At the doctor's office, fortunately, Gouenji wasn't seriously injured. It was just a mild sprain caused by the impact.
But the doctor warned us sternly. "If you keep using a technique like that, there's a real risk of a severe sprain or even a fracture." His tone made it clear how dangerous it was.
Because of that, we made a decision: to block the use of the technique. The Hissatsu Dragon Otoshi officially became a forbidden move.
-------------------------------------
Thanks to the success of the Hissatsu Inazuma Otoshi, the remaining days before the match were fully dedicated to strategic training.
We had several practice matches against the Inazuma KFC. Maybe playing against children wasn't as effective as going up against a real team, but they played surprisingly well. And since we couldn't use physical contact, we focused on passing, movement, and formation.
In the end, it turned out to be very productive training.
And finally, the day of the match arrived.
We traveled by van to college Nosei, located in a dense forest area.
"It's amazing that a school like this is so close to the city, yet surrounded by so much nature." I looked around, impressed. "This world is much more mysterious than I thought."
But what truly surprised us was the Nosei soccer team. Somehow, they... acted like animals.
"This confirms the info Haruna gathered." I commented while watching them warm up. From what I overheard, it seemed like it was their first time seeing a car.
Thankfully, the school's crowd wasn't as strange as the team.
"At least we have our own fans." I said with a smile, waving at some children who were cheering us on.
Besides the kids from Inazuma KFC, Kabeyama's older brother and his friends were there too.
"S-Saku?!" Kabeyama visibly tensed up when he saw him. He really gets shy around his brother.
"We've finally reached the first regional preliminary match of the Football Frontier! The game between Raimon and Nosei is about to begin!" the announcer called out enthusiastically.
"Now that I think about it..." I murmured, "this guy has been at all our official matches. He's from Raimon, right? Maybe he wants to join the soccer club?"
Nosei used a 3-4-3 formation.
We went with a 4-4-2, along with a few strategic position changes.
I stayed in goal. In defense, we had Domon on the left, Shishido and Kageno in the center, and Kurimatsu on the right. In midfield, Kazemaru on the left, Max and Handa in the center, and Someoka on the right.
And up front, our two main strikers: Gouenji and Kabeyama.
We started the match with possession of the ball.
The strategy was to start with a pass back to midfield. Once the players spread out, Someoka launched the ball high toward Gouenji.
"Let's test their jumping ability first." That was the plan.
Gouenji positioned himself to use Fire Tornado, but just as we expected, Torii, Nosei's captain, jumped higher and intercepted the play.
"Incredible..." I muttered. "Even with that short height, he's got monster-level jumping power."
With the ball now in their possession, Nosei launched a counterattack.
Suizenji, one of their speed players, received the pass. He was as fast as a cheetah and got past Handa with ease.
Upon reaching the sideline, he crossed the ball high into the air.
It was too high for Kageno or Shishido to reach.
But not for Nosei.
Oowashi jumped. "Condor Drive!" he shouted as he headed the ball with force.
But the ball didn't come my way. It was a fake.
"Another Nosei player just swung in using… a vine?! He's flying toward the ball using a natural rope!" the commentator shouted in shock.
"Tarzan Kick!" Just as we predicted.
I remembered our tactical meeting before the match. When playing at home, Nosei uses parts of the forest itself as a tool for soccer.
Playing on their turf was clearly a disadvantage.
But I didn't let it shake me.
My eyes glowed orange as I stared directly at the striker. My hands began to emit a golden and orange light. I positioned one hand in front of my belly and the other just above my head. I made a circular motion with my arms, and somehow, the striker, who had aimed for the upper-right corner of the goal, ended up kicking the ball straight at me.
"Heavenly Capture!" A small cloud appeared at the center of my chest, right where the ball was about to hit. The cloud slowed the shot, draining its power. Then I brought both hands together around the ball, completing the save.
"Incredible! Endou Mamoru defends Raimon's goal with a new Hissatsu!" shouted the commentator, clearly thrilled.
Yes, this is my new technique: Heavenly Capture. I developed it inspired by the goalkeeper from Okaruto Junior High.
That goalkeeper uses hypnosis to destabilize opposing forwards and buy time to position himself. But I took a different route. A subtle hypnosis, triggered by hand movements and eye contact, redirects the shot to where I want it.
The cloud that formed on my chest was another result of my research into energy. It was the first time I managed to project this energy outside my body since using Heavenly Hand.
Of course, there's still a lot to improve, but this is the first technique I've created on my own, without relying on Grandpa's notebook. That's a huge step forward.
My save left the Nosei team visibly confused. Taking advantage of the moment, I threw the ball to Kazemaru, who quickly passed it to Someoka.
Our training with Inazuma KFC had paid off—our ball handling had improved a lot since then.
Without hesitation, Someoka kicked the ball high, aiming for Gouenji.
"In terms of jumping power, we're far superior to you." Torii, Nosei's captain, provoked Gouenji.
But Gouenji just smiled. Kabeyama jumped right below him, arching his chest upward. Gouenji pushed off his chest, gained momentum, and soared higher than Torii.
"Inazuma Otoshi!" The shot streaked across the field like lightning, straight into the net. Nosei's goalkeeper had no chance.
"GOOOAL FOR RAIMON!"
Raimon 1 – 0 Nosei
With their aerial advantage neutralized, Nosei was visibly shaken.
But they didn't give up.
Until the end of the first half, we couldn't score a second goal.
Nosei tightened their defense. Gouenji, thanks to his agility, still managed to move, but the same couldn't be said for Kabeyama. His large build made him an easy target for heavy marking. With three players surrounding him, he could barely move. Without him, there was no way to use the Inazuma Otoshi. And without that technique, we lost our edge in the air.
Instead of feeling frustrated, I became even more excited.
Especially after seeing Hissatsu like Super Armadillo, which flawlessly blocked what could've been a key counterattack for us.
Now this… this was real soccer.
In the second half, Nosei shifted their approach. They abandoned full defense and went fully offensive.
But Raimon wasn't easy to beat either.
In addition to Domon reinforcing our back line, two players mastered new Hissatsu.
Max completed his Quick Draw, allowing him to steal the ball with ease and launch a counterattack alongside Someoka.
With Kabeyama still locked in by defenders, Someoka and Gouenji chose an alternative: Dragon Tornado.
Following our strategy, Kabeyama used his size to block the movement of one of the defenders—Torii, the one with the highest jump range.
Thanks to that, even with Nosei's goalkeeper using his own Hissatsu, Wild Claw, it wasn't enough to stop the overwhelming power of the Dragon Tornado.
Raimon 2 – 0 Nosei
With defeat looming, Nosei abandoned all defense and threw everything into offense.
There was a critical moment when they nearly scored… but that's when the second surprise of the match appeared: Kageno.
With his nearly invisible presence, Kageno used his new Hissatsu, Coil Turn, to break the enemy's advance.
Thanks to that defense, and with Nosei having virtually no one left at the back, our counterattack was unopposed.
This time, Kabeyama managed to shake off the defenders. He and Gouenji pulled off Torii with Inazuma Otoshi a second time… and scored the third and final goal of the match.
Raimon 3 – 0 Nosei
"That's the end of the match! The winner of the first preliminary round of the Football Frontier is Raimon Junior High!"