Chapter 10: Wait, did you just call me a sacrificial lamb?

"I'll be the ghost as the lowest-ranked one... Come on, bring it on! Let's not hold grudges no matter who loses!"

Igarashi Gurimu stepped

After hesitating for about ten seconds, Igarashi Gurimu finally made a move. Like a headless fly, he dribbled towards the crowd. However, in terms of physical fitness and football skills, he was definitely at the absolute bottom, unable to even come close to touching anyone.

Kira Ryosuke knew what he would do next. The unfolding events here were almost identical to the original work.

Scanning his surroundings, searching for suitable targets.

Even before it began, he was already drenched in sweat.

After about a minute of wasting time, Igarashi Gurimu finally found a suitable target.

It was Bachira, who was still sleeping on the ground.

But just as Igarashi Gurimu was about to kick the ball, Bachira, who was lying down, instantly bounced up and intentionally kicked Igarashi Gurimu in the face.

"Hey, hey, isn't that a foul? You should definitely get a red card for that!"

"The only thing prohibited is handball, right?"

Bachira responded with a sleepy look.

"Hey, don't use such sneaky tactics. Let's settle it openly and fairly!"

Kunigami Rensuke extended his hand and placed it on Bachira's shoulder. Being straightforward by nature, he didn't like Bachira's non-football methods.

However, before he could finish speaking, the ball had already hit him.

"?!"

Igarashi Gurimu excitedly stuck out his tongue, feeling thrilled about his successful sneak attack. The name on the screen changed from Igarashi Gurimu to Kunigami Rensuke.

"You damn Igarashi! I'm going to take you down!"

Kunigami Rensuke was infuriated by Igarashi Gurimu's despicable method. Veins popped on his face as he lifted his foot, preparing to kick the ball forcefully towards Igarashi Gurimu.

Immediately, Igarashi Gurimu scanned his surroundings, looking for a shield to protect himself from Kunigami Rensuke's furious strike.

And the closest person to him was Kira Ryosuke.

"Found my sacrificial lamb!"

Igarashi Gurimu clung onto Kira Ryosuke's body like a monkey, hiding behind him while forcefully restraining his arms, attempting to restrict his movements.

"Kira!"

On the other side, Isagi called out with some concern. After all, Kira Ryosuke was the only person in this room that he was relatively familiar with.

At this moment, the expression on Igarashi Gurimu's face, who was still smug about his cleverness, changed. His smile gradually disappeared.

He felt as if he was clinging onto a hard stone, unable to even budge Kira Ryosuke's arms.

This person named Kira Ryosuke possessed a terrifying physique that was no less formidable than Kunigami Rensuke.

He didn't know that this physique was the result of devilish training and complemented by breathing techniques.

At the same time, Igarashi Gurimu's gaze met Kira Ryosuke's slight turn of the head, and the person in front of him looked completely different from the polite demeanor he had when he entered.

Who was this person? Where did he come from?

Almost instinctively, Igarashi Gurimu released his grip on Kira Ryosuke's hand and ran in the opposite direction.

And all of this was observed by Bachira.

"He actually got scared and ran away? Just like a monkey seeing a lion... How interesting."

Bachira stared intently at Kira Ryosuke, a smile of anticipation appearing on his face.

"Ah!"

Kunigami Rensuke made an angry shot, unable to change direction. It flew straight towards Kira Ryosuke, and the terrifying speed of the ball revealed the immense power contained within it. If a slender person were hit by this strike, it would be difficult for them to stand up again.

However, Kira Ryosuke had no intention of dodging. He caught the ball with his sturdy chest, slightly leaning his body to absorb the force, stopping the ball in front of him, and then stepping on it.

"Just now, did you call me your sacrificial lamb?"

Kira Ryosuke's lion-like gaze fell upon Igarashi Gurimu.

It was as if he was declaring his hunting target.

In the original work, Igarashi Gurimu was basically someone who relied on luck, cleverness, and clinging to the powerful to make it to the later stages. His character was also quite erratic, and Kira Ryosuke didn't have any favorable impression of him.

But when Igarashi Gurimu just used himself as a shield, he had already provoked Kira Ryosuke, essentially walking into his own death.

At the same time, Kira Ryosuke knew that one person had to be eliminated from this round, and the remaining individuals would form a temporary team to compete for a spot in the next stage against other teams.

Since the target had been selected, Kira Ryosuke would go as far as possible to achieve his goal by choosing the path with the highest chances of success.

Combining his own sufficient strength with the route that had the highest probability of victory was the most likely way to accomplish the objective.

And Igarashi Gurimu, who had almost no effect, was the most suitable candidate to be eliminated.

It could be said that since Kira Ryosuke participated in this selection, Igarashi Gurimu was destined to stop here.

Kira Ryosuke didn't dodge the shot from Kunigami Rensuke because, on one hand, he wanted to further confirm the extent of his physical abilities and the coordination with his breathing technique.

On the other hand, he wanted to control the possession of the ball and be the one to decide who would be eliminated.

In the Blue Lock filled with forwards, Kira Ryosuke knew that he didn't need to assert dominance within the team to smoothly progress through the next, even more brutal, round of selection.

Although only one person would ultimately be able to escape from the Blue Lock, teamwork was still necessary at this stage.

Furthermore, doing so would also prevent unexpected situations, especially from someone like Bachira.

If Bachira gained possession of the ball, he would definitely come directly to challenge Kira Ryosuke one-on-one, which was unnecessary trouble.

"What level of physical strength..."

Everyone present was somewhat surprised, especially Isagi.

As the only person who had ever fought against Kira Ryosuke, Isagi knew that his opponent was very strong...

But he didn't expect Kira Ryosuke to be this strong.

In last week's match, although Isagi's team ultimately lost, they simply didn't seize the opportunity for a comeback.

Isagi felt that Kira Ryosuke was formidable, far surpassing himself, with a gap in strength that seemed insurmountable.

And at this moment, Isagi instinctively felt that the difference between himself and Kira Ryosuke was probably multiple times greater.

The name on the screen had also changed to Kira Ryosuke.

"It seems like we won't be able to snatch possession of the ball! Kira, this is too boring!"

Bachira rubbed his head with a somewhat dejected expression.

Time passed little by little, but Kira Ryosuke showed no sign of attacking. However, his intentions were already clear. Igarashi Gurimu was his target, and the others temporarily stopped moving and evading.