050 Blue Lock: System Ten Years Early

"You're almost done, so why are you coming on now?" Itoshi Rin complained irritably, but Shinichi instead raised three fingers.

"Three minutes."

"Huh?"

"From the start until now, the time you took to get four points was three minutes longer than the time it took me to shut you out. In other words, even when your opponent is trash at this level, it's still easier for me to crush you."

Itoshi Rin stopped talking and turned to glare viciously at Nagi Seishiro's group. Shinichi shrugged and walked to the very front, stopping in place.

"Stand right next to me and watch carefully how I do it, you useless lot."

...

"That guy is going on the field?" Nagi Seishiro panted as he looked toward the figure doing chest-opening stretches.

"No idea what type of player he is."

"Yeah. We only have one goal left. We just saw hope, and then this guy suddenly joins. Seriously..."

Mikage Reo casually wiped the sweat from his face with his shoulder.

"But this also proves that my combination worked, right?"

"Hold onto that feeling from just now, Nagi. We have to surpass our limits."

"Oh."

Beep—!

The whistle sounded. Mikage Reo advanced with the ball, while Shinichi still looked sloppy and carefree, even having the leisure to yawn.

"Hurry up. I'll give you one chance to show your offense."

"Tch, how arrogant. Weren't you the one who felt threatened by me and Nagi and got anxious, so you'd rather break the rules you set yourself just to come on the field?" Mikage Reo snapped back, displeased by Shinichi's condescending attitude.

"And now you're pretending you don't care. How ridiculous."

It was obvious that Shinichi froze for a moment—truly didn't react at all. Even though it was familiar language, his brain failed to process its meaning, and he stood there blankly.

Mikage Reo wouldn't miss such an opportunity. He quickly lifted his foot to break through. But just at the moment he passed Shinichi and thought the opponent was nothing special, a sudden, causeless chill of fear rose from the depths of his heart.

Turning his head, the Shinichi beside him seemed to have just reacted and turned as well. Their gazes met, and a pair of dead-water eyes, utterly devoid of ripples, came into view.

"A dead man talking."

'What's going on? This strange premonition... But I really did get past him. With him needing to turn around, there's no reason he could catch up—'

Just as Mikage Reo thought that inexplicable sense of dread was nothing more than an illusion, his brain's warning alarms exploded like an early-morning alarm clock. He suddenly noticed something discordant in his vision—the figure in his peripheral sight had vanished in that split second of distraction!

Shinichi abruptly lowered his center of gravity. Like a swimming snake, he slipped out of Mikage Reo's line of sight, weaving in an S-shaped Serpentine Movement as he deftly circled from behind and once again blocked Mikage Reo's path.

"I really didn't expect your self-awareness to be this good."

"Don't take yourself too seriously, ball trash. That bit of progress you're so proud of is nothing more than a baby learning to crawl in my eyes."

This guy... when did he get behind me?! And so fast! Way too fast, this monster! I clearly passed him without him even turning around—how could he be faster than my full sprint in that situation?!

Mikage Reo's mind was completely flooded with shock and terror. The primal fear of being targeted by a top predator kept piling up and erupting. He didn't even have the presence of mind to listen to what Shinichi was saying. Instinctively, he kicked the football with all his strength, hoping only to get as far away from this danger-radiating monster as possible.

Unfortunately, things went against his wishes. Even Itoshi Rin, when facing a stationary Shinichi maintaining proper defensive distance, could only avoid Shinichi's prediction and prevent interception through lateral passes. A desperate, panicked pass like Mikage Reo's was obviously unable to escape Shinichi's hunt.

And that was indeed the case. Shinichi drove his right leg into the ground, the surging strength propelling his body to burst forward. Like lightning, like a Mamba Body striking to bite, he swallowed the football into his control.

The violently spinning football struck Shinichi's calf, yet instead of bouncing away, it was as if it sank into a swamp—the more it struggled, the deeper it sank. The force on the football was gradually neutralized, and Shinichi's trapping motion slowly overlapped with another figure in Mikage Reo's mind...

"This is... Nagi's absorption-style trap?!"

The final straw fell. Intense fear finally devoured Mikage Reo's mind. He could only stare blankly as Shinichi intercepted his pass and charged at him once more.

"Reo!"

A familiar voice exploded like thunder beside Mikage Reo's ear. Nagi Seishiro, having sensed something wrong, came sprinting over.

"Reo, it's not over yet! Stop him—together!"

"Nagi... right! The match isn't over yet. As long as Nagi and I are together..." Nagi Seishiro's passion restored Mikage Reo's ability to think from its numb state. He clenched his teeth with all his might until blood seeped from his gums, the sweet, metallic taste stimulating his brain.

"Come on!"

"Perfect. You two can watch from the VIP seats as I deliver judgment upon you." Even though he could easily break through their defense with speed, Shinichi suddenly came to a Sudden Stop and lifted his foot, assuming a shooting stance.

"Then fall into the abyss of despair and repent."

Shooting here?! This is still some distance from the center line!

Absurd thoughts appeared simultaneously in the minds of Nagi Seishiro and Mikage Reo, yet they couldn't ignore it. After all, that lunatic Itoshi Rin had shot from the center line before. On this reduced field, maybe everything really was within this Monster's range.

...

"Then come on!" Mikage Reo observed Shinichi's movements and the direction of his toes. He slid in place, using his body to seal off the lower path. Immediately after, Shinichi Burst forward with a shot!

"I guessed right! As long as I act first and force the opponent to respond, the opponent will definitely attack through a gap I can't defend. At that point, my teammate can easily stop the football after me, once its path is fixed!"

Mikage Reo excitedly watched Nagi Seishiro leap up and block the football's path with his right leg.

"I learned this from the blue-haired guy on your team, Shinichi. No matter what, when it comes to trapping, Nagi won't lose!"

"Got it!"

"Really...?" Shinichi's voice sounded close by. Mikage Reo's heart jolted. Only then did he realize that after shooting, Shinichi hadn't stopped but kept sprinting forward.

"Even without these little tricks, I'd still do this, because..."

"From the very beginning, I was aiming to destroy Nagi Seishiro."

"Just watch from the ground. The next goal is the real story."

Wha... what? What nonsense is he talking about...? Nagi clearly predicted the ball's path—he'll definitely stop it. The possession is ours. What's the point of this? Or is he planning to give the ball to Nagi and then steal it back? Could it be that Shinichi is actually more of a defensive type?

All kinds of thoughts tangled in Mikage Reo's mind like a mess of yarn, impossible to sort out. But immediately after, something even more terrifying happened.

The football struck Nagi Seishiro's leg, but instead of magically absorbing the impact and stopping on his leg as expected, it separated on contact and rebounded away at extreme speed—straight toward Shinichi, who was charging at them!

As gravity pulled Reo and Nagi downward, Shinichi instead leapt into the air. He met the rebounding football midair, showed no intention of trapping or adjusting, and directly raised his foot for a flying volley, smashing the shot straight at the goal.

The football's trajectory was like a crescent moon. Its exaggerated arc perfectly curved around the Blue Lock goalkeeper's save. The moment the football entered the net, Shinichi landed as well, looking down at the two who had fallen to the ground.

"I told you. This is... judgment."