Chapter 68: Another Anomaly
Here's your extra chapter for 100 Power Stones…
***
'Do something we wouldn't normally do?'
'Even though I've made up my mind, how exactly do I execute it?'
Isagi still didn't have a concrete plan in his heart.
He could only take it one step at a time.
"Then let's start by solving them with speed!"
"Chigiri! Catch!"
Isagi roared and immediately passed the ball to Chigiri on the wing.
"Always the same trick. Terribly boring, and not stylish in the slightest~" Aryu stuck tightly to Chigiri.
Chigiri's eyes shifted, and an idea floated into his mind.
Instead of looking for a straight-line breakthrough like before, Chigiri changed his approach.
The instant Isagi's pass arrived, Chigiri used his right ankle to knock the ball diagonally forward to his left.
Then, his legs exploded with a sudden change of direction and acceleration.
He cut inside at maximum speed, charging directly into the heart of the Red Team's formation.
Watching from the side, Kira felt a chill in his knees. 'It looks cool, sure, but that's gotta be hard on the knees, Chigiri.'
"Nice, Chigiri!" Isagi praised.
Kira also noticed that with Chigiri's cut-in, the Red Team's defensive line was being stretched and pulled apart.
To compensate for Aryu losing his position, Kira had no choice but to step up and cover Chigiri.
"Kira came out to guard me. Want to settle this one-on-one?"
Chigiri saw Kira approaching to mark him, his brain constantly processing the changing situation.
"No. Since Kira came out, that means one of us is unmarked, right? Nagi!"
The instant Kira stepped up, Chigiri passed the ball to Nagi, who was behind Kira.
Rin and Bachira immediately moved to intercept.
Isagi followed closely behind.
It was a 2-on-2 wave of attack at the goal mouth.
Kira didn't intervene; he had to stick to the speedster Chigiri.
He was afraid Chigiri would suddenly activate his speed and join the chaos.
Rin signaled with just a look.
Bachira's movements slowed down. Kira saw it clearly.
Rin was signaling Bachira to wait for Nagi to make his move before reacting.
Rin himself went to steal the ball from Nagi.
'Great coordination.'
'How will you handle this, Yoichi Isagi?' Kira stood with his hands on his hips, watching the show from the sidelines.
Suddenly, the situation on the field changed drastically.
Isagi abruptly cut inside, breaking past Bachira's defense, received Nagi's pass, and started driving inward.
"Amazing! That guy Isagi actually used Bachira's blind spot to fake a breakthrough to the outside, drawing Bachira's defensive center of gravity..."
"Then changed direction to cut inside. And Nagi read Isagi's idea in an instant, providing a short pass to link up."
"A perfect crossover play."
Kira couldn't help but narrate what had just happened on the screen in his mind.
"I can see that, Kira." Chigiri, who was being marked by Kira, rolled his eyes.
Kira scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
As the ball moved forward, the two of them tussled and trailed the play.
Isagi's eyes were red with excitement.
'I got past Rin!'
'!!?'
'No, I didn't!'
As if he had seen through Isagi's movements completely, Rin abandoned his defense on Nagi and stuck close to Isagi.
Isagi wanted to pass back to Nagi, but he realized Bachira had also stuck to Nagi.
The trailing Chigiri was also being watched by Kira.
'What do I do?'
Isagi fell into confusion, but he knew he at least had to shield the ball first.
The next second.
When Rin's body slammed into him, Isagi felt his own frame shake violently.
His center of gravity was unstable; he looked like he was about to fall at any moment.
'Damn, it's no use. I can't win against him physically!' Isagi fell into despair.
In front of a serious Itoshi Rin, Isagi felt like he was still just a marionette.
Roar!
Just as the two were locked in a stalemate.
A lion's roar resonated through the stadium.
Both Isagi and Rin were astonished as a beast-like figure snatched the ball from beneath Isagi's feet.
"Barou?"
Isagi's eyes were filled with disbelief.
'Stealing the ball from his own teammate?' Itoshi Rin's mind flashed to Kira's face.
'Is this guy another anomaly?'
"I win! This ball is mine!"
The King had been waiting for this moment, and he finally seized his opportunity.
After stealing the ball, Barou immediately began to accelerate.
"Hey, hey, hey, Your Majesty. Your dominance is leaking out!" With those words, Kira also appeared in front of Barou, his face full of excitement.
"Tsk. Why are you everywhere? You knock-off!" Barou's eyes were full of murderous intent.
"Don't be so agitated!" Kira stuck close to him with a grin.
Barou wasn't in the mood for jokes.
He lifted his right leg, poised to shoot.
Kira didn't move an inch.
"Tch..." Barou knew his feint had been detected.
But his movements didn't stagnate in the slightest.
He pulled the ball back with his left foot, executing a chop. When he tricked Kira's center of gravity into tilting slightly to the right...
Barou's right foot moved deftly, pushing the ball forward and drilling it straight through Kira's left side!
At the same time.
Barou himself slipped past Kira!
"Crap! La Croqueta."
Kira knew he had been outplayed.
And it was a super-fast La Croqueta at that!
Behind them, Isagi watched this scene and couldn't help but want to applaud.
Everyone had almost forgotten that Barou was also a master of dribbling techniques.
When they faced him before, his rainbow flick and nutmeg had left a deep impression on everyone in Team Z.
Now, he had shown off a La Croqueta!
Was this the true ability of the King?
Kira activated his speed instantly, turning to chase Barou, preparing to block his shot.
Too late!
Barou fired a drive shot with his right foot.
Whoosh!
The ball responded by flying into the net!
Goal!
The White Team pulled one back, 2-3.
"Tch. What kind of playstyle is that?" Itoshi Rin had a headache. He had encountered another person whose behavior was impossible to predict.
And one who loved stealing the ball from his teammates, no less.
Barou's villainous battlefield tactics made him an 'anomaly' that the logically rigorous Itoshi Rin couldn't control.
As the other 'anomaly' that Itoshi Rin couldn't control, Kira stared at Barou with excitement.
His self-confidence hadn't been affected in the slightest by being shown up just now.
"What's wrong? Control me if you have the skill, Mr. Number One Under-Lashes."
Barou shouted brazenly at Itoshi Rin, then turned his head to address Kira.
"And you, you fake King. Come and stop me..."
"I'm going to devour even more!!!"
Kira replayed Barou's goal in his mind. 'This guy is dead set on devouring Isagi, so he's implementing a tactic of stealing the ball from Isagi's feet to score throughout the match.'
'For my genius teammate Itoshi Rin, this is an unpredictable "anomaly."'
'Different from me. I know Itoshi Rin's control and break it.'
'Barou simply doesn't care. He just instinctively plays soccer in a way that centers around himself.'
'In that case, as long as I become as self-centered as he is, I should be able to understand his thinking!'
Kira found the answer in his thoughts.
***
On the other side.
Isagi was also muttering to himself constantly: "That's right. We can use Barou. After all, he won't be controlled by Rin..."
"Barou's existence will become the 'anomaly' on the battlefield..."
All the scenes of this match in Isagi's mind turned into scattered puzzle pieces.
"I'm going to use this anomaly, Barou, to create unpredictable situations!"
"The situation has become a bit confusing, hasn't it?" Aryu also sensed the change in the atmosphere on the field.
All of this was because of Barou.
"Interesting. Who will be the one laughing at the end!" Bachira's eyes were also filled with fighting spirit.
Itoshi Rin's expression was exceptionally serious. He stared fiercely at Barou and said, "I've memorized you. There won't be a next time."
The match continued.
The Red Team kicked off.
Itoshi Rin took the ball and headed toward the opposition.
Today, he finally got serious.
Because there were always people, one after another, shattering his plans.
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