Kuroko no Basket: Honored One

Chapter 464 166: Itoshi Rin's Awakening

Amidst repeated cheers of encouragement, the battered U-20 players surprisingly adjusted their mindset quickly and charged forward again.

One must admit, influenced by anime, players from the island nation are a little bit "chuunibyou."

Take that guy named Moriyasu Hajime, for example.

The Blue Lock team quickly shifted into defense.

After all, they were the U-20 national team. When they went all out in a do-or-die charge, they certainly caused quite a bit of trouble for Blue Lock.

In the 80th minute of the match.

Hayate, Watsuki, and the ever-present Sendou Shuto used their skilled, small-scale coordination to break through Blue Lock's right flank.

They didn't intentionally look for Itoshi Sae, as he was being tightly marked by Tendou Kageyoshi.

And then.

Aiku crossed the midfield, pushing up from the back, and sent an extremely precise long pass from the end line.

Inside the penalty box.

Several players from both sides leaped at the same time, heading for the rapidly approaching ball.

Although Sendou Shuto was in a better position and got to the ball first...

His header was weak and lacked power due to Mikage Reo's interference, making it an easy save for Gagamaru Gin.

"This guy!"

Sendou Shuto felt he had underestimated Blue Lock.

Setting aside that monster who was strong enough to suppress even Itoshi Sae, Tendou Kageyoshi, the others were not to be ignored either.

This Mikage Reo had just surprised him with his ability.

In that split second of the aerial contest, he even felt like he was facing his own teammate, Aiku.

Clap, clap, clap~

"JP~"

Clap, clap, clap~

"JP~"

Seeing the U-20 team's offense show some life, the fans in the stands cheered for them even more passionately.

But time waits for no one.

Only a little over ten minutes remained in regular time.

The U-20 team needed to score three consecutive goals in these ten-plus minutes to force the game into extra time.

This was a nearly impossible task.

But they didn't give up.

"Here they come again!"

"The U-20 team's offense has been quite ferocious these past few minutes! They've deliberately avoided Tendou, who's been tightly marking Itoshi Sae, and are instead using a combination of passes to continuously penetrate the opposing defense!"

"But the Blue Lock team's formation is holding up well! The newly subbed in Mikage Reo and Hiori Yo are both having great performances!"

"Itoshi Sae has the ball!"

"A beautiful flip-flap nutmeg! That's his signature move!"

"Is there a chance?"

"No, Tendou is coming in with a slide tackle! The U-20 team's attack has been neutralized!"

The commentator shouted passionately into the microphone.

From the sidelines, Coach Houichi was screaming constantly.

Unfortunately, the U-20 team's offense was all bark and no bite.

Without Itoshi Sae as their engine, they had found a way to cause some trouble, but these opportunities were not the kind that could lead to a decisive goal.

They still needed Itoshi Sae to create those once-in-a-lifetime chances.

The problem was.

That number 7 wasn't giving Itoshi Sae such a chance.

After entering the Zone, Tendou's focus on the game had reached an astonishing level.

Thanks to this, his big data analysis was at full power, calculating routes that gave the U-20 team no opening.

Ego Jinpachi had marveled many times at Tendou's situational awareness.

It was something no player his age should possess.

He believed Tendou was a being born to play soccer.

Little did he know that most of this was the effect of his big data analysis ability, which made up for Tendou's lack of experience.

In the 84th minute.

The U-20 team, using a series of quick, short passes, once again attacked Blue Lock's right wing.

But the final point of attack was, as predicted by the big data analysis, Itoshi Sae.

Tendou accelerated towards the ball. Itoshi Sae noticed him and also sped up to challenge for it.

And then.

The last time, Itoshi Sae had won the challenge, but this time, Tendou had no reason to lose.

At this moment, he had unleashed 100% of his physical potential. When he focused all of his power on one point, his burst speed could exceed 100%.

Under Itoshi Sae's gaze, Tendou was like a flash of lightning. He ran past his opponent to the ball, stuck out his long leg, and kicked the ball behind himself.

A pass and a dribble in one fluid motion!

Itoshi Sae was defeated by Tendou's frontal charge once again.

What followed was a deadly counterattack by Blue Lock.

Tendou ran past Itoshi Sae to catch up to the ball, and without stopping, he made a long pass.

BANG!

On the screen, Tendou's leg muscles were tensed. He swung his leg back and then slammed it forward, and the soccer ball shot out like a cannon shell.

Finding Itoshi Rin!

When the younger brother received the ball, there were only the U-20's four defensive stalwarts in front of him.

Tendou's long pass had, as usual, pierced through most of the U-20's defensive line.

This spectacular pass didn't get much of a cheer. After playing for just over 80 minutes, the audience had gotten used to his formidable strength.

Itoshi Rin received the ball.

At the same time, Isagi Yoichi, Nagi Seishiro, Otome and other players all rushed forward.

Isagi Yoichi wanted to link up with him, but Itoshi Rin refused.

He wanted to score a goal that belonged to him alone.

"You and I are the same, we both play soccer for others."

"But that's not good. We can't easily use other people as the reason for us to keep going."

Itoshi Rin recalled the conversation he had with Tendou before the game.

...

If it were before, his reason for playing soccer was simple: to take down his older brother, Itoshi Sae.

Now?

He had watched the entire confrontation between Tendou and Itoshi Sae, seeing them elevate their game again and again, with no room for him to even intervene.

They were so strong, indeed.

His older brother and Tendou were so amazing, but...

Thinking that way made him sick!

"I'll destroy you all!"

A roar erupted in Itoshi Rin's heart, and his desire to destroy was completely unleashed.

His pupils turned gray at a visible speed, and they began to spin like gears as he let out a guttural sound.

In the final moments of the game, Itoshi Rin stepped into his Flow State.

"Rin, over here!" Isagi Yoichi waved.

"Stay out of my way!"

Itoshi Rin ignored him, dribbling the ball alone towards the four defensive stalwarts.

Neru Teppei.

He was the fastest, and he was the first to charge forward, intending to neutralize this threat in one go.

But.

"Die, shorty!" Itoshi Rin roared in his heart, his brain and pupils quickly analyzing everything about his opponent. "Your weapon is... speed."

Itoshi Rin made a judgment, feinted a cut to lure the opponent, and then performed an ultra-fast change of direction.

In an instant, he had gotten past the first of the four defensive stalwarts.

Next came Niou Kazuma and Miroku. The three of them were like characters from a Chinese cartoon trying to save their grandpa, coming up one by one to get nutmegged.

After Itoshi Rin had destroyed all three of them, only Aiku remained in front of him.

...

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