Blue Lock. Building 5. Match 3.
Team Z vs. Team W.
Score: 2 - 3
The ball spun across the green turf, slowing down as the friction of the grass ate away at Isagi's "suicide pass."
To the spectators—the Wanima brothers, Raichi, Kuon—it looked like a throwaway play. A mistake born of desperation.
"It's going out!" Junichi Wanima laughed, jogging casually toward the touchline. "Nice pass, idiot!"
"He gave up!" Keisuke sneered.
But time seemed to dilate for Chigiri Hyoma.
He stared at the rolling ball. It was moving away from him. Just like his future.
Flashback.
The roar of the crowd. The wind in his ears. The blur of colors.
In middle school, Chigiri was a god. Not because he was strong, or smart. But because he was fast.
Speed is the ultimate weapon. It cannot be taught. It cannot be bought. You are either born with it, or you are prey.
"Chigiri! You're amazing!"
"He's a rocket!"
He loved it. He loved being the best. He loved looking back and seeing everyone else struggling in his dust. The Wanima brothers? They were just background characters in his story.
Then came the sound.
POP.
A sound like a dry branch snapping inside his right knee. The pain was blinding. The world tilted.
The doctor's office. The white walls. The X-rays.
"ACL tear. We can reconstruct it, but... your knee will never be 100% stable again."
"If you tear it again... your career is over. You will never run like that again."
Rehab. Pain. Fear.
When he returned to the field, the wind was gone. Every step was calculated. Every tackle was a potential execution. He started running at 80%. Then 70%.
The Wanima brothers overtook him. They laughed at him.
"The genius is broken."
"Glass Ace."
He joined Blue Lock not to become the best, but to find a reason to quit. To find someone who could truly crush him so he could say, "I did my best, but my leg held me back."
End Flashback.
The Present.
Chigiri looked at Isagi Yoichi.
The boy with the blue flames in his eyes had looked right through the excuse.
"Run for yourself."
Chigiri's hands clenched into fists. His nails dug into his palms.
Isagi is right. I'm not protecting my leg. I'm protecting my pride.
I'm scared that if I run full speed and fail, I'll have no excuses left.
But the ball was still rolling.
And deep inside the "Glass Ace," a monster was screaming.
I don't want to end here.
I want the wind again.
"SCREW IT!" Chigiri roared.
He didn't step. He exploded.
He slammed his right foot—the broken foot—into the turf with violent force.
Break if you want to! I don't care anymore!
BOOM.
It sounded like a gunshot.
Chigiri Hyoma vanished from his standing position.
"Huh?" Junichi Wanima, who was casually jogging to the ball, felt a gust of wind ruffle his jersey.
He turned his head.
All he saw was a red streak.
"W-What?!"
Chigiri tore through the empty space. His acceleration was so sudden, so violent, that it defied physics.
The fear was gone. The hesitation was incinerated by the adrenaline.
I'm running.
I'm running!
This heat... this speed... this is me!
Isagi watched from the midfield. His expression didn't change, but his eyes narrowed, tracking the data.
Acceleration confirmed, Isagi analyzed. Top speed: S-Rank. He is covering 50 meters in under 6 seconds.
The Wanima brothers are reacting too late. They are looking at the ball, not the velocity.
The Team W defender, Tanaka, was closer to the ball. He had a 10-meter head start.
"I got it!" Tanaka yelled, sliding to kick the ball out.
"Move," a voice whispered behind him.
Tanaka didn't even have time to blink.
Chigiri overtook him on the outside. He reached the ball inches before the touchline.
He trapped it with the outside of his right boot while sprinting at full tilt.
Mach Trap.
"Impossible!" Kuon gasped from the other side of the field. "He caught up?!"
Chigiri turned toward the goal.
The Wanima brothers were sprinting back in a panic.
"Kill him!" Keisuke screamed. "Break his leg!"
"Tackle him!" Junichi yelled.
They converged on Chigiri. A pincer movement.
Chigiri saw them coming.
In the past, I would have stopped. I would have passed.
But now?
Chigiri smiled. It was a wild, ecstatic smile.
You guys look like you're standing still.
Chigiri didn't dribble around them. He simply kicked the ball forward into the open space behind them.
A "kick and rush."
Pure arrogance.
"Catch me if you can," Chigiri laughed.
He accelerated again.
Gear Second.
He blew past the Wanima brothers as if they were statues. The gap widened instantly. Two meters. Five meters. Ten meters.
It was a massacre of speed.
"He's fast..." Bachira whispered, eyes wide. "He's a monster too."
Chigiri was alone with the goalkeeper.
He was moving so fast the keeper didn't know whether to come out or stay back.
I don't need to stop, Chigiri thought. I don't need to slow down to shoot.
My momentum is my weapon.
He planted his left foot. He swung his right leg.
He didn't aim for power. He aimed for the corner.
Sniper Shot.
The ball left his foot like a laser beam. It stayed low, skimming the grass, and nestled perfectly into the bottom left corner.
GOAL.
Team Z: 3 - Team W: 3
The stadium erupted.
"YEAHHH!" Raichi screamed, forgetting his anger. "You crazy red-head! You were holding out on us?!"
"Chigiri!" Kunigami ran over, grabbing him in a headlock. "That was incredible!"
Chigiri stood by the corner flag, chest heaving. He looked down at his right leg.
It throbbed. It hurt.
But it wasn't broken.
He looked up, tears of relief and joy streaming down his face.
"I'm back," Chigiri whispered. "I'm back."
He turned to look for Isagi.
Isagi was walking toward him slowly. He wasn't celebrating wildly like the others.
He stopped a few feet away.
"You took your sweet time, Princess," Isagi said, his voice cutting through the noise.
Chigiri wiped his eyes and smirked. "Shut up, Isagi. You passed it so far, I thought you were trying to kill me."
"I calculated the distance," Isagi replied coolly. "If I passed it any closer, you wouldn't have reached top speed. I needed you to break the sound barrier, not just run."
Isagi turned his gaze to the scoreboard. 3-3.
"The game is tied. But the momentum has shifted. Team W is terrified of you now."
Isagi pointed at the Wanima brothers. They were arguing, looking pale.
"They can't press high anymore," Isagi explained. "If they press, they leave space behind. If they leave space behind, you kill them."
"That means..." Isagi's eyes glowed blue. "...the midfield is mine."
Chigiri nodded. "Use me, Isagi. I'll run until this leg falls off."
"Good," Isagi said. "Then let's finish this. I have a traitor to punish and a game to win."
Restart.
The whistle blew.
Team W was in shambles. Their formation was stretched. They kept looking nervously at Chigiri on the wing.
Isagi stood in the center. The "God's Eye" was wide open.
Kuon is useless to them now. He can't sabotage us because the ball is moving too fast for him to intercept.
The Wanima brothers are retreating.
The center is empty.
Isagi received a pass from Bachira.
"One more goal," Isagi commanded.
He looked at the clock.
Time Remaining: 1 Minute.