Inside the room, shock lingered. Kunigami, standing closest to Kira, had seen it most clearly. Kira hadn't even looked toward the ball's final trajectory; he had simply spun and struck without a moment's hesitation. Without prior knowledge, such a feat was inexplicable, yet his eyes had never once veered in that direction. Kunigami couldn't comprehend how Kira knew the ball was coming from there. To him, the boy was a total monster.
Bachira was vibrating with pure excitement. He realized that the person before him was the very "monster" he had been searching for his entire life. Playing with a creature like this was his ultimate dream, and it was finally coming true.
Isagi stood panting, his mind racing. That familiar feeling of being completely seen through had returned. How had Kira detected such a hidden shot?. Moreover, it seemed as though the target had been decided from the start; the ball's arc had flown perfectly toward one specific player. Isagi wondered if Kira had decided who to eliminate the moment the game began. A chill ran down Isagi's spine, but he felt a strange sense of relief that he hadn't been the one in Kira's crosshairs.
"You've got to be kidding me!".
While the others stood in awe, Kuon Wataru's indignant roar echoed through the room. He slammed his fists against the floor in a frenzy. "What is this? You guys were the ones kicking it back and forth—why did it end up hitting me?". He screamed at Kira, unable to comprehend why he was the one being sent home.
Kira offered no response to the hysterical shouting, merely turning his head away in silence. Just as Isagi suspected, Kira had targeted Kuon from the beginning. Kuon possessed leadership qualities that could threaten Kira's position as the head of Team Z. Furthermore, Kira remembered that in the original story, Kuon had eventually betrayed the team. Though the character had later redeemed himself, Kira wasn't willing to risk the team's points on Kuon's future behavior.
Watching the boy's dreams crumble, Kira felt a pang of guilt. They were all just teenagers chasing a dream, but the reality of this place was cruel—someone had to be sacrificed.
"You lost, Kuon Wataru. Get out," Ego Jinpachi's voice cut through the air as his image reappeared on the screen.
"Based on what? The ball just flew at me!" Kuon argued, his face flushed with defiance. "This is a joke! You think you can win a World Cup with a childish game like this? Is that 'Chestnut Head' really more talented than me? There are players in this room with lower ranks than mine!". He screamed about his destroyed future, claiming the game had nothing to do with actual soccer.
Ego pointed to his own head. "Everything here is about soccer. Look around you". He explained that the room was exactly 40.32 meters long and 16.5 meters wide—the exact dimensions of a penalty area. "75% of goals are scored here. This is a striker's stage, and your movement inside this box determines your value".
Kuon was stunned but continued to argue that two minutes weren't enough to judge his talent.
"In a match, the average time a single player spends on the ball is 136 seconds," Ego countered. He dismantled Kuon's excuses, pointing out that while the timer ran down, Kuon had been celebrating his survival instead of watching the ball. "If this were the final attack of a World Cup and a teammate's missed shot hit your body, would you give up then? A striker is someone who carries all the responsibility and fights until the final second".
Ego then praised the others: Kira Ryosuke for seizing his fate by choosing to be the 'Tag'; Bachira Meguru for challenging the strongest; Isagi Yoichi for searching for a way to win; Kunigami Rensuke for contributing to the battle; and even Igarashi Gurimu for his immediate survival instinct. "They have the egoism to win for themselves. You, however, are disqualified. Get out!".
Kuon stood up, his face pale. He had always been the "kind" player, the one trusted by his teammates in his past life. But here, surrounded by beasts, his hesitation had cost him everything. He realized that by trying to stay safe on the sidelines, he had handed the power over his life to someone else.
"I see... a player without a competitive spirit can't survive here," Kuon said with a sad smile. He walked to the door, looked back one last time, and vowed, "Next time, I won't lose!". With that, he vanished from the room.
"Congratulations to the rest of you for surviving the first game," Ego announced. He began a lecture on the "common sense" of Blue Lock, mocking their past "easy and poor" lives and asking if they were truly relieved to have stayed.
Kira let out a sigh of relief. The first hurdle was cleared. He hoped his dominant performance would establish him as the core of Team Z, making the upcoming matches easier to manage.
"Congratulations on passing the Blue Lock entrance exam!" Ego declared. "The eleven of you left in this room are now a community of fate. Sometimes you will cooperate, and sometimes you will betray, all while competing for your dreams".
With those words, Blue Lock Team Z was officially formed. Kira knew the real challenge was only just beginning.