Rin's Flow plunges him into madness — but he has learned to control this madness.
This is the true destroyer Rin Itoshi!
He aims to destroy not just the situation on the field, but also others' expectations of him!
Everyone believes he loses rationality and goes mad in his Flow, and he intends to shatter those expectations — and exploit them!
Rin has transformed!
No one could have imagined he would pass the ball!
Yoichi looked into his eyes, undoubtedly filled with madness... But hidden within is an incomparable determination — absolute confidence in his own abilities!
He finally realized he completely underestimated Rin; even in his state of madness, Rin successfully executed his puppet strategy!
Or rather, this is part of his puppet strategy — everyone has been deceived. Everyone is his puppet!
"Rin-Rin, you really know how to surprise people." Ryūsei says with a smile.
Meanwhile, Rin passes the ball to the side, to Ryoma's position.
Upon receiving the ball, Ryoma was momentarily stunned — he never expected Rin, who seemed ready to kill him just moments ago, would pass the ball…
But he quickly recovered, realizing he couldn't miss the opportunity his teammate had created!
Simultaneously, Ryoma began rotating his body!
The Tornado Shot!
Since Ryōsuke previously replicated his signature technique, what if he uses greater power and faster speed? This shot will prove he's more than just that one move!
"Go! Pierce through Bastard München's defense! I am the world's number one forward!" Ryoma shouted, venting the rage in his heart.
He wants to surpass Ryōsuke, to show the world his abilities exceed his rival's! He wants to capture the world's attention!
The stronger one is me, Ryoma Hino! Let this shot shock the entire world!
❖ Tornado Shot ➠ Twice Velocity, Two Rotation! ❖
After spinning at high speed, Ryoma unleashed all his power, aiming straight for the goal!
Boom!
With a thunderous sound! The shot races toward the goal like a shell fired from a tank barrel! Tearing through the air, this ball seems nearly unstoppable!
In the original series, Ryoma used his powerful offensive abilities to repeatedly penetrate Ken Wakashimazu's defense!
"Damn it!" Genzō desperately adjusts his position to intercept this shot.
Despite his aching hands, he doesn't care! Even if they're ruined, it doesn't matter!
Though this may be just an ordinary match, far less important than the U-20 World Cup, Genzō would always give his all regardless of the match's importance!
"Aaaaah!" Genzō dives for the ball, swearing to himself he must stop it.
Though the ball isn't yet close, he can already clearly hear it ripping through the air!
But at that moment, a figure suddenly appears in front of him!
Ryōsuke!
"Sorry, forcing the goalkeeper to face such a situation is the defender's failure!"
Originally positioned on another side, he used Thunderclap Flash to arrive just in time.
Facing that double-powered Tornado Shot, Ryōsuke shows no fear. He raises his right foot to directly counter it, the power of Distant Thunder gathering in his leg!
"What tornado? Dissipate right here!" Ryōsuke forcefully lifts his right leg, slamming it against the incredibly powerful shot.
The ball spins like a high-speed chainsaw, but his power proves superior!
Boom!
The ball is violently deflected, flying along the baseline and smashing into the hard wall of the Blue Lock closed stadium, creating a tremendous crash!
One of the stadium's cameras was instantly destroyed beyond repair!
"What?!" Ryoma stood dumbfounded, unable to believe what he was witnessing.
Ryōsuke had actually blocked his shot — and so directly at that!
What level of power is this?!
Everyone was shocked, though Rin's face remained expressionless, while Ryūsei wiped sweat from his forehead.
"As expected of Suke-tan, he managed to defend against even that!"
He knew all too well how powerful Ryoma's shot was. Yet Ryōsuke had successfully defended against it...
Or rather, only he could have defended against it.
"No way... it didn't go in..." Tabito couldn't help but exclaim.
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
| Is this Ryōsuke Kira who's fully focused on defense? |
| How frightening, he actually defended against that shot! |
| The power of that shot looked so terrifying... |
People worldwide were shocked by Ryōsuke's feat.
"Carlos, do you think your Arrow Shot could penetrate Ryōsuke's defense?"
In Brazil, Natureza turned to Carlos Santana beside him, fully aware of the power of his Arrow Shot.
"I don't know." Looking at Ryōsuke's movements on screen, Carlos shook his head.
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
Meanwhile, in Sweden.
Stefan expressionlessly watched the scene on the screen, "So Genzō's injury hasn't healed yet?"
He was the culprit behind Genzō's hand injury but felt no remorse whatsoever.
From the movements and expressions in the recent footage, Stefan determined that the injury hadn't fully recovered. A theory formed in his mind...
"Could it be that Ryōsuke chose to play as a defender to prevent that guy from further injury?"
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
Back on the field, Genzō thoughtfully studied Ryōsuke's back. He sensed that this man had shifted to defense out of concern for his injury.
"Kira, are you worried about my injury?" He asked directly after a moment's consideration.
"Yes, I thought I could help absorb some of the defensive pressure for you." Ryōsuke replied candidly. In a team, straightforward communication often works best.
"You don't need to worry about me so much, Kira!" Genzō shot back.
While Ryōsuke's defensive performance was excellent, it meant he couldn't use his talents on offense.
Few forwards willingly switch to defender positions. In most people's eyes, forwards are the stars of the field, and rarely does anyone choose to play a supporting role.
"No, Wakabayashi, your hand injury hasn't fully healed and needs more recovery time. I know you'd never want to sit on the bench, but we can't risk worsening your injury — remember, we need you guarding our goal for the upcoming U-20 World Cup." Ryōsuke patted his shoulder with a smile, "Besides, this is perfect for practicing new tactics. On offense, they don't need me; the others can shine too."
He turned to look at the rest of the team.
They had progressed significantly during this period. Bastard München was now completely transformed from before.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Yoichi had overheard the exchange between Ryōsuke and Genzō.
He knew about the goalkeeper's hand injury but hadn't realized its severity. This strengthened his resolve — to score a goal while Ryōsuke played defense!
Previously, though Bastard München had won every match, nearly every attack involved their core player. Whether organizing plays or scoring goals, Ryōsuke executed almost everything.
'If Kira wants to share Wakabayashi's burden, perhaps I can share Kira's burden too — by scoring without relying on him!' Yoichi's mind raced.
He knew very well this wasn't something he could accomplish by merely thinking about it.
'My Direct Shot is my only offensive technique right now... And it heavily relies on my right foot. If I could shoot with my left foot, it might enhance my offensive power... but despite extensive practice, I still can't match Kunigami's level.'
During this period, he had been working to diversify his arsenal by developing his left-foot shooting, but the results were disappointing. Rensuke had even cautioned him against it.
Excessive practice could create muscle imbalance in Yoichi's body, potentially sacrificing his natural agility advantage.
How could he contribute effectively on offense?
His mind raced with possibilities.
Just then, Rin's earlier movements flashed in his memory... Though Rin didn't shoot, the play involving Gin sparked an inspiration—
Perhaps he could utilize external force for his shots? The idea needed practical testing, but it had potential.
"Aoi." With this new concept forming, he called out to Ashito.
"Yoichi-senpai." Ashito responded immediately.
"Let's devise an attacking strategy..."
Meanwhile, Paris X Gen prepared for their corner kick. Rin simply gestured toward the back, and Tabito and the others instantly understood, moving to the front.
Rin recognized that with Ryōsuke playing defense, breaking through would be extraordinarily difficult. Though they had just failed, they had created an opportunity. Now they needed to give everything, launching relentless attacks to break down Bastard München's defense.
Tabito observed Rin from a distance. Rin's gaze remained intensely focused on the goal — still deep in his Flow state.
Tactfully keeping his distance from Rin, Tabito had already formulated his breakthrough strategy.
Analyze, identify the weak, devour completely. This was his playing style — find the opponent's weakest player and systematically crush them with relentless attacks!
And now, he had identified his target.
Yoichi? No.
His gaze settled on Ashito.
With the ball now out of bounds, PXG gained a corner kick opportunity. Rin stood silently at the corner spot, his eyes locked on the goal.
"Destroy, annihilate..."
No one could tell what state Rin was in. Madness or rationality — which force dominated his mind?
Without warning, he suddenly moved!
With a powerful strike, the ball soared toward the penalty area — a pass aimed at Ryūsei!
"Is it for Shidō?"
Gin sprinted toward Ryūsei, who was also racing to receive the ball.
Ryūsei leaped high, preparing to attack with a header—
"Huh?" He realized something was wrong — the ball's trajectory suddenly changed mid-air!
It was curving outward!
Rin had feinted a pass but was actually shooting. Everyone, including Ryūsei, had been deceived by the ball's initial path.
The ball curved with wicked precision, heading straight for the goal!
However... it still couldn't bypass that fortress!
Ryōsuke leaped high and powerfully cleared the ball!
Successfully defended!
Using his Thunder Swarm ability, he instantly calculated the ball's flight path!
As the ball deflected away, Rensuke charged at top speed toward its landing point, but someone else arrived even faster!
Zantetsu!
"This is MINE! Did I use that word correctly?!" Zantetsu shouted, his explosive power letting him reach the ball a step ahead of his opponent.
"Damn, you're way too fast!" Rensuke immediately moved forward to intercept, but Zantetsu acted first.
With a slight turn of his body, Zantetsu passed the ball to Tabito on the other side!
He had spotted Tabito's position perfectly — right in his area of expertise!
"I'm going to start devouring the weak now, you mediocre talent." Tabito eyed the defender before him, a sly grin spreading across his face like a wolf that had spotted its prey.
In front of him stood Ashito.
"Bring it on!"
Ashito's expression showed no fear as his eyes remained locked on his opponent.
❖❖❖
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