The culprit here was none other than Hakodate Nishi's left wing back, Denji, who noticed something peculiar here. Even though Naoya's ability to dictate the tempo was beyond Hakodate Nishi's expectation, the DM had a subtle tick that put him at a disadvantage.
Whenever he received the ball, the boy always needed to stare at the ground for a moment, as if wanting to make sure that he trapped it properly. At first, this didn't look weird. But when Denji saw that Naoya always received the ball behind, not getting any pressure from anyone else, a bold idea started to form inside his head.
'Is that why he always receives the ball behind? Is he doing this unconsciously or just trying to bait someone to get him? Shall I take the risk here? Ah, screw it! He looked at the ground for probably less than a second, so the period will be too short. If I have a chance to sneak from his blind spot, I will try my luck there!'
