"Still ended up... losing, huh..."
Staring at the ball crashing into the back of the net and Barou ripping his shirt in a victorious roar, Nagi's expression turned a little complicated.
Shinichi, standing nearby, followed Nagi's gaze before turning to him.
"Not bad at all. I thought you'd already given up, but your final attack had real imagination. Honestly, it caught me off guard. If you'd managed to pull the keeper out of position earlier, that might've actually been dangerous."
Shinichi praised his opponent without reservation.
"So, are you still feeling lost?"
"Lost… I guess I do have some thoughts. I'm definitely not planning on giving up anymore, but… I still can't really put it into words."
Nagi nodded, then frowned slightly.
It wasn't like before—he wasn't aimless about football anymore—but that vague feeling he couldn't pin down still made him uneasy. If he couldn't sort it out, he knew he might eventually lose his motivation again.
"In that case, how about I give you a goal to aim for?"
Shinichi offered casually. "Let your truest desires be something you discover on your own throughout your life. Until then, why not make it your mission to beat me? That should be a goal big enough to spend your whole life chasing."
"…That actually sounds pretty good."
Nagi's eyes lit up at that. At the very least, it was a goal he found appealing. "But don't think I'll take that long. You better not go down before I figure out my real goal, you smug monster."
"You should worry more about dying of old age before ever beating me," Shinichi smirked.
…
"Nagi, your performance today…"
As Shinichi casually waved goodbye and walked off, Agi stepped forward and held up nine fingers. "You get a nine, at best."
Even Nagi couldn't hide his surprise. He pointed at himself, stunned. "Huh? Seriously? I didn't score, but I thought I did pretty well…"
"Because you still haven't forced Shinichi to show his full power."
Agi's tone remained calm. "All we saw was his reaction speed, his hang time, and double-jump capability. None of his other attributes were really tested."
"Sure, I updated some of the data in his profile from this match, but if a player isn't pushed to their limit, the information is meaningless. We have no clue how much that guy is still hiding."
Agi then held up three fingers.
"And even without considering my personal data-gathering goals, your performance was only worth a 30. You realized, didn't you? That even if you'd gone for a follow-up shot, Shinichi could've jumped again. And in that position, your power would've been cut significantly. With your shooting angle limited too, it wouldn't have been a threat."
"That's why you passed instead, right? But before that, you never properly used the threat of your teammates. You didn't even realize Aryu was there the first time you lost the ball—Shinichi did before you. That's a major red flag for a striker. Someone who can't read and utilize the threat of their team can never be the world's best."
"Same for your second pass. You only saw Reo, but you missed Chigiri, who was farther out but already in his golden shooting zone."
Agi frowned.
"Reo's pass did help awaken you and gave you the space to unleash your creativity, sure. You both hit a high-level resonance that pushed your potential, and I won't fault that. You two might make an amazing duo, and that helps my research too. But… you need to be careful not to become overly dependent on each other."
"Eh? But isn't that kind of 'chemistry' with a teammate a good thing? That moment, I felt like I hit the absolute peak of my ability—something even beyond FLOW."
Reo walked over, having heard Agi's words. He chimed in, curious.
"It is a good thing," Agi replied. "Like I said, if you develop it properly, you could become a golden duo. But overreliance dulls your perception of the rest of the team."
Then Agi's tone shifted.
"Have either of you watched Shinichi's old match footage? Back from when he first entered Blue Lock—those early first-stage matches?"
Reo and Nagi exchanged a glance—one nodded, the other shook his head.
"I haven't watched them."
"I've seen some, but only the later matches."
Their responses were perfectly in line with their personalities, just as Agi expected.
"In that case, I suggest you go back and watch them," he said. "Back then, Shinichi played in exactly the kind of state I've been talking about. He had almost zero synergy with his teammates and relied solely on himself to dominate matches. Later on, once Hiori began to catch up to him, it basically became the two of them carrying the team."
"In fact, even during your match against the Japan U-20, you probably realized it too—because of the gap in ability, none of you could actually help Shinichi. That's a kind of dependence too—just not on a team, but on individual ability. Or maybe on Hiori specifically. That's why he let his original squad all go their separate ways and join different teams. And now… he can command an entire team with ease."
"But isn't that because his teammates now are just that strong?" Reo reflexively countered.
Agi shut him down instantly.
"So you're saying there's no longer any gap between Shinichi and his current teammates? That this 700 million-rated top pick of the New Hero Battle is somehow not that far ahead of his teammates who're only worth a few tens of millions? And yet, with Nagi and you, both worth tens of millions yourselves, you could only see each other on the pitch and no one else? Doesn't that say something?"
"..."
Reo was speechless. But deep down, he felt a realization stir—was that what Shinichi had grasped during the U-20 match?
That sense of absolute control over the game and his surroundings? Had he already reached a level beyond anything they could achieve, even now after multiple battles in the New Hero Battle?
"Damn monster..." Reo muttered through gritted teeth.
And when he raised his head again, the pride that had risen from his resonance with Nagi—along with the progress they made together—was completely gone.
'As I thought... there's still a gap between me and these insane lunatics who live and breathe football. The chemistry I have with Nagi might be my greatest weapon right now. That sensation of reaching our limit together was incredible. But… maybe that's exactly why I can't let go of it. Even if it's holding me back… maybe I'm the laziest one of all, not Nagi.'
"This... this is probably my biggest flaw—my fear of change. That's why I clung to the idea of always partnering with Nagi. That's why it felt like my world collapsed when he talked about leaving me behind,"
Reo laughed bitterly, then turned to Nagi.
"In that case… if I'm going to realize my egoism, maybe I need to go a little crazy too."
"Nagi, in the second stage of the New Hero Battle… no, even when we go pro—let's choose different teams."
He looked Nagi dead in the eyes, full of conviction.
"I'm going to fulfill my selfish ambition. And then I'll crush you—and make you my sidekick again."
"You better not fall behind first," Nagi replied, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly, if something can get me fired up, I'm really good at ranking-based games like this."
Nagi was a bit caught off guard by the sudden shift. After all, they'd just pulled off an incredible combo together.
But when he saw the fierce determination burning in Reo's eyes, he pushed aside all his usual laziness and met that gaze head-on.
"But hey, if you beg me hard enough, I might just carry you again—like old times."
"Heh! Says the guy walking around all cocky just because he's rich off that transfer fee!"
"Hey, Reo! No kicking allowed!"
Their usual bickering faded into laughter.
The two teens grinned and slapped hands in sync—a promise in motion.
That promise made in a stairwell long ago, the dream of reaching the peak together—it felt like it ended here. And yet, at the same time, their high-five marked the beginning of a new contract.
A promise unspoken but clearly understood by both:
We'll keep pushing forward. We'll keep evolving.
And one day—
We'll meet again at the top.
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•Has anyone read the latest chapter? Do you think Nagi will return?
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