"Shit! I know it!" Hori grinned as he swung both arms to get a faster run; his eyes were still tracking the ball in the air. "I know you are going to see me, you bastard!"

Yeah, the moment Hori heard that they were going to start attacking, he had already made up his mind that he would be more aggressive in his run. It was a gamble, because if Kenji’s ball got stolen or if the ball didn’t come to his direction, Hori would be running for nothing, emptying his fuel wastefully.

Still, the boy trusted Kenji here. Even if his friend’s defense was horrible, when it came to offense, Kenji’s instinct was top-notch, as if the boy could see everything on the opponent’s side. This was also the case, as the moment he blitzed forward and left Okamura behind, Kenji saw his run immediately, and the pass really came to his side.

"Shit! Shit! Yuma-senpai, get him for me!" Okamura scowled while trying to chase Hori from behind.

It was a futile attempt, of course, since Hori himself was always so proud of his pace. Not only that, he came in the second half, so his stamina was still so close to full right now. Beating Okamura, who was already on the verge of collapse, especially with him getting three steps ahead at the start, was definitely a light job for him.

Of course, that didn’t mean Sapporo Otani’s defense would’ve just collapsed without a fight. No, Yuma Igari was also running to get closer, wanting to slow Hori down on the flank. This was an important move to allow his teammates to come back first, knowing that they were still running frantically to get back in their defensive position.

Unfortunately for them, Hakodate Nishi’s attacking scheme never involved too much individual skill. It would be okay for Hiroshi and Kenji, since they both were creative players who could protect the ball on their own, but besides them, Kumiko had never allowed anyone to try to beat the opponent in a one-on-one duel.

This was also the same for Hori, as the moment he saw Yuma coming to his side, the first instinct here was simple.

’I have to pass the ball!’

As the ball was bouncing in front of him, the boy controlled it with the edge of his boots, and without even slowing down, he glanced around, finding a support close to the half-space area and sent the ball there.

’I leave the rest to you, Hiroshi! Don’t disappoint me!’

"FUCK YEAH, HORI!" Hiroshi grinned, entering the penalty box to get the ball. "THIS IS MINE!"

Still, since Hori passed it hastily, the ball was a little bit off the course. Hiroshi still managed to grab it, but his position was so awkward, so close to the baseline. With the goalkeeper protecting the near post, there was no way he could beat the ball that way. No, his choice here was to pass, and yet, Kuroki, his only teammate in the penalty box, was already guarded by Yuma Igari.

Not only that, Ayase and Hiroyuki were also following from behind, with the former protecting against any possibility of cutback, and the latter was coming to kill the attack. They all reacted so quickly and decisively, not wanting to suffer from the second goal of the day.

’As expected of the best team in the prefecture, their recovery time is so quick.’ Hiroshi nodded in approval. ’Still, this is definitely not enough to stop us!’

Even when the route was closed, Hiroshi still sent a cut back, a little bit deeper, so that Ayase couldn’t get the ball here. The one who received it was, of course, Kenji, the main character of this attack. Just based on his posture, it seemed that the boy didn’t have the intention to stop the ball first, wanting to launch a rocket from that spot.

"Shit! Ayase, stop the shot!"

"I know, you fucker! What do you think I am doing?!" The defensive midfielder scowled, sliding in front of Kenji. However, to his shock and disbelief, the shooting stance was gone immediately, getting replaced with a sharp chop to the other side, getting the ball on Kenji’s left foot.

"FUCK!"

"NO, I AM STILL HERE!"

Seeing that Kenji managed to fool Ayase, Rin Mito rushed, wanting to put his body on the line. This was also exactly what he did at the beginning of the second half, when he stopped Hiroshi’s blitzkrieg attack with one decisive tackle.

Unfortunately for the captain, Kenji saw the attack coming here, so he baited the man for good here. The boy acted like he was trying to shoot again, just for him to chop the ball again the moment Rin Mito put everything to stop the shot.

Yeah, the shot didn’t come, and instead, it was another chop. Two players were fooled and on the ground, and they couldn’t recover quickly enough to stop the final attack here. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"YEAH, KENJI! KILL HIM!"

"COME ON!"

All the Hakodate Nishi players were also tense when they saw this, praying inwardly that this attack would work. This was the only chance they could score today, and if they failed, they had to try settling for a penalty shootout.

However, the more crucial the situation was, the calmer Kenji became.

He saw that he had more time to take a shot, what with the closest one to him being Yuma Igari, who still got blocked by Ayase’s body. The boy also noticed that the goalkeeper was ready to react, and even if the situation was a one-on-one duel right now, with everything in his favor, he still wanted to make sure that things didn’t go wrong.

’Yeah, fuck it! Let’s dance a little!’

He recoiled his right foot as if wanting to take a shot, then, when the goalkeeper reacted, the boy stopped just for a second. This exposed the goalkeeper, who had already shifted his body toward the far post, and in that split second, Kenji finally made a shot.

It was far from the most powerful one, just a gentle push with his toe. However, it rolled perfectly to the bottom of the near post, getting past the goalkeeper’s reach in slow motion before finally hitting the net.

Thud!