A knuckleball? A butterfly ball? A dipping shot? A full-moon scimitar?
None of the above. The only thing Tendou possessed was a thunderous blast.
The soccer ball, leaving his right foot like a meteor, pierced the air and smashed violently into the back of Kokuo's net.
The Kokuo players had done their best to block it, but the speed of his shot was simply too fast. By the time they reacted, the ball had already flown past them. The Kokuo goalkeeper guessed the right direction and dove with all his might, but missed by a hair's breadth.
With a swish, the ball slammed into the net, sending up a spray of white.
"ROAR!"
The next second, the entire stadium erupted like a volcano.
The Ichinan fans had already been on their feet since Tendou started his 40-meter run. His lone, epic dash had delivered a massive visual impact. In that short 70-meter distance, he had "nutmegged" and gotten past three defenders, sent one bouncing away, and shouldered two more aside.
In other words, this was a "Goal of the Year" contender where he beat six players.
Alright, the high school league didn't have a "Goal of the Year" award, but there were "Best Goal" awards for the spring and winter tournaments.
The moment Tendou saw the ball fly into the goal, he had already turned and sprinted towards the corner flag.
He had to admit it.
There was a 110% chance that he had mishit that shot. He had clearly aimed for the top right corner of the goal, as his Six Eyes had seen in the future that the keeper would dive to the left. But after the ball left his right foot, it had bizarrely flown towards the left side instead. Fortunately, the shot was fast enough that the ball still went in.
Tendou knew what had happened, but others didn't.
After scoring, he immediately ran to the corner flag to celebrate, executing a soul-stirring sliding kneel. Incredibly gifted, he was self-taught, leaving three striking lines on the turf!
The female fans in the stands saw this, covering their mouths with their hands, their expressions shy and embarrassed. They shifted their legs, unable to contain their excitement; it was a flood!
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!"
The TV commentator, who had been waiting for this moment, immediately showed the audience the full capacity of his lungs.
"THEY'VE SCORED!"
"Ichinan High has tied the score in the 84th minute of the match!"
"What a golden goal!"
"The goal scorer is Ichinan High's number 7, Tendou Kageyoshi."
"First, he sprinted 70 meters to make a crucial tackle, breaking up Kira's one-on-one opportunity. Then, he ran another 70-plus meters, beating six players, and finally unleashed a world-shattering long-range shot from about 20 meters out from Kokuo's goal!"
"An unbelievable performance, an absolute display of individual ability!"
"1:1!"
"The two teams are back on level terms! Tendou has saved his team with a long shot, keeping their hopes of advancing alive!"
On TV, Ichinan's players swarmed Tendou, celebrating passionately with him.
One moment in heaven, the next in hell!
This is football!
The beauty and cruelty of the sport were on full display in this single moment.
"Damn it!"
Kokuo's goalkeeper, channeling his inner Wu Lei, pounded the turf in frustration. There were only a few minutes left. Just a few more minutes, and if they had held on, they would have secured their spot in the nationals. Instead, their opponents tied the game in the final moments. It was a bolt from the blue.
'Holy crap, that was awesome!'
'He ran nearly 140 meters back and forth. How can you not love this guy?'
'My god, is he Son Heung-min?'
'What Son Heung-min? This is a young Haaland! This kid has a built-in Thornmail; he took that hit and was fine, and even sent the other guy flying.'
'Shouldn't it be Bale? The way he passed the ball to his future self, it was just like him!'
'Like hell! This kid is a center forward! Son and Bale are proper wingers!'
The viewers from the real world were also shocked by Tendou. His style was completely different from the other 21 players on the field. When this guy ran, he came with special effects. That billowing lightning was just too cool. It was the definitive style of a powerful character.
'Am I the only one who noticed? The kid slid and left three stripes!'
'Heavens, could he be...?'
'Lee Sin, you've found the critical point!'
After a year, Tendou's popularity value began to jump rapidly again. The audience remembered this handsome kid who took a ball to the face at the start, immediately redeemed himself by tackling someone into the air, and then scored with a solo run through the enemy's den.
Having tied the score at the last minute and escaped defeat, the morale of the entire Ichinan team was soaring.
The coach in the technical area yelled for the players to defend the score. Compared to Kokuo, Ichinan High's overall level was inferior. The only reason they had managed to hold on for 80 minutes while only being one goal down was thanks to their "park the bus" strategy. Before Tendou's goal, the shot comparison was 18 shots with 9 on target for Kokuo, versus 6 shots with 1 on target for Ichinan. The possession was also 64% to 36% in Kokuo's favor; Ichinan High was completely outmatched.
In the world of football, if an underdog wants to win, the best chance often lies in the penalty shootout.
"Defend!"
"Defend for these last few minutes!"
"Mark your men! Don't let Kira Ryosuke get the ball easily and rush into the box!"
The coach quickly directed his players to park the bus.
In his heart, Tendou was completely against defending to the death. As the saying goes, if you attack long enough, you're bound to slip up; but if you defend constantly, you just invite the other team to press forward. If they get enough shots, one is bound to go in by sheer luck. Of course, if your team's defenders were all Virgil van Dijk, then defending like that would be fine. The problem was, they weren't.
Ichinan's defenders had been utterly humiliated in the previous defensive play. Kira Ryosuke had taken on three of them by himself and created a one-on-one chance. Could you really rely on such a pathetic defense?
Sharing the same thought as Tendou was Isagi Yoichi. The sadist was already questioning the coach's decision. Before Tendou's goal, he had a golden opportunity to score himself. But his damn teammate had hit the post. It wasn't until Tendou's solo run, where he ignored his teammates and the coach to blast the ball through the opponent's goal, that Isagi felt like he had discovered a new world.
"That was... so dazzling!"
Isagi looked at Tendou's tall, slender figure. The other player seemed to be glowing. He realized at that moment that this was the kind of player he wanted to be, this was the striker of his dreams. But because of the coach's words, "All for one, one for all," he had passed the ball to a teammate in a better position.
From that moment on, Isagi began to question whether the coach's football philosophy was correct.
"What are you looking at, kid? If you get a chance, just pass the ball to me." Tendou's azure eyes swept over Isagi, who suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
I, Tendou Kageyoshi, specialize in taking down protagonists.
...
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