"You two... have such a good relationship now?" After three seconds of silence, Ryōsuke spoke first.
"Who with him…" Rin's words were on his tongue, but he swallowed them back, "I'm just practicing some on-field coordination with this antenna pest."
"That's right, it's practice." Ryūsei's face squeezed into a smile as he nodded quickly.
In reality, both of them could barely walk due to excessive training. Earlier, just getting from the training room to the cafeteria had already drained their energy to the limit.
Though they regained some energy after eating, the muscle soreness hadn't decreased at all. Neither wanted others to see them limping along the wall in their exhausted state, but staying in the cafeteria indefinitely made no sense either.
So they finally agreed to help each other return to their rooms.
Unexpectedly, just as they were about to reach their destination, Ryōsuke spotted them.
"I see..." Ryōsuke nodded, while secretly activating his Transparent World to observe them. By checking their muscle condition, he already knew exactly what was happening.
He hadn't expected Rin to become almost like a comedic character today, completely different from his usual image.
But this was good — the relationship between these two seemed to have improved. If they're completely exhausted... they won't have the energy to argue.
With this assessment made, Ryōsuke didn't say anything more to them, but quickly headed to Kagetora's room.
That psycho had called him to discuss future training plans.
"Kid, what do you think about the intensity of the first day's training?" Kagetora asked after explaining his future plans.
"I think we can increase the intensity a bit more, especially for those special candidates." Ryōsuke said with a smile.
"I think so too." Kagetora's face also broke into a smile.
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Meanwhile, Rin finally made it back to his room, knowing more training awaited him.
He drank some electrolyte water, then performed massage and physical therapy, which helped him recover slightly.
After about two hours of rest, the broadcast sounded again — players were being assigned to different training groups.
Rin headed directly to the broadcast room without delay. When he arrived, the other players were already in position.
Ryūsei, Kenyū, Ryōsuke... and Sae. The four of them would simulate small-scale quick attack scenarios as a group.
The practice players included Jūbē, Jingo, and Aoshi, among others. Though they hadn't made the National Team, their defensive abilities were formidable.
'I have to be in a group with my bastard brother?' Rin felt conflicted, unsure whether to be angry or happy.
He could never forget Sae's arrogance. From the beginning, Sae had been the opponent Rin needed to defeat. He had to show his brother the moment he surpassed him.
He ignored Sae and walked right past him. Despite being family, they typically had nothing to say to each other.
But as he brushed past, Sae suddenly spoke.
"Good afternoon." He greeted Rin.
"Huh?" Rin was stunned. He never expected the usually silent bastard to greet him.
In the past, his brother had basically ignored him...
"Good... afternoon." After a moment of confusion, Rin quickly replied.
Could it be that his brother's former gentle side had returned? How was that possible?
Though he found it hard to believe, Rin felt unsettled.
Sae didn't say anything more and walked straight to the center of the field.
In truth, his greeting was simply to complete a task assigned by Ryōsuke. His captain had specifically instructed him to be polite and greet people when he saw them.
Although Sae cared little about relationships off the field, since it was Ryōsuke's request, he agreed to cooperate.
"I guess that's a good start..." Ryōsuke watched the two brothers and muttered quietly.
He knew that Sae and Rin once had a good relationship, with Sae taking excellent care of his younger brother — but when their relationship deteriorated, Rin bore most of the blame.
Both brothers had once dreamed of becoming world-class forwards. Sae, being a year older, went abroad first to continue his studies. There, he witnessed truly world-class talent and realized that becoming a top-tier forward would be extremely difficult. He changed his position and set his sights on becoming the world's number one midfielder instead.
Upon returning to Japan, Sae shared his new plan with Rin — he would become the world's best midfielder while Rin could become the world's best forward. Together, they would advance toward winning the world championship.
But Rin grew furious that Sae had abandoned their shared dream and lashed out with harsh words. This angered Sae, who decided to silence his brother through football, crushing him with his superior skills. Being naturally sharp-tongued, he mercilessly mocked Rin's abilities.
Their relationship completely fell apart after that.
Rin's obsession with defeating Sae was what ultimately brought him to Blue Lock.
Ryōsuke observed the two brothers carefully. Now that they were National Team teammates who would likely compete together in the future, their relationship was critically important.
When disharmony appears in a united team, if not addressed quickly, it only grows worse. The conflict between them could even undermine Rin's performance during competitions.
That's why Ryōsuke wanted to mend their relationship as much as possible.
"Sigh…" He exhaled deeply.
Being the National Team captain felt like becoming the guardian of several giant babies. At this moment, he felt exactly like a worried father.
"Let's start training."
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Soon, the scenario simulation training for Ryōsuke's group began. They were simulating a four-person quick attack scenario, with BLUELOCK MAN serving as the goalkeeper for the defense.
Ryōsuke chose not to actively participate in the attack. He knew his abilities would let him easily receive Sae's passes, but the team couldn't rely on just one attack point. Instead, he preferred to observe the coordination between Rin and Sae.
'This exercise is pointless, isn't it?' Sae thought to himself, but still actively followed Ryōsuke's instructions, delivering a pass to his brother's feet.
Rin immediately controlled the ball, experiencing a very familiar feeling in that instant.
It was like playing football with Sae in their childhood; it had been a long time since he'd received a pass from his brother.
Rin seemed to gain more energy, his daytime fatigue completely vanishing as he completed a shot with his right foot!
Goal!
Even though the ball went in, Sae's expression remained extremely serious. In his mind, this shot was absolutely unacceptable.
Rin could have shot directly, but instead chose to control the ball first and then shoot — essentially wasting time. The angle was decent but the power insufficient.
In a real match, they would likely face stronger opponents with greater defensive pressure, significantly reducing the chances of scoring such a goal.
But at that moment, Ryōsuke walked up beside Sae and asked with a smile, "Sae, what did you think of Rin's shot?"
'It's like fermented vomit. If that's all he's capable of, then he has no place on the National Team.'
That's what Sae had intended to say.
But seeing Ryōsuke's attentive eyes, he remembered his earlier advice — if he wanted to mock someone, he should say the opposite.
Although for him, it wasn't mockery but simply voicing his thoughts, since it was Ryōsuke's request, he would comply.
"His football is like... a carefully crafted delicacy." Sae said after a moment's pause.
This was rather difficult for him.
Hearing these words, Rin was stunned.
'Brother, did he just praise me?'
The usually arrogant and cold Rin unintentionally showed an expression like a child being praised by his parents, looking dazed but feeling extremely happy inside...
Training quickly resumed, and he seemed like a completely different person afterward. His coordination with Sae became increasingly masterful, and his shooting accuracy and speed improved dramatically.
"Well, look at that, he's actually quite capable." Sae muttered to himself before delivering an extremely challenging pass to his brother.
This pass was very difficult to receive — but if caught, it would create a perfect shooting opportunity!
And Rin did it! He successfully received the ball and immediately executed a powerful shot!
Goal!
"Amazing, these brothers! I had no idea their coordination was so excellent!" Kenyū exclaimed.
Jūbē, who was assisting with the practice, nodded in agreement, "Double the style."
"That's it for today's training. Evening will be mostly self-practice." Ryōsuke waved to everyone.
Though he didn't know how the other groups were performing, there was no doubt that this group's progress was excellent.
"Hmm, I'll go first." Sae said simply before quickly leaving the field.
Meanwhile, Rin collapsed on the ground, completely exhausted. He was already at his limit that morning, and after giving his all in the afternoon coordination training, he felt utterly drained, without even the strength to stand.
"Here." Ryōsuke took a sports drink from nearby and handed it to him.
Rin hesitated for a moment. In the past, he would never have accepted a drink from this guy — but this time, he took it and immediately gulped down several mouthfuls, regaining some strength.
"It seems your relationship with your brother has improved a bit." Ryōsuke sat down beside him.
"That's none of your business."
"Sae told me about what happened between you two before." Ryōsuke continued, "The one-on-one match right after he returned to Japan, I know all about it."
"He told you all that?" Rin's expression grew serious, and his grip on the bottle tightened, visibly deforming the hard plastic, "It's all his fault for changing our agreed-upon dream..."
"I actually think this is your problem, Rin."
"What?"
"Other people's dreams aren't your business. Brother or not, it's his dream, not yours. Why interfere?" Ryōsuke said with a serious expression, "He wants to become the world's best midfielder — that's his choice. And he genuinely hopes you'll become the world's best forward, doesn't he?"
"But..."
"You need to see yourself as an independent person. When you're in the Flow state, isn't that how you think? You are Rin Itoshi, unconnected to anyone else." Ryōsuke paused, "Look, this is between you brothers, and I'm an outsider with no right to comment. But your current goal is to surpass me, right? If you're held back by these issues, you're not qualified to achieve that. Keep working hard."
He stood up and left the room.
"That jerk..." Rin muttered with annoyance, but these words had set him thinking.
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Meanwhile, on another training field, practice was also underway.
Shōei made a long pass to Kojiro, who immediately spotted an opportunity and used a Tiger Pass to deliver the ball directly to Seishirō on the other side.
"That's heavy." Seishirō remarked, yet still managed a perfect trap, receiving the ball and instantly scoring.
"Amazing!"
The practice players couldn't help but exclaim in unison.
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