After adjusting his angle, Yo Hiori sent the ball decisively down the left wing!
The pass landed perfectly, away from the four defenders in the box—opening the best shooting lane!
But along with Ryūma Banjō, Yukio Ishikari had also taken off, shadowing him inside the penalty area. Unfortunately, Ishikari's speed was nowhere near Ryūma's.
Ryūma was already at the ball. Before it even touched the ground, he planted his right foot, dropped his weight low, and struck cleanly with his left as it fell into place!
"Thud!"
(Tch! Not my stronger foot! But from here, the shooting angle is perfect! This one's mine!)
The ball rocketed diagonally toward the goal. Just then, Akemi Inoue sprinted back and leapt with all his might for the top corner!
(Useless. This shot has backspin!)
As Ryūma expected, the ball suddenly dipped downward just as Inoue reached for it in mid-air.
But what Ryūma didn't expect was Ishikari, using his height advantage to dive across the lower corner before the ball even reached the net.
With his forehead, Ishikari just barely managed to deflect the rapidly dipping shot away!
Because Inoue and Ishikari had arrived at the same moment—
one lunging high, the other low—they collided right in front of the net.
"Hah? Even that got blocked?!"
Ryūma shouted furiously, immediately scanning for the ball's rebound.
(Huh? Rin! How is he already there?!)
Ryūma saw Rin Itoshi already set for a shot, the ball dropping neatly at his feet, and couldn't help but marvel inwardly:
(This is Rin Itoshi… His overall ability is maxed out, and those eyes see the entire field in ways I'll never experience in my life!)
(Damn, I'm so jealous! No matter how much I train, I'll never be able to see the future of the field like Rin or Isagi!)
While Ryūma wrestled with those thoughts, Rin fired at goal. The crowd braced for a score…
...when suddenly, a round figure blocked Rin's power shot!
And not with his arms or legs—he stopped it with his belly! The spinning ball sank into his stomach, spun a few times, then went completely dead!
That round figure was none other than Team Z's defensive anchor, Yushu Furukawa! Grinning maniacally, he plucked the ball off his belly and stared straight at Rin.
"You're Rin Itoshi, right? That shot just now? I loved it! Come on, again, again!"
Rin froze, staring blankly at the blocked ball.
Ryūma's mouth twitched awkwardly before he finally managed two words:
"Unbelievable."
"I've learned my lesson. There won't be a next time."
Rin said calmly, still looking at Yushu Furukawa. Then he stepped up to Ryūma and added,
"I told you to bring the ball in and pass it to me. I'll lead you to victory."
"Hah? Why should I pass to you? And why would I need you to lead me? Don't get full of yourself, Rin."
"Four straight attacks, all stopped. I don't see how you plan to win on your own. You can't even recognize your own limits."
With that, Rin walked back to his position, no longer bothering to argue.
"Huh? What did you just say? Get back here! Who doesn't recognize their own limits?!"
Ryūma, boiling with rage, moved to confront Rin, but Yo Hiori quickly stepped in to stop him.
"Alright, Ryūma, calm down. Kick off. Let's attack again. I've got a feeling this time it'll work!"
"Tch! Fine. Once this match is over, I'll have a proper talk with him. Let's go, Hiori!"
With that, Ryūma took position at the right side of midfield. The ball had once again been blasted out by Yushu Furukawa, landing on Team V's right midfield line.
Ryūma stood on the left side of midfield, outwardly calm but seething inside.
He knew Rin wasn't wrong. After so many failed attacks, could he really break through this iron wall of eleven defenders?
(Don't get impatient. There was an opening before… The hell there was!)
Seething, Ryūma stomped his right foot and roared,
"Damn it!!!"
Fueled by rage, he charged at Team Z's defense again!
This time, Z reinforced their line with four players—the forward and three midfielders.
They formed a fan-shaped wall around Ryūma, planning to shut down his changes of direction and adapt from there.
But before they could act, Ryūma's furious voice exploded:
"I told you—trash, get out of my way!"
At this point, Ryūma had no intention of showing off his refined technique. He just wanted to vent his rage!
As he closed in, he accelerated again, tearing straight through the middle of the four-man formation!
Two of them tried to block him, but were instantly flattened by his sheer power, barely slowing him down!
"Wh-what?! What kind of strength is this?"
"Damn it! How are we supposed to compete with a monster like this for the title of the world's top striker?"
The four defenders stared at Ryūma in despair. After so many clashes, they thought they could at least stop him for a moment.
But just like at the start of the match, they couldn't even slow him for an instant!
Two stood frozen on the flanks, watching his figure disappear into the distance, while the other two lay on the ground, not even getting up.
"Something's off with him. We need to be careful, Ishikari!"
"Relax, Shūhō. I've already shut down his aerial dribbles. If he tries it, I'll cut him off! Whatever trick he uses—or even if he shoots—we'll stop it.
Worst case, we've still got three behind us to seal him off! He's coming, Shūhō—focus!"
By then, Ryūma had already reached Shūhō Aoki and Yukio Ishikari.
(So annoying! I've beaten them how many times now? Why do they still think they can stop me?!)
"Argh—you nobodies! You're so damn annoying!"
As Ryūma closed in, he burst left with another acceleration.
"Ishikari, cut him off! He's trying to outrun us!"
"Shūhō, stay behind him in case he suddenly stops the ball. I'll press him up front!"
Ishikari pressed forward, while Aoki shadowed closely behind, ready to intercept if Ryūma stopped suddenly.
"Get… out of my way!"
The moment he shouted, Ryūma froze like someone had hit pause—ball and body alike!
He sharply kicked the ball, sending it darting between Ishikari and Aoki.
Ishikari, carried forward by momentum, stopped abruptly and shouted,
"Shūhō! Stop him!"
But by then, Ryūma had already accelerated, appearing instantly behind Aoki.
"What?! A split run-and-ball? I, Shūhō Aoki , will stop you even if I have to foul you!"
The moment Aoki saw Ryūma behind him, he knew a clean tackle wouldn't work.
With no other choice, he reached back to grab him—
But before his hand could even touch, Ryūma was already gone, storming into the penalty area with the ball at his feet!
Aoki froze, arm still outstretched, looking like a fool frozen in place. His thoughts spiraled:
(So… I can't even foul him? Against a monster like this, can we really defend at all?)