"I don't care, I want to be on the same team as Shinichi! I have to experience his passes—nobody better try to separate us!" Right before the teams were set, Lavinho was practically begging, ready to drop to his knees and cling to Shinichi's leg. In the end, no one could argue with him, so the teams were split accordingly.
"Alright then—me, Lavinho, and Shinichi will play the first match," Snuffy said, making the final call. At the same time, the system finished assigning players and substitution orders.
The first match of the joint tryouts—begins!
As the whistle blew, Snuffy immediately passed the ball to Shinichi, clearly giving him the spotlight for the opening play. And Shinichi didn't hold back—he burst into a sprint the moment he received the ball, instantly breaking past multiple defenders with just a single step.
"Last time at Blue Lock, I did fall a little short," a calm voice sounded beside him. Despite Shinichi's explosive pace, someone kept up stride for stride, pushing back and slowing him down.
It was Loki.
"So how about a rematch?"
"Loki, move! I've been itching to knock this brat down a peg!" On the other side, Chris charged in with a wild grin.
In the blink of an eye, the three prodigies were tangled in a high-speed duel.
Even Shinichi had to activate his second-stage ZONE just to maintain control under their relentless pressure.
And then—one of the three metaphorical gates in Shinichi's vision quietly opened.
"Struggling's pointless—wait, what?" Chris stopped mid-sentence.
At some point, the ball had slipped away from Shinichi's feet.
Down the field, Lavinho, trailing a streak of silver lightning behind him as he sprinted, flicked the ball up with the back of his heel—pulling off a rainbow flick at full speed over the defender—and blasted it into the goal with a fluid strike.
"HA! That felt incredible! Shinichi, seriously, come join our side!"
"You idiot—get back on defense!" Snuffy shouted, pulling back to block Noa and slow his counterattack before he could get going.
But on the other end, an unnamed defender had already booted the ball back toward midfield—and this time, with Shinichi still recovering from Chris's pressure, Loki had gotten ahead.
Fully accelerated, Loki weaved through the defense with effortless direction changes, danced past the keeper with a fake shot, and calmly tapped the ball into the net.
1–1.
"So fast... the tempo of the match is insane!" Sitting on the sidelines due to the sheer number of players, Isagi watched the chaos unfold with excitement.
Despite only five minutes having passed since kickoff, both teams had already traded multiple offensive and defensive exchanges—all completely dictated by the mentors.
Ordinary players could barely keep up.
Watching the high-speed action, Isagi couldn't help but ponder: If it were me out there, what could I do to stand out in a game of this caliber?
Just as he was lost in thought, Rin Itoshi—who had just subbed in—gave his answer.
"Joining the match now, huh? Better be careful—any slip-up and you'll tank your value in our eyes," Lavinho teased, glancing at Rin while fending off Noa.
With a mischievous grin, he flicked the ball toward Rin, planning to use him as a moving screen to shield himself from Noa's relentless pressure.
But just as Lavinho made his move, Rin unexpectedly stepped back—creating a clear opening.
Predictably, Noa read the play instantly and intercepted the pass.
"Not exactly the kind of performance that'll make Shinichi want to join your team," Snuffy quipped as he stepped in to intercept Noa's advance.
Noa looked to pass immediately, but before he could act, a streak of motion blurred into his path. In an instant, the ball was stolen clean from under his feet.
"Overly rational decisions become predictable, even for the world's number one."
Before Loki could pounce from behind, Shinichi had already fired off a shot beside Noa.
The cannonball-like strike screamed into the goal.
Less than 20 minutes into the match, the score was already 8–7.
"Yo, it's finally my turn." Charles cheerfully dashed onto the field, receiving the ball with a smirk. "Let's see what kind of football the world's number one really plays."
Shinichi didn't react to Charle's arrival—his focus was locked on Noa.
Each of Noa's movements looked simple, but they were executed with such mechanical precision—always the most efficient path, backed by an ideal body built to fulfill that execution.
The end result was a form of overwhelming dominance that seemed almost illogical in its perfection.
"Chasing efficiency alone... what a boring way to play," Charles muttered at first, frowning as he watched.
But then, a flicker of excitement lit his eyes. "But even if it's efficient, when you do it, it just looks... unstoppable. Then take this pass, World No. 1!"
"Let's see if even my chaotic, devil-may-care pass can still be made 'rational' by you!"
Without warning, Charles fired a blistering ground pass straight into the thick of a crowded penalty area.
Dozens of moving legs and tangled feet couldn't stop it—the ball zipped through every gap and landed at a perfect one-on-one position with the keeper.
"That pass was reckless. Surely you had safer options," Noa remarked as he moved in. And yet, even with a pass this wild, he somehow predicted the trajectory, arriving in perfect sync with the ball.
"That's exactly what I mean—you're too rational, too predictable!"
Just as Noa was about to take his shot, a figure appeared in his field of vision—cloaked in black lightning, Shinichi surged in, cutting him off with monstrous presence.
"I'll shut you down—left foot, right foot, doesn't matter. Pass it. Now."
"No need."
To everyone's surprise, Noa replied curtly and immediately unleashed a powerful shot right in Shinichi's face, despite the heavy marking.
The fierce strike smashed into Shinichi's outstretched leg, deflecting the ball upward. Its altered trajectory sent it crashing into the crossbar before bouncing down—just barely slipping past the goalkeeper's fingertips and into the net.
"So even you are capable of making irrational plays," Shinichi muttered, his expression unchanged even after conceding the goal face-to-face.
He gave Noa a meaningful glance, then turned and started running back toward the front line.
"Next time, I'll factor that in too."
"Wait for me, world number one."
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Hey everyone, just a quick update!
The reason I haven't been uploading daily is because I accidentally deleted the file containing my Blue Lock chapters. It's been really frustrating—especially since I had so many chapters saved—and honestly, it made me lose some motivation to continue.
But don't worry! I'll still upload the remaining chapters that I have saved on my Patreon.
By the way, I've also started a few new fanfics on Patreon. Some of them I might not continue unless there's interest from you guys, so feel free to check them out and let me know what you think:
OP: The Flame Pillar of Justice – This one's already up on Webnovel, go check it out if you're interested!
The Disgusting Life of Spandam – Not sure if I'll continue this one.
Haikyuu x Kuroko: The Purple Giant – I might continue this crossover.
Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds: Being Ordinary is Best – I really like this one, but it's still on hiatus while I do more research on the cards.
MHA: The Restoration Hero – Overhaul – This one's brand new and set in an AU!