I might change some characters personalities to my liking. Just letting you guys know
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The adrenaline of the 8-0 victory had faded, replaced by the cold, analytical reality of the morning after. The sun hadn't risen in the windowless bunker of Blue Lock. Still, the internal clocks of the players were adjusting to the harsh rhythm of the facility.
Team V Meeting Room.
The room was dimly lit, the only light coming from the large monitor on the wall. Reo Mikage sat in the front row, legs crossed, a tablet in his hand. Nagi Seishiro was sprawled across three chairs in the back, dozing off.
And in the far corner, almost hidden in the shadows, was Renzo.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
He was juggling a ball. He wasn't looking at the screen, but his ears heard every detail.
Standing by the monitor, adjusting his glasses was Zantetsu. He held a laser pointer, though he was using it to circle random things on the screen rather than specific data points.
"Listen up," Zantetsu announced, his voice serious. "I have analyzed the data of the other teams in our stratum. To secure our supremacy, we must understand the obstacles in our path. It is simple math. Or perhaps geography."
"Just get to the point, four-eyes," Reo sighed, though he didn't look up from his tablet.
Zantetsu cleared his throat. "First, Team W. We face them next."
The screen displayed an image of two players with identical, crocodile-like grins. The Wanima Twins.
"These two are the core," Zantetsu explained. "According to the data, they communicate using a high-frequency wavelength that only siblings can hear. It is telepathy."
"The fuck are you talking about? It's just eye contact and grunts, Zantetsu," Reo corrected. "But their combination play is dangerous. They use the other nine players as walls to bounce passes off of. If we cut the connection between them, the team collapses."
"Precisely," Zantetsu nodded. "I will use my speed to intercept them."
The laser pointer moved to the next team. Team X.
A picture of a hulking figure with jagged teeth and a defiant glare filled the screen. Barou Shouei.
"The self-proclaimed King," Zantetsu said. "His physical specs are off the charts. His playstyle is… tyrannical. He does not pass and plays selfishly."
"He's good," Reo admitted, looking up. "Highest individual scorer in the stratum besides Renzo. But a king without subjects is just a tyrant. If we isolate him, he falls."
"And finally," Zantetsu said, clicking the remote. "Team Z."
The screen changed. It showed the results of the first round of matches.
Match 2 Results: Team X vs. Team ZScore: 3 - 3 (Draw)
Renzo's ball stopped in mid-air. He caught it on his instep, freezing the motion instantly.
"A draw?" Reo raised an eyebrow. "I thought Team X would crush them. Barou usually destroys unorganized teams."
"It was an anomaly," Zantetsu said, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"According to the match report, Team Z managed to hold on thanks to two factors. First, a muscular lefty named Kunigami Rensuke scored a long-range drive."
The screen showed a replay of a chaotic match. Barou was rampaging, scoring goal after goal through sheer brute force. He had a hat-trick.
"But," Zantetsu continued, "the primary reason for the draw was him."
The screen zoomed in on a player with long, flowing red hair. He was moving across the pitch like a red streak of lightning.
Hyoma Chigiri.
"This speedster," Zantetsu analyzed. "He organized the defense and led the counterattacks. He scored two goals, matching Barou's intensity. He didn't show any fear. He played like he was trying to break his own legs."
In the back of the room, Renzo smiled. It was a proud smirk.
So, you're running already, Princess, Renzo thought. You didn't wait for a hero to save you. Good.
"Speed..." Zantetsu muttered, looking at Chigiri's stats. "He might be faster than me. That is scientifically annoying."
"He's fast," Reo agreed. "But a draw is still just one point. We have three. We're at the top."
Reo stood up, turning to face the team. The other members — Nemoto, Ebina, all of them — looked confident. They had won 8-0. They felt invincible.
"Listen," Reo said, his charisma filling the room. "We are the strongest. Team W, X, Z... none of them have what we have. We have Nagi. We have Zantetsu. We have me. And we have Renzo. We can cruise through this Selection. A safe 3-0 win against Team W is all we need to secure our lead."
The team nodded.
"Yeah!"
"Let's do it!"
"Boring."
The single word cut through the optimism like a blade.
All heads turned to the back corner.
Renzo walked forward, spinning the ball on his finger.
"3-0?" Renzo repeated, looking at Reo with a mocking glint in his eyes. "You want to play it safe again, Reo? After everything I showed you yesterday?"
Reo frowned. "It's not about playing safe. It's about energy conservation. We have a long tournament."
"Energy conservation is for batteries," Renzo scoffed. "We aren't batteries. We're strikers."
He stopped in front of the screen, looking at the images of Barou and the Wanima twins.
"Winning 3-0 is fine," Renzo said softly, his voice dropping to that dangerous register that made the hair on the back of their necks stand up. "But you know what feels better?"
The room was silent. Nagi opened one eye.
Renzo turned to them, his teal eyes burning.
"Winning 10-0."
A collective shiver went through Team V. 10-0? It was absurd. It was disrespectful. It was impossible.
But then, they looked at Renzo. They remembered the five goals in one half. They remembered the dominance.
"Ten goals," Renzo whispered, his mind fixed on the ten points he needed for the day out. "We crush them until they forget how to play football. We break them so badly they quit. That's how we win."
Reo stared at him. He wanted to argue. He wanted to say it was unnecessary. But looking at Renzo's face, he felt a pull. A desire to see just how far they could go.
"Ten-zero, huh?" Nagi murmured, sitting up fully. "That sounds... kind of fun."
"It is logically the most dominant outcome," Zantetsu nodded.
Slowly, grins began to spread across the faces of Team V. It was a wicked, infectious confidence.
"He's a crazy bastard," Retsu Nerima laughed nervously. "But... HELL YEAH!"
"Let's crush them!"
"10-0!"
Renzo watched the fire spread. Good. Feed the ego. Get me my goals.
Building 5. Team Z Monitor Room.
The atmosphere in Team Z was… complicated.
They were tired. Their bodies ached from the brutal 3-3 draw against Team X the previous day. They were sitting on the floor, eating their meager rations of rice and miso soup.
But there was an underlying buzz of optimism.
"We survived," Igarashi said, collapsing onto his back. "I thought we were dead when that Barou guy scored the third one. He's a monster."
"We didn't just survive," Kunigami said, looking at his left leg. "We fought back. We got a point. That's huge."
Isagi Yoichi sat with his knees pulled to his chest, his eyes bright. He was replaying the match in his head. The way the game had flowed, the smell of the goal... and the way Chigiri had exploded.
"Chigiri," Isagi said, looking at the redhead sitting quietly by the wall. "You were incredible. I didn't know you could run like that. Your leg... is it okay?"
Hyoma Chigiri was braiding a strand of his hair, looking relaxed. His aura was different from the first day. The shackles of fear were gone.
"Yeah," Chigiri said, a small, confident smile on his lips. "It held up. I decided I was done being scared. If it breaks, it breaks. But until then... I'm going to run."
"That's the spirit!" Raichi Jingo barked, chewing aggressively. "With your speed and my sexy football, we can actually win this thing!"
"Let's check the other results," Kuon Wataru suggested, acting the role of the strategist. "We need to know who the real threats are."
Kuon picked up the remote and played the highlights from the other match in the stratum.
Team V vs. Team Y.
"Team V is supposed to be the strongest," Isagi muttered, leaning forward. "Let's see what they've got."
The video started.
For the next ten minutes, nobody in Team Z spoke.
They watched Renzo Takamine receive the ball. They watched him drift past three defenders like a ghost. They watched the chip shot.
They watched him walk through the defense.
They watched the long-range curl.
And finally, they saw the score: 8-0. And the note: Renzo Takamine left at halftime.
The recording ended. The screen went black.
The silence in the room was heavy, suffocating the optimism that had been there just moments before.
Isagi was the first to speak, his voice trembling slightly.
"What... what kind of player is that?" Isagi whispered, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and analytical confusion. "He wasn't even running half the time. He just... existed, and the other team fell apart. How can he be so damn good?"
"He's a cheat code," Igarashi whimpered. "Did you see that spin? He made them look like toddlers!"
Even Bachira Meguru, who usually vibrated with excitement at strong opponents, was completely quiet. He was staring at the blank screen, his golden eyes wide.
"The monster..." Bachira whispered to himself. "My monster is telling me... that guy is dangerous. He's not just playing. He's hunting."
"Team Y isn't weak, either," Niko Ikki's face flashed in Isagi's mind. "They had a structure. And he destroyed it alone."
"Man," a voice sighed from the corner.
They all turned. Chigiri was shaking his head, a wry smile on his face.
"He really took my sister's words to heart," Chigiri chuckled. "Well, whatever. Good for him."
The room froze.
"Huh?" Isagi blinked.
"Wait," Kunigami asked, frowning. "Chigiri... do you know him?"
Chigiri sighed, leaning back against the wall. "Yeah. We went to the same middle school. We're good friends." He paused, then added casually, "And he's my elder sister's boyfriend."
Complete silence.
Every boy in the room processed the information.
Chigiri Hyoma. The boy with the face of a model, the hair of a princess, and the speed of a panther. He was objectively the prettiest person in Blue Lock.
His sister.
The collective imagination of Team Z went into overdrive.
"Wait a minute," Igarashi yelled, sitting bolt upright. "If Chigiri looks like this... then his sister must be..."
"A GODDESS!" Raichi screamed, clutching his head. "THAT BLUE-HAIRED BASTARD HAS A GODDESS GIRLFRIEND?!"
"Is she hot?" Imamura Yudai asked shamelessly. "Does she have red hair too?"
"Shut up!" Chigiri snapped, throwing a water bottle at Igarashi. "Don't think weird stuff about my sister! And yes, she's beautiful, but she'll also break your fingers if you look at her wrong. She's crazy."
"Crazy hot?" Imamura whispered before getting hit by a pillow.
"Focus!" Chigiri yelled, his face slightly red. "The point isn't his girlfriend. The point is him."
The room quieted down, the mood shifting back from comedy to nervousness.
"You guys need to pray we don't face that dude in a 'must-win' match," Chigiri said, his expression darkening.
"Why?" Isagi asked. "Is he that aggressive?"
"Renzo..." Chigiri paused, looking for the right words. "As much as all of you want to beat him, and trust me, I do too... you have to understand something. When he plays like he did in that video... he doesn't play to win."
Chigiri looked Isagi in the eye.
"He plays to crush the opponent. He plays to validate his own existence. And he's not alone. Team V has Nagi Seishiro — a genius I've seen play once, and Reo Mikage — the all-rounder. Plus Zantetsu's speed."
Chigiri stood up.
"Team V is the final boss of this building. If we want to survive, we have to secure our points against Team W and Team Y. Because if we go into the final match against Team V needing a win..."
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to.
The image of Renzo Takamine standing over the broken bodies of Team Y was burned into their minds.
"We have to get stronger," Isagi said, clenching his fist. The smell of the goal... he needed to smell it again. "We have to be ready to devour him."
"Yeah!" Bachira jumped up, his fear turning into excitement. "Let's eat the monster!"
Team Z roared, their fear transforming into determination. But beneath the noise, the shadow of the Number 10 loomed large.