"It's Chigiri Hyoma! Watch out for his curling shot!"
It was clear that Chigiri's flashy playing style and impressive performance during the first phase of the New Hero Battle had made a lasting impression.
Even these youth players from various clubs remembered his signature move. But rather than feel pressured by their attention, a rush of heat burst in Chigiri's chest.
"It's an honor to be recognized by you club players."
"But even if you snails stand in my way, it's useless. I'll break through every defense with my speed!"
Staring down the defender ahead, Chigiri swiftly nudged the ball to the right. As the defender shifted his weight and moved in that direction, Chigiri suddenly kicked the ball diagonally left with his right foot.
The abrupt shift caught the defender completely off guard—not because Chigiri performed some flashy dribble, but because the move looked like a pass.
'There's no one behind me though…'
Despite the confusion, the defender from FC Barcha, Luis, didn't hesitate. Knowing there was a speed gap between them, he didn't turn to chase the ball. That would give Chigiri more than enough time to blow past him.
Instead, Luis immediately side-stepped to his left to cut off the angle—anticipating Chigiri would loop around that way to reclaim the ball.
"Smart defensive read... too bad it won't work on me!"
Chigiri couldn't help but praise the experienced move—but then he did the unexpected: instead of following the ball to the left, he sprinted to the right, completely opposite of the ball's direction.
"What?! No way!"
Their first steps went in entirely different directions, and Luis had no hope of recovering.
Chigiri accelerated freely and looped around, catching up to the ball he himself had sent forward moments earlier—a pass to himself, three seconds into the future.
"This guy... he waited for my move before acting! He believes in his speed so much that even if he delays, even if he takes the long route, as long as he's allowed to reach top speed unhindered, no one can stop him!"
Realizing this, Luis finally understood the heart of Chigiri's strategy—but it was too late. In a match, there's no time for regret.
As Chigiri caught up with the ball and neared the penalty box, a golden line appeared in his vision.
"Almost there! My golden shooting zone—44 degrees. About 23 meters to goal. Just two more steps—"
"Wild animals that attack my teammates belong in a cage."
Suddenly, a massive pressure fell over Chigiri like a collapsing sky. Even though he had surged forward at full speed, it was as if his momentum had vanished. He froze in place, like he had been there all along.
"Shinichi! He wasn't even in my vision just now!"
"Take a shot? No—I'm too far outside the golden zone. The moment I shoot from here, my power drops off hard. Damn it! I spent all my training focusing on how to enter the golden zone—I didn't have time to improve my actual shot from outside!"
Shinichi's sudden coverage forced Chigiri to slam on the brakes. Thankfully, Chigiri wasn't the type to stubbornly press forward—he immediately reassessed the situation and made a split-second decision before Shinichi could close in: he would cross.
"So that's what this was all about... You predicted it all, didn't you, Hiori?"
As Chigiri searched for a target, a familiar figure suddenly burst into his field of vision. Seeing him, Chigiri couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration for the midfield genius.
With full trust, he swung his leg and sent the ball flying.
"It's all yours—our unconventional genius!"
"Isagi!"
"Nice one, Chigiri. Your crosses are still as precise as ever." In the box, Isagi broke through the gap between two center-backs, making a sharp run toward Chigiri's cross.
If everything went smoothly, he'd have a one-on-one against the keeper—and even better, Hiori had just pulled Shinichi away with his playmaking!
"Oi oi, I may not have done much for the first goal, but don't tell me you're underestimating me now."
But of course, in moments like this, the unexpected always strikes. A hulking figure with dark skin, buck teeth, and messy dreadlocks suddenly lunged across the passing lane—cutting off the pass entirely.
Dada Silva.
"Shit!"
Even Hiori hadn't anticipated this move—not because he forgot Silva, but because he'd already used most of his brainpower just manipulating Shinichi's position.
Besides, judging from Silva's size, Hiori assumed he wouldn't be nimble enough to handle Isagi's off-ball movement.
After all, even physical-yet-agile types like Barou and Kunigami often struggled to keep up with Isagi.
But this guy didn't even try to chase Isagi—and somehow, he still managed to read and intercept the cross.
"Damn it, I underestimated these national players."
Hiori bit his lip. He used to think not all international-level players were impressive. Some countries had such low standards that even second-tier club players made their national teams.
But this man clearly wasn't one of them.
"Anyone picked by Ego Jinpachi… isn't here by luck."
As he cursed himself, already preparing to fall back on defense, another figure entered the fray.
"So this is your limit, huh?"
Itoshi Sae stepped in front of Dada Silva—doing nothing flashy, just standing in his line of sight. Silva lost track of the ball for a split second.
And in that moment, Sae let the ball slip between his legs, allowing it to roll right back to Isagi!
"You've still got a long way to go if you think you can surpass me."
There was no time for Isagi to react to Sae's smug jab. He rushed forward and raised his right foot in front of the nervous keeper.
"It's his dominant foot!"
The goalie instinctively dove in that direction, reading the shot—but it was a feint. Isagi twisted, planting his right, and unleashed a real strike with his left foot toward the wide-open net—
THUMP. THUMP.
Two dull impacts echoed across the field. The ball soared upward... and out of bounds.
Isagi stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief, staring at the figure now behind him.
"Kaiser!"
"Don't think I'm going to keep losing to you, Isagi!"
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