That was sick!
Wait, did he seriously fake shot it into the air with some crazy spin,
then when it floated down,
took the shot again and scored?
That was a miraculous bit of skill!
Calling something like that "miraculous" shows just how average you are, Anri-chan.
B-But that was top-drawer stuff, wasn't it?
It's not like you could reproduce that any time you want. No way.
I don't know about that.
The iron mentality that you will score, the skills to make it happen,
the situation on the field, the environment the player is in...
If all conditions are optimal, a performance can go beyond human understanding.
Miraculous events can be explained, Anri-chan.
And a formula for them awaits at the end of this selection.
Nagi! Nice goal!
We're only level. We need another.
I finally did it.
I beat Rin for the first time!
With Nagi, I can go head-to-head with Rin!
But that won't help me to become the best striker in the world.
I want to be able to beat Rin by myself!
Sweet.
This is where the monster party begins.
Okay, the real game starts now.
My spatial awareness and Nagi's first touch.
We've proved we can beat Rin if we combine our strengths effectively.
But that goal can't be reproduced unless we repeat the many moves that got us there.
Power
Control
Direct Shot
Height
Accuracy
Spatial Awareness
To beat Rin, it's imperative we create a condition
Power
Control
Direct Shot
Height
Accuracy
Spatial Awareness
Power
Control
Direct Shot
Height
Accuracy
Spatial Awareness
where our parameters become better than his.
Power
Control
Direct Shot
Height
Accuracy
Spatial Awareness
Power
Control
Direct Shot
Height
Accuracy
Spatial Awareness
Power
Control
Direct Shot
Height
Accuracy
Spatial Awareness
Power
Control
Direct Shot
Height
Accuracy
Spatial Awareness
Power
Control
Direct Shot
Height
Accuracy
Spatial Awareness
Power
Control
Direct Shot
Height
Accuracy
Spatial Awareness
And the fact that this is a real seesaw game
is proof that my eyes and brain have evolved and are on the same level as his.
If we can make it a 50-50 with Rin, our weapons can work against him!
But... so what?
If I can't beat Rin on my own, I can't become the best striker in the world.
Just being equal isn't enough.
I have to read the play and get to the future of this field before Rin does!
Wh-Wh-What do we do now? They caught up to us.
We won't let it end this way.
Stop babbling.
From now on, I'm in control of this field.
If you want to win, bust a gut to keep up with me.
Uh, is he mad?
He's unusually fired up.
Love it. Show us your serious mode, Rin-chan.
Okay, let's go. The second half has kicked off!
What? This way? But wait... In the path of the scary gorilla?
Please get outta my way!
You messed up. I'll get there first.
No, before Barou can get to the ball...
the backspin will take it toward Tokimitsu!
Oh, hey, maybe I will reach it.
Tch. A shoulder charge.
His muscles are no joke.
He made Tokimitsu hold up the ball while he moves to a better position to receive it.
A first-time pass from there?
Crap! He's one step faster than I can read!
Hm?
Unlike Bachira Meguru's creative pass earlier,
this is a lofted pass that tests my limits.
I only have one option.
I accept the challenge.
Aerial Chest Takedown!
Neat. Still caught up to you, though.
Sneaky bastard. If you position yourself there with that timing,
I have no choice but to pass to you, Itoshi Rin!
Nagi! Block Rin's shooting paths!
I'm already gone.
A two-on-two out in front.
Will he shoot, dribble, or pass to Bachira?
A shot? No...
Don't charge in. Just put out a leg.
I know it's a feint. I won't fall for it a second time!
Huh? A roulette there? That's impossible.
I saw through you.
I got there. I was one step ahead of Rin's vision!
You're two steps too slow.
Where is it?
You're giving it to me now?
Huh? When did...
Wait, he read my thoughts?!
I see. So you weren't reading him at all. You were being manipulated.
Are you serious?
Tokimitsu's physique, Aryu's powerful jump, and even my reading of the field...
All of us were just...
Itoshi Rin's puppets!
So this is Rin's serious mode.
This "puppet master" style of soccer!
What made you think a mere NPC like you could read me?
Rin-chan, you super sadist.
So that's Rin's serious mode, huh?
He controls everyone on the field, regardless of whether they're friend or foe.
High five!
Hm? No high five, then?
Don't touch me, NPC No. 2.
Come to think of it, it was the same when we first faced him.
The essence of his soccer is to control people by manipulating their thoughts.
He only did it when it involved himself before,
but now, he's manipulating everyone on the field!
And he achieves this by assessing each of our skills
and cranking them up to their full potential to create the high-level future he envisions.
It's a technique that's only possible with the right skills,
an eye for tactics, and the physique to pull it off.
You're really that incredible, Itoshi Rin?
Can I really devour a genius like him?
If we try anything conventional, he'll read it.
We have to break away from his vision of the field, right?
You said it.
We need to make it so he can't keep up, even if he sees the logic.
The level of difficulty will be super high, but if we use our weapons to the max...
There's a chance we can outrun him.
Yeah.
Let's go.
It's the only way.
If it doesn't work, then...
Read the field. There's no room for error!
I'll trigger a chemical reaction and launch an all-out attack!
They changed up their defense?
Now Rin's pressing and Bachira's the anchor.
What's the play here?
I don't get it.
I will bet on your speed.
Sticking to the same old pattern, huh?
Shut up.
I'm best at straight-lining it, but since they'll be ready for that...
I'll flick it, cut inside at top speed...
and leave him for dust!
Nice, Chigiri!
We broke through their line. Let's use this momentum to crush them!
Rin. Of course he sensed the danger.
Should I take him on?
No, if he's out here...
there's one less player inside!
Go for it, Nagi!
A cross with spin that wakes you up.
It's coming.
A bunched-up two-on-two.
Tokimitsu's going for the tackle, and Bachira's waiting to see what Nagi does.
So I'll target their blind spot and run outside!
Then, when Bachira reacts, I'll change direction...
Right here?
...and complete the crossover by running past on the inside!
Perfect.
We're in behind. Now all that's left is for me to score!
Huh? You're kidding, right?
But how?
Did he read my vision from behind and recover to the spot where he knew I'd be?
What do I do? Do I shoot?
No, he'll just block my shot.
At least I can keep possession...
Damn it. That won't work. Not with my physique.
Even our perfect chemical reaction
is nothing but a puppet show in his mind's eye when he's in serious mode!
I win this one, Isagi.
It's mine!
Barou?!
Huh?! He stole it from his teammate?!
That guy...
Is he serious?
Did he just steamroll through Rin's imagination?
He's been waiting patiently with an empty stomach...
for the chance to strike at his prey from its blind spot...
for the moment of the hunt that will satisfy his hunger!
What kind of soccer is this?
I see.
Stealing from your teammate isn't in his playbook, so he can't anticipate it.
That's why it worked!
Against Rin's meticulous playstyle,
Barou's playstyle as the villain of the field is...
an anomaly he can't control!
That's the whole basis of King Barou's game!
What's the matter?
Why don't you try to control me...
Mr. Absurdly-Long Bottom Lashes?
I need more, Isagi.
Heh.
I need more to devour.
Barou!
The King of the Heels.
Barou's obsessed with devouring me,
and that makes him too much of an anomaly for Rin's genius to predict.
Due to Rin's playstyle of processing everything rationally,
he couldn't read the selfish soccer of Barou Shouei, King of the Heels.
I see.
I need to be someone Rin can't read.
That way, he can't control me.
Barou's the bug in this field's programming.
He is the key to vanquishing Rin.
Who knows how this match will play out now?
What's wrong with that gorilla man?
It's not so easy anymore, is it, Rin-chan?
I've already inputted what I need. It won't happen again.
We'll use the Barou bug to create something unpredictable!
Chigiri, can you beast them with your pressing?
I want you to put pressure on the ball carrier with your speed.
Okay. I'll make them dance for me.
That means I'm marking the glam guy.
Try and outrun me, genius.
Cool. So you want me to dribble through 'em, huh?
Isagi?
All right, let's have some fun—
You're keeping your distance? You're wary that I'll get past you, huh?
Whoa, it's Chigirin.
Damn, man. So fast.
I got it.
So you're using your speedster to press and making it a two-on-one by doubling up on me.
Oh, hey. Rin-chan's waiting for the ball in a great spot.
No, Isagi's responding to his movement.
Oh, I see. By using Chigirin to confuse us and slow down our decision-making,
Isagi's giving himself time to keep up with Rin-chan's off-the-ball movements.
In that case, I'll just have to carve open a route by myself.
I've never gone up against you before, Bachira.
True! Please go easy on me.
It's my dribbling versus Chigirin's speed!
Wow. He's crazy fast.
Even if I steal a yard on him, he can recover in no time.
In that case...
Roll up, roll up!
Which way will I go?
I'm halfway past him. I can pass it now.
Huh? Isagi?
Weren't you over by Rin-chan?
Surely you weren't waiting for me to do that?
Crap. He got me.
No, I can squeak between them...
There!
Just barely!
All righty!
Now...
Devour him, Barou.
Thanks.
They really got me. It was all to set up Barou.
Isagi used himself as bait and created a path for Barou to steal the ball.
No! Stop!
Go! Get past him and you can score!
Move aside, Glum Guns.
A chop feint?
This is how to use the anomaly named Barou.
You're not getting through.
Rin?
Rin-chan!
The ball is out of play. Throw-in to Team White.
Aw, damn it!
No, he didn't read that.
He reacted just in time.
Rin positioned himself somewhere he could respond to Barou's unpredictable play.
One wrong move, and either Rin or I could have given up a goal there.
I'm using Barou's unpredictability to its maximum,
while Rin's trying to minimize the damage he can do.
The one who can control Barou and this field will win this match!
They're incredible.
They're reading each other and competing at an unbelievable level.
There are two monsters on this field now.
I'm seeing the soccer I've always wanted to play...
unfold right in front of my eyes.
My dream is finally coming true.
I can play soccer with monsters!
Huh?
What? I'm right here, and yet...
I'm no longer alone, and yet...
In the world these two inhabit...
I don't exist.
Why?
Why are you two playing soccer in a place unknown to me?
Don't leave me behind.
For me, you two are the monsters I've been looking for.
But what am I to you?
Was I the one being tested?
The ball is out of play. Throw-in to Team Red.
Nice, Chigiri!
Sorry. I was actually planning on passing to you.
I'm sorry, too. If I'd been one step faster, I could've gotten the ball.
Hey, are you all right?
Is it your knee?
No, I'm just running on empty.
But don't worry about me.
If you lose to Rin, I'll kill you.
I know.
And you keep those legs motoring until you keel over.
You don't need to tell me. That was already my plan.
Thanks to Chigiri's pressing, I'm able to keep up with Rin's reading of the field.
But it's impossible to keep running around at that speed.
And it's not just Chigiri.
Everyone's stamina is draining at a rapid rate, me included.
If we keep up this kind of maximum-level performance and end up tired,
the quality of our passing and initial movements will be affected.
The one who catches these changes will dominate the final phase of this match!
Wah! I-I'll return the ball, Rin-kun!
Me again?
What is this attack?
Crap.
These two are forging upfield.
This is a new pattern.
They're moving the ball before Chigiri can press or I can make a decision.
But it's not like Rin's doing anything special with his passes...
No, that's not true!
The player making this breakaway possible
is the only one who hasn't slowed at all in this final phase of the game,
Hold it!
and who keeps moving in response to Rin's passes.
Stop him, Barou!
It's the guy with the monster physique and unlimited stamina!
There's more to Tokimitsu than his muscles!
Ah, finally. The pass into the box that'll open things up...
Oh no you don't!
Wait, huh?
For a tackle from behind and malicious sliding respectively,
Barou Shouei and Chigiri Hyoma both get yellow cards.
Huh?! I was just hugging the guy!
I went for the ball!
Do your job properly, you useless VAR!
I-I'm sorry, Rin-kun. I only got a free kick.
Damn it.
That chemical reaction between Rin and Tokimitsu just now
could've been avoided if I'd caught it before Rin did.
But it's not like they scored from it.
This free kick won't go the way they want it to!
I'm not liking the distance.
It's totally within range for Rin.
Scooch this way a bit.
Right. A two-man wall, huh?
Will he go for the shot or choose to pass?
Those are Rin's only choices.
My choices are: be part of the wall in case he shoots,
Wall
and if he passes, dart to the side where we're outnumbered.
Press
But if I jump, I'll be slow into the press.
I need to wait for the moment he kicks it to decide.
Is it a shot? Or a pass?
Which one?!
Huh?
A topspin shot that starts dipping just above my head?
He got me.
He didn't give me time to react.
It was an ultra-fast pinpoint free kick just above me!
You wavered between pass and shot, didn't you?
Your analysis is so off.
This situation was never two choices to begin with.
My goal.
That was the only choice.
I see.
Both Rin and Isagi are listening to their own egos and scoring goals for themselves.
Then, why am I... playing soccer?
To find the "true monster"?
Because I want "a friend"?
No, I won't catch up to those two with reasons like that.
What is my ego?
Episode 21
I'm Not There
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Part 2
Niko Ikki
I need to think long and hard about who to team up with.
The clever choice would be to pick someone with a weapon I don't have.
Someone useful... Someone useful...
Oh, hey. He's super-fast and super-dumb.
Tsurugi Zantetsu
Hm?
Zantetsu-kun, have you decided who you're going to team up with?
Well, for now, I'm waiting for Nagi and Reo.
Maybe he'll fit the bill.
Are you sure they haven't moved on already?
I guess there's a logic to that.
Aw, man. Now I have to zero-base reschedule.
I don't think he'd entertained that possibility.
Well, what about teaming up with me?
What would be the merries of this commitment?
Do you mean "merits"?
Yeah, those.
I can use you better than anyone else can.
The dude with the bangs
He gives me orders
I play awesome
Mission
Accomplished
Go! Zantetsu-kun!
I don't really make mistakes.
Deadly Striker
I can hide my stupidity and look cool!
Very well.
They do say, "Yesterday's friend is today's friend."
You mean "Yesterday's enemy."
He really is dumb.
So? Who else do you want to pick?
Our other member should be...
Zantetsu + Niko teamed up
some guy who actually makes sense.