Modern football has always been short of defensive midfielders.
Strictly speaking, it's a lack of all-around defensive midfielders. A world-class "waist" who can defend and pass is needed by any team. Such a creature has a very high tactical status and is needed by any famous coach.
But now, Ego Jinpachi was training forwards, and in the process, he had found a brand new, all-around defensive midfielder?
Alright.
At this point, Ego no longer wanted to dwell on the issue of Tendou's position. His strength seemed to be in a different league from the players here, making him appear as if he were omnipotent.
Forward, midfielder, defensive midfielder, maybe even goalkeeper—Tendou could handle them all. It wasn't that Tendou was truly that versatile, but that he was so strong it made him seem omnipotent.
...
After scoring, Isagi excitedly pumped his fist. He had a bit of a De Bruyne-like air to him: a world-class goal, a neighborhood-level celebration.
"Hey, Reo. Football is really interesting."
Nagi Seishiro, having come back to his senses, suddenly said this to his companion. He couldn't believe that such a weakling could score such a beautiful goal. From beginning to end, his eyes had been on Tendou; Isagi had never even registered in his sight. But it was this inconspicuous person who had breached their Team V's goal.
Using his teammates' abilities, treating everyone as a tool to help himself score. This was something Nagi had never thought of before. His boring life changed at this moment; he had acquired the selfish desire known as curiosity.
Mikage Reo looked at him in astonishment, a sudden pang in his heart for some reason. He didn't know why, he only knew that they were now two goals behind.
...
Team V kicked off again.
Having been the first to score, they were now hit with three consecutive goals. This was a situation they had not anticipated before the match.
Defend to the death? That wasn't their style. Not taking down Team Z would be a failure.
The match continued.
After Team V kicked off again, their attacking pattern changed. Nagi Seishiro began to actively participate in the team's offense, instead of just waiting for his teammates to pass him the ball like before.
This was not in Team Z's game plan.
Fortunately, Team Z's formation was relatively compact, a 4-5-1 single-striker formation. For a short time, Team V didn't have any good way to break through their team.
The match began to become dull. Although there were some shots, none of them were converted into goals.
"Reo!"
Seeing that the team couldn't find a breakthrough for the time being—Reo and Zantetsu were being marked to death by Team Z—Nagi decided to create a breakthrough on his own once again.
"I know!"
With a tap, Reo passed the ball over.
Nagi Seishiro was truly talented. He had clearly never practiced dribbling or passing before, and had never even looked at combinations like the give-and-go. But his first attempt was already decent, and his second attempt was a visible improvement over the first.
A football genius is truly the most unreasonable creature. They can always shatter your defensive line with their boundless imagination and sudden flashes of brilliance.
"It should be like this..."
Facing the defender, Nagi made a move to cut and change direction. But he didn't take the final step to break through. Instead, he suddenly pulled the ball back, baited the opponent into sticking out a leg, and then poked the ball forward, completing another nutmeg.
"Damn it, this guy..." Isagi was numb.
How long had it been? Nagi had improved again! His thinking was still stuck on the last attack, but Nagi had already surpassed his database.
Nagi got past Isagi and continued to charge forward with the ball.
However.
Before he had taken many steps, he felt a bone-chilling cold sweep through his entire body. In front of him, Tendou's figure had appeared. This monster, who liked to stand on the halfway line and slack off during defense, had also started to move, participating in the team's defense.
No retreat. Nagi accelerated and charged forward. He wanted to try and defeat the man in front of him.
But...
"This kind of dribbling... are you..."
"...playing house?!"
Tap!
Tendou's eyes snapped open. His azure eyes had already stolen the information he wanted from the future. He poked his foot out and directly knocked the ball away from Nagi's feet. No matter how hard Nagi tried, he couldn't stop it. Because this was the future, a predetermined event.
A moment of astonishment flashed across Nagi's emotionless face. He had never played this kind of football before. He felt a sense of powerlessness; even though he had reacted, his body couldn't respond in time.
Swoosh!
On the screen, Tendou's figure crisscrossed with Nagi's. The background went completely black, while Tendou's entire body emitted a white light, making him exceptionally dazzling. By the time the screen returned to color, Tendou had already shot out at extreme speed.
"You idiot, Zantetsu!"
Mikage Reo was always paying attention to his companions. Seeing Tendou so easily defeat his Nagi, he immediately called Zantetsu to rush towards Tendou together.
The others? He didn't trust a single one of them. In Mikage Reo's world, there was only himself and Nagi. Even Zantetsu only counted as half a person.
Team V's speedster grunted "ah," and immediately burst into full speed to approach Tendou, pincer-attacking him along with Reo.
A frontal two-on-one... no, it's a one-on-two!
Swish!
Tendou's step frequency suddenly increased by a large margin. The terrifying speed created an illusion for Reo and Zantetsu, and they couldn't clearly see the trajectory of Tendou's feet.
And then...
"Thunder Breathing, First Form!"
"Second Form!"
Tendou let out a low grunt, and lightning erupted from his feet. With a bzzzt, he was like a bolt of lightning, passing straight through their pincer attack. In one breath, Tendou rushed behind the two of them, leaving Reo and Zantetsu staring with wide eyes.
"It's not over yet!"
Unexpectedly, Nagi Seishiro had also arrived. This lazy bug not only took the initiative to participate in the attack, but he was also participating in the defense. Even his tone had changed; it was no longer calm, but had a hint of excitement.
"Get out of the way," Tendou said lightly. "This is a warning for you."
His Six Eyes had already foreseen this scene. His gaze briefly met the other's.
The next second.
The ball went wild, moving rapidly at Tendou's feet. Four touches in one second, a super rhythm, making even Nagi feel dizzy.
Swoosh!
Tendou cut the ball and burst to his left. Nagi immediately shifted his center of gravity.
But then.
Tendou's figure passed right through him.
No!
Nagi realized something. It wasn't that Tendou had turned into a ghost, but that he had defended against the Tendou of the previous move.
He whipped his head around. Sure enough, Tendou had already passed him from another direction, almost grazing his body. He wanted to go up and stop him, but his legs got tangled, and his whole body fell uncontrollably onto the turf.
That familiar feeling of powerlessness once again swept through his entire body.
"Nagi!" Reo exclaimed in alarm.
But it was useless. Tendou had defeated Team V's iron triangle in one go. Seeing the other members of Team V rushing over, he didn't trap the ball but fiercely chipped the bottom of it with the outside of his right foot. The ball obediently lifted off the ground and flew over the heads of Team V's two central defenders! With a strong spin, the ball drew a pale rainbow directly in front of Team V's goal.
And the ball's landing point.
At that position.
Isagi Yoichi had once again appeared out of nowhere. Rather than calling it spatial awareness, it was more like his off-the-ball movement was extremely outstanding.
Isagi had gotten smarter now. He no longer forced himself to read the world in Tendou's eyes. Instead, he thought about where the most dangerous area for Team V was. Because as long as he found the area that was most threatening to Team V, Tendou would pass the ball there.
And that would be his moment to score!
Sure enough.
Just as he burst out, Tendou's pass arrived. It was perfect, as always. As if it had been calculated countless times, it was the most suitable pass for him.
"The me right now... have I begun to understand the world of a genius, just a little?"
BAM!
Isagi met the ball with a furious shot. For the fourth time, the ball flew past the goalkeeper's fingertips and into the goal.
...
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