"Stop him!" Hyōma positioned himself at full speed in front of Zantetsu to block his shot.
But Zantetsu had other plans — instead of shooting, he delivered a powerful pass.
The target: Seishirō!
"That angle — it's impossible to receive!"
Team Z's players rushed to block him. Now receiving the pass would be even more challenging than before.
Even with his incredible ball control, Seishirō would have no space to shoot!
But Seishirō's specialty was turning the impossible into possible.
He leaped high and caught the ball mid-air — but then, instead of his usual technique of trapping the ball against his foot, he let it brush his heel and bounce upward.
"Did he make a mistake?!" Wataru, defending in front, thought this was his chance to steal.
But Seishirō's expression remained completely calm. This was no mistake — it was deliberate.
He spun his body in mid-air, his extraordinary jumping power giving him the hang time to execute a series of impossible movements!
At this moment, he was like a dancer in the air.
Spin, then shoot!
From an almost impossible angle, Seishirō seized his chance. His powerful kick launched the ball like a cannonball, with perfect precision!
The goalkeeper Okuhito dove forward instantly, but the ball's tricky angle sent it sliding past his fingertips.
No one could have imagined Seishirō making such a shot from that position!
In the original story, Team Z's victory over Team V wasn't just about their awakening and overtime triumph. Another crucial factor was that Seishirō hadn't played seriously during the first half, only showing his true strength after halftime.
Had he given his all from the start, the outcome would have been uncertain.
Now, influenced by Ryōsuke's performance, Seishirō had become serious right from the first half.
And when he got serious, he was nearly unstoppable!
"No!" Okuhito shouted in frustration.
If Team V equalized now, victory would slip further from their grasp.
But at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared behind him: Ryōsuke!
He understood Seishirō's abilities better than anyone else. Knowing the previous position wasn't ideal for intercepting the pass, he had rushed straight to the goal at full speed.
This guy's shot had found the perfect dead angle — but Ryōsuke was the final barrier!
Using the explosive power of his Thunderclap and Flash, he dove through the air, twisting his body sideways to block the ball mere inches from crossing the goal line!
Successful clearance!
"Kira!" Okuhito called out, his voice filled with relief.
Without Ryōsuke, Team V would have faced a certain equalizer.
"Impossible! He actually cleared that shot?!" Reo exclaimed in disbelief — such a save should have been beyond human capability.
Even Seishirō's eyes widened as he watched the ball being kicked away.
In his previous three matches, no one had ever defended his shot. Ryōsuke was the first.
Yet instead of frustration, a spark of excitement ignited in his heart.
"Soccer... seems quite interesting." He muttered to himself.
After the clearance, the ball soared high into the air. The towering Gin gained possession and instantly passed to Meguru!
Team V's attack had failed, and now Team Z launched their counter-attack!
"We must defend at all costs!" Reo shouted, knowing they were now the ones backed into a corner.
Another goal would put them at 3-1 — a deficit much harder to overcome in the second half!
They had to maintain the current score, no matter what.
"Counter-attack!"
As Meguru carried the ball past the halfway line, a chill ran down his spine — every cell in his body warning him of an ominous presence approaching from behind.
He turned his head slightly to see the sports-goggles guy charging toward him at a terrifying speed.
"I absolutely, absolutely won't let you attack as you please!" Zantetsu declared, emanating an overwhelming pressure.
"What a persistent guy!" Meguru said with a smile — the stronger his opponent, the more excited he became.
He skillfully controlled the ball at his feet and executed a turn, preventing Zantetsu from stealing from behind while quickly distributing the ball.
In the center, Ryōsuke had silently arrived!
"What position are you even playing in this match?!" Reo stuck close to him, his stamina already drained just from defending.
Ryōsuke had appeared on the defensive line earlier to make that clearance, and now he was charging forward with the forwards.
In Reo's eyes, he seemed like an all-around player.
What puzzled him most was Ryōsuke's terrifying stamina. Running from almost the goal line in their own half all the way to midfield, participating in both attack and defense — this consumed enormous energy. Even just marking him had left Reo nearly exhausted, yet Ryōsuke still seemed to have energy to spare.
This guy was simply a monster!
He now realized his earlier words had been completely wrong — he had severely underestimated Ryōsuke. That guy existed in the same realm as Seishirō.
Ryōsuke leaned forward, suddenly appearing to accelerate, which made Reo instinctively shift his weight backward.
"This time, I definitely won't let you get past me!"
But Ryōsuke didn't directly break through with speed — while it looked like he was dribbling forward, he instead used his toe to pin the side of the ball, making it spin and move backward.
It was just a feint!
"What?!"
His forward-leaning motion had been so convincing that it completely disrupted Reo's balance. Despite his desperate attempt to adjust his center of gravity, his body had already lost control, and he fell straight to the ground.
"It seems you who call yourself a genius are nothing special after all."
❖❖❖
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