"What?" Sae's eyebrows twitched slightly — for the first time, he couldn't fully understand what Yoichi was thinking.
In his eyes, that guy had transformed into someone else entirely. He seemed almost mad.
"I know, Sae, genius big brother — you and I can see the same picture. My actions will never exceed your expectations."
A smile spread across Yoichi's face, but his gaze was as deep as a black hole.
"That's why your actions are the final puzzle piece, Sae!" He said, shifting his gaze to the side, "I originally thought this broken ship would sink into the abyss, clinging to dreams of being king. But it's precisely because of your appearance that he'll be reborn! His anger and self-interest make his actions unpredictable!"
He narrowed his eyes slightly, his smile growing more pronounced.
Choosing the path furthest from Ryōsuke, using everyone else as bait — all for this final moment!
"Welcome back to your throne, King." As he spoke, Yoichi subtly moved the ball to the side.
A terrifying figure burst out from behind him, like a demon returning from hell, burning with the flames of revenge.
Shoei Baro!
With his mind consumed by rage, Shoei charged from behind, aiming to claim the ball from beneath Yoichi's feet!
No one would have expected such a wild move again! But Yoichi had predicted this based on his earlier behavior!
The taunting passes weren't just to distract others — more importantly, they were meant to enrage him!
Shoei's anger was Yoichi's ultimate weapon!
He knew that even if he fooled the other defenders, Sae would notice his presence. His final step was to use himself as bait, making others believe he was the endpoint. No one would have expected Shoei to come to his side for a steal at this moment, so no one could react to such a move in advance.
"You bastard, I'm going to kill you!" Shoei roared with all his might, like a crazed beast ready to tear Yoichi to pieces!
The entire field was stunned — no one could have predicted such an irrational move.
Even Sae was caught off guard, Shoei's actions completely defying expectations.
"Die!"
Shoei channeled all his fury into raw power, unleashing it in a single moment! The ball shot forward like a cannonball!
"Not just Shoei! All of Blue Lock will be reborn in this moment!" Yoichi's eyes locked onto Sae, his gaze burning with hunger, "Sae Itoshi, you will be devoured!"
The cannon-like shot thundered straight into the goal.
[ Scoreboard ]
[ 5:4 ]
Blue Lock had clawed one back, injecting new tension into the match!
"This..." The commentator faltered. After a pause, he continued, "Blue Lock's Shoei Baro... appears to have gained possession from his teammate's feet before completing the shot! Quite an innovative tactic... Both teams have now scored a total of nine goals — extremely rare in a match like this. I wonder if they have more surprises in store!"
To observers, the goal was perplexing — Shoei had clearly stolen the ball from his teammate again. Yet the goal stood, and his skill was undeniable.
"Hey, what just happened?"
"Isn't that guy just stealing from his teammate? How can they allow that?"
"But you can't deny—he scored."
The spectators traded bewildered looks.
On the field, Shoei released a primal roar after scoring, then stormed over to Yoichi, seizing his collar as if ready to rip him apart.
"Isagi, you bastard, what was that at the end?!" Veins bulged on his forehead, rage etched across his face.
Shoei had caught Yoichi's subtle outward kick in that final moment, realizing he'd intentionally allowed the steal. This revelation infuriated him — he'd been dancing to this manipulator's tune from the very start.
"That's right, I deliberately let you steal it. Everything was within my calculations." Facing his fury, Yoichi maintained his smile, unfazed by the other's emotions, "Just play your part in the script I've arranged."
"You bastard!" Though murderous rage surged through Shoei, he held himself back and released his collar, "Don't think you can control me, Isagi. I'm the king of this field — you can't manipulate my actions! I'll settle this score with you later!"
"Sure thing, Your Majesty, but let's wait until after the match." Yoichi responded, his voice resolute as he stared directly into Shoei's eyes.
Shoei's words died in his throat.
He could sense that Yoichi had transformed completely from his usual self into something terrifying.
On the coaching bench, Jinpachi watched Yoichi intently, deep in thought.
"Though we scored... I never expected it to happen like this..." Anri bit her lip, staring at the field in confusion, the events completely beyond her imagination.
"No, this was no accident." Jinpachi said, pushing up his glasses, "Isagi calculated all of this. From the start, he wasn't thinking about scoring — he was planning to use Baro's presence."
He narrowed his eyes — Yoichi's performance had revealed principles that contradicted Blue Lock's philosophy.
A forward exists not just to score goals, but to make the right choices for victory — this approach aligned more closely with Ryōsuke's views. In a sense, his philosophy suited players like Yoichi better.
Rather than shooting himself, Yoichi possessed superior field control abilities, as if dominating the entire field.
Though Blue Lock had pulled back a point, this meant Yoichi seemed to be embracing Ryōsuke's ideas, even using Blue Lock's self-centered philosophy to his advantage.
From this moment on, Jinpachi had already lost.
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
"The genius looks a bit unhappy."
In U-20's half, Oliver walked up beside Sae, smiling as he looked at him.
Sae didn't answer immediately. His face showed no emotion, yet he seemed to be pondering something. After several seconds, he spoke slowly:
"This match has yielded some unexpected gains."
He wasn't particularly swayed by emotions — staying calm on the field was one of his defining traits. However, he had to admit one thing: Yoichi's recent performance had truly exceeded his expectations.
While that guy had already shown impressive play earlier, his last move revealed something that even Sae couldn't have predicted. He had invisibly connected with his teammates, using himself as bait to create shooting opportunities for them.
A forward's job isn't just about scoring goals.
"There's not much time left. Let's finish this match in one go."
Sae turned his head toward the voice — it was Ryōsuke.
Ryōsuke's gaze was focused on the other half of the field, a smile on his face, as if anticipating what would happen next.
"You've created a monster." Sae said softly.
"What?"
"Nothing. Let's win this match." Sae spoke slowly, turning his gaze back to the opponent's goal.
This was the first time he had spoken about winning or losing the match.
"Yeah." Ryōsuke nodded.
The U-20 team launched another attack.
"Quick, defend! We have to stop this shot no matter what, you idiots!" Tabito shouted excitedly.
Time was ticking away. Even though they had narrowed the gap to one point and found a glimmer of hope in their desperate situation, they were still trailing.
No one could have imagined the match becoming this intense. From the start, both sides displayed incredible offensive and defensive transitions, creating goal after goal in this unprecedented match.
To seize their slim chance of victory, Blue Lock had to completely shut down this U-20 attack. If the point gap widened now, catching up would become nearly impossible.
Victory hinged on stopping U-20's shot at all costs!
Sae carried the ball past the halfway line, with Tabito and Kenyū marking him once again. Both defenders were laser-focused — this was their third direct confrontation with him.
But this time, they sensed something different about the genius before them.
"Will he pass? To Kira?" Kenyū stared intently, not daring to blink.
Though his eye condition forced him to wear glasses on the field and the intense activity had made his vision blurry, none of that mattered now. He had to give everything to stop his opponent!
Before him, Sae's focus had reached new heights.
"Feel proud of yourselves." Sae spoke slowly, his tone ice-cold — like delivering a eulogy.
"What?" Tabito frowned in confusion.
"Feel proud that you made me get slightly serious for a few minutes. It's something you can boast about for the rest of your lives." Sae's words dripped with arrogance.
In the next breath, he suddenly accelerated, driving straight for the gap between Tabito and Kenyū!
❖ Flow! ❖
Now, Sae was truly serious!
Moving like a phantom, he leaned forward, his movements swift and precise without wasted motion.
The sudden change in rhythm caught Tabito and Kenyū off guard, forcing them to retreat while trying to contain him.
In that instant, Sae changed direction, using his heel to control the ball while spinning sharply. He burst past Kenyū's side — simultaneously using his arm to block the defender's position, preventing any chance of pursuit.
"Don't look down on us, genius!" Tabito shouted, chasing with all his might from another angle.
But Sae had read his movements completely, executing a double reverse turn to get past him effortlessly.
Though Jinpachi considered both Kenyū and Tabito core players of Blue Lock, with individual skills comparable to Rin and Ryūsei, there remained an absolute gulf between them and Sae.
There was no comparison!
"Don't think you're getting through!" Eita Otoya suddenly attacked from Sae's other side.
As another core member of Blue Lock, he possessed ninja-like abilities to conceal his presence, capable of endless silent running for support — a natural offensive talent and Blue Lock's most secretive assassin.
Now positioned downfield and focused entirely on defense, Eita lurked on the other side, ready to intervene if Tabito and Kenyū were beaten.
If that happened, he would emerge from the shadows to disrupt the attack!
However, his proud stealth technique meant nothing before Sae's Metavision.
Eita slid in like a throwing knife attempting to tackle, but Sae simply flicked the ball up, jumping over him in one fluid motion. From start to finish, he hadn't even spared his defender a proper glance.
After effortlessly getting past the three-man press, he continued driving toward the goal line!
"Is Sae going to attack himself this round?! We absolutely can't let him succeed!" Reo gave it his all, mimicking Oliver's stance as he positioned himself in front of Sae.
He could sense that Sae's movements were different, showing an aggression that surpassed anything seen before!
❖❖❖
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