"Stop him!" The rebel team poured every ounce of strength into chasing down Shinichi, but even they knew it was a hopeless endeavor.
For most of them, their eyes shimmered only with the faint light of despair.
Faced with such a desperate onslaught, Shinichi merely sighed softly.
As dark lightning flickered at the corner of his eye, he began to move, leaving behind a dreamy trail of afterimages.
In the blink of an eye, Shinichi's figure seemed to teleport through the crowd.
Even the lightning couldn't keep up with his pace, leaving a dazzling Z-shaped trail in his wake.
Neither Rin nor Kira, rushing back to defend, could keep up with Shinichi's rhythm.
Both faltered and fell, left sprawled in the dirt.
"Damn it, damn it!" Ahead of Shinichi, only Reo remained.
Alone and battered, he had no choice but to charge forward, knowing full well the inevitable result.
With a roar, he lunged toward the unstoppable future.
Thud...
The low sound of impact echoed across the field as blades of grass flew into the air.
Reo, barely able to stay on his feet before, was no match for Shinichi.
He crashed heavily to the ground, defeated.
Shinichi stopped, glancing at the struggling players around him.
"Now that expression suits someone in Blue Lock," he said, surprisingly offering Reo a rare word of praise.
But that was as far as his restraint would take him. Soon enough, his true nature emerged.
"Too bad. No matter how hard a weakling tries, it's all pointless. If you want to beat me, start by learning how to walk without falling over like a baby."
With those words, Shinichi accelerated again. Ahead of him, the only thing standing between him and the goal was the lone Blue Lock goalkeeper.
It was almost hard to believe that a virtual figure could convey such palpable fear.
Facing Shinichi's approach, the goalkeeper hesitated, uncertain whether to charge out or stay put.
But in that brief moment of doubt, the ball had already streaked past the keeper's head and into the net.
With a seemingly effortless strike, Shinichi launched the ball like a missile, blasting it straight through the goal.
GOOOOOOAL!!!
Shinichi's team: 5 - Rebel team: 0
Match over!
"...It's over after all," Reo muttered as he collapsed onto the ground.
Staring at the blinding lights of the dome ceiling, he raised his arm to shield his eyes. "I feel like I didn't accomplish anything... It's so... frustrating."
"You did fine. That final pass almost scored, didn't it? I'm the one who feels like I didn't contribute at all," Akira said, his usually energetic voice tinged with exhaustion.
Even so, he walked over, extending a hand toward Reo. "Come on, get up. If you can't even face failure, that'd be the most pathetic thing of all."
"My grandma always said, 'Don't be afraid of failure,'" Kyohei murmured to himself, standing off to the side.
Unlike the others, he didn't join in but simply watched quietly, lost in his own thoughts.
Seeing this, Reo and Akira exchanged a smile.
Reo grabbed Akira's arm and pulled himself up.
"You're right. I've done everything I could. Whatever the outcome, I'll accept it. And even if I lost this chance, I won't give up. This is the path I've chosen, and I'll keep moving forward without hesitation."
...
"I thought you'd be fuming," Kira called out from a distance, hands on his hips and breathing heavily.
He looked at Rin, whose expression, strangely enough, remained calm, and teased him lightly.
"Shut up. Who said I'm not angry?" Rin snapped, rolling his eyes at Kira.
But in the end, he didn't say much more to the guy who had fought alongside him against Shinichi. "I've just outgrown my immature self. I can now see and accept the gap between us. Losing is just a sign that I wasn't good enough. That's all."
"Impressive. You really have a clear perspective," Kira said with a bitter smile, shaking his head as the fire in his eyes dimmed and eventually went out. "As for me… I'm so frustrated I could cry."
Kira understood, deep down, that he had been in an incredibly delicate state earlier.
His brief awakening to his path and his burning desire to win had allowed him to touch the limits of his potential for a short time.
That's why he had barely managed to hold his own against Rin and Shinichi.
But even he didn't fully understand that state, nor could he predict when he might enter it again.
In truth, his performance today had relied on luck.
The next time, he would likely go back to being the guy who got crushed at the start.
Kira was painfully aware of his current limitations—unlike Rin, he hadn't truly reached the threshold of that level.
'I can't get caught up in this. I can't place my hopes on something I can't control. Unless I can master that state, like Shinichi and Rin, and turn it on and off at will, what I need to do is raise my actual abilities. I have to make sure my normal self can compete on the same field as them!'
Kira resolved firmly.
Just then, the broadcast system came on.
"The second special adaptability match against Shinichi has concluded. Players, please leave the field in an orderly manner following the instructions. All matches for today are complete. The third adaptability match will begin tomorrow at 9:30 a.m."
"Even Blue Lock, this heartless place, knows better than to schedule something at eight in the morning if there's no need," Shinichi muttered instinctively. Then, turning to his teammates and opponents, he added, "Hey, let's grab something to eat."
"..." Everyone exchanged awkward glances, struggling to process how the guy who had just shut them out and mocked them moments ago could so casually invite them to eat.
Finally, Reo gritted his teeth and spoke up, "Fine, let's go. What, do you think we're scared of you or something?"
"Then let's go," Shinichi said nonchalantly. "Honestly, Ego's scheduling is ridiculous. Playing against guys at your level doesn't take any real effort, so there's no need to space the matches out by a few hours. The matches don't tire me out; waiting between them just makes me hungry."
"Hey! That's too much, you jerk!"
"Calm down," Rin interjected, cutting through the tension. "That's just how he is. The more you react, the more entertained he gets."
Rin's precise observation struck at the core of Shinichi's instigating nature.
Shinichi shrugged, neither confirming nor denying it.
"Oh, Rin-chan, you're surprisingly composed now. Definitely showing some growth. Honestly, you're starting to remind me more and more of your genius brother," Shinichi teased with a smirk.
"Shut the hell up! Who's anything like that heartless bastard?! And stop calling me Rin-chan!" Rin snapped, visibly irritated, his composure momentarily cracking.
...
Time passed quickly amidst the playful banter and teasing.
That night, Shinichi, as the designated target of Ego's plans, enjoyed the unique privilege of Blue Lock's only single-occupancy room.
After finishing his evening routine, he climbed into bed and closed his eyes.
As his consciousness drifted deeper, Shinichi found himself back in that all-too-familiar space.
"Ha!" On the basketball court set up next to the football field, Kobe Bryant let out a roar as he dunked over Shougo Haizaki, taunting him with trash talk.
Ignoring the ever-relentless and obsessive Kobe, who never seemed to tire of dominating others, Shinichi proceeded with his daily draw.
After all this time, he hadn't even seen a glimpse of purple light, making him feel like all his luck had been burned up when he evolved his Evergreen Skill.
"Please, just one gold—I'm begging you!" As Shinichi made his selection, the summoning circle began spinning rapidly.
After a few flickers of blue and white light, an incredibly dazzling golden glow burst forth, lighting up the entire training space and catching the attention of Kobe and Haizaki mid-duel.
He'd finally hit the jackpot!
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