Chapter 64: The Gap
"Nice work, Princess!!"
"Hell yeah!"
Smack!
Nagi and Chigiri exchanged a massive high-five.
The Top 3 team wasn't that hard to beat after all.
Just a few minutes into the opening, they had already caught up to the score from their last encounter.
Chigiri recalled the previous match, where they had been thrashed 1-5.
This time, the gap would no longer be that massive.
"A super synergy caused by continuous chemical reactions between individuals... That is the soccer of Isagi, Barou, Chigiri, and Nagi. What do you think, Rin?"
Kira turned sideways to ask Itoshi Rin for his opinion.
Itoshi Rin glanced at the opposition with a look of disdain and said coldly, "Kira, we shouldn't even be discussing this kind of childish soccer."
Evidently, Rin had started to place Kira on an equal footing with himself.
'Childish soccer?'
Although Kira could clearly see the chemical reactions of the White Team, he didn't share Rin's sentiment.
He actually thought Isagi and the others were pretty formidable.
'Rin really is on a level far beyond me.'
However, Kira wasn't discouraged. He could catch up.
He silently chanted in his mind: 'Use Shoei Barou Trial Card.'
[Barou Shoei Trial Card activated successfully!]
[Strength +15 (Continuous decay)]
[Shooting +15 (Continuous decay)]
[Dribbling +10 (Continuous decay)]
[Duration: 10 minutes]
As the system notification rang in his mind, Kira instantly felt like a King ruling over the world.
Kira couldn't help himself; he wanted to make the first move.
***
Monitoring Room.
"Wow, in this match, half of the eight players are from Kira's previous building." Anri watched the match situation on the screen, pleasantly surprised by this fact.
Jinpachi Ego adjusted his glasses, ignoring Anri. His mind was still replaying the White Team's goal from a moment ago.
"There's a hint of a tactical framework in there."
Ego gave his evaluation internally. Before this, he had been slightly worried that without Kira's leadership, these players might fade into mediocrity.
It seemed his worries were superfluous.
Diamond would always shine eventually.
At the same time, Ego was very curious about the Red Team's synergy.
He wondered if they could produce any chemical reactions of their own.
***
On the Pitch.
The match continued.
Itoshi Rin kicked off. Without the slightest hesitation, he passed the ball back to Bachira.
Bachira immediately accelerated from the left flank.
"Let's go again, Isagi! It won't be like last time!" Bachira challenged Isagi again, brimming with confidence.
Isagi constantly observed Bachira's movements. Even with Barou nearby, ready to pincer him at any moment...
Bachira didn't reveal a single opening. His feet moved fluidly as he dribbled.
'It looks like stealing the ball directly from Bachira won't be easy,' Isagi thought helplessly.
Suddenly.
Isagi noticed movement on the flank.
Two players with long, flowing hair were chasing each other.
'Crap!'
'Do I go back to cover?' Isagi hesitated internally.
'No, Chigiri is marking him tight, and Nagi is covering the space.'
'They don't need me.'
In a split second, Isagi determined exactly what he needed to do.
'Now, Barou!'
'Do it!'
"Mushroom Head!" Barou let out a massive roar, his body physically pressing in on Bachira.
Bachira seemed distracted by Barou's shout. He turned his head, and his feet stopped moving.
'Right now!'
Isagi's eyes sharply caught Bachira's opening. He lunged forward to steal the ball.
"Hehe~"
Bachira's lips curved upward. He seemed to have anticipated Isagi's move.
He flicked the ball with his foot.
A no-look pass?
"Huh? Was this guy deliberately baiting me to come forward, just to create a passing lane? All so his pass could fly to the sprinting Aryu?"
Isagi's scalp tingled. They weren't the only ones who had improved.
"Aryu, incoming!" Kira, whose eyes were constantly scanning the battlefield's dynamics, shouted a reminder.
"OK. I will steal this in the most stylish way possible!"
Chigiri stuck tight to Aryu, not wanting to let him jump.
After all, he had suffered from Aryu's aerial interception in the last match.
"Did you think I wouldn't be able to reach the ball like this?"
Chigiri looked back and saw that Aryu was lifting his leg while standing. The height of his foot was already exceeding Chigiri's head.
Bang!
Aryu kicked the ball toward the other side in a single motion.
At that height, Chigiri couldn't stop it in time.
"This ball is mine!!" Barou's muscles tensed as he began to accelerate.
Suddenly, a massive force slammed into his side.
'Who is it? Who on the other team has the strength to contend with me?' Barou suddenly remembered. There really was one person. That guy, Kira.
Sure enough, the person crashing into his side was Kira.
Kira withstood Barou's body with an air of effortless calm.
"Dammit! Last time, I ran the whole field and had no energy left. You think I'll lose to you in a contest of strength?!"
Barou was furious. He pressed his entire body weight against Kira.
'He's not moving?'
'No, Kira is straining too.'
Barou judged that Kira's strength was actually on par with his own.
Because that press just now was his maximum power.
"With that physique, how do you have this much strength?" Barou asked in confusion.
"Shut up. Just bow your head and submit to your King!" Kira responded viciously.
At the same time, he touched the ball first.
He secured possession.
'Huh?'
'Your King?'
Veins popped out on Barou's forehead.
"On a soccer field, there can only be one King, and that's me! Where the hell did a knock-off like you come from?!"
Barou kicked out in a rage, trying to steal the ball from Kira's feet.
But things didn't go as planned.
Kira hooked the ball with his right foot and executed a stylish, beautiful turn.
He left Barou snatching at empty air.
He was beaten!
Barou's face turned bright red.
He hadn't won in the strength contest he prided himself on, and now he'd been dribbled past.
Barou was furious, but there was nothing he could do.
"I'm here. Don't panic." Nagi immediately came up from the backfield to cover.
"As long as I'm here, I won't let him shoot!!"
Seeing this, Kira immediately wound up, looking like he was preparing to shoot.
It looked like Nagi had completely predicted Kira's shot, standing exactly in the path to block it.
"No, Nagi! It's a feint!" Isagi, from behind, spotted the clue.
'A feint?'
Nagi was confused.
Kira suddenly dragged the ball laterally, freezing Nagi, who had been prepared to block, right where he stood.
But at the same time, Isagi had chased back to cover the open space.
"Pincer him!!!" Chigiri's voice rang out from behind Kira at the same moment.
Chigiri, with his super speed, had tracked back incredibly fast.
'What now?' Kira was now caught in a dilemma.
On the right flank.
A figure appeared.
It was Itoshi Rin!
There was no one around him.
He was completely unmarked.
Kira smiled slightly, grateful for Rin's timely support, and wound up his leg to pass.
Isagi also noticed Rin's run. He hurriedly split his attention, looking back to check the position. He couldn't let Kira pass the ball that easily.
"Stop him!" Chigiri also noticed Kira's preparation to pass.
He flew in front of Kira, extending his leg to intercept the pass.
But suddenly, the foot preparing to pass abruptly stopped its motion and flicked the ball to the left.
That was also a feint!
Chigiri was shaken off.
'We fell for it too!'
Isagi didn't hesitate anymore. He charged forward, ready to foul him if necessary just to stop this ball.
"You left someone open, you know?" Kira gave a warm reminder as he delivered a cutback pass.
Following up on the play was Bachira.
He didn't pass to Rin, but to Bachira who had been trailing behind him all along?
Bachira faced the goal, defended only by the Blue Lock Man robot.
He lashed his foot through the ball!
Boom!
Goal!
The score was tied.
1-1.
Isagi's mind was in a chaotic whirl. It was too fast. Too fast.
His thinking couldn't keep up with Kira's operations.
'It's no use. Even if their team has no chemical reactions, relying solely on Kira's individual ability...'
'...he can create infinite possibilities and futures.'
Yoichi Isagi once again realized the gap between himself and Kira.
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