Inazuma Eleven Ultra!

Chapter 10: Full Counter

The atmosphere was electric as the 11 players of Raimon and Mitsukebaru walked onto the pitch, their cleats digging into the lush green grass. The Mitsukebaru side exuded confidence, their heads held high as they took their positions. In stark contrast, the Raimon players, with the exception of Shun, Akira, and Tsurugi, seemed somewhat subdued, their nerves evident in their fidgety movements.

The commentator's booming voice echoed through the stadium, "Good morning, everybody! Today is the day that we've all been waiting for, the Football Frontier district preliminaries! Today in our midst, we have the steadily growing Mitsukebaru Jr. High! On the other hand, we have the deteriorating Raimon Jr. High." The commentator's tone turned somber as he spoke, his words hanging in the air like a challenge.

The Raimon players felt a surge of irritation at the commentator's words, but they kept their emotions in check, refusing to let their anger get the better of them. Akira, however, was undaunted, his enthusiastic smile a testament to his unwavering confidence. Tsurugi, on the other hand, remained emotionless, his eyes fixed intently on the pitch.

As the teams took their positions, the Mitsukebaru captain, Mizuku, approached Shun, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Mizuku?" Shun questioned, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Hi there, Shun," Mizuku replied, his voice dripping with arrogance. "What do you want?" Shun asked, his tone neutral.

"Nothing. Just wanted to prepare you for the worst," Mizuku said, his grin growing wider.

"Losing, I mean," he added, his eyes glinting with amusement.

Shun's expression remained stoic, but the other Raimon players were visibly infuriated by Mizuku's taunts. "Yo, Kayari-kun, we're gonna crush 'em, right?" Hashiri exclaimed, his voice trembling with anger.

"Totally!" Kayari responded, his eyes blazing with determination.

"We've changed from last time. We're definitely gonna win!" Shun declared, his voice firm and resolute.

Mizuku let out a derisive snort. "Hmph! Will see about that."

With the pre-game banter out of the way, the players took their positions on the pitch. The Raimon starting lineup consisted of Sawaegara in the post, Okii and Hosoi in center-back, Hashiri and Kayari in full-back, with Shun in defensive midfield, Akira and Aoyoma in attacking midfield, Sokudo and Takeshi in the wings, and Tsurugi in the striker position.

As the referee blew his whistle, the match began. Tsurugi took the kickoff, passing the ball to Akira, who sprinted forward before passing it back to Shun in defense. Shun ran with the ball for a short distance before Mizuku appeared before him, a sneer twisting his face.

"Hmph!" Mizuku exclaimed, his eyes flashing with confidence.

Sokudo, anticipating Mizuku's move, called out to Shun, "Shun!"

Shun immediately lobbed the ball to Sokudo on the right wing. "Alright, it's time for my assault!" Sokudo exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

However, a Mitsukebaru midfielder approached him, a fierce determination etched on his face. "You think because you're big you scare me? Not a chance!" the midfielder exclaimed, before charging at Sokudo with a fierce tackle.

Sokudo, taken aback by the midfielder's speed and agility, stood in shock as the midfielder performed a slide tackle, effortlessly gaining possession of the ball. The midfielder then passed the ball to a teammate on the opposite flank, calling out, "Hyoma!"

Hyoma received the ball and sprinted forward, his eyes fixed intently on the goal. Takeshi, anticipating Hyoma's move, called out, "Y-you won't get past me! I hope..."

Hyoma, undaunted by Takeshi's determination, ran at him with full speed. With a swift motion, Hyoma lobbed the ball over Takeshi's head and ran past him, receiving the ball again with ease. Kayari, witnessing Hyoma's incredible speed and agility, charged forward, yelling, "Ahhhhh!"

Kayari performed a slide tackle, but Hyoma simply jumped over him, maintaining possession of the ball. Hyoma then passed the ball to Mizuku, who approached Raimon's defense with a confident smirk.

"Dammit, Shun, Okii, Hosoi, it's up to you!" Kayari exclaimed, his voice laced with desperation. 'And Tsurugi, Akira too,' Kayari secretly thought, his eyes fixed intently on the duo.

Mizuku received the ball with ease, his eyes scanning the Raimon defense as he searched for an opening. "Pfft... I don't even need to get past you guys. My hissatsu will work from here!" Mizuku exclaimed, his voice dripping with confidence.

Hosoi's eyes widened in alarm as he remembered the gruesome training he had to endure for the past two weeks. "What, hissatsu?!" Hosoi asked, his voice trembling slightly. "Nobody on their team had a hissatsu last year!" Hosoi exclaimed, his mind racing with the implications.

Mizuku, undaunted by Hosoi's words, raised the ball up before striking it upwards with incredible force. "ROCKET SHOOT!" Mizuku yelled, his foot stretching out to meet the ball.

The ball flew towards the Raimon goal, its trajectory unwavering as it soared through the air. Sawaegara, standing calmly in the goal, watched as the ball approached. But to the surprise of the Raimon players, Sawaegara didn't move to intercept the ball. Instead, he stood still, his eyes fixed intently on the ball.

Tsurugi and Akira, positioned in defense, appeared out of nowhere, their movements lightning-fast as they sprinted towards the ball. Akira took position on the left, while Tsurugi stood on the right, their eyes locked onto the incoming ball.

"Alright, Tsurugi!" Akira exclaimed, his voice filled with determination.

"Hm!" Tsurugi replied, his expression emotionless.

The ball approached, its speed and power unwavering. Akira and Tsurugi moved in perfect sync, their legs stretching out to meet the ball. With a burst of speed and power, they kicked the ball with all their might, their voices ringing out in unison.

"FULL COUNTER!" they yelled, their voices echoing through the stadium.

The ball, redirected by Akira and Tsurugi's incredible hissatsu, flew towards the Mitsukebaru goal with incredible speed and power. The Mitsukebaru goalkeeper, caught off guard by the sudden change in direction, stumbled backwards as the ball soared past him.

The Raimon players erupted into cheers as the ball hit the back of the net, the scoreboard flashing 0:1 in their favor. "Yeah! We did it!" Akira exclaimed, pumping his fist in triumph.

"Yeah..." Tsurugi murmured, his expression still emotionless.

The commentator's voice boomed through the stadium, "Exceptional! Those two redirected Mizuku's shot! Unbelievable!"

Inoue, watching from the sidelines, exclaimed, "No way! What an incredible hissatsu! Kantou-kun, is that why you made Tsurugi and Akira take on all those shots during practice?!"

Kageyama nodded, a hint of a smile on his face. "Exactly!"

Itami, watching in awe, stayed silent. "Well, it is incredible, but there's one major weakness, isn't there, Kantou-kun?" Anna questioned, her eyes narrowed in thought.

Kageyama's expression turned serious, his eyes fixed intently on the pitch. "Yes... That's right! I just wonder how long it'll take for the Mitsukebaru side to learn of this weakness."