"Damn it!"
The goal was right in front of him, yet Isagi Yoichi couldn't manage to put the ball in. The physical disadvantage made him suffer greatly in his confrontation with Mikage Reo. He stubbornly got a kick off, but in the end, he only hit air.
"I can see it all! My head understands!"
"But... my physical ability!"
At this moment, more than ever before, Isagi longed for an outstanding physique. If only he could run a little faster, if only his physical strength were a little stronger...
"Nice one, young master. I'll reward you properly when we get back."
Chigiri Hyoma beat Barou to the ball and cleared it with a long kick, resolving the crisis.
BAM!
The ball flew quickly out of Tendou's team's penalty area, heading towards the other half of the field.
"Stop him, you bastard ninja!" Barou roared, while at the same time running back recklessly.
Almost simultaneously, the good friends Karasu and Otoya both rushed towards the ball's landing spot. The two figures, one blue and one green, moved forward almost stuck together, neither giving way. Even though they had once fought side-by-side, they were opponents now! Since they were opponents, it was either you die or I live; no one would hold back.
"This is why, if you want to win, you have to go after the guys who are dragging the team down!"
Karasu's expression was not relaxed. Facing Otoya, his advantage was not obvious; one could even say he had no advantage. His physical strength was greater, but Otoya's speed was faster, and his off-the-ball movement was more erratic.
"Then don't try to stop me, you damn crow!" Otoya pumped his legs with all his might. He clenched his teeth, his expression as firm as a rock.
...
"Do you know why, in the fourth stage of the second selection, there are more and more upsets, Anri?"
Ego Jinpachi watched everything from the control room, his hands clasped together, sitting quietly in his chair.
"Is it because there are no fixed requirements for team composition, and the strength of the teams is uneven?" Anri thought for a moment and replied.
In the matches of the past two days, under their observation, upsets had been frequent. Many of the teams that had arrived at the fourth stage early were defeated by teams that had come from behind. Many of these losing teams had higher combined rankings than their opponents, but the results were stunning.
"That's only one aspect. The other aspect is fighting spirit, or what you could call the will to fight."
"Only those who have failed can truly understand the value and difficulty of victory."
"Especially those who have escaped elimination by the skin of their teeth. Their desire for victory is higher than those who have had a smooth ride."
Ego spoke eloquently in front of the screen, like an animation team member explaining football knowledge to the audience, or like a failed author padding his word count.
But regardless.
Karasu was defeated. Otoya got to the ball's landing spot a step ahead of him. Isagi saw this, his eyes filled with longing. What he couldn't do, Otoya could. If Otoya had taken that shot just now, he could have scored.
Otoya immediately counter-attacked.
However.
Just at this moment, a monster wreathed in thick black flames suddenly appeared before his eyes. The feeling was extremely terrifying, like watching a horror movie when a ghost suddenly jumps out in an empty hospital, occupying the entire screen, scaring the soul out of you.
Otoya was also scared. His heart stopped for a moment, and his pupils contracted sharply. But he quickly recovered, having already recognized who it was. It wasn't some demon or monster, but Tendou.
Sure enough.
Tendou quickly passed through the monster's body and came out, his whole body emitting a dazzling light, like a white cloud. That pair of azure eyes was locked onto him.
Tap!
There was no chance to dodge. The moment Otoya turned, Tendou's foot had already poked out. All of this happened at the same time; Otoya had no time to react.
Otoya tried to win the ball back on the spot, but Tendou passed it horizontally to Karasu a step ahead. In that instant, Karasu took the ball and broke away. Along with him were Tendou and Chigiri. Reo, however, stayed back in his position.
Isagi's team? Of course, they were tracking back with all their might.
Nagi.
He was the first to pounce on Karasu. The latter, with his signature sense of distance, wanted to keep his opponent from getting close. Who would have known that Nagi would unexpectedly slap his arm away! He had never specifically practiced it; it was all self-taught.
"Top-tier trapping, first-class body!" Karasu didn't panic. When one plan failed, another was born. He said, "Unfortunately, you're just a football idiot."
Shoulder drop, change of direction. Karasu shook off Nagi in an instant and smoothly passed the ball. He had already noticed that his General had rushed into the opponent's territory.
But...
"It's not over yet!!!"
Just as Karasu kicked his foot out, before the ball had completely left, he saw a foot extend into his field of vision, changing the direction of the ball that was supposed to go to Tendou.
It was Isagi again.
He combined everything he saw with data and fed it back to his brain, which finally made a judgment: Karasu will get past Nagi and pass to Tendou. Everything that was happening now had been predicted in his brain twice.
"Nice one!"
Even Barou couldn't help but praise Isagi for this defense.
Seeing the ball flying towards the byline, Isagi and the others felt a sense of relief. It was basically impossible to save this ball.
But who would have known that Tendou, after seeing the ball's path change, would immediately turn and take flight. His eyes, which could peer into the future, allowed him to change direction at the first moment, turning the impossible into the possible.
BZZT!
Lightning continuously flashed from his feet. Even the air he exhaled carried arcs of lightning. Taking a step, he stomped hard on the turf, and like an arrow released from a bow, he tore through the air and rushed over.
"It's not over yet! Stop him!" Isagi, seeing this, was so shocked his jaw was about to drop.
Otoya gritted his teeth and chased after him in a straight line.
Swish!
Tendou, like a shooting star piercing the night, his entire body shining with a pure white light, chased all the way to the byline. Just as the ball was about to go out, he saved it by a hair's breadth. This was the terrifying thing about his Big Data Statistics. It looked risky, but the probability of saving it was 80%.
"It's not over yet!"
Otoya, seeing this, decisively went for a slide tackle on the ball. At a zero-degree angle to the goal, there was no shooting angle. As long as he could block Tendou's pass, this defensive play would be a success.
But no one had expected that after Tendou saved the ball, he would immediately execute a Marseille Turn towards the outside of the field. He first quickly stepped on the ball with one foot, then his other foot extended like lightning, kicking the ball towards the penalty area. At this time, although Tendou's body was spinning out of bounds, the ball's direction had been changed by him, dodging the slide tackle.
This was different from a normal Marseille Turn; he had changed the final pull of the ball into a kick. The people on the field thought that Tendou had developed a new dribbling move. His turn was too fast; even Otoya couldn't see clearly how many movements he had made. He only saw Tendou's figure flash and move, as if he were dancing, elegantly dodging Otoya and sending the ball back into play.
Anri Teieri had already covered her mouth with both hands. She hadn't even seen clearly what had happened on the monitor.
The rest was simple.
Tendou caught up to the ball, dribbled past the goalkeeper with a cut, and then, facing an empty goal, blasted it.
BAM!
The ball shot out like lightning, creating intense friction with the air, and slammed heavily into the back of the net.
"GOAL!"
...
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