Isagi locked his eyes onto Ryan, refusing to blink.
He wanted to read anything from Ryan's movements
a twitch, a shift in weight, anything.
Ryan lifted his right foot.
Isagi's focus sharpened to the limit, brain running at double speed.
Is he going to blitz through with speed?
Or is he going to dribble?
They had a plan:
The moment Ryan touched the ball, at least three players had to collapse on him.
Yes, that left their other players open
but letting Ryan pass was equal to letting him score.
And Isagi needed to use his weapon
his field vision.
If he tries to pass, I'll appear in the most dangerous zone and cut it off.
Then
"...What!?"
To his shock, Ryan neither dribbled nor passed.
Instead
He shot.
From midfield.
The ball flew off his foot like a cannon shell, screaming through the air in a straight line, ripping past the players
Heading straight for the goal.
Isagi reacted immediately, sprinting toward the goal with everything he had.
"STOP IT!
HURRY!"
The others realized the danger and rushed after the ball, desperately trying to intercept before it reached the net.
But it was pointless.
The goalkeeper dove
body fully extended
but didn't even graze the ball.
It punched into the net, spun violently, then finally dropped to the turf.
GOAL!!!
Just seconds into the match
the score changed to 1–0.
Isagi stared at the net, stunned but not discouraged.
More than anything
He was amazed.
Ryan really is strong…
Their gap was huge.
All they could do was play their best
and maybe surpass themselves.
Aryu was speechless too.
"This… is that even possible~?"
Bachira grinned.
"Yep! But usually the shot wouldn't go in.
Not surprised it worked for Ryan."
But Otoya, who had never seen something like this, was dumbfounded.
"What the hell was that!? Why didn't any of you tell me he could shoot from there!?"
Aryu replied calmly.
"We didn't know either."
Isagi inhaled deeply and steadied his voice.
"It's fine.
Let's just stick to the plan."
Red Team Kickoff
Isagi started, passing to Otoya.
Otoya pushed forward.
Kunigami and Ryan approached to press him.
Otoya feinted, shifting their weight subtly, then used his arms to create distance and maintain a safe buffer.
Just as Otoya prepared another fakeout to slip between them
Aryu's long leg whipped out of nowhere and poked the ball away.
Otoya froze.
"Your arms and legs are THAT damn long!? How did you even reach that!?"
Aryu ignored him.
"Fabulous~ I'm simply too stylish right now."
Otoya stared blankly.
Yep. Total weirdo.
Isagi picked up the loose ball and passed to Bachira.
"Ehehe~ Yo, Chigiri, long time no see."
"We literally saw each other a few hours ago."
Bachira dribbled at him.
His sharp, unpredictable tail-flicks slipped past Chigiri in a single movement.
But Chigiri wasn't trying to stop Bachira with dribbling.
He wanted to drag him into the domain where he excelled
Speed.
Bachira kept driving forward, but Chigiri rapidly closed the gap, placing his arm on Bachira's chest, crowding him, forcing him off balance.
Bachira's control was excellent
Chigiri couldn't snatch the ball
but staying tied up like this wasn't good either.
So Bachira passed to Nagi near the box.
"I'm not letting you touch it, Chigiri."
"Perfect weight.
Nice pass, Bachira," Nagi murmured.
He looked at the ball flying toward him, still thinking through how to control it
When suddenly
Aryu leapt in out of nowhere and headed it away.
The height of his jump shocked everyone.
"So high!"
"Damn, we got countered…"
Aryu landed gracefully and struck a pose.
"The most stylish presence on this field… is me, of course."
Nagi stared blankly at him.
"You jumped pretty high.
But I'm at least 190 cm too."
Aryu didn't listen, sprinting forward.
"Kunigami!
Send it to me!
Toward the goal!"
Kunigami gained possession and followed orders
But Bachira slid in from the side, blocking the pass and redirecting it.
"My bad."
"Isagi! It's yours now!"
Isagi rushed to the ball.
"Nice steal, Bachira!"
He shielded it, keeping Aryu behind him.
If I lose it here, we're in danger.
I need to be careful…
But Aryu moved.
His long leg curled around Isagi's body
and flicked the ball away.
Isagi's eyes widened.
He knew Aryu's limbs were long,
but THIS long?
That angle shouldn't even be possible.
His reach is insane…
and his jump too…
Aryu
he's a freak too.
The ball soared
And dropped straight into the goal.
GOAL!!!
Aryu flipped his long, glossy black hair and declared:
"The most stylish man on this field…
is this fabulous me."
Isagi apologized, bowing his head slightly.
"Sorry… I didn't expect him to shoot from there."
Bachira patted his shoulder.
"It's fine!
Stylish Mister Long Arms caught us off guard.
We were too focused on Ryan and forgot about his teammates."
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