[35] The Second Selection Begins

"Well said."

A round of applause echoed from the corner as Nishioka stepped out from the shadows. "Yo, Shinichi. Sorry to interrupt your little lecture to your underlings. It's been a while."

"I was wondering how long you planned to eavesdrop, Little Messi," Shinichi replied coldly, turning to face Nishioka and glaring down at him.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Nishioka's composure cracked instantly as he yelled, only to quickly clear his throat and try to recover. "Ahem… Anyway, I should thank you for waking me up from that ridiculous obsession with fake glory. But don't think it's over."

"Next time, the one who wins will be me."

"Thank you."

"…Huh?" Nishioka froze mid-turn, staring at Shinichi in disbelief. "What? Thank me? For what?"

"For the inspiration, of course. I owe you for that," Shinichi replied with a mischievous grin, grabbing the drinks and heading for the exit. "Oh, by the way, I almost forgot—your weapon's been really useful."

"Hey! Come back here! What do you mean by that? Explain yourself!" Nishioka yelled after him, but Shinichi was already gone, leaving only his laughter behind.

...

"Next, you'll undergo intensive physical training. And during this time, you are absolutely forbidden to touch the ball," came the familiar and detestable voice of Ego. His face appeared once again on the wall screen in Isagi's Z-team training room after their hard-fought victory against V-team.

"What? Isn't the second selection supposed to start immediately?" Raichi shouted, veins bulging on his forehead as he glared at the screen. The rest of the players quickly joined in with their complaints.

"You idiots are celebrating over winning in the lowest-level Fifth Building?" Ego scoffed, cutting them off. "Training continues until I say it's over. You trash need to learn your place!"

With a dismissive wave of his hand, the screen displayed a figure running on a treadmill, wearing a VR headset. Unfathomable streams of data were listed beside the image.

"Those who advanced to higher-level buildings don't need to participate in the first selection. They're currently undergoing the most advanced training programs. You'll wait until they're done."

"I'm giving you monkeys down in the lowest ranks a chance to build up your stamina. Be grateful, you idiots! You need to recognize your place at the bottom!"

"Oh, right," Ego added with a mockingly thoughtful expression, "you're probably curious about how Kanzaki Shinichi is doing, aren't you? Well, that guy's doing great. He's crushed all his enemies and, under top-tier training conditions, has even mastered a brand-new weapon."

"Damn it! That's so infuriating!" Raichi snarled, his face twisted in rage. "Just wait! Sooner or later, I'll crush all those pampered top-tier guys living it up upstairs!"

"Agreed! I'll take their positions, too!"

"Yeah! So what if their ranks are higher? We've been winning from the bottom, haven't we?"

Ego's provocative words had stirred the team into action, their frustrations channeling into renewed determination as they stormed into the training room with fiery resolve.

'Shinichi… he's training at an even higher level?'

Isagi felt a faint sense of urgency creeping into his heart.

'But I've finally figured out my own formula for scoring goals… two distinct formulas, at that.'

The first, Spatial Awareness + Direct Shots, would allow him to capitalize on opportunities and score decisively. The second, Off-Ball Movement + Blind-Spot Utilization, would enable him to actively create chances on his own.

"And my off-ball movement ability awakened during the match against Team V. It hasn't even been fully developed yet. If I switch the elements between the two formulas, I might even be able to create an entirely new scoring theory." Isagi clenched his fists tightly, his determination burning. "Shinichi, just wait for me!"

...

Ding!

"The first selection has concluded. All players are to gather in the central underground area," announced a clear and pleasant female voice over the loudspeakers.

Ten days later, in the early morning, the broadcast jolted everyone into action, guiding them toward the designated area.

"It's finally over?"

"Took them long enough! Damn it, if this had gone on for one more day, I'd have torn this whole Blue Lock facility apart!"

After ten days of grueling physical training that pushed them to their limits, the players of Team Z rose from their beds, faces twisted with exhaustion and frustration, muttering curses under their breath.

"We have to win—no matter what!"

"Let's go!"

"It's game time, everyone!"

'Finally, we can touch the ball again.'

'The second selection is about to begin.'

Isagi, trailing behind the group, pressed a hand to his chest.

As they got closer to the designated area, his heartbeat grew faster.

The opponents we're about to face all have higher ranks than us.

Some of them… even include him—the so-called invincible man.

"But I'm not afraid. In fact, I'm excited. I want to test my skills. I want to put my new formula to the test!" Isagi clenched his fists tightly. "Bring it on. I'll crush every last one of you!"

As the group passed through the large doors, they entered an enormous pentagonal room.

'So these are the players from the other buildings. Wait… why do they all look out of breath?'

Isagi's gaze instinctively landed on one player to his right. On the sleeve of their jersey, beneath the Blue Lock pentagon logo, was the designation Team W, Rank 237.

"What?! How is that possible? Over there… that's Team X! What's going on?"

"Yo, yo, welcome, all you raw gems of talent!" Ego Jinpachi's voice rang out through the room. "You've been working hard on your physical training. By now, the smart ones among you may have realized something… None of the players here come from Buildings 1, 2, 3, or 4."

"What are you talking about?"

"To be precise… Blue Lock has only ever had a Building 5."

"Smart…" Zantetsu adjusted his sports glasses, speaking up immediately. "I figured as much." But he quickly turned to Reo beside him and whispered, "Uh, what does that mean, only Building 5?"

"It means we've all been played!" Reo growled through gritted teeth, glaring at the screen. "This bastard!"

"You all thought you were at the bottom, fighting desperately in the first selection," Ego continued, his tone mocking.

"No way… Are you serious?"

"You tricked us?!"

"Exactly," Ego admitted without hesitation. "All of you who entered Blue Lock are supposed to be the best forwards in Japan, constantly praised as prodigies, right?"

"But that's only in this trash country. On the global stage, you're nothing but mediocre. To shatter your flimsy self-confidence, to instill the hunger that will drive you to become the world's number one, I designed this entire system on purpose."

"We're not your toys!"

"This is ridiculous! You've gone too far! I'm filing a complaint!"

"Fools!" Ego suddenly roared, silencing the crowd. "Your attitude only proves that you're nothing but a bunch of half-baked amateurs."

"Take Noel Noa, for example—the man hailed as the world's greatest striker. He was born in the slums of France, where football wasn't just a sport but his only way out. Literally, the only path to survival."

"There are countless strikers in the world who grew up in similar environments. For them, scoring goals isn't a choice or a hobby—it's their sole opportunity to change their lives. Their hunger for goals is incomparable."

"You, on the other hand, even without football, can still enjoy your cushy, privileged lives. You're nothing but hothouse flowers, incapable of feeling that kind of hunger for victory."

"Blue Lock exists to cultivate that hunger in you. After all, wasn't it your desire to defeat those ranked higher than you and prove you could win that brought you here in the first place?"

"This hunger can transform into the selfish ambition to change the world."

Hiori turned to glance at Shinichi standing beside him. Though Shinichi's goal might be a little different, it was true: he aimed to be the one to change the world.

"Heh…" Ego's lips curled into a faint smirk as he noticed the fire igniting in the players' eyes. But just as quickly, his expression returned to its usual impassive calm.

"The second selection of Blue Lock is about to begin!"

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