Chapter 13 – End of Game 1

The final whistle blew, signaling the end of the game. Neither team had secured the win, and the players felt the toll of the intense 90-minute match settle in. Frustration hung in the air as players grumbled, unsatisfied with the result. Tired bodies moved slowly off the field, each player wrestling with their own disappointments.

As Kira made his way toward the locker room, Barou's eyes fixated on his back, simmering with anger. Something about that last play—the moment Kira chose to pass instead of shooting—infuriated him. He couldn't shake the feeling of being humiliated by that decision.

"You, white-freak," Barou called out, his voice heavy with irritation.

Kira paused, turning around to face Barou, curious as to why this guy, who had been brimming with aggression all game, was calling him out now.

"That last play," Barou began, his voice low and intense, "you could've just shot the ball. I would've been powerless to stop it." He analyzed the final moments, recalling the perfect opportunity Kira had to score. "Why did you pass the ball?"

Kira raised an eyebrow, mildly amused. 'This guy spent the whole game acting like an edgelord, and now he's having a normal conversation?' Kira thought. Shaking off the thought, he replied casually, "Because I felt like it."

"Hah!?" Barou's veins bulged, his fury rising again. "What kind of half-assed reason is that?"

Kira didn't bother to elaborate. Without another word, he turned back and continued walking toward the locker room, completely unfazed by Barou's outburst.

"Tch, so you're just trash," Barou spat, his voice laced with venom. "You don't have what it takes to be a striker."

But Kira simply waved him off without looking back, his stride unbroken.

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.

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"If it were me at the center, we would have won the game," Raichi exclaimed, his voice loud and condescending.

"That's rich coming from someone who broke their word," Naruhaya shot back, his tone sharp.

"I never said I agreed to our current formation!" Raichi shouted, his anger boiling over as the two descended into a heated argument about their individual performances. Their voices rose, each trying to out-yell the other.

The tension in the room escalated quickly as Imamura got involved, siding with Naruhaya, and even Iemon, who had been keeping to himself, was dragged into the argument against his will.

Meanwhile, Kira walked into the locker room, his focus completely elsewhere. He headed straight to his locker, peeled off the upper half of his uniform, and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from his body. After settling down on the bench, he took a long drink of water, watching the team unravel in front of him.

As the argument spiraled out of control, Kuon finally had enough. He stepped in, his voice booming through the room, "Give It A Rest Already! This Isn't Just A Game!"

His commanding tone instantly silenced the room, forcing everyone to stop and listen.

Kuon continued, his voice steady but serious, "We only have four games. We may have drawn this one, but if we lose the next two, it'll be over for us."

His words brought a sobering truth to the team. The reality of the situation hit hard, and the tension in the locker room began to shift. The silence that followed was thick with the weight of Kuon's statement, and it was clear that the team needed to come together if they wanted to survive the upcoming matches.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Imamura asked, his voice strained but trying to calm his emotions.

"I... well... I don't know yet," Kuon stammered, clearly struggling to come up with a concrete suggestion.

"I think I know what we should do," Isagi chimed in. The room fell silent as everyOne turned to look at him, eager to hear his explanation.

"At the start, Team X was focused on themselves, each player trying to score individually. And while we had that game Kira proposed to determine our core, we also fell into chaos the moment we were thrown into a real match," Isagi began, laying out his analysis of the game.

"Yeah, thanks to some people," Gagamaru muttered under his breath, casting a sideways glance.

Naruhaya looked sheepish, acknowledging his earlier mistakes, while Raichi remained stubborn, unwilling to take any responsibility.

"The play that broke that 'Zero' on the field was Barou's and Kira's individual goals," Isagi continued.

"Which was sick! Kira's dribbling just tore them apart! I'm still geeking out about it!" Bachira interjected enthusiastically, walking into the room fresh from his shower, completely naked as he dried his hair.

"Dude! Have you no shame!?" Imamura shouted, shocked by the sight.

"Gah! Put that thing away, man!" another teammate exclaimed.

Isagi shook his head, refocusing after the brief interruption. "Barou and Kira used their individual abilities to turn a chaotic team into a functioning one. Individuality and talent are what's needed to create 'Zero' into 'One.'"

Kuon nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed, I normally don't think very deeply about that stuff, but you're right."

"Hey, does that mean Ego created that system of top scorers advancing to mess with our heads?" Naruhaya asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Probably," Isagi agreed. "Because of that rule, our egos came out, resulting in all that chaos."

"Football teams are born from an overwhelming striker!" Isagi concluded, his voice filled with conviction.

Kira, who had remained silent, listening to Isagi's speech, nodded his head in respect. 'Not bad... though still a little off in his conclusions,' Kira thought. He stood up and headed toward the shower, reflecting on Isagi's analysis as he walked.

'The most important thing in football is results. If you can't produce results, the team and the board will cut you off, no matter how talented you are,' Kira reminisced, memories of his past life in the academy resurfacing.

'If you can't bring the trophy... if you can't bring victory... they won't care anymore. It took me almost getting cut to understand that lesson well.'

While Kira was in the shower, the rest of the team was gathered in front of the monitor, being lectured by Ego. The screen lit up with the announcement of a brutal match result: Team V had defeated Team Y with a crushing 8-0 scoreline. The tension in the room grew as Ego's voice cut through the silence.

"Your thinking is on the right track, but let me clarify something," Ego began, his voice calm but commanding.

"Japanese people are very rigid. They like being given roles to fulfill, and they devote themselves fully to those roles. In sports, this mentality is perfect for games like baseball," Ego explained, as a holographic baseball materialized in his hand.

"This sport, with its clearly defined roles and rules of engagement, suits the Japanese idiosyncrasy. But football is different!" Ego's voice rose with passion, his eyes lighting up as his intensity increased.

"Offense and defense happen simultaneously, the open field allows for a high degree of freedom, and you can't use your hands. The game doesn't let you win by focusing on your assigned role alone!" he shouted, crushing the holographic baseball in his hand as a symbol of his point.

"Individual effort—your own personal power—is what you need to win!" Ego's words rang out, shaking the room as the team absorbed his philosophy.

"Rewrite everything you know about football! Being a striker means being a destroyer!" His voice grew louder and more passionate as he laid out his beliefs. The team began to feel the weight of his words, the realization of their roles as strikers settling in.

"To turn that 'Zero' into 'One,' a striker needs to score goals, destroy the enemy, and revolutionize the field to your vision. Don't let yourselves be confined by your assigned positions!" Ego's fervor was palpable, his words shaking the team's perception of the game.

"The Beings Known As First-Class Strikers Each Have Original Weapons That No One Else Has—The Weapons That Can Conquer The World!" Ego continued, his eyes filled with an intense, almost crazed belief in his philosophy.

"Achieving goals can only be done with your own weapons," Ego finished, his final words echoing in the room as the monitor flickered to black.

The room fell into silence, leaving the team to contemplate Ego's message. Each player's mind raced, thinking about their own unique strengths—their weapons—and how they could bring those out on the field to survive and win in Blue Lock.