At the top of the warehouse's roof, a hole opened. From it, a regular soccer ball dropped slowly to the ground, stopping in front of the boy standing in the center.
At that moment, he was the worst striker among the 11 in the warehouse. His name: Igarashi Gurimu, a boy who, despite his young age, was completely bald.
But that was due to his family's traditions — a family mostly made up of monks who managed several temples across Japan. If he didn't become the soccer player he so desperately wanted to be, that would be his fate.
135 seconds.
"Ahh! I can't lose here... My parents will make me become a monk!" the boy shouted in desperation as he started dribbling the ball toward the cluster of players who had previously been grouped together.
When the others saw Igarashi heading their way, they scattered in all directions, spreading out across the hall.
Seeing that, Igarashi panicked even more. The situation was already difficult — and now it had gotten worse.
His only hope at that moment was a boy with black hair and blond streaks, lying on the floor, fast asleep.
In Igarashi's mind, he was the perfect target. After all, the guy didn't even seem interested in participating in the game.
Igarashi began to sneak toward him, dribbling the ball as quietly as possible. He didn't want to wake the boy up — that would make things harder than they already were.
He got close enough and prepared to kick the ball at the sleeping boy. However, at the exact moment his foot was about to strike the ball, he felt a sharp pain in his face, followed by the unmistakable smell of foot odor.
The source of the pain came from below — the boy who had been sleeping was now in front of him, looking him in the eye with an amused expression. He seemed to enjoy kicking someone in the face.
"Are you crazy?! Hey, ref! That was clearly a foul!" Igarashi shouted indignantly, looking around, expecting Ego to appear on a giant screen and respond to his plea.
"There was nothing in the rules about not kicking someone in the face... so it wasn't a foul." said the boy who kicked him, chuckling quietly, clearly enjoying the monk's frustration.
"Ahh!... Whatever! Since I couldn't hit you, I'll try someone else!" Igarashi said, backing away.
70 seconds.
"Finally!" Igarashi shouted in relief after finally hitting someone with the ball. But he quickly regretted it, as the boy he hit was now charging toward him with a furious expression.
"You idiot! How dare you hit someone while they weren't looking?!" yelled the red-haired boy as he picked up speed.
Seeing that Igarashi was now close to another person, he thought it would be the perfect moment to shoot again — after all, two targets are easier to hit than one...
He lined up behind the ball and positioned his foot to hit it cleanly — he wanted a straight shot, one that would deal as much pain as possible to that damn monk.
Boom!
The sound of the foot hitting the ball echoed through the hall. Once again, Igarashi panicked. If that ball hit him, it would be the end.
However, he still had a trump card… or rather, a human shield. Without a second thought, he grabbed the arm of the boy next to him and hid behind him.
The boy, caught off guard by the sudden move, had barely any time to react. The next thing he saw was a ball flying at high speed directly toward him.
Pinned by Igarashi's grip, Isagi had little room to move… but with a big effort, he threw his body forward, grabbing Igarashi's legs and flipping their positions.
---
[Reversal!]
[Surprise your opponent by surpassing them in a specific attribute.]
[Reward: +2 Strength Points]
---
Igarashi now found himself in a completely vulnerable position, with no time to react. In that moment, he simply accepted his fate: the ball would hit him.
Crack!
Igarashi lay on the ground, a look of fear on his face. He had just learned not to mess with people stronger than him. Both Isagi and the red-haired boy were satisfied with what had just happened.
All they had to do now was wait for time to run out. Victory was already guaranteed for them. Or at least… that's what most people thought.
---
[Better Than You!]
[Eliminate Ryusuke Kira.]
[Reward: ???]
---
30 seconds.
Isagi: "Is this for real?!"
Isagi watched from afar as Igaguri writhed in pain on the ground. He didn't feel the slightest bit sorry — after all, that guy had tried to use him as a shield.
Even if he hadn't wanted to do it, there was a mission at stake, and those question marks on the screen made him even more anxious.
What's the reward going to be?
All the players around him were calm at this point. For them, the game was over — they were just waiting for Ego's words to leave the place.
However, at a surprisingly high speed (well, not that fast), Isagi approached Igaguri's crumpled body. Lying beside him was the soccer ball, now stained with a bit of blood from his nose.
Isagi pulled the ball closer with the tip of his foot, turned toward the group of players chatting with each other, and started walking toward them, keeping the ball at his feet.
A few quickly noticed what he was doing and moved away, each going to a different corner of the hall to avoid him as much as possible.
But they weren't his target.
The one Isagi truly had in mind stood in the farthest corner of the hall.
Standing still, Kira watched everything cautiously, always keeping an eye on his surroundings. He didn't want to lose this game — he didn't want to go home this early.
His eyes met Isagi's, and a chill ran down his spine. Those were the same eyes he'd seen at the end of the championship match. Eyes full of ego.
Someone in the Blue Lock control room enjoyed watching this unfold.
7 seconds.
Kira tried giving Isagi a pleading look, hoping to shake his resolve — but it didn't work. Isagi was completely focused on the mission screen.
Only one thing echoed in his mind: Eliminate Ryusuke Kira.
5 seconds.
Isagi looked into Kira's eyes again. Tiny tears were forming in their corners — the fear of being eliminated was real.
How could someone as skilled as him be eliminated by the same person twice? Kira felt like Isagi had it out for him — like he was trying to destroy his dreams.
3 seconds.
Isagi adjusted the ball at his feet, lining it up toward Kira, who tried to run in the opposite direction. But it was too late — there was no way he'd dodge the shot.
2 seconds.
Isagi's foot connected with the ball like they were one. A satisfying sound echoed through the hall as the ball shot forward with incredible speed.
1 second.
Kira had already accepted his fate — he just didn't want to feel the same pain Igaguri did. But judging by the strength of that shot... it was going to be exactly the same.
0 seconds.
The loud crack blended with the sharp sound of the whistle. When the 1 turned into 0, the ball struck its target — smashing into Kira's face (not literally smashing it), with a few drops of blood and saliva flying from his nose and open mouth.
It was a pretty funny scene — as long as you weren't the one living it.
---
[Mission Completed: Better Than You!]
[Eliminate Ryusuke Kira]
[Reward: (Skill) Lv. 1 – Instinctive Aim]
---
Once again, a blue aura surged through Isagi's body without anyone noticing, and a brighter glow fixed itself in his eyes.
It made sense — after all, it was a skill related to accuracy, and vision was a key factor.
"System, what is this new skill and how do I activate it?"
"This is a passive skill, so it doesn't need activation... It works like this: your accuracy increases the more focused you are. Over time, it will evolve to the point where you won't even need to concentrate much — it'll become instinctual."
"Got it... This is going to be pretty useful... I think." Isagi muttered as he walked back to the center of the hall, feeling the surprised stares of the other players who had witnessed everything he'd just done.
"Elimination confirmed. Ryusuke Kira... you were the last one hit by the ball. You are out of Blue Lock." said Ego, with his usual cruel smile, stepping forward.
Kira, who had just recovered from the daze, staggered back slightly, his eyes starting to water again.
"W-what? But this is just a stupid game... I'm the number 10 of the U-18 national team! You can't be serious!"
He waited for someone to respond, but the only answer was the silence that echoed throughout the hall.
Isagi was in a state of euphoria. That feeling filled his chest again — a completely refreshing sensation.
Eliminating someone should have made him feel like a terrible person... but it didn't. Not at all. He felt normal. No regret whatsoever.
He turned to look at Kira, now being escorted out by staff. The gate behind him slowly closed, and the last thing Isagi heard from him were a few muttered complaints.
"I did it..."
Excitement surged through him — a warm heat spread through his chest.
He was sure of one thing:
"That shot was my choice. I chose to be selfish."
In that moment... Isagi Yoichi embraced his transformation.