Chapter 64: But, I refuse!

The large screen immediately went dark, and the crowd began to discuss among themselves. But at that moment, one person took the lead and made a move.

He had a stern face and a tall, slender figure, but his muscle definition was very prominent.

He placed the football that had been set aside at his feet and then kicked it, sending a perfectly high-arcing shot across the sky of the hall.

And at that moment, the same person kicked the ball again, this time with a low-arcing shot.

The two shots sent the balls soaring through the air and met each other with incredible precision.

"What?!"

This action left almost everyone present dumbfounded, but Kira calmly shifted his gaze onto that person. He was well aware of that person's identity.

Itoshi Rin, the younger brother of midfield prodigy Itoshi Sae, was known as the most outstanding player in terms of overall ability within the Blue lock in the original story.

However, in Kira's eyes, he was also a deranged individual.

In the original story, he came to the Blue lock with the goal of surpassing his older brother, Itoshi Sae. He possessed an unreasonable arrogance that ordinary people couldn't comprehend and looked down upon the existence of others.

Of course, he had the ability to back up his pride.

"Open the door, the warm-up is over," Itoshi Rin said coldly, and then he walked into the door with an indifferent expression on his face.

....

"Interesting."

At the same time, Itoshi Sae was at home, repeatedly watching several footage.

They were the match footage of Kira in the Blue lock.

Earlier, he had accidentally come across the match recording between Kira and Team X, which piqued his interest. He then asked his agent to obtain all the match footage of Kira from the first round of selection through the Football Association President.

Itoshi Sae had been watching them for a long time, something he had never done before.

"Forwards, defenders, midfielders... This guy is practically an all-rounder on the field. He completely dominates the game. It's fascinating. I've never seen a player with this kind of ability."

Itoshi Sae muttered to himself, his gaze unwavering from the screen.

"If I could play a game with this person, it might be very interesting. Perhaps only he would be able to perfectly receive my passes."

.....

Back at the Blue lock, after bidding farewell to his teammates, Kira also stepped into the gate.

Following the instructions, he quickly arrived at an open square field.

Suddenly, a humanoid holographic projection appeared in front of Kira, and the image of a goal was projected onto the wall.

This was the latest technology used in the Blue lock BLUELOCK MAN.

It was an artificial intelligence holographic system that recorded data from world-class goalkeepers. It could replicate their saving movements, and it was more than just a holographic projection. Microchips were installed inside the Blue lock's footballs, allowing for realistic physical collisions when they came into contact with the projection.

This was the first stage of the second round of selection a one-on-one battle. The objective was to score 100 goals within 90 minutes, and as the number of goals increased, the difficulty would also increase.

However, this was not a challenge for Kira. On the contrary, it was an opportunity for practice.

Combining skills-dribbling-shooting-scoring!

Kira was like a shooting machine, continuously shooting the ball into the net.

....

In the control room, Teieri Anri couldn't help but exclaim. Although she had already witnessed Kira's incredible strength, his speed still exceeded her expectations.

"He's completely at ease."

Ego shifted his gaze to the screens showing the other participants. Most of them seemed to struggle because BLUELOCK MAN itself was already on par with elite goalkeepers, not to mention the increasing difficulty ahead.

Only Kira appeared extremely relaxed, as if in his eyes, this was not a test but merely practice.

"Although his philosophy clashes with mine, I'm actually quite looking forward to his performance in the future."

Unbeknownst to them, Kira had already completed the assessment. The holographic projections disappeared, and the tightly closed gate opened once again—revealing the location of the second stage at the end of the corridor.

Kira passed through the corridor and entered another hall. Embedded in the walls were screens displaying a line of text.

"Form teams of 3 and continue forward."

This was the true content of the second round assessment.

"However..."

Kira looked around at his surroundings.

At this moment, there was only Kira in the room.

"It seems... I finished a bit too quickly."

Kira sighed and found a seat to sit down.

A few minutes later, the entrance door opened again, and a familiar figure walked in.

Itoshi Rin.

"What a boring."

Itoshi Rin muttered to himself as he walked straight into the hall.

"I have to form teams of three? What a waste of my time. I still have to wait for those insignificant ants..."

While Itoshi Rin was speaking to himself, he suddenly noticed the presence of Kira and his eyebrows twitched slightly.

He instinctively believed that he was the first rank and never expected Kira to appear before him.

Itoshi Rin glanced at the name on the badge on Kira's shoulder but didn't pay much attention. In his eyes, everyone else was just insignificant.

At that moment, the third person also walked in.

He was tall, had long hair, and was muttering to himself.

"AI, I suppose it's quite stylish."

Kira's gaze shifted to that person Aryu Jyubei,

"Hey, it's just us now. Let's go straight ahead and not waste my time."

Seeing Kira and Aryu Jyubei's presence, Itoshi Rin directly commanded them in a commanding tone.

He didn't care who his teammates were. It just so happened that there were three people present, so he was ready to form a team.

"What a stylish statement."

Aryu Jyubei nodded, unfazed by Itoshi Rin's words. He had no objections to teaming up with him.

At that moment, Kira, who was standing beside, smiled and spoke up:

"When did I agree to team up with you?"

"What did you say?"

Itoshi Rin's eyebrows twitched again, and this time he finally looked directly at Kira. Although there was no change in his expression, he seemed to be getting annoyed.

"You heard what I just said."

Kira stood up and locked eyes with Itoshi Rin. Their gazes clashed.

Although Kira was generally an easygoing person with good relationships with those around him, he had no patience for Itoshi Rin, who was arrogant to the extreme and had no idea about respect.

"What a stylish conversation."

Aryu Jyubei shifted his gaze to Kira. The word "stylish" was always on his lips.

"Just insignificant ants."

Itoshi Rin took a step forward as if he wanted to devour Kira alive.

"What's the matter? And who are you? You don't even have basic manners. Maybe elementary school football is more suitable for you."

Kira smiled and retaliated.

Veins bulged on Itoshi Rin's forehead, like worms about to crawl out of his skin. But just when the tension reached its peak, the entrance door opened again, and the fourth person, Tokimitsu Aoshi, walked in.

"Let's go."

Itoshi Rin had no intention of wasting time on Kira. He led Aryu Jyubei and a bewildered Tokimitsu Aoshi and prepared to move to the next area.

Before leaving, Itoshi Rin turned his head and cast a piercing gaze at Kira.

"If I meet you on the field, I will definitely kill you. Remember those words."

"Oh? You can come and give it a try."

Kira simply responded with a smile.

Soon, Itoshi Rin left the hall with the other two, and more people arrived one after another. However, they were from different teams and didn't know Kira, so they didn't team up with him.

After a while, Kira finally encountered two familiar faces.

Nagi and Mikage Reo appeared.

"Kira Ryosuke?"

Seeing Kira's arrival, Mikage Reo's mouth twitched slightly, and there was a hint of hostility in his gaze. He was fully prepared to completely ignore the other person. He had already regarded Kira as his archenemy, the one who ended his and Nagi's winning streak.

On the other hand, Nagi was completely different. He walked up to Kira and greeted him proactively.

"Hey, Kira, you're here so soon."

"Just lucky, I guess."

Kira also politely greeted him.

"Are you waiting for someone to team up with?"

Nagi continued to ask, and Kira nodded.

"Then why don't we team up together?"

Nagi extended an invitation. After the match against Team Z, he was curious about Kira.

"Hey, Nagi, are you really going to team up with that guy?"

Mikage Reo's expression was filled with doubt, and he didn't understand Nagi's decision.

"Yeah."

Nagi nodded earnestly.

"Tch, if that's what you want, Nagi, then I don't mind."

Mikage Reo shrugged his shoulders. Although he was a bit dissatisfied with Kira, he didn't plan to oppose Nagi since it was his decision.

"But let me make it clear. While I know your skills are decent, you absolutely cannot disrupt the chemistry between me and Nagi..."

However, at that moment, Kira spoke up.

"Sorry, but I plan to leave at least one spot for my original teammate. If it's just you, Nagi, then it's possible."

To be honest, Kira didn't really want to team up with someone like Mikage Reo. On the one hand, Mikage Reo was one of the most mentally unstable individuals in the Blue lock. On the other hand, Mikage Reo had lost the match but still carried an arrogant attitude and a sense of superiority, considering himself superior to others.

"Tch, whatever. They're just dead weight anyway. Since you..."

But before Mikage Reo could finish speaking, Nagi nodded directly.

"Okay, then I'll team up with you."

"Huh? Hey, Nagi, you were supposed to team up with me, right?!"

Mikage Reo was completely stunned, and it took him a few seconds to react. He then immediately looked at Nagi with excitement, while the latter calmly replied:

"In the last match, Kira was the best player on the field, better than all the others combined. So, I want to try playing with Kira."

"But, but our teaming up was definite!"

Sweat started to bead on Mikage Reo's forehead, visibly showing his nervousness.

"Reo, you taught me football, and it was our goal to become the best in the world. But we lost, we're no longer the strongest. So I want to keep pushing forward, I want to play with Kira."

Nagi's expression was very serious. Although his tone was calm, he seemed to have already made up his mind.

After losing that match, Nagi had been contemplating Kira's words. He had been following Mikage Reo all along, influenced by him to believe that the other teammates were just supporting. But after the battle with Kira and hearing his words, Nagi began to doubt his own beliefs.

Kira was not only powerful himself, but he could also bring out the unexpected potential of teammates who were considered "untalented."

Furthermore, Kira's ideas and the Blue lock's philosophy were somewhat different. Nagi wanted to know which side was right.

"Go ahead and team up with that guy... Do as you please."

Mikage Reo's face darkened.

But in that instant, he lifted his head, and his gaze fell upon Kira.

In his eyes, flames of hatred burned.

Kira didn't have any fondness for Mikage Reo, but he didn't mind accepting this silent challenge.

Soon, more and more people walked in, and familiar faces became increasingly present.

Isagi Yoichi, Bachira Meguru, Kunigami Rensuke, and Chigiri Hyoma arrived.

"You guys are so slow! I've been waiting for you for over half an hour!"

Kira greeted them with a smile.

"Kira, you're too fast! How long did it take you to score a hundred goals?"

"Are we forming teams of three here?"

"Hey, Nagi? What are you doing here too? Where's Reo?"