Kenji Harada just stared at his foreign teammate with a blank expression. Out of everyone in the team, he was one of the few who still couldn’t understand Yuwell’s English clearly, especially when the boy spoke so fast with so much enthusiasm. This was also the case here, as Kenji glanced around to get any help from the others.

Fortunately, Ayase was close enough here to listen to the conversation, so he translated the words immediately.

"Ah, so he wants me to pass? No matter how bad his position is?" The boy couldn’t help but ask, feeling skeptical.

"Yes, he said that he couldn’t do anything if he didn’t receive the ball. He said that he would do the rest by himself." Ayase spoke quickly.

Honestly, while they were still waiting for the goal kick from Higo, this created a funny scene where three players suddenly gathered together in the middle of the pitch, discussing something secretly as if they were planning the end of the world, not caring about their surroundings at all.

Still, this didn’t tickle anyone in their funny bones. If anything, all the Hakodate Nishi players were more alert than ever, knowing full well that the opponent was planning something here.

"Sano, Yuwell is involved, get ready to deal with everything." Makino reminded solemnly. "He is good at a surprise attack, so don’t think just because you corner him that he is no longer a threat. Always assume the worst-case scenario."

"Sure." Sano nodded, his eyes staring intently at Yuwell.

The boy didn’t mean to, but his tough gaze was enough to send a shiver down everyone’s spine. Still, Yuwell didn’t back down when he saw this. If anything, he was more excited than ever, knowing that a tough opponent was coming his way.

"Yeah, an off-the-ball play is good, but I need to keep my fang sharp here..." He murmured.

After this, Higo finally restarted the game with a goal-kick, launching a Hail Mary pass to Kuroki. Unfortunately, Yuma Igari was still closer, heading it far to the right, where Okamura had to track back to save it from going out of the line. This time, Hakodate Nishi didn’t put up high pressure, waiting in their own area.

Soon enough, the ball moved quickly, landing on Kenji Harada’s feet. Behind him, Kazawa was putting pressure, pushing subtly while also trying to get one leg to kick the ball away from his possession. It was fortunate that Kenji Harada’s ball-keeping ability was above the national standard, as he didn’t even bother with the interference right now.

Still, he couldn’t stand there for too long, or he would be swarmed by the opponent’s players quickly. No, the boy took a glance at the front, where Yuwell was still being shadowed by Sano, before he gritted his teeth here.

’I don’t know if Ayase made a mistranslation or something hit your head too hard, but you want to get a ball like this?’ He scowled, trying to protect the ball more from Kazawa’s defense. ’Fine! Let me see how you handle it!’

With a little backheel flip, he sent the ball straight to Yuwell, bypassing Kazawa’s defense. It was a weak pass that forced Yuwell to go deeper, so Kazawa didn’t feel any regret in letting that go. Moreover, Sano was also there, pressuring the Swedish striker from behind.

"COME ON, SANO! DON’T LET HIM GET YOU!"

Sano himself gritted his teeth, trying to get rid of the hand that prevented his body from passing his opponent. However, Yuwell didn’t even bulge, as while he had his back against the goal, the boy was still able to stand still and protect the ball fiercely, not losing an edge against Sano.

’Damn! How could he be this strong?!’ Sano scowled, trying to poke the ball away.

Yuwell Carlson also held the ball for a little bit longer. He even had the time to glance back, looking at the position of the goal. As everything was set inside his head, the boy started to move, leaning to the left as if he was about to go there.

The movement was so real that even Sano himself got fooled, following the action unconsciously. However, within a millisecond...

"SHIT! SANO, RIGHT!"

The shout came from Higo, the one who observed everything from behind. Sano himself didn’t quite understand what was going on. However, like all the Hakodate Nish’s defenders, he was conditioned to trust Higo blindly, so when the boy shouted to go right, his body accepted the order readily.

As a result...

BAM!

When Yuwell saw a little angle to take a shot earlier, he didn’t hesitate to launch it. However, in the last second, Sano managed to put one foot out to block the shot, propelling it high in the sky. Unfortunately for Hakodate Nishi, this only let the ball fall straight into their own goal, and now, Higo had to keep eyes in the sky before jumping with one hand extended in the air to make a save.

CLANK!

"Fuck!" Higo cursed out loud, landing awkwardly on the ground.

The ball didn’t even fall into his hand, but bounced off the crossbar first before going out of the pitch. The sound of the ball colliding with the post was enough to give everyone from the Hakodate Nishi a heart attack, as this was probably the closest they were to conceding another goal.

"AAAH!" Yuwell Carlson cried dramatically, covering his face with both hands. "It is so cloooose!"

"Don’t mind, Yuwell! Don’t mind!" The other Sapporo Otani players came to pat his back. "Next time, you sure will do it! Come on!"

As for Hakodate Nishi’s sides, the atmosphere was somber as they watched the ball rolling on the ground slowly. They all knew how dangerous Yuwell was, but this was ridiculous! How could he create something out of nothing like that?! No sane person would take a shot from so far with a difficult angle and the tight marking of the opponent, right?"

In the end, Higo shook his head, calling out one player here. "Kazawa, try to cut off the passing route, and don’t let him receive any ball again. He is so dangerous that we have to isolate him quickly, okay?"