The ball, originally flying toward the goal, was suddenly blocked mid-air by a foot that appeared out of nowhere.
It reversed direction sharply.
It dropped at the edge of the box
this time, no one attempted a rebound shot.
Chigiri reached it first.
Behind him, Ryan who had just landed
sprang back to his feet instantly, as if gravity had lost its effect on him.
And then he bolted.
Chigiri immediately noticed Ryan sprinting full force toward the front line.
After fighting side-by-side for so long, he understood Ryan's intentions instantly.
He lifted his leg high
and swung a powerful long pass forward.
But the moment the ball left his foot
Otoya slid in from the side, seemingly appearing out of thin air.
His slide tackle barely nicked the ball
not enough to stop it,
but enough to change its trajectory.
The redirected ball now arced toward the goal line…
And someone else burst toward it.
Isagi.
He had been watching Ryan every second.
The moment he saw Ryan accelerating like a bullet toward the front
he realized Ryan wanted Chigiri to send a long ball forward.
Ryan rarely bothers with elaborate schemes.
He brute-forces everything with absolute power
dribble alone, shoot alone, destroy alone.
That was his pattern.
So when Ryan suddenly sprinted with that monstrous speed, Isagi knew:
Chigiri wasn't supposed to pass to Ryan,
Ryan was running for the pass.
If Isagi had waited for Chigiri to pass first, then sprinted, the timing would've been off.
The ball would overshoot.
Ryan would outrun the pass.
They had seen this countless times during Z Team practice.
So Isagi began running several seconds after Ryan
but because he started closer to the middle of the field, he was actually ahead of Ryan at first.
He pumped his arms and legs with everything he had,
racing full-speed at the falling ball.
The ball descended
soon to drop right in front of him.
Then
A gust of wind struck his face.
"Huh… wind? But we're indoors."
The realization hit him.
It wasn't wind.
It was Ryan,
overtaking him so fast
that the air itself had been shoved aside.
Isagi watched Ryan blaze past him,
the gap between them widening with every step.
He could do nothing.
But he had calculated earlier
this was a 5v5 field, much smaller than an 11v11 pitch.
They had already passed midfield.
The ball would drop near the goal line, so Ryan would have to slow down to control it.
And if Ryan wanted to shoot,
he would need an instant to adjust his body posture.
That brief moment
might be all Isagi needed to catch up…!
Just as he predicted
Ryan reached the goal line
and trapped the ball right before it rolled out.
He turned to face the goal.
The angle was small,
but for him it was enough.
Just as Ryan prepared to shoot
Isagi arrived.
He cut him off at the goal line, breathing hard.
Ryan looked at him with that chillingly blank face.
Not annoyed, not excited
just calculating.
He dragged the ball back with his right foot.
Once the ball rolled behind him,
his right instep pushed it toward his left.
Then
his left foot mirrored the same motion,
poking it right back toward his right.
The ball bumped off Ryan's right foot
and rolled forward…
straight through Isagi's legs.
All of those touches
so many motions
occurred in less than a heartbeat.
"Na–NANI?!"
Isagi didn't even react.
He stood there, frozen
a wooden puppet,
completely bewildered.
He had expected Ryan to bypass him with speed.
He had planned for that:
Block the inner route.
Force Ryan toward the sideline.
Reduce his shooting angle.
Let the keeper step up and cut him off.
But nothing went the way he imagined.
Ryan didn't use speed.
He didn't use power.
He didn't use a feint.
He used dribbling.
Something he rarely ever bothered with.
And he shredded Isagi's defense with it.
Having bypassed Isagi,
Ryan now faced nothing but open space.
He carried the ball calmly toward the goal.
Blue Lock Man the goalkeeper
stood ready.
Only during the first selection did he matter.
Now?
He was little more than a decoration.
Still, he positioned himself in a textbook stance,
preparing for Ryan's shot.
Ryan stepped forward
Left leg plants beside the ball.
Right leg swings high behind him
a bow pulled taut.
Everyone braced for the shot.
Then
At the last millisecond
Ryan canceled the shot entirely.
He planted his foot on top of the ball,
stopping it cold.
Everyone was fooled.
Even the robot keeper leaped toward the direction of the fake shot.
Had the robot possessed facial expressions,
its face would surely be twisted in shock.
But it didn't.
It simply dove uselessly across the goalmouth.
Ryan stared at the empty net.
Then gently tapped the ball forward.
It rolled leisurely
crossing the goal line as if mocking everyone's effort.
GOAL!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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