Ren hadn't been put in Ryo's group, yet he was still having a lot of trouble with the other players.
"Hey, Ren-kun, why are you here? The second team's practicing on the other side of the field," one boy called out, half-joking.
"Yeah, I don't remember seeing your name on the board," another chimed in.
Ren watched them crack up, unamused. "Very funny," he muttered, focusing on the ball. "Don't expect me to go easy on you today."
Right then, the whistle blew, catching some defenders still distracted, and the trio of attackers pressed forward sharply, passing quickly enough to avoid any interceptions.
A few minutes later, in the other group, Ryo noticed his brother's situation. Yikes. He's not holding back at all. Good thing I didn't end up against him. Ren had already scored twice in a short span and showed no signs of slowing down, and the defenders were regretting having made fun of Ren.
Meanwhile, on defense, Ryo had held steady too—blocking passing lanes, cutting off angles, and even intercepting a few balls himself.
"Attackers, over here for a second," Matsumoto called, after another push failed to break the defensive line.
"Man, this is too unfair," a voice muttered next to Ryo as the coach gathered the attackers. "How are three attackers supposed to beat five defenders?"
It was the same boy who had asked a question before the drill started.
"I think that's the point," Ryo said, glancing at him. "The triangle is meant to work even when you're outnumbered."
"Yeah, but shouldn't we start off even? This feels impossible for the attack."
Ryo shook his head and pointed across the pitch. "But it is possible." Just then, Ren threaded a pass cleanly through the defensive line.
The boy shook his head. "Ren's different, though. He's a monster. He easily walks circles around us; it's like he's built specifically for football."
"That doesn't matter, though. A triangle has three players," Ryo replied, "So without communication between the attackers, even Ren would get shut down."
The boy looked back at Ryo, scrutinizing his face, and said, "Are you really Ren's brother? You don't look similar at all. Never mind that, it's nice to meet you, I'm Ishikawa Taiga, a fifth-year. I look forward to playing together."
Yeah, we don't really look alike. "Nice to meet you, Ishikawa-senpai. I am really Ren's brother; you can just call me Ryo."
Before Taiga could continue, Matsumoto's voice rang out as he finished talking to the attackers. "Okay, Ryo will join the attack. Defenders, keep your line tight—I still want to see a proper defense."
Ryo's heart skipped. Finally. A real chance to show my attack. During the scrimmage, he'd scored on his own, but he hadn't yet been part of a true team-driven attack. Here, where passing and communication mattered most, he could prove himself.
"Hey, first-year," one of his fellow attackers said, giving him a sidelong glance. "You might've made the team because you're Ren's brother, but try not to lose the ball."
His name was Nakano Ken, if I remember correctly. Does he really think I got in on connections? Whatever, I'll show him otherwise.
"Don't worry," Ryo answered calmly. "We'll get past them."
Ken smirked. "Good. Then let's get started."
With the ball at his feet, Ken sent out the first pass, and the trio pushed forward. Two defenders pressed immediately, hoping to disrupt the formation. They had set up their defensive line so that the pressure from the advancing defenders could allow the back line to move freely and intercept unrefined passes.
With the increased pressure, the ball made its way to Ryo, who had the safest position at the bottom of the triangle. He sent it forward to Ken without hesitation, just as Ken opened the passing line as he slipped past the first defender.
The moment the pass left his foot, Ryo sprinted wide, elongating the triangle and dragging a defender out with him. His teammates recognized his play instantly, and they passed the ball, following the triangle's shape until it returned to Ryo, at which point he passed it back into an open space with one touch.
Good. We stretched them too thin.
Seeing the opportunity, he cut across the defensive line, luring two defenders toward him. Ken received the ball in the open space and, with the defense in chaos, slipped it right back to Ryo.
The defenders panicked, doing their best to intercept the pass and to mark Ryo. But despite all their efforts, the ball made its way to him, and he sent a long, clean pass to their third attacker, who was completely unmarked. The pass rolled perfectly, so the attacker didn't even hesitate to shoot the ball straight off the pass, curving into the net, where the goalie had no way of blocking the open angle.
"Attackers, good job breaking through the defense. Defenders, keep your defense compact and do not get drawn out." Matsumoto called out. "Let's run it again."
The drill reset. This time, Ryo started on the right corner of the triangle. The first few passes went smoothly, but they couldn't advance. They kept cycling the ball back and forth, and the players were hesitant to make a decisive run.
When the last attacker lingered slightly too much, the defense pounced on him and tackled him cleanly.
Matsumoto chimed in once again. "Alright. Why did that fail? Why did the first run succeed, but this one collapse?"
The players stayed quiet, so he pushed further. "Think about it—what made the first triangle so effective? Why did it cause the defense to crumble so easily?"
Taiga, who had seen the plays unfold when he was on the defensive line, answered the question. "Was it their movement, Coach?"
"Oh, can you elaborate on that?" Matsumoto asked, surprised that someone spotted the difference between the two plays.
"Well, the first time around, once Ryo passed the ball, he ran wide, stretching the defense thin. So once the ball came to him, he passed it into the open space and ran forward, breaking the line completely. And with the defense in chaos, all that was was to set up a finishing shot on the goal." Taiga glanced at Ryo and kept talking, "However, in the second attempt, the three of them just passed the ball back and forth. They lost all of their pressure, so they were overwhelmed by the defenders and lost possession with the slightest mistake."
Matsumoto nodded, impressed. "That's right. The triangle isn't just three players passing—it's about cutting through the defense. The attackers should focus on how to move the tips of the triangle to most efficiently break through the opponent's defense."
He turned his clipboard around, showing a sketch of the play. "See here—when Ryo ran wide, the triangle stretched, creating more space for the attack while making it harder for the defense to cover all openings. His pass back into the open space shifted the triangle again, bringing the other players into the attack. Then he cut back through the line, disorienting the defense completely. So with a quick one-two pass, the goal was wide open for the shot."
He looked at them each in turn. "This exact sequence won't always work, but the concept is the same: How can you adjust the triangle to pierce the defense? If you can answer that, you'll always find a way to the goal, no matter how outnumbered you are."
Ryo nodded his head attentively at the coach's explanation. Indeed, the constant shifts in our positions are what eventually led to the first goal. Ryo smirked. Playing like this is so fun.
"Alright, Taiga, you will switch into an attacker along with Ken and Ryo. I will be looking at the other group more closely now, but try to apply what we went over. In about twenty minutes, we will move on to a scrimmage with the second team."
Over the next twenty minutes, Ryo, Ken, and Taiga experimented with their triangle. Sometimes they scored, other times they failed. However, when they lost possession, the defense gave them feedback on their mistakes, and when they scored, they pointed out the weaknesses in the defensive line. Slowly but surely, Ryo felt himself blending in—not as Ren's little brother, not as just a first-year, but as a real member of the team.