"This person... who on earth is he?"
It wasn't just Aiku who noticed; the others also discovered that Itoshi Sae and Tendou knew each other. Sae's demeanor was completely different from how he treated them. Itoshi Sae... he seemed to be treating the other as a player of his own level.
"Tendou Kageyoshi... is it?"
An hour ago, Aiku had received Blue Lock's starting lineup and had learned Tendou's name from it, positioned as a defensive midfielder. But his instinct told him that this player named Tendou was not so simple.
Tendou also noticed his gaze and looked back. Those brilliant pupils made Aiku feel uneasy, a feeling of being seen through.
"30 minutes is thinking on the bright side?"
He recalled Sae's earlier words. Could it be that it wasn't just alarmist talk?
Clack~
At this moment, the gate to the tunnel opened. The players of the two teams, led by Tendou and Sae, walked out.
In that instant, the stadium of tens of thousands of people erupted in fierce cheers. The earth-shaking commotion made the hearts of Blue Lock's greenhorns accelerate.
A head referee, two linesmen, and a fourth official stood in the center of the field. Blue Lock and the National Youth Team stood on opposite sides of the field, separated by the referee.
There was also a national anthem segment before the match. Tendou was too proud to even open his mouth.
...
"I'm looking forward to your performance, Blue Lock."
During the pennant exchange, Tendou, as the captain, took the pennant handed over by Aiku. He was very curious about what kind of ability the person who could make the proud Sae treat him this way had.
"The match probably won't develop in the direction you expect."
Tendou's ambiguous words made Oliver Aiku feel even more uneasy.
...
The coin toss. Tendou won the kickoff for his team.
"Alright, the head referee has blown the whistle, and the match officially begins!"
Amidst the cheers of the entire stadium, the two commentators raised their voices. After a full half a month, this highly anticipated match had finally begun.
The scene immediately erupted in cheers like a flash flood, all cheering for the national youth team. This was a true case of the "home ground being like a graveyard" because Blue Lock had no fan base whatsoever.
...
Itoshi Rin kicked the ball off. The members of the national youth team immediately launched a major offensive, with all members crossing the halfway line, frantically pressing for the ball.
Faced with the high press, Isagi, Nagi, and Otoya in the midfield felt the pressure. Fortunately, the three of them had experience teaming up. With a few quick passes, they still managed to create some space.
Tendou received the ball and passed it straight to Otoya. The ball had just reached the halfway line when the opponent's midfielder came in with a horizontal slide tackle and snatched the ball away.
The national youth team switched from defense to offense in the midfield, launching an attack on Blue Lock's goal.
"Just as we predicted before the match, the national youth team quickly took control of the ball."
"Ah, after all, the players in every position on the youth team have been carefully selected from across the country."
"The high press at the start has made the Blue Lock team a bit flustered."
"..."
The commentators' tongues were very slick. They had predicted before the match that the national youth team would control the ball for most of the time, and the situation would be them pressing Blue Lock.
"The national youth team is counter-attacking on the spot! Itoshi Sae has the ball! Number 10, Itoshi Rin, is marking him."
"Let me introduce this player to everyone. He is the younger brother of the genius Itoshi Sae, and also a famous genius forward in the high school football world."
"That's right! Sae didn't hold onto the ball, passing it to a teammate on the right. Bachira and Niko are coming up for a pincer attack."
"A return pass! Aryu Jubei is out of position! Sae receives the ball and threads a through-ball to Shidou Akito! A shot!"
"Uh..."
The high-pitched voice suddenly stopped.
The two commentators' eyes widened. "Number 7, player Tendou Kageyoshi, suddenly moved over and, at the last moment, tackled the ball away from Shidou Akito."
"How did he get to that position?"
"His position was clearly still on the right wing just now."
"So timely! So fast! Such a large-scale shift requires not only outstanding athletic ability from the player but also an extremely strong overall view of the game."
"But he's wearing the number 7 jersey. Why is he playing as a defensive midfielder?"
"..."
Damn it!
Shidou Akito was tackled and pounded the turf. He had never expected Tendou to suddenly appear in this position.
Anri only felt pleasant surprise. In this match, both sides had coincidentally adopted a 4-2-3-1 single-striker formation. In this formation, which was balanced in offense and defense, it was a contest of hard power.
The audience, however, felt that Tendou was just running around blindly. He had completely left his defensive zone just now, moving from one side to the other, violating the modern football concept of zonal defense. But people noticed that on the Blue Lock bench, Ego Jinpachi was actually applauding.
"Is their coach applauding?"
"Uh, is it really okay to run like that?"
"Amateur players are amateur players. I'm going to add to my bet right now. This match is too easy! Guaranteed win!"
However, Itoshi Sae did not think so. His observation skills were extremely strong. After all, he played in the midfield; if his observation wasn't good enough, he couldn't be a playmaker.
"Even if he's positioned as a defensive midfielder, he shouldn't be moving over such a large area."
"Could he be a midfield libero?"
Sae thought of this possibility. But one positional switch didn't prove much; he still had to continue to observe Tendou's performance. If the other was really playing as a midfield libero... then it would be troublesome.
...
The match continued. The national youth team's offense was still fierce. Shidou Akito clearly knew about Sae's and Aiku's 30-minute agreement. He was playing this match with the goal of finishing the battle in 30 minutes.
Blue Lock, on the other hand, started by defending, not by launching a strong attack as Ego had said. After all, Yukimiya's departure had somewhat affected Blue Lock's front line. The "two wings taking flight" had become a single wing, and the threat had decreased considerably.
4th minute: Tendou dropped back and, with Niko, double-teamed Shidou Akito, successfully tackling the ball.
7th minute: Tendou made a flying tackle to break up Sae's pass, making Shidou Akito run for nothing.
9th minute: A header clearance...
This time, it wasn't just Sae; even the commentators had noticed the trick.
Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder, even a wide midfielder. During this time, Tendou was simply everywhere. His position was erratic, handling both offense and defense. It was completely impossible to judge his position. The national youth team was at a loss. Although their possession rate was higher than their opponent's, the offensive threat they posed was very limited. They hadn't even managed to get the ball into the opponent's penalty area once.
And Tendou.
He was so active during this time that he was simply everywhere; his figure was all over the field. He alone had neutralized the national youth team's attacks several times.
This was...
"A midfield libero?!" one of the commentators lost his voice.
How could they have thought that in a match like this, they would encounter a midfield libero?
A midfield libero?
Ego snorted softly. "Tendou is not a midfield libero. He's a full-field libero."
As his voice fell, the situation on the field changed. The Blue Lock team, which had been defending for 12 minutes, suddenly bared its fangs!
...
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