"Wow, Shinichi, these guys really are your hardcore fans. Wanna give them some special fan service?" teased Aiku with a mischievous smile, keeping pace alongside Shinichi's counterattack.
Shinichi rolled his eyes helplessly. "Aiku, did Lorenzo's lousy taste rub off on you? Out of everyone, you just had to pick up Ness's idiotic speaking habits?"
"Still... it might be worth a try."
Upon hearing Shinichi's response, Aiku nodded knowingly and shouted loudly to their teammates, "Did you hear that, Ubers? The boss just gave us a new assignment!"
At Aiku's command, Ubers' formation instantly shifted with spine-chilling precision, as if all members shared a single consciousness.
This war machine fluidly adjusted its attack pattern: Kunigami and Barou rapidly spread out to the sides, while Aiku and Niko, following closely behind, positioned themselves slightly back in the center. Sendou moved freely, hovering near Shinichi like a roving shadow.
"What the hell is this? Are you guys psychic clones or something? This coordination is ridiculously overpowered!"
Even though the attack hadn't formally begun, the disciplined transformation of Ubers was already placing immense psychological pressure on Manshine's players.
As the storm approached, the tension grew increasingly oppressive with each step Shinichi advanced.
"You bastard, how far are you planning to push it!?"
Finally, perhaps unable to endure Shinichi's overwhelming pressure any longer, Arthur from Manshine broke the stalemate by charging toward Shinichi.
However, a flash of dark lightning in Shinichi's eyes was all it took—before Reo and the others could even register what happened, Arthur had already collapsed to the ground in shock.
"Not bad. Seems quality really beats quantity sometimes. Even after reaching the near-peak state of Selfless Realm, there's still plenty of untapped potential in the ZONE," Shinichi mused aloud, casually dribbling past his fallen opponent. "Not only is there another path known as the Playmaker, but the ZONE itself still has room for exploration."
The essence of the ZONE state was fully releasing the body's potential, which was typically restricted subconsciously. What if, following this logic, he pushed ZONE even further—to 120% of human potential?
After unlocking the second door of the Selfless Realm—the Limit of Thousand Refinements—Shinichi had merged it with his ZONE techniques, carving out a completely new pathway at their intersection:
ZONE Stage Three!
At this stage, after maximizing all bodily functions to 100%, he could push a specific physical ability to nearly 110%.
Shinichi speculated that at the ultimate mastery of this stage, he might even amplify two attributes simultaneously to around 120%.
But the aftereffects were severe—not just massive stamina drain, but irreversible bodily damage even from brief usage.
It wasn't just career-shortening; it could potentially cripple his quality of life forever.
In other words, this was an entirely new realm that only Shinichi—with his special attribute "Evergreen"—could withstand. Right now, he was actively using Stage Three ZONE, enhancing his eyesight.
Simultaneously, still under the Ice World state, Shinichi combined his enhanced eyesight with Selfless Realm's ability to perfectly reproduce any move he'd witnessed before, forcibly replicating something akin to the Emperor's Eye despite not possessing the corresponding trait.
"Hmm. The real battlefield feels subtly different from Legendary Training Camp, after all. But I'll think about that later," Shinichi murmured, gradually acclimating to his enhanced perception. He lifted his gaze to the waiting Manshine players. "Now then, who's next to submit?"
"This bastard just keeps getting scarier!"
Reo stared at Shinichi warily. He hadn't even understood how Shinichi took Arthur down. Without clarity, blindly attacking was futile, but doing nothing wasn't an option either. They had no choice but to act decisively.
"Kurona, block his passing lanes! Aryu and I will seal off his dribbling!"
At Reo's shout, the trio quickly adjusted positions, enclosing Shinichi. However, neither Shinichi nor the other Ubers members seemed the slightest bit concerned, calmly allowing the opposition to complete their encirclement. Shinichi just smiled at Kurona.
"Kurona, you've improved quite a bit. Have you finally gotten comfortable with using your ability flexibly? Even defensively, you can now function like a gravitational field, forcibly pulling together two unrelated defenders."
"Yes, improved. Slightly," Kurona replied softly and expressionlessly, unmoved by Shinichi's casual banter. Beside him, Aryu brushed the hair blocking his vision aside, eyes locked intently onto Shinichi's every move. "I've come stylishly to get my revenge, Shinichi!"
"Then sorry about this—but soon you won't be looking so stylish." Black lightning exploded in Shinichi's eyes. With a subtle flick of his foot, he faked moving the ball to the left while tilting his upper body to the opposite side. Just this simple feint left Aryu utterly overwhelmed.
His brain rapidly analyzed Shinichi's movements. 'His upper body tilt already shifted some of his weight… meaning the foot motion could be a fake? But knowing Shinichi's abilities, he can instantly correct his center of gravity. So, could his upper body tilt, seemingly the correct clue, actually be the bait...? But…'
Too many possibilities flooded Aryu's mind, disrupting his judgment.
But he knew hesitation would only cost them the opportunity.
He decisively followed Shinichi's upper-body movement to the right. "Shinichi absolutely has the ability to adjust his movements according to my reaction, so there's no point trying to find the perfect answer. Even if I'm wrong, I'll at least eliminate one possibility for my teammates!"
"Reo, block the left!"
"Got it!"
Without even questioning Arisu's reasoning, Reo immediately stepped sideways, synchronizing perfectly with Aryu to close off all space in front of Shinichi.
Meanwhile, Kurona quietly repositioned himself, sealing the small gap created by the slight desynchronization between Reo and Aryu, preventing Shinichi from breaking through their enclosure.
After the two teammates had repositioned, Kurona smoothly took a position opposite Shinichi's ball-handling foot, cutting off any possible pass to Barou.
"You've certainly improved a lot," Shinichi quietly acknowledged, eyeing Reo who'd remodeled himself into a second Aiku. "But like I said—"
"The next one is going to bow before me!"
Suddenly, Shinichi's ankle twisted inward, the foot that had just feinted a push spinning halfway around the ball. With his toe seemingly glued to it, he used the ball as a pivot, turned his back on Aryu, and spun around. Aryu was startled and slammed on the brakes, but his abrupt stop caused him to smash through two giant ice spikes that had formed behind him due to his shifted center of gravity.
Losing his footing, Aryu—the unshakable mountain of Manshine—collapsed in a thunderous crash.
"Aryu?!" Reo called out in alarm. He instantly dropped his imitation of Aiku and cloaked himself in a cold, focused aura.
Imitating Shinichi would give him stronger one-on-one defensive capabilities than Aiku's help defense, and right now, Reo fully activated his mimicry of Shinichi.
"A cheap imitation dares to challenge the original?" Shinichi scoffed at the familiar movement. His touches accelerated once again—phantom-like footwork striking the ball multiple times in a single second.
Even copying Shinichi, Reo's current vision couldn't fully keep up. He was forced to react defensively, dancing to Shinichi's rhythm—and once caught in that rhythm, failure was inevitable.
As Reo faltered, Shinichi flicked the ball up, then, sandwiching it between both feet, leapt through the narrow gap between the off-balance Reo and the fallen Aryu.
As he landed, both defenders crashed to the ground behind him, blocking the gap and, through Shinichi's intentional positioning, obstructing Kurona's path.
[Oh my god! Lorenzo intercepted Manshine's sudden counterattack, and Shinichi immediately launched a counter of his own! Arthur couldn't even resist—he fell to his knees in surrender before Shinichi's relentless touches!!!]
[And faced with Manshine's ruthless triple-team, Shinichi shined once again, dancing through them with ease! He's breaking ankles out here!]
[But now Manshine's completely unhinged! Everyone left is charging forward to put an end to this legend once and for all—how will Shinichi respond?!]
And that was the question—what would Shinichi do? Even the overheated players of Manshine, throwing themselves at him in desperation, were wondering that.
Yet Shinichi seemed completely unaware of the impending wall of defenders. He continued his reckless charge forward. Even Nagi began shifting toward him.
"No way—is this maniac actually going for another solo goal from end to end!?" Chigiri, who'd used his speed to the retreat, gritted his teeth as memories of Shinichi singlehandedly scoring against the U-20 team flashed through his mind. The fire in his eyes blazed. "Stop already, you arrogant freak who treats everyone like side characters!"
"Sorry, but in front of me, very few aren't side characters—and you're not one of them," Shinichi replied without a shred of mercy. He scraped the edge of the ball with his foot, sending it spinning into the air.
Then, with a casual flick, he popped it over Chigiri's head.
"All your stats have shattered my expectations. It's hard to believe a player with your numbers even exists. But…" Just then, a muscular figure stepped in front of Shinichi. With his signature English Premier League physicality, Agi halted Shinichi's charge for the first time.
"You're too reckless. No matter how off-the-charts your speed and strength are, you can't overpower three defenders in a row. You won't be able to go full force under sustained pressure. Refusing to pass or evade and choosing brute force—that's just plain unwise."
"Nice one, Agi!" Chigiri's eyes lit up. Jolted by Shinichi's fakeout, he turned quickly to seal off Shinichi's retreat, while Kurona circled around to patch the gaps between Chigiri and Agi.
"Unwise?" Shinichi echoed, eyes flicking between the falling ball and the closing trio. Then, deep in his mental world, a dazzling gate slowly opened. "That's just your narrow perspective—trying to understand me with a mortal's logic."
Limit of Thousand Refinements—a technique that doubles power and returns all impact, spin, trajectory, and force with overwhelming intensity. An unreasonable, cultivation-tier ability!
In an instant, Shinichi channeled all his strength and activated Stage Three of the ZONE, amplifying his power. Buffed to the max, Shinichi lunged forward—Agi instinctively braced, but it was like being hit by a truck. He was sent flying with zero resistance. Shinichi soared into the air and twisted midair—
"It's not over yet!"
But the delay caused by Agi and Chigiri gave Reo and Aryu time to get back on their feet. They didn't chase Shinichi; instead, they sprinted toward the goal, aiming to block his shot.
"What a spectacle. Our king's really popular, huh? Guess that 700 million price tag is no joke."
"So, Ubers—ready to close the net?"
Suddenly, a playful voice rang out. Lorenzo, previously tossed aside by Agi, reappeared in front of the goal—no! With the defenders all drawn to Shinichi, Barou, Kunigami, Aiku, and Sendou had all surged unchallenged into the penalty area, eyes locked on the goal like predators ready to strike!
At that moment, Reo finally understood—Shinichi hadn't intended to score by himself! His real goal was to draw in as many defenders as possible, then fire a powerful shot toward the goal.
Even if they managed to block the shot, the sheer force behind it would knock the ball loose. That was when his freed-up teammates would swarm the box to capitalize on the rebound!
"Damn it!"
Manshine's defense instantly fell into disarray. Even Reo and Aryu hesitated for a split second, debating whether to send someone to stop the nearby Lorenzo or prepare to chase down the rebound.
And in that brief moment of indecision—BOOM! A thunderous roar echoed across the field as the ball, like an unstoppable cannon shell, blasted past the defenders and smashed straight into the goal.
"Ah, my bad, everyone." From the distance, Shinichi slowly stood up after scoring with a flawless overhead kick, exhaling softly before turning around with a grin toward the wide-eyed Manshine players. "I was just planning to fire off a random shot according to the plan, but thanks to you guys hesitating like that..."
"Your sloppy defense was just too funny—I accidentally scored for real."
GOOOOOOOAL!!!
Italy's Ubers 1 : 0 England's Manshine!!!
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