"That might be true, but thinking I can immediately match Shinichi's rhythm is unrealistic," Isagi thought, his brows tightly furrowed.
From the start of the match until now, aside from Zantetsu, no one else on their team had any real chance to shine. "Then I'll aim for the next best thing—find a way to keep up with Rin."
"Observe his movements, understand his intentions. I refuse to stop here!"
Beep—Beep!
With the whistle, Rin began advancing with the ball.
As usual, Shinichi positioned himself in his path.
This time, however, Shinichi's eyes were void of the electric arcs or fiery sparks from before.
Instead, his pitch-black, hollow gaze met Rin's directly.
"Yo, we meet again," Shinichi greeted casually.
"I know my current level still isn't enough to catch up to you, but losing interest after just one play? That's underestimating me too much!" Rin shot back, now fully immersed in his Restrictive Destroyer Mode, solidly at the level of the New Generation Eleven.
Even against Shinichi, Rin wouldn't allow himself to be dispossessed instantly.
During their stalemate, Rin taunted, "You're not afraid of embarrassing yourself if you stay out of that mode, are you?"
"Don't make me spell it out, Rin," Shinichi replied with a carefree smile. "Isn't this just you asking to be humiliated?"
Without warning, Shinichi pressed forward, physically obstructing Rin's movement.
Using sheer force, he wrested the ball from Rin's feet, his tone dripping with mockery. "At your level, what kind of disaster would it take for you to beat me? A meteor falling out of the sky and crushing me?"
"Damn it! I was so focused on his speed that I underestimated the difference in physical strength. This damn hexagonal monster!" Rin cursed as he immediately gave chase.
Yet, despite Shinichi being the one with the ball, the gap between them only grew wider.
It wasn't just about raw stats anymore.
After all this time training, Shinichi's understanding of football had advanced leaps and bounds.
His ball control and synergy with the ball were on a completely different level compared to when he first entered Blue Lock.
This monster continued to evolve relentlessly, never satisfied with his current self!
"Wait for me!"
With a determined yell, a figure lunged forward, attempting to block Shinichi's blazing charge.
But despite the foul, Shinichi's sheer momentum sent Reo tumbling to the ground.
The act was so dramatic that even the referee system couldn't ignore it, momentarily halting the advantage rule and issuing Reo a yellow card, interrupting the match.
"Oh? So that's what I just ran over," Shinichi said with a mockingly surprised tone, turning back to look at Reo. "It was you, Reo. My bad. Without Nagi here, your presence is just way too low. I barely noticed you."
"Everyone says that, like I'm just Nagi's lackey or something!" Reo shot back irritably, brushing off Shinichi's attempt to pat his shoulder. "Don't forget, it was me who pushed Nagi onto the path of football. Everything he's achieved started because of me!"
"And so what?" Shinichi replied, genuinely intrigued. He tilted his head slightly, looking at Reo. "Don't you get it? It doesn't matter what your relationship is off the field. On the field, only your performance counts."
"Nagi is simply better than you. And honestly, you just look like a ball boy feeding him passes. Worse yet, as he grows stronger, your current level will only make you seem like a parasite clinging to him under the guise of being the one who discovered him," Shinichi said coldly.
"You bastard, your words are as harsh as ever," Reo replied, gritting his teeth. But surprisingly, this time, he didn't completely deny Shinichi's accusations. "But… you're not entirely wrong."
"Actually... I've known this for a while now. After that match against you, I realized it—I can't become the world's best on my own. Maybe I've known this from the very beginning, and that's why I was so excited when I met Nagi."
"My dream has always been to win the World Cup. But why have I always needed Nagi by my side? Why do I value our promise together so much…?" Reo covered his eyes with one hand, his voice tinged with pain.
"Because I know they're right," he continued, his voice trembling. "I can't achieve my dream alone. That's why Nagi matters so much to me. He was a blank slate—everything about him, his talent, his success, it all stemmed from me. I just wanted to break free from the shadow of the Mikage family and achieve something so incredible that the world would take notice of me. And for that, Nagi's existence became indispensable."
"I'm not like you guys, pouring every ounce of your being into football. You'd give up everything for the chance to be number one in the world. Nothing else matters to you. No—nothing else even excites you. To me, you're dazzling, almost blinding, because of how single-mindedly brilliant you are."
"But I'm different," Reo said quietly. "To be honest, when I privately imagine a future where Nagi becomes the best in the world and, during a media interview, he says something like, 'It was Reo who discovered my talent when I didn't know anything. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am today. He's the one who made the world's number one possible.'"
A faint, bitter smile appeared on Reo's face. "I can't help but feel a sense of secret joy at that thought, and I would accept such praise without hesitation."
As Reo spoke, his voice trembled, and when he lifted his head, his eyes were bloodshot. "Do you see it now? I'm someone who feels joy at the thought of someone else becoming the world's best. Someone completely opposite to everything Blue Lock stands for. A hopelessly irredeemable guy..."
"So what?" Shinichi replied, his face emotionless, even carrying a hint of disdain. "Over there, you've got another pathetic guy whose entire life path was shaped by someone else. And yet, he's still pushing through."
"Stop overcomplicating things. What matters isn't what's right—it's what you want. Even if your desires differ from others', or even go against mainstream values, as long as you're okay with it, that's enough. Plenty of scouts and coaches take pride in discovering and nurturing talent, don't they?"
Shinichi lightly punched Reo in the chest before turning away. "Your greatest tragedy isn't that your efforts are dedicated to someone else. It's that you don't even know what you truly want. That's why, in that match, you kept wavering—giving up one moment, then moving forward because Nagi asked you to the next."
"Whether you want to continue this relationship or break free from those chains, developing the ability to fight alone, you need to find your own path and follow it without hesitation."
"Wavering indecisively will only make you lose yourself further among countless choices, idiot."
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