The next day the team woke up and had their breakfast before heading towards their training area to get some practice in. When they arrived they were greeted by the players of Orpheus who explained to them that they want to help them win against Little Gigant as a thank-you for helping them before. The Inazuma Japan team was taken aback by the gesture but thanked them nonetheless

They all then went into the monitoring room where they were soon joined by Endou and Fidio who came late because Endou was training early in the morning down at the beach. Haruna played the Little Gigant game against Orpheus while Brasi and Fidio explained to the team the skills of Little Gigant

"Little Gigant did a face turnabout in the second half. Their movements were without excess and their speed was terrifying. It felt like we were going against multiple teams at once!" Brasi explained

"No matter where we passed, they were able to steal it. No matter what defence we used, they broke through. Even Catenaccio Counter" Fidio said

"To win against them, you'll have to suppress that speed and power!" Brasi said

"We'll do everything we can to show you Little Gigant's playing style. Play against us like it's the finals today!" Fidio said

Endou then stood up from his chair and said "All right, guys! Let's do it!" Everyone agreed with Endou and got. Endou then walked up to Brasi and said "Brasi. You're the one who brought up this idea, right? Thanks"

Brasi was taken aback at Endou's kindness and told him "You don't need to thank me. It doesn't matter whether we're enemies or allies. You're the one who said we should help each other out because we're rivals, Endou"

Aphrodi turned to look at Naruto who stayed in his seat staring at the monitor that played the Little Gigant game. He then asked Naruto, "Is something the matter?"

Naruto then turned to Aphrodi and said "No. I was just thinking of the game we saw"

"What about it?" Aphrodi asked

"I don't know. While watching the game it was easy to see that Little Gigant made no movements that were too much or too little. They moved only when they needed to. Not only that but while we were playing under Daisuke he made me realise that he wants his players to feel comfortable playing in any position needed of them which means that every player is able to defend like a defender, dribble like a midfielder and score like a striker. Playing with Orpheus may help us get an understanding of how they play but I feel like the finals will be a whole new experience" Naruto explained

Aphrodi looked at Naruto for a moment and said "I understand why you think like that. Honestly, it also has me feeling a bit worried but at the same time, I feel excited at the idea of playing against them. Daisuke and Little Gigant are no doubt the most likely to be the most complete team in the tournament but just like before we will be able to overcome this obstacle"

Naruto smiled and nodded and said "You're right about that. Now let's get going, I still have a move I want to complete. This practice game might be what I need to complete it"

They soon left with everyone towards the training ground. Coach Kudou was waiting there for them as when he arrived there this morning the other Orpheus members explained to him what they planned on doing. He accepted their request and their stipulations for the game

"Kidou, you're on the bench" Coach Kudou said

"Understood, sir" Kidou told coach Kudou

"I'll let Fudou make the calls for the plays. Got it?" Coach Kudou asked

"So that's the word. Be sure to keep a firm watch from the bench, Kidou" Fudou said which made Kidou smirk

Fidio then came over and told the Inazuma Japan players that the match would be fifteen minutes with half-time which confused them at first but accepted it nonetheless.

Brasi then called out to Endou and told him "Little Gigant's offence shouldn't be underestimated! I wasn't a match for them, but you should be able to stop them!"

Endou got fired up after hearing the words Brasi told him as he and the others went onto the field

Goalkeeper - Endou

Defenders - Tobikata, Kabeyama, Naruto and Tsunami

Midfielders - Kazemaru, Sakuma, Fudou and Hiroto

Forwards - Someoka and Gouenji

Orpheus started with the kick-off but what shocked the Inazuma Japan players besides Naruto and Aphrodi was that every member besides Brasi was forward ready to charge into Inazuma Japan's half

"This is the power of Little Gigant" Fidio said

"Everyone's a forward?" Someoka said/asked, confused at their actions

"What're they trying to do?" Kazemaru said

Naruto clapped his hands getting his teammates' attention before saying "Everyone calm down. This formation is to make us believe there are more players on the pitch than there actually are. Just take deep breaths and calm down or else you might make a mistake"

Everyone nodded and did as Naruto said before getting ready for the game. Orpheus then kicked off and as expected charged down the field. Hiroto and Kazemaru went to close Fidio down

"No, don't! If you do that it makes it easy for them to get past you" Naruto yelled out but it was already too late as Fidio made a quick pass to his right. Gouenji then tried to get the ball but the Orpheus player then passed it back to his teammate

Orpheus continued to make quick passes and made it towards the Inazuma Japan goal, Fidio then received the ball and was about to use Odin's Sword but wasn't able to as Naruto had managed to kick the ball out of play for an Orpheus throw-in

"Everyone needs to stop!" Naruto said to his teammates. Everyone looked at him as he talked, "We cannot continue to defend like we normally do. We need to be smart about what we do. Aggressive defending may have helped us in the past but with what we are dealing with we cannot afford to be. Everyone must hold their position and jockey and only lunge into a tackle when needed"

Everyone nodded and got ready to defend for the throw-in. Orpheus took the throw quickly and continued with their quick passes, the Inazuma Japan players continued to observe the passes and followed the specific player they were following. Their conservative defending helped them as Tobikata was able to take the ball from Raphael with Shinkuuma V2 before kicking the ball down the field per Naruto's request

Naruto knew that Tobikata would get the ball and just before he made the challenge Naruto sprinted forward past the Orpheus line. Naruto was now one on one with an Orpheus player who stayed further back than his teammates but it didn't stop Naruto as he did a step over to the left, facking the player out as Naruto knocked the ball forwards to the right

Naruto now saw Brasi getting ready for the shot but to his surprise, Naruto continued running at him. Brasi came off his line and tried to collect the ball but Naruto did a rainbow flick over Brasi's head before going around him and volleying the ball in

Naruto looked at Brasi and asked him "Didn't expect that?"

Brasi laughed and said "Well done my friend. You were able to understand the formation and how to beat it easily"

Naruto then jogged back into position while his teammates congratulated him on the goal. Fidio then looked at his teammates who nodded. Fidio then resumed the game by giving the ball to Raphael who kicked the ball towards Endou

Endou caught the ball and looked at the Orpheus players strangely as he didn't know why they did that but he became shocked at what he saw. Every single member of Orpheus was standing in their own half like a defensive wall

"You may have got an understanding of how to defend against Little Gigant but don't get ahead of yourselves, their attacks are much stronger. Now then let us show you how they defend" Fidio said

Naruto continued to stare at the opposition and wondered what they planned on doing. Endou then kicked the ball to Fudou who brought the ball into the opposition's half before passing it to Kazemaru after getting closed down by two Orpheus players. However, as soon as Kazemaru received the ball he was surrounded by four Orpheus players who easily took possession of the ball

The ball was then kicked out of play by a tackle from Hiroto

"I see now" Naruto said before gathering everyone

"What do you see?" Kabeyama asked

"Just like their offence, they defend by using everyone at once. It does work when a player receives the ball as it puts them on the spot and forces their brain to work overtime which normally leads to a mistake but it also comes with some risks" Naruto explained

"What risks?" Gouenji asked

"It uses too much stamina. This is the reason why the match is fifteen minutes long. The moment they lose the ball, everyone charges in without any doubt in their mind to get the ball. Another issue is that if someone was able to make a quick pass or have enough time to assess their options then it leaves gaps in the defence as it only takes one good pass for the forwards to get in behind. When I trained with Tores, he explained that every defence has its ups and downs but with this type of high risk defending, if it is done correctly then it would allow a deadly counter-attack" Naruto said

"So how do we beat it?" Kazemaru asked

"Simple, you keep control and only pass between the opposition. Think of it as a more riskier and aggressive version of the Box Lock Defence, force them to make the errors and take control of the gaps between them" Naruto explained

The team nodded and got ready for the throw-in, Fudou managed to intercept the throw and was immediately closed down. Fudou held onto the ball, using his body to shield and waited for an opportunity to pass the ball

"Back pass!" Naruto said

Fudou did so and back-heeled the ball to Tobikata who used Hawks Pass and switched the play towards Sakuma who ran down the wing getting past one Orpheus player before crossing the ball to Someoka who headed the ball. Brasi had stretched his arms out and was able to catch the ball

"It seems like you have an understanding of how to deal with these types of formations" Brasi said

Naruto walked forward and said "We faced something similar but on a smaller scale doing the preliminaries, so we understand what is needed but you guys for sure are hard to beat"

The game then continued with Inazuma Japan adapting to the new style that Orpheus is playing. The ball then soon found its way to Fudou who used Odin Sword Remastered

Endou used Fujin Raijin and was able to make them more solid than before but they still weren't able to stop the shot

The half-time whistle blew. While walking to the sidelines Naruto saw that Endou was looking down at his hand, Naruto then walked over to him and slapped him on the back and said "Keep your head up Endou. You'll be able to complete the move, just believe in yourself and don't waver"

Endou stared at Naruto before smiling and nodding, "You're right" Endou then punch his right palm with his left hand, "I'll complete the move, just watch me"

Naruto smirked and said "Then I'll wait to see it, Endou"

"You have spotted the weaknesses of their formations and have been able to use your strengths to get chances. So for the next half Kidou, Fubuki, Aphrodi, Kogure, you will be sent on" Coach Kudou said

The team nodded

The second half

Goalkeeper - Endou

Defenders - Tobikata, Naruto, Fubuki and Kogure

Midfielders - Sakuma, Kidou, Kazemaru, Hiroto

Forwards - Someoka and Gouenji

The second half was just like the first half with both teams fighting for dominance. Orpheus would attack with Inazuma Japan tracking the ball and lunging in when necessary. Inazuma Japan would then attack by making quick passes between the opposition's lines or by holding onto the ball and forcing a gap to dribble past the opposition

No shots were being made as both teams were able to defend the ball from getting close to their penalty area. The ball was now out for an Inazuma Japan throw, Naruto decided to call everyone over

"We need to score a goal here" Naruto said

"I agree. If we want a chance at beating Little Gigant we need to be able to score" Kidou said

"It's difficult to do as Orpheus' defence is none stop, leaving next to no chances and when we have a chance, Brasi is there to stop the shot" Gouenji said

"Then let's remove the defenders from the equation" Naruto said

"How do we do that?" Kazemaru asked

"If we have Gouenji and the others use Last Resort then we can force Orpheus into throwing everything they have at the shot which will allow one of us to get behind them and score a goal" Naruto said

"But who should do it?" Fubuki asked

"Both you and Kazemaru" Naruto said. Everyone nodded and went along with Naruto's plan

Kidou then took the throw and gave it to Naruto who was soon surrounded but that didn't stop him as he managed to pass the ball towards Gouenji who was waiting alongside Hiroto, Someoka and Aphrodi. The four of them then used Last Resort as per Naruto's plan

The Orpheus players then tried to stop the move by throwing themselves at it which slowed the shot down which allowed Fubuki to collect the ball and use The Hurricane with Kazemaru. Brasi tried to stop the shot with Colosio Guard Remastered but wasn't able to

The Inazuma Japan team celebrated and even the Orpheus players joined and congratulated Inazuma Japan for scoring but made sure to remind them that just because they scored against them doesn't mean they could do the same against Little Gigant as they were a tougher opponent

Orpheus then went to restart the game, and just like before the Inazuma Japan defence held its own but Fidio proved too much for them to handle as he was able to get past the defenders, he even got past Naruto, Kogure and Fubuki at once, leaving only him and Endou

"Here it comes!" Fidio yelled

Endou lowered himself and prepared to face the incoming shot. Fidio then used, True Odin Sword, the shot had immense power behind it. It was the strongest shot they'd seen from Orpheus

As the ball travelled Naruto called out to Endou, "You can do this Endou! Show us the power of your technique"

Endou smiled and performed Fujin, Raijin with all of his willpower and finally, he was able to make them solid. With the help of the two majins, Endou was able to stop the shot cold

A moment of silence passed through everyone before Endou jumped up into the air screaming that he did it. Everyone from Inazuma Japan saw this and couldn't help but smile at this as they felt their chances of winning against Little Gigant go up significantly

The final whistle blew, and both teams then gathered around the centre circle where the Orpheus players told the Inazuma Japan players that they would be cheering them on in the finals. They were about to leave but Naruto stopped them

"Why don't you guys stay for a bit?" Naruto asked, making everyone look at him, "The day is still young and we need all the training we can get if we wish to defeat Little Gigant. If you guys have the time we could use some help with some improvements" Naruto then looked over to the sidelines to coach Kudou and asked, "Is that okay with you coach?"

Everyone looked towards coach Kudou who nodded and said "It's fine by me. As long as you are able to push yourselves to the next level, I have no issues"

The Inazuma Japan players turned and looked at the Orpheus players. Endou walked forward with his hand out and asked Fidio, "So will you guys stay?"

Fidio looked at his teammates who were all smiling before looking back at the Inazuma Japan players and said "Yes. We will stay and help you guys out"

The Japanese players smiled and thanked them for the help before splitting into smaller groups and working on different things, such as passing, shooting, dribbling and goalkeeping

Naruto found himself sitting on the bench looking over his notes on the Rasenshuriken, trying to figure out what was missing. Soon enough he heard a voice behind him, "I haven't seen you look like that in some time, Naruto"

Naruto and the others there turned and saw Nakata walking towards them. "It's good to see you again Nakata. What have you been doing?" Naruto said

Nakata smiled and looked at Naruto's notes and said "I've been showing Rushe around as she is becoming a football fanatic"

Naruto laughed before asking "Any thoughts?"

"There is too much emphasis on the spin of the ball. With the addition of two players helping in case the ball in wind, the power surrounding the ball will be unstable as the spin of the ball and the wind are not in complete sync. If you were to make the force of both synchronise then it should in theory work" Nakata said

Naruto looked over the notes again and again and was able to see that Nakata was correct as when he tried to do it, he was always spinning the ball making the wind that he, Gouenji and Kidou generated unable to fully sync. Naruto smiled at Nakata and said "Thank you Nakata for your help"

"No problem. A teacher should always be there for their student" Nakata said in a smug tone

Naruto then stuck his tongue out at him telling him he sucks which made the Nakata laugh with Naruto joining in before the two of them went onto the field and went head to head against one another just like they had done before

They continued to train throughout the day and were able to increase their team plays as well as their decision-making. They then bid the Orpheus players goodbye before they ate and went to their monitoring room as they received a video call from those from Raimon

The players that came from Raimon were surprised to see everyone and saw that there were some extra people that they weren't familiar with. Handa explained that since the Asian preliminaries that more and more people from first years to third years have been applying to join the football club

This made the players from Raimon smile as they remembered that when they first started they barely had enough players to make a team. They were then shown the old Raimon football club room which was now rebuilt as the chairman wanted it to be a monument to their football club. Kurimatsu then told them that it was rebuilt with some new materials but some of the old ones are still there

The players from Raimon then stood up from their chairs before bowing and thanking the chairman for what he did for them. Handa told them that it still wasn't finished which shocked them and wondered why. Kageno then told them that it was because they took the door plate which they apologise for as they took it as a lucky charm and promised to put it back on their return

The Raimon students then started cheering for the Inazuma Japan players which made them smile before telling them that they will indeed be number one in the world. The chairman then got the Raimon students to cheer again with the Inazuma Japan players joining in the end

Before bed, some of the players went back out to practise as they were feeling the desire to become stronger. Naruto and Gouenji soon went to the supply room where Endou was sitting on a box staring at the door plate that they took with them

The trio got to talking about their journey from the beginning. Endou told Naruto and Gouenji that when he first got into football because as a child he accidentally fell into his shed while he was putting something away and discovered a football and his granddad's notebook

Endou then explained that his mother was against the idea as she thought that it was because of football that Daisuke died. He then said it was because of his dad that his mother allowed him to play.

"I then visited the park one day just kicking the ball around when Naruto first approached me and asked if I wanted to play with him" Endou said

Naruto remembered that day well as he never had anyone to play with and when he saw Endou just dribbling the ball he couldn't help but feel excited. "Yeah. It was quite special as you were the only one that wanted to play with me. I remember explaining to my dad about my new friend and he was as excited, if not more excited than me about the fact I made a friend to play football with. Soon we became best friends as we were always together playing football. We practically lived together as we spent so much time at one another's houses just playing or watching football" Naruto said with a wide smile on his face. Endou also had a wide smile on his face as he remembered those days

Endou then explained that once he joined Raimon, he found out they didn't have a football club and together with the help of Kino, started up the club. He told them that the clubroom was just a room where the school used to put their junk. Once they finished cleaning Kino made a poster to announce that the football club was back

Someoka and Handa were the first to join with Kabeyama and the other first years joining the following year, it was then that their journey fully started

"Everyone gradually joined you because you played football. It's the same for me. If it wasn't for you, I'd have never kicked the ball again" Gouenji said

"Same here. After moving away my feelings and self-worth cracked and I truly lost myself but with the help from Tores and Nakata, I was able to pick myself up. When I arrived back in Japan I thought that I would have to conserve my strength as I had power that outmatched you but time and time again I see you and the others grow. Because of your overwhelming passion for the game which is able to draw people towards you. And because of that, I was able to truly love football like I did when we were kids" Naruto said

Endou smiled at the two and was glad that he was able to play with them and everyone he met on the way

"It was good to train with Orpheus today" Gouenji said

Endou nodded and said "Yes it was. Because of Fidio, I was able to tell what the notebook was trying to tell me. Grandpa thought up a whole lot of hissatsu techniques but I've grown to understand that what's vital about making those techniques is the heart"

"The strength of the heart he mentioned, right?" Gouenji asked

"Yeah. That's why I'll enjoy the finals to its full extent. Because I love football. I'm going to throw everything I've learned up to this point at Grandpa" Endou said

"Let's make the finals a good game" Gouenji said. Naruto nodded and agreed with Gouenji before the three of them went out and joined the others in their late night practise

The next day they lined up in front of coach Kudou who told them, "Tomorrow is the FFI's final match. You'll be using today to put the finishing touches on all that you've acquired. Be sure to make your last adjustments accordingly, so we can face tomorrow with flawless preparations"

The players nodded and started their training, putting every bit of their heart and soul into it. Fubuki then performed a shot that was the most powerful shot he ever produced. Everyone ran towards him and congratulated him on the shot

"Captain. I've taken the heart, 7" Fubuki said which confused his teammates, "The word 'perfect' ruled me, and I couldn't forgive myself for not being able to achieve perfection. Simply thinking that I'm my own person never occurred to me. But thanks to all of you, I realised that beyond any scope of doubt that both my weakness and strengths make me who I am. That notebook is meant to urge us to take another look at ourselves"

"Another look at ourselves…" Kidou said

"Once we know who we are, we can bring out the power sleeping deep inside our hearts. To me, that was the heart, 7. Forgiving strength" Fubuki said

"Then, if I look inside myself, will I get stronger too?" Kabeyama asked

Fubuki nodded before saying "Yes you will" Fubuki then turned and looked at Kidou and Hiroto and asked "Kidou, Hiroto. Will you lend me a hand?"

"It was because I got to know Endou that I reevaluated my feelings for football and was able to change" Kidou said

"Yeah, me too" Hiroto said

"That similarity we share is why we'll be able to produce an even bigger power when working together. Let's try a new technique!" Fubuki said

Endou jumped onto Fubuki's back and said "That's great!"

Kidou and Hiroto nodded in agreement and agreed to try a new technique. Naruto had told Kidou that he wanted to get his timing correct first before they tried to use the Rasenshuriken so there wasn't an issue there. They all then went back to practice, finalising all they had

During the night Naruto, Gouenji and Kidou continued to practise the Rasenshuriken as Naruto had updated his notes about the shot. But again and again, they continued to struggle

"It's getting quite late, we should call it a day" Kidou said

Gouenji and Naruto both looked and saw that it was in fact quite late. "Uhhh. You're right. I just wanted to make the shot work so much. It seems like it was impossible to turn the Rasengan into a shot" Naruto said

Gouenji placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and said "No. We can do it. Maybe not now but I know we will be able to do it. I can feel it, we have it down but we are still missing one component"

Kidou nodded and added his own thoughts on the matter, "It's true everything is there, all that is missing is one factor. I don't know what it is but what I do know is that we might be able to find that factor out in our game tomorrow"

Naruto looked at Kidou and Gouenji and nodded before saying "You guys are right. Today, tomorrow, next week or next year. Whenever it may be, we will find out what we are missing and complete it" Kidou and Gouenji agreed

The trio then left for their rooms and went to sleep


Hope you guys enjoyed the story and have a good day