"Remind me to thank Tatsuya for his invite.", Endou said.
"Watching Teikoku's match will help us in planning and training.", Gouenji nodded in agreement.
Endou, Gouenji, and Shinichi were wearing their Raimon training trackers (the other players couldn't attend) while Natsumi, Aki, Haruna, Sonoko, and Ran wore their Raimon uniforms. They were sitting at the front row, watching Teikoku's match. Behind them were the rest of the Kudou Family with Mary (who wore a fedora and a pair of glasses).
Kageyama was nowhere to be seen downstairs, but Masumi and Fuyuka were present on the bench, as the physical and tactics managers of the team.
"This match will be interesting since it's against Ekoda.", Sharon said, staring at a certain point in the Ekoda crowds, in the front seat, where Kuroba Kaito and his mother were, but they were ignoring their presence.
Endou heard her and looked behind him, but he noticed Michiya first and his eyes widened in admiration as he said, "Kudou-san, I'm such a big fan!".
"And I'm starting to become your fan too from what Shinichi has told me about you.", Michiya chuckled before he noticed the teams' both ready at the field, "I tell you what, we can have lunch after this match in a restaurant, and talk. What do you think?".
"Sounds great!", Endou exclaimed before he looked at the match.
The referee whistled, starting the kickoff with the forwards of Ekoda, and the number 10 player started sprinting forward and-
"Killer Slide!", Tatsuya performed his tackle Hissatsu, taking the ball and knocking the player out of his way as he charged ahead in the field.
He glanced at the crowds where Kaito and Chikage were sitting and thought, 'I'm going to destroy your school's team and make them wish they never played Soccer...'.
"Kudou!", Sakuma called as he ran parallel to Tatsuya on the field.
Tatsuya then passed the ball to Sakuma, and the latter passed it back, before the ball started going back and forth between them with a purple trail as they chorused, "Boost Duo!".
The one-two pass Hissatsu helped both boys pass the midfielders and defenders easily before Sakuma passed the ball last time to Tatsuya.
Tatsuya kicked the ball high, whistled, summoning the four penguins, before he jumped high with golden wings forming from his back as the penguins flew to attach to the ball, and kicked it, causing the penguins' color change to gold as he cried, "Apollo Penguin!".
And the Ekoda Goalkeeper could do nothing as the ball slammed into his gut and entered the goal with him.
The Teikoku crowd cheered loudly but Tatsuya wasn't satisfied.
"You don't seem happy.", Kidou noted as he and Sakuma met up with Tatsuya.
"I want to destroy Ekoda. One goal isn't enough.", Tatsuya nearly growled, "Kuroba is here... I want to destroy his school's team... I want to show him what I, what my team, what Kudou Michiya's team could do.".
"Revenge isn't the answer, don't let it consume you.", Kidou advised.
"I'm not doing anything, I'm just trying to win.", Tatsuya said stubbornly before he walked past his friends. Kidou and Sakuma shared a look before they walked back to their positions.
The kickoff started again with the ball with Ekoda. The forwards passed the ball to the midfielders then to the defenders then to the Goalkeeper, who kicked it far away, reaching Teikoku's defense where the two Ekoda forwards were waiting.
"Twin Shot!", They chorused as they both kicked the ball together, sending it flying with white energy towards Genda.
Genda jumped and slammed his fist into the ground and used his Hissatsu, "Power Shield!".
The ball ricocheted off the shield into the sky just as both forwards jumped again and cried while kicking the ball together overhead, "Twin Overhead!".
"Basic stupid Hissatsu.", Genda snorted before he placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled, and five red penguins were summoned from the ground and bit Genda's right arm.
"Penguin The Hand!", He cried as he shot his arm forward, the ball colliding into his hand, and he caught it easily.
"That's a new one.", Endou noted.
"Yeah, Genda never had a Hissatsu other than Power Shield. Looks like Teikoku didn't show us all they have.", Shinichi said.
"This match, it looks personal for Tatsuya, he did not seem happy about his goal.", Gouenji pointed out making Shinichi raise an eyebrow and wonder about his words.
Genda then kicked the ball towards Kidou, who started charging forward with Sakuma and Tatsuya before he kicked the ball high from the midfield, and they jumped high to perform their Hissatsu, "Death Zone!".
And Teikoku scored the second goal easily, slamming the ball in the goalkeeper's face while doing so.
"Your son is talented, but he is cold and cruel.", Mary pointed out to Sharon.
"Because of Kageyama, and because this is Ekoda... It's a long story and-".
"Kuroba Kaito is in Ekoda, I know.", Mary said before she yawned as Sharon looked at her, "I did my research on your husband... Still feels weird talking to you peacefully and saying you have a husband.".
"Get used to it, Agent Sera.", Sharon rolled her eyes.
The kickoff started again with the ball with Ekoda, but the forward did not get the chance to do anything as Kidou stole the ball from him easily, sprinting forward with Tatsuya and Sakuma.
Kidou stopped just as he whistled, five penguins rising from the ground. He kicked the ball, covering it with yellow energy and the penguins moving around it in spiral as he cried, "Koutei Penguin (Emperor Penguin)...".
Sakuma and Tatsuya volleyed the ball as they cried, "Nigo! (Number 2)", the ball exploding as it charged forward towards the goal.
And it entered the goal net easily, scoring another goal for Teikoku.
When the kickoff started this time, the Teikoku players did not just steal the ball, but whenever they would see a player from Ekoda, they would kick the ball right in their gut, and Tatsuya would kick it with all of his might, his anger towards Kuroba pushing him to do so.
His anger reached a dangerous level, and he almost kicked the ball right in the face of a defender, until the defender fell on his back while trying to move away, and Tatsuya then noticed the look of fear on his face.
And he hated himself.
At first, he would tell himself he was doing this for the greater good, for soccer, for his father, for his friends, in order to take down Kageyama Reiji, but he knew that all what he did today was out of anger and hate to the Kuroba Family.
Tatsuya performed a back heel pass to Kidou and remained standing in his place, and the latter understood that he did not want to proceed now, so he ran forward with Sakuma.
Kidou backflipped as he kicked the ball upwards and Sakuma jumped, head butting the ball back down as Kidou sprinted forward and kicked the ball.
"Twin Boost!", Both chorused as the ball, now surrounded by yellow energy with purple outline, charged towards the goal.
And entered the net yet again.
Tatsuya looked at the defender before he said, "Get stronger. With Kageyama around, you need to do so.".
He did not wait for the boy to reply and walked away, leaving him with his own thoughts.
The referee whistled the end of the first half and after the 15 minutes break, in which the Teikoku players drank some water and chatted a bit, the second half started.
"Tatsuya-kun had not lost his soccer abilities, he is actually getting stronger.", Sonoko noted.
"He never stops training.", Ran pointed out.
"Tatsu-nii! You're the best!", Asami cried loudly. Her cries reached the ears of Tatsuya, who looked at the crowd and located her and his family, and the Raimon players and managers.
Sakuma, Kidou, and Genda did the same.
Sakuma raised an eyebrow at the number of managers now Raimon had, Genda smirked challengingly and raised his fist at Endou, who stood up and raised it back, accepting the challenge. Tatsuya waved at his family before he locked eyes with Gouenji, and both stared at each other with fierce challenge.
But Kidou, on the other hand, was in disbelief once his eyes met Haruna's sad ones, before he looked away, unaware that his best friends alongside the Raimon players and managers noticed the interaction.
"Something is going on between Haruna and Kidou.", Endou whispered to Shinichi.
"Yeah, and it seems something big.", Shinichi nodded.
Gouenji crossed his arms as he frowned at the scene, recognizing the look Haruna had on her face for Kidou, for he had seen it before.
The look of a sister worried about her big brother.
"Kidou. Let's send a message to Raimon.", Tatsuya said, snapping Kidou out of his thoughts.
Kidou said nothing but nodded.
The kickoff started again with the ball with Teikoku. Sakuma passed to Tatsuya who sprinted forward before he passed the ball with his heel back to Kidou.
Kidou flipped in the air with the ball, and once he landed, two illusions of the ball were created around him as he cried, "Illusion Ball!".
The midfielder across him was confused so Kidou easily passed him, the illusion balls returning back to the original ball.
Kidou then passed the ball to Tatsuya who kicked it high in the air. Tatsuya and Kidou whistled, summoning four penguins around them.
Kidou sprinted forward with the penguins moving spirally with him while Tatsuya jumped high with the golden wings appearing from his back again, the penguins shooting upwards. The penguins bit the ball, changing to gold before Tatsuya kicked the ball towards Kidou.
Kidou then turned and leaned backwards acrobatically before he performed a low overhead kick, the gold ball now changing to a mix of gold and blue, as the penguins that followed Kidou now bit the ball too.
"Koutei (Emperor) Apollo Penguin Boost!", Kidou and Tatsuya chorused.
The ball shot forward, with 8 penguins moving around it in spiral. What was surprising, that the 8 penguins left the ball and targeted the remaining midfielders and defenders, slamming into their face to keep them away from stopping the ball.
And the strong fast soccer ball slammed into the gut of the goalkeeper, sending him into the net with it, scoring the fifth goal for Teikoku against nothing for Ekoda.
"What the?! What kind of Hissatsu is that?!", Shinichi cried in disbelief.
"How did they even master such complicated Hissatsu?", Aki wondered.
"I never saw them use that Hissatsu before in any match...", Natsumi mumbled before she sighed, "It's a good thing father told me about it then.".
Teikoku did not score any more goals but spent most of the time passing the ball or dribbling it, until the referee whistled the end of the match, and Teikoku's crowd cheered happily.
"No way! They must be taking steroids or drugs!", Kaito cried in disbelief at how his school was defeated easily.
Tatsuya heard his words and looked up at him and cried back with a victorious smirk, "This is the result of hard work and training! But a spoiled brat like you would know nothing about it!".
Kaito growled but found himself unable to say anything. He was nowhere near Tatsuya. He was not even in any school club to say he was great in it like Tatsuya, he was just a kid performing magic tricks. Tatsuya, on the other hand, was Teikoku's striker and everyone in Japan saw hope in him in the future if he joins the National Team, and even when he decides to retire and become a coach.
Kaito had to admit, Tatsuya was better than him, and his eyes showed his thoughts, which what made Tatsuya's smile increase, feeling elated at Kaito's admittance at him being better.
"So, what do you think?", Sharon asked Mary, and she could not hide the pride and happiness in her voice.
Mary raised her eyebrows at this, still not used to Vermouth being a normal person before she shrugged, "He is a good player, I suppose.".
"Good?", Sharon nearly snorted, but remembered that Asami was on her lap and said, "My son is the best forward in Japan, rivaled only by Gouenji Shuuya.".
"Fine, he is the best, happy?", Mary sighed.
"Very much.", Sharon replied with a wide grin making Mary roll her eyes at her antics.
Shinichi, on the other hand, tightened his fists. Teikoku's match had given him a chance to see that the team was getting stronger, and they were still far from them, even with Ran's training giving them a boost.
But he shook his head, and thought about Teitan. The next match was with them, and it was time for revenge for his sake, to prove them wrong, and show them his true skills.
The match between Teitan and Raimon had arrived rather quickly in Shinichi's point of view, or maybe because he and his team were pushing themselves harder in training, especially after he and the others relayed to the team Teikoku's match.
The match took place at Teitan with most of the crowds being from said school while very few came to support Raimon. The Kudou family with Mary and Masumi sat in the front rows, in front of them in their Teikoku track suits were Tatsuya, Sakuma, Kidou, and Genda.
"This match will be interesting.", Sakuma said, "Considering your cousin's past with Teitan.".
"Yeah, I hope they wipe the floor with them.", Genda nodded.
"I wonder if they will be able to send us a message like we did with them.", Tatsuya mumbled.
"Let's see if Kudou had improved since the last time we met.", Kidou said.
"Ah, if it isn't the spoiled brat.", Teitan's coach, Fujiro Kenzo, said as he approached Raimon.
"Watch your mouth mister, I won't tolerate any mistreatment to my team.", Endou pointed out.
"This is none of your concern, boy.", Fujiro sneered at Endou.
"It is my concern when it concerns one of my friends and teammates.", Endou replied stubbornly.
"Whatever, you and your team will have the floor wiped with, especially with that good for nothing on your team.", Fujiro spat as he walked back to his team, who were smirking over confidently at Raimon.
Endou turned to his players and said, "Did you guys hear that?".
"Yeah, let's kick their butts!", Shourin cried.
"I say we fill their goal net with multiple goals not just three.", Someoka said as he slammed his fist into his other hand's palm.
"We've gotten stronger thanks to Ran-chan's training, we can take them down!", Kazemaru nodded.
"Not to mention my amazing ideas for Hissatsu-".
"Just shut up, will you?", Domon interrupted Megane annoyed, making him slump.
"Even the newest guy has had enough of your act.", Handa snickered.
"Ready for revenge?", Gouenji asked Shinichi with a smirk.
"You bet.", Shinichi nodded, mirroring his smirk.
"You all know what to do, don't you?", Natsumi asked rhetorically with a smile.
"Win!", The whole team chorused.
Both teams stood ready, with Raimon playing with the same 4-4-2, while Teitan stood in the 4-3-3 formation, with the captain and forward, Nakamichi, and the ace striker of the team; Aizawa, standing ready, waiting for the referee to whistle.
The kickoff started with Nakamichi passing the ball to Aizawa, and the latter sprinted forward towards Shinichi, "Let's see you take the ball from me!".
Shinichi smirked, "With pleasure.". He performed a tackle towards Aizawa, but the latter jumped with a victorious smirk.
Shinichi's smirk grew wider as he used his hand to balance and push himself, turning his whole body around to face Aizawa, blue energy surrounding him, as he raised his leg to side tackle Aizawa, taking the ball from him, "Eagle Claw!".
Aizawa fell face first from Shinichi's new defense Hissatsu, while the latter had already sprinted forward, the adrenaline rushing into his veins.
"Don't give him a chance, break him!", Nakamichi cried as he and the midfielders charged towards Shinichi to tackle him all together.
Shinichi spread his arms as blue aura surrounded him, before he spread them backward and pushed his head forward, a blue flying Eagle appearing above him as he cried, "Eagle Swoop!".
Suddenly, he gained super speed as he dashed back and forth, evading Nakamichi and the midfielders, and when the defenders tried to tackle him all together, he jumped at an amazing height with the ball held between his legs before he landed and raised his leg and kicked it, "Eagle Drive!".
And as usual, the ball charged forwards before curving upwards, and entering the goal, and the goalkeeper did not even have the time to move a muscle.
"GOAL! RAIMON SCORES THE FIRST GOAL IN THE FIRST FEW MINUTES FROM THEIR ELEVENTH STRIKER, KUDOU SHINICHI, WHO HAD DISPLAYED HIS NEW DEFENSE AND DRIBBLE HISSATSU!", Kakuma cried at the top of his lungs.
"I'm just getting started by the way.", Shinichi pointed at Fujiro, who was frowning, "You ain't seen nothing yet from Raimon.".
"It was just pure luck... You brat...", Fujiro spat.
The kick off started again but with Raimon, with Gouenji passing to Someoka, who then passed Shishido.
Shishido dribbled past Aizawa before passing to Shourin, who headbutted it towards Domon, and the latter skillfully performed a long pass that landed at Handa's feet who sprinted forward before passing it to Someoka.
Someoka then noticed the defenders closing on him so he jumped high, leaving the ball unguarded, but suddenly, a Chinese dragon appeared out of the ground, clutching the ball in its mouth, and Someoka landed on its head as the dragon slithered past all the defenders as he cried, "Nobori Ryuu! (Rising Dragon)".
The dragon disappeared just as Shinichi sprinted and reached Someoka and both raised their legs, the Eagle and Dragon appearing behind them as they kicked the ball with their might and cried, "Hunter Drive Crash!".
The ball flew at amazing speed as white energy surrounded by blue outline, with the Eagle and Dragon moving behind it, before it curved upwards very high, and then came down like a meteor with the Eagle and Dragon letting out a cry.
The goalkeeper stared fearfully at both animals before he ducked, evading the ball, but letting it enter the net easily.
"GOAL! NOT ONLY DID SOMEOKA SHOW OFF HIS NEW DRIBBLE BUT HE AND KUDOU SHOWED OFF THEIR NEW HISSATSU!", Kakuma cried happily.
Shinichi and Someoka fist bumped as the first said, "Nice dribble, I'm actually kind of jealous since it's cooler than mine.".
"If it weren't for you girlfriend's program, I wouldn't have been strong enough to create that one.", Someoka said with a teasing smirk making Shinichi frown.
"For the thousandth time, she is not my girlfriend!", He nearly yelled.
"Keep telling yourself that.", Someoka laughed.
The kickoff started again and to say Aizawa and Nakamichi were aggravated was an understatement, so they passed the ball to the forward behind them, before he passed it back to them.
Nakamichi kicked the ball upwards as he and Aizawa spun in their place on one leg, and once the ball was near them, they volleyed the ball while crying, "Spinning Twin Shot!".
The ball kept on spinning right and left, confusing the players, and Endou stood ready to block it and-
Domon jumped forward in front of Endou, his right foot surrounded by red aura, and performed a roundhouse kick, making flames erupt from the ground like a volcanic eruption as he cried, "Volcano Cut!".
The ball collided with the flames, before it landed slowly at Domon's foot, who had remained frozen and confused.
Why did he stop the ball? He was supposed to be a spy to take Raimon down, and yet he saved them from a possible goal.
"Nice work, Domon!", Endou cheered, snapping the latter out of his shock.
Domon glanced back at him before he looked ahead, and saw Gouenji already sprinting forward, so he skillfully performed a long pass, the ball landing at Gouenji's feet, but much to Teitan's shock, he kicked the ball high.
And that's when everyone noticed Kabeyama running with Kazemaru and Shinichi. The three jumped up with Kazemaru and Shinichi both pushing themselves further up by pushing their right foot on Kabeyama's own, the latter performing a backflip, and they spun around swiftly, forming hurricanes around themselves, before they both flipped forward, and slammed the back of their heel on the ball together.
"Skylab Hurricane Drop!", The three chorused as the ball charged down like two tornadoes fused together with green energy surrounding it. It slammed in the face of the goalkeeper, taking him with it into the goal's net.
"Did we face the same guys for real? They're so different now.", Genda blinked in disbelief at Raimon's new strength.
"Ran has had them do some hellish training, and Endou was already boosting them forward to create their own moves alongside Shinichi. And as you know, the stronger and skillful you get, the more Hissatsu you can create.", Tatsuya explained.
"I'm more excited to face them now more than ever.", Sakuma said.
Kidou said nothing as he watched the match, wondering about what Domon had done.
"Wow... Raimon is something else indeed...", Masumi mumbled in disbelief.
"Thanks to their teamwork and effort, they're improving fast.", Fuyuka said with a proud smile.
"That's my nephew.", Michiya smirked.
"My godson never fails to impress me.", Sharon smiled.
"Where was his mother's mind when she made you, his godmother?", Mary scoffed with a smirk, that grew larger when Sharon side-eyed her.
"Do you want me to shoot you?", Sharon asked.
"Just try, you'll be sorry.", Mary said as she crossed her arms.
"What are you two talking about?", Asami asked curiously and innocently. She had not heard anything since their voices were lowered, but she noticed them talking and was curious to know.
"We were just complimenting Shin-chan, isn't he amazing?", Sharon said with a smile, patting her daughter's head.
Asami nodded with a wide smile, "Yeah! Shin-nii is amazing!".
The referee whistled the end of the first half, and the 15 minutes break started.
"Anyone noticed the look on the coach's face? His face is going to blow up!", Max snickered as he pointed at Fujiro, whose face was already all red from anger.
"Aizawa and Nakamichi are no different.", Kurimatsu laughed as he motioned at Aizawa and Nakamichi who were the same.
"Losing 3 to nothing with those 3 goals involving the player you used to think is nothing is a hard slap.", Megane pointed out.
"Oh, I'm so loving their faces, I'll make sure to make everyone remember this match.", Sonoko laughed.
"I just want to warn you, don't use all your new Hissatsu.", Natsumi said before she explained, "Our next opponents, Mikage Sennou, I heard they always analyze their opponents' abilities and moves.".
Everyone looked at Natsumi seriously, but they were not worried.
"Our match with Mikage Sennou is a week from now, and we wil have gotten better with our training.", Handa said.
"We haven't showed all our Hissatsu yet too.", Kageno said.
"Still, we can't show off our new ones again that much, you can't analyze anything when it is done once.", Shinichi said.
"They don't look so strong, we can take them down with our old Hissatsu anyways.", Someoka said.
"Alright, everyone, let's win this!", Endou exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air.
The kick off began with Raimon, and the second half started. And if Teitan was mad at having three goals scored, then they weren't ready for what happened next.
"Fire Tornado!".
"Dragon Tornado!".
"Eagle Tornado!".
"Inazuma Otoshi!".
And the referee then whistled the end of the match, with Raimon winning on Teitan's field, 7-0.
"No... impossible...", Fujiro mumbled in disbelief as he fell on his knees.
Nakamichi looked at Fujiro and said, "You've always said Teitan only needed good players... But it turns out it needed a better coach!".
Nakamichi's words made Fujiro stand up and look at him angrily as he cried, "I made you all!".
"We made ourselves from training and hard work.", Aizawa added before he and the rest of Teitan's team walked towards Raimon, who turned to face them.
"We owe you an apology, for what happened with Kudou, and our coach's attitude.", Nakamichi said before he bowed, his team following his actions, "Thank you for making us wake up, and humbling us.".
"It's alright. You guys have learned the lesson, and who knows, maybe we fill face each other again and you'll be better.", Endou said with a friendly smile as he raised his hand.
Nakamichi stood up straight with a smile and shook Endou's hand, "You bet.".
Shinichi then looked up at Teikoku's players before his eyes met Kidou's both staring at each other challengingly. Shinichi then raised his fist at Kidou with a smirk. Kidou raised an eyebrow before he stood up and raised his fist towards him, a smirk forming on his face.
The battle between the two genius midfielders was on.