Before Hyōma Chigiri could even finish celebrating, he suddenly saw Ryūma change his charging motion.
Ryūma hopped lightly upward and flicked the ball with the outside of his foot.
The ball flew toward the exact spot Sae Itoshi was sprinting into.
"Here I come!!"
Jyubei Aryu took a huge leap and landed right in front of Sae. At the same time, Tabito Karasu stretched out his arm from the other side, trying to block Sae's movement.
But both actions were already within Sae Itoshi's expectations.
Sae braced Karasu's arm with his shoulder. Then, the instant Aryu closed in, he twisted his body, controlled the force in his right foot down to perfection—and struck.
A high, outward-curving pass arced through the narrow gap between Karasu and Aryu, slipping perfectly around the interception range of Ikki Niko and Hyōma Chigiri.
All four players who were bypassed by that pass instinctively turned toward the figure soaring into the air.
(We're done for!!)
(So the final ball really was meant for Ryūma?!)
"Gagamaru!!"
Hearing Chigiri's panicked shout, Gin Gagamaru immediately understood how dire the situation was.
His full focus locked onto Ryūma's airborne form.
A split second later, Ryūma whipped his right foot upward, striking the falling ball with pinpoint accuracy.
[BOOM!!]
Seeing the ball rocket toward him, Gagamaru puffed out his cheeks and sprang hard to the right.
(Jump! Synapses firing—)
(Behold my super reaction speed!!)
"My Gagamaru Punch!!"
Ryūma watched in mild amusement as Gagamaru actually managed to react to his shot on pure instinct.
(Interesting. He really read that?)
(No wonder they affectionately call him "Caveman" Gagamaru.)
(But too bad—this isn't a shot you can stop just by guessing the direction!)
Just as Ryūma foretold, the moment Gin Gagamaru moved to block—
the descending ball suddenly accelerated, slammed into the ground, then shot upward in a sharp rebound straight into Blue Lock's goal.
GOAL!! Blue Lock 0 : 2 U-20 National Team
In the special viewing room, three voices burst into cheers—
Yasumori Hoichi, Hirotoshi Buratsuta, and another middle-aged official from the Japan Football Association.
But Hirotoshi Buratsuta's emotions were complicated. Ryūma had scored twice—great news, proof he hadn't misjudged the kid.
But then he remembered he'd have to pay Ryūma four million yen after the match, and his heart clenched in pain.
And that amount would probably keep rising. At this rate, Ryūma might walk away with ten million.
Buratsuta even found himself praying that Blue Lock would toughen up a bit—at least enough to stop Ryūma from scoring too many more.
"Ohhhh!!"
"The prodigy Ryūma scores again! Another strike for the U-20 National Team! The score is now 2–0!!"
"Yes! But we can't overlook Sae Itoshi's brilliant assist—two passes that completely dismantled Blue Lock's defense!"
With the commentators shouting in excitement, the stadium erupted.
"Ryūma!!"
"Ryūma!!"
"Sae Itoshi!!"
"Sae Itoshi!!"
The U-20 players rushed toward Ryūma and Sae.
"That was insane! Two goals already, Ryūma!!"
"Yeah, are you going for a hat trick today?"
"Haha, forget 'are you'—Ryūma's definitely scoring one more!"
Ryūma did his best to maintain composure—after all, that calm demeanor was part of the master aura.
"Relax, it's basic stuff. Don't overhype it."
"Eh? Hey, wait, Sae-san! What'd you think of that last shot?"
Ryūma caught Sae in his peripheral vision heading back toward their half and quickly called out.
Sae stopped, thought for a moment, then answered, "Hmm. It was fine."
Ryūma blinked, confused, and turned to his teammates.
"What do you mean 'fine'? Wasn't it awesome? Wasn't it cool?"
The U-20 boys exchanged looks before responding.
"It was super cool, okay?!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's definitely how I felt!"
Meanwhile, Yoichi Isagi was still in a daze. Listening to the roaring cheers wash over the stadium, he stared at Sae's back in awe and fear.
(Amazing!! Absolutely insane!)
(He made that pass even while being squeezed between two defenders—a perfect assist that mocked every player trying to stop him!!)
(And that whole sequence—how many football techniques did he just stack together?!?)
(This is the genius the whole nation has been waiting for!!)
(And Ryūma… he's even stronger. I can't explain it, but with Sae supporting him…)
(Ryūma doesn't need to dribble anymore. All he has to do is finish the shot—and that's what he's best at!)
As the cheers continued, Isagi's gaze drifted between Ryūma and Sae Itoshi.
"So that's how it is…"
(The stars of this match… are Sae Itoshi and Ryūma!!)
(And we, Blue Lock—)
(We're nothing but the 'villains' propping up their spotlight!!)
(No one… is watching us!!)
"Don't get crushed, Isagi!"
Rin Itoshi called out, noticing Isagi's shaken expression.
"Just look at me. That's all you need."
"After these 90 minutes, I'll turn those cheers into screams."
With that, Rin dribbled toward the center circle for kickoff.
...
At Blue Lock's goal, another scene unfolded.
Gagamaru muttered in frustration, "Damn it… I guessed the right direction! Who would've thought it'd bounce off the ground?!"
Jyubei Aryu patted his shoulder with a thumbs-up. "That save was chic, Mr. Super Reaction."
"Not your fault. Nobody expected that sudden acceleration and ground rebound!"
Not far away, standing beside Yoichi Isagi, Ikki Niko rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Come to think of it, Sae Itoshi actually forced that pass through while handling pressure from two opponents."
"And it still landed outside both my and Chigiri's defensive zones."
"From elite defense straight into a 'defensive counterattack'…"
"Thanks to Sae Itoshi, this team's strength isn't just improved—it's transformed."