"The weapons you carry vary from person to person. It then follows that the mthods to hone said weapons differ with each and every one of you.", Ego spoke and folded his hands together. "Simply following the same steps Messi took will result in your weapon wasted. Your own unique weapon, the core of your very foundation will evolve into an even greater asset only with its strength multiplied in this matter. You must seek your own playstyle and make it exeptional. Unpolished gems are nothing but dirt until their talents have been honed to crystal clarity."
The video of the Blue Lock boss ended with that. An announcement picture for the next match appeared instead. Team W vs team Z. Beneath it, a countdown for 24 hours was set.
"Our game is less than a day...?", Iemon muttered.
"A countdown for our next match, huh?", Naruhaya stared at the monitor.
"Alright, that's it, for today.", Kuon shouted. "Let's all got to rest early to be ready for tomorrow."
The other guys followed him out of the training field. The only one left was Yoichi. He looked down to his shoulder.
'Rank 265, huh?', he thought. 'Why am I still at the bottom? Shit.'
The teen walked to the side line, where he placed his water bottle and took a sip out of it.
'I don't know, but somehow... this free playstyle from Hinata-San is still not my own playstyle. Something inside of me sets limits for it and I cannot disobey them because they feel like the laws of physics.'
"Do you know how the human learned to fly?", Shoyo asked his disciple at the very end of their small private training camp.
"They invented the airplane. The Wright brothers. Easy.", Yoichi answered that question.
"Yep. But how did they invent the airplane in the early years of the 20th century?", the 'sensei' furthered out his question. Yoichi staid silent and stared into the emptiness.
"What's the meaning behind that question?", Yoichi asked after a while. He didn't really get what human history had to do with sports like football or volleyball. Apart from the fact that those sports were invented by humen, but that's not the point, since no one is talking about the way some sport like basketball or badminton were invented while they're watching a game. It's just not the way to do it. At least not if you want to bore someone to death.
"What does human history have to do with sports?", Yoichi added.
"Now, now. A lot. The air plane was a invention combined through two inventions.", Hinata explained. "The Otto-egine and the glider. Because of the engine, thrust and enegy can now be added to the plane while it is in the air making the long run up to catapult a glider into the air meaningless. That's the point where human history connect with sports."
"What does it mean?", Yoichi asked inpatiently.
"Quite easy. Figure it out."
"What does it mean?", Yoichi asked again without even thinking about it for a second.
"Sometimes you don't need to search for something that doesn't exist to create something new. You can combine two or three already existing things and make that combination your own new thing.", Hinata said. "Consider it as a path to victory."
Yoichi stood up and rethought the thing his coach told him, "You can combine two or three already existing things and make that combination your own new thing."
'A combination of powers, huh?', he thought as he started to practise one of those dribbles he got from beach football and then swiftly changing to his own stop and go dribbling style. A turn around and then a shot to the goal out of the dribble. Deadly accuarcy under any conditions. Yoichi could go with that. Just right now after his fifth goal he started to relate to the decisions of his brother coming home very late at night.
'One more.', Yoichi thought and stroke the ball again. Just in that moment, Iemon ran to the goal line and jumped for it. The goalkeeper got his fingers on it and pushed it out of bounds.
"FUCK!!", the raven haired shouted.
"Can't really skip on you.", Kunigami now spoke behind him as he too shot a ball into the direction of Iemon which was actually cleared away by Kuon.
"That's not fair, I'll join too!", Bachira now cheered and started to dribble into the direction of the goal. Soon everyone but Chigiri was on the field training.
"GET READY TO LOSE, TEAM W!!!", Igarashi screamed.
The next day, a team meeting was held in the monitor room. Everyone was pumped up.
"Alright guys, I've been analysing their game play.", Iemon spoke and put on a photo of two players of team W. "And what I've noticed are the two key players of our next opponent. The Wanima twins."
"Man~ that guy sure looks grumpy.", Bachira commented and pointed to the one with the number 10 on his jersey.
"Yep...", Yoichi agreed tiredly.
"That grumpy guy is Junichi Wanima.", Iemon said. "He is the older one. The younger one's name is called Keisuke. Together they form a great attack combination duo. When they faced team X which is lead by Barou Shouhei, they managed to score four points. Their weapons are definitely their closeness and the timing of their movements, which are going to be very hard to defend."
"Well... it's their weapon.", Yoichi spoke. "Isn't the problem gonna solve itself once we seperated them?"
"That's right.", Iemon replied. "We've got to sperate them. That's the key to defeat team W."
"Wait, who put you in charge, Iemon? Isn't that normally Kuon's job?", Raichi asked a bit confused.
"Well he still hasn't come back from the bath, so I took the matters into my own hands.", the goalkeeper explained. "Can't I be in charge?"
Right before chaos broke out, the missing male opened the door.
"Sorry for being late.", Kuon excused himself. "I kinda took a bit too long to think of a name for the strategy."
"No Prob.", Yoichi said. "We were just going over some footages anyway."
"Anyway. This time, thanks to the experience we've had last game, we are just going to play in three formations.", Kuon began and rushed to the water dispenser to get himself something to drink. "And the name of this strategy is: 'Operation 3x3 Allstars'!"
Some people started to laugh at that name. If Yoichi wasn't tired and sleepy, he figured that he would have too.
"Anyway. What are you gonna do, Chigiri.", Yoichi asked the pink haired sitting in the corner of the room. "Are you gonna be on defense?"
"If you have time to think about others, then think more of how to score more goals.", Chigiri snapped back.
"Alright, we've studied our opponent and we have our plan.", Kuon announced. "Let's fricking win this!!!"
"Come on, Natsu!!!!", Hinata said from his seat watching his sister's game.
"Don't scream, you're gonna blow your cover.", Tsukishima said.
"But her receives are bad right now!", the tangerine argued back.
"Yours weren't better.", Kageyama reminded him not looking up from his phone. "In fact, they were even worse."
"Oh shush.", Shoyo said. "And you shouldn't always look at your phone. You came here to watch the game!"
"I came here because you dragged me here.", the raven haired corrected him.
"Oh for god's sake, you were in Japan anyway.", Hinata argued back. "Besides it's a great opportunity to spot some young talents, you know."
"Then let me go watch the boy's game.", the setter said dissatisfied. Just then the ball that was served, has been received by Natsu successfully and brought up to their setter.
"Back row!!", she shouted and ran up. The player with the number seven on her shirt put it up for her just inches away from the backrow line. Natsu lunged herself up and slammed it into the court of the opposing team.
"BOOYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA", her brother shouted from his seat. Hinata immediately hugged his girlfriend and jumped up and down.
"Oi, calm down.", Tsukishima said. "You're gonna embarrass all of us."
"Seriously. Sometimes you make me really doubtful about the actual age of yours.", Kageyama added.
"Oh come on.", Hinata whined.
"He's true though...", Yachi said a bit dizzy.
"See, even, your girlfriend agrees with us.", Kageyama said and continued scrolling through his phone.
"Yachi...", Hinata faked a tear. Tobio smirked after this. Suddenly he spotted a quite interesting add.
"Hoho.", he grinned at his phone. "What do we have here?"
"Can you please stop making your creepy grins? You are scaring away the little kids!!"
"Are you trying to lay one?"
Match day. Yoichi was very excited. Finally something he could use to test out his new skills. Or as Ego would call it: His new arsenal. He stared at Chigiri from the corner of his eyes.
'Today was the day.', Yoichi thought and walked through the tunnel. Their opponent were already stood in formation. The raven haired quickly went to his position. This time he was playing as defensive midfielder. The starting whistle sound came out of the speakers. Kick off. The ball was immediately passed from one Wanima sibling to the other. A one-two-pass combination attack went into the direction of team Z's goal.
"Let's go, big bro!", Keisuke shouted as he dribbled to the box. "When do you want me to pass? And what kind? Huh?! Come on!"
His elder twin brother just seemed to nod at him.
"Got it. Okay. As you wish.", Keisuke answered. "Coming right up!"
As they reached up to Igarashi, the younger twin passed, "You want me to pass it like this. That's what my big bro said."
Juchiro trapped it and passed it back through the leg of the balded one to his brother.
"And then our one-two-combo!!", Keisuke monologued. "That's what my bro said."
Yoichi observed the situation and took some steps back, "They are coming, Chigiri!"
"Don't tell me he's that Chigiri, the 'genius' with the knee of glass.", Keisuke mocked. "Hey big bro, he's still playing football, whaddya think? He couldn't have forgotten about our days of glory back then, right?"
The elder twin suddenly broke out in a laughter that looked fifty million times creepier than the grin Yoichi's elder brother tries to make in order of the team spirit.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right. Let's remind our old pal from the school club that...", Keisuke talked. "Your football career is already oveeer. That's what my big bro said."
With that the both of them passed the pink haired mail.
"Hey now, you sure you wanna run full-speed with that leg of yours? It might snap again, you know?", the younger twin continued to trash talk after he has passed the ball to his elder brother. Just as Juchiro was about to trap the ball, Yoichi slid tackled it resulting in the team W striker tripping over him.
"You guys are lame.", Yoichi groaned in annoyance. "Especially you. What's with that 'That's what my big bro said.' ?"
After declaring that, the black haired male started to dribble into midfield. He couldn't really make out what Keisuke was shouting behind him because he has already left them in the dust and went through the middle. One player after another rushed at him but all failed to stop him. The 3 dimensioal coordinate system appeared inside his eye. Kuon ran into the middle of the field and was spotted by Yoichi.
"Got you.", he whispered and shot a high arked cross over the box to the position Kuon would jump up. It was perfect. Kuon jumped up and performed a beautiful header into the goal. 1-0 for team Z. The other team mates immediately jumped Kuon, who was celebrating in the top left corner. The only ones not in the crowd were Yoichi and Chigiri. The raven haired walked back to his starting position and locked eyes with the defender.
"I don't really know, what it was like for you to go through an injury like that.", Yoichi spoke. "But you are a fucking striker. Now get your shit together and go for it! I don't have time to deal with cowards who are just fucking around on the pitch."