"I am Seishirō Nagi!"
After scoring, Seishirō raised his arms in triumph, but upon seeing the bare walls before him, he felt embarrassed and sheepishly rubbed his head.
He recalled the previous U-20 Match, where tens of thousands of spectators had created an unprecedented rush of excitement throughout the game.
Though this current match had even greater influence and had become a global event, the absence of spectators gave him a peculiar feeling.
"Nagi! Well done!" Reo rushed forward and hugged Seishirō tightly.
"Let's analyze that again, Seishirō." Agi walked over and nodded at him, "This one gets 65 points."
"Eh, only 65 points?" Seishirō scratched his head in confusion.
"That's right, only 65 points. Your positioning could have been more central." Agi explained patiently, "And your ball handling was slow. With faster execution, you might have avoided such a risky approach — but overall, it's above passing score. The creativity in that shot earned you 65 points."
After speaking, he turned to look at Haruhisa behind him, whose expression remained completely calm, as if everything had unfolded exactly as expected.
Seishirō's successful attack stemmed primarily from Haruhisa's pass. Though not delivered directly to his feet, the entire sequence that followed had been orchestrated perfectly.
Meanwhile, online, Seishirō's shot had sparked intense discussion!
"Using a bouncing shot to score! How is that even possible?"
"Is this for real? This guy is amazing!"
"Don't you remember him? In that Blue Lock versus U-20 match, he performed five consecutive fake shots!"
"Oh, it's that guy! Too bad that shot didn't go in!"
"I found some info about him... he's been playing football for less than a year?!"
"No way — I've been practicing for two and a half years and I'm nowhere near his level..."
Seishirō had made his mark during the U-20 Match, and now he had proven himself once again.
In terms of pure talent, he ranked among the most outstanding players within Blue Lock!
Moreover, this period of special training had dramatically improved his abilities, far surpassing his original level. You could say that Seishirō was only now beginning to unlock his true potential!
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
In the monitoring room, Jinpachi intently watched the match on screen.
"Seishirō has raised his talent ceiling." He muttered, pushing up his glasses.
During the previous U-20 Match, driven by his determination to defeat Ryōsuke, Seishirō had performed the world-shocking Five-Shot Revolver Fake Volley. At the time, Jinpachi had cautioned that such success might ruin him, believing it exceeded his natural talents.
But now he had to retract those words, as Seishirō had demonstrated even more exceptional ability. Recreating that technique was no longer beyond reach.
This wasn't solely Seishirō's achievement — Agi and Haruhisa deserved credit too.
"Expanding recruitment for the Second Phase was definitely the right decision," Jinpachi said, an excited smile spreading across his face.
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
"I'm so sorry I couldn't stop that shot..." Genzō said apologetically to his teammates.
"This isn't your fault." Ryōsuke patted his shoulder reassuringly, "You defended that shot brilliantly."
He meant it. Genzō had been exceptional earlier — without him, their team might have conceded to Manshine City's players from the start.
However, Ryōsuke hadn't anticipated Seishirō reaching this level.
That last shot showed remarkable creativity — something the former "Lazy Genius" could never have accomplished. Their growth had surpassed all expectations.
This match was proving more challenging than anyone had predicted.
"Great..." Alexis clenched his fist excitedly, barely containing his urge to cheer.
At last, Ryōsuke's team had conceded!
Alexis, more thrilled than if he'd scored himself, turned to Noel, "Noel, it's clear they can't handle these attacks! While I might not make much impact if I played, Michael certainly would. With him on the field, they wouldn't have made such a mistake!"
His voice swelled with pride.
"Why so pleased, Alexis?" Noel crossed his arms and cast a sideways glance at him, "Are you actually happy the team is trailing?"
"No, no, that's not it at all!" Alexis backpedaled, realizing his overenthusiasm, "I just thought Michael should go in now."
"So you're now presumptuous enough to dictate strategy to your coach?" Noel's eyes narrowed, his quiet voice carrying such authority that Alexis's heart skipped a beat, "Besides, had you two been playing, they would have scored much sooner."
"But..."
"Do you think either of you could stop that guy?" Noel's gaze returned to the field, fixed not on Seishirō, but on Haruhisa.
"I..." Alexis fell silent, glancing at an equally quiet Michael.
The typically arrogant Michael had grown more humble since his encounter with Ryōsuke.
After witnessing Haruhisa's abilities, he realized this was no ordinary player. Facing him, even Michael lacked his usual confidence.
The current Michael had lost his former confidence.
Meanwhile on the field, Ryōsuke was encouraging his teammates.
"Come on, let's equalize!"
"Yeah!"
No one had lost their fighting spirit. In fact, conceding that goal had only fired them up more.
This opponent was worth defeating!
"Ashito, I'll leave it to you to use your imagination now." Ryōsuke said, turning to him.
"Me? Really?" Ashito looked at him in disbelief.
"Yes."
"But... my technique isn't as good as Kuribayashi's. I can't make such precise passes..."
"It doesn't need to be precise." Ryōsuke said with a smile, "If your technique isn't as good as Kuribayashi's, then focus on imagination instead — just like Nagi did earlier—"
"I..."
"You do the imagining, and I'll work the magic to catch it. Make your imagination come true."
Ashito turned to look at Ryōsuke, whose gaze was completely serious.
After their time training together, the two had developed such chemistry that they could understand each other's tactical intentions through eye contact alone.
Right now, Ryōsuke wanted to attempt some riskier tactics... Interesting!
Ashito nodded with a smile, his eyes gleaming with determination, "Yes! I understand!"
Bastard München's team quickly launched another attack, with Yoichi immediately advancing with the ball.
After just a few dribbles, Haruhisa closed in on him. Though he showed no special aura at that moment, Yoichi knew well that this was only because he was concealing his presence.
There was no way he could get past Haruhisa one-on-one! Without hesitation, Yoichi passed the ball to the side!
The receiver was Ashito!
"It's that useless guy again!" Alexis sneered upon seeing the rookie receive the ball. In his eyes, Ashito was just Ryōsuke's accessory, with no real ability.
At that moment, Ashito's gaze locked onto a specific point. His Eagle Eye ability revealed everyone's position clearly — his passing target was obvious.
Though his passing accuracy couldn't match Haruhisa's precision in avoiding interceptions, he knew what he had to do.
To bypass opponents using imagination, he needed to make passes that defied common sense. He would envision it, and Ryōsuke would make it magical!
With that thought, Ashito unleashed a powerful kick, launching the ball like a cannonball in a particular direction.
"Haha, has this guy lost his mind?" Alexis burst out laughing from the substitute bench, "There's nobody even there! This is a complete disaster!"
But beside him, Michael maintained a serious expression.
"No, Alexis, there is someone there!"
Even from the sidelines, his Metavision revealed every movement on the field. Someone was sneaking rapidly into position.
"What's going on?"
The Manshine City players struggled to understand Ashito's pass.
But Reo, who also possessed Metavision, instantly sensed the deception. Someone was indeed in that direction!
He had missed it at first — Ryōsuke had concealed his presence, avoided detection, and infiltrated deep into their territory!
Just like a stealthy ninja!
Reo recognized it immediately — this was Eita Otoya's running style! Ryōsuke had perfectly replicated the Ninja Stealth Walk!
"Could he have mastered the Chameleon ability?" He was shocked, never expecting this level from Ryōsuke.
But he quickly realized this wasn't the Chameleon!
While the Chameleon merely imitated, Ryōsuke's movements were identical to Eita's — perhaps even better — which explained why no one had noticed him until now!
His copying ability surpassed the Chameleon!
As Reo observed, Ryōsuke was using the Divine Reflection ability, perfectly mirroring Eita's earlier movements as he infiltrated enemy lines!
However, maintaining this technique drained his physical and mental energy rapidly. He needed to equalize quickly!
"Defend quickly!"
Only after Reo's shout did the others notice Ryōsuke's movement.
"Don't worry, he can't possibly reach that ball!"
"Right, the angle is too extreme!"
"No one could possibly reach that!"
His teammates called out.
"No..." But Reo knew well that while others might not be able to reach it.
If it was Ryōsuke, it was possible! His name was the answer!
{T/N: Ryōsuke Kira basically means "a good, skilled, refreshing help".}
But before Reo could act, a swift figure had already appeared in front of Ryōsuke, attempting to stop him — Haruhisa!
He had seen Reo's expression change and knew exactly what Ryōsuke was capable of. No matter what, they had to stop him. Before even fully forming a strategy, Haruhisa had already started moving.
Not only that, but Hyōma was also rushing back to defend at top speed!
Even if there was only a one percent chance, they absolutely wouldn't give Ryōsuke any opportunity to attack. They knew they couldn't match him in jumping ability, so they had set up their defensive formation in advance!
The moment Ryōsuke tried to control the ball, they would trap and steal it, giving him no chance to make any moves, no room to showcase his speed or dribbling.
The moment he attempted to receive this ball, he was destined to fail!
And at this very moment, Ryōsuke had already leaped high into the air!
❖ First Form ➠ Thunderclap and Flash! ❖
❖❖❖
T/N: Hey! Liked what you read? Support your friendly neighborhood translator on Patreon! Think of it as buying me a coffee... or ten!
For just $1.50 (that's less than your daily meme budget), get extra chapters! Want more? $2 gets you bonus content, $5 unlocks premium stories, and $10 makes you my hero (and gets you everything I have, including earlier acess to new books)!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1305258