Like a perfectly measured, precise pass, it landed steadily in front of him.
Chigiri Hyoma didn't need to make any adjustments. He very naturally received the ball and cut into Team V's penalty area. In the process, he also noticed Tendou running in the opposite direction, pulling more defenders away.
Chigiri, of course, would not miss such a golden opportunity.
BAM!
The "young lady" met the ball with a furious shot, and it quickly flew towards the far corner. The goalkeeper made a token save attempt but could only watch as the ball crashed into his own goal.
2:1.
Team V's blitzkrieg lead, which had lasted less than 3 minutes, was overturned by Team Z.
"Amazing! Tendou's pass was so beautiful!"
Behind the scenes, Anri Teieri couldn't help but clap her hands upon seeing this brilliant long pass. However, she was holding a file under her arm, so when she clapped, she looked like a comical sea lion.
"Describing Tendou's pass as 'beautiful' is a bit too plain."
"Eh?"
Anri turned to look at Ego Jinpachi, as if asking, is there some deeper meaning here?
Ego said, "Do you know when a player's 'awakening' tends to happen?"
Awakening?
This was the first time Anri had heard this term. In her impression, awakenings and the like always seemed to require one person to be sacrificed to the heavens, followed by an explosion of rage. For example, Goku in Dragon Ball transformed into a Super Saiyan only after Krillin was blown to pieces.
"It happens in a state of extremity," Ego didn't give her much time to think and directly gave the answer.
"For example, when facing an opponent stronger than oneself, the weaker one will find a new equation for victory by concentrating their abilities."
"Tendou Kageyoshi saw Chigiri Hyoma's limit. He understands Chigiri even better than Chigiri understands himself. This assist—whether it's the height, the power, the speed, or the lead—is all world-class."
"This pass is art!"
As the saying goes, the expert sees the technique, while the layman just enjoys the show. Ego Jinpachi gave Tendou's pass a very high evaluation. This was already the second time he had seen Tendou make such a pass. The first time was for Isagi; he had guided Isagi to find a way to score even when his physical talent was insufficient. That was a possibility that even Ego himself had not anticipated.
"Tendou... he's guiding out the latent potential of others with just his passes."
He had seen this ability before. The best midfielder in football history, the French king Zinedine Zidane, possessed such magic. He could always make his teammates around him better.
But who was Zidane? A midfield master who transferred to Real Madrid for 77.5 million euros in 2001, the strongest midfielder in history in the eyes of many. Such an ability shouldn't appear in a mere child.
So Ego was now a bit conflicted. As a center forward, Tendou possessed an ability that countless midfielders dreamed of.
"Stronger... than Nagi!"
On the field, Mikage Reo looked at the overturned score and felt it was all a bit dreamlike.
An organizational ability stronger than his own, a speed faster than Zantetsu's, and a shooting ability stronger than Nagi's... Tendou alone could do the "work" that they needed three people to complete.
Six months ago, Reo had first met Nagi Seishiro at school. At that time, he had accidentally bumped into Nagi at the corner of a staircase, knocking his phone out of his hand. He was all ready to pay for a new phone for him. He never expected Nagi to leap down the stairs, stably catching the phone that should have been shattered.
At that time, Nagi's football experience was 0!
Reo had never met anyone like that in his entire life. He felt that Nagi was the "chosen one" his parents spoke of. A partner born to play football, who could help him achieve his goal. Such a person was one in a million.
But today, here, in Blue Lock, he had met a monster even more genius than Nagi!
He watched the back of Tendou, who once again ignored his teammates' invitation to celebrate and turned away coolly, and his heart was shaken.
Is this what a real genius is?
Could it be that even with Nagi, I can't succeed?
Could it be...
Too many thoughts. At this moment, Mikage Reo fell into self-doubt. He had been kicked into a daze by Tendou's deus ex machina-like performance.
...
The match continued.
After Team V kicked off, Reo was met with even fiercer defense. Isagi had disappeared from in front of him, replaced by Kira Ryosuke, whose overall condition was superior to his own.
He only now remembered what Tendou had said in the tactical meeting: he wanted him to solve Mikage Reo.
Solve!
It didn't necessarily mean one-on-one marking. The ultimate goal was to neutralize Team V's organizer. As long as Team V's offense couldn't be organized, or if their attacks were broken up, that would count as Isagi having completed his task.
One thing led to another.
Having figured everything out, Isagi took the initiative to step back, handing the task of marking Reo to Kira, while he himself lurked like a hunting dog.
"Damn it!" Reo hadn't even recovered his senses before he was hit with an even more violent attack. The result was predictable. Team Z had almost completely sealed off his passing lanes to Nagi or Zantetsu; he could only pass to others. But he didn't trust passing to others. And with too many men committed to the attack, the defense was also a big problem. He was truly terrified by Tendou's impact.
Could it be that Nagi and I will lose the match here?
The thought of this possibility made him lose even the ability to think.
"Reo?"
Just as he was hesitating, Nagi Seishiro, sensing his "master's" confusion, suddenly made a move. Originally only active near the penalty area, waiting for his teammates to pass him the ball, he actually took the initiative to leave his comfort zone and come to support.
"Nagi?"
Reo instinctively passed the ball over.
Tap!
Nagi received the ball, looked up, and met Reo's eyes with "passion."
"Reo, I want to try!"
Try?
Try what?
Could it be... that Nagi was also stimulated by Tendou?
Reo had no answer. He only knew that the Nagi of today felt very unfamiliar, very special.
Nagi had already started sprinting with the ball. He first nutmegged one person, then after attracting the attention of a Team Z defender, he smoothly passed the ball to the supporting Zantetsu.
Reo was certain. Before today, Nagi had never taken the initiative to do such a thing. Dribbling or passing, he would never spend extra time practicing; if he had time, he'd rather play another game to rank up.
And now!
He had passively learned all of this just by observing for the past six months.
Nagi's unexpected action immediately broke Team Z's defensive deployment.
"Sure enough, Nagi is the best! He's not necessarily worse than Tendou!"
"He just doesn't work hard enough! When he gets serious, Nagi can do it too!"
Mikage Reo regained his spirits and pushed forward at high speed with his teammates. As if replicating Team Z's last attack, Reo, Nagi, and Zantetsu threatened Team Z's goal from three different directions at the same time.
"Mark your men!" Kunigami shouted to his teammates, then pounced on Nagi. The most threatening person on Team V was always Nagi.
Seeing this, Raichi could only grimly pounce on Reo. This pulled Team Z's defensive line apart, giving Nagi space to operate.
"Zantetsu! To the goal!"
"Coming!"
Zantetsu sprinted along the wing.
10 meters! Within a 10-meter range, my speed is faster. Beyond that range is Chigiri's domain. Not daring to be arrogant, Zantetsu directly smashed the ball into Team Z's penalty area. After all, their ace was rarely so motivated; he didn't want to mess things up.
BAM!
The ball lifted off the ground and crashed into Team Z's box at high speed.
In this position, neither Kunigami nor Igarashi dared to make any big moves; a foul would mean a penalty. They could only try their best to block the opponent's shooting angle.
They succeeded. The two of them teamed up to force Nagi into the six-yard box. Behind him was the goalkeeper Gagamaru, almost completely sealing off all shooting angles.
Nagi.
Watching the ball about to land, he threw his body out again. In mid-air, he extended his foot and cushioned the ball, stopping it in mid-air. The feeling he had now was very strange. His whole body was restless, and his body temperature was higher than usual. Perhaps this was the feeling of blood boiling? Was it because he saw Reo's helpless face? Or was it because he had met someone he couldn't defeat without trying hard?
Maybe both? He didn't understand. But no matter what, what Nagi could feel now was that his form was really, really good!
Thump!
A second jump after landing. In this process, he quickly rotated his body, almost twisting it into a pretzel. His core strength, body balance, and flexibility were perfectly displayed at this moment. Finally, his right foot, like a long whip, fiercely lashed out at the ball.
A zero-degree angle shot!
A defense that should have been impregnable was broken by him finding a sliver of shooting space.
This time, it was Chigiri's turn to be shocked. The "awakening" that he needed Tendou to guide out, Nagi could achieve just by trying a little harder than usual. The existence of a genius is truly the most unreasonable creature in this world.
Mikage Reo, who had already made a run into the penalty area, saw this and quietly clenched his fists, raising them bit by bit. As long as the ball flew into the goal, he could be the first to pounce and celebrate with his companion.
However.
BZZT!
Eh?
Mikage Reo's expression suddenly stiffened. He thought he saw a bolt of lightning flash past his eyes.
It wasn't a thought! Someone had really rushed past. That gust of wind that followed blew his hair and stimulated his brain. He already knew who it was.
Stop!
Stop, Tendou!
He roared in his heart, but in response, there was only Tendou's ruthless kick.
Tap!
Just as the ball was about to cross the goal line, Tendou burst into the penalty area like a bolt of lightning and cleared the certain goal off the line.
"For such talent to appear in you..."
"...is also a waste."
Tendou's calm voice sounded, not loud, but extremely shocking.
Nagi Seishiro's pupils dilated. For the first time since he started playing football, he had encountered a situation he couldn't understand. He was a little lost, a little helpless.
"Tendou!!"
The members of Team Z were the complete opposite, excitedly shouting Tendou's name.
Tendou didn't respond. He had already turned and was the first to get to the cleared ball.
Damn it!
Seeing the situation was not good, Reo, while loudly reminding his teammates to be careful, pounced over to stop Tendou.
And Tendou.
At this moment, had already struck the ball with his foot, sending out a precise long pass.
...
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