Rin's POV
Barcelona, March 2015.
He stared at the ceiling of his dorm room in La Masia.
Not at the cracks or the fan spinning overhead, but beyond it—at the thought that never left him.
"He's alive. He's out there. Wearing white."
Sae Itoshi.
For the world, Sae was the prodigy of Real Madrid. The Japanese maestro. A genius born of godlike intuition.
But to Rin, he was more than that.
He was the reason he woke up at 4 a.m. to run drills under moonlight.
The reason he crushed his teammates in every training session with a silent fury.
The reason his eyes burned blue with rage when he scored.
Because Rin remembered something the world didn't.
That before Sae became a prodigy—he was his big brother.
And he abandoned him.
---
The Setup – Youth Clasico Invitation
The "Fútbol Joven de Oro" was a one-off elite youth exhibition hosted in Valencia.
It featured the best U18 squads from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club, and Ajax.
To the world, it was a scouting showcase.
To Rin and Sae, it was inevitable war.
Rin hadn't seen Sae since they were kids. Since before Blue Lock twisted everything. Since Sae chose to walk away from the U-20 Japan team, from Rin, from everything they promised.
But this time, they'd meet again—not as brothers.
As rivals.
---
Madrid Locker Room – "Control the Fire"
In the locker room, Zidane stood with folded arms.
He spoke calmly. "Barcelona are technical, fast, aggressive in transition. Sae, they'll come for you."
Sae didn't blink. "Let them."
Zidane sighed, as if he wanted to say more. He didn't.
But Sae knew the reason.
Rin was starting.
And everyone wanted to see how the brothers would collide.
---
First Half – Duel of Mirrors
The referee blew the whistle. The match began.
Instantly, the tempo exploded.
Barcelona pressed high. Real passed sharp and fast. And in the 3rd minute—
BOOM.
Rin and Sae clashed shoulder to shoulder over a loose ball.
Neither yielded. The impact echoed across the stadium.
Rin snarled. "Still soft, big bro?"
Sae didn't respond. He just turned and jogged away.
But his mind was screaming.
That voice… that tone…
So much like his own—but colder. Sharper.
---
Minute 22 – The First Blow
Rin received the ball on the left wing.
With a stutter step, he cut inside past two defenders, slipped into the half-space, and struck a curling rocket toward the far post—
GOAL.
1–0 to Barcelona.
The crowd erupted.
But Rin didn't celebrate.
He walked past Sae—expression blank.
> "Where were you, Sae? Playing safe again?"
Sae's jaw tensed.
He turned his back to him.
But that shot—the precision, the balance—it was familiar. Too familiar.
---
Sae's Response
In the 38th minute, Sae got the ball near the top of the box. A quick feint left the holding midfielder in the dust.
One touch.
Two.
He spotted a gap and played a devastating trivela pass through three defenders.
The striker didn't even need to take a touch.
GOAL.
1–1.
Sae stood still. Eyes locked with Rin across the field.
No words. No gestures.
Just a stare that said:
> "I haven't changed. I've only leveled up."
---
Halftime – Verbal Clash
In the tunnel, before the teams returned to the pitch, it happened.
They stopped.
Face to face.
No cameras. No fans. Just two brothers—reincarnated into enemies.
Rin leaned in. "Why now? Why pretend to care about Japanese football again?"
Sae: "I never stopped caring."
Rin: "Bullshit. You left. I was left cleaning your legacy."
Sae's voice dropped.
> "You think you understand legacy? You think Blue Lock made you a king? You're still in my shadow, Rin."
Rin's eyes flashed.
> "Not for long."
Then he walked away.
---
Second Half – Total Football
The second half wasn't a football match. It was an orchestra of obsession.
Every ball Sae touched was met by Rin's positioning.
Every time Rin cut inside, Sae dropped to intercept passing lanes.
They weren't just playing against each other.
They were trying to erase one another.
In the 71st minute, Sae launched a diagonal switch to the right wing.
The winger beat his man and squared the ball across goal.
2–1 Real Madrid.
But before Sae could breathe, Rin stole the ball on kickoff, slalomed past three men, and thundered in a left-footed strike from 25 yards.
2–2.
---
Final Moment – The Draw That Felt Like Fire
The game ended in a draw.
But it wasn't about the score.
It was about what the world saw.
And what the brothers felt.
Sae walked off the pitch breathing hard, chest heaving, for the first time in years.
> "So he's really caught up."
Meanwhile, Rin stared at the ground, muttering under his breath.
> "Not enough. I still haven't surpassed him."
---
Later That Night – Separate Reflections
Sae, lying on his hotel bed, rewatched the match on a tablet.
He paused when Rin's second goal played.
Rewound it.
Paused again.
> "He's not just copying me anymore."
> "He's rewriting the blueprint."
He closed the tablet.
A grin—thin, cold—crept onto his lips.
> "Good. Then I won't hold back either."
---
Rin, back in his dorm, didn't sleep.
He watched Sae's assist 17 times.
Studied his movement. His timing. His angles.
Then he whispered to himself:
> "You're not God, Sae."
> "You're just the first. And I'm the one who'll finish the story."
---
End of Chapter 10