"The counter-attack has begun!"
While Isagi and the others were still thinking, Karasu had already launched a counter-attack.
"Stop him, Barou!"
Isagi, having snapped back to reality, hurriedly shouted and, along with Barou, immediately pressed to win the ball back. Seeing this, Karasu extended his left and right hands simultaneously to hold the two of them off, making them feel the meaning of "so close, yet so far." Then, he used their force to "spread his wings" and burst out of the encirclement.
Before he had taken many steps, his path was blocked again.
"Don't even think about getting past, Crow."
"You're the same as always, not even making a sound when you walk. If I had a heart condition, you might have scared me to death."
Karasu looked up. The person who had come was his former teammate.
"Cut the crap. I'm not letting you pass."
Otoya didn't give an inch. Even when pushed away by Karasu's hand, he would immediately stick back to him. His movements were extremely agile. Perhaps because he came from a family of ninjas, he could attack and defend in ways that ordinary people couldn't anticipate.
"Clingy boys aren't popular, you know."
Although he said that, in his heart, Karasu was already prepared to pass. During this time, he had been improving, and Otoya had been improving as well. Their rankings were fifth and sixth, very close in strength. Karasu was good at calculating and feinting; Otoya was better at speed and running. It was unrealistic to decide a winner in a short time.
He couldn't miss this counter-attacking opportunity, so he would pass. This was the result of the Crow-bro's brain calculations.
BAM!
Karasu created some space and launched the ball towards the front field.
"It's up to you, General."
After passing the ball, Karasu did not participate in the team's attack but stayed near his own half to prevent the opponent's counter-attack.
Thump!
Tendou stomped his foot on the turf, and then three sonic booms sounded one after another. His speed was incredible. During the physical test, his 100-meter sprint speed was 11.18 seconds. Even though Ego was prepared for Tendou's speed, he was still a little surprised when this data came out. Tendou was a kid not yet 18 years old. Players of this age still have room for improvement in their athletic ability, which meant that Tendou could potentially run under 11 seconds in the future.
If you are used to seeing the results of track and field athletes, you might think that 11 seconds is nothing. But in fact, the muscle types of 100-meter sprinters on the track and football players are completely different. The most developed muscle areas for football players are mainly concentrated in the front of the thighs and the calves. For sprinters, the most developed area is the muscle group on the back of the thighs. The things they practice daily are completely different.
Therefore, among football players, as long as you can break 12 seconds in the 100 meters, you are already a top-tier "fast horse" on the green pitch. Tendou's speed was at the "sports car" level. Of course, this was limited to his age group, because this world was a world of superpower football, and all the stats were ridiculously high. But even so, Tendou was one of the fastest players of his age group. (In the whole world!)
"The place with the strongest scent of a goal... it really is on you, Tendou!"
The moment Tendou controlled the ball, Isagi also arrived. This man possessed a secret technique comparable to what a Joestar family member could only use once in their lifetime. In the original story, Isagi had inexplicably flashed in front of the ball multiple times.
But Tendou didn't even treat him as a threat. With two taps, the ball was transferred between his two feet twice like lightning. From the camera's perspective, you could see Isagi's pupils rapidly moving left and right twice, following the ball.
The third time.
Isagi followed his instinct and stuck out his foot to the left to intercept the ball, only to kick at air.
"This is a time-lag illusion?!" Isagi was suddenly shocked. He whipped his head around and, sure enough, saw that Tendou had kicked the ball directly behind him. Then, he transformed into a streak of white light, a black monster clinging to his back, and rushed out. This was a typical "pass the ball to yourself 2 seconds in the future."
When Isagi turned around, he could only see Tendou's receding back.
Tendou was not only strong in speed; his explosive power was also quite astonishing. Besides the 100-meter sprint, Tendou had also done a 25-meter sprint test back then. Compared to the 100-meter sprint, the 25-meter short-distance sprint is the most important indicator for a forward. Long-distance runs of over thirty meters are not common in a football match. Even for Maradona, his 60-meter run against England is one of his signature plays.
Therefore, initial acceleration and short-distance sprinting are far more important than the 100-meter sprint. The time Tendou had clocked back then was 3.56 seconds.
And Isagi? His time was more than a second slower than Tendou's.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Isagi's mind was in turmoil. He had never felt this so profoundly when he was teammates with Tendou. Now that they were opponents, he finally understood just how unsolvable this kind of impact was.
In just a few breaths, Tendou had sprinted twenty meters. Barou, Otoya, and Isagi were now all behind him. Now, in front of Tendou, only the miraculously appearing Nagi was left.
Facing Tendou, who looked as if he were about to take flight, Nagi did not choose to foul but wanted to go head-to-head with him.
...
In the control room, Ego had already sentenced Nagi to death. He encouraged players to bravely engage in such duels in Blue Lock, but on a professional stage, facing a monster like Tendou, the smart move is a tactical foul.
"Come on, strongest!" Nagi stepped on the turf with one foot, his eyes shining as he looked at the opponent in front of him.
The screen froze at this point. The surrounding scenery disappeared. Besides the two of them's vigorous figures, only white remained.
Under the nervous gazes of the real-world audience, the two great geniuses quickly "collided," like two high-speed trains.
Nagi stared deadly at the ball at Tendou's feet. Facing this opponent who had defeated him, he didn't dare to be the least bit careless. He became more serious than ever before, so serious that it made Reo and Isagi feel that he was a stranger.
At this moment, Nagi's heart began to race again. The thick "desire" from the match against Team Z was rekindled.
Suddenly.
In his line of sight, Tendou's right foot stomped hard on the area in front of the ball.
A mistake? Nagi was confused, but his instinct told him this was not a mistake.
Sure enough.
Under his gaze, the rolling ball was blocked by Tendou's stomping right foot. Then, his left heel gave it a light flick. This was clearly Cristiano Ronaldo's signature heel-chop change of direction.
The next second, Tendou used his left foot as a pivot point, twisted his body, and with a swoosh, he circled around to Nagi's right side with a silky smooth half-turn.
All of this happened in an instant. Even the real-world audience felt the hairs on their bodies stand on end. They exclaimed, "You are the king of the budget!"
In front of the camera, Tendou's silver-white hair all flew back due to his excessive speed. His pair of eyes could no longer see pupils, only a patch of white remained. His center of gravity was forward, and he bent his body as he rushed past his opponent. The tension-filled performance was telling everyone just how fast and how strong he was.
Swoosh!
Tendou quickly ran past Nagi, a tail flame like that of the prodigy Loki behind him. He charged to a position twenty meters from the goal in one breath. It wasn't that his shooting range was only twenty meters, but that at this position, his goal probability was 100%.
"Big Data Statistics..."
BAM!
The moment the ball arrived at the bullseye indicated by the Big Data Statistics, Tendou's right foot had already heavily struck the ball in the next second.
SWISH!
The ball shot straight into the goal, spinning fiercely in the back of the net, looking as if it were about to tear it apart.
...
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