Dennis had definitely not wasted time while he was away from his country; his calves looked extremely defined even through the tight sports pants. The director hasn't missed his choice; it was worth it.

"Dennis Kemp, welcome to Blue Lock; everyone had already left for the buses; you'll have to hurry to catch up." Ego stood up and mentioned it as the European approached them. Only then could he notice the boy had headphones on, so he didn't hear what he said.

The German wasn't hurrying anywhere, it seems; he slowly removed the headphones, which still played the song. His taste was definitely weird, but Ego couldn't say anything since everyone had their preferences. [DrDisrespect's Gillete] was a song nobody would expect someone to listen to.

Anri giggled, and the situation turned awkward for Ego. Then another problem arose for both of them: 'Does this guy even know Japanese?' They internally asked each other. If they mutter the wrong word, they might feel the consequences physically…

"Hello?" Teieri began a conversation with the young one in English: "You wouldn't mind if we conversed in English, right? I'm afraid we don't have any speakers of German." Or just in case, she prepared the translator on her phone.

Dennis pulled down his scarf and spoke with a little German accent, "Uhm... I know Japanese though." His voice was low, but it wasn't so bad for Ego and Anri not to understand him. Quite the opposite, they were surprised to hear Dennis speak.

"Oh, well, that's good."

"Cough," Ego coughed to gain attention, "Dennis Kemp, it's nice to have you here, but we need to move quickly. Except for us, everyone else left to board buses."

"Alright, can you please lead the way?"

"I'll escort you."

… … …

The German youngster arrived in Japan only recently after his father was invited by a foreign Japanese company to work there. While he refused to leave Germany at first, he had to leave nonetheless because there were no relatives they had back there to take care of a 16-year-old. Another option was to stay in Georgia since her mother's relatives lived there.

To be honest, it was a better option because football was far more popular in that country. Also, there was increased attention from scouts there due to the good prospects. Dennis knew the language and had friends and relatives in Georgia. Still, living far away from his parents is not ideal.

He decided to follow his father and mother and arrived in Japan shortly after. He soon turned seventeen and enrolled in the German School in Tokyo-Yokohoma (its full name, and it is located in Yokohoma, Kanagawa Prefecture). There he began learning Japanese, in which he excelled quickly. Dennis met with many Germans in Japan, it was surprising to see so many of them here.

He wasn't cut off from football either, there were facilities that provided him with the necessary equipment to maintain his physique and skills.

'But I never played an actual game for a very long time…' He avoided this due to health reasons, just in case not to get injured here. When he reaches eighteen years of age, he plans to return to Germany.

… … …

[Dennis Kemp - POV]

Much of my time in Japan went into learning the language as quickly as possible, and I admit, there were many times I neglected my football career and my dream. I still believe that coming here was a mistake, however, I recently received this invitation from the Japanese Football Association.

Maybe someone from the school mentioned something about me? I wasn't so sure, but the fact that they know about my background already makes it interesting. How come the Japanese Football Association is interested in foreign ones?

Anyways, I was kindly escorted to the buses by the young lady, Anri Teieri. I would think that she worked as a model somewhere, but she is apparently an employee of the JFA. Wasn't it a waste of time for such a beautiful woman to work at JFA? I'm sure she isn't even receiving a percentage of what she could earn as a model, at least in Europe, because I've heard a lot about Japanese idols.

I entered the bus and everyone was already seated, only leaving me the seat at the front, right behind the driver. I've never liked sitting at the front, especially all alone, but whatever, it'll be just a short ride. I put my headphones on and turned on the music again.

Didn't even notice how time passed and we arrived at the destination…

… … …

The buses came to a stop, and everyone began to get out of them in line to receive the uniforms, except for Dennis. He remained sitting for some time, just waiting for the line to get shorter.

Anri was handing out uniforms and checking something in her papers. She was doing her job quickly and didn't make Dennis wait too long. She was soon approached by the towering figure of the German youth.

Teieri shook her head, "How come you are always the last one? That's the second time already."

"I was amazed at how large this facility is; to be honest, I never thought Japan would try so hard for this project. How much did it cost? You should know since you work for the association." Dennis should know where he is going to train, right? After all, this doesn't seem cheap at all.

"There is also a 40-thousand-seat stadium in the center of that facility; now add to that the sectors surrounding it, each with the best exercise machines. Just try and guess it, German boy." Anri smiled when saying that. She was proud of the fact that even Europeans were amazed by this new building, which clearly displayed their dedication to this sport.

'Is she trying to flex on me?' Dennis wondered while looking at the girl, "I'd guess… somewhere around 300 million euros, which is freaking a lot. But I've actually played in a stadium that costs exactly the same. Still impressive…" Anri nodded, happy to have started this project in the first place with Ego.

"Ah, I almost forgot!" The girl exclaimed, "Here is your uniform; everything will be explained when you enter." Anri's brown eyes moved to her notepad, and there she marked a box next to Dennis' name.

The latter gave a thumbs-up and took the uniform, "Danke." He thanked the woman and entered the building.

… … …

The uniform had the number 300 and the letter Z on it. In the hallway, where Dennis is walking, there are many doors with letters written on them, so he could only follow the path and find his one. The sole door that was open had the letter Z on it, so the German teenager entered.

There were eleven people inside, or twelve if we include Dennis himself, which raised suspicion. This was a very small space, with only twelve lockers on the wall. However, it was warm, meaning the room was definitely heated.

"Oh, we have a latecomer." The short teen with a buzz cut spoke as Dennis entered the room. Everyone's attention was on him.

Dennis was with a unique group of people in this room. Their hairstyles were weird, and their physiques were also very different from each other. He still had no idea what Blue Lock was really about.

Since everyone was wearing the new uniforms, Dennis also started changing. Someone whistled as he took off his shirt.

"You have a well-defined physique." An orange-haired guy tapped on his back; his voice already told Dennis that he was impressed. When turning to him, the German was also met with the physique of a hard-working person.

This thin clothing couldn't conceal the orange-haired man's death-star shoulders and mountain-high traps.

"Thanks, yours too." Mutual compliments were exchanged, and the first interaction between them was done. Dennis already thought that they would get along quickly. "My name is Dennis."

"Rensuke."

Rensuke Kunigami had already understood that Dennis was not Japanese, so he wasn't confused by his way of speaking, understanding that his accent is a little bit off naturally. In football, nationality didn't matter as long as you played well. That's what he was thinking. Besides his nape was something else.

Dennis put on his shirt, which stretched tightly across his body, and then his pants, which did the same. Perhaps a little bit too tight for his own good. After he was finished, he finally took a good look at the people around him.

'So different from each other... the saying about the Asians isn't true, alright?' They would have a rainbow in the room if they had a few more colors; that's how different their hair colors were. 'How come there are twelve of us?"

"I was late for the explanation, so are we already sorted into teams?" Dennis asked his roommates, and all of them shook their heads, not knowing the answer. One was even sleeping on the floor; what was he supposed to expect?

The guy with a buzz cut raised his hand, "I think we are since we have the same letters on our shoulders."

"Then…" Dennis gave everyone a glance and questioned, "...why are there twelve of us?"

"Uh, maybe a substitute-"

Suddenly the screen on the wall lit up, and his voice reached everyone's ears instantly: "Are you done changing unpolished gems?" He was waving to the camera and testing the microphone by greeting people continuously.

"The people in the room will be your roommate... and your rivals. We have estimated your potential based on my judgment and various calculations. You will all receive rankings on your shoulders ranging from 1 to 300; that rank will clearly indicate your standing amongst other unpolished gems in Blue Lock."

Dennis' eyes instantly dropped to his shoulder, so he was ranked 300th. Clearly, this guy was bullshitting them, or he is just too dumb if he is speaking truthfully. Individually, there was no one else that Dennis would even consider better than him after watching Japanese tournaments…

"That ranking will change day by day. It will go up and down depending on your performance in games and training. And finally, those in the top five will be unconditionally registered in the U-20 World Cup that is happening in six months." The last sentence definitely wasn't addressed to Dennis; he isn't even a Japanese citizen.

Ego also mentioned something along the lines of: "Those who fail would never represent Japan..." This went past Dennis' ears. But others were bewildered; somehow their eyes were filled with both shock and disgust. In reality, Ego just told them the sad truth about the football industry as a whole.

Believe it or not, the percentage of athletes who succeed is very low. Maybe only a percentage of those who decide to go perform on a professional level even reach success. Ego just said this in a harsher manner. 'Dude is crazy, I won't lie to myself.'

"Now, time for some tag."