"No, wait—let me handle this!"
"Don't even think about shooting, Rin!"
Meguru Bachira rushed in from the front to intercept Rin Itoshi, but Rin swung his right leg back, taking up a shooting stance.
"Huh? Forcing a shot, are you?"
"That won't do, Rin~"
Even now, Meguru Bachira was grinning cheerfully as he slid in for a tackle.
Running nearby, Yoichi Isagi's mind sharpened.
(Bachira's read it perfectly—there's barely any shooting angle left.)
(No… precisely because of that, he'll go right past him!)
(A feint!)
As if matching Isagi's thought, Rin used the inside of his foot to tap the ball aside, easily dodging Bachira's sliding tackle.
Isagi didn't lose focus and continued analyzing.
(He deliberately lured Bachira into diving in—Rin's on another level!)
(But! That feint cost him time. I can catch up now!)
"Good cover, Isagi!"
"I'll help you trap him!"
Hyōma Chigiri shouted as he sprinted toward Rin at top speed.
Seeing Chigiri join in, Isagi called back with determination,
"Nice one, Chigiri!"
(Now it's two-on-one.)
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a shadow appeared in the corner of his eye.
(Nagi!?)
(Damn, two-on-two now!)
(What's Rin going to do—pass or dribble?)
But before he could react further, Rin suddenly shifted again—raising his leg as if to shoot!
(Huh?)
"Trying to shoot between us? That's greedy, Rin!"
Hearing Chigiri's words, Isagi's instincts screamed. He shouted immediately,
"Wait! Something's off!"
"That's another feint!"
And just as Isagi warned, the moment Chigiri lunged to block him, Rin calmly switched his right foot from a shooting motion to a pullback, smoothly dragging the ball behind him. With a single motion, he slipped past Chigiri and sprinted straight toward the White Team's goal.
As Rin charged forward, Isagi, standing near his own goal, felt a sinking realization.
(The instant it turned into a two-on-two, he stole our reaction time.)
(Damn it! Rin's running this match entirely according to his own script!)
(Shooting, dribbling, reading the field, choosing tactics—he doesn't even need chemistry with teammates!)
(He's a monster who can create endless variations on his own!)
(We're not even on the same level!)
Out of options, Isagi roared in frustration and dashed forward to stop him.
"Damn it!"
Rin simply gave a cold snort, his face expressionless.
"At least you've learned how to use your eyes on the field."
As he spoke, Isagi slid in for a tackle—but Rin lightly hopped over him.
From the ground, Isagi turned his head to stare at Rin, who said indifferently,
"But football this sloppy…"
"...doesn't excite me."
Then, still midair, Rin swung his leg. He struck the ball cleanly—
a powerful Blitz Shot exploded toward the net.
GOAL!! Red Team 2 – 1 White Team!
Meguru Bachira's eyes widened, awe lighting up his face.
"No way… how do you even defend against that?"
(Seriously, the monster's calling someone else a monster!)
Isagi fell to his knees, frustration written all over his face.
(No… even if I couldn't stop him this time, I'm getting closer!)
(In the last match, I didn't even understand why I lost…)
(But now—I get it. I understand the meaning behind every one of Rin's moves.)
(If I can devour him… I can win!)
He sank into deep thought, forgetting he was still kneeling on the grass.
(Think! There has to be a way to beat Rin—to take control of the field!)
...
Meanwhile, on the Red Team's side, the mood was completely different.
Ryūma walked over to Rin with an awkward expression.
"Hey, Rin—you didn't predict that I'd try a long-range power shot, did you?"
Rin shot him a sideways glance and replied flatly,
"Yeah. You're an idiot—it's exactly the kind of thing you'd do."
"But it's fine you didn't shoot. From that position, I knew you'd end up passing."
"Wait, hold up—are you scheming against me again?"
Ryūma didn't seem angry; he was already used to it.
Jyubei Aryu raised a finger toward Rin and said coolly,
"That jumping shot earlier—pretty trendy, gotta give you that."
Seishiro Nagi walked over, staring at Rin in disbelief.
"That was insane, Rin. How did you even pull that off?"
Before Rin could answer, Ryūma slung an arm over Nagi's shoulder with a smug grin.
"Ah, Nagi, you still don't get Rin."
"A stingy guy like him? He'd never share his techniques with you."
"Listen, Nagi—people are different. If you asked me for advice about soccer, I'd teach you everything I know."
"But Rin, well…"
He pretended to whisper, as if Rin couldn't hear—despite Rin standing less than a meter away.
At that point, Ryūma was practically pointing at Rin's face while talking trash.
Rin's eye twitched, but he soon sighed it off. Clearly, he was long accustomed to Ryūma's endless banter.
...
On the White Team's side, everyone gathered together, faces grim.
Hyōma Chigiri wiped sweat from his brow.
"Seriously? Is Rin really that strong?"
"Yeah," Bachira said. "Even back in the 3v3, I could tell Rin-chan was a monster—but that wasn't even his full power."
"He's unbelievable. How does he play like that?"
"Huh? Maybe his brain just works differently?"
Hearing their conversation, Isagi finally came back to his senses.
"It's not that mysterious. There's a reason we got beaten."
"In that last attack, Rin's positioning guaranteed he'd receive the ball inside his shooting range."
"That forced us into purely reactive defense."
"'Predicting the field several steps ahead,' 'stalling our thoughts and baiting us into pressing'—"
"I think that's just Rin's basic skill set."
Bachira blinked, then smiled at him.
"You're pretty amazing too, Isagi. You actually figured Rin out."
Chigiri nodded.
"Yeah, Isagi."
"You instantly understood Rin's playstyle and explained it."
"Your ability's incredible!"
"Huh?"
Isagi froze for a moment before realization struck him.
(So that's it. Right now, I'm the only one who can keep up with Rin's thinking.)
(If I want to stop him...)
(It's all on my eyes—and my brain!)
"Enough talk! Get ready for the kickoff—we're taking that point back!"
At Shōei Barō's command, the rest of the White Team moved back into position.
"Let's go, Isagi!"
"Yeah! Victory's ours this time!"
White Team's possession—Meguru Bachira kicks off from center!