He saw through me!
Karasu Tabito, who made a living of seeing through his opponents' intentions and then defeating them, a task as simple as drinking tea and eating rice for him, had in turn been seen through by Tendou.
However, Karasu didn't think there was anything wrong with his choice. The problematic one was that No. 1 on the other side. Even if he saw through his intentions and moved in advance, not just anyone could chase down that ball. After all, his partner was Otoya Eita!
At this moment, under Karasu's gaze, Tendou's feet seemed to erupt with thunder. Even the air he exhaled carried arcs of lightning, and one could faintly hear a crackling sound. He stood there, right in front of Otoya, his presence overwhelming, like an invincible titan.
"Pass it quickly, Eita!" Karasu once again shouted a reminder.
But there was no need for his reminder. Otoya had already found Hiori at the first opportunity. Hiori's speed was not as fast as Otoya's, but his awareness was outstanding. When Otoya moved, he also coordinated with his teammate and pushed forward, ensuring he could provide support in time.
The ball was passed horizontally by Otoya, flying from the right half-space of the penalty area to the left half-space.
But.
BZZZ—
A cold light flashed in Tendou's eyes, the color of the blue sky, giving people the illusion of looking directly at the vast, boundless heavens.
Tap!
He decisively stuck out his foot. Having stolen this scene from the future, he had already made his move and completed the tackle almost the instant Otoya released the ball.
This guy!
Otoya's heart shook. He immediately tried to win the ball back, but could only watch as Tendou poked it forward and burst past him with an acceleration.
Was I too slow? Or was he too fast?
Otoya couldn't tell for a moment. A sense of powerlessness crept into his heart.
A chance to counter-attack!
Although Chigiri and Reo had both failed in their defensive attempts twice, their offensive awareness was top-tier. The former had played 4 games with Tendou, and the latter had also faced him directly in a match; they both knew Tendou's capabilities.
At this time, Karasu was the only one left in his team's defense. Both Hiori and Otoya had pushed too far forward because they had committed to the attack. A 3-on-1 opportunity in the attacking third. If Tendou successfully passed the ball, it would be almost equivalent to gifting the opponent a goal.
"Yarou!" Karasu cursed inwardly.
Wasn't this clearly forcing him to go one-on-one with Tendou? To face the "hardest" one in the enemy's formation... this went against his football philosophy.
Of course, even if he was a thousand times unwilling in his heart, Karasu still bravely went up to meet him.
"He's the type of player with outstanding physical talent. His height is over 190cm, and his weight is probably over 80kg, yet his athletic ability is surprisingly astonishing, completely surpassing mine."
After a simple thought process, Karasu came to the conclusion that he couldn't go head-to-head with him; he had to use technique. And this, coincidentally, was what he was best at.
Facing Tendou, who was sweeping over like a comet, Karasu didn't rashly stick out his foot. He focused on delaying, wanting to buy time for his teammates to track back.
"Compared to relentlessly attacking an opponent's wound and slowly bleeding them dry, I'm better at dealing with the person causing the trouble all at once."
Hearing this, the corner of Karasu's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
I specifically pick on the weak to kill, and you specialize in slaughtering the strongest. It's hard not to suspect you're just looking for a fight.
"Is that so? Then let's see you try, No. 1!"
Karasu was on high alert. Against this kind of talent-freak who was all "brute force," he had his own set of methods.
However, he still didn't understand Tendou well enough.
"Cleave!"
Tendou whispered softly, and the speed of his feet's movement suddenly doubled. There were even afterimages.
Tap, tap!
The ball was quickly passed twice at Tendou's feet. This was an extreme test of a defender's reflexes.
"This level of feinting can't fool me!"
Clearly, Karasu's reflexes were also very fast. He still held back from sticking out his foot, his body only moving along with the ball's trajectory, wary of being beaten by Tendou's speed. He was extremely cautious, but Tendou's abilities were not limited to just that.
Almost at the same time as Karasu was thinking of a countermeasure, Tendou's feet once again tapped the ball twice in a row.
Tap, tap!
The ball once again danced like an elf at Tendou's feet twice in a row.
"Four touches in one second?!" Karasu was dumbfounded.
Having this kind of step frequency with that kind of physique... are you fcking kidding me?* He had never seen such a monster. Four touches in one second, a step frequency of 4.0 Hertz, higher than most professional players, and yet the other guy was a high school student, just like him?
What was even more terrifying was yet to come.
Karasu found that his vision began to blur. His gaze on Tendou became blurry, and the other's body produced double images.
A time-lag illusion!
No joke. This guy's step frequency had already reached its limit, second only to that Barcelona legend. He was glad he hadn't rashly stuck out his foot; otherwise, he would have been passed in a single face-off. But even without sticking out his foot, his perception was still off.
By the time he reacted, he heard a tap sound in his ear, and Tendou had already rushed to his side, having passed him by half a body length.
"It's not over yet, No. 1!"
Karasu gritted his teeth and reached out his hand, using his arm to block Tendou within the rules of the game. Man and ball, Tendou could only choose one to get past.
But.
BAM!
Almost the instant Karasu reached out, Tendou also extended his arm, keeping Karasu at a distance where he couldn't touch the ball.
"No, not at the same time! He was faster than me!"
Karasu now roughly understood how those guys he had held off with his arm felt. A distance of no more than a meter, yet it gave the illusion of being as far as the ends of the earth.
Tendou used the momentum, pushed off with his right hand, and with a smooth acceleration, completely left Karasu behind.
And then.
Swoosh!
Tendou's speed exploded. Like a laser beam, he charged into the opponent's territory in one go. Facing a goal with only a goalkeeper, the sign "100% Goal" appeared in his vision.
BAM!
With a shot release speed of over 17 m/s, Tendou aimed for the bottom left corner of the goal and unleashed a low-driven shot. The ball shot into the net. The virtual Blue Lock Man couldn't even react.
"BEEP!"
"GOAL!"
The whistle, the goal. After tying the score within 10 seconds, one minute later, Tendou scored a brace, completing the comeback with two consecutive goals.
Karasu touched his chest. Just now, he had been defeated by his opponent using the method he was best at.
"He completed the defense and the goal all by himself. What's the point of having teammates for a monster like that?"
Even he, Karasu, needed his teammates' cooperation to score. But Tendou didn't. He had just scored a goal all by himself. His teammates' role in the defense was actually very small.
"After the field was shrunk, it seems to be even more advantageous for Tendou's play."
"Yeah. After all, his favorite way to score is to create a solo breakthrough in the center, just like Kaká."
"In the first selection, the opponent had 11 people, and there were defenders and midfielders to pincer him. But in a 3-on-3 match, the number of people who can be committed to defense is much less."
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