[Shinichi... Kanzaki Shinichi fooled everyone! He tricked all, including the opponents, his teammates, and even me, with a fake pass that turned into a real shot! Ubers Italy has taken the lead with this score!]
...
"This guy, really pulled a fast one on us," Barou, used as a decoy, walked back with a chilly expression, unable to retort. Hiori couldn't help but chuckle, "Shinichi... instead of his usual style of shaking off all opponents with blunt power shots from clear chances, he's now mastered new shooting variations. Even with someone blocking him, he can shoot directly."
"Yes, that shot's spin and change... and his ability to predict all our movements." Isagi, also tricked, nodded along and analyzed with Hiori, "Though Shinichi has always had moments of fooling opponents with reverse-spin passes, this shot was probably the perfect integration of spin and scoring. We must consider this variation when blocking his shots in the future, or all defense will be in vain."
"Right, but that's for later. What we need to do now, is attack!" Hiori straightened up, vigorously moved his arms, and then walked towards the front, "We can't let Shinichi think less of us. Let's show him our evolution."
...
Beep—!
After a brief pause for reorganization, the match resumed. With the whistle's sound, a fierce-looking Kaiser passed the ball to Hiori.
Although this guy wasn't exactly one of his subordinates, Kaiser fully trusted him based on their interactions during the games and regular training sessions. He knew one thing for sure: Hiori was a true egoist.
Thus, Hiori wouldn't withhold a pass just because he had issues with Shinichi or Isagi. As long as Kaiser positioned himself where Hiori thought appropriate, even if begrudgingly, Hiori would definitely deliver an accurate pass.
This is Hiori, currently the highest valued midfielder from Blue Lock, priced at one hundred and twenty million. His game philosophy mirrors Shinichi's: victory as the ultimate goal!
Though Kaiser's move made Ness give Hiori a long, grinding stare filled with a peculiar expression, Hiori didn't bother about that third-rate magician. Despite being a goal down against Ubers, he wasn't in a rush to counterattack immediately.
Instead, Hiori deliberately slowed down the pace, advancing with the ball at a controlled speed while constantly scanning the field, assessing the situation.
"Kaiser and Shinichi are continuously moving, but they're marked by Aiku and Lorenzo respectively. If we can't handle those two and then engage Shinichi, there's no suspense in this match," Hiori silently strategized. Shinichi was indeed too formidable, and Snuffy had pinpointed the best way to use him defensively.
But Snuffy's approach was unconventional compared to the typical strategies.
Instead of using Shinichi, who had strong defensive capabilities, as the first line of visible defense, Snuffy positioned him centrally.
Leveraging Shinichi's terrifying ability to perceive gaps, he could instantly detect vulnerabilities on the field and the potential breakdowns in team defense, then use his extraordinary speed to provide rapid support, thus fortifying Uber's defensive line like a fortress.
Therefore, the key to victory in this game was not merely the defensive actions of Lorenzo, Aiku, and Niko; rather, preventing Shinichi from comfortably providing defensive support was the true key to unlocking victory!
Hiori quickly recognized the critical factor of the game and thus suddenly accelerated, catching up to Reiji: "Reiji, work with me!"
"Sure, it's thanks to this that I made it into the starting lineup." Responding to Hiori's request, Reiji, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, received Hiori's pass and charged directly at Sendou. "Sendou, the former U20 national team's ace, currently valued at twelve million, possesses above-average physical capabilities, and has a well-rounded skill set, the prototype favored by the previous generation of the football association."
"That 'former' is unnecessary!" Sendou shouted back irritably as he advanced. Although his defense wasn't as robust as some of the other Ubers players, the extensive training with them had significantly improved his own skills.
Therefore, he accurately predicted the moment of Reiji's next touch.
By seizing this opportunity, even if he couldn't directly intercept the ball, forcing Reiji to attempt an evasion would inevitably halt him.
At that moment, Niko would swiftly approach to steal the ball from the stalled player's feet.
This tactic was their usual method and was also the underlying reason Kaiser's pass was intercepted earlier.
"Indeed, you've seized the moment very precisely; my database didn't have that record. It seems you've also made significant progress in the New Hero Wars. If it were the old me, I probably would have been flustered and even lost the ball to you," Reiji acknowledged Sendou's decisive challenge. As he spoke, his pale eyes gleamed strangely.
Then, with a slight shift in the angle of his foot, he made the football shoot up vertically upon impact, cleverly avoiding Sendou's attempt to intercept.
"Unfortunately, the timing was right, but the position of my stop was off." Reiji moved past Sendou, who couldn't stop his forward momentum in time.
Seeing Barou coming up to support defensively, Reiji used his heel to stop the falling ball and then flicked it back to Hiori, "That completes my task."
"Nice! Well done, Reiji!" Hiori didn't skimp on his praise for his teammate's performance. Observing Kunigami drawn in by his deliberate movement, a sharp glint appeared in his eyes. As he lifted his right leg, Shinichi also adjusted his steps in response to Hiori's movement.
"This is the spot!"
Confident he had manipulated Shinichi as much as possible, Hiori's forcefully swinging right leg suddenly changed direction a second before striking the ball.
The ball flew in the complete opposite direction of Shinichi's movement, directly toward Ness.
"Damn it, damn it! You bastard, to be able to make such a pass... Damn, that kind of pass should be made by me, by me—" However, faced with Hiori's beautifully redirected pass, Ness trembled with envy.
Overcome with emotion, he bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood from between his teeth, but he restrained his natural impulse at that moment.
Instead, he feigned a shooting motion to draw nearby players towards him, then at the last moment, he leapt up, intentionally avoiding Hiori's pass.
As the ball landed at Ness's feet and bounced up again, it flew towards Kaiser, who was closely marked by Lorenzo, seemingly without any space to shoot.
"I've played my part to this extent; you shouldn't waste my pass, especially with your world-class move—"
"Kaiser's Impact!!"
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