039 Blue Lock: System Ten Years Early

"Don't rush, wait until I finish speaking." Ego Jinpachi ignored Rin Itoshi's murderous glare and continued explaining at an unhurried pace. "Next, I will announce the new Blue Lock rankings. Of course, this time they're real."

The logo on Shinichi's arm flickered for a moment, then finally settled on a big number 1. Rin Itoshi looked at the 2 on his own arm, the killing intent around him growing heavier.

"This ranking is based on the time each of you spent clearing the first stage. Special note: Hiori Yo, your clear time was two minutes slower than Tokimitsu Aoshi's, but making the decision to challenge earlier is also an advantage. Those who hesitate will let opportunities slip away."

"Y-yes, sorry… I'm just that kind of person, haha… asking someone like me who lacks confidence…"

"All right. Since everything's been explained, go get yourselves authenticated." Ego Jinpachi briskly ignored Tokimitsu Aoshi's muttering as the screen went dark.

The two sides exchanged glances and stepped up to the door together. One after another, the six of them pressed their fingers against the wall. After a brief loading and recognition process, the fingerprint authentication completed successfully, the match was confirmed, and the door opened.

"In the second selection, a special small pitch suited to the number of players will be used. The goals are also reduced in size. Both teams will use Blue Lock Man with identical performance. Additionally, the offside rule is invalid in the second stage."

"The winner may take one player from the opposing team and advance to the next stage. The loser will lose one player and return to the previous stage. Three versus three. The first to score five goals wins."

"Second Selection, Third Stage: Steal the Enemy Decisive Battle—begin."

Beep—!

As the whistle sounded, Shinichi kicked off with a sideways pass and immediately sprinted forward. Almost instantly, he cut straight across the entire pitch. At the same time, Hiori Yo, receiving the pass, kicked the ball without a moment's pause. The ball flying through midair advanced in sync with the charging Shinichi and finally converged with him in front of the goal.

Bang!

With a powerful crash, the ball slammed into the net. The Blue Lock Man, loaded with top goalkeeper data, stood there like a wooden post, stunned and motionless.

The fastest speed, combined with a precise pass capable of keeping up with that speed—together, they formed the Blue Lock version of a monster fast break!

"Oh! So fast, so fast." Ranze Kurona, who couldn't get involved at all, widened his eyes and couldn't help praising them, but the expressions on the opposite side were far from relaxed.

"Eek! M-monster!" Tokimitsu Aoshi trembled even harder, muttering in a shaky voice. Tanaka Shingen wasn't doing any better, cold sweat sliding down from his head as he stared in disbelief at Shinichi, who had appeared behind them in an instant.

"This kind of speed… is that really high school level?"

"So fast! A speed-type player? How have I never heard of someone at this level before?" Even Rin was startled by Shinichi's speed, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Very good. I didn't expect someone like this to be standing in my way before I crush Sae Itoshi."

"You'll be the whetstone I use before defeating that guy."

"It seems the genius's younger brother didn't inherit the same good brain." Hearing Rin Itoshi's muttering, Shinichi, who was walking back toward his own half, suddenly turned around. His eyes, burning with black flames, showed not a hint of a smile as he stared at Rin like a dead man.

"Get the situation straight. You're the challenger, mediocrity."

"Don't get arrogant over such a tiny bit of achievement." Rin Itoshi glared back viciously. "A guy who treats football like a game, like play—let me send you to die once."

The whistle blew. From the center line, Rin Itoshi struck the ball directly, unleashing a powerful long-range shot straight at the goal!

The ball, spinning violently, rocketed toward the goal. After a brief judgment, the Blue Lock Man (hereafter referred to uniformly as the Blue Lock goalkeeper) leapt and dived toward the ball. However, under the intense spin, the ball suddenly dipped, slipping out of the Blue Lock goalkeeper's control.

Just as this midfield shot was about to score, a foot suddenly cut in, precisely blocking the ball's downward path. Rin Itoshi's sure goal was stopped just like that by Hiori Yo.

"I wanted to say this earlier—you two main characters are really self-centered." Lines converged in his eyes, Hiori Yo's gaze like a radar chart taking in everything on the pitch.

"You're ignoring us supporting characters too much. Be careful, or you'll get overthrown from below."

The transformed Hiori Yo—has arrived!

"Counterattack, counterattack." Ranze Kurona, controlling the ball that had deflected away, sounded the horn of the counteroffensive.

'It's hard for me to keep up with Shinichi's speed, and I don't have the long-built chemistry that Hiori has… so…'

While thinking, Ranze Kurona passed the ball back to the advancing Hiori Yo.

"Hiori, Hiori, I'll work with you."

As Hiori Yo carried the ball forward, Ranze Kurona used his extremely high agility to constantly move around Hiori Yo, always maintaining a perfect distance, ensuring there was forever an unobstructed passing lane between them.

"This guy's really impressive." In just this short time, Hiori Yo could already feel the change Ranze Kurona brought.

Hiori Yo felt his options suddenly open up. The constantly moving Ranze Kurona made himself Hiori Yo's first passing choice. The threat of one-twos not only dispersed the opponents' attention but also allowed Hiori Yo to drive straight forward and keep his vision unobstructed.

If one had to put it into words, Ranze Kurona was like a satellite orbiting around him!

"Th-that's amazing teamwork… what do we do… they already have a monster over there… w-we're going to lose…" Tokimitsu Aoshi bit his finger and stood there blankly. Seeing this, Hiori Yo frowned.

'What's wrong with this guy? He's stopped moving. Whatever you're planning, I'm going to—'

"Get past you!"

Without meeting any resistance, Hiori Yo slipped past Tokimitsu Aoshi with a simple direction change. However…

"I don't want that! I worked so hard to get this far, and finally found confidence through football… I don't want this!" In the instant they brushed past each other, Tokimitsu Aoshi's thigh muscles tensed, bursting explosively as he pushed off the ground. Twisting around like some aberrant creature, he instantly turned and blocked Hiori Yo again.

"Huh? There's no… ball?" Tokimitsu Aoshi was about to snatch the ball from Hiori Yo's feet when he realized the target had already left his sight. At some point, the ball had been passed to Ranze Kurona.

And in the split second Tokimitsu shifted his gaze to look for the ball, Hiori Yo suddenly made a reverse run. Tokimitsu Aoshi tried to use the same trick to chase him again, only to find his body felt as if it were being pressed down by something, making it hard to exert force.

"You really do run fast." Hiori Yo's eyes kept moving, constantly processing the information in his field of vision. "Unfortunately, my use of my eyes has also gone up a level."

In the first stage, facing balls coming from all directions at unknown times, in order to speed up and keep up with Shinichi, Hiori Yo had no choice but to keep forcing himself to evolve. The final result was—

"Originally, I could only process the information within my field of vision. Now, I can additionally process the data of 'sound'." Hiori Yo received Ranze Kurona's return pass.

"And in order to break through the Blue Lock goalkeeper's defense, I also incorporated the opponent's center of gravity into the data to be processed, deciding my running direction based on their balance."

"You're noisy and can't maintain your balance—so just stay behind."