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Chapter 57 - Blueprints of Madness

Rain fell hard that morning

Like the sky wanted to drown Tokyo before kickoff

Keisuke showed up in slippers

Holding a half-eaten melon pan

Everyone else had soaked hair and wet boots

He just walked through the puddles like a king who didn't care the throne was underwater

Coach Matsuda was fuming

"Keisuke you're late"

Keisuke glanced at the clock

"No I'm early for the second half"

No one dared laugh

Except the new reserve keeper who instantly regretted it

Today wasn't just another practice

It was the closed-door match against a university team ranked in the top three in Japan

Physical

Aggressive

Merciless

The plan was simple

Test tactical rotations

Get everyone minutes

Try not to get injured

Keisuke didn't warm up

Just sat on the bench doodling on his shin pads with a black marker

Someone peeked over

It was a maze

No start

No exit

Just a spiral

First half

The team struggled

1–0 down

Possession was like a joke that kept getting cut off mid-punchline

Coach didn't even look at the bench

Just growled

"Number 7 in"

Keisuke peeled off his jacket

No expression

Like this was all part of a routine

He didn't even tie his laces

Just jogged in with his boots flapping like slippers

The university players sneered

"Who the hell sends in a sub looking like that"

Five minutes later

It was 1–1

Keisuke didn't score

He broke the entire formation

Their pressing pattern

Gone

Their defensive lines

Exposed

Their confidence

Shattered

He didn't even touch the ball that much

He just stood in the right places

Said the right things

Created movement with nothing but a look

Commentators would've called it telepathy

The defenders called it a nightmare

By the end of the match

It was 4–1

Keisuke had one assist

Two pre-assists

And a nutmeg so cruel the guy requested a sub out of shame

Back in the locker room

Nobody clapped

They stared

One player whispered

"He's not even trying"

Another said

"He's planning something"

But Keisuke just hummed a song no one knew

Drew another maze on the whiteboard

This one with numbers

Arrows

Names

Coach Matsuda watched silently

Then finally asked

"Is that your plan for next game"

Keisuke turned

"No this one's for the final"

"We're not even qualified for that yet"

Keisuke smiled

"You think I didn't plan that too"

Then he erased the board

Walked off

Boots still untied

Leaving everyone with only one question

What happens when a player who sees the future finally starts playing like he belongs in it

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