The announcement came suddenly
A surprise mid-season invitational tournament
Four elite youth teams
One rule change
No fixed formations allowed
Each team had to rotate roles every ten minutes
Goalkeeper could become striker
Defender could be playmaker
Chaos was no longer punished
It was the core rule
The football world went into frenzy
News outlets called it
"The Rise of Adaptive Football"
---
Vortex was invited
Reiji's name was front and center on every poster
His face shaded in mystery
Eyes glowing with silver-blue aura
Fans online dubbed him The Ghost Playmaker
But this time
He wasn't just a shadow
He was the one building the system from scratch
---
Coach Hiroshi called an emergency meeting
"This tournament is madness
But it's real
And we're in it"
Leo looked confused
"So what
We just play like headless chickens now?"
Reiji finally spoke
"No
We play like snakes
Shedding skin every time the enemy gets comfortable"
The team looked at him
And in that moment
Everyone knew
He was ready
---
That night
Reiji spread out a massive map of a football pitch on his floor
He placed chess pieces across it
Not pawns or knights
But custom pieces with symbols
Chaos
Mirror
Trap
Reset
He stared at it for hours
Then drew lines connecting odd combinations
Striker to keeper
Defender to false winger
Ghost routes
Blind corners
Rotations that made no tactical sense
Unless...
You could see ten steps ahead
---
Elsewhere
Amano Kei watched the same tournament announcement on TV
He laughed while juggling a ball barefoot
"No formations?"
He kicked the ball toward the ceiling and caught it on his chest
"They're finally letting the animals out of the zoo"
---
First match
Vortex vs Hydra SC
A team known for sheer discipline and clockwork passing
Before kickoff
Reiji walked up to their captain
Smiled
And whispered
"Let's see how well your machine breathes when its screws get removed"
---
The whistle blew
Vortex opened in a 4–3–3
Then at minute ten
Leo sprinted to keeper
Their goalie ran to right wing
Reiji dropped to center back
Their top defender became a striker
Hydra froze
And in the moment of hesitation
Boom
Goal
Reiji had fed a through ball from deep
Disguised perfectly as a clearance
1–0 Vortex
---
Commentators were losing their minds
"What in the world are we watching?!? Vortex is morphing like they're liquid!!"
Hydra tried to adapt
But couldn't break the rhythm
Every time they adjusted
Vortex flipped the shape again
By 60th minute
It was 4–1
Then
Reiji did something mad
He called Leo over
"You're striker now
And I'm going in goal"
---
The crowd gasped
Was this arrogance?
But Reiji
Wearing gloves that didn't fit
Stood in goal like a general watching a war unfold
Hydra tried a long ball
He caught it easily
Then threw a perfect counter assist to Leo
Goal again
5–1
---
After the match
One interviewer asked Reiji
"Why switch to keeper?"
He smiled
"If I can read the field from the shadows
Why not read it from the throne?"
---
Later that night
Kei posted a single photo on social media
A drawing of a crown
Cracked in two
Caption: "Don't sit too long
Thrones burn too"