Dodging Ryūma’s sliding tackle, Rin Itoshi once again wound up for a shot.

【Thud!】

Without giving Seishiro Nagi a moment to think, Rin struck the ball sharply—not a shot, but a pass.

Watching the ball streak toward him, Nagi frowned in confusion.

(Huh? A direct shot? That’s pretty bold.)

(I should be able to block it this time.)

“I descend!”

“Oh, crap!”

As Nagi exclaimed, Jyubei Aryu stretched out his long legs and forcefully knocked the ball away. Without giving Nagi a chance to recover or intercept, Aryu adjusted his posture and fired the ball straight into the White Team’s goal.

GOAL!! Red Team 2 – 2 White Team!

“I’m the trendiest!”

Aryu shouted while dancing around in his “trendy dance,” repeating the line again and again.

Veins bulged on Rin’s forehead as he snapped, his patience gone.

“Shut up! Get back to your position!”

Meanwhile, Nagi turned to Ryūma.

“Sorry, Ryūma. I didn’t expect Aryu to get a shot off from that angle.”

“It’s fine, I messed up too. I’m never sliding again, T﹏T.”

“I’ll take the kickoff. Next, let’s try this…”

White Team possession! Ryūma kicks off from center!

After the whistle, Ryūma quickly passed to Seishiro Nagi on the left side of midfield.

Advancing into the Red Team’s half, Nagi once again found himself facing Jyubei Aryu’s defense.

Meanwhile, Ryūma and Rin were tightly marking each other, neither giving the other space.

As Nagi neared Aryu, his feet never stopped moving.

He darted toward the left flank, clearly trying to shake Aryu off.

Aryu reacted immediately, taking long strides to close the distance.

But Nagi was ready. His movements suddenly shifted—his right foot flicked the ball forward, baiting Aryu into thinking he’d lift it over him. Then, in an instant, he stopped it dead under his right foot, throwing Aryu off balance.

Using that same right foot, Nagi flicked the ball backward, brushed it outward, then planted his right leg as a pivot. His left foot swung through, striking the ball cleanly.

The pass shot straight toward Ryūma, positioned in the middle of Red Team’s midfield.

The sudden pass left Ryūma momentarily stunned.

(Huh? Wait, that wasn’t the plan, was it?)

But when he saw Nagi sprinting toward a new position right after passing, Ryūma instantly understood.

(Seriously, Nagi… treating me like a pawn, huh?)

(Fine, fine. I’ll hit it hard—let’s see if you can keep up.)

Decided, Ryūma suddenly burst forward, sprinting from behind Rin Itoshi to meet the ball head-on.

Rin blinked in surprise—he hadn’t expected Ryūma to rush toward the ball like that, especially from such a poor shooting angle. He thought Ryūma would wait and fight him for it instead.

But Rin recovered quickly, spinning away and sprinting in another direction. As Ryūma reached the ball, he noticed Rin’s strange movement but didn’t have time to think about it—Aryu was already closing in.

“Heh… fine then…”

Ryūma’s eyes flared violet, his legs bursting with explosive power as he rocketed toward the ball.

“Then I’ll fire!”

At that speed, there was no way for him to adjust his form for a clean shot—and even if he could, there wasn’t enough time.

He was only two body lengths ahead of Aryu; any attempt to reposition would mean getting blocked.

People often said Ryūma could stop on a dime—but stopping didn’t mean instantly regaining the right shooting angle. That’s why he rarely charged at full speed unless absolutely necessary.

And right now was one of those moments. He refused to waste another second.

Every heartbeat he lost was another second Rin could think.

【BOOM!!】

Ryūma dove sideways at full speed, hammering the ball with a vicious strike that rocketed toward the Red Team’s goal.

But Rin’s figure suddenly leapt into his shooting path—perfectly timed.

Even so, Ryūma didn’t panic. He grinned inwardly.

(Heh… show him what you’ve got, Nagi!)

From the opposite direction, Nagi launched himself into the air, cutting across Ryūma’s shot trajectory—one body length ahead of Rin. Closer to the ball, he trapped it mid-air with his thigh, landed, then instantly spun and leapt again, striking the falling ball cleanly.

【Thud!!】

“My grand entrance!”

But Jyubei Aryu, hair flying, used his long reach to block Nagi’s shot with the outside of his foot.

(Damn… I’ll have to regroup with Ryūma.)

(Huh? Wait—Ryūma!?)

Before Nagi could even move toward the rebound, Ryūma was already there. Purple flames blazed around him, his violet eyes burning as he said flatly,

“Boom.”

The moment the word left his lips, he planted his foot and blasted the ball again.

【BOOM!!】

GOAL!! Red Team 2 – 3 White Team!

“Wha—?!”

Nagi froze for a moment, stunned. He hadn’t expected Ryūma to appear there.

With a wide grin, Ryūma ran over and threw an arm around his shoulder.

“Haha! Told you, Nagi—I’m crazy strong!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

Rin, visibly irritated, placed the ball back at center.

“Get back to your position,” he said coldly.

This time, Ryūma ignored him completely, strolling past with an easy smile before heading back to his spot.

Red Team possession! Rin Itoshi takes the kickoff!

Seeing the veins bulging on Rin’s forehead, Ryūma knew his little trick had worked.

(Heh, copying Rin’s cold attitude and throwing it back at him… worked like a charm.)

While Ryūma was still chuckling inwardly, Rin dribbled forward.

This time, it was clear—Rin wanted a one-on-one.

“Oh? Feeling bold, Rin?”

“Fine, let’s play!”

The moment Ryūma finished speaking, Rin made his move.

He started with a simple feint to throw Ryūma off, then spun into a Marseille Turn—trying to cut right as Ryūma moved left to block him.

But even though Ryūma was briefly caught by the fake, his monstrous acceleration let him recover instantly.