The two of them were like natural-born partners, their strengths and weaknesses perfectly complementing each other.
Why call them a natural duo?
During continuous attacks, the power and speed of Ryūma's shots only grew stronger—but that came with a trade-off. His accuracy gradually dropped.
To pull off a "Blitz Shot" alongside him, you had to be able to keep up and seize the rebounds off his blocked shots.
But Ryūma's shots doubled in power and speed each time! Once blocked, the ball carried such fierce recoil that catching it required one of two things: either the same monstrous physical ability and bottomless stamina as Ryūma—or Rin Itoshi's unique vision.
Rin could anticipate perfectly, predicting every possible landing point of the ball. No matter how fast or far it flew, he'd already be there waiting. On top of that, Rin's all-around ability let him match Ryūma's blistering tempo without missing a beat.
It didn't matter whose shot got blocked—either one of them could instantly follow up with another strike!
Ryūma relied on his endless stamina and terrifying speed. Rin relied on those eyes that could see the future of the pitch. Together, they sustained an unbroken assault!
But there was one critical condition for unleashing the "Blitz Shot."
The goalkeeper couldn't catch the ball. If the keeper secured possession, the sequence ended.
And that's exactly where Ryūma and Rin thrived.
Ryūma's shots carried such crushing force that simply deflecting them was impressive—catching them was impossible. Rin's pinpoint strikes from any angle were basically corner-killers. A keeper was lucky to parry them, let alone hold on.
If both relied only on power or only on precision, defenders could eventually adjust to their rhythm.
But here, one's shots only grew sharper, the other's only stronger. Defenders couldn't adapt to both at once.
And it wasn't fair to say Ryūma lacked accuracy—every one of his strikes was aimed straight at goal. He just didn't specialize in dead-angle precision like Rin.
Likewise, it wasn't fair to say Rin's shots lacked power. That was only in comparison to Ryūma. If Rin's shots were truly weak, they wouldn't rebound so violently when blocked.
In truth, their shots were like two sniper rifles—both deadly in accuracy and power, just leaning in different directions.
Ryūma was like the Barrett, the heavy cannon of sniper rifles. Not the most precise, but with destructive force so terrifying that accuracy hardly mattered.
Rin, meanwhile, was like the M200, the "Grim Reaper." Known as the most accurate sniper rifle in the world. And would you say its power was lacking? Not a chance.
Anyway—back to the match…
On the pitch, only Ryūma, sprawled on the ground from momentum, and Rin, regaining his calm, were moving. Everyone else stood frozen.
Their concentration had blinded them to the pair's connection.
Only now did they realize—within three minutes, Rin and Ryūma had taken seven shots on goal! The ball hadn't even touched the ground once!
Yo Hiori was the first to snap out of it, running toward Ryūma and shouting with excitement:
"World-class strike! Ryūma, that was insane! Your teamwork with Rin was incredible!"
Ryūma slowly got to his feet, then suddenly dashed toward Rin, tackling him to the ground with a laugh.
"Rin, we did it! I swear, we're like we were born to be teammates!"
"That kind of combo—I've never played like that before! And that goal? That's the most thrilling one I've ever scored!"
"Get off me, idiot! Who said we're teammates? I was going to score it myself—don't get in my way!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you're just being shy. But seriously—you don't feel it? Together, we can smash through any defense!"
Ryūma jumped up, stroking his chin in thought.
"Hmm… relentless offense, huh…"
Remembering their earlier attack, his eyes lit up.
"Rin! From now on, let's call this the 'Blitz Shot'!"
Rin had just gotten back on his feet when he saw Ryūma grinning smugly and rambling on.
"Are you deaf? Who would team up with you? I'll score on my own!"
"Sure, sure, Mr. Lone Wolf. Doesn't matter—our combo's called the 'Blitz Shot' now!"
Still riding the high from his goal, Ryūma's earlier irritation and anger were long gone. His tone toward Rin had softened completely.
With a cheerful grin, Ryūma added:
"Oh, and Rin—sorry about earlier. Don't take it to heart."
"I only know a little about you and Sae Itoshi, so don't pin it all on me."
"Just remember—if you tell a guy this or that, it's fine. But if you say he's useless, he's definitely gonna flip out on you!"
Rin didn't bother arguing. Maybe he realized he'd been heated too. He just snorted and walked back to his position.
"Ryūma! That was a world-class shot! So badass!"
"Hahaha! Partner, look at Team Z! Their faces look like they just ate shit. No way they're holding out for a draw now."
Yo Hiori and Daiwa approached, both grinning ear to ear. Relief washed over Team V.
Just minutes earlier, Ryūma and Rin's shouting match over ball possession had nearly given them a heart attack. None of them had ever seen the two genuinely angry before, so the clash had scared them stiff.
Now, seeing them back to normal—Ryūma laughing again, Rin calm instead of seething—they could finally relax.
...
Team Z's possession, center-circle kickoff.
To everyone's surprise, Shūhō Aoki stepped up to take it, paired with Haiichi Murakami.
Behind them, Akemi Inoue and Yukio Ishikari readied themselves, while the rest of Team Z pushed forward, leaving their backfield completely empty!
Ryūma blinked in disbelief.
"Wait… you're just abandoning your defense?"
Shūhō Aoki answered with chilling calm:
"We already prepared for the worst-case scenario. Time to see our backup plan."
He passed the ball to Murakami Haiichi and sprinted down Team V's right flank.
At the same time, as Aoki released the pass, Inoue and Ishikari burst forward on Team Z's left side.
Murakami drove through the middle, with every other Team Z player surging up in support. Only their goalkeeper stayed back!
Watching their formation, Ryūma recalled Aoki's calm expression and muttered:
"Seriously? I thought it was gonna be some high-level tactic. But this? Just switching from all-defense to all-offense?"
"Wait—this counts as a tactic?!"