Rin Itoshi stood frozen, his expression unreadable as he pondered the words Ryūma had just spoken.
Meanwhile, Ryūma yawned, his drowsiness obvious as he walked toward the exit of the training ground.
"Think carefully about what I said, Rin. I'm dead tired. I'm heading back to my room to sleep."
"I don't even know what got into me, sparring one-on-one with you for nearly an hour in the middle of the night."
With that, Ryūma had already left the training ground, leaving Rin standing alone, lost in thought. It seemed Ryūma's words had hit him too hard—he still hadn't recovered...
The next day at the training ground...
"Still not quite there, Daiwa. Your sliding tackles blur the line between clean challenges and dangerous fouls. You're not allowed to use them in the penalty area during the next match!"
"Triplets, your coordinated Triangle Offense is actually pretty good."
"But your flaw is obvious—the moment you receive the ball, you instinctively look toward the teammate you want to pass to."
"Any team that watches your tapes a few times could easily cut off those passes."
"And Hiori, you've got the same bad habit. You only look at the guy you're passing to, which makes your intentions way too easy to read."
Ryūma stood outside the training ground, constantly coaching Team V during their drills.
Spotting Rin practicing nearby, Ryūma couldn't resist teasing him.
"Oh, and you, Rin Itoshi—lose that cold face. It makes you look like a punching bag! Opponents will foul you just for that. Change it up, will you?"
"Hah? That filthy mouth of yours really needs stitching shut!"
As Rin approached with a chilling glare, Ryūma chuckled.
"Relax. You hadn't said a word all day, so I thought you were sulking. Just teasing you a bit—glad you're not sulking after all."
Just as Rin was about to snap back, Ego Jinpachi's voice boomed from the big screen.
"Yo~yo! The sixth match of the Star Player Diamonds in the Rough tournament has concluded!"
"Here are the results and rankings—take a look!"
The large screen lit up, showing each team's points and standings:
1st Place: 『Team X』 Points: 『6』 Goal Difference: 『+15』
2nd Place: 『Team V』 Points: 『6』 Goal Difference: 『+12』
3rd Place: 『Team Y』 Points: 『3』 Goal Difference: 『-6』
4th Place: 『Team Z』 Points: 『3』 Goal Difference: 『-8』
5th Place: 『Team W』 Points: 『0』 Goal Difference: 『-12』
"Ryūma, Team X really is strong. Even with all our goals, we couldn't surpass them."
Ryūma didn't answer Yo Hiori right away. Instead, he frowned, thinking to himself:
(Huh? What's this? At this rate, Team W has no chance of everyone advancing. That means either Shingen Tanaka or Kyohei Shiguma will be eliminated?)
(So one of them won't even make it to the second selection? Looks like that's the butterfly effect of me being here in Blue Lock.)
(And Team X's goal count is that high? Who's their core player?)
(Interesting... I'm getting more and more excited to see what happens next in Blue Lock!)
Ego Jinpachi gave no time for discussion, continuing his announcement.
"I will now adjust the internal rankings of each Blue Lock team based on match results and performance."
The instant he finished, the rankings on the arms of Team V's players began to change.
"As strikers, you prove your worth through goals. Those with higher-value goals rank higher. Which means, the current top-ranked player on Team V is—"
"You, Ryūma!"
Ryūma ignored the envious and congratulatory looks from his teammates, instead flashing a sly grin at Rin.
"Huh? Me? First place? Who would've thought~ I guess I scored a lot without even realizing it."
Feigning ignorance, he glanced at the others and asked with mock curiosity,
"Do any of you even know who's in second place? Ah, forget it~"
"No one actually remembers who's second, right?"
Rin, listening to Ryūma's sarcasm, finally lost his patience and looked ready to beat him senseless.
Just then, Ego Jinpachi's voice cut in, stopping the chaos.
"Enough. Blue Lock prohibits violence. But Ryūma and Rin have both clearly discovered their own soccer weapons."
"Finding your weapon is the essential first step for a striker. The next is to hone and strengthen it."
"Make it stand out!"
"For example, Argentina's world-class striker, Lionel Messi."
"His weapon is his unique, delicate high-frequency dribbling and his terrifyingly fast left-footed shot!"
"In this, he's the most outstanding player on Earth—hence his dominance as a top-tier striker."
"Each of you has different weapons, so the way to sharpen them differs as well. Copying Messi won't make your weapon shine."
"Your unique weapon—the one that can turn zero into one—how will you amplify it, evolve it, and make it your own? Develop your distinct style and highlight your weapon!"
"That fiery uncut gem called talent—if you don't refine it, it'll rot into worthless trash born of self-satisfaction!"
The seventh match would begin in 24 hours.
Team V vs. Team Y!
"Alright, that's enough for today. Go back, rest up, and get ready for tomorrow's victory."
Ryūma said confidently before heading back to Team V's room to sleep.
"Ryūma, wait! Shouldn't we at least watch Team Y's match replay?"
"Hah? Seriously, Hiori? Just look at Team Y's goal difference—they're weaklings."
"I'd rather watch Team X. Their goal tally's even higher than Rin's and mine combined."
"Anyway, I'm going to bed. Rin's already gone. Team Y's probably on the same level as Team Z."
Hiori still wanted to argue, but seeing Ryūma had already left, he gave up.
He knew about Ryūma's one-on-one with Rin the previous night, so instead of calling him back, Hiori went alone to study Team Y's match replay...
24 hours later, inside Team V's locker room...
"Ryūma, I watched Team Y's game yesterday. They don't seem to have any standout players, but there's something strange about them."
"Eh, who cares. You don't really think they can stop my attacks, do you?"
"Cut the chatter. Let's get on the field and finish this match."
Rin strode out onto the pitch first, followed by Ryūma and the others.
Team Y had already set up their formation:
Front three: Left Winger, Center Forward, Right Winger
Midfield five: Left Attacking Midfielder, Left Midfielder, Central Midfielder, Right Midfielder, Right Attacking Midfielder
Defense two: Left Back, Right Back
As Ryūma and his teammates took their positions, the mechanical voice announced the start of the match.
"Building 5, Match 7—Team V vs. Team Y. Kickoff!!"
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser
...
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