Have you ever felt... What was the word again? An enlightenment? As if you had an epiphany? Where everything suddenly felt clearer, the world seemed to move in slow motion, and you could do everything in the world?

Well, Usami had never felt that way, and he himself was not a religious person who believed that. However, in that exact moment, when his sight of where to go and how to run was suddenly cleared, as if something clicked inside his brain, the boy couldn’t help but think, ’Yes, I can do this!’

It was definitely far from the low-key personality that Usami usually had. However, this was the thing with enlightenment. It was so illogical that it made any person who received it feel like they were a completely new person.

This time, Usami was the one who received this blessing.

When he saw all of his teammates were surrounded, and one Sapporo Otani player tried to get closer to him, the first thing the boy did was to kick the ball in the opposite direction. This was a simple way to dribble, avoid the opponent’s direction and force him to run more. Still, at this point, it was just a normal dribble to avoid the disturbance, not enough to pose a threat on the opponent’s side.

It was when Usami started moving forward, adding more speed to his dribble, that the opponent started to treat this matter seriously.

"Kenji, don’t just stand there! Push him to the flank! Let Okamura handle this!" Ayase instructed while also shifting to the flank, ready to overwhelm that side with numbers.

"Sure thing!" Kenji, who was strolling around, came to Usami’s side immediately, wanting to put the boy under pressure with his shoulder charge.

This was a normal collision, and while Kenji was not the best defender in the world, he was still able to push the opponent into the side he wanted to be. Or... So that was what he thought.

Usami didn’t take a glance, not even shifting his weight. He just let himself get pushed to the flank for a second. However, the moment he felt like Kenji was close enough, he flicked the ball with his outer foot, getting the ball through Kenji’s legs.

"Oh! A fucking nutmeg!"

"Come on, Usami!"

However, he didn’t stop just like that. When Usami saw Ayase moving toward him, he changed the ball’s direction back to where he was going earlier. Just in a second, the boy showed a complicated move as if the ball was glued to his feet, and in the next moment, he left both Kenji and Ayase to the dust, continuing to run forward.

"OH! Yes, Usami! Keep going!"

"Shit! Someone, stop him!"

"Hiroyuki, take over! Okamura, move!"

At this point, chaos started to scramble upon the pitch, as Usami took over the ball. Sapporo Otani’s defense, which had just started to recover, was forced to move again, with the defensive line getting pushed back to the penalty box again while the midfield was trying to stop Usami from wreaking havoc in their area.

Of course, Usami was not alone in his escapade.

Running on the left field, he could see Denji tracing the sideline, ready to receive any through ball from him. Not just Denji, but Usami also noticed Hiroshi was standing in a good position to receive the ball, while Kuroki was trying to occupy the defenders to give more room on his side. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Unlike the chaotic side of Sapporo Otani, they all moved in a unit, silently supporting Usami to go alone.

’Yes, Usami! This is your time!’ Hiroshi couldn’t help but grin when he saw the focused look on his shy friend. ’Show ’em what you can do here!’

As Hiroyuki approached Usami, the boy didn’t hesitate, knowing full well that Hiroshi was open. He passed the ball, running straight at his friend immediately and shouted, "PASS IT BACK!" Which Hiroshi did so swiftly.

This time, the third midfielder was passed, and between his position and the goal, only Rin Mito and Yuma Igari were left behind.

"Shit! Yuma, I leave the number 9 to you!" Rin Mito gritted his teeth, deciding to confront the boy himself.

"Sure, I get this!" Yuma Igari also switched, going to guard Kuroki on the left side of the box.

In that split second during their switch, though, another crack appeared. Usami could see that it would take at least two seconds for Rin Mito to chase him if he went to the left, and Yuma Igari had already moved away from that spot to guard Kuroki on the opposite side of the pitch.

If he tried to force his way through that side, Usami was confident that he could get past Rin Mito’s defense, what with his superior pace. The only problem, though, was that Okamura had already recovered on that side, ready to give any help in defense. Not only that, butHiroyuki was also chasing him from behind, so the pressure was completely on his side right now.

’Can I do this?’ A doubt suddenly flashed on his face, the same self-doubt that always appeared whenever he was going to do something big. ’Am I good enough to do this?’

However, as if he could see his son’s state from way far on the stand, the boy’s father suddenly roared so loudly that his voice could be heard booming through the entire stadium. "GO FOR IT, SON! YOU CAN DO THIS!"

It happened so quickly, just a millisecond after the doubt flashed in the boy’s mind. However, the support from his father, even though the boy still hadn’t had any time to register it through his brain, was enough to give Usami the last push here.

’Screw it! I have already come this far, I cannot back down now!’

With that thought in mind, the boy sped up immediately, kicking the ball a little bit far before chasing it with his best speed. Usami basically went straight to Okamura’s territory, with this also being close to Rin Mito and the goalkeeper, as three of the Sapporo Otani defenders were ready to kill that attack instantly.

However, those three didn’t expect that Usami would burst into the scene in the last second, getting the ball first before any of them could touch it. This time, the boy didn’t control the ball anymore, just flicking it with a little chip with his left foot. However, it was still enough, as in the next second...

Thud!