Chapter 66: Keep Moving Forward
"What an incredibly intense match..."
"The constant struggle between Isagi, Kira, and Rin... all three of them are fighting for the initiative on the battlefield..."
"Just dealing with Kira gave us enough of a headache, and now there's Rin, too..."
"Bachira's creativity is also starting to link up with the rest of the Red Team..."
Nagi's breathing began to grow ragged. "Ah, they really are amazing. We have to beat them, no matter what."
Seishiro Nagi's brain began to whir into action, thinking about how he could help Isagi.
In his mind, another person's face floated to the surface.
It was Reo.
"Interesting. You just stay the way you are."
"Let's play soccer together!"
"You've changed, Nagi. The partner you want to play soccer with isn't me anymore, is it?"
'I'm sorry, Reo.'
'Since coming to Blue Lock, I really have changed.'
'I want to become stronger.'
'It was because I was too weak and lost the match to Isagi that you were left behind.'
''I'm sorry, Reo... I really am...'
'Actually, deep down, I wanted to leave you behind. Because when I was with you, I couldn't feel any way to get stronger.'
'When I found out Isagi chose me, I was happy inside.'
'Now, I beg you to forgive me!'
"Kick off, Nagi! Let's get a point back!!! We're going to crush them all!" Isagi's eyes were filled with nothing but excitement.
"Mhm." Nagi nodded, while speaking to himself in his heart: 'Whether it's Kira, Rin, or Isagi... they all make me improve more!'
'But to be honest, I don't know at all what kind of scenery they can see.'
'Perhaps the breadth of the field of vision for the three of them is about the same.'
'Isagi is always just that little bit short, because of the gap in his other abilities.'
'In that case, let me become that final step.'
Having organized his thoughts.
Bang!
Nagi passed the ball to Chigiri.
After receiving the ball, Chigiri had only one thought.
Accelerate. Accelerate.
Break past this long-limbed guy.
"Hey, pass the ball to me." Barou suddenly appeared.
Kira instantly stepped in to block his path.
"Tch, you're really annoying." Barou squeezed against Kira with all his might.
"Ugh..." Barou's ten-minute Trial Card had already expired. Kira grit his teeth, using every ounce of effort just to ensure he didn't lose his position.
But in Chigiri's eyes, it didn't look that way.
In his perception, there was no way Barou could win a physical contest against Kira.
So he continued to look for a passing option.
'Huh?'
In Chigiri's field of vision, a person ran over, ready to receive the ball.
'Nagi?'
'This wasn't discussed in our tactics, was it?'
Chigiri was puzzled internally.
But seeing Nagi's determined run, Chigiri passed the ball anyway.
"I don't care what kind of future you guys can predict... I'm going to shatter it all!!" Nagi roared loudly, preparing to receive the ball.
Whoosh!
Rin turned very quickly to defend against Nagi.
Nagi was shocked internally: 'This guy Rin, his cover speed is way too fast. Did he actually calculate my run as well?'
'In that case, I won't touch the ball.'
In the instant he pretended to receive the pass, Nagi pulled his foot back, letting the ball sail right through his legs.
It flew toward Isagi's position.
From the slight change in Rin's expression, it was clear he hadn't expected this either.
Puzzle pieces began to fall into place in Isagi's mind.
He understood Nagi's idea instantly.
A direct return pass.
A spectacular one-two!
He hadn't expected this simple tactic to work on a battlefield of this level.
The previous short one-two passes didn't work because the opponents were guarding against them.
This time, it was initiated while Rin was moving to cover Nagi.
It started after Nagi dummied the ball to Isagi.
Rin hadn't expected Isagi to be so bold—instead of dribbling to break through himself, he passed it right back to Nagi.
Nagi's appearance shattered Rin's preset simulation of the battlefield.
Nagi circled from behind Rin to the front, steadily receiving Isagi's pass.
Unfortunately, Rin hadn't been shaken off completely. With a burst of acceleration, he closed in on Nagi again.
'Woah, this guy... he can react to even this? His predictive ability and speed are terrifying.'
"In that case, I'll just... shoot directly!"
Nagi lifted his leg, aiming at the ball, ready to deliver a vicious kick.
Rin extended his leg to intercept, unhurried.
But immediately, Rin realized the predicted shot wasn't coming.
"It's a trap!"
Nagi stopped the ball and dragged it to his left side, lifting his left foot for a shot.
"Nagi, nice shot!" Isagi pumped his fist.
'Just as I thought. Playing with Isagi, facing opponents on the level of Kira and Rin... this is the only way I can grow...'
'I'm sorry, Reo. I can never go back to how things were before.'
'This is too exhilarating!'
"Huh?"
Just when Nagi thought the goal was a certainty.
Another white-haired figure appeared in front of the goal, aimed at the ball, and kicked it viciously. The ball was cleared away.
"What?"
Nagi stood frozen in place. When did Kira track back?
"That was a truly stylish clearance!" Aryu couldn't help but praise.
"Nice save, Kira!" Bachira danced with joy.
Chigiri stood there foolishly, recalling the scene just now. That speed... it was on par with his own, wasn't it?
Kira had suddenly thrown off Barou and accelerated from a standing start.
Like a bolt of lightning, he returned to the goal.
And intercepted the shot.
"Phew. That was close."
Kira let out a long breath. Good thing he made it in time, even if the cost was the Chigiri Trial Card.
"How was that, Rin? Almost got outsmarted there, didn't you? Are the opponents still 'too green' for you?" Kira asked Rin.
"Shut up. If I get angry, every drop of blood in my body starts to boil!" Itoshi Rin swept his hair back furiously.
***
On the other side.
"Too bad. We were just a little bit short, Nagi." Isagi walked over to Nagi's side to comfort him.
"I successfully broke past Rin, but I ignored Kira..." Nagi grit his teeth.
"I know your field of vision is about the same as theirs, but the gap lies in other abilities. That's why I wanted to break this deadlock..."
Nagi explained his thinking to Isagi.
Isagi Yoichi nodded.
But a different voice rang out inside his heart.
'Nagi... maybe I really can defeat them with you.'
'But if I do that, I won't become the world's number one striker.'
'I want to defeat Kira and Rin by relying on myself.'
***
Monitoring Room.
"Wow, that shot by Nagi just now was really cool." Anri switched the camera angles back and forth to watch Nagi's shot.
"Using a feint to drag the ball to the other side, then switching feet to shoot... that was really amazing."
"But the most amazing thing was Kira's clearance. Running back from so far away to clear the ball with one kick. You could call that a miracle, couldn't you? He actually caught up."
"Aaaaargh..."
Ego was very dissatisfied with Anri's statement. "To actually call that play a 'miracle'... you've really exposed your mediocrity, Anri."
"What do you mean?" Anri puffed out her cheeks in annoyance again.
"But that save... it's not the kind of spectacular defense you can just replicate whenever you want. Absolutely not!"
"That's not necessarily true." Ego expressed a different opinion.
"On the pitch, one must have the ability to grasp the situation of the players and the environment. Someone like Hyoma Chigiri possesses the same speed. But why didn't he accelerate to chase that ball?"
"Because he felt that his teammate was guaranteed to score, so he didn't act."
"But Kira, whose mind was focused solely on intercepting the ball, didn't care whether the shot was going in or not. His only thought was to get back to the goal and clear it. It's as simple as that."
Anri began to understand what Ego meant.
Opportunity always falls to those who are prepared.
That was probably the meaning behind it.
***
On the Pitch.
The score remained 1-2.
Kira's mind was also constantly replaying the White Team's attack just now.
'Yoichi Isagi, you can't beat us with just this.'
'Show me something interesting.'
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