"Fuck yeah, Tiger!"

"Come on! What a defensive positioning!"

"Restart the play! Restart the play!"

The one who stopped Denji earlier was Taiga Nagai, Hannan University High’s center back with the jersey number 3. He was so calm in his approach, not even getting troubled by the attack. Right after putting the ball into safety, he went back to the middle again, getting ready to receive the ball.

Denji himself also went back immediately, having to help with the team’s defense. However, the boy still cursed inwardly, apologizing to his teammates when they were nearby. "Sorry, Senpai! I didn’t notice his presence at all."

"Don’t worry, Denji! Keep it going!" Takaaki said quickly before the ball flew above them. "Shit! Their attack is coming! Go back quickly!" He commanded, his voice panicking.

Everyone was also taken aback by how fast it was for the ball to get into Hakodate Nishi’s half. Usually, their opponent would take it slow, building the attack in an order from the back to the midfield to the front line, and yet, the long pass here really bypassed all the players in the midfield.

’Shit! I know this is their playing style, but are you kidding me?! They are going to use their signature move straight at the beginning?!’ Makino couldn’t help but curse.

The one who suffered the most here was Sano. He had to guard the giant Jui Hata himself, and right now, the boy couldn’t even see the ball in the air. No, his vision was blocked by the giant body of his opponent, and Jui Hata just spread his arms wide while using Sano’s body as an anchor to get the first view of the ball while also preventing Sano from going anywhere.

’If I suddenly move and pull the chair here, it will definitely be a foul, right? Fuck!’

Thud!

In the end, the ball went straight to Jui Hata’s chest. However, the boy didn’t even control it. No, with him having his back against the goal, he couldn’t even see the goalkeeper’s movement. Controlling the ball on his own would only delay this attack. So, instead of doing that, the boy just used his chest to pass the ball, and right just ten meters in front of the box, a short black player with afro hair appeared, shooting the ball directly before anyone could get him.

BAM!

The shot was powerful enough, but what made it troublesome was its course. It moved like a parabola, flying high in the air before descending so fast like a meteor. Higo himself gritted his teeth, moving back a little to calculate where the ball would land before he jumped backward, punching the ball toward the upper net of the goal.

"OH! Almost!" That afro boy groaned while covering his face in regret when he saw the shot was saved. "Just a few centimeters away!"

"Come on, Matthew! You did a good job!"

"Don’t be so dejected like that! You hear what everyone said, right? That goalkeeper is abnormal!"

"Yeah, if you can beat him in one go, I will start questioning my sanity here!"

All the Hannan University High players came to pat the boy on the back, reassuring him that he did a great job. However, the same couldn’t be said of Hakodate Nishi. They all had the same solemn expression, realizing that Kumiko was wrong here. Just from this attack alone, they could see how Hannan University High would be more troublesome than Shohei High.

"That Matthew Edwards... He should be just a ball-winning midfielder, right? Someone to do the dirty job in the midfield?" Denji asked in disbelief. "How could he suddenly take such a crazy shot from that far?! This shouldn’t be normal, right?"

This was also the same question that everyone had. After all, Kumiko only highlighted several players from their opponent’s team, and Matthew Edwards, besides his origin as an American, didn’t stand out that much in the intelligence meeting.

"That shows that the intelligence is not perfect," Makino said solemnly. "Just... Don’t underestimate all the players here. They seem to pose something troublesome on their own, so don’t give them any chance to face the goal again."

"Yes, Captain!"

It was still the second minute of the game, and yet, the emotion had already reached its peak. Hannan University High had managed to steal the limelight here, what with them stopping Hakodate Nishi’s infamous blitzkrieg attack and almost overturning the tables in just a minute. However, the threat was far from over.

It was a corner-kick scenario, and all of Hakodate Nishi’s defenders had their faces go ashen immediately. The kick wasn’t taken yet, and somehow, they were intimidated by what they faced right now.

Jui Hata, 201 cm.

Taiga Nagai, 195 cm.

Ritsu Onishi, 192 cm.

Three players from the opposite side, all taller than Jun, the tallest one in Hakodate Nishi’s team. Kumiko had already warned them beforehand that their corner kick was dangerous, that they had some good players in the aerial duel, and yet, there was nothing they could do about it.

"Shit! Jun, get ready here!" Makino gritted his teeth, guarding Taiga Nagai tightly. "At least, don’t allow him to jump easily!"

"I get this!"

As the tallest player on the team, of course, it was the most logical thing for Jun to guard Jui Hata. However, the height difference was real, and the boy himself found it difficult to handle.

On the corner spot, Kei Murakami also raised his hand, giving a signal to his teammates. The moment the referee blew the whistle, the captain pinged the ball straight to the middle, a simple and crude method. There was no deception here, just the most primitive tactic in the corner-kick history.

Send the ball to the tallest player on the box, and let that boy handle the rest. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

’Fuck it! This is ridiculous!’ Jun growled as he was struggling to stop Jui Hata here. Hell, he even tried to pull the boy’s jersey, at least wanting to slow the boy down a little bit. Jun didn’t know, though, that his desperate attempt, which he himself thought to be futile, gave Higo a chance to take action, as the goalkeeper suddenly flew in the air, snatching the ball out of nowhere.

Thud!