Author’s note: Big thanks for all of you who support this story in the period of the Double Golden Tickets! Thanks to Hattorin, Robin_Kristiansen_7344, Krackalorn, and Masatoshi_K for a total of 18 Golden Tickets in the last two days! I appreciate the support from the bottom of my heart!

This will also add four more double-update days getting spread through the next two weeks, and I will update the schedule later. Once again, thank you for all of your supports!

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"Come on! Don’t mess this up, Takaaki!"

After the kick-off, the ball went straight to Takaaki’s feet. Well, this was not surprising, since the boy was the team’s sniper. Meanwhile, five players also blitzed their way toward the opponent’s side together, wanting to overwhelm Sapporo Otani with their number.

Of course, since Sapporo Otani knew beforehand what Hakodate Nishi was trying to do, it was easy for them to handle this situation. They didn’t even put pressure on Takaaki, letting the boy take his time behind the center line. They seemed to figure out that the key here was the recipient, not the passer himself.

As for the possibility of Takaaki dribbling the ball himself... Well, while they were wary of the miracle dribble like what Usami pulled earlier, the home team was still confident that they could stop the glasses boy. After all, there was no way their intelligence would be wrong for two straight players, right?

Takaaki himself could also guess what was inside their mind. Somehow, the boy was insulted here, knowing that the opponent looked down on him. However, a smirk suddenly flashed on his face, especially when he saw his good friend running back to help him.

’Oh, well, you want to do it this way? Let me see how you handle this!’

Takaaki didn’t wait for too long, passing the ball to that boy. The purpose was simple, and that was to attract the opponent’s defenders to come slightly forward, giving room in the pocket area for Hiroshi and the others to create something. As for the possibility that the opponent’s defenders weren’t attracted...

Well, Takaaki had never thought about this, since he could see two people with the sky-blue jersey moving unconsciously on his side right now.

"Kenji, keep eyes on that number 8!"

"Hiroyuki, don’t go that far! Keep the middle compact with Ayase, let Kenji handle this!"

Yeah, if before, they would just let this slide, now, they daren’t do so. After all, the memory of Usami wreaking havoc in their defense was still clear, and they didn’t want to be a background for the second time in a row.

Takaaki himself also didn’t stay still. After passing the ball, he went wide to create distance with Usami, trying to get a better angle for the pass. As Usami managed to perform his duty in attracting more players to him, the quiet boy passed the ball back to Takaaki, and the glasses boy launched a through ball, piercing the center straight to Hiroshi, who was standing in front of both Yuma Igari and Rin Mito.

"Shit! Hiroyuki, where the hell are you?!" Ayase cursed, trying to cover up his teammate.

"I get this! I get this!" Yuma Igari also made a move, trying to prevent Hiroshi from turning around to face the goal.

As for Hiroyuki, the moment he realized that he was being dragged by Usami, the boy turned back immediately. However, no matter how quick he was, the pass was still faster, coming straight to Hiroshi’s left foot.

Now, with him being surrounded by two players and having no option to turn back, Hiroshi’s brain spun quickly before finally finding the most optimal solution here. He didn’t control the ball, but let it pass through his legs without even touching it. As a result, the two players around him didn’t see this coming, getting caught off guard when the ball slipped through their defense.

"HA! Nice dummy, Hiroshi!" Hori grinned widely as he blitzed through the flank diagonally, wanting to catch the ball that was close to the penalty box already.

Everything happened so fast that one moment the ball was still on Hakodate Nishi’s side, then, in the next moment, it was already on the home team’s side. This time, since they could see the attack clearly, all the Hakodate Nishi supporters rose instantly, watching the play unfold in excitement.

"YES! Come on, Hori! Don’t mess this up!"

"Slow down! Slow down! The ball will cross the line!"

"Watch out behind you! Hori, watch out!"

Well, Hori didn’t need to be told at all. He could see Ayase was trying to recover, while in front of him, Okamura was also getting closer to shutting down his space. Still, he wasn’t panicked right now. No, even though he had been demoted to a bench player, the boy had always been one of the main cores in the blitzkrieg attack, so he knew what to do.

’Kuroki-senpai did a good job pushing the line, so I can just cut it back, and... Don’t disappoint me, Brat!’

He sent a long cut back to the other flank, where Denki was coming from behind to receive it. This time, Sapporo Otani’s defense was crumbled in pieces, what with them getting scattered all over the place. Hell, Denki even had time to glance at the goal, not having to rush things up in this situation.

It was rare to have a good ball like this with all the time in the world inside the opponent’s penalty box.

"Ha! Nice pass, Senpai!"

This was a good position to curl the ball to a difficult spot on the far post, and Denki didn’t hesitate to do that. After leaning his upper body slightly so that he could face the goal, the boy hit the ball gently with his instep. It was a bit awkward to hit the ball with his left foot, but the boy was still able to do it properly.

However, the moment the ball was released from his foot...

WHAM!

A figure pounced like a cheetah, putting his body on the line. That figure slid heroically, sending a proper tackle to deflect the ball. As a result, it flew so high in the air before leaving the pitch on the left flank, only giving Hakodate Nishi a throw-in.

Yeah, a throw-in, not even a corner kick.

Denki was so dumbfounded when he saw his shot was blocked, turning his eyes down at the culprit of this situation. There, he saw the opponent’s captain patting his shorts as if this was nothing before glancing at Denki in disdain.

"You think we are that easy to breach? Keep dreaming, Brat!"