Chapter 21: Complete Analysis

“Huh? Rin, are you even thinking straight? Why’d you pass it back?”

“Just shoot! Our Blitz Shot is unstoppable!”

Ryūma walked up to Rin Itoshi, completely baffled.

“Shut up! I told you I won’t score with you!”

“And have you forgotten what you said yourself? If you could break through their defense, your soccer would evolve again.”

“You don’t seriously think that last goal was you breaking through yourself, do you?”

With that, Rin ignored Ryūma and walked alone to the right sideline of his own half, ready to restart play.

Ryūma stood frozen, his mind churning.

(Hmm… Sigh, Rin’s right. I got carried away. Without him, I wouldn’t have scored that goal at all.)

(Which means without Rin, I can’t break through Team Z’s defense!)

“Damn it! Just wait, Rin! Don’t be shocked when you see it!”

“Next time, I’ll smash through their defense by myself!”

...

After kickoff, Rin sprinted straight down the right flank toward Team Z. Three players moved in to stop him, but by now Rin had already picked them apart. Shutting him down wasn’t possible.

He blew past the three defenders with ease and surged into Team Z’s backline. This time, Shūhō Aoki and Haiichi Murakami stepped up to block him.

“Shūhō, careful. We’ve studied his replays, but this is the first time facing him head-on.”

“It’s fine, Haiichi. His dribbling isn’t as strong as Ryūma’s. We just need to watch his anticipation and his passing.”

As they spoke, Rin shifted left with the ball.

(A Chop Feint? He’s quick, but after getting burned by Ryūma so many times, I can read this. I can even anticipate it!)

Confident, Aoki moved to cut him off. But the moment he lunged, Rin cut right instead.

(Just as I thought! My anticipation’s perfect!)

Aoki threw himself to the right without hesitation—only to realize Rin had already blown past him.

(Huh? What? Was that Chop Feint to the right just a feint?)

(That makes no sense. Normally you’d check if the defender fell for it.)

(This guy didn’t even look at me—he just kept going straight into the next move!)

(How could he be so sure I’d take the bait? Is he really that confident?)

Shaken, Aoki snapped back and shouted,

“Sorry, Haiichi! His dribbling’s weird!”

Murakami rushed to react, but Rin showed no concern for his defense either.

He shifted left with a Marseille turn. Just as Murakami moved to block, Rin instantly darted right, slipping past him.

(Huh? What’s with this guy?)

(Going one-on-one feels staged… He doesn’t even look at me, like we’ve rehearsed this scene a hundred times.)

“Get back, Haiichi!”

Aoki’s yell snapped Murakami out of it. Forcing away the thought, he sprinted back to the box.

At the edge of the area, Yukio Ishikari stepped in to intercept.

Inside, Akemi Inoue and two other defenders marked tightly, ready to stop any sudden shot.

(Weird… his dribbling doesn’t look flashy or even that fast. So how did he just breeze past Shūhō and Haiichi?)

(I have to stay calm. I can’t get fooled!)

Rin closed in. Suddenly, he accelerated left.

(A speed dribble? No… a monster like him must have another move in reserve. I need to be careful.)

Ishikari lunged to the left, but he hesitated mid-motion, convinced Rin was feinting.

Yet Rin made no extra move—he simply sprinted past him.

Ishikari froze, leg half-extended.

(Huh? Just a straight speed dribble? That basic?)

(No way! Even Ryūma would throw in another move once he saw me react.)

(But Rin doesn’t care about my defense at all…)

(It’s like… like he already knows what I’ll do before I move!)

(I know his strength is anticipation—but can he even read my thoughts? What kind of monster is this?)

Rin burst into the box alone and wound up to shoot.

“You cover left, I’ll cover right! Seal his shooting lane!”

Aoki dashed back, shouting orders.

“Thud!”

Aoki and the defenders leapt to cover both sides, leaving the center for Yushu Furukawa, who braced himself for the shot.

But to everyone’s shock, the ball didn’t come.

Instead—it was a pass. Rin had sent it to Ryūma on the left side of the backline.

“Passing to me? I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’ll take it!”

Ryūma trapped the ball and immediately accelerated, shaking off two defenders and driving into the box.

“You three stay back in the area. I’ll step up. I can’t stop him, but I’ll stall him a few seconds!

Once I’m beaten, close in on him together. Delay until I get back—then his shot chance is nearly zero!

Even if he forces a shot, it’ll be blocked! The rest of you, mark Yo Hiori and Rin Itoshi!”

Ishikari pushed up to face Ryūma.

(This defense is tight… What now? I can get past him, but once he comes back, I’ll be trapped.

Hiori’s there… I’ll loop around and create a shooting lane first!)

Just as Ishikari closed in, Ryūma sent the ball straight to Hiori.

Ishikari hadn’t expected the quick pass. He froze, then shouted:

“Everyone, cut him off! Stop that pass!”

Team Z rushed forward, including Aoki.

But the pass landed perfectly at Hiori’s feet.

Because of Ryūma’s relentless attacking, though, the ball bounced high, forcing Hiori to wait.

In that moment, Aoki, Ishikari, and two more defenders crowded in.

Two pinned Hiori while Aoki and Ishikari prepared to jump.

The triplets from Team V arrived in time, blocking Aoki and Ishikari.

The ball dropped, chaos erupted, and someone’s foot sent it flying right.

When the dust cleared—the ball was already at Rin’s feet, in full shooting form.

“Thud!”

While Team Z still scrambled, Rin had already fired.

Furukawa dove desperately, but the shot was aimed at the far corner—one even his full stamina could barely reach. Exhausted, he had no chance.

GOAL!! Team V 2:1 Team Z