Team Z vs Team X | Part 5

Isagi's heartbeat skyrocketed. It was the only thing he could hear as the football approached him from above. His eyes saw the people running to him, some likely trying to stop him from scoring. The goalkeeper was jumping at him.

Right now, he could see all this in slow motion. This was a great feeling to have someone else give you the perfect pass that you knew you would score. 'Dennis, why would you pass it to me?' It was a decisive moment for their team, as the scores were tied. There was still so much time before the game ends, so it was weird…

Dennis was fully capable of making the shot himself, so why he passed was a mystery for the number eleven. His eyes remained open as he prepared to meet the ball with his forehead and direct it toward the goal. The sight of the goalie trying to block his shot but failing was the pleasure that Isagi had craved for a long time.

It was like a drug, honestly, but Isagi wanted to feel more of this in the future. The football easily crossed the goal line and went in, as the goalkeeper, who had previously jumped to save his team, fell on the scorer roughly.

4-3

"Isagi!" chanted team Z, and he could hear it, but the opponent was still on him with full body weight. He groaned in pain, hoping nothing bad would happen to him. His eyes became dizzy. "I scored right?" he asked the air.

The weight that was previously dropped on him was suddenly lifted with the shout, "Get the fuck off of him." This voice was that of the passer who gifted him with the score. "Isagi, you scored, you are with us still, right?!"

Their fall was a pretty rough one, but thankfully at least one person was concerned about it. Isagi again groaned before attempting to get up. The German helped him by pulling him by his hands. "Ah, it was worth it. Thanks, Dennis."

"It's nothing; you created the moment, and you deserved the goal." The number five slapped him on the back. He flinched from the pain, the German had strong hands, and he couldn't calculate the necessary strength for this gesture. Even so, he said, "Sorry, haha," upon hearing the ouch.

Team Z ran up to the duo, "Guys, what was that?! This was so freaking cool, nyahaha!" Bachira was filled with enthusiasm, as his eyes were telling Dennis, 'Let's do it!' and 'I want to do it too!' His excitement was shared by others.

Raichi made a fist and was about to congratulate Isagi, but he stopped when he realized what he was doing. 'Ah, I'm excited about someone else's goal?'

"Alright. We are not done, guys," Wataru, who also showed up at the scene, mentioned, " until the end of this half, there is still half an hour, so let's do it. The final whistle wasn't blown yet!"

Opponents were unsatisfied with their enemies celebrating on their field, but they couldn't do anything else as Barou himself went and took his position in the formation. They followed his actions and ignored the opponents as best they could. When they arrived back, the whistle was blown once more.

Nothing changed in the flow as the game continued in the same manner as before. Barou was pressured by Dennis. The rest of their teams played against each other as if those two had never existed on the field. Team X had no opportunities during the attack; there was total dominance from team Z.

The defense worked smoother under Kunigami's leadership. Though he had trouble catching his breath, he was trying his best. One after another, he was making successful tackles and steals without any fouls. Wataru was also a better option in defense than attack; at least here he could help out.

Wataru's long legs were a big help, and his vertical leaps secured the roof. Basically, he, Kunigami, Iemon, and Raichi created the unbreakable walls. It could only be scratched as Team X had multiple attempted shots, but none of them were on target, while Team Z performed well.

'Team Z would have been far ahead of this team if Barou hadn't been so uncontrollable and enduring.' Isagi had created multiple chances at team X's goal, but whenever the number ten entered the box, it was harder to think of future actions.

There were still things that they lacked, and one of them was understanding of each other. 'I need one more game…' Isagi's analytical skills weren't helping out here; he still didn't know how his teammates preferred to play. 'But Dennis…'

In the case of the German, it would've been different; however, Barou had Dennis marked in a similar fashion as Dennis did him. In addition, Isagi didn't have to understand his teammate, quite the opposite, Kemp did that for him and only picked the best options for where to open for the pass.

'I need to predict what someone else is going to do. Otherwise, I can't read the game at all.' Dennis had something he didn't have yet, and to understand what exactly Isagi needs to create moments the way he does.

In multiple plays, Dennis seemed to know how things would turn out milliseconds before they happened. A simple prediction that can't be guaranteed? That was hardly believable. Just the prediction won't work; Isagi tested that on Bachira, and he got played on. 'But Bachira is quick…'

He could only observe and think about it as the match progressed; the thought of learning something new never left Isagi's brain. He wanted to predict the games to create goals, make them himself, and not repeat the same thing that happened to him before the Blue Lock project.

Isagi's eyes met Dennis's. He took his time observing the German marking an uncontrollable player like Barou, and he noticed something this time. From previous plays, it was easy for him to deduce that Shouei had no apparent playstyle when he got into the box; his skills there vary, and they have almost no limit. 'He wants to score goals in any way possible…'

But when Barou is outside of the box, he always tries to create space right near the middle of the goal, around thirty meters away from it…

… … …

For minutes already, Dennis has been wondering, 'Why is Isagi watching me like an idiot?' His eyes have been staring at him weirdly. Barou's glare was already enough for him, now add Isagi on top of that.

It did make sense though, Dennis already had an idea about Isagi having… peculiar vision. The way he looks at the game and acts is not normal, from there comes his conclusion that Isagi had special eyes that could observe and detect movements on the field all around him.

Something like spatial awareness. It was a great skill actually, people that are able to sense the game better than others eventually become stars. For example Zinedine Zidane, a prime example of having his own view of the game. There were more, but Dennis didn't want to recall them all right now.

'What does he want?' The question remained the same. Yoichi didn't make any signs nor did he gesture to him to do something, he was just occasionally staring at him for a few seconds before returning to his position on the field.

There were twenty minutes left on the board right now, which was still a lot. You should always expect the situation to turn over in matches like this, twenty minutes is sufficient for that to happen.

'Barou is restless; he is becoming harder to mark.' The dude refused to play normal football, he had to do everything else by himself, and his movements every time became difficult to read for Dennis. His reflexes and quick thinking made up for the physical incapability that the human body had, at least this time around.

On Dennis' watch, the number ten was improving; the progress was slow, but Barou didn't care about that. He wanted to get past the guy and score without return… 'As if I'd fucking let you do that.'

The German had no desire to help out his enemy; he'll play for the ball from now on, and he won't let anybody else get past him. Previously, he was just keeping the chances low for Barou to pass him; now, he will play on the ball. Similar to basketball, he would simply block a shot rather than make it more difficult to make one.

"Pass!" Barou shouted at his teammate, who instantly turned to him and did what he was expected to. Just as the football was about to reach the number 10, someone's foot cut through and intercepted it. Unfortunately for Barou, his stern and angry look didn't affect his mark.

Dennis ran away with the ball, "I don't have the energy to waste it on running after you…" From now on, he'll get the ball before Barou does. He himself couldn't understand why he hadn't done this before, but that's less energy-consuming, so it's better.

The German looked around to see the clusterfuck. Team X was a mess as the two middle fielders charged at him like hooligans; they were up to harming him just to get a foul and stop the game. 'Did Barou tell them to play like that?' Dennis tensed up as the muscles on his entire body hardened like a rock.

He towered over them, as his height allowed him to do so, and showed his physical superiority right away. Despite his large build, the guy had the elasticity of a shepherd, and with some clean moves, he blitzed past the defenders by nutmegging them. Nobody could believe as he used a very simple move like an elastico, but it was like an illusion; his long legs made it look like he was truly going in a different direction.

The Addidas football boots dug into the ground like butter and made it easier for their owner to accelerate. The muscles on his thighs jiggled due to the sheer amount he had. The fact that all these opponents were strikers reassured guys like Dennis to dribble with more confidence, they knew batshit about defending.

'Barou, if you were on my team, you'd be of much help, but unfortunately, you are not.' Thought Dennis. In his mind, he admitted that team X had one of the most talented and versatile strikers in Japan. 'I'd like to play with Barou at least once, but since we are enemies this time, I won't show mercy.'

The number five drove with the football and corrected it for the kick. Several defenders jumped to stop his affair, but he made a faint show and dragged the football along the penalty box further to his right. Bang! His boots made rough contact with the ball as it was launched to the top right corner of the goal.

There was absolutely no chance for the goalkeeper; he hasn't even moved from his place. His eyes couldn't catch the ball either; a second later, he just felt the vibration of the football entering the net.

Dennis jumped in the air and punched the air in celebration, "Take this! This is my fucking game!" His shout sealed Team X's fate and raised Team Z's morale to a high level.

"That was amazing, Dennis!"

Everyone swarmed Dennis like crazies, as they were now two goals ahead of their opponents. The board showed 5-3 in favor of Team Z. One man had turned the game in a different direction, and now there was an even bigger chance that their team was going to win. Two goals in 20 minutes is a hard thing to pull off.

'How did he…' Isagi, meanwhile, had different thoughts, 'Has he figured out Barou? There's no way.' He couldn't be the only one bothered by this thought, right? He looked around to see everyone just celebrating and not asking anything. Only Team X member Barou shared this expression. They were concerned about the matter.

… … …

"Dennis, Dennis… that's still not it." Ego looked at the screens, quite unsatisfied with current events. He hasn't seen what he wanted; the German's ego is still well hidden, and this was just a little spectacle. the words, 'Take this! This is my fucking game!' seemed to be more staged than Indian dramas.

Anri, who stood not too far from the director, was not a footballer herself, but she watched countless footballers play, and this was one of the best performances from a single individual in the teenage scene.

"You are so weird. He just singlehandedly turned the game over; what do you expect him to show you?" In her opinion, Ego was just a gluttonous bastard.

Basically, what he meant was that winning the game, turning a chaotic team into a working one, being one of the best players on the field, scoring multiple goals, and defending like a beast were still not enough feats?

Ego sighed and pushed his glass with his middle finger, "I'm impressed; however, he hasn't exceeded my expectations yet. I knew he was capable of accomplishing all of these feats. There was no doubt in my mind that he would secure the win for his team…" He abruptly ceased speaking.

What the director hasn't seen on the field yet is the ego and, to explain it easier, the satisfaction of seeing your enemy fail because of your actions. Dennis has allowed Barou to make progress and hasn't done much to stop this beforehand, or at least show team X how miserable they were.

"As I said, he hasn't shown me the ego that I want to see in everyone here. This win for him was nothing but a mere display of his football skills and intellect. Though, I think he is doing this on purpose."

'Ah, man, I think he is doing amazing.' Anri shook her head. Team Z is winning only because of Dennis' efforts.