Blue Lock. Building 5. Match 4.
Team Z vs. Team V.
Score: 2 - 1 (Team Z leads)
The stadium lights beat down on the pitch, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air. The silence following Isagi's second goal was heavy, pregnant with the shattered expectations of Team V.
Nagi Seishiro stood rooted to the spot, his chest heaving. The insults Isagi had hurled at him—garbage, noob, tutorial over—echoed in his mind louder than the crowd. He looked at his hands, usually so steady with a controller, now trembling with a foreign mixture of rage and confusion.
"Trash..." Nagi whispered, the word tasting like ash in his mouth.
Across from him, Isagi Yoichi was walking back to his position. But his mind was not on the celebration. It was drifting in a deep, hyper-lucid state.
He looked at his hands, then at the field. The grid lines he usually visualized were gone. In their place was something far more visceral.
He could see intent.
He could see the microscopic shifts in Reo's weight before a pass. He could see the desperation radiating from Zantetsu's muscles. He could feel the exact trajectory of Nagi's frustration.
I can see it, Isagi realized, a shiver running down his spine. It's clearer than 4K. It's... absolute.
For years, Isagi had played soccer with a fog over his eyes. He had been told to be a team player, to pass, to be considerate. He had wrapped his ego in layers of politeness and hesitation.
That was a cloth, Isagi thought, clenching his fist. A cloth of brainless ego. I thought 'passion' meant running hard. I thought 'desire' meant shouting loud.
Wrong.
He looked at Nagi, who was glaring at him with murderous intent.
It took a monster to wake me up. Nagi's pressure... his raw, chaotic talent... it forced my brain to shed its skin. To survive against a genius, I had to stop thinking like a human and start thinking like a god.
Isagi smiled. It wasn't a happy smile. It was the smile of a predator realizing it is at the top of the food chain.
I have the edge. I don't have their speed. I don't have their technique. But I can see the future they are trying to create, and I can delete it.
The Desperate Counter
"Don't let it get to you, Nagi!" Reo Mikage screamed, clapping his hands aggressively. "It's just 2-1! We are still Team V! We are still the best!"
Reo grabbed the ball for the restart. His face was a mask of determination, but Isagi could see the cracks.
He's panicked, Isagi analyzed. His eyes are darting too fast. He's looking for a miracle.
Restart.
Reo passed to Zantetsu.
"Go, Zantetsu! Speed is justice!"
Zantetsu received the ball on the wing.
"I am the fastest!" Zantetsu roared, activating his acceleration.
He expected Chigiri to challenge him to a race again.
But Chigiri didn't move. He stood his ground, cutting off the sideline.
Why isn't he running? Zantetsu thought, confused. If he doesn't run, I can't beat him with top speed!
Isagi had whispered to Chigiri moments before: "Don't race him. Just contain him. Force him inside."
Zantetsu, denied his sprinting lane, was forced to cut inside toward the crowded midfield.
Exactly where Isagi wanted him.
"You're in my web," Isagi whispered.
Zantetsu looked for a pass. He saw Nagi raising his hand.
Pass to Nagi! He'll fix this!
Zantetsu wound up his left foot.
Isagi began to run before Zantetsu's foot even connected with the ball.
He's looking at Nagi. Nagi is looking at the space behind the defenders. The pass will be a low through-ball.
Isagi didn't run to mark Nagi. He ran to the midpoint of the pass.
INTERCEPTION.
Isagi slid in, cutting the passing lane like a surgeon severing an artery.
"W-What?!" Zantetsu gasped. "He read it?!"
Isagi stood up with the ball.
Nagi, who had started his run, stopped. He looked at Isagi with pure hatred.
"Again..." Nagi muttered. "You're always... right there."
The Architect of Destruction
"Counter!" Isagi commanded.
He drove up the field. The Team V defense scrambled back.
Reo Mikage charged at Isagi. "I won't let you pass, you four-eyed demon!"
Isagi looked at Reo.
Reo Mikage. The Chameleon. Balanced stats. But right now, you are emotional. And emotion makes you slow.
Isagi feinted a shot. Reo flinched, jumping to block.
Isagi simply pushed the ball to the right.
He didn't dribble past Reo; he just walked around him while Reo was in the air.
"Pathetic," Isagi muttered.
He approached the penalty area. Three defenders converged on him. They were terrified of his Direct Shot.
They are collapsing on me. That means...
Isagi's eyes flashed blue. He saw the heat map.
On the far left, a streak of orange was charging forward. The Hero.
"Kunigami!" Isagi yelled.
He whipped a cross-field pass. It spun perfectly, landing right in Kunigami's strike zone.
Kunigami Rensuke didn't have to break stride. He was 25 meters out. His favorite range.
"I'll crush it!" Kunigami roared.
He unleashed his left leg. The "Knuckle Shot."
The ball didn't spin. It wobbled in the air, shifting left, then right.
The goalkeeper dove, but the ball dipped violently under his arms.
GOAL.
(Isagi Assist)
Team Z: 3 - Team V: 1
"YEAHHH!" Kunigami screamed, flexing his muscles. "Nice pass, Isagi! It was perfect!"
He ran over to hug Isagi, but Isagi just tapped his shoulder.
"Good job, Hero," Isagi said coolly. "You did your job."
Isagi turned to look at Team V.
They were broken. Reo was arguing with Zantetsu. The goalkeeper was yelling at the defenders.
And Nagi...
Nagi was standing alone in the center circle, hands hanging loosely at his sides. He looked like a child who had lost his parents in a crowd.
Isagi walked up to him.
"What's wrong, Genius?" Isagi asked, his voice dripping with venom. "Did you run out of magic tricks?"
Nagi looked up. His eyes were dull. "Why... why can't I beat you? I'm stronger. I'm faster. I have more talent."
"Because you're playing checkers," Isagi said, tapping his temple. "And I'm playing 4D Chess."
Isagi leaned in close.
"You think talent is everything. But talent without a brain is just a resource waiting to be mined. And right now, Nagi... I'm mining you dry."
The Final Nail
Minute 88.
The clock was ticking down. The score was 3-1. Team Z was guaranteed the win.
But Isagi wasn't satisfied.
3 goals. 1 Assist. I need the hat-trick. I need to stamp my name on this building so hard it cracks.
Team V had the ball. Nagi was trying to dribble solo.
"I'll score... I have to score..." Nagi mumbled, his movements sloppy and desperate.
He tried to force his way past Raichi. Raichi just shoved him aside.
"Too soft!" Raichi stole the ball.
"Isagi!" Raichi cleared the ball forward.
Isagi was already running. He was the furthest forward.
It was a 1-on-1.
Isagi vs. Reo Mikage (who had dropped back to defend).
Reo stood at the edge of the box. His face was twisted in despair.
"I won't let you score again!" Reo screamed. "I'll kill you!"
Isagi charged at him.
Reo is the last line. If I beat him, I destroy Team V's heart.
Isagi performed a step-over. Reo didn't bite.
He's staying low. He wants to delay me.
Isagi smiled.
Fine. I'll use your despair.
Isagi kicked the ball hard to the right. A heavy touch.
It looked like a mistake.
"You lost control!" Reo lunged to clear it.
But Isagi was faster. He burst into a sprint, chasing his own heavy touch.
He reached the ball a split second before Reo.
He didn't shoot. He didn't dribble.
He used the sole of his foot to roll the ball backward, between his own legs.
Heel Chop.
Reo, committed to the tackle, slid past Isagi like a train missing a station.
"N-No..." Reo gasped from the ground.
Isagi was now alone with the keeper.
But suddenly, a shadow loomed.
Nagi.
He had sprinted back the entire length of the field.
"ISAGI!" Nagi roared, his face contorted in ugly rage. He slid in from behind, a desperate, two-footed tackle meant to break the play, or the player.
Isagi felt the intent.
He wants to foul me. He wants to hurt me.
Predictable.
Isagi jumped.
He didn't just jump over the tackle. He jumped with the ball.
He squeezed the ball between his ankles and hopped.
The Bunny Hop.
Nagi's slide tackle swept underneath him.
Isagi floated in the air for a moment, looking down at the fallen genius.
Goodbye, Nagi.
Isagi landed. The ball settled.
The goal was empty.
He didn't blast it. He simply passed it into the net.
GOAL.
(Isagi Hat-Trick)
Team Z: 4 - Team V: 1
GAME OVER.
The final whistle pierced the air.
The stadium fell into a stunned silence, followed by the roar of Team Z.
"WE WON!"
"TOP OF THE GROUP!"
"ISAGI IS A GOD!"
Isagi Yoichi stood in the penalty box. He didn't smile. He didn't raise his arms.
He looked down at his hands. They were steady.
The cloth was gone. The ego was naked, and it was beautiful.
He looked at Nagi, who was lying face down in the grass, refusing to get up.
Reo was kneeling beside him, crying.
Isagi walked over to them. His shadow fell over the broken duo.
"Hey," Isagi said.
Nagi flinched but didn't look up.
"Remember this view," Isagi said, looking down at them. "The grass. The dirt. The taste of defeat."
He turned his back and began to walk away.
"If you want to survive in Blue Lock... you better grow a brain. Because next time, I won't just beat you. I'll erase you."
As Isagi walked into the tunnel, the electronic voice of Blue Lock announced the rankings.
Building 5 Top Scorer: Isagi Yoichi.
Rank: 1.
Isagi clenched his fist in the darkness of the tunnel.
I am a genius, he acknowledged to himself.
I have the eyes. I have the mind. And now, I have the hunger.
Second Selection... bring it on.
I'm ready to devour the world.