Chapter 98 Football 98: The stage is set up.
"Huh? This isn't a practice match. Please don't let your personal emotions get into the game. If you continue like this, I'll request to be substituted."
Kira Ryosuke's expression was serious; he couldn't quite understand why such a trick would be played under these circumstances. Football is a team sport; the team can't function without any one player. Tenno Minaka's actions were practically a direct challenge to his principles.
Such behavior, which undermines teamwork, cannot be tolerated on the field of football.
His gaze instinctively fell on Captain Ofry Aikong, seeking support. However, the other only glanced at him impassively, his unfathomable eyes seeming to weigh something, and ultimately chose silence.
Amano Minaka slightly raised his chin, his golden pupils meeting Kira's furious gaze, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on his lips. "As for your question about why I didn't pass the ball to Koki... being treated like a tool by 'egoists', used and discarded at will... it bothers me too."
"It doesn't matter."
A cold voice suddenly pierced through the air, carrying a quality that could freeze the air.
Sae Itoshi casually rested one hand behind his neck, a gesture that betrayed a suppressed irritation. His eyes were lowered, his emerald pupils sharp as tempered blades, as if they could scorch the grass beneath his feet.
His gaze swept over Tenno Minakata's smiling face. His voice wasn't loud, but it was like an icy blade: "Then you'd better kick me to death. If you're still holding onto that half-hearted mentality as a striker, I'll personally kick you off that position. Although I've played midfield for a long time, my shooting ability hasn't declined."
After saying that, he strode away without looking back, as if staying even a second longer would be a pollution.
The smile on Tenno Minaka's face vanished the moment Itoshi Sae disappeared from his sight, as if a switch had been pressed, leaving only indifference.
He glanced around at his teammates, who were stunned by the fierce exchange, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"Now, let's discuss tactics."
On the other side, an invisible low pressure also hung over the rest area of the Blue Prison.
The fact that the newly ignited hope of a comeback was instantly extinguished by the opponent is suffocating in itself.
Senki Hyoma and Yukimiya Kenyu, the two heroes who broke the ice first, were substituted off and replaced by Mikage Reio and Kiyokazuki. This decision was like a stone thrown into a calm pond, stirring up ripples that were difficult to quell in the players' hearts.
It's not a question about the replacement's ability, but rather the sudden dismantling of a proven and effective attacking duo.
The momentum of their victory was abruptly interrupted, which was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the team's newly boosted morale and teamwork.
Reio Mikage calmly knelt on one knee, meticulously tidying her shoelaces, and asked her new partner beside her without looking up, "Kiyoro, how much longer?"
Qing Luoren slightly stretched his neck, his sharp eyes sweeping across the U20 half of the field in the distance. His voice was calm and even, yet it carried a sharp edge that was about to be unleashed. "That's about enough."
The stage is set... it's time to unleash our power.
The fifteen-minute halftime break passed in the blink of an eye.
At the start of the second half, Tenno Minaka dribbled the ball straight into the Blue Prison penalty area.
Left? Or right?
Erzi's pupils were locked on the rolling black and white ball, his brain frantically analyzing the dynamic information of the entire field. Time seemed to stretch infinitely in his mind's domain, as if time had stopped at this moment, with only the trajectory of the football and the subtle tremors of the opponent's muscles crystal clear in his world.
Having previously teamed up with Suoh Koki, he had memorized the game videos of Amano Minaka. His opponent's passing habits and tactical preferences were all within his predictions.
At that moment, Ten no Michū moved.
A textbook-perfect curved pass was aimed directly at Wakatsuki Itsuki. The Blue Prison defenders, like sharks smelling blood, instantly surged towards Wakatsuki Itsuki.
Bait!
Ruoyue is just a decoy; the real killer move is...
Just as the two boys had guessed, the football grazed past Wakatsuki Itsuki's feet in a bizarre fashion.
A mistake?!
No... what a coincidence!
A hint of surprise flashed across Jie Shi's eyes, but her body instinctively accelerated forward in an attempt to intercept the out-of-control ball.
"wrong!"
The warning from the two players and the dramatic change on the field occurred simultaneously.
Kira Ryosuke's figure was like lightning tearing through the defense, bursting out from the flank at top speed, and just as he was about to touch the ball—
"Kira, I'll accept this gift!" As if anticipating the future, Futaba leaped into the air and steadily brought down the ball.
"Heh, I'll return those words to you verbatim!" Unexpectedly, Kira Ryosuke, whose victory had been intercepted, showed no sign of annoyance. Instead, he flashed a bright, sunny, and penetrating smile. "Then I'll accept the victory for now!"
The snake appeared like a sudden rainstorm, descending from the sky with great speed and urgency. "You seem to have forgotten that the role of a striker is to shoot and score goals."
A spun ball flew through the air, landing at the feet of Amano Minaka, who was completely unmarked. He was only 5 meters from the penalty area, and with a gentle tap, the ball trembled as it crossed the white line.
4:2
[An unbelievable counterattack! As expected of Japan's world-renowned possession-based football, the U20 team's "network" of support once again proved effective!]
Is the snake also bait?
wrong!
He suddenly looked up, his gaze sweeping over Niou and Shin, who had quietly taken their positions beside the snake-like Miroku, and further away, Otoru Teppei, who was thrusting into the gap behind Amanomichi.
There's another trick up your sleeve?!
A cold, sticky sensation instantly enveloped Erzi Yihua.
He felt like an insect caught in an invisible spiderweb, the more it struggled, the tighter the deadly threads entangled it. And the hunter, perched high in the center of the web, coldly watched its prey's futile resistance with golden eyes.
Anyone can be bait.
Within this intricate network called "maintenance," every node flickers with countless possibilities. The path to the final hunt is not a single one, but rather an interweaving of countless seemingly random and interchangeable paths.
Kira Ryosuke simply chose one of the shortcuts that would get him to the next fatal point the fastest.
"Well done." Lieutenant General Tenno took in the barely concealed anxiety on the faces of the Blue Prison players. He slightly raised his chin toward Ototsuruhira and Niou Kazuma, "The big fish has taken the bait."
"Hi~ Hi~ I understand." Yin Che Liuping's soft and sweet response carried a hint of eagerness.
Niou and Kazuma grinned, excitedly wiggling their wrists and ankles.
The players of Blue Prison were like cornered beasts. The intense drain on their energy, the complete disruption of their carefully planned rhythm, and the immense pressure of being behind... all shattered their composure. They no longer cared about tactics or arrangements; from the forwards to the defenders, even the goalkeeper, every single one of them had a relentless, all-consuming fire of attack burning in their eyes.
Any chance to touch the ball is enough to make them press forward like moths to a flame.
"A missed ball!"
Rin Itoshi intercepted the pass and instantly transformed into a blue arrow. Kiyoshi and Seishiro Nagi understood each other perfectly, and the three of them charged straight into the heart of the U20 penalty area like a trident.
"Is it still on the left? If you're only focused on imitating others, you won't go far."
Amano Minaka laughed and leaned to the left, the sound of muscles colliding ringing out. He stretched out his left foot to try and steal the ball from Amano Minaka's legs, but Itoshi Rin gently passed it to Otoya Eita.
Rin Itoshi snorted coldly and turned around to shield Amano Minaka behind her.
After receiving the ball, Otoya Eita desperately advanced towards the goal. Just as Otoya Eita finally got the ball and was about to use his ninja footwork, Snake Appearance Mida suddenly shoved Otoya Eita aside from behind, and in the chaos, he subtly leaned his body forward.
He therefore had to pass the ball.
Nagi Seishiro and Kiyoichi, who were advancing, were distracted by the conflict, and at that moment the ball was passed to Nagi Seishiro's feet.
"Ah, trying to shoot?" Ototsuhira's soft voice carried a hint of mockery as he and Niou Kazuma pressed fiercely from the right. "Not so easy~"
"Ask us if we agree first!" Renou Kazuma roared, blocking the angle.
"Tsk..." Nagi Seishiro frowned slightly, instinctively pulled the ball back with his left foot, adjusted his posture, and raised his leg to shoot.
“Naive.” Ofri Aikong’s voice rang in Nagi Seishiro’s ears.
A massive shadow instantly loomed over them, and the three of them—Overry Aisou, Otonori Ryuhei, and Niou Kazuma—completely locked Nagi Seishiro within their encirclement, like an impenetrable wall.
They were surrounded, by three people.
Shooting seems impossible, but who can I pass to?
Nagi Seishiro began to analyze the current situation, his previously calm eyes suddenly lighting up.
Kiyoshi was to his right front, and Nagi Seishiro passed the ball to Kiyoshi without hesitation.
The moment the ball touched Jie Shiyi's shoe, a strong sense of disharmony shot through his spine like an electric current.
Is it that easy?
Although it's a bit strange, a top striker's muscle memory precedes his thought process; the muscle memory has already made him react—shoot.
"Bang!"
The football went into the net!
But the next second—
"Beep—!!!"
A sharp whistle ripped through the brief cheers.
The ball successfully entered the goal, but the score remained unchanged. The linesman promptly raised his flag, and the referee blew his whistle to rule offside, disallowing the goal and subsequently issuing a yellow card to Nagi Seishiro.
On the bench, Raishi Jingo scratched his spiky blond hair in frustration, muttering under his breath, "Damn it! I knew this would happen!"
The yellow cards sent chills down the spines of the former Z team players, and unease and anxiety spread among them like a plague. After all, the brutal "yellow card battle" against W team in the first stage had left almost every member of Z team with a warning.
Amano Minaka's gaze locked onto Nagi Seishiro with a cold scrutiny. "After all this time, you still haven't learned to read the rules? If you just wait for someone to pass the ball to your feet, you'll easily fall into this trap. You have one more chance. One more and you're done."
Seishiro Nagi was a target he specifically chose.
Having the shortest exposure to football, they naturally lack sensitivity to the details of the rules. A yellow card for offside is a warning, but a tactical foul, or even a reckless challenge, is enough to send this suddenly emerging talent to a second yellow card and a disappointing exit from the field.
Based on the strength rankings of Blue Prison, and considering that Eishin Shiba dislikes those who act recklessly and break the rules, the only possible replacements for him are probably Yukimiya Kenyu, who was just replaced, or Senkiri Hyoma.
This suited him perfectly.
Two fragile individuals, their bodies shatter at the slightest touch.
The more this happens, the more they will want to prove themselves and push forward at all costs. This mindset will drag the entire Blue Prison into a vortex of impatience. As a result, the effects of "annihilating the five senses" will be greatly amplified.
He could win the entire game without lifting a finger.
Tenno Minaka glanced at the scoreboard; there were 30 minutes left in the game. If he sent off Nagi Seishiro in 5 minutes, he would have enough time to score eight goals in the remaining 25 minutes.
12:2
This is the score that Tenno Minaka wanted.
Just then, the broadcast came on.
[Blue Prison has made another substitution request, this time replacing Futago Kazuki with Shido Ryusei. Strangely, we can't find any information about him. Using a player with no past match records means that no one has been able to find his weaknesses at this stage.]
Every roster change at Blue Prison adds a new style to their team. It'll be interesting to see what kind of performance the newly arrived Shido Ryusei will bring.
As the two hosts discussed, Shido Ryusei made his appearance.
"Hey! Your 'Joker' has arrived."
Shido Ryusei had his left hand in his pocket and was fiddling with his pink-streaked bangs with his right.
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