Chapter 93 Football 93 The first shot was...

"Itoshi".

Upon hearing this surname, both of the masters on the field turned their attention to Ofri Aikong.

Saetoshi intercepted the ball without hesitation, striking the bottom of the ball with precise left foot. A perfectly curved long pass instantly tore through the air and reached the feet of Akito Sendou, who had penetrated behind the Blue Prison defense.

Just as Akito touched the ball, a huge white figure silently approached like a ghost.

Akito Flash sneered, without even turning around to confirm. Just as Seishiro Nagi stretched out his leg to intercept, he deftly flicked the ball upwards, the ball tracing a small parabola that just cleared Seishiro Nagi's outstretched leg.

"Their defense is too weak!" Akito Sendou easily bypassed Nagi Seishiro's missed attack and brought the falling ball to a steady stop at his feet. At the same time, he turned around and threw out a sarcastic remark, "With this kind of strength, you can make the starting lineup? It seems that your Blue Prison really can't distinguish between good and bad players."

Seishiro Nagi stood there, unusually bewildered.

...Better at stopping the ball than me?

Am I not... a genius?

A hint of confusion and a barely perceptible wavering crossed his eyes.

Despite his impetuous personality and flamboyant behavior, there's no denying that Akito Sendou is the undisputed top striker for the U-20 team, second only to captain Ofri Aisou in skill. He handles opponents like Seishiro Nagi, who possesses astonishing talent but hasn't fully realized it and has weak defensive awareness, with ease.

After receiving the ball, Akito Shantang made a slight adjustment and, from more than 30 meters away from the goal, unleashed a powerful shot without hesitation. The football, accompanied by a whistling sound, flew straight into the top left corner of the goal like a cannonball.

This long-range shot was too obvious in its intent; although it had enough power, the angle wasn't tricky enough.

The Blue Prison defender, Ulster, had anticipated the attack perfectly. He calmly moved laterally and, just before the ball entered the penalty area, controlled it with a textbook chest control. Ulster then followed up with a clean and decisive long pass, powerfully launching the ball forward, instantly defusing the danger and initiating a counter-attack.

The football flew at high speed toward the midfield area.

With his keen sense of positioning and agile movement, the midfielder of the Blue Prison quickly judged the landing point of the ball and confidently prepared to control it firmly at his feet.

A sudden change occurred.

Suoh Hyoki suddenly lowered his center of gravity, his entire body skimming the grass as he launched a flying tackle. His outstretched leg landed perfectly between the ball and Nishioka Hatsumi's foot.

[Oh ho ho, it's Hatsumi Nishioka and Koki Suoh! The fateful battle between Matsunine and Aomori! They have a long-standing rivalry, with the former losing his three-peat to the latter. And now, in the U20 vs. Blue Prison match, it's still their arena.]

The commentator's excited shouts came over the loudspeaker, instantly igniting the audience.

"Wow~ still so fierce."

Faced with this sudden and fierce tackle, Nishioka Hajime, far from panicking, let out a light exclamation of surprise. His reaction was astonishing; with remarkable agility, he hooked the ball with his ankle, narrowly avoiding Suoh Koki's sliding leg. However, the attack was not over. Just as Nishioka Hajime lobbed the ball away from the tackle, Kira Ryosuke surged forward from the side and rear. The ball had barely left the ground when he stretched out his leg to try and press it down, completing a perfect double-team.

"Two against one? That's so unfair."

Hatsumi Nishioka still wore that confident smile. With a subtle flick of his heel to the left, the ball instantly changed direction, rolling along the grass to the left. Ryosuke Kira, completely fooled by Nishioka's feint and heel flick, instinctively shifted a step to the left following the ball.

[A perfect feint! A deft backheel flick! Hatsumi Nishioka! Truly deserving of the title 'Aomori Messi'. His slender frame holds limitless potential; his exceptional agility and speed are his winning formula.] The commentary erupted in cheers once more.

"Although I defeated you in the finals a year ago, don't target me like this now, okay? I thought we could be teammates this time! It's a pity that you left Blue Prison by the time we reached the final stage. What a shame!" After successfully deceiving Kira Ryosuke, Nishioka Hatsumi immediately started chasing after the ball rolling to the left, his words flowing with a hint of mockery.

Despite his failed tackle, Suoh Hyo-ki didn't hesitate. Using the momentum of the sliding tackle, he smoothly passed between Nishioka Hajime's slightly open legs, taking the ball with him.

"He talks too much."

Suoh Hyo-hee responded coldly, and as he slid up, he deftly passed the ball towards Akito Sendou.

I saw it!

Seishiro Nagi jumped with all his might, stopping the ball in mid-air. He intended to dribble forward, but the U-20 players in his field of vision, like sharks smelling blood, instantly surrounded him from all directions, completely blocking his path.

A direct shot would be too far away.

Seishiro Nagi's gaze swept quickly across the field. Through the gaps in the crowd, he spotted a figure making an aggressive run-up without the ball, trying to break through the defense. Without hesitation, Seishiro Nagi delivered a low pass, the ball precisely weaving through the crowd and rolling towards Kiyoshi's sprint.

Jie Shiyi smoothly slowed down, met the ball, and touched it, completing the entire movement in one go.

He controlled the ball steadily and then sprinted it straight into the goal.

Great, as long as we break through this area, we'll have a chance to shoot.

A strong premonition of scoring surged through me, and my blood seemed to boil.

wrong!

In that split second, a chilling sense of crisis, like the spitting of a venomous snake, suddenly gripped Jie Shiyi's heart. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he could even "hear" the faint sound of the air being torn apart.

Jie Shi's breath hitched for a second, and his previously smooth dribbling rhythm faltered. Relying on his almost animalistic instincts, he pivoted on his left foot and forcefully twisted his body to the left. U-20's Sabo Liu whizzed past him, almost grazing his back.

Before the startled breath could escape, two even larger and more oppressive auras arrived simultaneously.

“Little thief, we meet again.” Ofri Aikong’s voice, like the whisper of a viper, clearly pierced into Jie Shiyi’s ears.

"Jie, give me the ball!" This was Wang Xiaoxi's concise and direct command.

Suoh Hyo-ki lunged straight at Jie Shi-yi's feet from left to right. Ofri Ai-kong's massive body, exuding unparalleled oppressive aura, blocked Jie Shi-yi's possible escape route from right to left.

Jie Shiyi's brain was working frantically. To his left was Suoh Hyoki, and to his right was Ofri Aisou. His teammates had no good passing positions and could only dodge their attacks.

If it were that snake-like Aikong, the ball would be intercepted instantly upon being passed to him.

The thought flashed through his mind like lightning. Almost subconsciously, Jie Shiyi chose the relatively familiar Suoh Koki as his breakthrough point. But Oni Aikong on the right did not rush to attack with all his might. Instead, he cunningly slowed down, like a coiled python adjusting its posture, silently blocking Jie Shiyi's retreat path to the left rear.

This completely blocked any possible changes in direction or backtracking after Jie Shiyi's breakthrough.

They fell for the trap.

Jie Shiyi desperately tried to hook the ball downwards with his toes. But Suoh Hyoki, having failed in his tackle, had already stood up and attacked Jie Shiyi's lower body again. Jie Shiyi's body seemed to be nailed into mid-air, with Ofri Aikong hovering above like a lurking snake head, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment. Suoh Hyoki's other snake head, hidden in the grass, had its fangs gleaming, blocking any path to the ground.

It's a two-headed snake!

He felt like a prey tightly coiled around the center of a giant python, its two gaping maws facing him, emanating a cold, foul stench and greedily drooling.

Ofri Aikong controlled the ball steadily, not even glancing at Jie Shiyi. The instant his body touched the ground, the ball was already at Shan Tang Qiuren's feet. The balance of power was completely reversed in the blink of an eye.

Most of the Blue Prison players were still deep in the U20 penalty area, frustrated by their failed attack or unable to retreat in time. The backfield was suddenly wide open, with only Uru and Futaba struggling to build a defensive line, while goalkeeper Gin Gaigamaru was completely isolated and exposed in front of the goal.

Akira's position to receive the ball was superb, with a wide-open space in front of him. The few Blue Prison defenders were desperately trying to track back and cover, but they were too far away to form an effective block.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tang Qiuren swung his right leg, aimed at the far corner of the goal, and used all his strength.

"Bang!"

A sharp, knife-like white trail tore through the air.

The football shot like an arrow, hurtling towards the top corner of the goal. Gin Gaara from Blue Prison dove to make the save, but his fingertips were a fraction too slow. Jubei Antei stretched out his foot, his toe touching the ball, but the contact area wasn't large enough to only slightly deflect it before it still went into the net.

1:0

[Goal! GOOD! It's Akito Shando!! It's Akito Shando!! He scored the first goal in this highly anticipated match! This thunderous shot ignited the flames of the game!! Truly worthy of being a top striker for the national team.]

[U20 capitalized on the fatal gap left by Blue Prison's massive push, with Suoh Hyoki stealing the ball and Akito Sendou delivering the decisive blow, completing a textbook-perfect fast counterattack.]

One host spoke with passionate and infectious enthusiasm, while the other provided a rational analysis of the competition's progress.

"Sendou Akito!"

"Sendou Akito!"

A deafening roar of cheers instantly swept across the entire stadium, with countless voices passionately chanting the name of the hero who had just scored the crucial goal.

A red wave surged through the stands.

Enjoying the deafening adoration, Akira's lips curled into an extremely flamboyant smile. He smoothed his meticulously styled bangs, allowing the spotlight to better capture his dashing figure. Then, turning towards the stands where the cheers were loudest, he winked playfully with his right eye, sending out a perfect wink that ignited yet another wave of even more frenzied screams.

“This guy…” Aikong Overey, watching the exaggerated performance from the sidelines, couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh.

"Well, what do you say, genius?" Akito Sendou sneered, looking at Sae Itoshi with a mocking expression.

He was just about to show off that he could score even without Sae Itoshi's pass, but he was met with Sae Itoshi's cold words.

"Anyone could have shot that ball. Instead of playing these childish tricks with me, you should try to build a relationship with that guy. Maybe he'll pass the ball to you like that next time."

"You bastard—!!!"

Sae Itoshi ignored the roar behind him. He slightly raised his head, his bean-red eyes calm as water, as if he was quickly reviewing the details of the previous offense and defense, which met the gaze of Ryosuke Kira, who was also observing the situation on the field not far away.

Their eyes met.

The silent exchange was quietly completed on the noisy sports field.