Chapter 41: The Tie is Broken Again

Team Y’s left midfielder kept his posture steady as he struck the ball.
But instead of shooting, he sent it across to the right side of Team V’s penalty area, where Kobayashi Shima trapped it with his right foot.

【Thud!】

Kobayashi steadied the ball and immediately went for goal!

“Damn it—my turn!”

Putian Daiwa lunged with all his strength to block, but suddenly a faster figure cut in front, chesting the ball down.
Before it even touched the ground, he spun and volleyed it straight at goal.

(It’s… Y’s left attacking midfielder! Damn it, who intercepts their own teammate’s shot?!)

Daiwa whipped his head back, tracking the ball flying toward the box. Relief washed over him—
Rin Itoshi’s calm figure was already in its path.

(Damn… that monster read it. Is this attack finished?)
(Wait… no. I see it.)

To Daiwa’s surprise, Y’s left attacking midfielder didn’t follow through—he bolted straight toward the center of the penalty area.
At the same time, every Y player near the box moved in unison.

Just as the ball closed in on Rin, Kobayashi Shima dove in from the side, meeting it with a header and deflecting its course.

The ball spun toward the center of the penalty box, where Matsutani Kageaki collected it. Instead of passing right away, he held it, waiting.

The tension rattled Team V. Several players lost composure, charging him recklessly.
Among them, Ryūma sprinted the fastest.

He wasn’t even thinking anymore. Adrenaline was driving him on instinct alone.

As he closed in, Matsutani’s lips curled into a sly grin.

“Heh… knew you’d bite.”

With his left heel, he flicked the ball back behind him.

But before he could follow up, Ryūma’s cold voice cut the air.

“Bite? So what?”

Matsutani froze in shock—Ryūma was already at his side.

“Quick! Somebody stop him!” he yelled, trying to intercept.

But Ryūma had already stormed past, bearing down on the ball.

Two Y players suddenly appeared, blocking his line of sight.

“Out of my way!”

Ryūma roared, accelerating again. He forced his way through the gap—only to find the ball gone when he looked forward.

(Tch… using my blind spot again, huh?)
(Heh… once this match is over, I’ll make sure to meet Y’s core face to face.)

His eyes darted—there. The ball was at Hisakawa Mii’s feet, already lined up for a strike.

【Thud!】

But Ryūma’s earlier challenge had bought V Team precious seconds. Their four defenders collapsed into Mii’s shooting lane.

Still, Y’s attacks were never so simple. Their finishing came in chains.

Team Y’s right midfielder, waiting ahead of the defenders, pounced and redirected the shot.

The ball rocketed toward the center of the box—where Y’s left attacking midfielder stood, his left foot already drawn back.

But there, of all people, Yo Hiori appeared—blocking the lane. He’d read the final destination perfectly.

(Did he really anticipate this spot? I thought Rin would be here. But it doesn’t matter.)

The Y attacker smirked. Instead of shooting, his left heel flicked the ball sideways into the left channel of the box.

【Thud!】

The left midfielder was waiting. With one clean strike, he drove it at goal.

For a moment, he thought he’d scored—until Rin Itoshi appeared like a shadow, already in the shot’s path.

(What?! Impossible! Did he read us again?)

But just as despair flickered across his face, a figure cut in behind Rin.

“You—how are you—”

Before Rin could finish, Y’s attacking midfielder appeared diagonally at his left front. With a swift touch of his sole, he rolled the ball out to the right.

【Thud!】

It hadn’t traveled three meters before Kobayashi Shima appeared, smashing it toward the net!

GOAL!! Team V 6–6 Team Y

“YEAH!!!”
“Haha! That was sick, Kobayashi!”
“We’ve tied it at last! Hisakawa, Matsutani—feels like we can beat them now!”

Y’s attacking trio locked arms, celebrating wildly.

For V Team, it was a blur. From the moment the ball was directed toward Rin, the tempo had exploded.

The keeper was still focused on the attacker that appeared in front of Rin—then suddenly, in the next heartbeat, the ball was in his net. No time to react.

The rest of V were no better—some hadn’t even processed it, others like Ryūma were too late in recovering.

Finally making it back into his box, Ryūma muttered inwardly, bewildered:

(Rin… was he read?)
(For me, it’s normal—I don’t play on anticipation.)
(But Rin? Stopped again and again… and this last one? That Y playmaker’s something else.)
(Not just that low bicycle kick… his speed, too. Could he be Y’s true core?)

Yo Hiori walked over, patting Ryūma’s shoulder.

“Ah~ Ryūma, I couldn’t read the ball’s final spot. My interception was brushed aside so easily.”

“Doesn’t matter, Hiori. Happens to me every play.” Ryūma grinned. “But you know what?”

“The pressure isn’t on us. And I don’t mean you, Rin.”

“I just think… losing to a genius of a different style isn’t so bad.
But losing to someone with the same kind of genius as you? Now that’s humiliating.”

Rin’s face darkened, his voice icy as winter.

“Shut your mouth, Ryūma! This game isn’t over. The one who wins… will be me.”

“Yeah, yeah. Rin, you’ll always be the strongest~”

A twitch ran down Rin’s temple as he strode quickly back to position.
He knew if he stayed and listened to Ryūma another second, he wouldn’t resist decking him.

“Huh, Hiori? Did he crack again?”

Yo Hiori stifled a laugh.

“Alright, Ryūma. Enough teasing. Go take the kickoff.”

“Rin walking back probably means he’s leaving it to you.”