The ball dropped like a meteor.
Renji was already there. He had reached it first — but the others were right behind him.
Aikawa, his eyes blazing with hunger, came in from the left.
Mori, calm and predatory, closed in from behind.
Kaede Arata, ready to unleash his deadly long-range shot, was approaching fast from the right.
But Renji didn't care.
This was his ball.
As the ball fell, Renji's mind entered perfect clarity — his vision expanded, taking in every player's position, every possible move.
"I'm not letting anyone else take this."
He felt the air shift behind him — Mori was already making his move.
Renji twisted his body, using his Phantom Step — vanishing from Mori's line of attack.
But Aikawa was waiting for that.
"You're mine!" Aikawa lunged in with terrifying speed.
Renji responded without hesitation — activating his newly refined Specter Drive, his movements becoming even more fluid and unpredictable.
Aikawa's hand brushed against empty air.
"Tch—!"
But even with those three keys — it still wasn't enough.
Kaede Arata had lined up his shot.
Renji saw it — the moment Kaede was about to strike.
He couldn't let it happen.
Renji unleashed his Void Strike — his foot connecting with the ball a split second before Kaede's.
The impact sent the ball rocketing forward — a blurred bullet hurtling toward the goal.
But Takuma Ogawa — Team 2's goalkeeper — was already moving.
Ogawa dived, his body stretching impossibly far—
And with his fingertips, he deflected the ball.
The ball stayed in play.
But Renji wasn't done yet.
He charged forward, his eyes never leaving the ball.
He wouldn't stop — not until the ball was in the back of the net.
To be continued…