BANG!
Nagi Seishiro struck the volley, concentrating all his strength into the falling ball.
The immense force caused the ball to warp and distort as it shot at high speed towards PSG's goal.
Renoir made a move to save it and judged the direction correctly.
But the shot was too fast, and the ball still pierced through his grasp.
"GOAL!"
It's in!
1:1!
Manchester City with a lightning-fast equalizer!
"Aaargh~"
The moment Nagi saw the ball hit the back of the net, he let out a roar.
This lazy person was showing a rare, passionate side.
Reo ran straight for him and leaped onto him, the two of them celebrating the goal that belonged to them, lost in the moment.
With their hands, in front of the world, they had carved their names.
[What was that?]
[Was that acrobatics?]
[It was a paranormal phenomenon, right?]
[So awesome! The ball was in the air the whole time and never stopped!]
[...]
The bullet comments in the live stream scrolled rapidly.
This stunning Five-Stage Fake Volley had wowed every single viewer.
They had never seen anyone score a goal like that.
Using a shooting motion to trap the ball, and doing it five times in a row.
From the moment Mikage Reo made the pass until the ball hit the net, it never touched the grass for even a second. It was always in the air, "dodging" one PSG player after another.
Chigiri Hyoma and the others also rushed over, praising Nagi for his god-like goal.
"That was amazing."
"Yeah, Reo is like his converter, giving him a fluid and versatile creativity."
On the Manchester City bench.
Prince also applauded this incredible shot.
Nagi's talent for trapping the ball reminded him of someone.
The Divine Ponytail, Roberto Baggio.
"But, Agi seems to be very angry."
Everything about this goal was good, except for the fact that it didn't belong entirely to Nagi; he still hadn't managed to score on his own.
He still needed someone to lead him to score.
This was what Agi meant by a lack of creativity.
It's not just in basketball; football also requires the ability to break down defenses by yourself. If you can't score on your own, you can't become a top-tier player.
At best, you're just a tap-in merchant.
As expected, while his teammates were celebrating, Agi walked over with a dark face and asked.
"Are you satisfied with this, Reo?"
"Nagi's professional career is in your hands now. I've lost interest in him."
Agi was completely disappointed in Nagi.
"You're just jealous, aren't you?" Reo thought Agi was just frustrated.
Frustrated that he couldn't guide Nagi's evolution, while he, Mikage Reo, had succeeded.
"Think whatever you want," Agi said no more.
In his eyes, Nagi's condition was terminal. He was beyond saving.
"Why do you look like you've lost the match when we just scored?" Reo shot Agi a look, then rubbed his thigh.
"What's wrong, Reo?"
"It's nothing. Imitating Tendou's 'Release' just now has made my thigh tremble." Reo shook his head.
Tendou was the person he most wanted to imitate, but also the one he least wanted to imitate.
Because most of his skill set required heaven-defying physical talent to use.
Release, Giant Bear Counter, Thunderclap and Flash, and so on.
Forcibly imitating them had indeed put a great strain on his body.
"Need a rest?"
"No need. Our goal now is to become the world's number one!"
Reo felt as if he had rediscovered the joy of playing football with Nagi from the old days.
But at that very moment, Prince walked over to the technical area and patted Tendou on the shoulder.
"Go teach that kid how football should be played."
"I'm not a babysitter."
Tendou had no such obligation, but he still took off his jacket and went to the sideline.
TWEEET~
The whistle blew. After equalizing, Man City made a substitution.
Tendou was coming on, and the one being replaced was none other than Nagi, who had just scored.
"Finally couldn't hold back anymore, you bastard," Loki said, taking off his jacket and coming to the sideline. "This time, I'm going to make you accept your defeat."
"You should worry about yourself. You don't have Adam and the others to feed you tap-ins now, European prodigy!"
"I can beat you even without Adam and the others, Asian prodigy!"
The two of them traded trash talk across the fourth official.
It was as if Nagi's brilliant goal was completely ordinary; neither of them paid it any mind.
Reo looked on and finally understood.
The condition for Tendou to enter the game was for them to score a goal, or rather, to put on a performance.
Luckily, he and Nagi had acted quickly and hadn't let anyone else steal the chance.
Tokimitsu Aoshi was subbed off at the same time as Nagi.
Loki and Tendou stepped onto the field at the same time.
[Here they come!]
[The prodigy, Loki!]
[Is that the super rookie who went one-on-one with Noa and almost scored?]
[Yes, that's him! His offer has already reached 8 million Euros!]
[€8 million? My God, how old is he?]
[Don't be so surprised. Loki is also 17, and he's more expensive and stronger than that kid!]
[...]
The fans generally hoped that Loki would win this match.
On one hand, Loki was European. On the other, Loki had already proven himself on the world stage.
If nothing else, at least in France, Loki had many supporters.
"Now watch carefully how football is meant to be played."
Nagi was still wondering why he was being subbed off when Prince walked over and told him.
He hoped that Nagi could learn that kind of creativity from Tendou.
The players from both teams returned to the center circle.
Loki and Tendou's eyes met.
The atmosphere on the field imperceptibly changed, because if nothing unexpected happened, the protagonist of this match was about to change.
TWEEET~
The electronic referee blew the whistle. Loki tapped the ball to Charles, and he...
Swoosh~
Without any warning, after kicking off, Loki turned into a streak of light and charged into the Manchester City half.
That terrifying starting speed made even Tsurugi Zantetsu's scalp tingle.
"Damn it! As soon as they come on, the pace of the game becomes completely different!"
Reo had already witnessed Loki's monstrous speed before, but experiencing it again in person, he still felt his brain couldn't handle it.
His Metavision, the script he had sketched out in his mind, was completely shattered by Loki's charge.
"Charles!" Loki shouted.
"Coming!" Charles immediately hit the bottom of the ball and sent it flying.
For him, passing to such a high-speed Loki was also a very challenging task.
The ball flew over everyone's heads and landed in front of Loki.
"He overhit the pass!"
Man City's Dravus made a judgment and decisively went for it, but then he saw the ball, after landing, bizarrely "reverse."
What was originally an overhit pass obediently rolled right in front of Loki.
"Good boy!" Loki received the ball and accelerated for a second time.
So fast!
Without the need for constant one-twos like Reo and Nagi, Loki, all by himself, just with his speed, had almost single-handedly torn through Man City's defense.
The reason it was "almost" was because Tendou was watching him.
Loki continued to accelerate. Facing Dravus, he just used a burst of speed to blow past him.
The Manchester City defenders were trembling.
Because in the World Cup not long ago, this was how Loki had single-handedly torn apart the Argentinian defense.
Zzzzt~
A silver-white flash of lightning streaked across the field. After Loki had passed Dravus, Tendou immediately arrived and slammed his shoulder into him.
Tendou used an "Iron Mountain Lean" that made Loki stumble, and at the same time, he taunted, "Besides running, all you do is run. Are you a single-celled organism?!"
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"