Hisakawa Mii, upon receiving the ball, gave Ryūma no chance to intercept. He immediately sent it forward to his left.
[Thud]
[Thud!]
[Thud!!]
Before Team V could even react, Team Y's passes had already cut into their left backfield.
That's right—Team Y had deployed their threading pass tactic again, but this time on the diagonal. Starting with Hisakawa Mii, players were positioned at intervals diagonally ahead to the left, and the final receiver was already deep in Team V's left defensive zone.
While everyone on Team V had been focused on Ryūma, Team Y quietly spread out their passing chain, moving the ball from the frontfield straight into the backfield.
The Y-team left attacking midfielder, now in position, wound up for a shot.
Fortunately, Team V's four defenders inside the box were already prepared. If he dared to shoot, they were confident they could block it.
Of course, the Y-team midfielder knew his situation well. Instead of taking the shot, he slipped the ball across to Hisakawa Mii on the right side of Team V's backfield.
Seeing Yo Hiori sprinting back to challenge, Hisakawa Mii quickly flicked the ball with his heel toward his left rear.
The pass went back to midfield, where Y-team's right attacking midfielder stepped up and immediately redirected it toward the right flank of Team V's midfield.
Matsutani Kageaki, receiving it, surprisingly sent the ball back toward Team V's attacking third.
[Thud!]
Ryūma, stationed in the middle, froze for a moment, puzzled.
(What's he doing? After working it all the way into the backfield, he just plays it back forward? Giving up the attack?)
(Wait… oh, it's to guard against Rin.)
As he sprinted toward the front, Ryūma caught Rin Itoshi out of the corner of his eye, holding position on the right midfield.
"Huh? Kobayashi Shima?"
Suddenly, Kobayashi Shima darted in from the side and headed the ball away—or rather, passed it to Y-team's right midfielder positioned on the left side.
The right midfielder met the incoming ball and, turning sharply as it reached him, struck it across field again—this time speeding it toward Team V's left defensive zone.
"This one's ours, brothers—"
Before the triplets could finish, two Y-team players pressed in and cut them off.
Why could just two contain all three of them?
Because the triplets only functioned effectively as a unit. Alone, they were no different from ordinary players.
The Y-team left attacking midfielder who received it didn't pass immediately. Instead, he trapped the ball and scanned the pitch, carefully assessing the situation.
Then he raised his foot as if to shoot. Team V's four defenders braced themselves—even knowing it could be a feint, they didn't dare risk it. What if he really shot?
Seeing them blocking his path, the midfielder smirked. As expected, it was a feint—he passed instead.
The ball zipped into the central defensive zone, where both Yo Hiori and Y-team's right back converged.
But the right back gave Hiori no chance. Without even controlling it, he stepped forward, pivoted on his right foot, and blasted a left-footed shot at goal.
[Thud!]
The shot tore toward the net—but Rin Itoshi stepped in and blocked it cleanly.
(So he read it again? Fine! I knew it wouldn't be that easy to score. It's all yours now, Koda!)
Just as the right back had hoped, the deflected ball dropped to Y-team's attacking midfielder, who was already winding up.
Yo Hiori's heart tightened as he saw the shot about to fly.
(I can barely keep up with their passing. Stopping this shot is impossible! No choice—gotta give it everything!)
[Thud!]
(Huh? The ball's so slow! I can actually block this one!)
"Wait—what? How did you…"
But before Hiori could react further, Kobayashi Shima suddenly slid in, redirecting the ball into the net.
At the same time, Hiori saw his own goalkeeper frozen, unable to make a move. In that instant, he understood the trick.
(Sigh… tricked as bait again. Poor keeper.)
(Of course—their playmaker. Why else would he take such a weak shot?)
(It was bait for me to step in. Our goalie assumed I'd block it and relaxed.)
(Then Kobayashi slid in at the last second… I didn't even see it coming, let alone the keeper!)
GOAL!! Team V 7:7 Team Y
"Kobayashi!!"
"We're level again! Kobayashi, you're the best!"
The Y-team players piled onto each other in celebration. But most of the match time had already ticked away—there wasn't much left.
Yo Hiori turned to his keeper apologetically.
"Sorry… I messed with your timing."
"Huh? No, no, I should be the one apologizing. I haven't stopped a single ball these past matches. The fact you guys don't blame me is already generous."
"No, this time it was my—"
Ryūma walked over, exasperated.
"Cut it out, you two. How long have you been playing together? Apologizing over something so small?"
Both Hiori and the keeper laughed sheepishly.
As Rin Itoshi walked back toward his spot, Hiori quickly called out.
"Rin, I've got a hunch. I think their playmaker—the core of Team Y—is that attacking midfielder!"
Rin stopped and replied evenly.
"You're only realizing that now? Ryūma's nonstop reckless attacking forced their core to reveal himself."
"The way they're playing now makes it obvious—their attacking midfielder is their brain."
"Huh? You already figured it out, Rin? Then why didn't you say anything…"
At that moment, Ryūma scratched his head, looking completely clueless.
"Wait, wait, hold on! How did you two suddenly agree that their attacking midfielder is the core?"
"And what's with those looks? Like I'm some kind of idiot?"
"Rin I get—he always looks at me like that. But you too, Hiori? Really? T-T"
"Ahem—no, Ryūma, you misunderstood. That wasn't a dumb look. I just thought you'd figured it out already."
"Doesn't matter. I suspected from the start that Y-team's attacking midfielder wasn't ordinary. And I was right—he's their core!"
Ryūma puffed up proudly.
"Heh, a brainless idiot like you could only figure things out to that extent."
Hearing Rin say that and start to walk away, Ryūma fumed.
"Hold on, Rin! You're saying I only saw the surface? That my read was shallow?"
"Besides being fast and pulling off that low overhead kick, what else does he have?"
"Go on, prove it!"
Ryūma furrowed his brows, thinking hard. Then he jabbed a finger at Rin with fierce determination.
"Fine… you win, Rin. You're the big brother here."
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser