As soon as Seishiro Nagi passed the ball, Ryūma crouched slightly, ready to leap and receive it. But Rin Itoshi was right behind him—there was no way he’d let Ryūma jump so easily.

With one hand pressing down hard on Ryūma’s shoulder, Rin used the resistance to propel himself upward.

“Heh!”

Ryūma grinned—he’d been expecting this.

He’d already guessed Rin might try to pin him mid-jump, so he pushed off with full strength from the start.

Because they’d faced each other so many times in one-on-one duels, the two were already completely familiar with each other’s habits.

“Tch! What a muscle-brained idiot!” Rin hissed.

And he had good reason—Ryūma still managed to soar upward despite the pressure and forcefully headed the ball toward the right side of the penalty area.

As soon as the ball left his forehead, Ryūma’s purple eyes burned with intensity. Using his monstrous physical control, he quickly dropped into a diving stance, exploding toward the ball the moment his feet touched the ground.

By the time Rin landed, Ryūma was already near the ball’s landing point.

“I’ll stop you!”

Seeing Jyubei Aryu rushing toward Ryūma, Nagi shouted anxiously,

“Ryūma!”

“Relax~”

With a grin, Ryūma pushed off his left foot, his body launching into the air. When the ball was still about two meters above the ground, he swung his arms back and drove his right leg upward—striking the center of the ball with perfect precision.

【BOOM!!】

GOAL!! White Team 1 – 0 Red Team!

Ryūma sprinted straight to Nagi, shouting in excitement,

“Nagi!!”

“That was amazing, Ryūma!!”

The two slapped hands in a quick high-five.

“Your control plus my Blitz Shot—we’ve got insane chemistry!”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to try again. I feel like I’m getting stronger already.”

“Hahaha! Sorry for showing you up, Rin~”

Ryūma scratched his head, pretending to look apologetic toward Rin Itoshi, who stood nearby.

But it was obvious he was just teasing him.

Veins popped on Rin’s forehead as his tone turned glacial.

“Get back to your position. I’ll finish you in seconds.”

Ryūma didn’t seem to care, laughing as he slung an arm around Nagi’s shoulder while walking back.

“Nagi, you know what Rin’s reaction right now is called?”

“What?”

“He’s losing his cool!”

...

Red Team possession! Rin takes the kickoff!

After the kickoff, Rin passed to Jyubei Aryu on the left side of midfield, then sprinted straight toward Ryūma—ready for round two.

“You’re kinda clingy, Rin~”

“Hmph. You talk too much.”

Ryūma said nothing more; Aryu’s pass was already flying toward him.

He reacted fast, stepping up to receive it—but Rin didn’t close in like before. Instead, he kept a calculated distance, as if deliberately avoiding a head-on clash.

Ryūma caught a glimpse of Rin from the corner of his eye, frowning.

(What, backing off? Knows he can’t win and gives up?)

(What’s he scheming this time…?)

(This guy’s always up to something. Better stay sharp.)

He slowed his pace, deciding to let the ball come to him naturally before making a sudden move to throw Rin off.

But just as the ball reached his foot, Rin’s cold, mocking voice cut in.

“Heh, that’s all your dumb brain could come up with?”

“Huh?”

Before Ryūma could react, Rin had already stolen the ball from right under his foot.

He realized immediately what had happened.

(Damn it! He planned that—kept his distance on purpose so I’d hesitate.)

(Made me think he was backing off, then pounced when I let my guard down!)

(Ugh, what a sneaky bastard T﹏T)

(But still...)

“So you think you can just dribble past me like that, Rin?”

Twisting his body, Ryūma burst forward in pursuit. Within seconds, he caught up, forcing Rin to slow down—otherwise, Ryūma would’ve intercepted him outright.

Even so, Rin didn’t give him an opening. At the perfect moment, he passed the ball to Jyubei Aryu, who was positioned near the center of White Team’s midfield.

Though Nagi was marking him tightly, Aryu used his height and long limbs to receive the ball cleanly.

Seeing that, Ryūma sighed inwardly.

(Sigh... Nagi’s great at trapping the ball, but he’s still got gaps in other areas.)

“Oh no!”

Ryūma watched as Aryu immediately returned the pass—this time toward the space in front of Ryūma’s own penalty area.

Why “oh no”? Because Rin had already sprinted toward that exact spot.

(Damn it! While I was watching Nagi, Rin slipped behind me and took off ahead of time!)

“Nice one, Nagi! Hold him off!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Ryūma saw Nagi move right into Rin Itoshi's shot path. If Rin went for the shot, Nagi had a good chance of blocking it.

Nagi’s awareness was sharp—when he saw Rin suddenly break away from Ryūma and change positions, he immediately sensed danger and rushed to cover the angle.

Rin, calm and unreadable, raised his leg to shoot.

(Huh? Is he actually shooting?)

(Doesn’t he care if I block and counter?)

(No... maybe it’s a Feint shot. Better be careful!)

Nagi locked onto Rin’s foot, tense and ready, afraid to move too soon. He braced himself, expecting a Feint shot.

But the next instant, Rin actually struck the ball.

【THUD!】

By the time Nagi leapt to intercept, the ball had already soared past him, rocketing toward his own goal.

His mind processed what had happened—but his body lagged behind, frozen for a moment like a system crash.

GOAL!! White Team 1 – 1 Red Team!

“That was a trendy shot.”

“Next, I’ll show you what a real trendy goal looks like.”

“Heh. Whatever.”

Rin walked back toward his position, sneering as he passed Ryūma.

“Keep going—I’ll show you the gap between us.”

“Heh, you score one goal and already think you’re hot stuff?”