"Deep... He will go deeper... No, Denki will not be in time to stop him... A low cut to the middle, shit! A low shot!’

Thud!

Before the shot was unleashed, everything was still within Higo’s prediction. His clairvoyance was a big help here, giving him a map inside his head that tracked everyone’s movement. However, once the shot was unleashed, he widened his eyes in surprise, especially as his vision was blocked by two defenders stacking in front of him.

Fortunately, the ball’s movement was already inside his head, so he managed to dive in time, and with his hand extended far, Higo tipped the ball off the pitch, saving his own goal from the disaster.

"Ah! Fuck!" That player number 11 cursed when he saw he was just a few inches away from the goal. "Sorry, Captain! That’s my bad!" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Eh, don’t worry, Tachi! We still have a corner here, just keep it up!" Nishimura clapped loudly, trying to cheer up his teammates. "Come on! Get ready for a cross!" He put the ball on the corner spot, raising his hand high for a signal of their scheme.

While more Esashi players gathered on the penalty box for the corner kick, Higo also made his move. He grabbed Sano’s shoulder with a little force, enough to make the boy turn his attention on him.

"Listen, Nori and Teme will not always be able to communicate first, just like earlier. When that time happens, you need to make your own judgment, and I only have two requirements here. Block the shot’s path, but don’t block my own vision. As for how you do it, just be creative with it, but make sure that I can see the ball, okay?"

Sano was taken aback slightly, but when he recalled his movement before, the boy nodded in understanding. "Don’t worry, Senpai. I get this."

Higo nodded in satisfaction before he went back to his box, waiting for the corner kick. Even though he didn’t speak a lot, Sano was an intelligent boy, and he could understand so many complicated instructions easily. Higo was sure that the boy would be able to find a way to solve this problem as well.

After this, the game continued, and Nishimura tried to send a cross to the far post. However, Kuroki was there as the team’s anchor, clearing the ball away without hesitation.

After Nishimura’s success earlier, though, Esashi High became more confident with their penetration tactic. They kept bombarding the twins left and right, trying to use their combination play to get a room on the flank. However, this time, Hakodate Nishi’s discipline defense was enough to deal with everything on the way.

It was when the game entered the 35th minute that Jirokichi, the old man from Esashi High, finally couldn’t bear with the current situation anymore. He didn’t shout or scold any players on the pitch, but instead, made a quick change by subbing off one midfielder for a striker with the number 18.

"Really? This early?"

"High school’s coach sure is cruel, huh? They always dare to make a change before they enter the break."

"Still, what is the use of another striker?"

"Who knows, maybe another high point to receive a cross?"

Indeed, the new player here was quite tall, around 187. He was just one centimeter taller than Sano and four centimeters shorter than Jun. It was clear why he came to the pitch, which was to add more players to the penalty box.

This was definitely the crudest solution for their problem. However, no one could say that this wouldn’t be effective. After all, they had sent so many crosses since the beginning of the game, from a low one to the middle to a high one to the far post, and yet, none of them managed to give them a good threat, always getting cleared by Hakodate Nishi’s defense.

Now that the player with the jersey number 18 is coming, at least they would have one more player to create chaos, and their chance would also increase further later. As for whether it would be effective or not... Well, that would be another question.

Or... At least, that was what Hakodate Nishi players thought.

All the Esashi players had a different mind, though. The moment that number 18 came in, their gazes became sharper, as if they had a plan to take advantage of the new man.

"Come on, Mochi! This is your stage to make a name for yourself!" Nishimura patted the boy’s shoulder solemnly. "Don’t embarrass yourself too much, okay?"

In return, the boy just laughed heartily. "Ha! Don’t worry, Senpai! Just see how the master deals with this situation!"

When he saw the scene, Higo felt his danger sense crawl, and he didn’t hesitate to warn Makino about this. "Teme, I have a bad feeling about him. Keep your eyes tightly and don’t let him get an easy ball, okay?"

Makino’s expression turned somber as he gave the goalkeeper a nod. "Don’t worry, Chibi. Consider the job done."

Higo usually didn’t make any specific request like this, but whenever he asked, Makino knew that the player would indeed be dangerous. He stared at the new boy intently, trying to figure out how the boy would threaten his proud defensive line.

Well, he had so many scenarios flashing in his head, but none of them was enough to prepare him for what was going on in the pitch.

The boy didn’t go to the penalty box immediately, but roamed outside at first while also waiting for the ball. It wasn’t until Nishimura got the ball that he started to make a run, as if wanting to get the ball in the air.

Still, the cross itself was bad. Nishimura sent it high and close to the goalkeeper, making it easy for Higo to pluck the ball in the air. Now, Higo himself couldn’t help but feel curious, wondering if he was too paranoid here.

That was what he thought, before he suddenly felt like his body was hit by a truck. He himself didn’t know what had happened, but in the next second, the boy realized that he had been thrown away by a collision.

BRUGH!

"ARGH!"