Chapter 38: The Aerial Trap
On the Pitch
Nagi, in the distance, clearly heard Reo's call. His lazy face showed a hint of displeasure.
"Huh? That sounds so troublesome…"
Raichi, standing nearby, felt his anger rising just looking at him. 'Does this guy really not take me seriously?'
"Hey, you white-haired punk! This master won't let you score a single goal today!"
Nagi slowly turned his head. "Oh."
That single "Oh" nearly made Raichi lose it. "Let me go, Igaguri! Don't hold me back! I'm going to give this guy a couple of punchs no matter what!" Raichi flailed his arms and legs, trying to charge forward.
Igaguri and Naruhaya used all their strength to barely hold him back.
"Raichi, calm down! If you foul, the match could be over for us…"
Hearing this, Raichi finally calmed down.
On the other side…
"You commoners can keep making noise for a little while longer…" Reo said with an arrogant look on his face.
Even Kira couldn't help but want to give him a couple of puchs. 'What are you acting all high and mighty for? We're the ones in the lead.'
'Don't lose your cool,' Kira reminded himself.
Beeep.
The match continued—Team V's ball.
Kira was still fuming inside. 'I've never seen anyone this arrogant before.'
Barou was arrogant too, but at least it was mutual. This was the first time he'd seen someone act so full of themselves after conceding a goal right from the start.
However, Kira didn't let anger cloud his judgment. He observed carefully and noticed a slight change in Team V's formation.
Zantetsu and Nagi were up front. Reo had dropped back to midfield, now playing as an attacking midfielder. He began organizing Team V's passing, slowly advancing step by step toward Team Z's goal.
Kira gave a look, signaling Bachira and Isagi to press up. 'Can't let this guy play so comfortably.'
"Been waiting for you two to step up…" Reo muttered smugly as they closed in.
Simultaneously, Kira sensed something was wrong. 'Is this guy about to launch a long pass?'
"Don't let him pass!" Kira shouted. Bachira and Isagi instantly reacted to his warning.
The three of them swarmed him at once—but still couldn't stop him.
Facing a three-man press, Reo still managed to release the ball early.
Kira's pupils dilated. 'This guy's release is so fast.'
The ball quickly took flight. Its destination was Nagi's position near the edge of the penalty area.
Kira carefully observed the ball's flight. It was a topspin pass, low and fast.
'Is this even a pass someone can receive? Or is it just a misplaced ball?' That was Kira's initial judgment.
"Raichi, the ball's coming!" Igaguri shouted.
"Stop yelling, I know!"
Raichi immediately positioned himself to block the landing spot. Nagi, on the other hand, didn't even try to contest the position. Raichi grinned inwardly. 'This master's got this ball.'
But what he never expected was that Nagi's battlefield wasn't on the ground—it was in the air.
"Hey!"
Seishiro Nagi suddenly leaped into the air. His 190-centimeter frame rose as if gravity no longer existed. He trapped the pass perfectly with the tip of his right foot mid-air.
Raichi's jaw dropped. 'You… you can do that? Dude, aren't you supposed to fight for the ball on the ground? You actually jumped to trap it? What kind of move is that?!'
Raichi felt his entire football worldview being shattered.
'Even if he trapped it in the air, how does he land steadily? He's definitely going to fall, right?'
Defying expectations, Nagi controlled the ball mid-air and landed smoothly right in front of Raichi.
And now, standing before him, was only the goalkeeper—Gagamaru.
Nagi unleashed a powerful left-footed shot. Gagamaru jumped a fraction of a second too late.
The ball flew into the net.
Boom.
In less than three minutes—Team V equalized.
Gagamaru felt helpless; he barely had time to react. There were too many defenders in front of him.
'Who could've expected this guy to just jump, trap the ball, and shoot immediately after landing?'
'Don't you even aim? What if you shot wide?!'
"Still so simple… Phew…" Nagi remarked calmly.
Raichi, however, was drenched in cold sweat. His earlier taunt about not letting them score had instantly turned into a joke.
"This guy's a monster!"
"Nagi, beautiful goal!" Reo jogged over to celebrate.
Nagi, completely unexcited, asked lazily, "Reo, I scored one goal. Can I rest now?"
"No, no! We need five more! The opponents are strong too!"
"How about four?"
The two began bargaining as if no one else was around.
Isagi, observing from behind, fell into deep thought. "What is with this guy? He's terrifying… He feels even more intimidating than Kira!"
Thump.
A hand patted Isagi's head. Kira walked to his side. "What's wrong, Isagi?"
"This guy… that pass came from way behind, a super long distance, and it was a dipping topspin ball… Even during normal runs, it's hard to receive something like that…"
"Plus, he had both Raichi and Igaguri marking him," Kira added, continuing the analysis.
"Under conditions where one mistake would've lost him the ball, Nagi didn't hesitate. He jumped to trap it…"
Kira replayed Nagi's sequence in his mind, sighing at the sheer brilliance, and continued, "After trapping it perfectly, he shot directly. That single moment contained too many high-difficulty techniques. I definitely couldn't pull that off."
"Huh? You can't do it either, Kira?" Isagi sounded surprised.
Kira smiled faintly, clapped his hands, and called out to everyone, "Everyone, don't panic! Keep playing according to our tactics!"
"Right… right, that goal must've been a fluke," Igaguri said, trying to reassure himself.
"Right! Let's fight these guys with everything we've got!" Raichi's fighting spirit reignited—he refused to be outdone by Nagi's aerial trap.
Isagi also snapped out of it. 'Yeah… being in awe of the opponent's strength won't win the match. We just have to keep pushing.'
Seeing Team Z's morale rebound so quickly, Kira sighed in relief. He'd worried Nagi's display might shake them—but they were holding firm.
Nagi's talent was undeniable, but there was still plenty of time left. Let them be arrogant for now.
Kira had his own plans.
…
Monitoring Room
Anri Teieri was speechless after watching Nagi's trap.
"Wow, he's so cool! What do I do? I feel like I'm becoming his fan too…"
Ego gave her a sidelong glance.
"What? This is called being open-minded, okay? I like any youth who plays football well!"
Ego complained inwardly, 'Sure, sure, 'open-minded'. My monitoring room's turning into your fan club meeting.'
"Huh? Ego-san, I heard Reo Mikage is the heir of the Mikage Corporation. Is that true?"
"Yes… it's written in the documents. Didn't you read them?" Ego looked at her, puzzled.
Anri awkwardly scratched her head. "I just didn't read carefully, so I'm confirming… But coming from such a wealthy family, why would this young master play football instead of inheriting the company?"
Ego sighed and pointed to his temple. "Simple. Because he met a genius he believed he could conquer the world with by teaming up—so he devoted himself to football. And that person is Nagi."
"Don't forget, they were in the same high school football club!"
Anri's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Really? Is that true?"
"Of course, I just made that up…"
"Huh?"
"Let's just keep watching the match. No more idle chatter!"
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