Meeting with Team V

The players of Team Z can be found in their locker room...

"Man, that was an easy match but dealing with those twins was exhausting and annoying, they were so unbearable," said Asahi Naruhaya.

"But we taught them a lesson!" said confident Bachira.

"And our next opponent is Team V, our team and they are the only undefeated teams which means regardless of what happens, Team Z and Team V are the teams that have qualified for the next phase," said Iemon.

"That also means the matches of the other teams will practically be a cold war on the field, as they could still advance to the next phase if they become the top scorer of the team, so it's going to be a display of individualism in the best Blue Lock style," commented Arata, smiling.

"Man, I really wouldn't want to be in the shoes of the players from Team X who will have to try to score more goals than Barou, or with the players from Team W who will have to deal with those two crazies fighting each other to see who scores more goals," said Igaguri.

"That's their problem, let's just eat already," said Raichi.

So, the players of Team Z are heading to the cafeteria to eat and when they get there, they come across some players who were already eating at one of the tables.

"Are those guys from Team V? I've never seen them before..." said Igaguri.

"Just ignore them and let's eat, I'm too hungry to think about anything right now," commented Arata.

They gathered, grabbed what they wanted, and sat at the table next to where Team V was sitting. The players of Team Z were chatting while eating about various subjects until one of the players from Team V stood up and walked towards Arata.

"Hey, Reo, why does that guy have a higher ranking than me?" Nagi asked, pointing to Arata.

"He probably just scored more goals than you, and that's why he's ranked ahead of you," said Reo, who had already spent hours thinking about this fact that someone in the lower teams was supposedly better than Nagi.

"How many goals did you score?" Nagi asked Arata.

"Well, if I remember correctly, it was eleven in total," said Arata indifferently.

"Uh..., I scored eight goals so you really scored more goals than me... but that doesn't make sense," said Nagi thoughtfully.

"Well, if you have any doubts about my abilities, you can taste them for yourself in a friendly duel, what do you think?"

"Ah, but that's going to be a lot of work..., I don't know if I want to..." said Nagi.

"Well, it's up to you, I'm always open to challenges and duels," said Arata, turning his attention back to the piece of meat on his plate.

After finishing their meal, the players of Team Z returned to their locker rooms and began to analyze the players of Team V.

"Team V is undoubtedly the toughest opponent we'll face, they're the only undefeated team like us, and the key to their success is the trio Zantetsu Tsurugi, Reo Mikage, and Seishiro Nagi. If we can stop them, we'll definitely win," said Iemon.

"I'm not sure if we'll be able to stop them completely like we did with the Wanima brothers, but I believe we have the ability to score more goals against them than they will against us," said Arata.

"Where does all this confidence come from?" Kuon asked.

"Well, in the attack, the confidence comes from me, of course, and in defense, we have Isagi's Meta Vision, Raichi's marking, and Gagamaru's incredible goalkeeping skills, so, it's all good," concluded Arata.

"Hello, guys, I'm here to update you on a few things," said Ego.

"First, your rankings," Arata's ranking remained the same (obviously).

"Congratulations on qualifying for the next phase, but remember, most of you are still just trash," said Ego.

"He finished by talking about the players creating their own 'Goal-Scoring Formula,' a way to score goals using only their skill or something like that," thought Arata as he stepped out of the locker room for some fresh air.

"Hey you, I've made up my mind, let's have a duel to see who's the best," said Nagi, who had come up behind Arata.

"Hey, let's go, it'll be fun," said Arata as he followed Nagi to the training field.