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Chapter 74 - the strategy built on broken pieces

Kei crouched near the sideline tying his laces but his mind wasn't on his shoes.It was on the map unfolding in his head

Not a map of positions or passes

But of people

Of cracks

Weaknesses that had nothing to do with stats

Ren's frustration after three failed chances.Dazai's habit of overthinking when his crosses got blocked.Amano's slight limp hidden under effort

He wasn't planning to fix them

He was planning to use them

The strategy was ugly unconventional and borderline insane

But it was real

He jogged back into the pitch and called them over with a glance

"This won't be clean" he said low enough that only they heard

"We're going to use everything that's wrong with us"

They didn't nod but their eyes locked with his

Trust without understanding

The next few plays Kei deliberately fed Ren passes he'd likely mess up

And when he did

The opponents overcommitted

Dazai overhit a cross on purpose and Kei used the rebound to shift the flow

Every mistake became a trigger

Every flaw became a weapon

They looked broken

But that was the bait

By the time the other team started to adjust the trap was already closing

Because perfection was predictable

But brokenness

That was chaos

And Kei had become its master

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