Ryūma Banjō watched the chaos unfolding before him, his mind racing.
(What now? That damn Otoya knows he can't win the ball, so he's making sure I can't either.)
(Should I just take a forceful shot? No, can't risk it—Karasu's sprinting this way. His positioning is perfect to block a forced shot.)
(That means there's only one thing left to do.)
"And that is…"
"Win this ball!"
Ryūma lunged forward, shoving against Eita Otoya with his arm to break free. But Otoya wasn't about to let him go so easily.
"Hmph, don't think you can shake me off that easily!"
Ryūma managed to get half a step ahead, but Otoya stayed tight on him, refusing to yield.
One of the triplet brothers rushed up to help Ryūma contest the ball—but an X Team player arrived at the same time, forcing him to abandon the tackle and block instead.
Tabito Karasu and Yo Hiori reached the ball almost simultaneously. Hiori, calm as ever, held back—waiting for Karasu to gain control before pouncing when he had no time to adjust.
(Hiori's behind Karasu… I've got to get the ball to him. He's the only one not being marked right now.)
(If I can just pass to Hiori, I'll be free to accelerate and escape this damned marking!)
Ryūma thrust his leg forward to pass—but Otoya kicked at the ball from behind at the same time.
(This ninja's way too clingy!)
(I'll reach it first, but there's no time to fix my angle!)
(Damn it! If this keeps up, Karasu might intercept it instead!)
"Get off me, you clingy nin—"
[BOOM!!]
Before Ryūma could finish, the sound of a powerful strike thundered through the field.
GOAL!! Team V 1–0 Team X!
Everyone in the box froze, eyes wide, staring at the calm figure standing exactly where he'd kicked from.
Ryūma was the first to react, shouting in frustration.
"Ugh, I swear, you sneaky bastard!"
"Seriously, Rin! Why do you always have to play dirty tricks?"
Sure enough, it was Rin Itoshi. He'd taken advantage of the chaos—knowing everyone's focus would narrow in the scramble—and slipped in behind Ryūma to fire a clean shot at the perfect moment.
"Hmph. You talk too much," Rin said flatly before walking back to his spot, waiting for the restart.
Yo Hiori came over, giving Ryūma a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, Ryūma. You'll get your goal next time. Come on, they're about to kick off again."
"Yeah, whatever—it's just one goal. But, Hiori, have you noticed how sneaky Rin's gotten lately?"
"Haha, he probably planned it all from the start. That first shot earlier? He was just testing their defense."
"Once things turned into a brawl in the box, their blind spots multiplied."
"And with Rin's skill, he only needed to watch whether Karasu or Otoya noticed him. The rest of X Team couldn't stop him even if there were three of them."
"So he's manipulating the whole match again, huh? I've had enough—my fists are literally shaking! I just want to punch him!"
"(u‿ฺu✿) Relax, Ryūma. Once we score next, you'll feel better, won't you?"
"Heh, yeah, you're right. Let's go—looks like they're lining up to restart."
...
X Team ball! Tabito Karasu to kick off from the center circle.
Watching Karasu's confident grin, Ryūma couldn't help but think,
(Damn, this guy's way too cool. And it's not just his looks—it's that aura of confidence.)
(Every time I see him, I just get this feeling like he's destined to win.)
(Too bad he's still a little short compared to me, though.)
While Ryūma was busy admiring himself, Karasu had already kicked off, sending the ball to X Team's attacking midfielder on the right.
X Team's formation mirrored Team V's: three defenders deep and seven pressing forward—three on the left, Karasu and Otoya in the center, and two on the right.
The right-side midfielder advanced into Team V's half but immediately ran into one of the triplet brothers. Without hesitation, he back-passed to Karasu in the center.
"Think I don't exist, huh?"
Ryūma charged in from midfield, intercepting the pass.
"Could you not come over here?" Karasu retorted, timing his movement perfectly.
As they reached the ball, he used his arm to block Ryūma's advance while colliding shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
(Again with this technique? So annoying!)
(And there's no real counter… Last time I could just knock his arm away because I had room to accelerate and the ball was farther out.)
(But this time, the ball's too close. I'll have to slow down to control it.)
(Even if I push one of his arms off, he'll just use the other to block me again.)
(Still… I won't let you take it either!)
Karasu's arm held Ryūma back—but Ryūma locked him down too. It was the only counter Ryūma could come up with.
Karasu smirked. "Huh? What makes you think I'm going to clash head-on with you?"
"Why compare my weakness to your strength? That'd be stupid."
Using the arm pressing against Ryūma as leverage, Karasu shot his left foot forward, stepping over the ball, then swiftly pulled back and flicked it with his heel—sending it across the field toward the right wing.
Before it even reached its destination, a ghostly blur intercepted it—Eita Otoya. He snatched the ball and darted down the right side toward midfield.
(Did that guy just teleport?! Where the hell did he come from?)
Ryūma grumbled inwardly but spun and took off after him.
Otoya burst into midfield, facing the triplets charging from the left, while Hiori and Rin closed in from the right.
Seeing the triplets in front of him, Otoya didn't slow down—instead, he sank his weight and accelerated again.
"Damn! We can't stop him—he's way too fast! And he's not like Ryūma at all!"
"Yeah! Ryūma beats you with sheer speed—you can see it coming! But this guy… he passes like a ghost!"
"Damn, his body control's unreal!"
In an instant, Otoya weaved through the triplets in a perfect S-shaped motion, slipping between their lines effortlessly.
But before he could reach Team V's back line, Yo Hiori was already there to cut him off—and Rin Itoshi was closing in fast.
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
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