"This little girl..." Jirokichi twitched the corner of his lips annoyedly as he stared at Kumiko on the other side of the bench.

It was the 45th minute of the game with the additional injury time of 3 minutes, and they were so close to approaching the break right now. However, the game didn’t go in the direction that he wanted, and the man had to admit that the girl had something here.

"She doesn’t just force the game into this rough battlefield for revenge. No, more than that, she forces this whole thing to slow down and match their own tempo, which would be their advantage since they are already up by one goal. We are getting caught up in their tempo right now, and this is a difficult situation to break through."

This time, no insult was thrown, as the old man genuinely admired Kumiko’s devious mind. Before this, he would always treat her like she was a girl who had just been born yesterday and wanted to be an adult, too naïve and eager for quick success. He just saw her as an annoying granddaughter who wanted to challenge the world, not knowing how vast it is.

However, it seemed that it was he who didn’t know her at all here. He had already thrown so many things on the board, and yet, Kumiko had always managed to find a way to neuter his threat. It was as if she knew all of his playbook and just waited for him to play them all before stripping him naked in this stage.

’Yeah, I have to admit that my prejudice blinds me a little bit here.’ The man nodded solemnly, acknowledging his own mistake. ’Still, if you think that I have already shown you everything I know, that would be naïve, girl! Let’s pull the last move before the first half is over!’

Right after that, he suddenly got up from his chair, punching his left chest gently. This was a signal for them to go for the goalkeeper again, and all the players knew what it meant. Even though they were still hesitant to pull this dirty trick again, they were also teenagers here, couldn’t bear the thought of getting bullied so many times by their opponent today.

No, they were waiting for a chance to take revenge, and now, Jirokichi finally gave them the green light to deal with this mess.

"Fuck it! Finally!" Koga, the midfielder with the number 8, breathed in relief when he saw the signal. Then, his eyes sharpened instantly as he looked at all the Hakodate Nishi players like he was a starving lion getting ready to be unleashed to hunt its prey. ’Get ready, everyone! On my signal, we make our own move!’

Even though there was no verbal communication between them, at this point, they were all friends and teammates with each other for more than two years. This was just a basic operation for them when they needed a little bit more secrecy, and after seeing the boy’s signal, everyone nodded immediately, knowing what they should do next.

"Come on, Koga! Send it here!" Nishimura ran back, asking for the ball. Of course, there would always be one Hakodate Nishi player following behind. This time, it was Denki, guarding him tightly no matter where he went.

Even with the tight defense, though, Koga didn’t hesitate. He still sent the ball to the captain, and before Denki could foul him, Nishimura flicked the ball with a backheel, sending it to the outer flank where the right back made a penetrating run on the sideline.

Brugh!

"Urgh!" Nishimura groaned as another contact pushed him down to the ground. However, the referee shook his head quickly, pointing his hand at Hakodate Nishi’s goal.

"PLAY ON!"

"Fuck! Denki, get back!"

"Sano, don’t get attracted! Wait patiently!"

"Yes! That’s how you do it! Nice recovery, Kazawa!"

Even though Denki left a big hole in the right flank, Hakodate Nishi’s defense was still able to cover it up immediately. Now, any attempt to go further would be met with probably another body charge. That, or Kazawa would be ruthless enough to send a flying tackle to clear the ball. That was the kind of person he was.

However, Esashi’s right back was quite calm here. He stopped abruptly, taking a second of his time to glance at the penalty box. When he saw his teammate, Mochizuki, rushing like a bull, the boy didn’t hesitate, sending a cross so close to Higo’s six-yard box.

"Yes! I get this!" Higo opened his hands while his eyes were on the sky, tracking the ball so that he wouldn’t lose it. "Teme, just slow him down! I get this!" He shouted, the corner of his eyes still catching Mochizuki’s movement.

Well, Makino didn’t need to be told twice. He used his body to prevent the opponent’s striker from getting closer. For a moment, this looked like a mis-cross, where the player kicked the ball with the wrong part of his shoes. It was so close to Higo that even if the boy behind him escaped from his eyes, if the goalkeeper could catch it, no amount of effort would be worth the money here.

However, what he didn’t expect was that the boy suddenly pulled a crafty move. He didn’t give up after seeing the ball’s path, using a subtle feint as if he was about to go to the left before passing his right side immediately, escaping from Makino’s defense so easily.

"SHIT! CHIBI, KEEP EYES!" Makino cursed as he realized what he had just done here.

Higo himself still had his eyes in the air. However, his clairvoyance ability warned that the boy would jump so close to him, and while he himself thought that he was not afraid of another collision, his body still remembered the last incident very well.

He suddenly froze on the spot, not being able to move. It was just a split second, but this time span was enough for Mochizuki to take action. He sprang off the ground immediately, taking the ball in the air.

Thud!