"This is getting interesting. This is how it should be."
Bachira grinned wildly, eyes sparkling like spirals.
Isagi turned to him. "Bachira, what are you talking about?"
"Ryan's just way too strong! There's no way I'm letting him hog all the spotlight!"
Kickoff – Team V's Counterattack
Team V restarted play.
Raichi immediately charged Reo again.
"Heh-heh, purplehead your old man's back!"
Reo smirked. "You're way too clingy. You know girls don't like that, right, Mr. Sawtooth?"
Without hesitation, Raichi wrapped his arms around Reo, full-on bear-hugging him to stop his run.
Ryan stared from midfield.
"...Wait, that's definitely a foul. Isn't it?"
"Zantetsu!" Reo yelled, ignoring him and passing to the wing.
Zantetsu puffed out his chest.
"Leave it to me! Once again, I'll carve a road straight to the goal!"
"Don't even think about it," came a sharp voice.
Chigiri had already burst down the flank behind him, his crimson hair streaming.
"I'm not letting Ryan have all the glory. Watch as I crush you, the real King of Speed is me, dumb-eyes!"
Zantetsu clicked his tongue. "Don't call me dumb, slowpoke!"
He drove down the wing, cutting toward the box before crossing in.
The ball was meant for Nagi in the center
but at that moment, Chigiri lunged, barely nicking it with his foot.
The ball popped into the air and floated just outside the penalty area.
"Caught you, slowpoke."
"Nice interception, Chigiri!"
Nagi reached it first. He flicked the ball upward, spun, and volleyed midair
but Iemon threw himself in front of it, blocking with his face.
The deflected ball rocketed upfield.
"Great block!"
Bachira caught it cleanly. His pupils swirled into that telltale hypnotic spiral.
"My turn to dance!"
He dribbled forward, voice dropping into a murmur only he could hear.
"Whether it's a weapon or a formula… when you hit your limit, you have to go beyond it to score."
Reo slid in to challenge him. "Come on, show me, Bachira Meguru!"
"Gladly!"
Reo read his movements carefully, Bachira opened with an overspeed scissors, body faking left, intent hidden.
But suddenly Bachira spun full circle, a dazzling Marseille turn, and slipped right past him.
"Zantetsu!" Reo barked.
Right on cue, Zantetsu charged in from behind.
"Not this time, mophead!"
"Sharp eyes, huh?" Bachira smirked.
Zantetsu planted himself in front of him, blocking the lane.
Bachira gently flicked the ball upward.
Zantetsu grinned. He's gonna trap it midair again, huh? Stupid my acceleration is faster!
He dashed left to intercept
but Bachira twisted his ankle sharply, catching the ball on the other side of his foot, knocking it right instead.
"An air elastico…" Zantetsu gasped.
"Worked like a charm," Bachira whispered, bursting past. "Inspiration's overflowing."
He darted forward. "Sorry, gotta slip by!"
Three defenders now stood between him and the goal.
"Everyone stop him together!" Reo shouted.
Bachira only grinned wider.
"Perfect. I'll dance with all of you. We're here to become the best strikers in the world, right? If you can't stop me, that's your limit talking."
He pushed the ball wide with one foot, dragged it back with his heel, then popped it through the gap between two defenders.
"Three left…" he murmured counting the keeper too.
He spun behind them, body moving like water.
"Two."
A rainbow flick he soared past the last defender.
"One."
Now it was just him and the keeper.
Bachira charged, the defenders chasing desperately behind.
The keeper lunged forward, hands wide.
Bachira crossed his legs, slicing through the ball with a rabona strike.
THUMP!
The ball soared clean over the keeper's head.
"Is this guy serious?!" the keeper shouted, reaching
but his fingers only brushed air.
GOAL!!!
"Bachira!"
"That was insane!"
Team Z swarmed him.
"Did you see that?! My Super Special Limit-Break Shot! Pretty fun, huh?"
Isagi's heart pounded. Surpassing your limit… that's what it means to score.
Ryan threw an arm around Bachira's shoulders, ruffling his hair.
"Going beyond your limit doesn't mean flailing around. You nailed it, Bachira."
"Eh? I did?"
Ryan smiled.
"Your goal came straight from your weapon, your dribbling. You built a new equation for success.
When your old formula Weapon A × Situation B = No Goal C fails, you forge a new one Weapon ? × Situation ? = Goal 1."
Bachira's grin widened. "Yeah… I just followed my instincts and it worked!"
"Exactly. Keep chasing those new possibilities."
Isagi watched, fists clenching.
That's it. I need my own evolution, my own formula.
Team V on the Edge
V Team kicked off again.
"Damn it…" Reo muttered. "Half a year. We've only been playing soccer for half a year and our undefeated record's gonna end here?"
Everyone who heard froze.
"Half a year?!"
"You're kidding."
Ryan laughed loudly.
"Half a year ago, didn't I crush you and make you kneel at my feet?"
"Shut up!" Reo snapped. "I'm talking about me and Nagi! As long as he's with me we'll never lose!"
Isagi frowned. "Raichi can't handle him alone."
He stepped forward. "Raichi, I'll double-mark him with you."
"Got it!"
The score read 3–0.
Reo clenched his fists. I won't let you win. I refuse to lose here. I'm not anyone's toy… and I won't live on handouts. Before I prove I can get what I want myself
"I'll never lose!"
He pushed forward with the ball, Raichi charging beside him.
"You that scared of losing?" Raichi taunted. "You fragile little hothouse flower! Guess I'll hand you your first taste of defeat!"
Tch he's closing my passing lanes to Nagi, Reo realized. Even Zantetsu can't cut in from the wing now. I can't shake this stalker off me. Eleven's ready to intercept if I force a pass… I don't want to lose but I can't see a way forward. The whole field… it's under their control.
"Will… will we lose, Nagi?" he whispered.
Nagi glanced at him and for once, his eyes sharpened.
"Reo."
He started running.
"Pass it to me."
"Nagi?"
Reo obeyed instinctively.
Nagi caught the ball. Black smoke seemed to shimmer around him, his eyes now swirling spirals.
"Reo… I'll try something."
He charged. Two defenders rushed in, Nagi flicked the ball upward, faking high but nutmegged the first defender instead.
The second came in fast. Nagi slipped the ball out wide.
"Zantetsu!"
Zantetsu sprinted up the flank, taking the pass.
Chigiri reacted a moment too late.
"Nagi, you're actually giving me orders?" Zantetsu said, half shocked, half thrilled.
"This is your first time asking me to do something," he added with a grin.
Reo stood frozen, watching Nagi move not waiting lazily, but chasing.
"Nagi… you…"
Zantetsu cut around Chigiri and sent the ball back toward the middle.
Nagi's thoughts flickered.
Why am I trying so hard? Because of Reo's face just now? Or… because losing feels weirdly new?
Maybe… it's because something that used to feel 'bothersome' now feels… exciting.
He reached the edge of the six-yard box, leapt, and trapped the ball against his foot midair.
Two defenders dove in.
"No way!"
"He can't shoot from that angle!"
I want to test my limits with soccer.
The ball hung briefly in the air.
Nagi landed, pushed off the turf, jumped again, spun midair and volleyed clean.
GOAL!!!
He crashed to the ground.
Reo ran over, eyes wide. "Nagi, you "
Nagi got up slowly, smiling faintly.
"Reo… soccer's kinda fun."
My life was boring.
Until I gained the selfish curiosity to see what lies beyond.
"How many more points do we need?" he murmured.
Meanwhile, Ryan was… strolling.
He'd already scored twice and lost interest. Now, he simply wanted to see how far Reo's "treasure," Nagi, could go under pressure.
And honestly? It was pretty entertaining.
Now, some might ask Ryan, your team just got scored on! Don't you feel frustrated?
No. Not Ryan Hoshino.
To him, as long as the final result was victory, the process didn't matter. Soccer was an eleven-man game; even if he was a powerhouse, his teammates had their limits. What was he supposed to do, run back and play defender too?
If that was the expectation, he might as well stop being a striker altogether.
Observation Room – Ego's Lecture
From the control room, Ego Jinpachi and Anri Teieri watched intently.
"As you predicted, Mr. Ego," Anri said. "The match has become… explosive."
Ego grinned.
"It's perfect. Win or lose, live or die when a striker is pushed beyond the death line, that's when they awaken."
"Awaken?" Anri tilted her head. "You mean like… a normal person suddenly turning superhuman? Like a Super Saiyan or something?"
Ego sighed. "Completely wrong. That's a fantasy for fools who've never tasted true success."
"F-fool?!"
"True awakening," Ego continued, "is the moment a person pieces together their fragmented self through relentless thought, experience, and failure.
Each failure adds another piece to the puzzle. When those pieces align through desperation the desire to win it blossoms into revelation.
In short, awakening… is the instant you understand yourself."
The Hero's Shot
Team Z kicked off again.
After a few failed pushes, the ball rolled to Kunigami Rensuke.
He took possession and surged forward.
"Stop him! Don't let him get into shooting range!"
Once I'm within 30 meters, my mid-range shots have the highest success rate… but this is still too far. Unless I evolve, I can't score.
Two defenders boxed him in.
Dribble through? No… that's not my weapon. Then… should I try that move? But I've only practiced it for a few days… My accuracy's lower than my left foot's.
He kept advancing anyway. The defenders closed in, pressing tighter.
From behind, Isagi shouted,
"Kunigami! Don't back down, face it head-on! You want to be a superhero, right?!"
Kunigami froze for a split second then grinned.
He's right. To evolve, I can't stay the same.
He slammed his shoulder into one defender, breaking free and creating space.
No one was marking him now.
Thirty meters out.
If I want to be a superhero… then this is how one acts!
He drew back his leg and struck with all his strength his right foot slicing through the air.
The ball screamed toward the top corner.
The keeper dove full stretch.
"Damn it! That's a perfect ten shot!"
GOAL!!!
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