Team Z Strategy Meeting.
"They're turtles," Raichi spat, looking at the tablet displaying Team Y's formation. "Look at this. They pack eight guys in the defense. They're scared of us."
"It's a counter-attacking formation," Isagi said, sitting in the back, spinning a soccer ball on his finger. "They want us to attack. They want us to get impatient, lose the ball, and then hit us with a long ball to their Number 9, Ohkawa."
"So what?" Kunigami crossed his arms. "We just smash through them. We have the firepower."
Isagi sighed. "Brute force doesn't work against a fluid defense. If you just run in there, you'll get suffocated. We need to draw them out."
"I say we dribble through!" Bachira chirped.
"Whatever," Raichi stood up. "As long as we win. I'm taking the front line. I'm scoring this time, Isagi. Don't get in my way."
Isagi narrowed his eyes. They're getting cocky. That win against Team X went to their heads.
Match Day. Team Z vs. Team Y.
Kickoff.
Team Y was exactly as Isagi predicted. Passive. Quiet.
They didn't press. They sat back in their own half, waiting.
Niko Ikki, a boy with bangs covering his eyes (Rank 255), stood quietly near the center backs.
"Here we go!" Raichi received the ball and charged forward. "Die, turtles!"
He tried to power through the middle. Two Team Y defenders swarmed him instantly.
"Shit!" Raichi was forced to pass back.
The game became a stalemate. Team Z passed the ball around the perimeter, but couldn't penetrate the box.
10 minutes passed. 20 minutes passed.
"Boring!" Igarashi yawned from the back.
Isagi watched from the midfield. His eyes were scanning.
Why aren't they attacking? Even when they get the ball, they just clear it. Are they playing for a 0-0 draw? No...
Isagi locked his vision on Niko Ikki.
Niko wasn't running. He was walking. He was watching the spaces Team Z was leaving behind.
He's the brain, Isagi realized. He's doing exactly what I do. He's waiting for us to overcommit.
Suddenly, the trap sprung.
Raichi and Kunigami both pushed up too high, trying to force a goal.
"Now!" Niko whispered.
Team Y intercepted a loose pass from Bachira.
"Long ball!" Niko shouted.
He launched a precision pass over the heads of Team Z's defenders.
It landed perfectly at the feet of Ohkawa, the Team Y ace.
"Crap!" Chigiri sprinted back, but he was out of position.
Ohkawa was one-on-one with the keeper.
BANG.
Goal.
Team Z: 0 - Team Y: 1
"Dammit!" Raichi kicked the grass. "How did that pass get through?!"
Niko pushed his bangs up slightly, revealing one eye. He looked at Isagi.
"It's simple," Niko said quietly. "We killed your momentum. You guys are disorganized. You're not a team; you're just a bunch of egoists trying to shine."
Isagi walked over to the ball to restart the game. He wasn't angry. He was focused.
He looked at Niko.
"So, you're the Watchtower," Isagi said.
Niko blinked. "You noticed?"
"It's obvious," Isagi sneered. "You're hiding in the shadows, using that guy Ohkawa as your gun. It's smart. But it's also cowardly."
Niko frowned. "It's efficient. We're winning."
"Enjoy it for now," Isagi said, placing the ball on the center spot. "Because now that I know how you play... your eyes are useless."
Restart.
Isagi took control.
"Gagamaru, Naruhaya, spread wide!" Isagi barked. "Stretch their defense! Don't clump in the middle!"
Team Z moved. The spacing improved.
Isagi received the ball. Niko stepped up to intercept him.
"I won't let you pass," Niko said. "I can see your path."
"Can you?" Isagi challenged.
Isagi feinted a pass to Kunigami. Niko shifted his weight to block the lane.
Wrong.
Isagi didn't pass. He dribbled straight at Niko.
"Metavision allows me to see the future," Isagi thought. "But it also allows me to see your vision."
Isagi saw that Niko was expecting a pass because that was the "logical" play.
Isagi shattered logic.
He performed a Heel Lift, flicking the ball over Niko's head.
"What?!" Niko gasped.
Isagi ran past him, trapping the ball on his chest.
The defense collapsed on Isagi.
"Now!" Isagi shouted.
He passed the ball sideways to Gagamaru, who had drifted to the back post—a blind spot Isagi had identified three seconds ago.
Gagamaru dove, headfirst.
Scorpion Header.
The ball flew into the net.
GOAL.
Team Z: 1 - Team Y: 1
"Yes!" Gagamaru yelled, doing a weird pose.
Isagi turned back to Niko. Niko looked shaken.
"You saw the pass to Kunigami," Isagi said, walking past the boy with the bangs. "But you didn't see the space behind you. Your vision is 2D. Mine is 3D. Level up, kid."