The dimly lit gym was silent except for the rhythmic clinking of weights and the soft hum of fluorescent lights. Yoichi Isagi stood alone, sweat dripping from his brow as he adjusted the bar on the squat machine. The number on the weights read 220 kilograms.
"Safety's in place," he muttered to himself, double-checking the supports. Even if I fail, I'll be fine.
And so he began. The first few reps were smooth, his form pristine. Time blurred as he continued, the weights rising and falling in perfect unison with his movements.
Hours passed unnoticed, and somewhere in the midst of his relentless squats, Isagi's body betrayed him—he fell asleep, mid-rep, the weight still firmly balanced on his shoulders.
In the surveillance room, Jinpachi Ego and Anri Teieri watched the monitors with expressions of stunned disbelief.
"He's... asleep," Anri said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"With 220 kilograms on his back," Ego added, his tone a mix of awe and incredulity. "This kid isn't normal."
"He hasn't even buckled," Anri continued, her wide eyes glued to the screen.
Ego let out a sharp laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. "No, he hasn't. He's standing there, snoring, with a load most adults wouldn't dare to attempt. This isn't just training—this is lunacy."
After an hour and a half of watching the surreal sight, Ego finally called for backup. Three Blue Lock staff members arrived, their faces contorting into various shades of confusion and panic as they carefully lifted the bar off Isagi's shoulders.
Even as they dragged him out of the gym and back to Team Z's sleeping quarters, Isagi didn't stir. He remained peacefully asleep, as though none of it had ever happened.
The following morning, Isagi was up before sunrise, his energy boundless. He tackled Ego's prescribed training regimen with ease and added his own grueling routines on top.
The pattern repeated. Every night, Isagi snuck back into the gym, testing his limits with outrageous weights. During one such session, he loaded a leg press with 425 kilograms.
By the time he finished his reps, exhaustion overtook him, and he fell asleep in the machine. Once again, the Blue Lock staff was called in to extract him, baffled by his freakish strength and seemingly unbreakable body.
"How does he do it?" one staff member asked, struggling to push the press off Isagi.
"He weighs maybe 80 kilograms, but he moves like he's built for war," another replied, shaking his head.
Ego, watching from the control room, merely smirked. "The kid's a monster, plain and simple."
The day of the second match arrived, and Team Z faced off against Team Y. Their opponents boasted the clever duo of Ikki Niko and Hibiki Okawa, whose strategy revolved around starving Isagi of the ball.
But strategies were only effective against someone playing within their limits.
Isagi dismantled their defense with ease, outpacing and outmaneuvering them without breaking a sweat. Close-range shots, long-range strikes—it didn't matter. Every goal seemed inevitable when the ball was at his feet.
By the time the whistle blew, the scoreboard read 20-0, with Isagi scoring 15 of the goals. The rest went to Bachira, Kunigami, Chigiri, and Gagamaru, who only managed to score after Isagi deliberately set them up with challenging passes.
After the match, Isagi gathered his teammates, his sharp eyes scanning their faces.
"You're all decent," he began, his tone blunt but not unkind. "But if we're going to win this thing, you need to be better. I'll help you, but it's up to you to rise to the challenge."
He turned to Bachira first. "Find your version of number one, Bachira. Dribble like a demon, break your opponents with creativity."
To Raichi: "Be the ankle biter. Lock them down and make their lives hell."
To Chigiri: "Run like a real winger, or get eaten. You've got speed, but if you don't use it, you're just another weakling."
Finally, he faced Kunigami. "You're the hero type, right? Then train like one. Break yourself down and build yourself back up. If you can't rise above your limits, you're not a hero—you're just another wannabe."
Kunigami frowned, his pride stung. "And if the hero has to fight you?"
Isagi's eyes gleamed. "Then you train until you can win. Heroes don't stop just because the villain's too strong, do they?"
The anticipation was palpable as Team Z walked onto the pitch for their next match against Team W. The crowd in the arena buzzed with energy, the air thick with tension.
Isagi stood at the center, his gaze steady, his demeanor calm but intimidating. Beside him, his teammates mirrored his determination, though none could match his sheer aura of dominance.
On the sidelines, Ego and Anri watched intently.
"This is it," Anri said softly.
Ego nodded. "Let's see how far our monster will push this time."
The referee raised his whistle to his lips and blew, signaling the start of the game.
The battle had begun.