Blue Lock. Building 5. Match 4.
Team Z vs. Team V.
The whistle blew, signaling the start of the final battle of Building 5.
The stakes were absolute. The winner takes the top spot. The loser risks elimination.
Reo Mikage stood at the center circle, tapping the ball to Nagi Seishiro.
"Let's make this quick, Nagi," Reo said, his voice oozing with the relaxed confidence of someone who had never tasted defeat. "5-0 sounds like a good score. Then we can get back to a real bed."
Nagi yawned, passing the ball back to Reo. "Whatever. Just don't make me run too much, Reo. It's a hassle."
Isagi Yoichi watched them from across the line. His posture was low, his eyes scanning every micro-movement.
Look at them, Isagi thought coldly. They are relaxed. They think this is a game. They have no idea that their entire system has already been decoded.
Phase 1: The Brain Death.
Reo began to dribble. He moved with a graceful, balanced rhythm.
"Alright, Zantetsu is on the right..." Reo looked up to play a long pass.
SLAM.
A body crashed into him.
"Where you lookin', pretty boy?!" Raichi Jingo roared, chest-bumping Reo with aggressive force.
Reo stumbled back, shielding the ball. "Whoa. Personal space much?"
"I don't know what that is!" Raichi grinned, his eyes wide and manic. "I'm your shadow today! You breathe, I breathe! You step, I step!"
Reo frowned. He tried to turn left. Raichi was there. He tried to turn right. Raichi was there.
It wasn't a refined defense. It was pure, sticky harassment.
This guy is annoying, Reo thought, his irritation spiking. He's ignoring the ball completely. He's just trying to piss me off.
"Tch." Reo clicked his tongue. He couldn't find a clean passing lane to Nagi.
"Zantetsu!" Reo yelled, forced to play a hasty pass to the wing.
Phase 2: The Engine Failure.
Zantetsu Tsurugi received the ball on the right flank.
"Finally," Zantetsu adjusted his glasses. "The ball comes to the hero."
He looked ahead. Chigiri Hyoma was waiting for him.
Zantetsu smirked. "You're the speedster? Let's test your specs."
Explosive Acceleration.
Zantetsu burst forward. His first three steps were a blur. He aimed to cut inside and end the duel instantly.
But Chigiri didn't panic. He didn't dive in.
He simply turned his hips and ran parallel to Zantetsu.
"You're fast off the line," Chigiri said, matching Zantetsu's stride. "But this is a 50-meter pitch."
As they crossed the halfway line, Zantetsu's initial burst began to fade.
Chigiri's top speed kicked in.
"And my top gear..." Chigiri accelerated, his red hair streaming behind him like a comet tail. "...is higher than yours."
Chigiri overtook Zantetsu. He didn't just block him; he swept the ball away mid-stride.
"No way..." Zantetsu gasped, slowing down. "He's... faster?"
Phase 3: The Glitch in the God.
The ball rolled loose into the midfield.
Chaos ensued. Team V's formation was stretched.
Isagi Yoichi saw the grid light up.
The Brain is jammed. The Engine is stalled. The ball is loose.
Now, the Anomaly will try to reset the game.
Nagi Seishiro was jogging toward the loose ball.
"Ah, Reo mess up," Nagi mumbled. "I guess I have to fix it."
Isagi was running too. But he wasn't running to the ball.
He was running to the empty space behind the ball.
Most players would try to beat Nagi to the spot. But Nagi had longer legs and was closer.
He will reach it first, Isagi calculated. He will lift his leg. He will trap it.
Nagi reached the ball. He extended his right leg, catching the bouncing ball on his toes.
It was beautiful. The ball, which was spinning wildly, hit his foot and stopped dead.
Black Hole Trap.
The ball hung in the air for a split second, completely motionless, zero gravity.
Nagi prepared to pivot and shoot.
"Easy," Nagi thought.
SWISH.
Suddenly, the ball vanished.
"Huh?" Nagi blinked.
Isagi Yoichi had slid in.
He hadn't timed his tackle for the ball's movement. He had timed it for the stop.
Exactly in that 0.5-second window where Nagi killed the ball's momentum, Isagi swept it away.
"You take too long to load," Isagi whispered as he stole the ball right off Nagi's toes.
Nagi stood there, leg still extended in the air, kicking nothing but oxygen.
"He... stole it?" Nagi's gray eyes widened in genuine confusion. "How did he know I would stop?"
The Counter-Attack.
"Counter!" Isagi roared, standing up with the ball.
Team V was shattered.
Reo was stuck with Raichi. Zantetsu was behind Chigiri. Nagi was bypassed.
Isagi drove down the center.
"Kunigami!" Isagi passed to the left.
Kunigami Rensuke was wide open.
"Range: 28 Meters!" Kunigami wound up his lefty cannon.
The goalkeeper panicked and shifted to the right.
Kunigami fired.
The keeper barely managed to parry it. The ball bounced back into play.
Bachira was there.
"Playtime!" Bachira did a rabona flick, sending the ball back into the center of the box.
Isagi had continued his run.
He was standing at the penalty spot. Alone.
I broke their supply line. I stole their reset button.
Now, I finish the equation.
The ball dropped.
Isagi didn't trap it. He didn't give the defense time to recover.
Direct Shot.
He volleyed the ball out of the air.
BOOM.
The shot was clean, precise, and lethal. It tore past the recovering Nagi and smashed into the net.
GOAL.
Team Z: 1 - Team V: 0
The stadium went silent.
Reo Mikage stood with his mouth open. Team V had never trailed before. They had never been outplayed tactically.
"They... they stopped us perfectly?" Reo whispered.
Isagi turned around slowly. He didn't celebrate wildly. He just clenched his fist.
He walked past Nagi Seishiro, who was still standing in the same spot, looking at his foot.
Isagi stopped.
He looked at the genius.
"Hey, Nagi," Isagi said, his voice dripping with condescension. "Is your game lagging? or are you just that slow?"
Nagi turned to look at Isagi. The boredom in his eyes was flickering.
Something else was creeping in.
Annoyance.
"Reo..." Nagi called out, his voice flat but heavy. "Why is soccer... so annoying all of a sudden?"
Isagi smirked and walked away.
That's right, Isagi thought. Feel it. The frustration of logic crushing talent.
This is just the beginning.