[Barou Shoei!! Barou Shoei receives the pass from Shinichi! Ubers' other blade delivers a fatal blow to the world's number one!]
[And in this battle… the victors are… Italy Ubers! The new generation has triumphed!!!]
...
As the commentator shouted with passion, everyone on the field rushed toward Shinichi and Barou, piling onto them in a frenzied celebration.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! Are you serious?! You two maniacs actually brought down Noel Noa?!"
"Shinichi, what the hell was that new move?! You never told us you had something like that!"
"Barou—your market value's about to explode!"
...
But just as the celebration reached its peak, a sharp voice cut through the joy like a knife.
"No… no way! I don't accept this!"
Ness stormed over, face twisted with frustration, glaring at Shinichi as he shouted:
"You cheating bastard! What kind of victory is this? In the end, you gave up on the shot and had to pass! You planned the pass even before you shot! And you call yourself a striker?! No—you're just a puppet king overthrown by his own servant! A guy like you... how could someone like Kaiser be forced to play second fiddle to you?!"
"You bastard—looking for a fight?!"
Barou was the first to step up, eyes blazing.
Sure, he had seized the moment and scored—but he knew that everything had been created by Shinichi's offensive pressure.
That final pass wasn't about weakness. It was because he, Barou, and the others hadn't been threatening enough to keep Shinichi from being swarmed.
For Ness to use that as an excuse to insult Shinichi—just to prop himself up?
It disgusted Barou.
He was ready to charge—but then, Shinichi raised a hand and stopped him.
---
"Yeah, you're right," Shinichi said calmly.
"At that moment, I passed the ball because my individual ability wasn't enough. That wasn't my personal victory. Because in football, using your teammates' strengths is just as important. And creating space for others—that is part of Noa's skill too."
"Ha… right! So—" Ness grinned triumphantly, but before he could finish—
Shinichi's eyes turned cold as ice.
"But that doesn't mean I'll let some third-rate magician like you talk down to me."
"You're out. You're done. Know your place and get off the stage. Go where failures belong."
"As for me—"
"I'll keep getting stronger. Until I can claim that throne with no one doubting it."
As he said that, he stared straight into Noa's eyes.
Even after being toppled on a global stage, Noa didn't flinch. He simply nodded in acknowledgment… and walked off the field.
"I—" Ness tried to protest again, but Kaiser grabbed him by the hair and yanked him backward, slamming him to the ground.
Then Kaiser stepped forward, eyes filled with something strange as he looked at Shinichi.
"I don't get it… why?"
"Why would you allow that guy's ambition to go unchecked? Don't tell me you didn't notice it."
Even after the match ended, Kaiser stared at the others in disbelief.
It wasn't just Barou.
Sendou, Kunigami—they had all made aggressive runs, ready to steal the spotlight at any moment…
These guys weren't a loyal kingdom. They were a pack of rebels, just waiting to seize power.
Right now, they listened—because they were being dominated by a tyrant even scarier than themselves.
But if given the chance—they'd push Shinichi off that throne in a heartbeat.
"Why?" Kaiser demanded.
"When you've got a pack of hungry wolves behind you, waiting to rip you apart the second you slip—why tolerate them? Why not rip out their fangs and tame them into obedient dogs? You can do that, can't you?!"
Kaiser couldn't comprehend it.
In his world, a kingdom couldn't have threats lurking in the shadows.
Yet Shinichi fostered an entire front line of predators.
Even defenders like Aryu and Niko seemed ready to jump forward and score if the chance arose.
They couldn't now, because of tactics—but Kaiser was sure: if they got the opportunity, they'd take it without hesitation.
"If I get bitten," Shinichi replied indifferently,
"that just means I wasn't good enough. Unlike you, I don't need a bunch of puppets with no personality acting as my servants."
He then glanced at Ness, who stood behind Kaiser, too scared to speak up after being manhandled.
"And besides," Shinichi added,
"what's the fun in having everything go exactly according to plan?"
"You think that's interesting?"
"How can you have moments like that if everything's preordained?"
"Just like your little lapdog there—pull out his fangs, and what's left? A flashy magician turned into a third-rate trickster. Magic's supposed to surprise people. But when your act is just a predictable pass show… no one's impressed."
"Ambition, rebellion—I welcome all of it."
"Because in my kingdom, if you have the skill…"
"You'll earn a seat at the table."
As Shinichi's words faded into the air, the entire stadium fell into a heavy silence.
Kaiser stood still for a long while before finally raising his head to look—
really look—for the first time at the person he had never taken seriously until now.
"Heh… Shinichi, right? You're quite the unusual king."
"I admit it. I lost this match—completely and utterly."
"But don't think that just because you're ahead for now, you can rest easy."
Kaiser suddenly stepped forward, closing the distance between them and glaring straight into Shinichi's eyes.
"That shameful moment of mine—hold on to it for now. One day, I'll beat you on the field and make you delete those humiliating photos with your own hands."
Shinichi raised an eyebrow and chuckled, the corners of his mouth twitching into a grin.
"You're hurting my feelings. I thought my photography skills were pretty good."
Then, under Kaiser's serious gaze, Shinichi gave a small nod.
"Looks like part of my phone's memory will be permanently reserved for you, then."
"There's no way I'll—"
"I'll definitely beat you—!!"
"Count on it!"
They both shouted at the same time.
"Tch… Let's go, Ness."
After declaring his challenge, Kaiser let out a snort and turned away, his spirit visibly steadier than before.
"We'll settle this in the second stage."
"Ah—r-right! Wait for me, Kaiser!" Ness shouted, scrambling after him.
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