A muscular girl is presented to the passionate world of crossover anime.

"Huh?" ×3. The "Haha Brothers" were extremely surprised. Was this still the same arrogant ace they disliked, who was taciturn and never revealed his true colors?

Even Menta himself was stunned: "Lightspeed Masked Man 23, you... okay, I will definitely defeat Ah Ying and show everyone!"

It should be said that after the aggressive and relentless attacks in the first half, Hanon was much calmer during halftime. American football is a team sport, not a one-on-one fight in a martial arts arena. Trusting your teammates is not a shameful thing, but rather a virtue.

It was precisely because Hiruma Youichi recognized Kanon's growth that he felt deeply gratified. The scene of Kanon encouraging Monta was witnessed by the college scouts in the stands, who all took notes: "I originally thought that 'Lightning Mask 23' was an invincible player in terms of individual ability, but I didn't expect him to be so good at creating a lively atmosphere and motivating his teammates. A true general! A true general! Damn it! What is his true identity?!"

The true identity of Hanon is now what all the university teams want to know most, but Hiruma's operation is very meticulous. "Eyespeed Masked Man 23" has not revealed his true identity in any of the processes from registration onwards, and outsiders cannot find out at all... Well, the pseudonym Flavor Sander also appeared once and was used by some people with good intentions to search for it, but either there were no results, or they were warned in horror by people in the know, "Don't investigate any further, that's not something you should know."

In short, Kanon has grown as an athlete, and this growth has rewarded her immediately. Motivated, Monta couldn't even wait to play against Honjo Taka, and he blocked Teishiguro's kick, giving Deemon possession of the ball!

"Well done!" Kanon gave Monta a high five, having even picked up this little morale-boosting gesture. However, she told Monta, "In the next attack, I'll be passing the ball to you, and you must pay attention to the rhythm of your passes!"

Section 371, Chapter 365: Not Good at Saying Goodbye

Passing rhythm?

Of course, the human body functions rhythmically, just like breathing. So, as long as you can grasp the intervals between breaths, you can do many things. The reason why the combination of Hiyama Shunka and Akoya Kiyoaki is so powerful is because one of them can control the opponent's rhythm, and the other can strike against that rhythm.

When it comes to American football, and specifically to catching the ball, every pass by the quarterback has a "breathing" quality. Once mastered, this allows for accurate prediction of the ball's landing point and even its bounce direction. This is the combined effect of experience, talent, and concentration.

In the Deimon team, only Taro Raimon can grasp the rhythm of passing like that. Even Kanon can't do it. If Raimon has a chance to defeat Honjo Haka, that chance must be hidden here.

However, in this match, Kanon is not just a tool for passing the ball. From "Goddess of a Thousand Faces" to "No Rhythm", Kanon, who is proficient in fighting skills, is also a master of rhythm. In the next few offensive and defensive battles, Kanon is also looking for the receiving rhythm that Monta is most comfortable with and subtly adjusting her passing method.

This adjustment was effective. Gradually, the goalkeeper was able to touch the ball, and Honjo Eagle's advantage over him began to decline, with only three or four minutes left in the game.

"Teiguro is really tenacious." Hanon wiped her sweat. Although they adopted a more energy-efficient style of play in the second half, Teiguro still kept the score close. Deimon was indeed able to extend their lead by one point after each touchdown by adding runs, but the number of touchdowns was still too few, and the score difference hovered around ten points. Theoretically, Teiguro still had a chance to turn the game around.

They truly deserve to be called the king team, don't they?

Conversely, the fact that the super team that has dominated American football for decades is now being praised as "really tenacious" by Kanon from the perspective of the leader is truly frustrating for the Teikoku team players.

"We can't let Lightspeed Masked Man 23 pass the ball so easily anymore." Yamato gritted his teeth, mustered all his strength, and in the next defensive play, he smashed through the defense of the Mudgate's forward line and rushed straight towards Hanon.

The touch felt very realistic, and the balance was perfect. This time, Yamato wasn't pushed or dodged by Kanon; he actually tackled her to the ground.

"Done—huh?" Yamato's joy lasted less than half a second. Before he and Kanon could even land together, he realized something was wrong: "The ball is gone? He passed it out? When..."

Just as Yamato was about to collide with Kanon, Kanon had already thrown the ball. The rhythm of this ball was different from any of her previous passes, and it was also different from the rhythm that all the players on the field were familiar with. Therefore, no one noticed it. It can be said to be a masterpiece of Kanon's skill. This ball even reached the level of "no beat". With the return of fighting spirit, Kanon's form in the decisive game was also gradually returning.

Neither the Teishi Black nor the Deimon players realized where the ball had gone until they saw Yamato Takeshi's expression, at which point they realized the ball was no longer in Kanon's hands. By the time people started looking for the ball, the spectators in the stands, who had a complete view of the situation, were already cheering.

The players couldn't find the ball, but the ball would actively seek them out. There was another player on the field who remembered the tactics extremely well, ran his position meticulously, and cooperated perfectly with Hanon—Yuki Hikaru appeared in the right position. By the time he, like most people, realized that the ball was flying towards him, he was already in the Imperial Black's scoring zone. He simply raised his hand to catch the ball and scored another touchdown.

"Mudgate scores." The referee announced, "58 to 41."

With the score widening and time running out, the "last stand" of Honjo Taka and Yamato Takeshi's two aces was finally broken. The rest of the match was no longer in doubt or exciting. Demon, who had fought hard in the Tokyo and Kanto tournaments, actually won the Christmas Bowl... quite easily?

Everything went smoothly after that, and Deimon's advantage was secured. When it was time for the final attack, Kanon passed the ball to Sena, who was running forward, while she and Hiruma stayed at the back of the team.

"The snow hasn't stopped yet..." Hana looked up at the sky: "But my American football journey is coming to an end."

Hiruma ignored Kanon and ran over in silence: "The match isn't over yet, I'm not that sentimental, but... thanks."

"Ah, you really are a tsundere..."

"Hehehe, I'm just not good at saying goodbye."

Although Kanon will still be studying at Deimon, she will probably only play American football for one more season. Besides, even if she continues to participate in the club, Hiruma, Musashi, and Kurita are all of age to leave the team.

Looking at the snow falling all around, Hanako felt increasingly melancholy...

"Beep—" With the referee's final whistle, the game came to an end. The Deimon team defeated Teiguro by more than ten points, becoming the new champions of Japanese high school American football.

"We won?" The "Haha Brothers" looked at each other, still somewhat incredulous, until Hirudo came over and kicked each of their butts: "We won."

The Mudgate players then began to celebrate: "We won!"

The Deimon players were celebrating, while the Teikoku players were heartbroken. In competitive sports, there are always those who rejoice and those who grieve. However, because Deimon had been dominating the game throughout, the players were able to control their emotions. It was the spectators in the stands who were losing their composure.

Some people remarked, "The Kanto team has truly defeated the invincible Imperial Black..."

Some are looking to the future: "How long will this supernova, Eyespeed Mask 23, dominate American football in Japan?"

The scouts even vowed, "Quickly, let's go down and send an invitation to Lightspeed Masked Man 23!"

There was no MVP award at the Christmas Bowl. The trophy was given to Kanon, then to Hiruma, then to Kurita, then to Musashi, then to Sena… Everyone took turns holding the trophy. After the simple award ceremony, the scouts, the players watching the game, and many enthusiastic spectators, in a frenzy, rushed onto the field, just like at the end of any major tournament. They gathered together and tossed the Deimon players into the air, including Kurita – wasn't there Ou?

"Alright, alright, everyone wait a minute, let the champion team members take a group photo first." The staff pushed through the crowd to capture a memorable image of the Mud Gate team before being overwhelmed by the excited crowd again.

Not only did the Deemon team want to take photos together, but other people also wanted to take photos with the Deemon players!

After a long period of chaos, the college scouts finally managed to squeeze into the inner circle, but they could no longer find Lightspeed Mask 23.

Then they discovered that even Lightspeed Mask 21, also known as Sena Kobayakawa, had disappeared.

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update. The next chapter will probably be updated around 10 or 11 PM. I'm still adjusting to working online today. Anyway, that's about it for *Eyeshield 21*. Now, let's move on to the *Baki* arc. Of course, there will be some original settings, I'll write as much as I can…

Section 372, Chapter 366: Sena's Challenge

At that moment, in the stadium's lounge, Hanon had just slipped in to change when she was surprised to find that someone was already waiting there.

Wearing a jersey with the number 21, an opaque mask, and short in stature, it was none other than Sena Kobayakawa.

"Huh, Sena? How come you're back before me?" Kanon thought she was the most discreet one, but she didn't expect Sena to come back early. Now she has to find a quiet place to change clothes again. How annoying.

But Sena had no intention of letting Kanon leave. After seeing Kanon come in, he said, "You, the great hero of the court, have already returned so early. Why should I stay on the court?"

"Um, I feel like your words are a bit sarcastic..." Kanon scratched his head. The Christmas Bowl battle wasn't as intense as he had imagined. This was because he was too serious and performed exceptionally well, which also prevented Sena from having a chance to shine. Kanon had also ruined what Sena had originally planned: a showdown with the real Lightspeed Mask 21 Yamato Takeshi.

This is really... not very youthful.

From this perspective, it seems that Kanon has let Sena down a bit. Just as she was wondering how to respond, Sena suddenly raised his hand: "Hey, Lightspeed Mask 23, let's have a match."

Hua Yin was stunned: "Oh?"

Sena said, "You completely dominated Yamato Takeshi in the match, which means you are the real Eyeshield 21! I want to try to challenge you. If I can beat you, I will definitely be able to beat Yamato as well."

That reason makes sense, but Kanon glanced at Sena with some doubt: "Is Kobayakawa Sena's personality... like that?" But she quickly understood: "He probably grew and changed a lot during his journey in the National Tournament, and even I have changed from before."

To be honest, in the three months she participated in American football, Kanon enjoyed the feeling of youthful passion, experienced the joys and sorrows of teamwork, and forged bonds with her teammates and opponents. In terms of personal cultivation, her control over the flow of power improved significantly, but due to complacency in the peaceful environment, her martial arts level also slightly declined. Kobayakawa Sei, on the other hand, invested more time in American football and experienced more ups and downs, so such a change in her personality is understandable.

Having figured things out, Kanon sent a message to Mihono, telling her that she would meet up with her later, and then said to Sena, "Okay, let's play a game of ball, and find a quiet place."

“That suits me perfectly. I think the underground parking garage has a very spacious floor.”

So Kanon followed Sena to that parking lot. The Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium has several parking lots. Because American football isn't a particularly popular sport, even though it was the Christmas Bowl final, not many people came specifically to watch the game. Many of the spectators were local bikers like Chiharu Shiba, who came to watch a sports game when they had nothing else to do, and they all walked. This resulted in the lower parking lots being mostly empty and quite secluded.

"This is it." Hanon looked around. The place was a bit dark, but quite spacious, enough to do some exercise.

“This place is great, perfect for exercise,” Kanon said, then beckoned to Sena with her finger: “Come on.”

"Alright, here I come!" Kobayakawa Sena, the fake Lightspeed Masked Man 21, charged towards Kanon.

Sena's running formation was something Kanon had witnessed before, and he had improved a lot in the past few months. At first, he only had the advantage of speed, but later it became the swaying left and right like a demonic bat ghost, and then he even mastered a series of techniques such as the demonic bat tornado and the demonic bat dive. He had reached the pinnacle of skill in avoiding the opponent's grab when passing by.

If the goal is to capture Sena the moment you meet him, even a first-rate martial artist might not be able to do it. However, Kanon is a top-tier martial artist who is even stronger than a first-rate one!

"With your old running style, you can't beat me." Sena's running style is still the same old one, which is not enough to outrun Yamato, let alone Kanon. She easily blocked Sena's path.

"Then I'll have to be tougher!" Sena shouted, reaching out to push Hanon. This was a move that Sena had learned when fighting against Agon and Ajin, called the Devil's Electric Gun. To put it simply, it was to actively reach out and push the opponent, using brute force to create a path.

With Sena's small stature, he was considered weak even among ordinary high school boys. Facing Kanon, who could be easily knocked down by even the powerful Rikiya, his thin arms had no chance of shaking him... However, what Sena was hoping for was Kanon's refusal to back down.

Because there was a short needle sticking out of Sena's American football glove.

"Ouch!" Hana was pricked by the needle and shuddered. The pain was secondary; the needle was also poisoned, which made her dizzy and she fell to the ground.

Sena's running also stopped. He casually tossed the ball aside, took off his opaque helmet, and revealed a completely different face, clearly not belonging to Kobayakawa Sena.

"Hmph, so-called king of the Kengan Association, nothing special." Sena, or rather the short assassin, sneered disdainfully: "His martial arts skills may be strong, but unfortunately, he lacks experience in the martial world. He's basically an athlete, far from being a martial artist!"

As the assassin spoke, he took off his bulky American football uniform. Underneath the uniform, although his body was as thin as Sena's, he had far more muscle mass than Sena.

Pulling a dagger from his pocket, the assassin was about to stab Huayin in the back: "I'm sorry, little girl, the orders from above are to kill or maim. A beautiful girl like you is better off dead than maimed."

But the dagger missed its mark.

The assassin was taken aback. With decades of cultivation, all he could do was drop his dagger vertically. Could something unexpected have happened? Then he blinked and suddenly realized the problem—it wasn't that his dagger had gone astray, but that Huayin on the ground was gone.

"Hehe, doesn't it look like a ghost story?"

Hana's voice rang out from behind, close to the assassin's ear. This time, it was the assassin's turn to be startled, leaping up and dodging far away with several large jumps.

But when he turned around, there was still no sign of Hana.

Hana's voice came from behind him again: "So, they were sent from back home?"

The assassin hurriedly turned around, and this time he finally saw Huayin, who was unharmed and full of energy, showing no signs of being poisoned.

Hanon dusted herself off. Although the "Lightspeed Masked Man 23" mask obscured her eyes, the assassin could see the corners of her mouth curl up: "My acting wasn't bad, was it? I was curious to see what you were planning to do to me. If it was a kidnapping, I might even be taken to your hideout. But I didn't expect you to be so ruthless, coming straight for the kill..."

"Fine." Hanon took off her helmet and started stretching her arms and legs. "Now I'll just have to knock you down first, and then do some interrogation."

Author's Note: Phew, this chapter was really rushed.

Section 373, Chapter 367: The Unlucky Assassin

Hanane Ye, seventeen years old, is the eldest daughter of the Takakaze family and the new champion of the Kengan Association. She excels in hand-to-hand combat, with a swift and decisive fighting style. She is extremely strong, possesses outstanding physical abilities, and has special techniques for unlocking human potential...

Recalling the known information, the short assassin felt a chill in his heart. Not all "assassination fists" are called Kuroki Gensai. Most killers and assassins are not good at head-on combat. When he faced a well-known underground fighting champion, let alone winning, even escaping unscathed was a pipe dream.

Despite the tension, the assassin remained calm and even gradually regained his composure. He brandished his dagger with a few flourishes, holding it protectively in front of him, and asked Huayin, "You weren't pricked by the poisoned needle?"

Hana shook her head: "The thorn did hit the mark, but it didn't go deep."