〘 Upgrade Successful! Skill: Thunder Breathing - Third Form: Thunder Swarm Has Reached LV3! 〙
〘 Proficiency Reseted! 〙
〘 Upgrade Successful! Skill: Thunder Breathing - Total Concentration Has Reached LV4! 〙
〘 Proficiency Reseted! 〙
Ryōsuke quickly completed the upgrades for these two skills.
The enhanced Thunder Swarm would allow him to create passes and shots with more deceptive curves. Meanwhile, upgrading Total Concentration Breathing to Level 4 meant he could enter and maintain the Total Concentration state more frequently and for longer periods.
Previously at Level 3, he could maintain the Total Concentration state for about half the time. This new level would significantly extend that duration.
If he were to reach Level 5, Ryōsuke could achieve Constant Total Concentration Breathing — maintaining the state even while sleeping — leading to a dramatic boost in physical abilities.
Yet the jump from Level 3 to Level 4 had been extremely challenging. Only through the Competition Space and doubled daily training points had he managed to progress at a reasonable pace.
The leap to Level 5 would prove even more demanding.
But Ryōsuke welcomed the challenge.
"Only 10 Competition Points left — not much, but let's continue practicing in the Competition Space."
A smile appeared on his face as he entered the Competition Space.
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The next day, Ryōsuke and his team entered the corridor leading to the match venue.
Meguru trembled slightly — not from nervousness, but from excitement. The chance to face world-class players was something countless people could only dream of.
Rensuke and Ikki wore serious expressions, and even the typically laid-back Seishirō showed an unusually earnest look.
Just as they were about to reach the exit, Ryōsuke suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong, Kira?"
Everyone's eyes fell on him.
"Jinpachi Ego selected five world-class players to face us, but his only goal is to show us the gap between our abilities and world-class strength — and to have them evaluate our skills. He has no intention of letting us win." As Ryōsuke spoke, he slowly raised his head.
At the same time, a smile appeared on his face.
"However, that's exactly why we need to utterly humiliate them. If we can defeat them, it will shock the world. Let's give it our all and show them what we're capable of."
"Yes!" Meguru nodded vigorously.
"We must defeat them fair and square!"
"We'll definitely win."
"I don't want to experience losing a second time."
The other three nodded simultaneously. The fire of battle had ignited in their hearts.
"Well then, let's go." Ryōsuke nodded and started walking again.
Finally, they arrived at the match venue.
The World Five stood on the other side of the field, looking at them with the kind of gaze one would use to observe animals in a zoo.
"Just as I said, these guys aren't muscular at all. You owe me ten thousand dollars."
"Haha, they're way more fragile than us. Is this really their level?"
"Jinpachi Ego said some of them might pose a threat to us. Don't make me laugh."
"I thought Sae Itoshi's brother would be here first. Whatever — let's just finish the match and head back to the hotel. Easy money is always nice."
Except for Julian, the players conversed in English, showing complete disdain for the Blue Lock team. Their gestures were full of arrogance, and they didn't even try to hide their mockery.
Assuming their opponents couldn't understand English, they openly ridiculed them. If Jinpachi hadn't paid them well, they wouldn't have bothered coming.
"Are they speaking English? I can't understand..." Meguru frowned.
"Kira." Seishirō turned to look at Ryōsuke.
Though usually unconcerned about most things, he had always been a top student and could naturally understand what they were saying.
"I know." Ryōsuke narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze fixed on them, as he too understood their words.
"Hello everyone." Julian quickly approached their group and greeted them, not using English, showing more politeness than the other four.
"Please take care of us." Ryōsuke shook hands with him while carefully observing him.
Though not particularly tall, his muscle definition was visible even through his clothes.
Julian Loki — a genius player with terrifying speed. The others possessed frightening abilities as well. This match's intensity would far exceed previous ones.
In the original story, they had easily crushed Rin and Yoichi's team without even trying.
However, in Ryōsuke's eyes, the outcome of this match was far from certain.
Everyone quickly returned to their half of the field, and with the whistle, the match officially began!
Team Blue Lock's first attack!
Ryōsuke kicked off to Meguru, who immediately sprinted at top speed toward the opponent's half.
"Huh, has it started already?"
Standing in front of him was Pablo Cavazos, known as the Freckled Baby, the smallest built among the five, but his abilities couldn't be underestimated.
However, his demeanor remained relaxed, showing complete disinterest in the match.
Meguru executed an ultra-fast step-over, followed by a swift turn to get past him. He immediately crossed the ball to where Seishirō waited in position.
The high, curving pass posed little challenge. Seishirō trapped it mid-air with perfect control while rotating his body.
In one fluid motion, he shifted into shooting position!
The powerful shot found its mark!
[ Scoreboard ]
[ 1:0 ]
"We did it!" Rensuke cheered.
Scoring this early against world-class players gave their morale a significant boost. The match was unfolding better than they'd dared hope.
"The real match hasn't even begun yet." Ryōsuke said quietly.
He could see their opponents weren't taking things seriously, leaving players unmarked — confident they could overcome any deficit. Pure arrogance.
"Not bad, let's get a bit more serious." Adam said.
"Yeah, the contract says we don't get paid if we lose."
"As long as we don't lose, it's fine!"
"There's a bonus for every goal we score!"
The other players' expressions sharpened slightly, though they still treated the match as mere entertainment.
"Alright." Julian nodded, his calm gaze fixed on the opponent's goal.
Ball possession changed — Team World Five's kickoff.
Julian carried the ball past the halfway line with casual ease. Ikki moved up to mark him.
"May I ask you something?" Julian said, his tone conversational.
"What?" Ikki's brows furrowed as he scanned his surroundings, watching for potential passes.
"Your defensive line is full of holes." Julian stated.
"Huh?" Before Ikki could process those words, a gust of wind slammed into his face.
In the next instant, Julian had vanished — reappearing behind him!
"What?! What kind of explosive speed is this?!" Ikki hadn't even begun to react before his opponent blazed past.
No fancy footwork, no deceptive moves — just pure, devastating speed, like a jet streaking across the sky!
By the time he turned his head, Julian was already far ahead, charging straight for the goal!
"Stop him!"
Rensuke and Seishirō both rushed forward to block him, but before they could make any defensive moves, Julian broke through with even more terrifying speed!
There was no one left in front of him.
[ Scoreboard ]
[ 1:1 ]
"What... what kind of speed was that?!" Rensuke's voice trembled as he stared at the speedster in disbelief.
In Blue Lock, no one could compare to him — neither Zantetsu nor Hyōma came close to matching his speed.
This guy was a true monster...
"Pass the ball next time, you jerk!"
His teammates laughed as they called out to Julian, clearly accustomed to his incredible speed.
Julian's face bore a relaxed smile, "Alright, I've had my fun. Let's finish this and go take a shower."
Though his manners were more polite than the others, he was actually the most arrogant of them all.
For him, this was nothing more than a game — there was no need to exert any more effort. The difference in ability was absolute.
After the restart, Meguru again drove forward with the ball, but just as he was about to get past Pablo again, his opponent suddenly stepped forward.
With a single motion, Pablo cleanly stripped the ball from his feet!
Meguru's eyes widened, unable to believe he'd been dispossessed so easily.
"Your rhythm is threatening, but your movements are too predictable."
That was Pablo's only comment about his opponent, who possessed top-tier dribbling skills within Blue Lock.
After winning the ball, he immediately made a long pass to the front, where England's top scorer Adam was already waiting.
"I won't let you receive that ball!" Rensuke shouted as he moved to challenge him.
But the moment their bodies made contact, he felt like he'd crashed into a fortress wall. This level of physical ability and balance control surpassed even what Aoshi could match.
Adam stood unmoved!
"What kind of monster are you?!" Rensuke used all his strength but couldn't budge him even an inch.
"I'm not interested in men's bodies." Adam replied casually. He turned, using his broad shoulders to shield off the powerfully-built defender behind him while delivering a fierce kick.
His target was the tank-like Dada Silva, already positioned in front of the goal!
The muscular Dada stood like a mountain before the goal, and no matter how hard Seishirō tried, he couldn't maintain his position against him.
His physical prowess was even more terrifying than Adam's!
"Too weak, too weak! Haven't you kids been eating properly? You're all like bean sprouts that would snap with one squeeze!"
Dada laughed wildly as his sheer physical advantage let him easily receive Adam's pass while holding off Seishirō with one arm. Despite Seishirō's decent build, he posed no threat — like dust floating in the air, easily blown away.
"Time to take the lead!" Dada's face twisted into a smug grin as he prepared to turn and shoot.
But at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared beside him.
"Oh really?"
Ryōsuke had come back to defend!
The instant that guy turned, Ryōsuke was there, denying him space to complete the motion.
"Cocky kid!" Dada didn't take him seriously, planning to simply muscle him aside.
But the moment their bodies collided, his expression changed.
Bang!
In that instant, he felt like he'd crashed into a massive boulder.
"What?!" For the first time, surprise flashed across Dada's face.
He hadn't expected to lose the physical battle. Having underestimated the collision's force, his balance broke and he tumbled to the ground.
An opening!
Ryōsuke seized the moment when his opponent's center of gravity shifted, stealing the ball cleanly!
"What?!"
Both Adam and Pablo couldn't help but exclaim in shock — they never imagined Dada would be dispossessed by Ryōsuke.
Even though they weren't completely serious, this shouldn't have happened.
"Damn it, the ground was too slippery!" Dada complained, making excuses. He couldn't believe he'd lost the physical confrontation.
It must have been because the ground was too slippery.
"What other excuses are you going to make, weaky plant?"
{T/N: Heavy Tank > Waeky Plant}
At that moment, Ryōsuke looked down at Dada lying on the ground, his gaze sharp and cold as a blade, as he spoke slowly.
He used English.
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