035 Blue Lock: System Ten Years Early

"Well said." From the corner, a round of applause sounded as Nishioka Hajime walked out of the shadows.

"Yo, Shinichi, sorry for interrupting you while you were disciplining your subordinates. Long time no see."

"I was wondering how long you planned to keep eavesdropping, Little Messi." Shinichi turned around and looked down at Nishioka Hajime coldly.

"I told you not to call me by that title anymore." Nishioka Hajime instantly broke character, roaring once before hurriedly coughing twice to cover his embarrassment.

"Ahem... I'm very grateful that you woke me up from that meaningless glory, but this isn't over yet."

"Next time, the winner will be me."

"Thank you."

"Huh... huh?" Nishioka Hajime suddenly turned his head, staring in disbelief at the Shinichi who had thanked him.

"Ah? Thank me? For what?"

"I just wanted to thank you for the inspiration. I really owe it to you." Shinichi grinned wickedly, picked up a drink, and walked out.

"Oh right, I almost forgot to say it—your weapon is really easy to use."

"Hey! Come back! What do you mean by that? Explain it clearly!"

...

"Next, you will undergo enhanced physical training. Also, during this period, you are absolutely forbidden to touch the ball." On the wall of Team Z, which had barely defeated Team V, the detestable face of Ego Jinpachi appeared once again.

"Hah? Isn't the second selection supposed to start immediately?" Raichi Jingo's veins bulged as he roared at the screen, and the others followed with complaints.

"You only won in the bottom-most Building No. 5. What are you getting arrogant about? Train until I tell you to stop, you bunch of trash!" Ego Jinpachi disdainfully cut off everyone's complaints. With a wave of his hand, a figure running with a VR headset appeared beside him, with all kinds of incomprehensible data listed one by one.

"Those who entered the high-ranking buildings don't need to participate in the first selection. They're already undergoing the most advanced training. You can just wait until they finish."

"I gave you a chance to train your stamina. You should be grateful, idiots! You must recognize that you are at the very bottom."

"Oh, right. You're probably very concerned about Kōken Shinichi's current situation." Ego Jinpachi put on an affected look as if he had suddenly remembered. "That guy is doing extremely well now. He crushed all his enemies and even comprehended brand-new weapons under top-tier training conditions."

"Damn it, that really pisses me off to hear." Raichi Jingo roared with a ferocious expression. "Just wait—sooner or later I'll wipe out all those guys living the good life up there."

"Agreed! We'll snatch their positions too!"

"That's right. What's so great about having a high ranking? We've won our way here even with worse rankings."

Everyone's motivation was instantly stirred up by Ego Jinpachi's highly provocative words, and they charged into the training room full of drive.

'Shinichi... is also undergoing even higher-level training?' For some reason, Isagi Yoichi felt a sense of urgency rise in his heart.

'But I've already clarified my own goal-scoring formula—and there are two different formulas!'

The formula of "spatial awareness + direct shot" can help me score directly when I find an opportunity, while "off-the-ball movement + use of blind spots in vision" allows me to actively create opportunities.

"And my off-the-ball movement ability awakened during the match against Team V, without deeper development. Maybe if I swap the conditions in these two formulas, I can even combine them into a brand-new goal theory." Isagi Yoichi clenched his fists. "Shinichi, wait for me!"

...

"Ding. The first selection ends here. All players, proceed to the underground central area to assemble."

On the morning ten days later, the broadcast suddenly sounded, a pleasant female voice guiding everyone toward the target area.

"It's finally over?"

"Isn't this way too late, bastard! If it were one more day, I'd tear this Blue Lock apart."

After ten full days of stamina training pushed to the limit, everyone in Team Z looked utterly ferocious, cursing viciously as they got up.

"We're absolutely going to win!"

"Let's go!"

"It's time!"

'We can finally touch the ball. The second selection is about to begin.' Isagi Yoichi, at the very back of the group, pressed a hand to his chest. As the distance to the target grew shorter, his heart began to pound violently. 'The enemies we'll face next all have higher rankings than us—and even that invincible man is here!'

"But I'm not afraid at all. On the contrary, I'm itching to try. I want to test my strength, to test my brand-new formulas!" Isagi Yoichi clenched his fist tightly. "Come on—I'll wipe you all out!"

Everyone walked out through the main gate and entered an enormous pentagonal room.

'They're from the other buildings. Strange—why are they all panting?' Isagi Yoichi subconsciously looked at the arm of someone on the right, only to see that beneath the pentagonal Blue Lock logo, it clearly displayed Team W, Rank 237.

"Huh? How is that possible? Over there is Team X—what's going on!"

"Yo yo, all you raw gems of talent. After training stamina for so long, you've all worked hard. Smart people should have already realized that among you, there's no one from Buildings One, Two, Three, or Four."

"To be precise, Blue Lock only has Building Five."

"Smart... that's right, I realized it a long time ago." Zantetsu pushed up his sports glasses and immediately spoke, then looked to Reo beside him. "Uh, what does it mean that there's only Building Five?"

"It means we've all been played!" Reo gritted his teeth as he looked at the screen. "That bastard."

"All of you thought you were at the very bottom, foolishly fighting for your lives in the first selection."

"Seriously? Are you kidding me?!"

"You tricked us?!"

"Yes, that's right. Those of you who entered Blue Lock are the elites among Japan's forwards, always basking in praise as Geniuses." Ego Jinpachi calmly admitted his deception, then suddenly leaned close to the camera, his dead fish eyes staring straight at everyone.

"But that's only Genius status in this trash country. Look at the world, and you're nothing more than a bunch of mediocrities. To destroy your half-baked confidence, and to cultivate the hunger that drives you to become the world's number one—that's why everything was a deliberately designed system."

"We're not your toys."

"This is ridiculous. You've gone too far! I'm going to file a complaint!"

"Idiots!" Ego Jinpachi suddenly roared. "Your very attitude proves that you're nothing but half-baked."

"Take Noel Noa, known as the world's number one forward. He was born in the slums of France. In the most literal sense, football was his only way out."

"There are countless forwards who grew up in such environments. For them, playing football is the only chance to change their lives, and so their desire to score is incomparably intense."

"Even without football, you could still enjoy comfortable lives. You will never obtain true hunger for goals."

"Blue Lock exists to cultivate that hunger. In fact, isn't it because you want to defeat people ranked higher than yourselves, because you believe you can win, that you came here?"

"That hunger can transform into selfishness that changes the world."

Hiori Yo turned his head to look at Shinichi beside him. Even though his goal was slightly different... yes, he wanted to become the one who changes the world!

"Heh..." Watching the eyes of the people below gradually grow fiery, the corners of Ego Jinpachi's mouth lifted slightly, before quickly returning to calm.

"The second selection of Blue Lock is about to begin!"