Chapter 224: The Selection Assembly (4)
"Five hundred million."
Snuffy's calm voice instantly plunged the arena into silence.
Even BLUE LOCK TV froze for a moment, the screen going blank.
A second later—snowstorm-like comment barrages exploded across the screen.
....
"No way… the total salary cap for this whole draft is only around that amount, and he just spent half in one go?!"
"Isn't this too much?! I always assumed the national players who joined late wouldn't follow their actual salaries—that their numbers would be scaled down! I thought 400 million max! But Snuffy just slammed 500 million?!"
....
Snuffy, of course, had already expected reactions like this.
But he still smiled like everything was going exactly as he planned.
....
"Kaiser — would you like to join my team?"
"Our crown prince has already gone independent and built his own kingdom. Now we need a successor.
Isn't conquering the lands of Shinichi's former homeland quite an exciting challenge?"
....
"Snuffy…"
Kaiser's expression grew complicated.
He truly hadn't expected Snuffy to be the one offering him the highest contract.
In the final match of Stage One, his performance wasn't outstanding.
During tryouts, he tried to use his newest weapon to raise his value, but Isagi stopped him.
He had already prepared himself for a lower valuation.
Yet instead… he got the highest offer of Stage Two — possibly of the entire New Hero League.
"Why?"
He stared straight at Snuffy.
"Why give me an offer this high? I want to hear your reason."
....
Snuffy pressed a finger to his chin, pretending to think very hard.
"Why, huh? I'm searching for the reason too."
"Was it because you set aside pride and joined Isagi's system at the end? Hmm… no, that didn't impress me."
"Was it because of that gorgeous curving shot during tryouts? Hmm… also no."
Snuffy tied his bandana with a casual grin.
"If I really had to say it…maybe it's because we're the same type of guy."
"Both of us fell from the clouds into the mud."
"Both of us stood back up again."
"As one hopeless troublemaker to another—
want to chase the dream with me?"
.....
Kaiser didn't speak.
But the moment he began walking toward Snuffy, his answer was already clear.
None of the other mentors even attempted to compete.
Snuffy's price was too vicious.
They could accept Kaiser at 500 million…but under a salary cap system, none of them had any interest in spending that absurd amount —
unless the one standing there was Shinichi.
....
The selection turn returned to Noa.
Even he paused to think this time.
Snatching Charles earlier was already beyond his expectations—so now his entire team-building plan had to be recalculated.
Fitting a midfielder like Charles required adjustments.
He decided to secure a player who wouldn't conflict with any other mentor's choices.
After thinking, he said:
....
"Canali."
The Ubers goalkeeper from Stage One.
"Your performance in Stage One exceeded every expectation. You blocked most special shots head-on. Your value is extremely high."
"60 million. You'll probably be the highest-valued goalkeeper of Stage Two."
....
Noa wrote the figure swiftly.
The other mentors had no objections —no keeper had impressed more than Canali or Gagamaru.
Gagamaru's 50 million came from physical ability and freakish potential.
Canali's strength came from pure immediate power — forged by daily training where Shinichi blasted him in the face with artillery-level shots.
The gap between them and the remaining keepers was massive.
....
Loki hesitated.
He still had another candidate—
Tokimitsu's former teammate, Tsukigami, who once played keeper temporarily in emergencies.
Tsukigami had elite potential as a keeper:
powerful physique
extremely fast rotational speed for his size
elite reflexes
But he wasn't a real keeper, and the New Hero cycle was short.
Loki couldn't be sure how fast he'd grow.
He made a symbolic offer anyway:
"50 million."
Essentially declaring he was withdrawing from the Canali fight.
....
Chris went next:
"55 million. I prefer investing in offense rather than boring defense."
Very on-brand for him.
Lavinho, having already stolen Gagamaru, didn't bother offering anything.
The turn reached Shinichi and then Snuffy—both gave symbolic offers, showing they weren't serious contenders.
....
Snuffy chuckled softly and whispered to the others:
"Noa looks expressionless, but his schemes run deep."
"First Isagi, now Canali. He keeps setting his bids right at the maximum threshold. Unless someone bleeds themselves dry, it's impossible to compete."
"I didn't expect him to care this much about winning."
Noa scoffed lightly.
"I'm simply making the most rational offers."
....
Loki began his next selection.
He wrote a number — 300 million — then raised his head toward the players.
"Sigh… my original pick got taken. Now I need a midfielder."
"Would you like to help me?"
Someone looked up.
"Sae Itoshi?"
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