[UNBELIEVABLE! After tearing through Matsukaze’s defense and even humiliating their Ace with outrageous dribbles, Shotoku’s Haise Sasaki scores completely on his own!]
Mikami practically shouted inside the broadcasting booth as he jumped up from his chair and slammed his hand against the desk, completely fired up.
Beside him, Goto burst into laughter as he watched the stadium erupt.
[HA! Didn’t I tell you?!] Goto exclaimed while gripping the microphone tightly, nearly standing up as well.
[The difference between the two is like Heaven and Earth! Haise Sasaki’s technique is on a completely different level! Today, that’s being proven in front of everyone!]
The giant screen replayed the sequence over and over.
The steal.
The Marseille Turn.
The absurd dribbles.
And finally, Kira falling to the ground from the outside-foot elastico before the finishing shot.
The crowd went crazier with every replay, while Goto continued speaking and pointing toward the screen.
[Everyone can see speed, physical strength, or dribbling, but Haise Sasaki’s true difference lies somewhere else!]
Mikami quickly understood his point.
[Technique…]
[Exactly!] Goto immediately replied.
[In football, technique is the foundation of absolutely everything! The basics are something any player can develop through training, but true technique is what allows someone to push their abilities to their absolute maximum potential!]
The footage of Haise controlling the ball at high speed appeared once more on the giant screen.
[There’s no wasted movement in anything he does! His ball control, balance, reaction time, execution of dribbles… everything has been refined to an absurd technical level! That’s why he can make incredibly difficult moves look simple!]
While the commentators continued speaking, the crowd was still screaming wildly from the stands.
Shotoku’s supporters jumped nonstop while chanting Haise’s name.
The solo goal, the humiliating dribbles, and the way he had brought Kira down—
All of it had created massive euphoria throughout the entire stadium.
Meanwhile, on the field, after throwing that jab at Kira following the goal, Haise simply walked calmly back toward his side of the pitch.
No exaggerated celebration.
Without even looking back.
As if what had happened was completely normal.
On the other side, Kira remained still for a few seconds while clenching his teeth in silence.
His gaze was fixed on Haise Sasaki’s back.
The young man with albino hair and black roots seemed more and more irritating in his eyes.
“H-Hey, Kira… are you okay?” Tsurugi asked as he approached, extending a hand to help him up.
Kira remained silent for a moment before quietly sighing.
“Ah… yeah, I’m fine.” He answered while accepting the help and getting back up from the field.
“I was just surprised by what happened.”
Despite the calm smile he tried to maintain… Kira’s eyes still carried anger.
“Don’t blame yourself. That guy’s just way too good. There’s a reason they compare him to you,” Tsurugi stated while the two walked back to their positions.
“But it’s not like you two are the same. There are individual differences, and that became pretty clear just now.”
Kira stayed silent for a few seconds before slowly nodding his head.
“Yes…” His eyes narrowed as he replayed the sequence in his mind.
“At the moment of the steal… he surpassed me in several attributes.”
Tsurugi listened attentively.
“Physical strength, ball control, speed, and shooting,” Kira continued analyzing calmly, even while still internally irritated.
“On top of that, he reads the game in an unusual way… so his field vision is also extremely good.”
The words came out almost like a bitter conclusion.
Because the more he analyzed Haise…
The more absurd Shotoku’s forward seemed.
“Yeah…” Tsurugi scratched the back of his head before trying to lighten the mood.
“But we still have a team, right? We don’t need to win alone. We just have to try different tactics.”
Kira stared forward in silence.
Then he quietly sighed.
“Yeah… that sounds good…”
PIIIII!
The referee blew the whistle once again, restarting the match.
Matsukaze quickly put the ball back into play.
This time, instead of looking for Kira immediately, Tsurugi passed directly to Kazuma, trying to vary their offensive buildup.
Kira stayed out of the initial passing exchange while moving up the field, searching for space.
But a presence emerged beside him.
“Oh?” A calm, cold voice made Kira slightly turn his head.
It was Haise, running alongside him.
“Trying something new, Treasure of Japan?”
His violet eyes analyzed Matsukaze’s entire positioning while Haise moved exactly along Kira’s right side, completely blocking every possible route of cooperation between him and the rest of the team.
It was as if he were cutting Kira out of the entire match.
“I wonder how your team manages to function… without you?” Haise asked indifferently.
“Grgh…!”
Kira gritted his teeth in irritation before accelerating.
He quickly began moving between Shotoku’s players, trying to shake Haise off through movement and constant changes in positioning.
He went right, then left, changed pace.
Repeatedly, Kira tried to create distance several times.
‘I lost him…’
For a brief instant, Kira could no longer feel Haise’s presence behind him.
But in the very next second—
THUMP!
An extremely powerful shoulder check slammed into his side.
Kira’s eyes widened.
Haise appeared beside him again as if he had materialized out of nowhere.
“You sure about that?” His calm voice sounded almost mocking.
Kira lost his balance for a moment from the impact.
“I believe you already understand my Vision of the Game quite well…” Haise continued while following his every movement.
“And yet you thought you could simply escape from someone capable of seeing other people’s blind spots?”
Kira’s gaze trembled slightly.
“Ah… would you look at that.” Haise’s voice made Kira slightly turn his head.
The violet eyes of Shotoku’s forward were directed toward another part of the field.
Instinctively, Kira followed his gaze—and his eyes widened.
Matsukaze was struggling absurdly hard to advance!
Kazuma tried to organize the play from midfield while two players searched for space along the wings, but none of their movements seemed to work properly.
The passes were slow, predictable, and hesitant.
Whenever someone received the ball, their eyes immediately searched for Kira.
Even when he was marked.
Even when he was far away.
Even when he had no space at all.
The entire team seemed lost without him directly participating in the offensive buildup.
‘What…?’ Kira thought in disbelief as he watched it unfold.
‘They can’t move the ball forward…?’
Shotoku’s pressure kept increasing more and more.
Their players advanced together, cutting off passing lanes and repeatedly forcing Matsukaze backward.
Then Haise spoke again.
“This is the result of your worship and centralization within this team, Mr. Treasure of Japanese Football.”
Kira immediately frowned upon hearing that.
Haise looked down at him, his cold eyes carrying an almost suffocating cruelty.
“Your team has developed a pathetic dependence on you.” His voice remained calm, yet every word felt like it crushed the atmosphere itself.
“No matter the situation… they always look to you to pass, decide, or finish the play.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“And do you know the worst part?”
Haise’s eyes narrowed.
“You mistook that for leadership. But true leadership creates players capable of standing on their own.” He subtly pointed toward Kira’s teammates.
“What you created is a group incapable of thinking whenever the ball isn’t going through your feet.”
Haise gave a small, cold smile.
“You’re not the heart of this team, Kira.”
His expression hardened even further.
“You’re their addiction.”
Kira’s eyes trembled slightly.
Because he knew.
He knew it was true.
From the very beginning, all of Matsukaze had been built around him.
The strategies, the finishing plays, the rhythm of the team—
Everything revolved around Ryousuke Kira.
“That’s dependency,” Haise concluded coldly.
On the field, Kazuma tried to push forward once again, but hesitated when he couldn’t find Kira open.
That small delay was enough.
A Shotoku player immediately intercepted the pass.
The crowd reacted in surprise.
Meanwhile, Haise continued staring at Kira without looking away.
“Without you…” His voice sank into a glacial tone.
“This team is nothing more than a bunch of delinquents memorizing plays like talentless actors following a prepared script. Because the moment the protagonist disappears… it becomes obvious that none of you know how to carry your own story.”
“…!”
Kira immediately clenched his teeth.
Foosh!
Haise suddenly burst forward, leaving Kira behind in a single instant.
The explosive acceleration made Matsukaze’s players react immediately.
“Haise Sasaki’s pushing up, mark him!”
The shout echoed across the field as several defenders hurriedly adjusted their positions.
Hearing that, a small smile appeared on Haise’s face.
Every eye on the field was locked onto him.
Exactly as he expected.
Two players rushed forward to block his path while another closed the space from the left side.
Matsukaze’s entire defense began collapsing toward him, treating Haise as the absolute threat on the field.
But obviously—
That wasn’t enough.
With quick and precise movements, Haise slipped past the first defenders with absurd ease.
A short inward cut, a sudden change of pace, and a light touch on the ball were enough to completely shatter the defensive line.
The crowd began rising from the stands once again.
Because every time Haise advanced—
Something dangerous happened.
While running after the play, Kira carefully observed his movements.
Then his eyes widened slightly.
‘Wait… he…’
Haise wasn’t looking at the goal.
His body was leaning in a strange way.
His positioning seemed… intentional.
That was when Kira realized it.
Kimimaru was completely open farther behind, and then—
TOC!
Using his heel, Haise gently floated the ball to the left, where Kimimaru, a Shotoku player, appeared and raised his leg.
“He’s going to shoot! Sto—”
Kira shouted immediately, but it was already too late.
BAAAM!
The shot came out with tremendous power.
The ball tore through the defense before smashing violently into the net.
GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAL!
Shotoku [2] – [0] Matsukaze
The stadium exploded once again.
Shotoku’s supporters screamed wildly while Matsukaze’s players stared at the scoreboard in disbelief.
Kira slowly came to a stop as he realized what had happened.
Haise…
Had drawn everyone toward himself and used that to create space for another player to finish the play.
Meanwhile, Haise watched the ball shake the net before forming a small smile.
“My team is far from being Matsukaze…” he calmly commented to himself while walking across the pitch.
“I’m not the only one moving toward the goal.”
His violet eyes quickly shifted toward Kira.
“After all… forwards aren’t the only ones who score goals.”
Even though he said it so calmly, there was a slight irritation hidden inside him.
Plays that depended on him acting as bait were annoying.
A real pain.
Everyone reacted to his presence like frightened animals, automatically focusing the entire defense on him.
But unfortunately, it worked.
And as long as it led Shotoku to victory… Haise would simply tolerate it.