Chapter Seventy: Two Steps Behind? Just Catch Up!

He knew there was no way he could outjump Ariko Juubei, so he did not try to fight for the pass. Instead, he moved into position first and took up a defensive stance.

As Ariko Juubei charged forward, he surveyed his surroundings. At his side, a swift figure had already burst out.

It was Itoshi Rin!

"What a crafty move, Itoshi Rin. If you show up at a time like this, I can only pass to you!"

Ariko Juubei had only one choice. He passed the ball directly to Itoshi Rin.

The instant Itoshi Rin received the ball, Niko Ikki appeared in front of him.

"As expected! All those passes were only to set up your own attack. That was your plan!"

With the ability to see the entire field as well, Niko Ikki saw through Itoshi Rin's tactics and moved directly into his attacking path.

At that moment, Niko Ikki felt the gap between himself and Itoshi Rin shrink to nothing. He should be able to stop Itoshi Rin's attack this time!

But Niko Ikki suddenly noticed that his appearance had not caused the slightest surprise on Itoshi Rin's face.

It was as if Itoshi Rin had known he would appear there.

"As expected, you have eyes like these too—but do you think I can't see the scenery reflected in yours?"

Itoshi Rin spoke in an utterly arrogant voice, as though Niko Ikki were nothing worth mentioning.

At that exact moment, Itoshi Rin suddenly raised his foot, looking as if he were about to shoot. Niko Ikki could only step forward to interfere.

Niko Ikki's center of gravity shifted, but Itoshi Rin changed his movement. Everything just now had been a shooting feint. The instant Niko Ikki's balance broke, Itoshi Rin completed his breakthrough!

Using his spatial awareness, Itoshi Rin watched everyone's movement paths. From Niko Ikki's positioning, he had guessed that Niko Ikki possessed the same ability to see the entire field and would appear there.

But Itoshi Rin was not worried, because creating a one-on-one situation with Niko Ikki was exactly what he wanted! Neither Niko Ikki's physical ability nor his technique could surpass his own!

After easily dribbling past Niko Ikki, Itoshi Rin continued charging forward—and in that instant, a figure appeared at his side.

Kira Ryosuke!

At that moment, Kira Ryosuke had already closed in to challenge him.

But...

This was all within Itoshi Rin's calculations!

"Your speed is fast, but it'll only be useful the first time! Now I know exactly how fast you are! I already know your limit!"

Itoshi Rin shouted. Half a second before Kira Ryosuke reached him, he had already sent the ball away.

Whether it was Niko Ikki or Kira Ryosuke, Itoshi Rin had used his positioning and advances to lure them into chasing him on defense.

That left Bachira Meguru completely open!

"You're two steps too slow, Kira Ryosuke!"

"Is everyone acting according to Itoshi Rin's plan?"

Teieri Anri was dumbfounded. Only from God's-eye view could she see so clearly what Itoshi Rin had done.

Whether teammates or opponents, everyone was acting according to his plan!

Testing everyone's limits and guiding the others into fighting each other—that was Itoshi Rin's style of play!

"Everyone is just a puppet manipulated by Itoshi Rin. Even Kira Ryosuke's movements were within his calculations. This is domineering puppet football!"

Teieri Anri sighed. This was something that could not be accomplished through spatial awareness alone. Itoshi Rin also possessed terrifying football intelligence.

"Even though Kira Ryosuke's individual ability is outstanding, Itoshi Rin is still leading him around by the nose!"

"Rather than manipulating puppets, it's more like he's putting chains on everyone else, treating them like livestock and forcing them to move."

Ego Jinpachi pushed up his glasses.

"But... don't forget one thing. Those chains can only restrain livestock—monsters can break free with ease."

"You're two steps too slow, Kira Ryosuke!"

Itoshi Rin shouted.

"Watch closely. This is the gap in absolute ability between the two of us!"

"You're noisy."

Standing in front of him, Kira Ryosuke replied with a calm expression.

Only then did Itoshi Rin notice that there was no panic on Kira Ryosuke's face.

His tactical trap had clearly toyed with Kira Ryosuke, yet Kira Ryosuke remained completely composed.

Kira Ryosuke understood Itoshi Rin's tactics. Itoshi Rin would lure him into defending against him. If he defended, Bachira Meguru would be left completely open; if he did not, Itoshi Rin could easily dribble past Niko Ikki and shoot.

It was a choice where almost every answer was wrong. No matter what he chose, his team was bound to concede a goal.

But Kira Ryosuke had a third option.

"It's only two steps. I just need to catch up!"

At that moment, Kira Ryosuke suddenly adjusted his breathing and entered a state of Total Concentration Breathing once more.

His Total Concentration Breathing had already reached LV3. Compared with before, he could use it far more freely and effortlessly. Although he still could not maintain it for the entire match, he could now sustain it for at least half of it.

And now was precisely the right moment to unleash it!

Only LV3 Thunderclap and Flash under Total Concentration Breathing could release its true power!

Even in the less-than-0.1 seconds that followed, Itoshi Rin could clearly feel the aura around Kira Ryosuke change.

Kira Ryosuke gathered strength in both legs.

His blood surged through his veins like raging rivers, while his tense muscles seemed to transform into unbreakable rock!

Kira Ryosuke was going to catch up to Bachira Meguru from behind at top speed!

With his next breath, Kira Ryosuke shot forward!

At that moment, Bachira Meguru had just received Itoshi Rin's pass. But as he prepared to shoot, a terrifying feeling spread from behind him, sinking into his bones like biting ice.

"He's here! He's here!"

Bachira Meguru could hear the monster inside him shouting.

Its voice seemed to tremble with fear.

Bachira Meguru could feel every cell in his body issuing a warning. Instinctively, he turned to look behind him, toward the source of that terrifying premonition.

There was only one person capable of making the monster inside him feel fear.

Kira Ryosuke.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

Bachira Meguru's voice began to tremble as well. At that instant, his body seemed to forget how to move.

Kira Ryosuke had clearly been beside Itoshi Rin just moments ago, yet he had appeared behind Bachira Meguru almost instantly.

Was this guy even faster than the pass itself?!

At that moment, in Bachira Meguru's eyes, Kira Ryosuke was like a demon awakened from hell, covered in undying flames as he charged toward him.

Although Bachira Meguru had hesitated for less than half a second, it was already too late for him to shoot immediately!

The tackle succeeded!

Chapter Seventy: Two Steps Behind? Just Catch Up!

Using his terrifying speed, Kira Ryosuke forcibly stole the ball from beneath Bachira Meguru's feet.

The entire field nearly fell silent.

"That was a defense so stylish it couldn't possibly get any more stylish."

Ariko Juubei wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Kira Ryosuke, his eyes filled with admiration.

"Y-you've got to be kidding me, right?"

Even Niko Ikki, his teammate, could not stop himself from exclaiming.

He had already witnessed Kira Ryosuke's outstanding defensive ability, but what he had just displayed was far more astonishing than before.

It was easy to imagine that neither Team Y, where they had played at the time, nor the team he had formed yesterday with Barou and Reo could possibly have defeated him.

It could even be said that yesterday's match might not have been enough to make Kira Ryosuke get serious.

Only now had Niko Ikki witnessed Kira Ryosuke's truly terrifying strength.

At that moment, Itoshi Rin stood frozen in place as if his system had crashed.

He had meticulously planned everything, manipulating everyone on the field like puppets. Every single person, including Kira Ryosuke, had been acting according to his script—

But in the end, Kira Ryosuke had destroyed everything.

Itoshi Rin had originally set an almost impossible choice before Kira Ryosuke. No matter what he chose, Red Team scoring should have been inevitable.

Yet Kira Ryosuke had used his terrifying individual ability to forcefully find a third option.

Itoshi Rin passed to Bachira Meguru, but Kira Ryosuke simply used his speed to chase him down and destroy the attack.

What kind of monster is this guy?

Even the usually arrogant Itoshi Rin now felt a sense of oppression coming from Kira Ryosuke.

It felt just like the only time he had ever faced Itoshi Sae one-on-one.

For an instant, Itoshi Rin wavered.

But after that hesitation, his expression became even more serious. Gritting his teeth, he muttered to himself:

"If I can't take this guy down, I have no hope of defeating Itoshi Sae. No matter what, I have to win! I must win!"

He immediately fell back and returned to his own half.

Meanwhile, Kira Ryosuke and the others launched their attack at the same time!

Kira Ryosuke dribbled forward at high speed, heading straight for Red Team's goal.

Itoshi Rin stared fixedly at Kira Ryosuke, determined to give him no room to break through.

Kira Ryosuke had dribbled past Itoshi Rin in the previous exchange. This time, Itoshi Rin absolutely would not make the same mistake again.

Moreover, Tokimitsu Aoshi and Ariko Juubei quickly tightened their formation, allowing them to provide support against Kira Ryosuke's attack more quickly.

They had already witnessed Kira Ryosuke's terrifying strength. They absolutely could not let him have another chance to charge through.

"I won't let you score again."

Itoshi Rin's mind was intensely focused as he stared at Kira Ryosuke with complete concentration.

In a sense, he had already made Kira Ryosuke his number-one enemy.

Itoshi Rin was a powerful football genius. The only person who had ever defeated him was his older brother, Itoshi Sae.

Aside from that, Itoshi Rin had never lost a match. To everyone else on the field, he was an overwhelming force from another dimension.

Now, even though they were only one goal behind, Itoshi Rin already felt as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff.

The pressure Kira Ryosuke gave him was no weaker than the pressure he had once felt from Itoshi Sae.

Yet Kira Ryosuke still looked completely at ease.

"Oh, is that really so difficult?"

As he spoke, Kira Ryosuke suddenly accelerated again, heading straight for Itoshi Rin's side.

Should I just use my speed to get past him, or keep using changes of direction? But it doesn't matter. This ball is absolutely going to lock you down!

Itoshi Rin's mind raced. At the same time, he deliberately tilted his body to the side, seemingly revealing an opening.

Kira Ryosuke continued accelerating, bursting past Itoshi Rin's side like an arrow released from a bow.

And all of this had been intentional on Itoshi Rin's part.

He had deliberately tilted his body to guide Kira Ryosuke into attacking from this direction!

Itoshi Rin had already used his all-seeing eyes to notice that Tokimitsu Aoshi and Ariko Juubei had fallen back behind him, while Bachira Meguru was also nearby.