"Blue Lock's Ryūsei Shidō scores a spectacular goal!" The commentator exclaimed as the stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.
His equalizer halted Blue Lock's downward spiral!
"That felt amazing!" Watching his replay, Ryūsei pumped his fist in triumph.
"Well done, Shidō!"
As his teammates rushed to celebrate with him—
Ryūsei suddenly darted past them all, heading in a specific direction.
"Huh?"
"What's he doing?"
He ran straight to Yoichi and embraced him joyfully.
"That pass was incredible, Isagi! I knew you were special during the selection, and I was right! Let's live together, let's live together!"
"Hey hey hey, what are you doing?!" Yoichi shoved him away — this guy was completely unhinged.
But their connection on the field was undeniable!
Using his Metavision, Yoichi had delivered a pass that only Ryūsei could receive. With his exceptional individual skill, Ryūsei had drawn out the U-20 team's defensive line and broken through their crowded formation to score a stunning goal.
One had creative offensive techniques; the other's pass maximized that potential.
The Blue Lock team's spirits soared once again.
Yet Yoichi knew it wasn't enough. He also realized his play had somewhat strayed from Coach Jimpachi's guidance.
"What an impressive fellow." Oliver mused from afar, "His seemingly nonsensical positioning yielded results — no, it's not surprising. This defiance of common sense is his style, his essence."
While the rest of Blue Lock moved in harmony, Ryūsei was a wild card, his movements jarring against the team's rhythm. He played as if everyone — even teammates — were opponents.
But as Sae noted, the real focal point wasn't that madman, but Yoichi. He had managed to harness Ryūsei's chaos, letting him play freely...
'This is... truly an exciting match.'
A smile appeared on Oliver's face. Rather than dampening his spirits, this goal had only heightened his excitement.
Blue Lock's players were proving far more troublesome than Ryōsuke had described.
But such challenging matches made everything more interesting. The blood in Oliver's heart grew hotter by the minute.
And he wasn't alone — the other players shared his sentiment.
"Isagi has reached a level similar to yours, hasn't he?" Ryōsuke said with a smile as he walked to Sae's side.
Yoichi was growing at a remarkable pace, even surpassing expectations. More impressively, he was driving his teammates to evolve alongside him.
Sae remained silent, watching Yoichi from afar with a contemplative expression.
At first, he hadn't taken this match seriously. He'd come merely to test his compatibility with Ryōsuke and evaluate Blue Lock's players.
Now he had his answer.
"It seems we've been surpassed." Ryōsuke said, smiling.
Sae's eyes narrowed slightly.
The U-20 team launched their attack anew, with Sae driving the ball forward.
Just past the halfway line, Tabito and Kenyū moved to block him, while Yoichi observed from afar, searching for potential passing lanes and interception opportunities.
"Yuki, we must stop him! If we shut him down, we'll have the advantage!" Tabito shouted.
"Understood! I'll block his passing lanes!" Kenyū pressed forward, determined to deny their opponent any space.
Sae's face remained expressionless.
In an instant, he accelerated — a ghostlike figure — slipping past his defender!
Kenyū couldn't react before being beaten.
"Damn it!" Tabito rushed to cover as Sae leaned forward, seemingly about to push the ball with his left foot.
But just as his left foot approached the ball, he changed direction — right foot forward, left foot pulling back, then pushing forward, wrapping the ball from behind his right foot to the front!
A reverse cow-tail dribble!
The movement was swift and precise, effortlessly beating Tabito.
"Damn it!" He chased after Sae frustratedly, but the distance between them had already widened.
"Sae Itoshi seems different..." Yoichi stared intently at him, "He's taking this more seriously now. Will he pass to Kira? Or attack himself?"
His mind raced through possibilities while he moved forward to delay Sae's advance.
But Yoichi stood no chance against his opponent — the gap in both technique and physicality was enormous. With just a few fluid moves, Sae cleanly beat him.
Straight toward the goal!
"Don't think you'll get through!" Reo immediately moved to defend, positioning himself beside his opponent.
Mimicking Oliver's defensive ability, he was determined to give Sae no opening!
"Boring, just an inferior imitation." With these dismissive words, Sae swung his left foot, passing the ball to the side.
The motion was smooth and seamless, the ball flying through a space just beyond Reo's reach.
Because of Sae's aggressive offensive, most defenders were focused on him.
Which left Ryōsuke facing far fewer defenders!
"This is bad!" Ikki exclaimed in alarm, instantly recognizing where Sae's pass was headed.
But there was nothing he could do to stop it!
Though he rushed to the likely landing spot as quickly as possible, Ryōsuke was faster, easily positioning himself to block Ikki and claiming the ball first!
However, Blue Lock's defense hadn't completely fallen apart!
"I've got this!"
Just as Ryōsuke touched the ball, the towering Jūbē Aryū had already positioned himself in front.
Though he lacked Ikki's Metavision or Reo's mimicry ability, he made up for it with his defensive instincts — by following Ikki's lead.
Wherever he moved, Jūbē followed close behind, allowing him to position himself before Ryōsuke without any need for communication.
Even lacking speed and power, he could use his height advantage to block!
"Great defense!" Ikki shouted approvingly.
Jūbē's defense was excellent — but for Ryōsuke, it still wasn't a threat!
❖ First Form ➠ Thunderclap and Flash! ❖
He accelerated suddenly, seemingly charging straight past Jūbē's side, forcing the defender to backpedal.
But this action was exactly what Ryōsuke wanted!
The moment Jūbē retreated, he used Thunderclap and Flash again, forcefully planting his foot to stop dead in his tracks!
Jūbē's tall stature meant his center of gravity was high — and a high center of gravity meant an unstable base.
Seeing Ryōsuke's sudden movement, Jūbē was forced to shift his position forward to block him. The abrupt change in his center of gravity made it difficult to maintain balance, causing his body to lean forward involuntarily.
This was the perfect opportunity to break through!
Ryōsuke accelerated again, seizing the moment Jūbē lost his balance, and charged straight for the goal!
Gin Gagamaru rushed out to intercept, trying to block the shooting angle.
If he let Ryōsuke take a shot, there would be no stopping it. Having witnessed his terrifying shooting power before, Gin had to stop him before he could shoot!
"I can stop this!" Even before Jūbē was beaten, Gin had started moving, sticking close to Ryōsuke, determined not to give him any shooting space.
If only he could block this monster...
"You've completely shifted your defensive focus to me and Sae, huh."
At that moment, Ryōsuke said softly, gently lifting his foot to pass the ball to the side—
"A pass?!"
"No, over there!" Ikki shouted anxiously, knowing exactly who Ryōsuke was passing to.
Instead of attacking himself or passing back to Sae, he'd chosen the option with the highest chance of success!
Ikki chased desperately, but his physical limitations left him a step too slow.
Shūto Sendō had already made his way to the center!
"Great pass, Kira! I won't let you down this time! Can't let that arrogant genius keep showing off!"
Shūto shouted excitedly as he received the pass and took the shot!
There was no defender in front of him!
Goal!
[ Scoreboard ]
[ 4:3 ]
The U-20 team takes the lead again!
"Yes! Yes!" Shūto joyfully ran to Ryōsuke, hugging him in celebration — he had finally managed to score in the match.
After successfully scoring, he seemed to become even more energetic.
"Finally managed to score when there was absolutely no defense." Sae said expressionlessly as he looked at Shūto.
"Well done, Sendō! Now you're showing some promise!" Oliver smiled from the back line.
"Damn it!" Yoichi punched the air in frustration, realizing the real problem.
Even though he, Ikki, and Reo had Metavision, it was impossible to completely shut down Ryōsuke — they could only try to restrict him with multiple defenders to prevent him from receiving the ball.
Not just Ryōsuke, but Sae also required multiple defenders to contain.
But this meant... the other U-20 team members were left completely unmarked!
Ryōsuke and Sae would always draw multiple defenders, and their movements would create opportunities for their teammates.
The Blue Lock players had no choice — if they left even the slightest gap in their defense, Ryōsuke would mercilessly exploit it. This was his style of play: combining fearsome individual skill with precise opportunity creation.
Jimpachi had said that forwards needed to be complete egoists, focusing only on scoring themselves.
But not Ryōsuke — while possessing excellent offensive abilities, he could also create chances for his teammates and never held back on defense. What he could do went far beyond just scoring.
{T/N: It's pretty easy to be generous when you've already scored a hat-trick in the match.}
Moreover, his actions had elevated the entire U-20 team's morale. Yoichi had to admit that compared to Rin or Ryūsei, Ryōsuke was his ideal model of a perfect forward.
He desperately wanted to defeat him! Whatever tactics, whatever philosophy, whatever method it took, Yoichi just wanted to win this match!
They had to maintain constant pressure and keep the score close — that was their only chance at victory!
Blue Lock kicked off again, and Yoichi immediately drove forward with the ball.
"How to win... keep using Shidō's individual ability? Maximizing his potential is our only option right now."
Seeing Shūto coming to mark him, he didn't hesitate, instead launching a long pass — Ryūsei was already in position.
The ball went to a spot where only he could reach!
"Here we go!" Ryūsei ran toward the ball's trajectory, his hot blood turning to fuel, giving him endless power.
He leaped high, ready to replicate his previous shot!
"Get in there!" Ryūsei shouted, his emotions peaking as he put all his strength into the shot.
"Sorry, but I can't let that happen this time."
But just as he took the shot, a figure appeared in the ball's path.
Ryōsuke!
❖❖❖
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