Hearing Yoichi Isagi's shout, both Seishiro Nagi and Gin Gagamaru halted for an instant. Gin Gagamaru hesitated because he trusted Isagi.
Nagi not only trusted him—he had also witnessed Ryūma's Shift Shot before.
But in the next second, even Yoichi Isagi stopped moving, his eyes widening as he fixed his gaze on Ryūma leaping into the air.
"He… what is he doing?!"
Then Isagi understood Ryūma's intent: as Ryūma rose, the ball smashed off the goalpost and rebounded perfectly back into the field.
At the same moment, Jyubei Aryu reacted, covering the left side of the goal—the space left open because Nagi and Gagamaru had shifted to the right.
But Aryu's confident expression instantly twisted into disbelief.
Because Ryūma hadn't shot at all—he used sheer, overwhelming physical control to suspend himself in the air.
Not only did Aryu miss the interception, even Nagi was forced into an early jump.
"Be amazed by my goal, losers!!"
[BOOM!!!]
GOAL!! Blue Lock 3 : 5 U-20 National Team
The stadium went silent for half a second—then exploded into deafening cheers.
"Ryūma!"
"Ryūma!!"
"RYŪMA!!!"
Up in the commentary booth, Atsuto Tereasa and Harutaro Natsuki needed a moment before snapping back to reality.
"Wh-… what an unbelievable goal!!"
"Ryūma just broke through all eleven Blue Lock players by himself!"
"And at the very end, he literally hung in mid-air before blasting the ball into the net!"
"That level of talent and physical ability… he's almost on par with Sae Itoshi!"
"What do you think, Mr. Natsuki?"
Harutaro Natsuki wiped the sweat from his forehead, still sounding shaken.
"Did you notice? From the moment he picked up the ball until he shot—Ryūma did not pause even once."
"That meant the Eleven of Blue Lock had no time to think, and could only react on instinct."
"And this shows how terrifying Ryūma really is. His entire sequence looked like he didn't even need to think—pure instinct? Pure reflex?"
"Either way, this proves Ryūma might be about to take over this match!"
Atsuto Tereasa jumped in immediately.
"Exactly! If Blue Lock's Eleven don't find an answer soon, this match will be decided!"
...
On the field, Ryūma closed his eyes for a moment, soaking in the crowd's roar before turning to the Blue Lock players surrounding him.
"Come on, everyone—don't give up too early."
"If you don't risk your lives to stop me, Blue Lock is finished!"
Yoichi Isagi stared at Ryūma's back as he walked away, his frustration rising uncontrollably.
(He's too strong!!)
(He just crushed all eleven of us by himself. No doubt—Ryūma's in FLOW!)
(Because he overcame everything alone… he created a goal beyond all of us.)
(I'm such an idiot… how could I expect him to pass in a state like that?!)
(Damn it! That's what I wanted to do—that's what I needed to do! And he beat me to it!)
(As we grew stronger, we also kept pushing Ryūma's potential to its limits… Now that he's awakened, the match has completely shifted to his rhythm—)
(Even though Blue Lock is giving everything we have… at this rate, we'll lose!!)
(If this continues, it's over!! Will it really be Ryūma and Sae who change Japan's football… instead of Blue Lock?!)
(Then what about me…?)
...
Blue Lock substitute bench…
Watching Ryūma tear through all eleven Blue Lock players by himself, Anri Teieri felt both thrilled and furious.
She was thrilled because Ryūma was Blue Lock's creation—proof the project worked.
She was furious because Sae Itoshi had taken Ryūma to U-20… only for him to destroy Blue Lock with his own hands.
"Mr. Ego, what do we do now?"
"With Ryūma's past Blue Lock data, a play like that should've been nearly impossible."
"Especially with Kudo Tōya added to U-20—this shouldn't be doable at all."
"These are awakening-level stats!"
"If we don't find a countermeasure, we'll be overwhelmed. Please give us instructions!"
But Jinpachi Ego showed no panic whatsoever as he responded calmly:
"There are no instructions. I have no further plans."
Hearing that, Anri Teieri exploded immediately.
"Huh?! Wait—what are you talking about?!"
"If this continues, we're going to lose!!"
"If we lose, Blue Lock is gone!!"
"All our work will be—"
"Mr. Ego!!" Yoichi Isagi sprinted over, cutting her off.
"I don't want it to end like this! What do we do?!"
"We've already fought with everything we have, just like you said—but we still can't catch up!"
"Tell me—what do we have to do to win?!"
Ego stood with his hands in his pockets, one leg crossed over the other. And then he spoke—the way only Blue Lock's mastermind could.
"Are you idiots? Blue Lock has already won."
"Huh?" Isagi froze. Anri Teieri also stared at Ego, confused.
"In the first half, Ryūma's overwhelming dominance. In the second half, your explosive counter."
"Everything so far is unfolding perfectly according to my script."
"Yes, if you lose this match, Blue Lock will be shut down."
"And I'll likely be banned from Japan's football world forever."
"But you will not disappear."
"Ryūma, who was chosen by Sae Itoshi and has already scored five goals, will become a superstar of Japanese football."
"Right behind him, Rin Itoshi and Ryusei Shido will almost certainly make the U-20 National Team."
"And the rest of Blue Lock's players will receive offers from top universities and domestic leagues—their future is guaranteed."
"Your performance has earned you all of this. From now on, the phrase 'trained at Blue Lock' will become a badge of honor."
"And then I will disappear—and you will change Japanese football."
"Have confidence. Blue Lock has already won."