The moment Yoichi Isagi saw Meguru Bachira's pass coming his way, excitement shot through him.
(Breaking through the defense! Perfect, Bachira!)
(The one who trusts your dribbling the most… is me!)
(We can do this!! Our playstyle works—even against the U-20 national team!!)
Just as Isagi was about to sprint toward the ball, Oliver Aiku rose like a python waiting to strike, leaping into the air and heading the ball away.
(What? No way?!)
(How did he get here?!)
Isagi had no time to think—because Ryūma suddenly appeared right where the ball was falling!
Ryūma launched himself forward, and with a massive leap, unleashed a long-range bicycle kick, blasting the ball deep toward the U-20's attacking side.
(Who is he passing to? Don't tell me…)
Isagi's pupils trembled. Something felt wrong. He whipped his head around and shouted:
"Hurry! Don't let him get the ball clean!"
But it was already too late. Ryūma's explosive kick sent the ball rocketing with terrifying force.
After adjusting his posture, Sae Itoshi killed the ball effortlessly, then accelerated at full speed down Blue Lock's left side.
Meanwhile, the moment Ryūma landed, he activated his Limit-Breaking State.
The next instant, he shot forward like a bullet—straight toward the right side of Blue Lock's backfield.
Hyōma Chigiri had been ready. He threw himself directly into Ryūma's path with everything he had—practically colliding into him.
His goal was simple: stall Ryūma, even for a moment, and buy his team time to retreat.
Chigiri knew exactly how strong Ryūma's physicality was, so he aimed only to get an arm on him, to hold him off.
But Chigiri had forgotten one thing—
Ryūma was running off the ball.
As Chigiri moved to cut him off, Ryūma laughed as he blew past him:
"Sorry, princess! I can go even faster!"
Ryūma lowered his body into a sprinting dive posture, unleashed full speed, and vanished right in front of Chigiri.
(What?! Faster than before?! He wasn't this quick when we last faced off… Has Ryūma evolved again?!)
Chigiri spun around and chased. Now wasn't the time to be shocked.
...
On the other flank, the moment Sae entered the backfield, he ran straight into Tabito Karasu and Jyubei Aryu.
Karasu took the front, blocking Sae's route and obstructing any shot or sudden pass.
Aryu positioned himself behind, ready to intercept any ball that slipped through.
But Sae had already spotted a passing lane.
As Karasu lunged, Sae nudged the ball slightly aside—
And just as Karasu was about to touch it, Sae struck a sharp curve pass toward the right side of Blue Lock's defensive zone.
The ball's angle was perfectly set—just out of Aryu's reach.
At the landing point, Ikki Niko had already arrived thanks to his reading ability, watching Ryūma tear toward him at full speed.
(I can stop this!)
(Sae's pass is too far ahead for Aryu to reach! I'll get there before Ryūma!)
(No—I can't control it. If I trap it, Ryūma will steal it immediately.)
(Then I have no choice… I'll just have to knock it out of bounds and give us time to regroup!)
Niko leapt up to head the incoming ball out—but before he could—
Ryūma burst in front of him, leaping violently upward.
Ryūma swung his right foot mid-air, smashing it into the falling ball.
[BOOM!!]
The shot was too sudden—
Or rather, Niko and Aryu simply had no understanding of Ryūma.
Neither expected him to jump from so far away.
Gin Gagamaru reacted instantly and dove, but the ball screamed into the top-left dead angle.
GOAL!! Blue Lock 0–1 U-20 Japan
A beat of silence—
Then the commentators erupted:
"U-20 Japan scores first! Ryūma strikes the opening goal!!"
The stadium fell quiet for a few seconds—
Then exploded.
"Ryūma!"
"Ryūma!"
"Ryūma!"
They had seen shots like this before—but only from professional players.
And Ryūma was just seventeen.
Yet he had leapt several meters out and unleashed a sideways aerial Blitz Shot.
How could anyone stay calm?
Up in the commentary booth, Atsuto Tereasa and Harutaro Natsuki nearly lost their voices:
"The crowd is going wild!!"
"Hahaha! They say this genius, Ryūma, was personally handpicked by Sae Itoshi! And he certainly isn't disappointing!"
"Today we might be witnessing—"
"The birth of a hero!!"
Members of the U-20 team closest to Ryūma sprinted over in excitement.
"That shot was insane!"
"Yeah! A world-class rocket, Ryūma!"
"So cool! I can't believe you scored from that angle!"
Surrounded by deafening cheers and teammates' praise, Ryūma couldn't help feeling a bit light-headed.
And then Sae walked over—
And immediately drenched him with cold reality.
"Your shot still had unnecessary movements. The power was fine, but far from optimal."
"If you'd executed it perfectly, the goalkeeper wouldn't have had time to react at all."
"So this is the result of your training?"
Ryūma froze, then awkwardly replied:
"Uh—this was just warm-up, Sae-san.
And come on, that Blitz Shot looked cool, right?"
"Relax! My next one will really impress you!"
"Hmph. I hope so," Sae said with a blank expression before walking back to position.
Ryūma dragged himself after him, muttering:
"So strict… can't even let me look cool…"
...
Meanwhile, Yoichi Isagi hadn't moved an inch.
The moment he saw Ryūma pass to Sae, he knew everything was collapsing.
He knew this situation well.
With only three defenders left in the back line…
As much as he hated to admit it, reality proved him right:
His team's defense couldn't stop the combined attack of Ryūma and Sae.
...
(Full Series)
p@treon com / GhostParser