Chapter 97 Football 97 Come and Invade!
Amano Minaka strolled to the forward position left by Sendou Akito, glancing sideways at Suoh Koki in the left forward position beside him, his golden eyes filled with undisguised scrutiny.
"The first half is almost over, and you haven't scored a single goal. This isn't like you, Hyo-hee."
Suga Hyo-hee stiffened slightly, and after a moment of silence, he replied in a low voice: "...Winning is all that matters, scoring a goal doesn't matter."
Amano Minaka casually moved her wrist joints, her gaze sweeping over Koki's slightly tense profile, without saying a word.
Kira Ryosuke walked over, his gaze shifting between Amano Minakata and the original midfield position. "I didn't expect you to replace Sendou-senpai. I thought you would replace Wakatsuki-senpai or Niou-senpai."
"Hmph!" Niou Kazuma immediately snorted in displeasure.
Wakatsuki weakly pointed to herself: "My turn? Although I'm exhausted... being singled out and told to be replaced is still super annoying."
"Sorry~" Kira waved his hand insincerely.
Tenno Minaka stroked his chin and raised an eyebrow. "I've heard about the U20's solid defense. If we dismantle them, it'll create gaps in our defense, which wouldn't be good. As for the center forward... our Sae is the best in the world."
"Tsk." Sae Itoshi couldn't ignore the scorching gaze that almost set him ablaze. He frowned and walked over, his tone icy. "So you weren't kicked out. I thought the national team finally couldn't stand you anymore and just found some excuse to kick you out."
"I'm so sad, Sae," Amano Minaka smiled, but her eyes remained expressionless. "Do you think I'm that bad? I came all the way here because I heard you were here. After all this time apart, your first words are so harsh?"
Sae Itoshi rolled her eyes with a cold laugh, turned around and left, leaving behind a chilling comment: "What a pretentious guy."
As soon as he stepped onto the field, Amano Minaka's golden eyes locked onto Blue Prison's strongest forward—Itoshi Rin.
"Want to shoot? With your left foot?"
As the cold, predictive voice rang out, Amano Minaka's movements were so fast they were just afterimages. With a light tap of the inside of his shoe, the soccer ball seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread, instantly detaching from Itoshi Rin's foot and attaching itself to Amano Minaka's toes.
"Sure enough, he's just a child. Why does the younger brother have to copy everything his older brother can do? But Rin..." Amano Minaka tilted his head slightly, his golden eyes filled with an extremely calm indifference, "If you keep imitating others, you won't even be able to catch up with their shadows."
“Disgusting…!” Rin Itoshi squeezed out the curse through clenched teeth, the hatred churning in her chest almost bursting out of her throat.
It's disgusting! Why do these treacherous, ambitious, delusional guys who dream of leaping straight from the mud to the clouds always haunt us?
When they were kids, they fought over their older brothers; when they grew up, they fought over their teammates; and now they even covet the ball.
"Get out of my way!" Rin Itoshi roared, his shoulder slamming against Minaka Amano's back like an enraged young beast trying to crush him with brute force.
The whites of his eyes turned pitch black from extreme anger and focus, and his tongue unconsciously pressed against his teeth, as if he were about to pounce and tear them apart at any moment.
The moment Itoshi Rin exerted force, Amano Minaka deftly twisted his dribbling ankle, using the momentum to turn his entire body to the side. This not only deflected Itoshi Rin's impact but also changed the direction of his sprint, taking Itoshi Rin, who was pressed against his back, with him.
Rin Itoshi was pulled off balance and stumbled.
"What are you talking to yourself about? If you keep spacing out, you won't even be able to touch the hem of my clothes."
A blue lightning bolt streaked past from the side.
"Don't even think about getting past me!" Jie Shi shouted, and made a clean and swift sliding tackle straight at the football at the feet of Ten no Yu.
Ten no Michū's pupils contracted sharply, his body reacting with astonishing speed. With an extremely subtle pull of his toes, he simultaneously leaped lightly, the sole of his shoe barely grazing the ball.
They hadn't lost possession, but that momentary delay was fatal.
The Blue Prison's defenses meshed like precise gears, swarming forward and seamlessly isolating Tenno Minaka from her U20 teammates.
It's that trick again.
...It seems my 'threat level' is still perfect in their eyes.
The airtight encirclement tactic, however, made a sense of familiarity flash across his eyes.
"I'm relieved that everyone is still the same as before," Amano Minaka said softly, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's as he locked onto Suoh Koki, who was charging ahead.
With a twist of his body, he unleashed a precise shot, and the football whistled as it flew towards the left flank.
"Back to defend the left flank." Mikage Reio immediately initiated the plan, but then realized with a start: "...Something's not right!"
"I won't let you pass."
A soft, gentle voice, carrying an undeniable air of interception, came from behind Rei-ou Mikage. A figure with white, spiky hair blocked his path.
The football drew an arc, and the expected receiving point was reached, but Wang Xiaoxi was a beat too slow.
The ball rolled inexplicably to the feet of Nagi Seishiro of Blue Prison.
"Huh?"
Seishiro Nagi paused for a moment, staring blankly at the soccer ball that had suddenly appeared at his feet. His body, however, reacted faster than his thoughts, instinctively shielding the ball and running forward.
Didn't receive it?!
Amano Minaka frowned, looking incredulously at the spot where the pass had missed. Fortunately, Itoshi Sae cleanly intercepted the pass from Nagi Seishiro's feet.
"It seems that the selection criteria for the Japanese U20 are truly eye-opening."
Sae Itoshi dribbled past Amanomi, her cold words dripping with undisguised sarcasm, "How many times has this happened? Playing like this, aren't you going to substitute him?"
Dou Hong's eyes swept coldly over Xu Wang Xiaoxi.
He only cares about the result; the process and who his teammates are are meaningless if they don't bring victory. Being on the same team as someone who doesn't take the game seriously only makes him feel inexplicably annoyed.
"He has a purpose in staying here."
Following Amano Minaka's gaze, Sae Itoshi glanced at a figure in the Blue Prison camp. A faint look of surprise flashed across her eyes, which then turned into a deeper indifference and disdain.
"Huh? Whatever." Sae Itoshi accelerated her forward thrust.
He didn't think Japan could produce any outstanding players.
Controlling the ball, passing it—all fluid and effortless.
The ball was stopped by Sawamura, and in the instant he turned around, it was tackled away by Mikage Reio, who was waiting nearby, and the ball was passed to Nagi Seishiro's feet again.
Overly Ayaka blocked Nagi Seishiro's advance like a rock. Without the slightest hesitation, he delivered a precise through ball, aiming directly at the planted Wakatsuki.
As Ruoyue stretched out her foot to stop, her vision was suddenly enveloped by a shadow.
"What...?!" His pupils shrank, staring in disbelief at the figure that suddenly appeared directly above the passing lane.
That's Mikage Reio.
The python formed from purple energy coiled around and around the Ruoyue Tree until it was trapped and died in place.
How is that possible?!
At this height, at this moment...
What shocked him even more was that Reio Mikage's interception action was exactly the same as that of Ofri Aisaku just now.
[Unbelievable! Reio Mikage perfectly intercepted the deadly pass from Ai Sora, the ace defender of the Japanese national team, in mid-air, and the move she used was practically a mirror image of Ai Sora's.]
Reio Mikage landed lightly, his jersey fluttering in the wind, his flowing hair unable to conceal his all-seeing purple eyes.
99%... No, this is the 100% answer.
I had already seen through this long ago.
With a push of his foot, the football pierced the weak spot in the U20 defense with surgical precision.
There, Feng Lehui was already ready. The football at his feet seemed to have come to life, leaping and weaving lightly between the panicked legs of the U20 defenders, and with an incredible rhythm, it went straight into the heart of the penalty area.
A cold figure cut in without mercy.
"Too flashy."
Sae Itoshi's voice was completely flat. He timed the moment Hiroki changed direction perfectly, and with a clean and swift sliding tackle, his toe precisely poked the ball away from Hiroki's feet.
With the vision and understanding of a top midfielder, a low long pass accurately pierced through the crowd and found Suoh Hyo-hee making a high-speed run down the wing.
Shoot!
Shoot!
Shoot!
With his emerald green eyes fixed on the falling soccer ball, Suoh Hyo-ki's mind was filled with only those two words, but the moment he touched the ball, nothing changed.
Ten no Michū's gaze swept over.
Golden, sun-like rays reappeared.
Suoh Hyo-hee was stunned.
My mind went blank for a moment, and the tinnitus grew louder and louder until I was almost dizzy.
That guy is a striker!
Now standing before me is no longer midfielder Tenno Minakata, but striker "God's Child".
The long-lost sense of oppression, the long-awaited return to being the Son of God—at this moment, Suoh Hyo-ki just wanted to vomit.
It seems to be a hunter's war passed down from the ancient bloodline of the forest.
Only the victor can become the vanguard (leader).
The foot that was originally going to shoot was turned around and used to pass the ball instead.
This surprised the two defenders from Blue Prison, who were already on guard.
After several quick and precise passes by players such as Suoh Koki, Kira Ryosuke, and Ofri Aisaku, the ball, like a sophisticated machine, was finally guided back to the feet of Amano Minaka, who was roaming in the middle.
With a nimble turn, Amano Minaka completely shook off the relentless pursuit of Itoshi Rin, receiving the ball steadily near the edge of the penalty area. His supporting foot sank into the grass like a steel nail, and his core muscles unleashed terrifying power, propelling his right leg into a blur.
"Bang—"
The football tore through the air with a heart-stopping whistle. It hurtled straight into the absolute top right corner of the goal!
In Blue Prison, Gin Yagamaru's body stretched to its limit as he leaped forward, his fingertips almost brushing against the whistling black shadow.
At the critical moment.
"Don't even think about it!!"
As if he could foresee the future, Erzi had already predicted the shot's trajectory. He dove to block it, using his entire body to block the ball's flight path.
The ball slammed into Futaba's chest, but the force of the shot was terrifying. Though blocked, the ball's momentum didn't diminish, stubbornly bouncing towards the goal. The Ukrainian player following closely behind tried with all his might to deflect the ball. But the ball, carrying its remaining immense momentum, slammed heavily against the inside of the goalpost.
After a deafening bang that made everyone's heart stop, the ball bounced into the net under everyone's desperate gaze.
[GOOD! Another world-class goal! This match has produced two world-class goals that have shocked the world. It's unbelievable!]
[After shaking off his defender at the edge of the penalty area, Amano Minaka unleashed a devastating shot that blasted open the goal of the Blue Prison defense. Despite the Blue Prison team's desperate attempts to stop it, they couldn't alter its trajectory. This shot, imbued with absolute power and precision, still seemed destined to strike the inside of the post and bounce into the net – the finishing ability of a top striker. Absolutely unstoppable!]
3:2
Just as Blue Prison equalized, U20 caught up.
Halftime break.
Amano Minakata turned around, his gaze sweeping over the U20 players who had already taken their positions. He walked steadily toward the center circle, an invisible pressure spreading out.
"The coach assigned me to the forward position, which means he's prepared for me to take full control of the team."
"So...?" Wakatsuki sensed the unusual aura and asked instinctively.
Amano Minaka did not answer directly. He slowly raised his palm, and in the instant his five fingers were spread open, several chains formed from pure spiritual power and gleaming with a cold golden light suddenly burst forth from his palm. They wrapped around all the players except Suoh Koki with precision and speed, as if they had a life of their own.
"I won't pass the ball to you anymore."
"So, Suoh Hyo-ki, come and take it. Just as you learned in the Blue Prison."
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