Blue Lock
It was past dawn, and I was running late to Blue Lock. I had almost forgotten that it was today. I rushed out of the house, hoping to make it on time.
As I arrived at the arena where the letter directed me, I saw Isagi and the rest of the Blue Lock squad, and I felt a rush of excitement. This was Isagi Yoichi and Team Z in the flesh. They looked even more intense in person than they were in the manga.
I couldn't believe that I was in a world where Blue Lock and its characters existed. Ryosuke Kira was standing next to him, looking just as impressive. I felt a surge of excitement and anticipation for what was to come. I realized that the world around me had changed, and I was now a part of the story.
"Ah, it's you, Murano." Nishioka, 'Aomori's Messi,' said with a smirk as he tapped my shoulders. I couldn't help but be irritated when I turned around. Man, that was some hell of a goal he scored. His winning goal made headlines throughout social media and news outlets.
Everyone was raving about the game's dramatic conclusion for days afterward. I can't wait to defeat him in a match, but I was ecstatic to see him again. That was when I remembered that Aomori's Messi was injured during the Third Selection, so I would have to face him before the Third Selection match against the world's best.
"Congratulations, you unpolished gems." Then Ego spoke, grabbing everyone's attention as he talked. The other players were paying close attention because they were curious to hear what Ego had to say.
"All you under-18 strikers have been chosen solely based on my criteria and biases to be here today."
"I am Jinpachi Ego. My Job is to make Japan a team capable of winning the World Cup."
"This is the creation of a revolutionary striker. From the 300 Players gathered here today, I will forge the best striker in the world through a certain Project."
"Look here." He pointed to a diagram on the whiteboard, outlining his plan for the project. He called it "Blue Lock" and explained how it would be a training program designed to create the best striker for Japanese football.
He added, "If you manage to survive on Blue Lock and defeat the other 299 players around...You, the last player standing, will have become the best striker in the world." "That is all for the details. Nice to meet you all."
The other players were all left dumbfounded and in a state of shock. As others murmured incredulously to one another, several people gazed at the floor or the ceiling.
It was all interrupted by Kira, who refuted Jinpachi Ego's claims and declared that he would prove him wrong. He did so because he wanted to win his high school team the all-Japan high school national tournament. Ego answered, "Lock off," indignant that Kira was turning on a spot on Japan's team to compete in some high school tourney. Ego continued by disparaging Japanese football.
According to him, egoism is the strength of the individual player, and rather than relying on teamwork to succeed, ego is a person's confidence in their own abilities to be the best. Jinpachi believes in this greatly, touting egoism as the central core of his ideology with Blue Lock. If a trainee doesn't have an impressive ego, they are basically scum to him. He also says that their extraordinary egoism is the one thing Japan's football lacks and that you will not become the greatest striker in the world unless you have the ego to match. His purpose is to create such a player in Japan.
He also claimed that the only important thing when playing soccer is scoring more than your opponents. He believes that egoism is the power of the individual player, and instead of getting by on teamwork, ego is the confidence a person has in their own skills to be the very best.
He then created a scenario that depicted an egoist, which spurred most of the players to join Blue Lock. I saw Isagi then lead the pack into Blue Lock after Ego concluded his speech.
The bus carried us to the peak of the mountain, where Blue Lock is. I was then directed to go to Team X's room after receiving a uniform bearing the symbol "265 X" on the upper arm. After finally entering the Blue Lock facility, I decided to tour the facility and familiarize myself with the layout. After all, this is the Blue Lock I read about.
I entered the X room after finding my way through the winding corridors and was greeted by a group of intense-looking individuals. Those were players of Team X, Shoei Barou's team that only defeated Team Z in the first selection games. Our introductions were interrupted by Jinpachi Ego as he appeared on the screen.
He announced that it was time for the first challenge of the Blue Lock program. He explained: The player with possession of the ball is it; whoever is it when the time runs out would lock off and would be permanently barred from Japan's National team. Simply put, The other players must avoid being "it" when the 136-second time limit runs out. He dropped a ball to the lowest-rated player to pass on "it" status. That was Ezaki Chihiro, ranked 276, who was already on thin ice after being ranked the lowest.
The time started, and everyone scattered, trying to avoid being "it" when the 136-second time limit ran out. Ezaki was determined not to be "it".
He ran around with the ball and tried to shoot it, hoping the others would be "it" when time ran out. But we all tried to get out of his way.
Ezaki tried to pass on "it," but Banku dodged to the left, and the ball went flying past him.
This course of play went on for several seconds, knowing that Ezaki would be 'it' when time ran out.
With the timer running down to 0:42 seconds and no one else being tagged, I got bored and decided to steal the ball from Ezaki Chihiro, which left him perplexed.
To become an egoist, I needed to steal the show, become the spotlight, and prove that I was the best player on the field. I lifted my arm and pointed my hand toward Shoei Barou's way. "Gotcha," I said with a smirk as I finger-gun pointed his direction.
I struck a power shot at Barou, but he dodged it. The ball then rebounded back to me, and I shot it again, this time with more force and precision.
Pa!!
The ball connected to Barou's face this time as he remained stunned. He stumbled backward, holding his nose in pain.
He quickly turned around and started chasing me, determined to pass "it" status to me. I sprinted toward the other end of the field, my heart pounding with adrenaline.
While running, I did not look back, knowing that he was ganging up on me. I sensed a ball flying toward me as I approached the end zone.
I knew I had to be quick if I wanted to avoid getting caught in Shoei Barou's way.
You're dead!" Barou shouted.
I did a backflip and managed to dodge the ball. I landed safely and felt a rush of adrenaline pumping through my veins.
That was when I recalled that team X needed Barou, who helped his team coordinate and won them 5-1 against Team Z. It was his goal that brought change; it was his style of playing as a king on the field that inspired his team to work together to allow him to score goals. Without him, they might have surely lost the game.
Even though they won that match, I recall that they went on to lose all of their other matches.
I could only be the central figure when he's out. It was the urge that drove me to steal the ball.
As the ball rebounded slightly off the wall, I caught up to the ball and became "it" again.
Pa!
6.
I made a quick shot and slightly kick the ball to Barou, as he was already close.
5.
4.
He quickly held on to the ball as it fell off his body and shot it toward Kora.
3.
Kora then blocked the shot with his foot, causing the ball to bounce off to the side, where Hiroki was.
2.
1...
With Hiroki now in possession, the time finally ran out.
I made the decision to approach Barou and find out why he chose to give the "it" status to someone else as opposed to me. I didn't understand why he would do that.
However, Ego Jinpachi then showed up on the display. He announced the start of the first selection and the tag game's end.
Hiroki then stormed off as Ego told him to lock off.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction as I watched him go. This thrilling end to the match was all set up by me.
Even though things didn't turn out the way I had hoped, I was happy that one contestant was eliminated.
I wondered how it would feel If I crushed the dreams of a full team or perhaps multiple teams. How would it feel to crush their hopes and leave them with nothing? The thought was exhilarating, yet terrifying.
"This game was just the essence of Blue Lock. That is the feeling of victory, so shove it in those brains of yours!"
"Congratulations! You have passed the Blue Locks entrance test."
A/N:
V~221-231
W~232-242
X~243-253
Y~254-264
Z~265-275
**This is after 1 person each was removed from the "it" game.
Note that there are a total of 25 teams split into five buildings(supposed by Ego).