Blue Lock: Beyond Greatness

The ball barely rolled out of bounds after clashing with Isagi.

Taking advantage of this brief pause, the spectators in the viewing room began an intense discussion about the previous play.

"Kira's move just now… it made me feel a bit uncomfortable," Chigiri frowned. "Should I call it egoistic? But somehow, it feels a little different."

"Yeah… it's almost like the player who received Kira's pass, Akira, looked… pitiful?" Tokimitsu nodded in agreement. "Even during the previous match, when Yukimiya stole a pass from his teammate, the shock I felt wasn't as strong as what I just saw. But logically, it was just a normal one-two pass."

"Don't lump me in with a guy like that! I'm not some scheming strategist," came an irritated voice from the doorway.

Barou immediately stood up, pointing angrily at the newcomer. "You've got the nerve to show up here?!"

"That play was entirely my mistake, and I sincerely apologize," Yukimiya admitted without any sign of defensiveness, bowing his head.

Seeing this, Barou's string of curses got caught in his throat, and he ended the exchange with a cold huff, grudgingly sitting back down.

"Yukimiya, you said you're different from Kira?" Seeing the tension ease, Chigiri relaxed and shifted aside to make room for Yukimiya.

Without hesitation, Yukimiya took the seat and continued, "You've all sensed that something was off, even if you couldn't articulate it clearly. It wasn't until I got scolded by Ego-san that I figured it out."

"If you think about it carefully, Blue Lock has always emphasized egoism. But what's the ultimate purpose of it?"

"To develop the world's best striker? To win the World Cup?" Reiji tentatively offered, as if grasping something. Yukimiya nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. But at its core, it's about making the team stronger. Kira's actions, on the other hand, involved elevating himself at the expense of his teammates, which ultimately does nothing to improve the team's overall strength."

"In other words, it's the difference between self-interest and destructive self-interest," Yukimiya explained, though his words were somewhat abstract.

Yet Chigiri quickly grasped his meaning. "Kira's actions sacrificed his teammates purely for the sake of scoring goals. In essence, it didn't create any chemistry—he's isolating himself from the team entirely."

"Exactly. While Blue Lock has always preached egoism from the start, if you think about it carefully, the things Ego has told us along the way, as well as the goals he's set for us..."

"The first stage emphasized showcasing individuality and developing personal weapons, but in essence, it was about becoming the '1' that unites the team. The second stage seemed to test our individual combat abilities, but in reality, it was meant to help us cultivate chemistry," Yukimiya explained, looking up at the screen showing Isagi.

"The addition of the strongest striker should always strengthen the team—there's no concept of weakening teammates in the process. For example, if we assume each player in a team has a skill value of 1, without considering chemistry, the overall power of a five-person team would be 5."

"Even in situations where teammates seem overshadowed by someone like Shinichi, it's because their abilities contribute less to the team compared to what Shinichi can do with the ball himself."

"This may lead to their contributions being reduced to 0, but the team's overall strength rises from 5 to 10 because of Shinichi's presence."

"On the other hand, someone like Kira diminishes his teammates' value to -1 while only marginally increasing his own contribution. The result is a team strength that drops instead of rises—this fundamentally contradicts Blue Lock's philosophy."

Reiji chimed in, adding, "In other words, even if we use our teammates as decoys, we still consider their weapons and abilities, leveraging them at moments when they can contribute."

"This allows us to utilize their strengths, and while it remains egoistic, it doesn't harm others."

"Kira, on the other hand, treats his teammates purely as disposable tools to counter the opponent. This approach might work the first time, but once opponents adapt, it becomes ineffective—or even detrimental. By then, though…"

"By that time, he would've already accumulated enough scoring data and could ultimately say, 'The team lost, but I didn't.'" Barou bluntly completed Reiji's unfinished thought. "Disgusting. Even worse than those scavenging jackals. What does he even take football for? A tool to gain fame and fortune for himself?"

"Exactly," Yukimiya nodded. "Even when I took the ball from Barou earlier, it was under the premise that he had already been intercepted by Shinichi and had no opportunity to act."

"Faced with the choice between altruism and egoism, I chose egoism—but not at the expense of others. Kira's intentions, on the other hand, are plain as day: as long as he gets his scoring data and boosts his evaluation, it's fine. Sacrificing teammates for his own gain is just something he assumes is justified."

"This kind of playstyle is nothing but pure exploitation of teammates to accumulate scoring stats—a highly utilitarian approach," Yukimiya said with clear disdain.

"It's the kind of disgusting, calculated pursuit you'd expect from a capitalist exploiting others. It makes me sick." His words echoed the sentiments of the others, who frowned while watching the screen.

However, when they saw Shinichi going up against Kira, their tension eased a bit. "But perhaps the gods are merciful after all. If scheming players like that always found success, I might truly lose hope in football."

"Looks like even the most calculating players can lose their cool sometimes," Barou scoffed.

Tanaka gave a wry smile, recalling the match where their team was completely shut out during the second selection. "If someone provokes that guy, he's probably going to get taught a harsh lesson."

"Rin's state is obviously different—he's already starting to restrain Shinichi's movements to some extent. And with Shinichi now having the added goal of teaching Kira a lesson, this might actually be a good chance to observe Shinichi's full potential," Reiji added, his mind focused on collecting data.

Hearing this, everyone straightened their posture, anticipation written on their faces as they awaited the next phase of the match.

At the same time, on the field, the referee's whistle blew, signaling the game's continuation.

'Seizing such a favorable position… Right now, Rin is entirely focused on winning. As long as I can create an opening, he'll definitely pass to me.' Kira's eyes scanned over his teammates, constantly calculating the possible passing angles from Rin.

However, what he failed to notice was someone within the crowd, hidden in his blind spot, also analyzing him intently.

"While I can't agree with Kira's football philosophy, he's undeniably skilled at adapting to a playstyle where his teammates fully cater to him. His positional awareness in this kind of scenario is excellent," Isagi observed as fragments of data pieced themselves together like a puzzle in his mind.

"In this situation, as long as I can keep an eye on him, I can cut off this passing route."

"Defeat Kira, shatter his view of football, and in doing so, assert my own presence!"

...

Standing near the corner, Rin maintained his calm demeanor as his eyes scanned the crowded goal area.

Without much hesitation, he twisted his body and struck the ball.

The football traced a beautiful arc through the air, and just as it reached its peak, Kira suddenly changed direction, sprinting out from the crowd.

Despite the lack of any communication, their movements aligned perfectly, as if preordained.

"As expected, this is how you'd handle it!" But before Kira could celebrate, a familiar figure stepped into his path.

"Isagi! It's you again! You relentless shadow!" Kira snarled, frustration evident in his voice.

Unfortunately, both Kira and Isagi had guessed wrong.

The ball, which was already curving dramatically, took an even more exaggerated turn.

The sudden, sharp trajectory made it seem as though someone was secretly controlling the ball to bend midair.

"He actually shot directly from there! And he used Kira as bait to draw me out, exploiting the one and only gap!" Isagi's eyes widened in disbelief as he watched the ball soar over his head, heading straight for the top-left corner of the goal. "I can't stop this! Rin Itoshi—this guy's skill—"

"Gotcha!" Just as the ball was about to rocket into the top-left corner of the net, Isagi suddenly saw another figure appear out of nowhere.

Shinichi leapt and intercepted the perfectly disguised fake-pass-turned-shot with a precision header. "Nice try, Rin."

"But still a bit too green to get past me," Shinichi said with a confident smile, pinning the ball under his foot.

He flashed a hand gesture symbolizing a galaxy between his fingers toward Rin, his eyes igniting with a crackling, thunderous energy.

"Now, it's my turn."

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