Blue Lock. Building 5. Match 3.
Team Z vs. Team W.
Score: 3 - 3
Time Remaining: 1 Minute (Stoppage Time).
The whistle for the final minute blew, slicing through the tension like a knife. The stadium was electric, vibrating with the aftershock of Chigiri Hyoma's awakening.
Team W was in total disarray. The Wanima brothers, once synchronized predators, were now panicked prey. They kept glancing over their shoulders, terrified of the red blur that had humiliated them.
"Drop back!" Junichi screamed, his voice cracking. "Don't let the redhead get behind us!"
"Mark the wings!" Keisuke yelled, retreating deep into his own penalty box.
Isagi Yoichi stood in the center circle, watching the enemy formation collapse.
Grid Analysis Update, Isagi thought, his eyes scanning the field with robotic precision.
The enemy defensive line has dropped back 15 meters to counter Chigiri's speed.
Result: The midfield is a vacuum.
Probability of success for a central breakthrough: 88%.
"Bachira," Isagi said calmly. "Give me the ball."
Bachira grinned, his eyes wide with excitement. "Aye-aye, Captain!"
Bachira tapped the ball to Isagi.
Isagi began to move. He didn't sprint. He glided.
With the Wanima brothers terrified of the long pass to Chigiri, no one pressed Isagi. He carried the ball straight up the middle, unchallenged.
"Stop him!" The Team W goalkeeper screamed. "Someone stop Number 11!"
Keisuke Wanima gritted his teeth. "Dammit! If we press him, he passes to Chigiri! If we stay back, he shoots!"
Indecision is fatal in football. Isagi exploited that fatality.
As Isagi crossed into the attacking third, he saw him.
Kuon Wataru.
The traitor was standing awkwardly near the edge of the box. He looked like a ghost—ignored by Team W (who now saw him as useless) and hated by Team Z.
He was just... existing.
Variable A: The Traitor, Isagi calculated.
Current status: Neutral object. Obstacle.
Usage: Screen.
Isagi dribbled straight toward Kuon.
"Move, Kuon!" Raichi yelled from behind. "Get out of the way!"
But Isagi didn't want him to move.
"Stay right there, Kuon," Isagi whispered as he approached.
Kuon looked up, startled. "Isagi?"
Isagi used Kuon's tall frame to hide the ball from the approaching defender, Junichi Wanima.
Junichi charged. "I'll kill you, Isagi!"
But Isagi kept the ball on the far side of Kuon.
To get to Isagi, Junichi had to run around Kuon.
"You're in the way, traitor!" Junichi shoved Kuon aside.
That shove took 0.5 seconds.
That was all Isagi needed.
While Junichi was busy physically engaging Kuon, Isagi shifted gears.
He pushed the ball into the space Junichi had just vacated.
Thanks for the pick, Kuon.
Isagi was now at the top of the penalty arc. 20 meters out.
The path to the goal was open, but the goalkeeper was positioned well, and Keisuke Wanima was sliding in from the right to block the shot.
Calculation:
If I shoot now, Keisuke blocks it.
If I pass to Chigiri, the angle is too tight.
If I pass to Kunigami, the defense resets.
I need a 1-2 pass to bypass the slide tackle.
But there was no one close enough. Bachira was too far back.
Isagi looked down.
Kuon had stumbled after being shoved by Junichi. He was right next to Isagi.
Isagi didn't ask. He didn't negotiate.
He smashed a hard pass straight at Kuon's shins.
"Gah!" Kuon gasped as the ball hit his legs.
He didn't trap it. He just flinched.
The ball bounced off Kuon's shins and popped up into the air.
A perfect wall pass.
"W-What?" Kuon stammered.
Isagi ran past him.
"Good dog," Isagi muttered.
The ball hung in the air, perfectly set up for a volley.
Keisuke Wanima's slide tackle swept through empty air—he had aimed for the ground ball, not the aerial one.
Isagi jumped.
He was alone in the air. The world seemed to pause.
He saw the grid. He saw the trajectory.
He saw the fear in the goalkeeper's eyes.
Golden Formula: Direct Shot.
Correction: Aerial Volley.
Isagi swung his right leg. He connected with the ball at the apex of its bounce.
BOOM.
The impact echoed through the silent stadium.
The ball didn't spin. It was a knuckleball, erratic and violent.
It flew past the keeper's outstretched hand and smashed into the roof of the net.
GOAL.
Team Z: 4 - Team W: 3
The whistle blew long and hard.
GAME OVER.
Isagi landed on his feet. He didn't scream. He didn't run.
He simply stood there, staring at the net, his chest rising and falling.
The blue aura around him slowly faded, leaving only the cold reality of his victory.
"WE WON!" Igarashi screamed, tackling Isagi from behind.
"Holy crap, Isagi!" Raichi joined the pile. "You used Kuon as a wall?! That was sick!"
"Isagi!" Bachira jumped on top. "That was the best finish ever!"
Team Z celebrated wildly. They had survived the betrayal. They had survived the despair.
They were 3-0. Undefeated.
Isagi pushed his teammates off gently.
"It's not over," Isagi said.
He walked over to the Wanima brothers.
They were sitting on the turf, looking devastated. Their synchronized minds were broken. They couldn't even look at each other.
"Your connection was fragile," Isagi looked down on them. "You relied on telepathy instead of logic. Once the signal was jammed, you panicked."
Then, Isagi turned to the real target.
Kuon Wataru.
The traitor was standing alone, away from the celebration. He looked terrified. He knew what was coming. Team Z gathered around, their faces shifting from joy to anger.
"You bastard," Raichi growled, cracking his knuckles. "Now that the game is over... we have some business to settle."
Kuon backed away. "Wait... I... I just wanted to survive..."
"By selling us out?" Kunigami stepped forward, his face dark. "That's not survival. That's cowardice."
"You're trash, Kuon," Chigiri said, walking up with his towel. "You tried to destroy us."
They cornered him. Raichi looked ready to throw a punch.
"Stop," Isagi's voice cut through the aggression.
Everyone turned to Isagi.
"Isagi?" Raichi frowned. "You defending him?"
Isagi walked through the circle of players until he was face-to-face with Kuon.
Isagi's expression was unreadable. It wasn't angry. It wasn't forgiving.
It was indifferent.
"Don't waste your energy hitting him," Isagi said. "He's already dead."
Kuon flinched. "Isagi..."
"You betrayed us," Isagi stated calmly. "You tried to fix the match. And you failed. You have zero goals. Your ranking is garbage. And now, you have no team."
Isagi pointed at the scoreboard.
"We have one match left. Team V. They are the strongest. If we lose, there's a chance we drop to 3rd place depending on goal difference. We need 11 players to train."
Isagi grabbed Kuon's jersey and pulled him close.
"You are going to be our equipment manager. You will fetch water. You will carry the balls. You will be a training cone. And in the match against Team V, you will do exactly what I tell you to do."
Isagi released him.
"If you do that, maybe... just maybe... we'll let you survive to the next stage. But as a striker? You're finished."
Kuon fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I... I understand. Thank you... Isagi."
Isagi turned his back on the pathetic sight.
"Let's go," Isagi commanded Team Z. "We have to prepare. The real monsters are waiting."
As they walked off the field, Isagi glanced at the monitor.
Next Match: Team Z vs. Team V.
The final battle of Building 5.
Isagi clenched his fist.
Nagi Seishiro.
I've adjusted the variables for the small fry. Now, it's time to solve the equation for a Genius.