Meguru delivered a powerful kick, sending the ball flying.
'Who was that pass meant for — was it a mistake?' Falling back to his team's half of the field, Ikki was puzzled. In his field of vision, there wasn't a single player who could receive that ball.
Wait, no ordinary player could receive such a pass...
But Ryōsuke could!
Before Ikki could process what was happening, Ryōsuke had already received the pass and materialized before him.
"Nice pass!" He charged forward, racing toward the goal.
After spending the entire first half as a defender, Ryōsuke had returned to his forward position. Just as he'd promised before the match, he would completely kill the game in the second half!
"This speed... it's ridiculous — what kind of stamina does this guy have?!" Ikki's voice trembled.
In regular matches, Ryōsuke maintained an incredible pace that made others wonder if he ever tired at all.
But there was no time to think — Team Y had to defend this play.
"Stop him!" Ikki shouted, reacting first and commanding his teammates, "Surround him!"
He barked urgent orders as more defenders rushed up from the backline. He lowered his body, adjusting his center of gravity to shut down Ryōsuke completely.
Despite being short-handed, Team Y quickly organized their best defense, forming a defensive chain directly in front of the striker.
"Ryōsuke Kira, try breaking through our defense!" Ikki shouted.
"You've already made one empty boast — are you going for a second?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ryōsuke was already upon them.
❖ Rice Spirit ➠ Play Time! ❖
❖ Rice Spirit ➠ Thunder Nutmeg! ❖
He dribbled swiftly, slipping the ball between one defender's legs before accelerating to collect it on the other side. One man beaten, as effortless as breathing.
"Quick, cover!"
The second defender immediately pressed forward—
❖ Rice Spirit ➠ Elastic Feint! ❖
Ryōsuke shifted his weight to one side deliberately, then abruptly moved his body. Using his heel to change the ball's trajectory and leaning against his opponent to complete the turn, he instantly appeared behind the defender.
Second man beaten!
"I absolutely won't let you through! I'll lock you down completely!" Ikki could no longer contain himself, pressing forward to defend personally.
Ryōsuke saw through his forward pressure and center of gravity.
He accelerated forward, but just before reaching Ikki, he suddenly stopped. Trapping the ball with one foot, he used the momentum to turn, while smoothly pushing the ball to his other foot and taking it past the defender's side.
❖ Rice Spirit ➠ Spin Cycle! ❖
This was the powerful dribbling ability granted by Ryōsuke's Second Form, letting him bypass opponents without relying on his First Form speed!
"Beautiful!" From afar, Meguru couldn't help but praise him.
As a dribbling master himself, he could execute such techniques in matches, but he never expected Ryōsuke, known for his speed, to possess such refined skill. The move's fluidity and execution were nearly perfect.
"What?!" Ikki was dumbfounded — he never imagined Ryōsuke possessed such technique.
In previous match footage, Ryōsuke had relied mainly on his physical abilities and speed to force goals, never displaying such sophisticated dribbling techniques.
The ball moved like his pet, obeying his every command.
'Did he hide his true ability in the first match?!' This terrifying thought crept into Ikki's mind.
These matches would determine their future as football players — if Ryōsuke could truly conceal such abilities, just how formidable was he...
After losing to Team V in the first match, Jinpachi had spoken during the broadcast about having their team discover their own weapons.
Ikki's weapon was his vision and game awareness, Hibiki's was his excellent attacking technique, and Team Y had assumed Ryōsuke's weapon was simply his speed, which he'd relied on while defending in the first half.
Only now did they realize he possessed dribbling skills that rivaled — perhaps even surpassed — Meguru and Hibiki.
After getting past Ikki, the remaining defenders posed no challenge. The ball stayed glued to Ryōsuke's feet, giving no opportunity for a tackle.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the goal again, raised his foot, and shot!
Team Y's goalkeeper could only watch helplessly as Ryōsuke drove the ball into their goal.
"No!" Ikki's anguished cry rang out as he collapsed to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.
[ Scoreboard ]
[ 3:0 ]
This goal utterly shattered Team Y's last hope of advancing in the tournament.
"This guy... how can we possibly win..." Despair filled Ikki's heart as he witnessed Ryōsuke's overwhelming dominance.
Speed, technique, football intelligence, and insight — Ryōsuke excelled in every aspect. In both defense and attack, Team Y crumbled before his prowess.
He had single-handedly controlled the entire match.
"As expected of Kira!"
"That Spin just now was incredible! We've never seen you use it before!"
"MVP! MVP!"
While Team Z's players swarmed around Ryōsuke in celebration, Team Y stood in stark contrast — defeated and demoralized.
His masterful switch between attack and defense had crushed their confidence, leaving nothing but despair in their hearts...
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
"Is this... the fang you spoke of, Mr. Ego?" Anri swallowed hard, "Ryōsuke Kira is truly a monster."
She was astounded by how Ryōsuke could not only shut down Team Y's offense but also slice through their defense with his brilliant dribbling techniques.
This guy, does he never run out of stamina?
"That's right." Jinpachi said gravely, "He's not just a powerful forward — I suspect he can dominate any position on the field."
❖❖❖
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