Rain fell on Minamino High's rooftop
Reiji stood there
Eyes closed
Arms crossed
His mind wasn't on school
Or even the national qualifiers
It was on something deeper
Patterns
Shifts
Deceptions
He saw football in fragments
Not plays
But moments
Openings in the chaos
Below
Coach Nakamura paced nervously
There were rumors
Big ones
A European elite club had made an unofficial approach
But not to Reiji
To Leo
---
"Why would they contact Leo first?!?" Yamato exploded in the locker room
"Reiji's the damn mastermind here"
Leo didn't react
He tied his boots
Calm as ever
Reiji walked in
Took his seat
Didn't even look at Leo
"Don't be loud
We've got a bigger issue"
Everyone turned to him
"They're building a system to counter us
We've been too loud
Too fast"
Kenta frowned
"You mean Shin-Kyoto High?"
Reiji nodded
"They don't need to beat me
They just need to make me normal
And that's enough to kill everything we've built"
---
That week
Reiji didn't train with the team
He watched
Took notes
Analyzed every teammate's worst habit
Then
He showed up with a paper
Threw it on Coach's desk
"A new formation
Positionless football"
Coach blinked
"You're removing the midfield line completely?!?"
Reiji nodded
"We become unpredictable
Everyone plays everything
Except the goalkeeper
That stays"
Yamato grinned
"You finally gone mad huh"
Reiji smirked
"Mad enough to win"
---
Matchday
Minamino entered the field with no fixed shape
Commentators were confused
Fans panicked
Reporters mocked
"What are they doing?!?"
"This isn't football it's chaos"
First 15 minutes
Minamino was losing
2–0
Players ran without structure
Confusion everywhere
Reiji watched from the bench
Arms folded
Coach leaned in
"This is gonna ruin us"
Reiji didn't flinch
"Let them laugh now
Watch them scream later"
---
20th minute
Reiji stood up
Took off his jacket
Walked to the sideline
Crowd roared as he entered
But instead of calming things
He sped them up
First play
He ran to striker
Next play
Dropped to defender
Then playmaker
Then winger
Opponents couldn't follow
Their marks kept shifting
Like shadows in the dark
30th minute
Yamato scored
2–1
---
Half-time locker room
Silence
Coach sat down hard
"You made the match unreadable
Even I don't know what I'm watching"
Reiji smiled
"Exactly
That's the point
If they don't understand it
They can't counter it"
Leo looked up from his corner
Eyes narrow
"You're creating something that even you might not be able to control"
Reiji turned to him
"For the first time
It's not about control
It's about liberation"
---
Second half
Minamino didn't just play
They danced
Kenta played like a false fullback
Yamato appeared on the opposite wing
Even the defenders were swapping sides mid-play
Shin-Kyoto broke
Confused
Disorganized
Exhausted
Final score
4–2
Minamino advanced
---
After the match
A scout in the stands made a call
"Yes
This is beyond genius
This is evolution"
---
Later that night
Leo sat alone in the dark
Watched replays of Reiji's movements
Paused them
Studied frame by frame
He whispered to himself
"He's not leading anymore
He's setting fire to the rulebook"
And for the first time
Leo wasn't sure if Reiji was a teammate
Or a storm waiting to consume them all