030 Blue Lock: System Ten Years Early

"Had enough fun?"

With a burst of wind, Shinichi blocked Otoya Eita right in front of him at the same moment Otoya reached the second ball.

'So rushed, and he still noticed and sealed off my shooting lane… how annoying.'

Otoya's usually expressionless face rarely showed a trace of wariness, yet the leg he lifted high did not hesitate in the slightest.

Otoya Eita swung his leg to shoot, but the football brushed past—at this split-second, life-or-death moment, Otoya still made a feint!

Shinichi, who had rushed back on defense, barely had time to plant himself into a defensive stance.There was simply no way he could also predict this spur-of-the-moment fake.

He instinctively leapt in the direction of Otoya's swinging leg, trying to block a shot that did not exist.

Using the precious gap created by that feint, Otoya Eita swung his leg again before Shinichi could react and press—and the football flew sideways just like that.

The Otoya Eita who kept insisting on playing to his own rhythm actually chose this moment to pass the ball!

And the direction the football flew was—

"Just as I thought, the final target is you, Karasu!"

Hiori Yo suddenly blocked Karasu Tabito's path.

"I've seen through your entire script!"

"You really have improved a lot, Hiori."

Karasu Tabito raised his hand fiercely, fighting for space to receive the ball.

But having already stalemated for a long time to hold Shinichi back, he was somewhat drained, and Hiori Yo's physical contest ability had also improved through hard training during this time.

For a moment, he actually couldn't shake Hiori Yo's body.

"Unfortunately, you still haven't seen the whole picture!"

With Karasu Tabito's words, Hiori Yo's pupils suddenly shrank. But at this moment, Karasu Tabito shifted his offense and instead began obstructing Hiori Yo's movement.

Hiori Yo tried to break free—but it was already too late.

"I make my gorgeous entrance!"

Aryu Jyubei, who had originally been far away, began sprinting the instant Otoya Eita passed the ball.

At last, he leapt high at this moment. His absurdly long legs intercepted the pass before the other two. After landing, with only a slight pause—before he could even stabilize his center of gravity—he raised his foot and shot toward the target.

Though rushed, the quality of this shot was far from poor.

The football spun violently, and the goalkeeper standing to the side failed to notice that its trajectory maintained a subtle arc the entire time.

And it was precisely this tiny, seemingly insignificant deflection that led to a vast difference in outcome.

The goalkeeper's judgment was slightly off; the outstretched hand failed to fully stop the ball, instead letting it graze his palm and deflect downward, about to charge straight into the goal.

"One after another—are you guys never done?!"

A slightly disheveled figure slid in place. The football struck the extended shin and bounced weakly away.

It was Shinichi!

The instant Aryu Jyubei appeared, he had predicted the possible shooting lane. Then, watching his own goalkeeper's movement, he stayed ready at all times to cover any gap—and finally blocked this shot with a sliding tackle—

"Don't relax! The ball's not dead yet!"

Shinichi, lying on the ground, roared angrily at his teammates around him. However, it was already too late.

Otoya Eita appeared with pinpoint accuracy at the landing point in front of the goal. His hollow eyes ignited with sparks of flame, staring fixedly at the football spinning backward toward him—and what greeted it was a merciless, full-powered strike!

"I already said it—play football to my rhythm."

Swish!

Gooooooooal!

1:3 → 2:3

"Ohhhhhhh!"

Karasu Tabito shouted as he pounced on Otoya Eita, cheering wildly. Aryu Jyubei kept flicking his long hair, eyes glazed, shouting things like "gorgeous" and "tide" and other incomprehensible words.

Hiori Yo braced his hands on his knees, panting heavily, constantly sizing up the three celebrating in front of the goal.

"These guys… first they created the illusion of two people trading with Shinichi, letting that ninja handle things alone. In reality, it was just to drain and delay Shinichi, forcing him into mistakes under pressure."

"As long as Shinichi rushed back, the ninja would pass, while Karasu acted as bait to draw me in.

The real target was still to rely on Aryu Jyubei's physical attributes—his extremely wide ball-control range—to deal with my defense.

And the purpose of that shot afterward wasn't to score, but to force Shinichi to act."

"With one calculation chained to the next, the ninja would ultimately end up completely unmarked,and then use his ultra-fast reaction to second balls in front of the goal as the finishing point."

"I got played."

Hiori Yo's eyes burst with excited light.

"No wonder they placed their hopes on a ninja who isn't that good at solo offense— it was all just a smokescreen. In reality, it was a combination tactic that fully leveraged the strengths of all three. As expected of you, Karasu. But this is what makes it fun! A game that gets cracked open so easily isn't worth wasting time on."

"Shinichi, let's go get it back—"

Hiori Yo turned to call out, but his voice grew lower and lower.

"Shinichi?"

"Ah, it's nothing…"

Shinichi stood up from the ground, casually brushing off the grass clippings stuck to him from the slide.

"I'm just… inexplicably a bit annoyed."

For a moment, Hiori Yo seemed to see pitch-black flames ignite around Shinichi. That familiar pressure surged upward with Shinichi at its center, unconsciously pressing down on his breathing.Shinichi grabbed his jersey to wipe the sweat from his face, then turned his head to look at the stunned Hiori Yo.

"Let's go. We're going to destroy them."

"Y-yes!"

Hiori Yo snapped to attention reflexively. Only after Shinichi turned away did he finally let out a breath.

"It's back again…"

After taking several deep breaths, Hiori Yo looked at Karasu Tabito with a bit of sympathy.

"Looks like you guys are in for it now."

"…But I don't really have time to feel sorry for them either. In this state, if I want to keep up with Shinichi, I'll have to be ready to risk my life. Sigh… following a tyrant really is suffering."

Beep—beep!

"Yo, how is it, Genius?"

Karasu Tabito smiled as he blocked Shinichi, raising his hand to restrict Shinichi's first step.At the same time, his feet kept probing, forcing Shinichi into constant small adjustments to evade.

"Did this little trick still catch your eye?"

"Looks like that goal really made you guys happy."

Shinichi wasn't in a hurry.While steadily shielding the ball and advancing at a slow pace, he spoke calmly.

"For mediocrities, it was pretty decent. Since I started playing football, you're the first ones who managed to score while I was being serious."

"That really is an honor."

"Yeah. So, for your great achievement, I'll grant you a special favor."

Shinichi suddenly burst forward. He then turned his body halfway, driving his shoulder into Karasu Tabito's chest, and lifted his foot to kick the football.

'He's shooting already? From the angle, is he passing to Hiori? But you're a bit hasty!'

Karasu Tabito saw this kick clearly. At this moment, his mind was exceptionally clear.

He even waited until Shinichi's foot truly made contact with the ball before finally relaxing, then extended his left foot at the perfect timing.

"Got it!"

Karasu Tabito was first ecstatic— then sudden terror rapidly crawled across his face.

Because the football that Shinichi clearly kicked did not leave his toe at all.

Instead, it clung tightly to Shinichi's foot as if glued. That hooked toe carried the ball along a marvelous arc, slipping it straight through Karasu's legs.

In the moment it took Karasu Tabito to turn around with difficulty, Shinichi had already passed by his side and received the ball.

Shinichi glanced back. Karasu Tabito's helpless expression was reflected in those indifferent pupils, drowned and devoured by pitch-black flames.

"The favor… is the deepest—despair!"