"So, that’s Ryusuke Higo, right?"

"Yeah, the new record holder of the most saves in a tournament, and that is by a wide margin!"

"Some said that he will be our country’s future number one goalkeeper, right?"

"Idiot! You are not just a spectator; you are a fucking scout! Don’t get carried away by the hype from the media!"

Even though their voices were barely whispers and clashed with each other quite messily, Higo could still distinguish what they said here. Well, he couldn’t help it, as the distance between the goal and the stand behind was quite close. Still, it was a nerve-wracking experience to be able to listen directly to what people said behind his back.

"Damn, so they are scouts wanting to watch me, huh?" The boy muttered inwardly, feeling all the hair on his back rising instantly. "With them around, I cannot show a bad performance here. Let’s just hope that everything will be alright." He punched his fist to his own palm lightly, trying to hide his nervousness.

Makino also saw his current state, so he turned around slightly and asked, "Anything wrong, Chibi?"

"Nah, don’t worry about it!" Higo shook his head from his spot. "Just adjusting my state a little. Don’t worry, I will be ready soon!"

Well, the captain could see something bothering his friend. However, since Higo said that he would be ready soon, Makino just shrugged it off as nothing, knowing that the goalkeeper would be able to handle it on his own. Instead, he turned around at the nervous Sano, saying, "Don’t be too tense. Just put your usual tough face, let them get intimidated a little."

The boy himself couldn’t help but snort at the joke here. "Unfortunately, that Jui Hata looks more gangster than me, Senpai. I mean, can you see the long scar on his neck? Do you think he will be afraid of me?" He retorted weakly.

Indeed, somehow, unlike in the video shown by Kumiko, Jui Hata, the 201-cm monster, had a long scar spread across his neck. No one knew how it formed, but all the Hakodate Nishi players were quite intimidated when they saw how nonchalantly Jui Hata ignored that.

"Oh, well, don’t think too much, and do your best to contain him. I know you can do this." Makino smiled reassuringly, which only elicited a groan from Sano.

This was their last conversation, because right after that, their attention was shifted to the center line. There, both Kenji and Hiroshi stood in front of the ball with both hands on their hips, waiting for the referee to start the game. On the flank, both Denji and Denki also stretched their legs a little, licking their lips as they were ready to dash off the moment the referee blew the whistle.

It didn’t take long, as after the referee checked around one last time, he finally blew the whistle as strongly as he could.

FWEEE!

"Yes! Come on, Senpai!"

The first millisecond his ears registered the piercing sound of the whistle, Kenji kicked the ball back to Takaaki immediately before starting to rush forward, occupying the area on the front line. Hiroshi also did the same on the other side of the flank, trying to spread their defense thin. Behind, Usami followed as the supporting system, while on the flank, both twins had already disappeared on the front line.

This was their normal scheme, and even though Hannan University High was ready to face this, the sudden overload attack was indeed quite overwhelming when they faced it the first time.

"Matthew, go to the left! Keep an eye there!"

"Fugui, wait! Don’t get baited!"

"Captain, hold the middle! Don’t let anyone get the second ball!"

They communicated well, but Takaaki didn’t give them any time to move the way they wanted. No, before they could coordinate their defense, the glasses boy had already pinged the ball to the left side, and there, Denji, Kenji, and Usami had already created a deadly triangle to get through that side.

"Fuck yeah, Senpai! A good pass!" Kenji laughed while controlling the ball with his chest. Before the opponent’s full back could press him, the boy pushed the ball to Usami first. "Here, Usami-senpai!"

Usami also didn’t hesitate here. He saw that the full back was attracted by Kenji’s movement, so he sent a precise through ball toward the wing side, aiming straight at Denji, who was already three steps further than anyone else in his sprint.

"Shit! This is Hakodate Nishi’s specialty!"

"Will they be able to score again?!"

"There is no way, right?!"

All the spectators on the stand rose instantly, knowing that something big was going to happen. At this point, the blitzkrieg attack’s reputation had already spread across the whole tournament, so they all knew that Hakodate Nishi’s most threatening attack would come from this scheme.

Denji himself couldn’t care less about the noises around him. Right now, he was just trying to run as fast as possible, chasing the wind to get the ball into the space in front of him. However, right when he was one foot away from the ball, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

Denji didn’t really notice that someone flashed in front of him. No, his attention was completely on the ball, so when he saw a back was preventing him from getting it, the boy was startled.

’Fuck! I have to stop!’

Fortunately, he managed to slow down at the right moment, avoiding a violent clash with that figure. However, that person was so calm in handling the attack. He didn’t even tackle the ball recklessly, just inserting his body between Denji and the ball, using his impeccable calculation to kill Hakodate Nishi’s early momentum before getting the ball first, passing it to the goalkeeper so that the boy in front of the goal could get rid of the ball quickly and get rid of all the threats there.

BAM!

Denji blinked rapidly as he was so confused about what was going on here. As he finally got a clear image, a player with a blue-and-black jersey stood in front of him with a harmless smile, waggling his finger playfully.

"No, no, no, this space is not free for you, okay?"