Blue Lock. Building 5. Match 4.
Team Z vs. Team V.
Score: 1 - 0 (Team Z leads)
The echoes of Isagi Yoichi's opening goal seemed to hang in the air like a heavy smog, choking the usually vibrant atmosphere that surrounded Team V. For the first time in their short history within Blue Lock, the undefeated trio—Reo, Nagi, and Zantetsu—found themselves looking at a scoreboard that didn't favor them.
Reo Mikage stood frozen near the penalty arc, his chest heaving not from physical exertion, but from the crushing weight of cognitive dissonance. His perfect plan, the strategy that had decimated Team Y and Team W without breaking a sweat, had been dismantled in less than ten minutes.
They stopped us, Reo thought, his eyes darting frantically from Raichi to Chigiri to Isagi. No, they didn't just stop us. They dissected us. Raichi is sticking to me like glue. Chigiri is faster than Zantetsu. And Isagi... Isagi knew exactly where Nagi would stop.
"Hey, pretty boy!" Raichi Jingo's gravelly voice grated against Reo's ears. The blonde defender was grinning like a maniac, sweat dripping from his nose. "Why the long face? We just started! I haven't even begun to torment you properly yet!"
Reo grit his teeth, the veins in his neck bulging. "Shut up, you stamina freak. It was one lucky break."
"Luck?" Raichi laughed, stepping into Reo's personal space again. "Isagi called it 'inevitable.' He said you guys rely on a single circuit board, and all we had to do was cut the wires. You're broken, Mikage. You can't think without your toys."
While Reo simmered in frustration, a different kind of chemical reaction was occurring in the midfield.
Nagi Seishiro stood motionless, staring at the spot where Isagi had stolen the ball from him. The ghost of the sensation—the ball hitting his toe, the momentary stillness, and then the sudden emptiness—lingered.
He looked up at the electronic scoreboard. The red "1" next to Team Z mocked him.
"Reo," Nagi called out. His voice, usually monotone and laced with lethargy, carried a jagged edge. It was the sound of a sleeping giant being poked with a sharp stick.
Reo snapped out of his daze. "Nagi?"
"This is... annoying," Nagi mumbled. He scratched the back of his neck, his gray eyes narrowing into slits. "I don't like this feeling. It's hot. It's sticky. Being the loser... it's a hassle."
"Then let's win!" Reo shouted, trying to salvage morale. "We just need to reset! Zantetsu, widen the field! Nagi, stay high!"
"No," Nagi interrupted.
Reo blinked. "What?"
Nagi turned to face Isagi, who was walking back to the center circle with the arrogance of a king.
"I don't want to wait anymore, Reo," Nagi said, stepping toward the ball. "If I wait, he steals it. So... I'm going to try. I'm going to test something."
The Awakening of the Anomaly
Team V restarted the game. But the rhythm had changed.
Reo took the ball, and predictably, Raichi lunged at him.
"Gotcha!" Raichi screamed.
Usually, Reo would shield the ball or look for Zantetsu. But this time, a white shadow cut across his vision.
Nagi Seishiro had dropped deep. He wasn't waiting in the penalty box. He had come to the midfield.
"Nagi?" Reo gasped. "You're out of position!"
"Give it," Nagi commanded.
Reo, acting on instinct, flicked a pass to Nagi. It wasn't a perfect pass; the pressure from Raichi made it bounce awkwardly.
Isagi Yoichi saw the deviation instantly.
Grid Update, Isagi's mind raced. Nagi has abandoned his striker position. He is trying to participate in the buildup. This is desperate. A player who has never created play is trying to playmaker.
Isagi sprinted toward Nagi. His Metavision painted the trajectory of the bouncing ball.
He will trap it. He has to. The ball is bouncing at hip height. He will kill the momentum to control it.
And when he stops it... I win.
Isagi timed his run perfectly. He aimed for the landing spot.
Dead Point in 3... 2... 1...
The ball reached Nagi. Nagi lifted his leg.
But he didn't stop it.
Instead of the "Black Hole Trap" that killed the ball, Nagi rotated his hips mid-air. He caught the ball on the outside of his boot and, in a fluid, impossible motion, flicked it over his own shoulder without letting it touch the ground.
Revolving Volley Trap.
Isagi's eyes widened. He slid past Nagi, his tackle cutting through empty air.
He didn't stop?! He kept the kinetic energy alive?!
"Whoa," Nagi whispered to himself as he spun around Isagi. "That worked."
Nagi was now facing the goal, the ball bouncing perfectly in front of him.
The logic of the field had been shattered. Isagi, the master of prediction, had been beaten by a move that defied conventional soccer physics.
Iemon, the Team Z goalkeeper, rushed out in a panic. "I'll stop you!"
Nagi didn't look at the keeper. He looked at the ball.
Shooting is just passing to the net, Nagi thought.
He swung his long leg. He didn't blast it. He lobbed it softly.
A delicate chip shot that floated over Iemon's desperate hands and dropped into the goal like a feather.
GOAL.
Team Z: 1 - Team V: 1
The stadium erupted in disbelief. Even Reo looked shocked.
"Nagi!" Reo yelled, running over. "You... you created that?! That was incredible!"
Nagi didn't high-five Reo. He stood there, looking at his own hands. His heart was pounding against his ribs—a sensation he had only ever felt while playing video games.
This heat... Nagi thought. Is this what they feel?
He turned his head slowly, locking eyes with Isagi Yoichi.
A small, genuine smile formed on Nagi's face. It wasn't mocking; it was the innocent discovery of a monster finding its claws.
"Hey, Isagi," Nagi said. "I think I get it now. Soccer... is actually pretty fun when you try, isn't it?"
The Reality Check
The Team Z defenders were rattled.
"What was that trap?" Igarashi shrieked. "He just made the ball disappear and reappear behind him!"
"He evolved," Kunigami muttered, wiping sweat. "In the middle of the match?"
But Isagi Yoichi wasn't trembling. He wasn't looking at Nagi with fear.
He was standing in the center circle, staring at Nagi with a look of absolute, unadulterated disgust.
He started laughing. It was a low, dry chuckle that made the hairs on Bachira's neck stand up.
"Fun?" Isagi asked, his voice cutting through the celebration.
He walked straight up to Nagi, ignoring Reo completely.
"You do one spin, score one lucky goal, and now you think you understand the sport?"
Nagi blinked, his smile fading. "Huh? I beat you, didn't I?"
"You surprised me," Isagi corrected him coldly. "There is a difference between beating someone and surprising them. A toddler with a gun can surprise a soldier. That doesn't make the toddler a warrior."
Isagi leaned in, his blue eyes glowing with a menacing intensity.
"You're pathetic, Nagi. You've been asleep your whole life, and now that you've opened your eyes for five seconds, you think you're a god? You're just a noob who finally found the sprint button."
"Noob?" Nagi frowned. "I'm a genius."
"A genius?" Isagi scoffed. "You're a waste of space. Great talent inside a brain like a trash can is still just garbage."
Isagi turned his back and walked to the ball.
"Next time, come at me after you learn the basics of football—positioning, vision, tactical foresight—before you try shooting at me. Until then... just die and go to the trash where you belong."
The Punishment
The insult hung in the air, heavy and toxic. Reo looked furious.
"How dare you talk to him like that! He just owned you!"
"Watch me," Isagi whispered to himself.
Metavision: Overclock.
Nagi has awakened. He will now try to do everything himself. He will hunt the ball. He will try to be a playmaker.
But he has no experience. He doesn't know defensive spacing. He doesn't know how to track runners. He is operating on pure ego.
And pure ego without logic is easily manipulated.
Restart.
Isagi passed to Bachira.
"Give it back," Isagi commanded immediately.
Bachira returned the pass. Isagi controlled the ball.
Immediately, Nagi came charging at him.
"I'll take it back," Nagi said, his face serious. "I'll crush you, Isagi."
Isagi saw Nagi coming. He saw the speed, the reach, the desire.
But he also saw the flaw.
He's rushing in a straight line. He's looking only at the ball. He thinks defense is just running at the opponent.
"You're so easy," Isagi murmured.
Isagi waited until Nagi was committed to the tackle.
Nagi extended his leg. "Mine!"
Isagi didn't pass. He didn't dribble away.
He performed a Cruyff Turn. He dragged the ball behind his standing leg, completely reversing his direction.
Nagi, moving with the momentum of a freight train, couldn't stop. He flew past Isagi, his cleats scraping the turf harmlessly.
"What—?" Nagi gasped, stumbling to regain his balance.
"Basic Feint 101," Isagi mocked as he dribbled away. "Did you skip the tutorial?"
Isagi drove into the midfield. Reo tried to detach from Raichi to help.
"I won't let you!" Reo screamed.
Isagi saw Reo coming. He also saw Nagi chasing back desperately from behind.
Perfect.
Isagi slowed down. He waited for Reo and Nagi to converge on him.
A pincer movement.
To the untrained eye, Isagi was trapped.
To the God's Eye, they were lining up for execution.
Isagi passed the ball. Not to a teammate.
He passed it through the tiny gap between Reo's legs.
Nutmeg.
"Gah!" Reo froze.
The ball rolled into open space.
Isagi sprinted around Reo. Nagi tried to grab Isagi's jersey, but Isagi used his arm to swat Nagi's hand away.
"Don't touch me, trash."
Isagi collected the ball on the other side.
He was now facing the defensive line. Zantetsu was running over.
"Acceleration!" Zantetsu yelled.
Isagi didn't look at Zantetsu. He looked at Chigiri on the wing.
Zantetsu followed Isagi's eyes and shifted his weight to block the pass.
Fake.
Isagi didn't pass. He cut inside, across Zantetsu's face.
Zantetsu slipped, his momentum working against him.
Isagi was at the edge of the box.
The goalkeeper was the only one left.
Isagi could shoot.
But he heard footsteps. Nagi had sprinted back. The genius was refusing to give up.
"ISAGI!" Nagi roared, sliding in from behind to block the shot.
Isagi saw the slide in his peripheral vision.
He wants to be the hero. He wants to make the save.
Isagi lifted his foot as if to shoot.
Nagi committed to the block, sliding across the grass.
Isagi put his foot down. He didn't shoot. He chopped the ball to his left.
Shot Fake.
Nagi slid past Isagi, his face sliding in the dirt, looking up helplessly as Isagi stood over him.
Isagi looked down. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second.
Isagi's eyes were cold, dead, and victorious.
"Tutorial over," Isagi whispered.
He tapped the ball into the empty net.
GOAL.
Team Z: 2 - Team V: 1
The whistle blew for the goal.
Isagi didn't run to the corner flag. He didn't scream.
He stood right next to Nagi, who was pushing himself up from the ground, covered in dirt and grass.
"You see, Nagi?" Isagi said, his voice low and terrifying. "That feeling in your chest? That heat? That's not passion."
Isagi pointed at the scoreboard.
"That's the feeling of realizing you are inferior."
"Playing serious and using that small brain is hard, isn't it?" Isagi smiled cruelly. "So do yourself a favor. Stop thinking. It doesn't suit you. Just die and go to the trash."
Nagi stared at Isagi. The boredom was gone. The "fun" was gone.
In their place was a dark, muddy swirl of humiliation and obsession.
For the first time in his life, Nagi Seishiro didn't want to sleep.
He wanted blood.
But Isagi turned away, walking back to his half.
I broke him, Isagi thought, the adrenaline sharpening his vision to a razor's edge. Or I made him a monster. Either way, he's dancing in my palm.