Chapter 171: Effortless Victory
【BOOM!!】
With a heavy, echoing strike, the ball rocketed upward from Reo Mikage’s foot.
Under the stunned eyes of everyone on the field, the soaring ball suddenly dropped—and curved perfectly into the upper corner of Team C’s goal.
GOAL!! Team A 4 : 1 Team C
(This is my new way of fighting—Copy Change!!)
Even Reo Mikage’s expression seemed to shift like a chameleon, mirroring the evolution of his soccer.
“Reo, that was beautiful!”
“Seeing someone’s specialty and immediately copying it—that’s exactly the kind of thing a capable guy like you would do. Pretty interesting.”
Reo Mikage paused for a moment before turning to Seishiro Nagi.
“But it’s still not the kind of soccer you’re aiming for, is it?”
“Yeah.”
Nagi answered honestly. Reo lowered his head slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
“Hmph. Then don’t worry about it…”
“Just wait for me at the top!!”
“Got it.”
Nagi turned and headed back toward the center circle for the kickoff.
Watching Nagi’s back as he walked away, Reo thought:
(I’ll become the one you want to chase!)
(I swear…)
(I’ll get what I want!!)
“Copying other people’s moves, huh? Pretty fun idea, Reo!”
Ryūma walked up with a grin, though inside he was ranting nonstop:
(Can these two please just talk things out? I’m dying from secondhand embarrassment over here—the atmosphere is painfully awkward!)
(And Reo’s way too easy. Nagi says like two sentences and boom—Reo’s back at his side.)
(But the scariest part? If Reo doesn’t succeed in soccer, his fallback is inheriting a massive fortune.)
(What? How is that fair?? “Forced to inherit a massive fortune”—what does that even mean? I’m not jealous. Nope. Not jealous at all T﹏T)
Reo noticed Ryūma staring at him with an increasingly strange—possibly jealous—expression.
“Uh… Ryūma? You okay?”
“Haha, nothing, nothing.”
Ryūma laughed awkwardly, then suddenly seemed to remember something. He looked serious for a moment.
“Let me correct something. Don’t call my name anymore. Call me Ryūma! Doesn’t ‘Ryūma’ sound way more badass?”
Reo gave him a perfunctory smile before immediately turning and walking toward the center circle—like he was trying to escape this chuunibyou teen on the spot.
...
On the other side, all five members of Team C were completely at a loss.
They had already tried everything, and nothing was working.
Finally, Tabito Karasu spoke up.
“Alright, everyone. Just give it everything you’ve got. No matter what—we can’t give up!”
Team C ball. Tabito Karasu kicks off!
After kickoff, Tabito immediately passed to Hyōma Chigiri on the right side of the circle.
Their tactic was still the same: break through Seishiro Nagi’s zone.
Seeing Tabito charge toward him, Nagi instantly understood their plan.
(Hmph, so they’re targeting me.)
(But don’t think that just because you got past me once, you can do it again!)
He accelerated to cut off Tabito.
But Tabito didn’t panic. He used his arm to hold Nagi off while constantly disrupting his balance.
Seizing the instant Nagi slipped, Tabito pushed off his shoulder for leverage, twisted, and sent the ball toward Team A’s right midfield.
Up ahead, Hyōma Chigiri and Zantetsu Tsurugi were locked shoulder-to-shoulder, sprinting for position.
At that moment, Ryūma burst past both of them, reaching the ball first.
At the same time, Aoshi Tokimitsu sprinted up to mark his opposite side.
And with Kenyu Yukimiya’s eyes and positioning glued to him as well, it was obvious—Ryūma was facing another two-on-one.
(This is annoying. Getting past them would waste too much time.)
(And after that I’ll just keep running into more defenders. Should I brute-force it…?)
He glanced at the two closing in before continuing his thoughts.
(Probably not. Judging by their eyes, if I charge in, they’ll either foul me or force me into fouling them.)
(Wait… why am I in another two-on-one to begin with?)
(Where the heck are my teammates?! T﹏T)
Then, in the corner of his vision, he spotted Rin Itoshi.
(Oh great—you’re pulling that trick again?!)
(Fine, fine. Running to a spot practically begging me to pass…)
Decision made, Ryūma fired off several feints, finally forcing Aoshi to bite.
The very next moment, Ryūma adjusted and sent a pass straight toward the center of Team C’s half.
(Huh? A pass? To who—?)
Tabito turned sharply, and the moment he saw that silhouette, his worst suspicion was confirmed.
(Damn—too late!)
(I was so focused on dodging Ryūma, getting past Ryūma, not getting the ball stolen by Ryūma… I forgot there’s someone just as dangerous!)
(Rin Itoshi! I actually overlooked him!)
But regret couldn’t change anything now.
Rin had already received Ryūma’s pass and was tearing through Team C’s half at full speed.
Unimpeded, he made it straight into their backfield. Without hesitation, he pulled his right leg back to shoot.
Just then, Chigiri came sprinting back with everything he had. Knowing he didn’t have time to think, he launched into a fierce slide tackle.
“Too obvious, Redhead!”
Rin hopped forward with the ball, dodging Chigiri’s tackle, and fired a volley straight at Team C’s goal.
【BOOM!!!】
And with that, Team Blue Lock’s defenders—frozen in their standard stance—gave up another crucial goal.
GOAL!! Team A 5 : 1 Team C
A mechanical voice echoed across the field.
Beep~ Beep————!
Blue Lock Third-Round Selection: “Adaptive Training.”
Second match complete!
Team A wins, five to one!!
“Ugh, boring boring~ C’mon, Rin, let’s go flex our lunch!”
Ryūma said as he lazily headed for the exit.
Rin didn’t reply, but followed after him shortly.
Sensing Rin behind him, Ryūma turned.
“Hey, when the fourth match rolls around, we’ll be facing Tōya again. Feeling confident?”
“After all, we almost lost to him last time~”
Author's Note
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