"Whew… I'm beat. Haven't had a fight in a while my body's gotten rusty," Ryan muttered, stretching his shoulders.
He looked around the room.
All eleven players lay sprawled across the floor not unconscious, but unable to move without wincing from pain.
Was this guy even human?
That thought echoed in everyone's mind.
Ryan Hoshino wasn't like them. He wasn't just confident he was terrifying.
Unpredictable, unstoppable and maybe even a little insane.
Now, with only five seconds left on the timer, he stood tall among the fallen, eyes glinting with mischief.
"Five seconds, huh? Guess I should decide who to take out…"
His gaze swept across the helpless group.
Every player held their breath, praying silently Please, not me.
Those last five seconds felt like five eternal minutes.
Finally, Ryan smirked.
"You. Yeah, you're the weakest here. And I hate weaklings. Go back to your temple, monk."
Everyone's heads turned.
The chosen one the "lucky victim" was Gurimu Igarashi.
Ryan rolled the ball toward him.
The clock ticked down four… three… two…
Igarashi's eyes widened in panic.
"Yamete! (Stop!) Don't! I can't accept my soccer ending like this! I'll do anything wash your shoes, your clothes, whatever! You've got the wrong guy! Pick Isagi he's the weakest one here!"
But before he could finish begging, the ball brushed his leg.
Beep.
The timer hit zero.
The screen froze Igarashi's avatar flashing red.
Everyone else exhaled in relief.
Then Jinpachi Ego's face appeared on the monitor.
"Ah… my precious diamonds in the rough," he said with a sly grin.
"Here, results are everything. Lose and you're out. Gurimu Igarashi, eliminated."
Igarashi shot to his feet, trembling with rage.
"What kind of test is this?! How does tag prove anything about soccer? You can't eliminate me over a stupid game like this! And that guy he was fighting! That's cheating!"
He jabbed a finger at Ryan, furious, but Ryan only tilted his head, calm as ever.
Ego chuckled darkly.
"Blue Lock has nothing unrelated to soccer. Look around you, fool. This room's dimensions? Identical to a penalty box.
75% of all goals are scored from that zone.
If you can't function here you'll never survive as a striker."
"But this still isn't soccer!" Igarashi protested.
"Oh? Isn't it?" Ego's tone sharpened. "The runners needed spatial awareness, strategy, and positioning. The one with the ball needed precision, control, and decision-making under pressure.
I said no handballs but someone found a loophole and used it perfectly. That's what I call thinking with your brain. Excellent football instinct, dumbass."
"But the time was too short! Two minutes isn't soccer a match lasts ninety!"
"And yet, the average possession time for a single player per match is 136 seconds," Ego shot back.
"You wasted your opportunity fair and square."
"But my ball got stolen!" Igarashi shouted.
"And in a real game, what would you do then?
Stand there, watching as they counterattack?
The 'it' in this game was both victim and king one moment from losing, yet one pass away from victory.
A striker must carry all responsibility, fighting till the final second."
Ego's smile widened.
"Ryan Hoshino understood that from the start.
He seized control of the ball, survived to the end, and stood undefeated while you all failed to challenge him.
Eleven against one, and you still lost.
He's not bound by your herd mentality. He chases victory for himself. That's the striker's ego I seek absolute self-centered conviction.
Gurimu Igarashi, Lock Off."
Igarashi screamed, refusing to accept it.
"He knocked us all down! That can't be allowed!"
But when he turned to Ryan and met those calm, crimson eyes, the fight drained from him.
He swallowed hard, lowered his head, and left in silence.
The room stayed quiet.
Everyone was still processing what they'd seen.
Yoichi Isagi stared at the floor, memories flashing the chaos, the raw violence, the sheer dominance Ryan had displayed.
So strong…
That power, that body… I want to be like that.
Reiji Kunigami suddenly stepped forward, breaking the silence.
Everyone tensed up the guy had just been beaten half to death, and now he was confronting Ryan again.
"Why did you do that? We should've fought fair and square!"
Ryan blinked, then smiled.
"I did. I beat you fair and square, didn't I?
No sneak attacks. Just two clean punches and you went down."
Kunigami froze, realizing… he was right.
He nodded, solemnly.
The others gawked.
Is this guy for real? He's agreeing with him?!
Ryan clapped Kunigami's shoulder approvingly.
"Not bad, man. You took two of my punches and stayed standing pretty tough. I like you, Kunigami Reiji. You've earned my respect."
Kunigami scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Th… thanks."
The rest of Team Z exchanged looks. Maybe Ryan wasn't a complete maniac after all.
Maybe… he was just deadly serious about soccer.
Soon after, Meguru Bachira bounced up to him, grinning ear to ear.
"Hey hey, how'd you do that?"
"Do what?" Ryan raised a brow.
"You know! You went shoom and grabbed my leg then wham, tossed me like a ragdoll!"
"Hahaha! Oh, that? I'm just naturally built different. And I hit the gym every week, too."
He flexed his biceps proudly.
Bachira's eyes sparkled.
"Heh, sugoii (awesome)… then you must see them too, right? Monsters."
Ryan blinked, his grin fading into curiosity.
"Monsters, huh…?"
The air between them shifted excitement, curiosity, and a flicker of something dangerous.
Because in that moment, the monsters inside both of them stirred.