White Team possession! Ryūma kicks off from center!

“Watch me tear you apart!”

After kickoff, Ryūma decided to dribble straight toward the Red Team—his opponent, as always, the expressionless Rin Itoshi.

“Feel my speed!”

As he closed in on Rin, Ryūma suddenly accelerated, darting toward Rin’s right side. Rin had already anticipated this move; while Ryūma was still talking, he’d prepared to pivot and run backward.

The moment Ryūma exploded forward, Rin reacted at the same instant. The two sprinted side by side toward the Red Team’s penalty area.

Ryūma’s grin never faded.

“Getting past you is tough—but also simple.”

“As long as I don’t use those dribbling tricks that slow me down.”

“In short…”

A violet gleam flashed in his eyes. Ryūma came to an abrupt stop and sliced the ball behind him to the left with the inside of his right foot.

“I’ll beat you with pure speed!”

As soon as he finished, his leg muscles tensed, and he burst leftward with explosive acceleration.

“Tch!” Rin forced a sharp turn in the same direction, already expecting Ryūma to change course again. He’d mentally prepared for it, but Ryūma’s terrifying burst speed still caught him off guard.

Then, to Rin’s irritation, Ryūma reached the ball—only to flick it back to the right with his heel and explode forward once more.

Despite reading his movements, Rin couldn’t stop him. He’d predicted the change of direction, but knowing it wasn’t the same as being able to block it. Ryūma’s monstrous acceleration and physical prowess left Rin no chance to react.

Just as Rin could anticipate Ryūma’s defensive moves when attacking, Ryūma could do the same—yet both found themselves unable to stop the other once they were in motion.

“Your dribbling might be trendy, but I’ll cut you off!”

Jyubei Aryu charged forward, his long hair flowing, stepping into Ryūma’s shooting lane.

Ryūma ignored him, instead spotting Seishiro Nagi sprinting up and shouting,

“Nagi! Right side!”

(Heh, Aryu’s never seen this move before. Let’s show him my trendiest goal yet.)

(My ultimate move…)

Taking a deep breath, Ryūma hopped forward, swinging his right leg back in a wide arc. Once his angle was perfect, he planted his foot and fired.

(Shift Shot!!)

【BOOM!】

Seeing the ball flying straight toward him, Aryu smirked confidently.

“I’ve got this!”

“Huh?”

Just as the words left his mouth, the ball suddenly curved mid-flight, veering sharply to the right.

Aryu’s eyes widened as he turned—only to see Nagi leaping straight toward that spot!

Although Nagi hadn’t fully understood Ryūma’s shout, he chose to trust him and dashed right. The moment he saw the ball’s sudden curve, he realized what Ryūma had meant.

Nagi leapt, trapping the ball mid-air. Landing just ahead of it, he spun swiftly and struck the descending ball with a fluid, unorthodox mid-air kick.

【BOOM!!】

The shot flew into a razor-sharp corner—far beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.

GOAL!! Red Team 1 : 2 White Team!

“Hahaha, that was sick, Nagi!”

“Yeah, thanks for the assist!”

“No need to thank me. That’s your reward for believing in me!”

“Yeah. That shot of yours was amazing—it even curved at the last second.”

“Of course! That’s my Shift Shot! Trendy, huh~?”

“Yeah, really trendy.”

“Haha, honest kid~”

Ryūma grinned, ruffling Nagi’s hair before adding,

“You’re really fired up today, huh, Nagi?”

“Yeah. I want to win!”

As Ryūma looked at him, wisps of black and white mist began swirling faintly around Nagi’s body—proof of his awakened focus.

“Nagi, would you call this a revenge match?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“Then we’ve gotta go all out. Rin at full power is terrifying.”

...

Red Team possession! Rin Itoshi kicks off from center!

The moment Ryūma saw the green flames flaring around Rin, he knew—Rin was serious now.

As Rin charged at him, he didn’t go for a one-on-one. Instead, he threw out a few feints before passing to Jyubei Aryu.

Aryu took the ball and accelerated fiercely, using his long strides to pull half a body length ahead of Nagi. But just as he prepared to shoot, Ryūma caught up even faster.

(Can’t even shake him off like this?)

(What now? Huh—Rin!?)

(Hmph, even his positioning is trendy…)

While thinking, Aryu spotted Rin moving into the perfect spot for a pass. Timing it perfectly, he sent the ball to the left side of White Team’s midfield.

At the same moment, Ryūma dashed toward the same spot. He’d anticipated that the unmarked Rin would make a move and had already prepared to intercept.

As the ball reached Rin’s feet, Ryūma slid in fast, aiming for a clean tackle.

“Hah, brainless idiot.”

Rin deftly dragged the ball back with his right toe, spun around, touched it with his left, and performed a flawless Marseille Turn, carrying the ball to the left and evading Ryūma’s slide.

He continued dribbling toward the penalty area.

Nagi managed to get into Rin’s shooting lane, eyes locked on him. Rin’s face didn’t change—he just cast a brief glance toward Aryu, then raised his leg in a shooting motion, confident that his shot could bypass Nagi’s interception.

Inside, Nagi stayed calm.

(He probably won’t take a direct shot this time.)

(If he does from here, I can block it for sure!)

As Nagi thought this, Rin planted his foot and struck the ball.

(Here it comes!)

Nagi’s eyes lit up—he saw Ryūma sliding in from behind Rin, aiming for his feet.

Rin’s pupils narrowed coldly.

“Too obvious, idiot.”

Shifting his stance, Rin switched from a right-footed shot to an inside cut, dodging Ryūma’s sliding tackle once again.

Lying flat on the turf, Ryūma groaned internally.

(Damn it! I’m never sliding again T﹏T)

(Finally got two chances—and both whiffed T﹏T)