The Blue Lock goalkeeper threw the ball to Shinichi, and Reo immediately moved to intercept. "Even if offense is futile due to Shinichi's unique talents, at least on defense, with those top-tier skills... as long as Shinichi can reach a 90-point level, at the very least—"
"90? Don't make me laugh."
The cold, indifferent voice sent chills down everyone's spine.
In an instant, Shinichi had closed the gap, standing right in front of Reo. "Stop flattering yourself. If you can mimic even 70% of my ability, that's enough for you to dominate this crowd of mediocrity. Your so-called 90 points are only impressive at the high school level of a weak football nation like Blue Lock. To me, it's nothing more than a child gloating over a perfect score on a simple test."
"A world-class perfect score is far beyond 100 points."
With a swift pullback following a simple feint, Shinichi's fluid movement completely disrupted Reo's thought process.
His footwork was entirely led by Shinichi's rhythm.
After another sudden directional change, Reo finally lost his balance, tripping over his own feet and collapsing to the ground.
"As expected, Shinichi's strategy isn't just to bypass opponents but to outright humiliate them." Those watching in the observation room found it hard to continue looking.
On the field, however, Reo refused to give up.
Struggling to his feet, he tried to block Shinichi's advance once more.
Yet Shinichi didn't even spare him a glance.
Instead, with a detached tone, he delivered his verdict:
"As the price for defying an emperor, stay there and repent on your knees."
The moment Shinichi's words fell, Reo felt his legs give out beneath him and he collapsed to his knees.
Shinichi casually dribbled forward, and as he passed by the kneeling Reo, he glanced down at him, almost as if by accident.
"My Devour ability—you should all know how it works by now. By replicating and optimizing an opponent's weapons, I create a conflict between their muscle memory and consciousness, leaving them in disarray."
"But honestly, I didn't expect anyone to willingly challenge me knowing this. Mimicking my degraded version? That's just serving yourself up on a platter. Especially someone like you, who goes as far as completely adopting my playstyle for high-intensity imitation."
"In this match, you've already lost the ability to perform even the most basic actions of soccer."
After making this declaration, Shinichi no longer paid Reo any attention and dribbled away.
Reo, trembling, managed to stand back up but immediately realized that he was struggling even with basic movements.
His strides felt uneven—too fast at times, too slow at others—and he even found himself awkwardly moving with the same hand and foot forward.
His entire rhythm had been thrown off!
"This guy… He's not just stronger in stats; even his skills are a complete upgrade of mine!"
...
Reo's situation was indeed concerning, but no one on the field had the luxury of worrying about an opponent.
As Shinichi advanced at a steady pace, every player—teammates and opponents alike—held their breath.
No one knew what Shinichi was feeling after being imitated by Reo, nor could they predict his next move.
All they could do was brace themselves and try to adapt to whatever came next.
"Well then, let's make use of Zantetsu's speed here."
Seeing the wary faces of everyone around him, Shinichi's lips curled into a faint smile before he passed the ball to Zantetsu.
"You want me to run as far forward as I can, right?" Zantetsu Kcaught the ball, lowered his center of gravity slightly, and charged forward.
His explosive acceleration instantly created a gap of more than two body lengths between him and Akira, who had been marking him.
"So you bottom feeders! If you don't have the skill, then obediently become the building blocks for my success and dedicate yourselves to me!" Kira snarled, blocking Zantetsu's wild charge forward. "I haven't even shown my strength yet! How could I let a small-time player like you show off in front of me?!"
"Hmm, he said as long as it's a pass from me, all you need to do is run until you can't run anymore, then pass it to the only person you can see in your line of sight—that'll always be the best choice, right?" Zantetsu paid no mind to Kira's taunts.
The moment he was forced to stop, he unhesitatingly passed the ball. His target: the now-open Haruhiko.
"Don't look down on me!" A loud roar came from behind as the energetic Akiracharged forward, shouting as he closed in.
But by then, the situation was already clear. Haruhiko could only marvel at Shinichi's strategic brilliance as he waited for Akira to close the gap.
Once Akira got close enough, Haruhiko swiftly passed the ball again.
The ball's landing spot?
Right at the feet of Isagi, who had already prepared for the shot.
Pieces of the puzzle came together from all directions.
Isagi's eyes locked intensely on the incoming ball.
"This shot…"
"You won't score this goal!" A voice laced with suppressed anger came from behind Seiiichi Kiyoshi. Rin Itoshi, radiating an aura of overwhelming intimidation, charged toward Seiiichi alongside the ball, exuding a menacing energy as though intent on utterly destroying him.
"Rin... you're right, I won't score this one. But from the very beginning, Shinichi's plan didn't involve me scoring." As Isagi spoke, Rin's eyes widened in realization, his expression twisting in rage.
Before Rin could react, Isagi withdrew from his shooting stance and instead nudged the ball to his right with a deft flick of his foot.
"Thanks for the setup—I'll take this shot." To Isagi's right was Zantetsu, arriving just in time to meet the pass.
Trailing behind, with a twisted expression of frustration, was Kira.
Swish!
The sound of the ball striking the back of the net signaled Zantetsu's successful follow-up goal.
Team Shinichi 3:0 Rebel Team
"Unbelievable... The more you understand the situation on the field, the more you realize just how terrifying Shinichi is..."
"In this match, our matchups have been fairly fixed. Only Rin is capable of marking Shinichi, while Kira, knowing my off-ball movement ability, has no choice but to defend against me. Meanwhile, the tall players Taiga and Kyohei have been balancing each other out. Among the remaining players, the only one with the speed to challenge Zantetsu is Reo, while Haruhiko has been forced to face off against Akira."
Isagi stood motionless, replaying the sequence of events in his mind.
"In this round, where Reo couldn't participate in the defense, the matchups involving Shinichi, me, and Taiga were fixed. Shinichi accurately identified the only gap in the defense—Zantetsu. At that moment, the only adjustable position on the opponent's side was Akira's, so he was the first to be sent to defend against Zantetsu."
"But Zantetsu's speed is something Akira cannot counter. The most he could do was delay him briefly, giving a second defender time to intercept Zantetsu while Akira shifted his focus to a new player. At that moment, the only passing options for Zantetsu were Haruhiko and Taiga."
"If Kira, who was defending me, went to cover Zantetsu, the ball would be passed to Haruhiko, forcing Akira to block him first. This would give me—already free of a defender and starting an off-ball run—more time to position myself. On the other hand, if Kyohei were sent, it wouldn't work either. Akira doesn't have the physicality to defend against Taiga in the penalty area, which would effectively gift the opponent a goal. So there's no way Kyohei would abandon his marking responsibility."
"Thus, everything was predestined. By this point, Rin, who can foresee certain outcomes on the field, had no choice but to abandon Shinichi. However, with Haruhiko wasting some time with his pass to me, it was inevitable that Rin would catch up to me. That's why I had to be the one to receive the ball, not Haruhiko. Only I could withstand Rin's pressing and understand Shinichi's strategy—to pass the ball to the player with the absolute advantage."
"Even if Zantetsu could be stopped while dribbling, when starting from the same position in an off-ball situation, Kira's explosiveness is no match for Zantetsu's. Passing the ball back to Zantetsu was my only option, and with that, Zantetsu's goal became inevitable."
In a daze, Isagi felt as if the entire field had transformed into a chessboard, with Shinichi's smiling face looming in the sky above.
He seemed to orchestrate everything effortlessly, manipulating their every move like pieces on a board.
"Though this setup relied on a numerical advantage in specific matchups, Shinichi himself barely lifted a finger. Yet, he had already orchestrated the entire situation perfectly. Every action we took proceeded seamlessly under his plan... This is the terrifying extent of Shinichi's strategic prowess. It's as if we're nothing but pawns on his chessboard, completely at his mercy!"
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