Helloooo~ So, I got kind of impatient, so I decided to release chapter 3 early! Woohooooo~
So, quick announcement before I start, I need your opinions on something. Should I make the first selection games more detailed? I've been debating this after re-reading the team X game, and I felt like it was a little too short. For clarification, only the first selection games were originally going to be cruised, the second selection and up will be play by play for the entire game. This is available on my Patreon incase any of you are confused on what I'm talking about. Anyways, here's the gist of it. Barring the team X, which is formatted as 1 half per chapter, and the team Y game, which will be play by play and spanning out for around 4-5 chapters, which one should I continue to do with the first selection. Play by Play, or 1 half chapters. This is for the first selection only, everything else will be strictly play by play. Let me know in the comments please!
Anyways, enjoy~.
---
Finally, it was here. The day that Blue Lock would open had arrived. The entryway was loud and crowded. 300 strikers, ranging from 15-18 years old, walked together as they entered the large facility.
Isagi looked around, awed at the sight of the massive building. 'This is going to be my new home, huh? It's massive!'
That's what she said. Anyways, back on track.
He walked into the building confidently, each step holding the weight of his future. The air was thick with anticipation. Around him, strikers from all over Japan followed suit, each with their own goal of becoming the best.
Apparently, Isagi was the last person to enter, since the doors slid shut behind him with a soft hiss. Glancing around, he saw the faces of his competitors, their expressions varied and unique. Some of them wore the confidence of athletes used to winning. Others were more reserved, as if silently calculating their path to the top.
A faint buzz of conversation filled the air as players exchanged words and eyed one another, sizing up their competition. The buzz seemed distant to Isagi, he stood there with only his thoughts for company. His eyes scanned the high-tech facility around him. It was a magnificent work of architecture, with its futuristic walls and grand hall.
"Hey, um… You wouldn't happen to be Isagi, would you?" A timid voice called out from behind him. Isagi turned around, wondering who the owner of the voice was, and found his answer in Kira Ryousuke.
"Yo, Kira." Isagi grinned, raising his hand in greeting. "Haven't seen you since we beat you for nationals."
"Hehe, yeah. That was an amazing goal you scored."
"Thanks."
"Did you guys make it far in the nationals?"
Isagi took a second to remember. "Nah, from what I heard, we were knocked out in the first round. I wasn't playing, so no one was able to score."
Kira nodded without another word. A loud ring blared across the hall, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
"Congratulations and welcome, my diamonds in the rough." A familiar voice came out from the stadium. Looking at the stadium, Jinpachi Ego stood there imposingly. His piercing gaze swept over the players, his aura commanding nothing but absolute respect. He stood with arms crossed, studying each individual as if already calculating their potential.
"You are the 300 strikers who have been chosen due to my arbitrary and biased decision making. And I am Jinpachi Ego, the man who was hired to ensure Japan's future victory at the World Cup."
Murmurs echoed across the room as everyone absorbed Ego's words.
"Ensure Japan's World Cup?"
"Dude, he's crazy."
Kira walked up next to Isagi as he stared at Ego, wonder and confusion in his eyes. "Who is he?" He turned towards Isagi. "Do you know?"
"I do. He's the guy who was hired to ensure Japan's future victory at the World Cup."
Kira laughed at his cheeky reply. "Ok, so you don't know then."
Isagi smirked, ready to reply when Ego continued his speech.
"Here at this facility, Blue Lock, I'll be performing an experiment to turn one of you 300 into the single best striker in the world. Starting today, you will live there together and undergo the specialized training I devised to transform you. You won't be allowed to go home, and your previous soccer careers will be a mere memory."
Again, the room shuffled with nervousness. Ego leaned forward, slaughtering the nervous air with his next words.
"But I promise you this. If you work hard enough, if you survive and become the last man standing out of the 300 candidates assembled here, you will be the greatest striker in history. That's all for now, it's been fun."
As the screen behind him flickered to life, a low chatter rippled through the room, the candidates whispering to one another. Their voices were filled with a mix of emotions, ranging from apprehension to excitement. Isagi stood in the middle of it, keeping his eyes locked on the form of his teacher. Their eyes met, and for a split second Ego's eyes gained a maniacal gleam to them.
It was a silent message between the two, and Isagi was more than happy to comply.
"Excuse me, sorry, but I can't agree to these conditions." Raising his hand up, Isagi brought the attention of everyone in the room, speaking with a faux seriousness that Ego easily spotted. Seeing how he had drawn in everyone's attention, he continued. "All of us have teams we've given our loyalty to, and some of us have Nationals to continue. You want me to abandon my team for what? To participate in some crazy sounding program?!"
Confusion swept over Kira's face, but before he could speak, a barrage of voices exploded around the room in agreement, all shouting their complaints at once.
"He's right! I have Nationals too, man!"
"I'm not trying to live with a bunch of guys in some creepy facility!"
"Ya! Who are you anyway?!"
"Bring out someone who's not insane!"
Isagi observed as everyone shouted at Jinpachi, calmly collecting data on their specs and memorizing the voices of the people who were complaining. 'They won't be surviving here for sure. Their egos are way too weak.'
'And whoever called him insane is gonna get it if I catch them. No one disses my coach except me!'
Ego, who stood calm against the riot, scratched his head absentmindedly.
"A pity. You're all seriously ill, it seems." His tone was deep. Intimidating in every sense of the word. The weight of its authority shut everyone up as they stood in shock. No one could believe what they heard, having never expected to be insulted like that. Isagi smirked amusedly.
He raised his hands and began again. "Lock off. Anyone who wants to leave is free to go."
Gasps echoed around the room.
"Are your perspectives truly this limited? You'd rather be the top highschooler in this soccer backwater than the worlds best striker? Hah! The future of Japan is in your hands? It's enough to make a man weep." Ego paused for a moment, allowing the crowd to grasp his insult before he continued. "Listen up. There's no denying Japanese soccer's first rate teamwork. Call it the result of our country's characteristic thoughtfulness, but in ALL other aspects of the sport we are second rate. Let me ask you this. What is soccer? Is it about 11 other players working together? The bonds that you form? Self sacrifice? Fighting for your teammates? That kind of thinking is why this country's game has remained weak." the screen turned off, and the only thing they could pay attention to was the black haired man's face.
"I'll tell you the right answer. Soccer is about one thing," Slowly, Ego's face shifted, insanity leaking out from his expression. "Scoring more GOALS than your opponent does. Whoever scores the most is the best, end of story. If you just want a fun game with your pals, then lock off."
He pointed at them and ended his speech. His finger was pointed towards Isagi. It was another message.
'Ok coach, let's see how you'll respond to this one.'
Clenching his fist, Isagi grit his teeth and shouted at his mentor.
"You can't really mean that, take it back!" He growled. "Our team isn't weak! It's full of athletes that we all admire! I grew up watching them fight on the field as a solid unit of 11!" He glared solidly at Ego's blank face. He was ready for the punchline.
"Those players are my heroes. Your answer is wrong! Now take it back!"
'Heh, I'm definitely gonna laugh at this later. I know coach will, too.'
Indeed they were, but that's for another time. Right now, Jinpachi was scratching his head in faux confusion, as if he was trying to formulate a response to what he just heard. "Hmm? Japan's team isn't weak? Mmm~."
'Here it comes.'
"DO YOU MEAN THE SAME LOSERS WHO HAVE NEVER CLAIMED A SINGLE WORLD CUP?! YOU'RE EITHER THE BEST THERE IS- or your trash. Got it?"
Behind him, the screen turned back on, revealing a picture of the best striker in the world, Noel Noa. "'Instead of assisting my teammates to win 1-0, it feels better to pull off a hattrick and lose 3-4'. This direct quote from Noel Noa, who beat out Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo to win the ballon d'or, tells us how much the best striker in the world values your precious teamwork. Here's another one from Eric Canena. 'I don't care about my team. I just want to stand out'. And from Pele, the world's best forward, midfielder, defender, and goalkeeper. 'Whichever you ask about, the answer is still– me.'"
Ego took a more maniac tone as he threw his head back. "WHAT DO YOU THINK?! PRETTY AWFUL RIGHT?! BUT THEY'RE THREE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN HISTORY! AND THEY'RE ALL EGOISTS, DOWN TO THE VERY CORE!" Taking a long gasping breath, he surged forward and continued. "That's what japanese soccer is lacking! It's sad but true…"
He lifted his head high, glaring down at everyone as the light glinted off his glasses, held in place by a single hand. "You can't possibly become the world's best striker unless you're also the world's biggest egoist. Which is why we're all here. So I can create a player who has what it takes. Someone who will climb atop two hundred and ninety nine corpses. A solitary hero."
"Picture this scene. You've made it all the way to the World Cup final. Eighty thousand people in the stands, you down on the field. The score is nil-nil in the second half of extra time. It's the last play, with a pass from your teammate you're through the defense. You against the goalkeeper. Six meters to your right is your teammate. If you pass your team is guaranteed to score a goal. The championships, the hope of your people, they're all riding on you! Only an insane egoist would take that shot without a second's hesitation!"
"Now pass through and be transformed." Behind him, the wall opened up to reveal a room, steam escaping from it violently. Ego adjusted his stance to place his hands in his pockets and looked down at them. "Discard your common sense. Remember, out there on the field you're the star. Nothing should bring you more joy than your own goals. Live ONLY for that glorious moment!"
His grin returned, even more menacing and malicious than before, addressing the crowd one last time. "And if you can't… then you're no striker at all."
Silence. Absolute silence filled the room. No one could speak. No one could move. Nobody had ever expected to hear anything like what they just did. It was like they were stuck in a perpetual state of time. Chronostasis. All of them, except one.
He wasted no time. There was nothing waiting for him outside this facility, and even if there was he would still ignore it. With quick and powerful steps, Isagi sprinted towards the door with a giant grin on his face, matching Ego's own like he was his son. 'I am a striker! There's no fucking WAY I'm giving this up!'
Behind him, everyone watched as the young, unassuming 16 year old sprinted to the gate. It took merely a moment before someone snapped.
"Fuck it! I'll play along with your bullshit too!"
And so, with Isagi's help, everyone followed him to achieve their dreams.
Or get them irreparably crushed.
—
"So I'm in group Z, huh?" Isagi walked through a corridor with a bag in hand, tracing over the suit handed to him with care. The bag was opened due to him feeling the texture of the cloth, and 'by all things holy this feels so niiiiice~'
Yeah, Isagi couldn't wait to put it on.
Soon, he came across a door with the letter Z, signifying to him that he reached his destination. With no hesitation, he walked through the door, listening to the hiss of it closing with satisfaction. After he was done basking in his satisfaction, he decided to properly study the room he was in. It was fairly large, the size of a penalty box if he had to guess. Lockers stood on the right side of the room, and that was it. Nothing else except lockers and people.
He dismissed the sleeping teen on the floor and walked up to the lockers, moving next to a taller guy with orange hair.
Said guy noticed him immediately.
"Yo."
"Hey."
"You're the guy who ran first, weren't you? I saw you sprint to the buses as soon as that Ego guy finished talking. I was so moved, man." The teen, who Isagi didn't know the name of, turned to fully face him. "I'm Kunigami, by the way. Rensuke Kunigami."
Rensuke Kunigami
Speed: 81 A
Offense: 86 A
Shot: 87 A
Passing: 76 B
Defense: 77 B
Dribble: 76 B
Total: 81 A
"Nice to meet you, Kunigami." Once he finished changing into the suit 'Oh my god it feels amazing', he turned to face him as well. "I'm Yoichi Isagi."
Yoichi Isagi
Speed: 87 A
Offense: 97 S
Shot: 96 S
Passing: 92 S
Defense: 84 A
Dribble: 84 A
Total: 90 S
"Nice to meet you too. So, what do you think we're going to be doing?"
"I don't know…" Isagi's gaze shifted towards the rest of the room, now more crowded as people continued to walk in. "It might be a meet and greet. Or, if Ego's sadistic, which I think he is, we'll be playing some sort of death match where only one of us can continue."
A visible shutter ran through Kunigami. "Ugh. Now that you mention I can't help but think that's the case. Well, if it does turn into a death match, no hard feelings right?"
"Yeah. That goes ditto for you, carrot top."
The two laughed with each other, taking reprieve in the small yet terrifyingly possible occurrence that their joke would turn out to be real. Both of them had the feeling that they would get along well.
The sound of the door opening drew their attention yet again, revealing Kira Ryousuke to enter from the door.
Kira Ryousuke
Speed: 71 C
Offense: 78 B
Shot: 82 A
Passing: 86 A
Defense: 64 C
Dribble: 73 B
Total: 76 B
"Oh, Isagi!" He called out, taking notice of Isagi the second he walked through the door. "I'm so glad you're here. I was worried that I wouldn't know anyone on the team"
"Well looks like your worry wasn't needed."
"Oh man! You're Kira Ryousuke, aren't you?!" A loud, slightly obnoxious voice came from behind them. It was a bald headed kid, seemingly the same age as Isagi, already wearing his blue lock skin suit. He was entirely unassuming. He looked like he would be the weakest on the team.
Except… his aura was off the charts.
Isagi wasn't one to feel nervous about anything, not anymore at least, but the amount of aura this kid held was insane.
'What the hell's with this guy?'
"My name is Gurimu Igarashi. Call me Igaguri."
Gurimu Igarashi (Igaguri)
Speed: 69 C
Offense: 71 B
Shot: 70 B
Passing: 64 C
Defense: 59 D
Dribbling: 55 D
Total: 65 C
'There's no doubt about it. He's really strong!'
You couldn't be more wrong, Isagi.
Igaguri, who stood there grinning like a loon, hands reaching out to grab Kira's. "It's such an honor to meet you, man! I can't believe I'm on the same team as the Jewel of Japan!"
With an awkward grin, Kira stood still as his hand flailed up and down thanks to the shaven teen's enthusiasm. "Hehe, yeah…"
'Isagi, help me!'
'You're on your own, dude'
Right when it felt like his arm was going to fall off, Igarashi let go. He gave them a friendly grin as he talked to them. "I come from a line of monks, but I don't wanna do that. Soccer's my only way out. If I lose here, I will inherit the temple, which would seriously suck."
A wince of sympathy came from Isagi. "Ya, that does sound harsh. I can't imagine what it's like to be a monk. Those guys are way too hardcore."
"For real, man! It's the worst!"
The screen above them buzzed to life, interrupting their conversation. On it, Ego's face was displayed, staring stoically at them.
"Have you finished changing yet, you lumps of talent?" Ego's tone was indifferent, as though he was bored at the current moment. "Well, it doesn't really matter. I'm just here to give you your next instructions."
He steepled his fingers together, leaning forward in order to rest his chin on them. "You'll notice that there are other people in your assigned room, that's because you all are going to be playing as a team for the foreseeable future. Please think of your new roommates as both your teammates and your rivals."
Leaning back, he raised one of his hands so that the palm was facing up. A hologram appeared on top of it not a second later. "I have quantified your skills and ranked each of you according to my arbitrary and biased decision making. Thus, the numbers on all your uniforms."
Gasps echoed around the room as everyone scrambled to check their number. Isagi brought his arm up to look at his own number, having not caught it initially, and gained a giant tick mark because of what he saw. 'What the hell, Ego?! Why am I ranked 300th?!'
"They're not set in stone, of course. They change based on your performance during training or matches. So those of you who are ranked abysmally low still have a chance at succeeding."
'You bastard!'.
Ego put a finger to his chin, looking as though he were trying to remember something. Isagi knew he was faking it, mentally calling bullshit on the look. Back on the screen, Ego snapped his fingers in realization. "Oh yes, that's right. The top five players in Blue Lock will get to represent us as forwards in an important tournament being held soon. These elite athletes will be registered as forwards in the next U20 World Cup. If you win, you'll be overtaking the spots of the U-20 team to compete instead."
Once again, everyone gasped in shock. Before it could properly simmer, however, Ego continued on. He leaned forward once again, just enough so the light glinted off his glasses. "Additionally, anyone who loses while here at blue lock will forfeit the right to ever represent Japan's national team."
"Only those of you who gain the biggest ego will succeed here, which I will now measure by administering a test." As soon as the mastermind behind the screen uttered these words, a hole opened up in the ceiling, causing a soccer ball to drop onto the ground. "I'm sure you're excited for this one, since I know you played this before. You'll be playing a game of tag, with 136 seconds to tag someone else. Whoever is 'it' once time runs out will be locked off."
Everyone stepped away from the ball instantly. No one wanted to take the chance of being it if it was decided by whoever was closest to it. Isagi was the only one who didn't move. He had a feeling he would be it anyway.
"Also, no using your haaaands~" With his final words spoken, Ego disappeared from the screen. The replacement was the announcement of who was "it".
Rank It
300 Isagi Yoichi
"Fine then, I guess I'm it." Isagi sighed, placing his foot on the ball lackadaisical. "It must be because I'm the 300th spot… Oh my, oh my, just what will I ever do~."
He walked calmly to the kid sleeping on the floor, pushing the ball with each step. "Get up, daisyhead. I know you're not actually asleep."
He kicked the ball softly at him, adding further incentive to arise from his fake slumber. If he was actually asleep, then it was an easy pass for everyone else.
The sleeping kid, revealing that he was, in fact, not asleep, sprung up and delivered a powerful kick that would have surely broken Isagi's nose if he was standing there. Unfortunately for the attacker, he was six feet away.
"Hey! If you did that in a real game it'd be a red card!" Igaguri, from behind him, screamed, clearly not appreciative of the masterclass roundhouse that the boy executed.
"He said only handballs were against the rules, didn't he?" The boy yawned, stretching his arms like a cat as he rid himself of his drowsiness. "Good morning"
"Good morning," Isagi chuckled, taking no offense for the attack that was meant for him, unlike the monk-trying-not-to-be. "I'm glad to see that you're ready to kick things off."
"Ahahaha~ that was a good pun."
"Thanks! I'm proud of it too."
"Ahahahahaha-"
"Ahahahahaha-"
"Uh, they do know that we're playing a game of tag, right?" One of the guys questioned, a short haired blonde with shark teeth.
Kira just shrugged. "How should I know what they're thinking?"
Abruptly, Isagi and the mysterious boy stopped laughing, staring each other dead in the eyes instead. The boy grinned wildly at him, and he did the same. They both thought the same thing.
'This guy… is a kindred spirit.'
"You know what? I like you." The boy exclaimed, keeping his grin and pointed at Isagi. "I think you and I are going to be good friends."
Isagi nodded his head in agreement. "I think so too. I'm Yoichi Isagi by the way. Nice to meet ya."
"Nice to meet you too! I'm Meguru Bachira."
Meguru Bachira
Speed: 81 A
Offense: 89 A
Shot: 82 A
Passing: 88 A
Defense: 76 B
Dribbling: 92 S
Total: 84 A
With another nod, Isagi dropped his smile. The ball was still in front of him, and he was still it. A quick glance at the clock told him he had only thirty seconds left before the timer buzzed off.
"Well then, I guess it's someone else's turn to be it." Isagi called out, his calm voice unnerving everyone else. He rolled the ball back and lined up his shot. "The weakest link in the team…"
He locked eyes with the brown haired boy, Yudai Imamura. "Is you."
Like a cannon, Isagi's foot launched the ball towards Imamura, a loud BANGresounding throughout the room because of it. No one expected the "300th" spot to have such a powerful leg, and even if they did they couldn't react to what came next.
The ball, the moment it left Isagi's foot, rocketed at Imamura, slamming itself straight into his gut. Air retched from his mouth as he was hurtled backwards, so much so that he slammed right into the wall with a heavy thud. The collision rattled his head, and he laid there prone because of it.
Isagi blinked in bewilderment, before raising his hand in apology, slumping slightly as he did so. "Oh, my bad. Didn't think that was gonna knock you out."
"DUDE! YOU ALMOST BLEW A HOLE IN HIM!" Igarashi screamed, fear in his eyes thanks to the display of power. "HOW THE HELL ARE YOU THE WORST GUY HERE?!"
"I didn't shoot it thathard, dude."
"YOU KNOCKED HIM OUT!"
"Uh… namusan?"
"NAMUSAN NO!"
"Dude, can we talk about the fact that his leg is a literal fucking gun?! How the hell did he get the soccer ball to move that fast?!"
"Woohoo~ I knew there was a reason I liked you!"
"Dude, Isagi, we gotta compare shots later."
"This guy is seriously strong…"
Around them, everyone clamored together as they talked about Isagi's shot, not paying attention to the buzzer that was ringing out. So caught up in their gossip, they didn't pay notice that Imamura came back from his unconscious state.
The pain Imamura felt was like nothing he had ever felt before. When he came to, he instantly found it difficult to breathe, the pain in his abdomen feeling like a gunshot wound.
"Wha- ack! What just…" He managed to rasp out, slurring slightly on his words. The noise quieted down as they stared at Imamura, giving him winces of sympathy and looks of pity. Isagi, feeling responsible for the damage he caused, went over to Imamura to help him.
Isagi knelt on his knee to give him a hand, looking at Imamura with squinted eyes, almost to the point they were closed. When he spoke, nobody expected the unremorseful tone he took on. "Well, you just got eliminated. So sorry."
The sheer sarcasm in the apology left everyone in the room baffled, none more so than Imamura. Isagi, like the saint he is, helped the eliminated player up to his feet, somehow already holding his clothes.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, I sort of tagged ya, hope that helps ease your mind when you're leaving."
Imamura stood shell shocked at the raven headed boy's answer. His anger bubbled in his poor, abused gut, and he made it known. "What the hell are you talking about?! Why am I the one eliminated, huh?! You literally knocked me out! That should be an automatic expulsion!"
"Pipe down, you brat." Ego once again came back onto the screen, making everyone turn their gaze towards him. "You were the one who was 'it' when the timer ended. That means you lose."
"H-how is this fair?! I was knocked out the entire time I was it! This psycho literally knocked me out! He's not a striker, he's a freaking thug!" Imamura screamed at Ego, his breaths raspy from his yelling. No one said anything, the atmosphere too thick for them to muster up the courage. Everyone felt bad for him. Everyone except three people.
"Dude, quit whining and just leave." Bachira said, staring boredly at the ranting teen. "Can't you see you lost? What are you still doing here?"
"He's right, y'know? You should head out so you don't miss the bus." Isagi added, nodding his head in agreement to Bachira. "You're weak as hell. You couldn't even handle a ball kicked to the stomach. By the guy in 300th place, no less."
"But that-… But that-"
"But nothing, Yudai Imamura. If you can't even handle being hit by the ball, then you don't deserve to be here, never mind being a striker. Lock off, Imamura."
"WHAT THE HELL, MAN?! DID YOU SEE THAT SHOT HE SENT AT ME?! HOW THE HELL AM I-"
"You despicable fool. If you were an actual striker, you would have fought through the pain in order to tag someone. But you didn't. You didn't have the hunger to survive, the will to live. You didn't, you don't, and you won't in the future. All you are is a little rabbit crying in the den of wolves. You lost, Yudai Imamura. Now lock off. I won't ask again."
Imamura stood there, tears welling up in his eyes when he realized that his dream was about to be over before it even began. He turned to look at the others, hoping for them to give him any sort of help or reassurance. All he got were nine heads looking away, and two smiling and waving. No one was going to help him.
With a hic, ugly tears began cascading down the brown haired teen's face, crying as he changed out of his body suit. He turned his back to them all, ready to walk out the door, when Isagi called out to him.
"Wait, Imamura!"
Imamura turned, looking at Isagi with tears and hope in his eyes. In his eyes, he saw brightness and willingness in Isagi's own. Like he was going to try and appeal to Ego to let him stay because of his foul play.
"Make sure you give me a discount when I come by to order at McDonalds, ok?"
His hope, shattered. His dreams, crushed. His worth? Ruined. Isagi's words dealt the final blow to Imamura's self esteem, ripping away any self respect he had for himself. The insinuation of him being a burger flipper, of him never being successful in his life, it was too cruel for him to bear. With another loud cry, Imamura ran away from Blue Lock.
Bachira whistled loudly at Isagi's cruel words. "Damn, Isagi, you totally wrecked him. Didn't expect that out of ya."
Isagi chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Haha, sorry I couldn't help it. The opportunity was way too good to pass up."
"Lol~"
"Well if you're done having your fun now, allow me to introduce you to your first step in Blue Lock." Ego interrupted. "First off, congratulations! All of you have passed the Blue Lock entrance exam."
"Haha!"
"Alright, we did it!"
"Aw yeah!"
"I was going to use this as a demonstration to show you how being egotistical will help you evolve in Blue Lock, but thanks to Isagi knocking out that loser, that isn't really possible." Ego shrugged in amusement. "If you notice the room around, you'll see that it's the size of a penalty box. You see, roughly 75% of goals originate from this area, making this the perfect training drill to test your spatial awareness and your precision."
He scratched his head absentmindedly before continuing on. "Either way, you passed it. So I want everyone to look around at each other and memorize the faces of the people you'll be living with. They will be both your teammates, ready to elevate your play, and your rivals, out to crush your dreams. You all are designated as team Z. Now, I'll be taking my departure. Get familiar with the facility and begin your training. We'll be holding a fitness evaluation soon."
The screen turned black, leaving only silence to occupy the room. Isagi, being the only one completely unbothered by the announcement, stretched his arms above his head. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna go get my workout in. It'd be good to warm up before whatever this fitness evaluation is."
Without waiting for a response, Isagi walked out of the room, his demeanor laid back and relaxed. Everyone watched him go, but Kunigami decided to take action as well.
"You know what? Yeah, I think I'll join you." Kunigami followed Isagi out the door. "It wouldn't be very heroic of me to skip out on my training."
"Oh, are we going now? Count me in~." Bachira was the next to follow, skipping his way after Isagi and Kunigami.
It didn't take long for everyone else to follow, though Kira did so with a sigh. 'What's going to happen now?'
—
Hell was going to happen, that's what.
At first it was simple, like weight lifting and shooting drills. But then, like a torpedo gone unnoticed, the intensity amplified.
"W-why are we doing this for so long?!" Screamed Igarashi as he was running on the treadmill. "We've been sprinting for almost an hour now!"
Isagi, having no trouble with the drill thanks to his training under Ego, looked at the monk. "Dude, you're running the slowest out of everyone. How are you already tired?"
"Sh-shut up! I'm the only normal guy here! I mean, how the hell are you still running like that at 25km?!"
"I mean, this is pretty normal. My sprinting speed is around 33km, which I can probably hold for about a minute or so."
Kira, who was running beside them, was doing fairly better than Igarashi, but still had to gasp for air. "Dude, Isagi, you're a frickin monster."
"BWAHAHAHA! If you can't keep up with us, then how the hell are you going to succeed in Blue Lock!" From Isagi's other side, the short haired blonde from earlier boasted at them. His shark teeth were prominent as he laughed mockingly at Kira and Igarashi. "I, the great Jingo Raichi, will blow you away with my sexy soccer!"
Jingo Raichi.
Speed: 72 B
Offense: 70 B
Shot: 76 B
Passing: 71 B
Defense: 78 B
Dribbling: 69 C
Total: 73 B
His pace was impressive, keeping up with Isagi's own of 25km, but he was still noticeably struggling to maintain it.
Isagi threw a teasing glance at Raichi. "Well Mr. Sexy Soccer, if you don't keep up the pace then you might be the guy in last place instead of me."
"I still call bullshit on you being the 300th spot! You're way too fit to be the worst here." Raichi growled, regaining his focus to his cardio.
Igarashi threw up soon afterwards. It was not a pretty sight.
Finally, after continuing for another hour, the examinations were completed. It was a good thing too, because Isagi's roommates looked like they were about to throw up.
"You guys ok?" He asked them, showing concern on his face. He didn't receive any words, but the thumbs up signalled to him that they were. "Alright, just making sure. I don't need any of you guys throwing up on me tonight. Especially you, Igaguri!"
"Oh, come on! I only threw up once, why are you ratting me out like that?!"
"Because you were the only oneout of everyone here to throw up, dumb monk!"
"Screw you!"
Everyone laughed at Isagi's jokes, feeling like the comedic act between the two brought some much needed relief for them. After all, who didn't like laughing after a hard day of working out?
Well, I'm sure they prefer to sleep more than laugh, so let's give them their rest.
—
Isagi's eyes opened slowly as he woke up from his slumber. It was 5 in the morning outside, but waking up at that time was nothing new to him. In fact, thanks to him doing his absurd training regiment yesterday, he felt far more rested than he should have.
He removed Igarashi's foot from his abdomen, who had somehow sprawled sideways during the night, and went to wash himself up. He made sure his steps were light and soundless so he didn't wake any of his teammates up, and managed to escape. It didn't take long for him to get washed up and get ready, and from that point he was ready to tackle his morning training.
Clad in his Blue Lock training suit and cleats in hand, he made his way to the training field. Upon arriving, he discovered that the lights were already on, and Ego's face was present on the screen.
"Glad to see coming to Blue Lock won't dull your discipline." Ego said, sipping on a cup of coffee as he spoke.
Isagi chuckled while putting his cleats on. "Come on now, coach. You know better than anyone how much I want to become the world's best striker. There's no reason for me to slack off at all."
"Good. Never be satisfied with your current self, though I'm sure you know that better than anyone. Anyways, I was just checking in to make sure you weren't becoming complacent. I'll leave you to your training."
Isagi sighed softly as the screen turned black, leaving nothing but himself in the room. It was the standard size of a half field, perfect for a 5v5 to commence. With no reason to dally, he began his warmups.
He finished soon after, feeling the light sheen of sweat marr his brow, and nodded. "Alright, time for me to continue working on my dribbling. I need to become more nimble to make it work."
"Looks like you're having fun." A voice, light and playful, broke through the silence. Isagi turned, blinking in surprise. Leaning against the wall was Bachira, wearing his Blue Lock training suit and cleats, his arms crossed casually over his chest. A lopsided grin tugged at his lips, and his golden eyes sparkled with mischief. "You mind if I join you?"
"Sure, go ahead." Isagi confirmed, making Bachira's smile widen. He made his way over to Isagi, humming a small tune to himself.
"So," He started, pointing his finger at the raven haired teen. "What do ya wanna do?"
"Well, I'd like to work on my dribbling. Right now it's too situational and too dependent on others." Isagi pointed his finger up. "I need to get better at just plain old dribbling before I can do anything else."
"Hmm, I see I see~" A cheshire grin formed on Bachira's face. He elbowed Isagi's side playfully. "Then how about we do a 1v1? There's no better teacher than experience, y'know~"
"I mean, I guess we can do that. Are we doing first to five?"
"Of course. It wouldn't make sense to go lower, after all."
"Fair enough, let's do this." Isagi and Bachira got themselves into position, facing each other with the cones behind them. "The way to score is dribble past the cones, no other way."
"Okee~, then I'll start things off then~" Bachira took control of the ball, pacing himself forward ever so slightly. Isagi kept his eyes on the ball, in his defensive stance waiting to steal the ball. 'I have no idea what Bachira's weapons are, so let's play it cautious for now.'
"Hey, do you know why I came to Blue Lock?" Bachira asked, rolling the ball beneath his feet..
Blinking, Isagi looked up at Bachira. "Isn't it to become the best striker in the world like the rest of us?"
"Kind of, but there's another reason." Bachira sprinted forward, causing Isagi to snap his attention back to the ball. His sight on the ball was obstructed by the rapid stepovers Bachira was doing, but had no trouble keeping up. With a step to the left, Bachira made a cut to the left, causing Isagi to follow. However, in an incredible display of dexterity, the ball drug back towards Bachira, just narrowly escaping Isagi's outstretched leg. In that same instant, with the ball between his legs, Bachira surged forward once again, performing a rainbow flick on Isagi as he passed by.
With no time to react, all Isagi could do was watch Bachira regain possession of the ball and score the first point.
"The reason I came to Blue Lock was because the Monster told me to." The way Bachira said it, the way his tone and demeanor shifted, chilled Isagi's bones. An underlying tone of viciousness nestled deep within his words.
"The Monster?"
"That's right~, there's a monster inside me, Isagi. It told me the person I've been looking for was here." Bachira's grin gained a lopsided twist.
Not sure what else to say, Isagi grabbed the ball and started his own run. The ball rolled on the turf as he jogged forward, analyzing Bachira calmly. The earlier display of skill gave him a hint as to what the partial blonde's playstyle was.
Suddenly, the intensity of Isagi's dribble increased, his touches becoming more precise. He dashed towards his own left side, using the inside of his foot to bring the ball with him, and watched Bachira follow him. 'Alright, he's three feet in front of me, not the most ideal distance, but it's manageable.'
Isagi's brow furrowed in thought, making sure to keep his focus on Bachira's movement while doing so. 'I thought about it last night, but how do I make this work? I need to get his focus off the ball and onto me instead, but other than shielding it with my body, I don't know any other way.'
His leg drew the ball back quickly, escaping an unexpected press by Bachira. 'Think back, how did Bachira get past me last time? All he did was kick the ball a little further, but- oooh, he baited me in with the ball.'
Isagi grinned with delight. "Allow me to return the favor, Bachira. Thanks for showing me your move."
"Wait what?" His confusion was understandable, since Bachira hadn't done anything to help at all. At least, that would be the case if it weren't Isagi he was playing. He was going to question further, but Isagi made his move.
He cut back to the right, sprinting with the ball close to him. Bachira followed, sticking close to prevent any sudden movements. Normally, such an approach would work, but he never understood what his opponent's plan was until it was too late.
Spotting the perfect opportunity, Isagi made to do another dribble, but missed the ball. His left foot slammed into the ground, right in front of the ball to get it to stop. A perfect heel trap. To Bachira, it looked like the ball disappeared from his view, catching him off guard. For a brief moment, he paused, and that was all Isagi needed to finish his move.
'Perfect. Sorry Bachira, but I'm going to pay you back for that rainbow flick you did on me.'To call his next move nice would be the understatement of the century. The ball, which was stopped on the ground, found itself rolling between Bachira's legs thanks to Isagi's right foot tapping it. Not stopping to check its course, Isagi sprinted past the obstacle, and was happy to see that the ball was behind Bachira. It was slightly further than he had anticipated, but with practice it would be perfect.
Bachira stood there, rooted to the ground like he was frozen stuck, struggling to grasp what happened. The disappearance of the ball struck a nerve in him, a nerve he didn't know existed. It was nothing like he had ever seen before.
In a separate room, Ego watched them with a massive grin on his face. Isagi's ability to evolve never ceased to put a grin on his face.
Back in the training room, Bachira finally managed to regain a hold of himself. With a swerve, his animalistic grin was prominent. "That move was awesome, Isagi! You totally beat me there."
A chuckle was his response. In his sight, Isagi's eyes were no longer their normal blue. Instead, much to his excitement, they were hurricanes, filled to the brim with egotistical pleasure. They were the eyes of someone hungry for more, hungry to devour the next challenge. "That was for the rainbow, Monster."
"Haha~, you're a total Egoist aren't ya?" Bachira questioned with excitement, but then paused. A few seconds passed, his eyes widening with each passing tick, when he laughed in delight. "I see it! You're the person I've been looking for!"
In a flash, Bachira stood directly in front of Isagi. "The Monster is telling me it's you~! You've got a monster too, don't you?!"
'What the hell are you talking about?!'Confusion filled Isagi's head. 'I don't have sort of-'
Then he remembered. His shot during the game against Kira, the voice in his head that had emerged at that moment, the instinct that took over his body. The presence that made him shoot. It hit Isagi like a train.
'Wait, is he talking about that? Was that really a monster?! What the hell?!'
"It looks like you know what I'm talking about~," Bachira stepped back with another grin, taking back the ball and juggling it. "You see, I believe that everyone has a monster in them, but only strikers can actually hear them. Maybe that's what proves you're really a striker."
With a final kick on the ball, he sent it high into the air, watching it fly. "You know, Isagi? I'm glad I came to Blue Lock. Meeting you made it worth it."
The ball bounced back onto the turf with a thud, signalling the beginning of the next round. However, right when they were going to restart, the announcements went off. This time, it was automated, and not by Ego himself.
"Good morning. The results of the fitness test have been assessed. All players, please return to your rooms to confirm your latest rankings." They paused in their tracks at the announcement.
"There were other players practicing too?" Isagi questioned, standing straight as he glanced at Bachira. "Didn't think people would be up this early."
"Well, it does make sense. Look at the time." Isagi, at Bachira's suggestion, looked at the clock on the wall. His jaw dropped. "Wait, it's seven o'clock already? But we barely even started!"
"Well, you know what they say- 'Time flies by when you're having fun'. Come on, let's go meet up with the rest of the guys. I wanna see our rankings."
The two left the training field together and quickly got back to their room. The door opened for them, revealing that all their teammates were wide awake and ready to go.
Kunigami was the first to notice them. With a grin, he greeted the two in. "Yo, Bachira. Isagi. Welcome back. I see you two went to practice, based on all the sweat on you."
"Yeah." Isagi waved back. "We were doing some one-on-one scrimmages with each other. I even learned something new thanks to Bachira."
Bachira stuck his tongue out with a smile. "I still don't know how you were able to do that, y'know~. I already knew you were misranked, but that was cool."
"Oh? What did he do?"
"Nuh-uh, not telling~. You go practice with him and find out, Mr. Orange."
"Call me Kunigami."
They were going to continue their banter, when Ego appeared on the screen. "Well hello, you lumps of talent. I hope you're enjoying your stay here at Blue Lock."
A scoff echoed in the room, the source coming from Jingo Raichi. "Ya right. How the hell do you expect us to be comfortable in this shitty environment?"
"Yeah, the ground was terrible to sleep on. Give us a bed or something, at least!" Another voice spoke out. It was Asahi Naruhaya.
Asahi Naruhaya
Speed: 73 B
Offense: 75 B
Shot: 63 C
Passing: 71 B
Defense: 54 D
Dribble: 61 C
Total: 66 C
"There's a reason why your living arrangements are shitty, Mr. Mediocre. It's because your shitty environment matches your shitty soccer skills." By God did Isagi want to sock his coach in the face at that moment. The tick mark on his face was proof of that, along with his shaking fist. "If you'd care to notice, the rankings have been updated already."
With a jolt, Isagi whipped his arm around, looking at the badge that had once displayed his 300th rank. His tick mark grew. 'Ego, why the hell am I 265th?! I should be at least in the top 10, don't you think?!'
"Allow me to explain it so your feeble minds can understand. Blue Lock is divided into different buildings, each with five teams in them. You all are team Z, the worst team out of everyone. You might be wondering why, well it's because 25 people were eliminated during the testing process yesterday. In other words, number 275 of today is considered the 300th of yesterday.
But let's not deviate too far, shall we? In another building, team A is the strongest, and they are living the life over there. Their training equipment and meals are much more extravagant than yours because they are better than you. Blue Lock is a place where the best striker gets the best experience, while the worst striker gets the worst experience. Get it?"
Silence ensued as everyone absorbed Ego's words. Isagi, however, didn't despair because of it. In fact, he grew suspicious of Ego's claim. 'If there's 264 players better than me, then that means that number 1 should at least be world class already. But if there already was a world class striker in Japan, then Blue Lock wouldn't need to be formed. Plus, no one has ever heard of a world class striker from Japan.'
Isagi's face formed a grin as something occurred to him, a thought that he knew was most certainly right. If he knew Ego the way he did, then… 'Ha! Ego you lying dog! There's no rank 1 to begin with, is there?! It's a hoax to put fear into us and get us to try beyond our best!'
Unaware of Isagi finding out his plan, Ego continued to talk. "Your building houses teams V-Z, meaning there are fifty five total players in your facility. You'll all be playing against each other in a tournament style bracket. There are five teams in total, and the top two teams to win in this tournament will move on. The rest will leave Blue Lock, and forfeit the right to ever represent Japan. This is what I call the first selection."
Sweat dropped from the brow of everyone, while the weaker willed players gulped. If they didn't win consistently, then all of them would be kicked out.
"However, there is no need to fear. The top scorers from the three losing teams will be allowed to advance to the next selection. If the top scoring players are tied, then we'll go by fair play points. The person who has the least amount of fouls on them will be selected to go. At its core, this battle forces you to create soccer from zero."
Ego sipped on his coffee- 'Is that the same one from this morning?'- and finished up his statement. "Your first match will begin in two hours. It will be team X versus team Z.'
"Good luck."
With that, the screen turned black, signalling the end of his announcement. Isagi was the first one to speak up, raising his voice to catch everyone's focus. "Alright, you heard what Ego said. We have our first game in two hours, let's discuss our plan of action until then."
"I agree with Isagi." To the right of him, a long haired teen voiced out as well. "We should talk about our positions and formations during this time."
"Thank's Kuon,"
Wataru Kuon
Speed: 69 C
Offense: 73 B
Shot: 71 B
Passing: 72 B
Defense: 65 C
Dribble: 65 C
Total: 69 C
"As I was saying, I think it'd be best to decide our positioning based on our rankings." Kuon said, earning nods of agreement from the others.
"Tch. I don't like it, but it's obvious that the best one on the team should pick first." Raichi growled, glaring hatefully at his number 270.
Kunigami nodded, lifting his arm to show his rank of 267. "Yeah, that sounds fair. It puts priority on those who are more worthy of their positions, and won't cause the team to be dragged down."
"Mm. Isagi's strong, so he should go first." The next one to speak was a silver haired one, incredibly tall too. This was Gagamaru, ranked 271.
Gin Gagamaru
Speed: 75 B
Offense: 75 B
Shot: 75 B
Passing: 75 B
Defense: 71 B
Dribbling: 70 B
Total: 74 B
With everyone in agreement, Isagi didn't hesitate in picking his position. "I'm obviously going to be center forward. There's no position better suited for me than that."
"Then I'll be center forward too~." Bachira, ranked directly behind Isagi at 266, grinned innocently.
Kunigami was next, taking a second to pick his position. "I'll play right wing then. I'm left footed, so shooting from there would be a lot easier for me."
The next one to go was a guy with long pink hair, his face looking too delicate to be a guy's. Ranked at number 268, his name was Hyoma Chigiri.
Hyoma Chigiri
Speed: 92 S
Offense: 75 B
Shot: 79 B
Passing: 76 B
Defense: 70 B
Dribbling: 77 B
Total: 78 B
"I'll be left wing."
Kira went next since he was ranked 269. "Then I'll play center attacking midfield. Since we have two center forwards, it'd be best to do a 4-4-2 formation, with one attacking midfielder and one defensive midfielder in between the two wingers."
"Yeah, I get that. Then that'll be my position." Raichi left no room for arguments. "Tch, right when all the good positions were filled up too. Oh well, I guess defensive midfielder ain't so bad…"
"I guess I'll play goal keeper." Gagamaru muttered, scratching his cheek absentmindedly. He was 271. "I have some really good reflexes, and my body is like a spring… yeah, that'd be best for now."
"Then I guess I'm center back. I have a good jump, so I can clear those high balls and corner kicks easier." Kuon, 272, was the next person to pick his position.
"Ugh, then I guess I'll go right back. No way in hell am I going to the center. Have Iemon do it or something!" At 273, Naruhaya was the next to choose positions.
The one who got called out, Okuhito Iemon, sighed in defeat, since he was ranked 274. "Please don't tell me to do that… I have a hard time saying no to people."
Okuhito Iemon
Speed: 70 C
Offense: 68 C
Shot: 66 C
Passing: 70 B
Defense: 69 C
Dribbling: 62 C
Total: 67 C
"I couldn't even pick a position! What kind of unfairness is this?!" Igarashi, the worst player of them all, cried in dismay. His arm shamefully revealed the number 275.
"Shoulda trained harder to hang with the rest of us~"
"Honestly, it is fair that you don't get to pick a position."
"I'm with them on this one."
"Mhm."
"Same."
"I'm hungry…"
"WILL YOU ALL TRY TO FEEL SOME REMORSE FOR ME?"
Yeah, they couldn't wait for the next match.
---
There we go, the third chapter is done! For the stat evaluations, this is not the same one as the Neo Egoist League's stat evaluations that Noel Noa had Bastard Munchen go through. This is Blue Lock standard.Anyways, if you want to get ahead by 4 chapters, please check out my Patreon!
Chapter 4: Team X vs Team Z First Half
Chapter 5: Team X vs Team Z Final!
Chapter 6: Y isn't for preparation, but we'll prepare for Y anyways
Chapter 7: Return of the Crimson Jaguar.