Ruan Mei advanced leisurely down the field, and Inazuma's defenders were visibly rattled.
None of them dared to close in.
Earlier, they had only seen Kujou Sara rush up to challenge her—then suddenly collapse to the ground.
Ruan Mei hadn't made any obvious move.
She had barely lifted a finger.
So how had Sara gone down?
No one could figure it out.
And because they couldn't understand what had happened, they all hesitated, allowing Ruan Mei to stroll forward unopposed.
In truth, most of Inazuma's players weren't particularly motivated to win.
Aside from Raiden Ei and Arataki Itto, the rest were largely in "do your best and leave the rest to fate" mode.
"Give me back the ball!"
At last, Itto came charging back to his senses and thundered after Ruan Mei.
"Hmm?"
Seeing him barreling toward her like an enraged bull, Ruan Mei frowned.
She had no intention of being body-checked by him.
With a gentle touch, she pushed the ball sideways to Rappa.
"Good… Ninja Art: Shuriken Shot!"
Rappa seized the opportunity and unleashed her special move.
The ball transformed into a spinning shuriken and whirled toward the goal.
"Stop it! Hurry and stop it!"
Goalkeeper Kamisato Ayato panicked.
If no one helped block this attack, he had no chance of saving it.
And unlike Sambо, he didn't dare abandon his post.
Who knew what the Shogun would do to him if he tried?
"Oh, right."
"Got it."
The two center-backs responded and jogged toward the incoming shuriken.
Jogged.
Very slowly.
"You… you people…"
Ayato finally understood.
They were blatantly slacking off.
By the time they reached the ball, it would already have torn through the net.
No one else was going to save him.
He would have to do it himself.
As the shuriken closed in, Ayato shouted:
"Rising Dragon Punch!"
His aura was impressive.
His accuracy was not.
He completely missed the shuriken.
"Tweet!"
1–0.
"Sigh… a mistake. I missed."
Ayato climbed back to his feet, looking deeply annoyed.
The rest of the team turned to stare at him.
If you didn't want to make the save, you could've just said so.
What was the point of dramatically diving in the wrong direction?
Then again…
Most of them were doing exactly the same thing.
So no one felt particularly qualified to criticize.
Ei shot Ayato a sharp glare.
"Be more careful."
She was clearly displeased.
The match had barely started, and he had already conceded.
"Y-Yes, Your Excellency."
Back at midfield, play resumed.
Ei drove forward with the ball herself.
She didn't possess a shooting special move, but her dribbling ability was terrifying.
Anyone who tried to dispossess her was immediately flattened.
This was the strategy that had carried Inazuma all tournament:
Ei bulldozed through midfield.
Then she fed the ball to Itto.
And Itto scored.
So despite trailing, Ei remained perfectly calm.
Once she reached the attacking third, she spotted Itto and delivered the pass.
"Witness my Fighting Bull!"
Itto leapt into the air.
But before he could shoot, two legs swung in from either side and kicked him flat.
"Heh. As long as we stop you from jumping, you're not that scary."
The ball was stolen and quickly sent back to Ruan Mei.
Nearby, Kujou Sara had collapsed to the ground once again.
Ruan Mei glanced over the field.
Rappa was tightly marked.
But Argenti was completely unmarked.
"Take it."
A precise through ball rolled to Argenti.
"I hereby declare Idrila's beauty unmatched in all creation! Argenti, pass me the ball!"
Kuki Shinobu shouted as she moved into space.
"No problem, beautiful lady."
Without hesitation, Argenti sent the pass to Shinobu.
"Boss, here!"
Everything happened so quickly that Itto found himself completely unmarked.
As the ball floated toward him, he leapt and volleyed it instantly.
"Moo!"
Ushi reappeared and charged straight at the goal.
"Tweet."
1–1.
The entire stadium fell silent.
"Hmph. Very good."
Ei nodded in approval, praising both Shinobu and Itto.
Their performance had earned her full recognition.
Then her gaze shifted to Yae Miko, who was still strolling around the field as if she were taking a casual walk.
"Why can't you put in some effort?"
"And why do you assume I'm not?" Miko replied smoothly. "I've been open the entire time. You're the one who never passes to me."
Naturally, she had no intention of admitting that she was deliberately conserving energy.
If there were rewards on the line, she might have tried.
But there weren't.
So why bother?
Sunday's face darkened as he stared at the scoreboard.
At kickoff, Ruan Mei passed the ball back to him.
Sunday took one touch and blasted it straight out of bounds.
"I'm going to hell with this."
"Throw-in, Inazuma."
For once, Valerius got to exercise his authority as referee.
"Wait. We'd like to make a substitution."
"Approved."
Valerius nodded.
He understood exactly why Sunday had kicked the ball out.
He wanted a dead-ball situation so he could substitute Argenti.
And honestly, that was the right call.
You couldn't keep such an obvious undercover agent on the pitch.
"Very well. I'll come off."
Argenti left the field, and Jade came on in his place.
Argenti looked genuinely embarrassed.
But whenever someone praised Idrila, his body moved on instinct.
He simply couldn't help himself.
Inazuma prepared for the throw-in.
The ball went to Ei.
Itto immediately sprinted upfield.
By now, their chemistry was excellent.
As long as Itto was allowed to shoot, Inazuma had a real chance to score.
As for everyone else?
They had collectively begun playing "young master ball."
If the ball came to them, they passed it instantly.
If it didn't, they strolled around at their own pace.
"Wow—Bronya, look! They're all playing exactly like you!"
Seele watched in amusement.
If the ball reached them, they touched it once and got rid of it immediately.
If not, they wandered around like tourists.
The ball was never allowed to remain at their feet for more than a second.
"D-Don't be ridiculous!"
Bronya Rand blushed furiously.
"I participated in defense."
Seele snorted.
"Oh? Eye-contact defense?"
She had long since seen through Bronya's tactics.
If Bronya feared getting hit, she could just admit it.
Calling it "defending" was absurd.
She simply jogged near her opponents, staying three or four meters away.
That wasn't defending.
That was escorting.
"Well… that's still better than you, who didn't get off a single shot."
"You didn't shoot either!"
At that, Seele immediately became indignant.
She might not have gotten a shot off, but at least she had fought for every ball.
Bronya, on the other hand, had passed even on clear one-on-one opportunities.
And she still had the nerve to talk?
"Are you two seriously arguing about this right now?"
Serval looked at them in disbelief.
"If Inazuma loses, our rewards are in danger!"
"Oh, right!"
Seele shot to her feet.
Inazuma absolutely could not lose.
"Inazuma, go! Crush Penacony!"
Her clear voice echoed across the stadium.
The audience collectively covered their faces.
She had cheered for Mondstadt earlier.
Now she was cheering for Inazuma.
Whose side was she even on?
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