Ryūma Banjō pointed at the next player on the screen and continued,
"The Argentine international—a baby-faced player capable of delivering world-class free kicks."
"And the freckled prodigy who can instantly scan the entire field, process all that information, and deliver the perfect pass—Pablo Cavasoz."
"This guy is exactly the type I mentioned. The moment you try to steal the ball from him, you've already stepped into his trap. Watch out, everyone~"
Seeing the three of them deep in thought, Ryūma pointed to the next figure on the screen.
"Brazilian national team player—the hungry heavyweight tank from the slums, Dada Silva!"
"You'll need to pay attention to this one, Aryu. Not only does his physical strength rival Blake's, but he also dominates in the air."
"Oh? I↗ will beat him in style and show him that the sky belongs to me↗!"
Ryūma looked at Jyubei Aryu's overly confident pose and shook his head with a smile, thinking to himself,
(Yeah, keep showing off. Once the match starts, Dada's gonna show you who really rules the skies.)
Ignoring Aryu, who was lost in his own world, Ryūma cleared his throat and pointed to the player in the center of the screen.
"French national team player—the 'The Prodigy,' Julian Loki!"
"He's the rising superstar who just burst onto the French league scene."
"Oh, and he's only seventeen!"
"He joined the French national team at our age—that's why they call him the 'The Prodigy!'"
The three in the room froze in shock. Then Jyubei Aryu pulled off the towel wrapped around his head, letting his long hair fall dramatically as he struck a glamorous pose.
"So all I have to do is beat him—"
"And I'll gain the world's recognition?"
Yoichi Isagi's eyes widened.
"Seventeen!?"
"He's the same age as me?"
Seishiro Nagi remained sprawled on the bed, unbothered.
"Beat him~ Beat him~"
Ryūma looked at Aryu and Nagi seriously.
"Don't underestimate him just because he's the same age as us."
"In a way, Loki's like my mentor."
"My running form, my dribbling technique—I learned them from watching him."
"You can use me as a reference, but he's the perfected version of me. My dribbling is still a step below his."
"And that might not even be his full strength."
Even Aryu went quiet at that. All three knew how terrifying Ryūma's speed and continuous dribbling were.
But hearing that Loki was an even more complete version of him—it was hard to imagine how powerful this player must be.
Ryūma sighed softly. Truthfully, he wasn't confident either. As someone who'd seen the "original story," he knew exactly how strong those five were.
Then, turning to the last player on the screen, he spoke.
"Spanish international—the noble son of Spain's top club, 'RE·AL'—Leonardo Luna!"
"This guy actually has a connection to Rin—or more precisely, his club does."
Yoichi immediately perked up, curiosity lighting up his face as he waited for Ryūma to continue.
The other two also looked over expectantly. Gossip was human nature, after all. Ryūma grinned.
"Hehe, you all know Rin's older brother, Sae, right?"
"Sae Itoshi trained at that club's youth academy back in the day."
"And then! Here's the big part! After returning from that club, Sae told Rin he was giving up on becoming the world's best striker."
"Because he'd seen how vast the world was—he decided to become the world's best midfielder instead."
The three looked completely lost, unable to follow what Ryūma was getting at.
"Wait, Ryūma, what does that have to do with Rin?"
"Hold on, hold on—the key part's coming. Yoichi, didn't you once ask Rin about his dream?"
"Yeah, but his answer was kinda..."
"Haha, well, his real dream wasn't what he said. He actually wanted to become the world's best together with his brother, Sae."
"No—to be exact, Rin wanted his brother to become the world's best, while he'd become the world's best younger brother."
The room fell completely silent. Yoichi Isagi stood there dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open.
He could hardly believe that Rin Itoshi, who was always threatening to "kill" him, once had such a pure dream.
Ryūma took in their shocked expressions, feeling an odd sense of satisfaction, and continued with a grin.
"Basically, Rin's just throwing a tantrum like a kid."
"When his brother suddenly said he'd given up on becoming number one, Rin couldn't accept it. He couldn't stand the idea that his brother had just... surrendered."
"So he tried to cling to him, to get him to reassure him—to give him a reason to keep playing soccer. After all, their dream of becoming the world's best together had been shattered."
"But Sae's not the kind of guy who's good with words. Seeing Rin so desperate, he said some pretty harsh things to push him forward."
"And that's how things ended up like this. So yeah, Rin's basically just a brat who hasn't grown—uh... Rin!?"
"Uh, when did you get back?"
Ryūma froze as he saw the vein pulsing on Rin Itoshi's forehead. Yeah—he was in trouble.
"Uh, Rin—no, Rin-bro, let me explain!"
"They kept pestering me! I told them I didn't wanna talk about your past!"
"But they said since we're teammates now, they needed to understand you better—especially Yoichi!"
"He was the one asking the most! Said it'd help him figure out how to beat you!"
Ryūma stammered while inching toward Rin with an awkward smile.
He was already preparing to bolt the moment Rin turned to confront Yoichi.
Unfortunately, Rin didn't even look at the others.
He grabbed Ryūma's shoulder with one hand, yanked his collar with the other, and spoke in a cold, low tone.
"Heh. I was already at the door when you started calling me a brat throwing a tantrum."
"Hmph. Come with me. We need to have a little talk."
With that, Rin dragged Ryūma toward the door. Ryūma cried out miserably,
"No! Wait! Don't!"
"Nagi! Help me~"
Seishiro Nagi didn't even lift his head.
"Good night, Ryūma~"
"You little—!"
Ryūma looked at Nagi pretending to be asleep, clearly saying "don't bother me," and turned desperately toward Aryu.
"Aryu! I need you—the most fashionable man in the world—to save me!"
"I↗ alone am beauty!"
Watching Aryu start dancing again, Ryūma knew he was doomed. His last hope—Yoichi.
"Yoichi! Yoichi, save me!"
But Yoichi acted as if nothing was happening, walking over to Nagi's bed instead.
"Your hair's still wet, Nagi. I'll help you dry it."
"Thanks, Yoichi."
Ryūma stared in disbelief as Rin dragged him out of the room, shouting one last line:
"Heartless! All of you—fake brothers!"