Sae Itoshi glanced at Ryūma Banjō, thought for a moment, and finally replied:
"It's not about being on the same wavelength. It's a sense of synchronization that comes from sharing the same goal."
"For example, in a 100-meter race—while running, our speed, form, breathing, even where our eyes are focused are all different."
"But the finish line is the same."
"When that task is completed, that's when you feel like you're on the same wavelength as me."
"This combination play of ours was ultimately the result of our overwhelming individual abilities."
"Whether it was you or me, neither of us cared whether the other could actually receive the pass."
"We just sent the ball to the best—or you could say the trickiest—spot."
"Or rather, we weren't passing to each other at all. We were passing to whoever could reach that position."
"And that's why those four scrubs on the other side had no way to stop us."
"Their ability simply isn't enough to get them there."
Ryūma nodded, half-understanding. "Oh, so that's how it is."
"But what I was thinking at the time was—no matter how tricky the pass was, you'd definitely get to it, Sae-san."
"I did it because I trusted you!"
Sae clearly had zero interest in Ryūma's reasoning. With one hand on the back of his neck, he walked back toward their half without even looking back.
Watching Sae's retreating figure, Ryūma muttered inwardly:
(Man… both brothers are ridiculously cold. With their personalities, they might not even patch things up by the time they're forty or fifty.)
Meanwhile, the entire Blue Lock team had fallen silent.
After conceding three goals in a row, their morale had definitely taken a hit.
Rin Itoshi—rarely the first to speak—looked around at his teammates.
"Stop thinking about useless crap. All you need to do is keep up with me."
"If anyone drags us down, they can walk off the field themselves."
His words were harsh, but everyone understood his intention.
"Don't worry, Rin. We just let our guard down that time. This time, we'll keep our eyes on Ryūma!"
"Hah! I'm not keeping up with you—I'm scoring my own goal!"
With the team's spirits restored, Rin didn't say anything else and headed to the center circle to restart play.
Blue Lock ball. Rin Itoshi takes the kickoff.
Right after kickoff, Rin passed as usual to Yoichi Isagi before accelerating toward the U-20 National Team.
This time, the two of them stayed even closer. Yoichi drifted behind Rin, constantly creating passing lanes and maintaining a steady two-on-one threat.
For this attack, Hyōma Chigiri and Meguru Bachira dropped back specifically to mark Ryūma, preventing him from stealing the ball.
Rin and Yoichi broke past three U-20 players within seconds.
Reaching midfield, Rin executed a sharp back-pass—evading the interception and hiding their intentions at the same time.
The moment the ball left his foot, Rin and Yoichi launched forward almost simultaneously, each sprinting toward a different lane.
And the pass went toward the trailing Tabito Karasu.
Yoichi's eyes sharpened as he analyzed the field:
(Two center backs behind Nagi!)
(If I can break past Aiku and Nio, I've got a real scoring chance!!)
(From here on—I'm following myself!)
Receiving the ball, Karasu saw the two players splitting left and right and immediately understood their plan.
(So that's what they're aiming for—not only turning me into the decoy…)
(But having one rush left and one rush right so the defense can't figure out their intentions.)
(In the end, intentions don't matter. Yoichi and Rin are both doing everything they can to score for themselves!)
Seeing their movements, Kazuma Nio muttered to Oliver Aiku, "They're splitting now?!"
"This pair is impossible to read!!"
While Kazuma was talking, Rin and Yoichi closed in from opposite sides.
"He's coming, Aiku!"
"Let's block him together!" Oliver Aiku sprang forward, targeting Yoichi.
"Not bad, little thief."
"Gh—" Yoichi's forward momentum stalled. Once again, he was caught by Oliver Aiku.
Seeing the perfect timing, Seishiro Nagi shouted toward Karasu:
"Right now! Over here!"
But Karasu didn't pass to Nagi. Fixing his gaze elsewhere, he said:
"Not your side."
"That side! Show me just how strong our genius is!"
With a swift flick, Karasu sent the ball straight into Rin's path.
Rin controlled it effortlessly without slowing down, charging directly toward the recovering Oliver Aiku and Teppei Neru.
Both defenders hesitated. They couldn't understand why Rin ignored the wide-open lane straight ahead and instead curved toward them.
Still, his choice benefited their defense, so they didn't overthink it.
Unfortunately, by the time Aiku and Neru moved to stop him, they had already fallen into Rin's trap.
Just as Rin reached them, he lunged forward and used his shoulder to pin Teppei Neru.
At the exact moment Oliver Aiku stretched out his leg to intercept, Rin pressed one hand on Neru's shoulder while using the other to control his distance from Aiku.
Then, using the momentum and a powerful twist of his arms, he launched the ball toward the U-20 goal.
[BOOM!!]
The elegant arc—like a rainbow—gave Yoichi, who witnessed it from start to finish, an uncanny sense of familiarity.
(He had a clean one-on-one lane, but he chose to take on a double team…)
(Then forced a shot out with sheer ability. Don't tell me Rin actually—)
(...put himself in the same situation as Sae, just to recreate Sae Itoshi's pass?)
(No—Rin went even further. Because he didn't pass. He went straight for the shot!)
But it was still too reckless. Against ordinary players, that would've been a certain goal.
However, this was the U-20 National Team's defense.
Even though their goalkeeper Gen Fukaku didn't touch it, the ball smashed into the post and bounced out.
"Nice save!!"
"Second ball! Go for the rebound!!" Kazuma Nio shouted first.
Everyone near the area didn't need the reminder—they all threw themselves toward the landing spot of the ball.
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser