Amid the grim expressions of two Team Y players, Rin Itoshi stormed into their midfield.
"Spread out! Left two, center three, right two!"
After shouting the command, Kudo Tōya retreated to his own backfield. At the center, Shima Kobayashi led two teammates to intercept Rin.
As soon as Rin reached Kobayashi, he swung his leg as if to shoot. But with three defenders collapsing on his lane, he instantly shifted the ball to Yo Hiori on the right.
(A fake shot? Damn it!)
Kobayashi's mind raced as he tracked the pass, instinctively shouting:
"Kudo!"
Kudo Tōya met his expectation, stepping in to intercept the ball.
But Hiori, fully aware of who the opponent's core was, wasn't about to repeat such a rookie mistake.
Though he barely managed to receive Rin's pass, he had no chance to look up or adjust for a proper distribution. Kudo was already behind him, and another Team Y player was closing fast from his right.
(No time to adjust—just get rid of it!)
(Rin and Ryūma were both around the left earlier. This is a gamble, but you two better catch it!)
[Thud!]
With that, Hiori launched a long pass toward the left side of Team Y's midfield.
(That's far… but with my speed, I should reach it before they do.)
Ryūma burst forward, accelerating toward the landing spot. But before he could take more than two steps, a figure darted into his peripheral vision.
(Huh? Rin?!)
Just as Ryūma thought, Rin reached the ball the moment it touched down, controlling Hiori's pass with ease.
With possession secured, Rin drove straight into Team Y's backline. But Team Y was ready.
Their left and right defenders, along with Kageaki Matsutani, fanned out into a triangle to trap him.
Rin's calm eyes didn't flicker, as if he had foreseen it all.
He stopped the ball with his right foot, scanned his options, then suddenly drove right and wound up as if to shoot.
(A forced shot?)
"No way! I've got this!"
Matsutani, knowing he was too late to close the gap, slid hard into Rin's shooting lane.
But Rin wasn't shooting. At the very instant his right foot touched the ball, he flicked it across to his left, trapping it with the sole and spinning back. In one fluid motion, he slipped past the sliding Matsutani from an even wider right angle.
Now at the center of Team Y's defensive third, Rin lined up another shot.
Mii Hisakawa lunged, clearly waiting to block it.
Rin let out a short breath, then cut the ball left with the inside of his right foot, dodging the tackle with surgical precision.
Hisakawa slid past helplessly. Rin pressed forward to the edge of the box—and fired again!
"Quick! Tackle him! I'll cover!"
Kobayashi barked at the right midfielder before charging straight into Rin's lane.
The right midfielder slid in, but Rin barely acknowledged him. He trapped the ball with his right sole, and the sliding defender went skidding harmlessly past.
Just as Rin accelerated forward, Kobayashi shouted in triumph:
"Got you, monster!"
"Hah… not even close."
Rin flicked the ball with his toe, slotting it cleanly through Kobayashi's legs.
By the time the nutmeg rolled through, Rin was already sprinting, a step behind the ball as he stormed into the box.
(A nutmeg dribble? First he tricked our midfielder with a fake shot, then read my interception perfectly…)
(Damn it! He didn't even need to react to me—he knew everything I was going to do!)
(Can we even beat someone like this? Get it together, Kobayashi! With Kudo, nothing is impossible!)
Spinning back, Kobayashi saw a teammate closing in on Rin inside the box.
(Our left midfielder! Perfect. No one else made it back in time.)
(Kudo… was this part of your plan too? Of course. With you, my confidence only grows!)
Facing the onrushing midfielder, Rin's voice was ice-cold.
"A bunch of puppets. Learn to think for yourselves."
With a flick of his right foot, he chipped the ball up as he hopped. The sliding midfielder missed completely—Rin struck mid-air, blasting a volley at the goal.
"You're not the only ones who can evolve! I told you—my eyes see through everything you do!"
"Anticipation?"
Rin's voice faltered for a split second as Kudo Tōya appeared, crimson light blazing in his eyes, slamming the shot away with his forehead.
[Thud!]
The deflected ball was immediately cleared by Team Y's right attacking midfielder.
Outside the box, Hiori and Matsutani jostled for position. Using his size, Matsutani hooked the ball with his heel, flicking it toward midfield center.
Four players converged there at once:
Ryūma, sprinting up from the left side of defense;
Two Team Y players flanking him, too wary to hold him back—if they tried, they might just get knocked over;
And Team Y's left back, already in position, waiting to receive the ball.
Ryūma frowned at the setup.
(That guy Kudo is this confident? How did I get forced into a three-on-one like this?)
(It's all his anticipation. He left three to pin me here, while still arranging to claim the pass.)
(No—he even planned for the ball to be blocked, setting up this exact interception.)
(Hah, pretty confident. But for all this to work, there's one condition…)
(Rin's shot has to get blocked. Meaning Rin came up short this time.)
The thought made Ryūma laugh out loud.
But he didn't linger—the ball was dropping.
As soon as it hit the turf, the two flanking defenders crashed toward him.
"Hmph! Lie down and cool off, nobodies!"