"SHIT! THAT’S DIRTY AS FUCK!"

"COME ON, REF! GIVE HIM A RED!"

"BEFORE, DENJI, AND NOW HIS TWIN?! FUCK, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL THEIR BLOODLINE?!"

Even though Hakodate Nishi’s supporters were small in number, they were loud as hell. The moment they saw Denki getting pushed to the ground, they all were buzzing, complaining so loudly on their stand. Hell, even the home team supporter was taken aback, not expecting this kind of fierceness from the group coming from Hakodate.

The players themselves didn’t react too much. Denki knew that this was a professional foul, and his opponent, the wing back with the number 5, Yuya Fukuda, also accepted this fact readily. He didn’t even complain about the yellow card, knowing that this was the necessary sacrifice to forcibly stop the opponent’s frightening counterattack.

Still, even Kumiko had to shake her head in admiration here.

’The decisiveness to foul in a dangerous area, knowing that his team’s defensive approach could stop any attack when they are prepared... No wonder they are the best team on this island. Even as the best defensive team here, I still have something to learn from them, huh?’

Now, even though Hakodate Nishi had a free kick, it was definitely less threatening than letting Denki run amok on that side. Not only was their defensive shape back to normal, but the free kick itself was so close to the baseline, making the angle so tight and difficult to execute the ball.

This was basically a corner kick that was a little bit shorter, not an ideal one to take a free kick.

Of course, the one who took this was Hiroshi. He put the ball on the ground before raising his right hand with the palm open, signalling a code for their next play. In the penalty box, four Hakodate Nishi players were there, all the tallest ones on the pitch. Those were Kazawa, Makino, Jun, and Kuroki, ready to fight for their life.

"Come on! Keep your eyes closely on them! Don’t let any leak appear in our defense!" Rin Mito shouted while following Kuroki’s movement.

"Don’t worry, Captain! We get it!" The other Sapporo Otani players nodded, not daring to take this threat lightly.

Hell, even Yuwell himself backed down to the penalty box, guarding Jun, who was the tallest player on the Hakodate Nishi group. This ensured that they would be able to win any aerial duel there.

Still, Hakodate Nishi players weren’t that worried about that. Outside of the penalty box, people spread apart, with Takaaki taking a stance not that far behind the penalty box and Denji ready to pick up the rebound ball on the opposite flank. Even if the ball was cleared, they would be able to recycle it quickly for another attack.

Everything was ready, and the moment the referee blew the whistle...

FWEEE!

Thud! 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Hiroshi sent a ball slightly higher than anyone’s expectation, aiming straight to the far post. There, Kazawa was battling against Yuma Igari, holding each other’s jersey while also trying to time their jump to get the ball first.

"I get this! I get this!" Yuma Igari shouted, trying to clear away the area.

However, Kazawa reacted faster. He took two steps back, then, with that short distance, made a run to gather more momentum and jump, climbing through his opponent’s back easily. This made Yuma Igari fail to get to the peak of his jump, allowing Kazawa to get the ball in the air.

"SHIT!"

Chaos fell onto the penalty box, as Kazawa himself didn’t aim the ball straight at the goal. Instead, he passed it back, and Takaaki, who was outside of the box a moment ago, suddenly arrived, sending a half-volley straight to the far post of the goal.

BAM!

"Urgh!"

Unfortunately, while the shot was powerful and accurate enough to get into the chaos, right at the goal line, Ayase, Sapporo Otani’s defensive midfielder, stood there. He used his chest to block the ball, preventing it from crossing the line.

"FUCK! CLEAR THE BALL!" Rin Mito roared, running frantically to get the ball first.

He wasn’t the only one, as Jun and Kuroki, the two closest Hakodate Nishi players, also tried to get it. However, Yuma Igari, who was beaten in the aerial duel before, reacted faster, sending the ball as far away as possible.

BAM!

"Oh, goddamnit!" Takaaki clicked his tongue in annoyance as he saw the ball fly far back to Hakodate Nishi’s area. It was rare for him to get such a chance, and yet, he still failed to convert it. This was definitely going to haunt him for the rest of the game. "Come on! Let’s recycle it!" he shouted at Usami, who was guarding the back.

Even though most of the Hakodate Nishi players wanted to groan to show their annoyance, they couldn’t do that right now. No, the game was still going, and Sapporo Otani’s three players were already rushing to put pressure on the back. If they failed to come back soon, the backline would be overwhelmed, and it could lead to a disastrous moment.

So, Makino led the others to rush back, shouting to Usami, "Slow down! Recycle! Recycle!"

What he meant by recycle was to start another attack from the back again, letting them do a brand new build-up that wasn’t affected by the pace of the earlier play/ Usami understood it, so he just played one-two ball with Higo and Denki on the back.

However, Sapporo Otani’s pressure came too suddenly.

Before the others were fully back in their position, about five players with the sky-blue jersey were already on their side, surrounding the area completely. Of course, the best action here was to clear the ball away and allow the others to get back first. However, in a moment like this, sometimes, their instinct kicked in, guiding them on what to do while their brain still couldn’t process everything.

This was what happened in Usami.

When he saw his teammates were surrounded and he had no passing choice, the boy suddenly saw a light in front of him, as if guiding him through that path. He was stunned for a second, then, with a confidence that he himself didn’t know where it came from, a thought suddenly flashed inside his head.

’I can do this...’