Standing near the center circle, waiting for kickoff, Ryūma Banjō wasn't exactly in top condition.
Ever since he entered the FLOW state—Slow-Motion World—he'd always be hit by a brief wave of drowsiness afterward.
And in that state, his judgment and reaction speed were easily affected.
(Still not fully used to this, damn it. My head's all foggy—definitely not a good sign right now!)
Meanwhile, the White Team had finally dropped their playful attitude. As Adam Blake walked toward the center circle, he spoke coldly:
"Leave that Ryūma Banjō to me. Let's end this match quickly."
"Ha! Let's crush them already!"
"Right, let's move."
White Team possession. Pablo Cavasoz kicked off!
Right after, Adam Blake charged straight toward the Red Team—or more precisely, toward Ryūma Banjō, positioned on the left side of their forward zone.
Pablo Cavasoz dribbled up the right flank of Red Team's half, with Dada Silva and Julian Loki following close behind on his left and right.
Leonardo Luna, as usual, was heading straight for Rin Itoshi.
Just as Ryūma turned to chase after Pablo, Adam Blake stepped in front of him, blocking his path completely.
Because he hadn't been fully focused, Ryūma failed to notice the White Team's intent.
Only when Adam slammed into him did he jolt back to full alertness.
"Tsk. I thought you didn't like getting physical, huh?"
Adam didn't quite understand what Ryūma said, but he could roughly guess from his expression.
Ryūma tried to use pure speed to shake him off, but Adam kept obstructing him with subtle body contact, preventing him from breaking free.
"Damn it! You're so annoying!"
On the other side, Pablo Cavasoz took advantage of Jyubei Aryu being tangled up with Dada Silva, easily slipping past him.
As soon as he broke through, Pablo adjusted his angle and sent a precise curved ground pass toward the center of Red Team's midfield—
where Julian Loki appeared and received it in full stride.
The next moment, Julian exploded forward, sprinting straight for Red Team's goal.
"Nagi!! Just stall him for a bit—I'm on my way!"
Seeing Julian's move, Ryūma knew that if he got any closer to the goal, the match would be over.
(Adam's still locking me down… I can't just brute-force past him, damn it!)
(Then let's see if you can stop this!)
With that, Ryūma burst forward at full speed again. Adam reacted immediately, lunging ahead with an arm outstretched to block him.
(This is it! Even if you realize it, your body won't catch up in time!)
In the next instant, Ryūma came to an abrupt stop.
Just as he predicted, Adam overran his movement by several steps before halting.
Ryūma seized that split second, veered sharply, and slipped past him from behind.
Then, with another explosive sprint, he tore forward toward Julian Loki.
Meanwhile, whether by luck or because Julian had eased up, Seishiro Nagi and Yoichi Isagi somehow managed to slow him down.
But Julian showed no panic at all—his lips curved in a faint, knowing smile.
Seeing that, Ryūma felt a surge of relief.
(Nice work, Nagi, Isagi!)
"Leave the rest to me!!"
As he shouted, Ryūma closed in from behind—but Julian just smiled faintly.
"Sorry~"
The instant Ryūma lunged from Julian's left, Julian spun with the ball, effortlessly dodging his tackle.
Without giving Ryūma a chance to recover, he immediately sent a pass toward the left side of Red Team's backfield.
Ryūma didn't even need to turn to know—it was bad.
Now that his focus had fully returned, he could see it all clearly.
(It's over—Loki was the decoy!)
(Three of us have converged on him, which means Rin's outnumbered—one against three!)
As that thought struck, Ryūma glanced over—only to realize the ball wasn't heading for Leonardo Luna at all, but toward Dada Silva.
(Huh? What? Why's Loki passing it back?)
Though confused, Ryūma didn't slow down, sprinting straight toward Dada Silva.
Jyubei Aryu was marking him tightly, but Ryūma didn't hold out much hope that Aryu could win that duel.
Just as he was closing in, someone else darted in even faster.
(Isagi!?)
"Isagi, I'll take his left side! Once he lands, I'll use the jump timing gap to steal the ball!"
"Got it!"
Hearing their exchange from nearby and seeing their positions, Ryūma's heart sank.
(Wait—hold on!)
(All four of us are crowding the same spot to fight for Dada's ball?)
(No—why does Isagi think Dada's going to trap the ball instead of passing it?)
(Is it because he assumes with Aryu and Nagi nearby, Dada wouldn't dare make a pass?)
(Isagi, don't underestimate these world-class players! Their limits are never that simple!)
(If Dada passes right now…)
And just as he feared, Dada Silva grinned widely.
Pressing down hard on Jyubei Aryu's shoulder, he launched himself upward and headed the ball away!
"Wh-what!?"
(A pass!? But to who—wait, no way…)
Yoichi Isagi froze in shock as Aryu was completely pinned, unable to even jump.
But in that instant, he realized the White Team's true plan.
"Nagi!!"
Ryūma and Isagi shouted together—Nagi Seishiro was the closest to the ball Dada had just sent flying.
But his reaction came half a beat too slow. The ball sailed right over his head.
Not that it was his fault—one moment he was ready to time a jump, and the next, the ball came flying past him. There was no way he could react that fast.
The ball bounced once after clearing Nagi's head, and Leonardo Luna trapped it perfectly with his right foot.
Then, completely unmarked, Luna charged straight toward Red Team's goal!
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
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