Chapter 219: Dividing the Players by Strength
"Nagi?"
Mikage Reo's surprised voice rang out. No one had expected that kind of pass from Kaiser to be neutralized so effortlessly by Seishiro Nagi. That sharply curving ball, with its fierce spin, seemed to lose all its momentum the moment it reached Nagi—as if the spin didn't exist at all.
Kaiser, meanwhile, stood there in utter shock. And right behind that shock came a rage so intense it seemed to burn away all reason.
"One after another... all you damn bastards keep popping up to block my path. Just how far do you intend to humiliate me?! Blue Lock!!"
Kaiser grabbed at the rose tattoo on his neck like a madman. But soon enough, his expression calmed—though his eyes now gleamed with an unsettling light.
"A white-haired freak who can control spin like that... I'll remember you. Once the second stage begins, whether it's you, Rin Itoshi, or Isagi Yoichi... I'll crush every last one of you."
"I'll pile your broken bodies into a stairway—one I'll climb to reach the qualifications needed to pursue the throne of World No. 1."
Nagi felt a sudden chill. Trusting his instincts, he looked toward where Kaiser had been... only to catch a glimpse of the striker's back as he left the field after his five minutes were up.
"Hm... strange feeling."
But Nagi quickly brushed those thoughts aside. His fighting spirit surged once more as he turned to look at Shinichi:
"That last match... man, I lost so badly. Even though we're on the same team this time, I still wanna go up against you again..."
...
Several dozen minutes later...
A dazed Nagi absentmindedly took a towel and water bottle from Reo, who'd subbed out earlier. Wiping his face, he muttered:
"So scary... I didn't feel that much weaker one-on-one, but once several of them start linking up... it's impossible to do anything."
"That's normal," Reo replied calmly, his tone analytical. He was able to view the situation objectively and clearly gauge the gap in ability between both sides.
"For us to even barely match the level of these world-class players, we have to push ourselves to the absolute limit. But when you've got multiple top players on the field who've started building chemistry... we simply can't keep up at our baseline."
"If I had to classify it," Reo continued, "I'd say the players in this New Hero Battle are currently divided into a few tiers."
"At the bottom tier, you've got the 'sub' players—those from Blue Lock who didn't make the U-20 roster (and not for overlapping roles like you, Nagi), but purely because of a lack of ability. Plus a few academy kids mixed in. These are the ones typically valued under 10 million yen."
"Then you've got the largest group — the regular players who can make the starting lineup in the New Hero Battle. The classic example would be someone like Nanase Nijiro. To be precise, this tier ranges from substitutes on mid-tier teams in Europe's top five leagues, up to role players in their starting lineups. These players usually fetch offers between 10 million and 15 million yen — some a bit higher, but rarely over 20 million."
"Beyond that, you have players who secure a spot in the New Hero Battle starting eleven through a standout specialty — like Aryu, whose defensive prowess could earn him a starting position in any league's backline. Generally, if a player's offer is under 40 million yen, they belong to this tier — probably comparable to key players on competitive mid-tier teams in Europe's top five leagues."
...
"What are you guys talking about?"
As the match on the field neared its end — with none of the later substitutions making much of an impact — Isagi, Kurona, and others wandered over, seeing Reo and the others deep in conversation.
After hearing Reo's analysis, Raichi let out a big laugh:
"So I'm only good enough to be a starter on a mid-tier team in the top five leagues, huh? Haha! That's selling me short."
"You look pretty happy about it," Kurona snarked.
Meanwhile, Hiori quickly picked up on something odd in Raichi's words:
"If I recall, Raichi, your previous offer was around 10 million yen, right? Are you saying you've already seen your updated offer?"
"Exactly. The latest rankings haven't been released yet, but I got a personal scouting report via email. I noticed the notification just after I subbed out."
Raichi pulled out his phone. The others did too — among the players who'd participated so far, many had received similar emails.
Those who hadn't yet appeared in this match, like Kunigami, didn't receive one.
"Looks like this match was the final opportunity to adjust our valuations," Hiori analyzed, rubbing his chin.
"For players like Raichi, whose performances matched their scouting reports, the offers came through right away. But for players like Reo and Nagi, whose games have clearly improved since earlier rounds, it'll take a bit longer to finalize their new evaluations."
Everyone nodded in agreement at Hiori's reasoning.
"Hey Reo — about that tier breakdown you mentioned earlier — are you going to continue? I'd like to hear everyone's take on player tiers," Kurona asked.
"Well... it's not an exact science. Everyone has their own experience."
Reo, Hiori, and Isagi discussed it a bit, then settled on a more consistent framework.
"We'll keep the first three tiers Reo mentioned earlier, but we can just group them all under 'regular players.'"
Here, Isagi paused. In his mind, players like Aryu arguably deserved to be in a higher category — but being able to earn a larger tactical role is also a skill.
After all, Nagi had been benched at times simply due to role overlap, but that didn't mean he was weak.
"After that comes players who can claim more prominent roles in the New Hero Battle — players who might even have tactical systems built around them. Think of someone like from France's PXG. Their offers probably fall between 50 million and 80 million yen — players who could realistically start, even on first-division squads in top leagues."
"Question, question, Professor Isagi."
Kurona raised his hand. After Isagi nodded, he asked:
"Why do the offer ranges you mentioned have gaps between them?"
"Well... because using offers as a metric is inherently imprecise. Some players have certain traits that result in inflated offers — so natural gaps appear."
"Understood, Professor Isagi!"
"Next up — players valued at over 100 million yen. These were the core players of their teams in the first phase of the New Hero Battle. If they joined a second-tier team in Europe's top five leagues, they'd be clear starters — possibly even focal points. Players like me, or Bachira, fall into this tier."
"As for the upper limit of this tier... I'd estimate around 500 million yen. Until a player's offer surpasses that, they'd remain in this group. My reasoning is simple — when Shinichi first entered the New Hero Battle, his offer was already 500 million yen. That suggests team owners consider that the minimum threshold for the next tier."
"And that's probably where players like Kaiser and Lorenzo — the 'Eleven Kings' — belong. After all, when the New Hero Battle began, Kaiser's offer was only 300 million yen. They have the ability to go toe-to-toe with world-class players, but there's still a noticeable gap. At least from what I've seen, the early-stage Kaiser was nowhere near Noa's level."
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