Chapter 82: The Long Pass Maestro
"Yo, nice shot. Looks like the ladies haven't drained you dry just yet." Silva raised his hand, ready for a high-five with Blake.
"Boring. Let's just wrap this up so I can shower and rest." Blake completely ignored the celebration, his eyes reverting to the look of a dead fish.
Silva wasn't the least bit annoyed by Blake's attitude. The whole world knew this guy's hobbies: football and beautiful women. That was it.
"Hey, hey, don't say that. It makes me look bad for losing the ball," Cavazos said, feeling a bit speechless that his mistake was being glossed over.
"Next up... Loki, keep an eye on that white-haired kid. If you do that, this should be over," Luna said, sensing that apart from Kira, the rest of the opposition wasn't worth worrying about.
Loki nodded. "Leave it to me. I'll mark him to death."
***
On the other side, the Blue Lock players were feeling somewhat demoralized.
Bachira looked over at the White Team, anxiety spreading through him. He spoke dejectedly, "Is this the world-class standard? The gap is way bigger than I imagined."
Aryu's expression remained relatively stable as he encouraged the group. "At least our opponents are standing right in front of us."
"That's right." Isagi wasn't scared off by the massive difference in skill. He spoke with resolve, "The score is tied right now. Let's not give up on ourselves before it's even over."
Everyone nodded in agreement. At this point, retreating wouldn't change anything.
***
The match resumed.
Blue Lock kickoff.
As soon as the whistle blew, the ball went to Bachira's feet. Bachira steadied his mind. Fear was useless now, so he decided to stride forward.
Bachira dribbled forward fearlessly.
Cavazos stepped up to meet him just like before, then stopped in his tracks, observing Bachira's dribbling.
"Get past him again, Bachira!!" Isagi cheered from the side.
"Hear that, Freckles? My teammate wants me to beat you one more time." As soon as the words left his mouth, Bachira dropped his center of gravity to his hips.
Bachira's signature move: Step Overs!
And it was even more polished than before. Bachira increased the amplitude of his shoulder drops and hip twists to create a more realistic and dazzling effect. His feet moved constantly, turning into a blur of step-overs that dazzled the eye.
"Oh? Pretty flashy," Cavazos commented.
Suddenly—
As Bachira's left foot landed after a step-over, his right foot was on the same side as the ball. He slammed the outside of his right foot against the ball, executing a sharp directional change.
A sharp cut to the right!!
Bachira's figure broke through past Cavazos' right side.
"Beautiful!! Bachira, that was a perfect breakthrough!" Isagi cheered loudly.
But on the other side, Rin's face turned pale as he shook his head. He had been stripped.
Bachira, having moved past his opponent, suddenly felt emptiness beneath his feet. He looked down. There was nothing there.
Where was the ball?
Bachira looked back, only to see Cavazos stepping on the ball with one foot. The baby-faced player looked at him innocently and spoke flatly. "Your rhythm is dangerous, but your pattern is too one-dimensional."
"Your movements lack variation. I won't let you pass me a second time."
With that, Cavazos tapped a short pass. The target was Blake, who had started to make a run.
But after playing the pass, Cavazos' calm expression changed abruptly.
Kira had appeared out of nowhere on Cavazos' passing lane and intercepted the ball with a single touch.
"So annoying... that guy's speed," Cavazos muttered, kicking the turf in frustration.
Bachira let out a sigh of relief. Thank god for Kira. If the ball had been stolen there, it would have been another perfect counterattack opportunity for the enemy, and he would have been the sinner of the Blue Team.
After intercepting the ball, Kira didn't even have time to catch his breath before he sensed movement behind him. Blake was already closing in.
Kira didn't hesitate. He accelerated, abruptly shifting gears to dodge Blake's tackle attempt. He sped down the wing, trying to make the most of the remaining time on his Loki Trial Card.
"You're taking us way too lightly, kid."
Just as Kira was flying forward with the ball, a massive shadow pressed down on him. It was the Heavy Tank, Silva.
Thud.
When the two figures collided, Kira felt like he had slammed into an iron plate. He staggered, losing control of the ball.
Silva took the opportunity to casually clear the ball, kicking it out over the baseline. Kira, unable to control his body, tumbled to the ground.
"Hey, Silva, don't go too overboard," Loki frowned slightly.
Silva spread his hands, indicating he hadn't even used his full strength.
"Foul!!!" Aryu shouted. "How is that not a foul?"
Bachira and Rin rushed over to check on Kira.
"Ugh..." Kira felt like his bones were slightly rattled all over. It hurt, but there was no serious damage. He waved his hand to signal he was fine.
Kira felt a lingering fear. Silva had obviously held back; otherwise, it wouldn't have been as simple as falling down. He probably would have been sent flying.
Rin pulled Kira up.
"You good?" Rin asked, his tone less cold than usual.
"I'm fine. Let's keep going."
Although Kira said to keep going, he quickly replayed the positioning of both teams in his mind. Bachira was behind him. Rin, Isagi, and Aryu were being marked to death by Loki, Luna, and Cavazos respectively.
In the instant the transition from offense to defense happened, the opponents had completed a defensive contraction. Except for Blake, who had come to steal the ball, the other four were perfectly guarding their zones.
So, Kira realized he couldn't have passed that ball earlier. His only option had been to rely on his speed to shake off Silva. Unfortunately, Silva's defensive experience was seasoned, and he didn't let Kira get away with it.
"Fair charge. No foul."
"Blue Team corner kick."
The judgment came over the loudspeaker.
"Dammit, does that really not count as a foul?" Aryu was still unconvinced.
Silva raised an eyebrow. "Playing a professional match isn't playing house. Physical contact is a daily meal for us."
"I trust you understand that, white-haired kid."
Kira nodded, harboring no blame toward Silva in his heart. This was the cruel reality. Football was a sport of intense physical confrontation. Silva was just giving them a lesson in advance.
***
After the interruption of Kira's fall, the match continued.
Kira whispered something to Rin. Rin looked at Kira with slight surprise, then nodded.
"Hey, Loki. What kind of tactics do you think those two kids are whispering about?" Blake's dead-fish eyes actually showed a hint of curiosity.
"That's rare, Blake. You're actually curious about what men are thinking," Loki teased, showing zero respect for his senior.
"Tch. Show some respect for the Top Scorer of the English League, kid," Blake said, his tone dissatisfied.
"Okay, okay, my dear senior. Let's just focus on the match first." Loki's expression remained as placid as ever.
***
Blue Team corner kick.
Kira took the spot to kick.
Kira chanted internally: 'Use Pablo Cavazos Trial Card.'
[Pablo Cavazos Trial Card activated successfully!]
[Vision +55 (Continuous decay)]
[Strength +20 (Continuous decay)]
[Speed +20 (Continuous decay)]
[Passing +60 (Continuous decay)]
[Shooting +30 (Continuous decay)]
[Duration: 10 minutes]
The system's prompt rang in Kira's mind.
To be honest, even if Silva hadn't pressed him earlier, he wouldn't have been able to run anymore. The previous Trial Card had expired.
Kira had just whispered to Rin to request the chance to take this corner kick.
Exhale.
Kira took a deep breath. The perspective granted by the Cavazos Attribute Card allowed him to survey the entire field with new clarity.
Seeing Kira prepare to kick, Isagi immediately ran over, ready to receive a short pass.
Suddenly—
Kira's eyes lit up, and he immediately swung his leg.
It was a long pass straight toward the opponent's penalty area.
Isagi looked up in disbelief, watching the arc of the ball. He recalled the match against Team Y, where Kira had shown a fleeting glimpse of a long pass.
That's right. Kira wasn't just an offensive kaleidoscope.
He was also a Long Pass Maestro.