Maybe luck was on their side—because the ball dropped right at the feet of Kenyu Yukimiya, the closest player to it.
But before Yukimiya could even push forward a few steps, Teppei Neru burst in like a whirlwind, cutting him off.
"No chance!"
"Why is it always you?" Yukimiya groaned, staring at Teppei Neru with a headache. He really didn't want to deal with this so-called "herbivore."
On the other side, the moment Yoichi Isagi saw that Yukimiya had received the ball, memories of their training drills flashed through his mind.
(Left front of the goal—Yukimiya's getting ready to push forward.)
(This situation————)
(This is one of our practiced patterns!!)
(I need to enter the line of sight between Yukimiya and the defender.)
(Make myself a passing option—force even a split-second hesitation!!)
With that, Yoichi accelerated at full speed, looping around from behind Yukimiya and sprinting toward Teppei Neru's left side.
(Oh crap—will he pass? Will he not?!)
(Too slow!!)
As Teppei Neru hesitated, Yukimiya seized the moment and fired immediately.
[BOOM!]
Unfortunately, despite being almost a perfect top-corner strike, it was denied by Oliver Aiku's flying bicycle kick.
Yukimiya froze, stunned. "Huh?! Even that didn't go in?!"
"Good shot," Oliver Aiku replied flatly.
Seeing the ball fly loose again, Kazuma Nio shouted:
"Ball's out—clear it! Darai, go!"
"On it!!" Miroku Darai sprinted toward the ball—but Eita Otoya was faster.
"Yo——!"
"You forgot to mark me just now, idiot!"
Watching this unfold—so familiar from practice—Yoichi's thoughts sharpened:
(Otoya's lightning-fast reaction to rebounds in front of goal!)
(We practiced this!)
(Rin's pressure is what created this chance!!)
(We've already disrupted their shape—everything we built until now—)
(It's time for the practice to pay off!!)
Under Darai's pressure, Otoya still managed to swing his foot and blast the ball toward the U-20 goal.
[BOOM!!]
"Haaah!!" Kazuma Nio roared as he blocked Otoya's shot—with his face.
Otoya clicked his tongue, clearly frustrated.
"No way! Old man, you're in the way!"
(What stubborn defense… but it's not over!) Yoichi thought, shouting toward Seishiro Nagi:
"Nagi!!"
Just then, Kento Cho and Teru Kitsunezato both lunged in, trying to block Nagi before he could shoot.
"Not happening!"
"Yeah!"
"Mm, perfect timing." Nagi stared intensely at the descending ball, contemplating:
(First, the shooting motion… then——)
As both defenders dove in, Nagi swept his right foot like scooping the moon—trapping the ball on his foot while simultaneously evading both tackles.
"Ground-bounce—"
"Jump turn!!"
"Nice to meet you, Japan—I'm Seishiro Nagi!!"
[BOOM!!!]
"Heh, failed introduction, Nagi! (ゝω・´★)" Ryūma Banjō laughed, smiling as he blocked the ball with his chest.
But right as Ryūma was about to land—something unexpected happened.
Rin Itoshi, using Yoichi Isagi's position to block several players' view—especially those near the goal—seized the moment.
Catching Ryūma still midair, Rin fired from a viciously sharp angle toward the U-20 goal.
[BOOM!!]
Anyone who saw it coming had no time to react. The defenders in front of the goal could only move on instinct.
But a laser aimed straight at the top corner? Even instinct isn't enough.
And aside from Oliver Aiku, every U-20 defender near the goal was either too far or didn't react in time.
Goalkeeper Gen Fukaku nearly slammed into the post—but still failed to stop it.
GOAL!! Blue Lock 1 : 3 U-20 National Team
"With… with Rin Itoshi's world-class strike, the Blue Lock Eleven finally pull one back!" Harutaro Natsuki practically trembled, savoring Rin's incredible shot.
"As expected of Sae Itoshi's younger brother—his talent is clearly top tier as well!"
Atsuto Tereasa couldn't resist praising Sae in the process.
The stadium erupted instantly:
"Ahhh!! Ahhh!!"
On the pitch, Yoichi Isagi was the first to celebrate—lunging to hug Rin.
"Amazing, Rin!!"
(It works!! It really works————)
(Blue Lock will capture the world's attention!!)
But Rin smoothly stepped back—letting Yoichi face-plant onto the turf.
Seeing that, Hyōma Chigiri and Meguru Bachira aborted their attempts to tackle Rin, casually turning away as if nothing happened.
Flat on the grass, Yoichi could only bury his embarrassment in silence.
...Inside the Blue Lock locker room...
Anri Teieri shot to her feet, thrilled. "Amazing!! We finally got one back!"
"This has to be a huge morale boost!"
Then, puzzled, she turned toward Jinpachi Ego.
"But… why?"
"Why did our offense suddenly start working again?!"
"It makes all the earlier struggles feel fake."
Seated calmly, Jinpachi Ego replied:
"Don't let a single goal cloud your judgment, you useless errand girl."
"Our forwards are strong enough to force a 50-50 situation."
"Though with the current lineup, maintaining that is a bit difficult. Anyway, the second half is coming up."
"Have Kudo Tōya and Ryusei Shido do some light warm-ups. I want them going full throttle the moment they enter."
"Oh… okay." Anri puffed her cheeks, clearly irritated by him.
"So the real key was everything leading up to this?"
"Correct." Ego nodded.
"Rin Itoshi's improvisation is why that goal succeeded."
"I already told you—our players excel in real matches."
"During the earlier selection phases, they learned how to improvise."
Hearing this, Anri suddenly remembered something.
"Wait—so this is what you meant by the 'chemical reaction' between players?"