Blue Lock: Beyond Greatness

Shidou and Isagi split up to create space, forcing the Blue Lock team's defense to scatter. In the midst of this, Shinichi had no intention of marking either of them. Instead, he stood in the center, absorbing all the surrounding information.

"The increased offensive line is putting immense pressure on us. U-20 now has seven attacking players in our half, making it incredibly congested. Their strikers are everywhere, and those two unknown factors—Cho and Teru—are making my teammates hesitant to step forward recklessly."

Shinichi swiftly processed the information gathered through his enhanced vision before shifting his gaze to Rin, who was still locked in a fierce battle with Sae. His brows furrowed.

"Rin is nearing his limit. He's been in a restricted-type 'Destroyer' mode close to FLOW for almost the entire match. And later on, he fully committed to an all-out destruction mode. I don't know when, but at some point, that tightly wound string is going to snap."

"This is troublesome. No matter what, there will be a gap somewhere..." As that thought settled, the lightning in Shinichi's eyes intensified. "There's no choice. As the team's ace, I'll just have to clean up after you all."

Just as Shinichi quietly set up his strategy, Sae, still tangled with Rin, suddenly passed the ball.

Cho swiftly received it and surged forward, immediately met by Barou.

The two clashed fiercely, but Barou failed to gain much of an advantage. At that moment, Teru quickly darted past him, and Cho promptly executed a smooth give-and-go, bypassing Barou completely.

"A well-coordinated front-line duo? Cho has top-tier physical attributes, allowing him to act as a pivot up front, while Teru takes advantage of off-the-ball movement to provide him with one-two options." Chigiri quickly analyzed their playstyle and decisively moved up to intercept Teru.

"Alright, I'll leave this part to you!" However, the opponents didn't even give Chigiri a chance to press them, immediately spotting Isagi's position and decisively passing the ball.

"Got him!"

However, lurking in the shadows, Karasu had already anticipated Isagi's movement. The moment Teru passed the ball, he sprang into action, bursting out from Isagi's blind spot to intercept the ball.

"This... is the same movement he learned from Shinichi!"

But to everyone's shock, this sudden ambush did not achieve its intended effect. As if he had eyes on the back of his head, Isagi swiftly pivoted with the ball, evading Karasu's pressing. Without any hesitation, he sent a return pass to Hiori behind him.

"I'm marked, no space to move! Let's reset the attack!"

"Beautiful, Isagi… No, everyone! Move!" Hiori received the pass and immediately commanded his teammates to resume their offensive.

Meanwhile, Karasu clicked his tongue in frustration. "Tch, he saw through it? So even that trick doesn't work, huh? Damn, I was saving that for a game-winning moment…"

"No. If it were the old me, I really might have lost the ball there," Isagi thought instinctively after hearing Karasu's words. "But in that instant… I just knew he was there, lurking in my blind spot, waiting to pounce."

Suddenly, an indescribable sensation surged through him.

"Wait… there? No way… the entire field—every piece of information—is flooding into my brain! It's like I'm watching from a god's-eye view… I get it now! I see why Sae moves the way he does, the purpose behind Shinichi's positioning, and what Hiori's next step will be. This is what Sae meant… about the power of the eye?!"

At that moment, in Isagi's vision, countless puzzle pieces shattered and reassembled, forming a radar-like perspective.

He had finally unlocked Meta Vision!

"I understand now… I awakened my ability to see! That's why I was able to dodge Karasu's ambush. And my opponent's greatest weakness… is right there!"

At the very moment Isagi awakened his new ability, Hiori made his move. With a pass that could rival—no, even surpass—Sae's, a beautifully curved ball sliced through the field, bypassing multiple defenders and landing perfectly at Sendou's feet.

"An incredible pass! No defender can keep up! Sendou is in a one-on-one situation!" The commentator's excited voice echoed through the stadium. But just then, an unexpected twist occurred.

"Hahaha! Right here! This is my perfect explosion point!"

Like a madman reveling in chaos, Shidou suddenly appeared. He positioned himself right behind Sendou, leaped into the air, and intercepted the pass mid-flight. Twisting his body, he executed a powerful overhead kick toward the goal.

"Look at this! This is my—Shidou Ryusei's—explosion! Take this, you bastards!"

'Damn it! Shidou intercepted the pass out of nowhere, throwing off my judgment of the ball's trajectory! I'm positioned slightly to the right—can I still make it in time?'

Sweat trickled down Gagamaru's temple as he anxiously tracked the soaring ball. But in the next moment, a familiar figure entered his vision, instantly easing his nerves.

"What a reassuring sight… Even more comforting than a campfire in the mountains."

Facing Shidou's ferocious strike, Shinichi charged in with his hands behind his back. With a powerful leap, he positioned himself in front of the goal.

Boom! The ball slammed against his chest and ricocheted away.

However… another figure had already anticipated the ball's trajectory with pinpoint accuracy.

"Shinichi, you really are incredible! Even under these circumstances, you still managed to block it… But no matter how good you are, you're still just one person!"

As everyone's eyes widened in disbelief, Isagi—his gaze sharp, the puzzle pieces in his vision aligning into a radar-like pattern—locked onto the most vulnerable space on the field. Completely unmarked, he raised his foot to strike the rebounded ball.

"If you want to blame someone, blame your team. The only ones who can keep up with the flow of this game are you and Rin… But in our team, more of us have awakened to the true power of vision."

...

Boom—Thud!

Isagi unleashed a powerful shot, his foot striking the ball like an arrow piercing through the air toward the goal. However, the deep, muffled impact that followed made his heart sink.

There, sprawled on the ground after blocking Shidou's shot, Shinichi somehow forced his body into motion once again.

Despite lying on his back, he activated his core strength and launched himself upwards, his legs pushing off the ground in a sudden, explosive movement.

In an almost impossible display of athleticism, he shifted laterally, managing to block both shots in rapid succession.

"No way! I had already seen the entire field's movement… I calculated everything down to the finest detail… and you still blocked it?!"

For the first time, even Isagi, who had been calmly analyzing the battlefield with precision, felt himself faltering. His unwavering confidence cracked under the sheer absurdity of what had just happened.

But in the next instant, he shook his head, denying his initial assumption.

"No… it's his positioning. Shinichi isn't just reacting—he's subtly adjusting his position over and over again, shaping our decisions, manipulating our attacking choices without us even realizing it."

"So, under Shinichi's silent setup, both Shidou and I ended up shooting from almost the same position… allowing him to barely keep both of our shots within his defensive range!"

Everything on the field was unfolding just as predicted.

However, this didn't mean that Isagi, newly awakened Meta Vision, had already surpassed Shinichi in terms of strategic planning.

The reality was that, with Rin being heavily restrained, no one could effectively suppress the combination play between Hiori and Shidou.

This made Shinichi's movements relatively easier to anticipate, allowing Isagi to plan his own actions accordingly.

Yet, even though everything was in place—his positioning, timing, and calculations were all flawless—Shinichi had still managed to cover every gap purely through his individual ability.

"Damn it… I refuse to let it end like this!"

The flames in Isagi's eyes burned wildly, almost as if they would burst out of their sockets. He sprinted back at full speed, his teammates following suit, swarming in front of Shinichi with everything they had to block his counterattack.

"We absolutely can't let this guy break through! Stop him even if it kills you!"

Aiku shouted loudly from the pushed-up defensive line, stepping forward into a solid defensive stance against Shinichi.

"Come at me, monster!"

Shinichi glanced at the layered, interlocking defense ahead of him, his eyes flashing with lightning.

Just as he prepared to forcefully break through, a sudden figure dashed out from behind him.

"Man, you guys have been hogging the spotlight this whole time. That's kinda unfair, don't you think?"

The voice was lighthearted, almost teasing. "So, Monster-san, need a helping hand?"

With flames burning in his eyes, Bachira focused intensely on the defensive line ahead. For a fleeting moment, half of his face seemed to morph into the twisted visage of a monstrous beast. Then, he turned to Shinichi and grinned.

"Now… it's finally time for us monsters to take the stage, isn't it?"

"Interesting."

Shinichi, seeing the true nature of Bachira, smirked. He sent a sharp horizontal pass to him before immediately dashing forward, breaking past his marker without the ball.

"What are you two planning?!"

Aiku instantly moved to cut off the passing lane between Bachira and Shinichi. Keeping a close eye on Bachira's movements, he analyzed the situation carefully.

"This guy hasn't been too active since the game started… Based on his first play, he's clearly a dribbler, but at the same time, he's got solid passing skills too."

"In that case… I just need to lock down his movement and cut off any chance of a counterattack!"

With sharp determination flashing in his eyes, Aiku lunged forward to body Bachira and stop his advance. But at the last second, Bachira nimbly stepped on the ball and spun away, evading the challenge with effortless grace.

"You're quite the monster yourself… but!"

With his eyes gleaming with excitement, Bachira's movements became even more unpredictable.

"The one I'm chasing after is a true monster—Shinichi! A half-baked player like you shouldn't be in my way!"

Bachira executed rapid step-overs, subtly shifting Aiku's focus and balance. The moment he saw the defender's weight shift slightly, he flicked the ball up into the air.

"A lob… here? What's he thinking?"

Aiku had never seen a move like this before. Though uncertain, he relied on his defensive instincts and experience, stepping forward to intercept the ball midair.

But the instant he moved—

Bachira smirked.

A grin of mischievous satisfaction.

He had baited Aiku perfectly.

"I knew it! The moment Barou cut through your defense so easily, I could tell—you guys are just reacting by the book. The second something exceeds your expectations, you completely freeze up! When it comes to improvisation, you half-baked players are nowhere near the level of real monsters!"

The flames in Bachira's eyes erupted like wildfire. His entire presence transformed into something grotesque, a monster lurking in human skin.

With a sudden movement, he hooked the airborne ball with his foot, controlling it effortlessly as it circled his body.

Then, in a moment of pure artistry, he executed an aerial rainbow flick—launching the ball forward in a dazzling motion.

"So go, Monster. This is my gift to you."

"Well done."

At that moment, Shinichi had already broken past Aiku's defensive blockade, positioning himself perfectly to receive the ball.

"From here on out, it's smooth sailing."

"What 'smooth sailing'?! Don't underestimate us!"

Kazuma growled in frustration, throwing himself into Shinichi's path.

But Shinichi didn't even spare him a glance.

As lightning crackled in his eyes, his movements became unreadable. With a single step, he spread his metaphorical butterfly wings, and in an instant, Kazuma lost his balance—his body betraying him as he stumbled and collapsed onto his knees.

"For players like you… the path ahead might as well be wide open."

With those cold, indifferent words, Shinichi raised his leg 35 meters from the goal, preparing for a devastating shot.

Just as his foot struck the ball—

"Don't look down on me, you bastard!"

A completely unexpected voice roared out.

Isagi charged in from the side, throwing himself into the line of fire at the last possible moment.

The shot, a cannon-like blast, collided with Isagi's shin, causing his entire body to tremble from the impact. His face twisted with pain, but despite his burning leg, he didn't care.

Instead, his eyes snapped toward the goal.

He did it.

The deflection had altered the trajectory of the ball, forcing it slightly higher than intended.

And in that split second—

Fukaku leaped high into the air!

With every ounce of his strength, he stretched his body to its absolute limit, sealing the gap between the posts.

With an outstretched hand, he punched the ball away from the net!

Shinichi's shot—blocked!

"Wow! This is truly unexpected! Number 11, Isagi Yoichi, charged in at the last moment to block Shinichi's shot! And with the heavily altered trajectory, goalkeeper Fukaku did not disappoint, making an incredible save to deny Shinichi's goal!"

"Isagi Yoichi gets to the second ball first! Before Shinichi can press him, he launches it forward! They're going for a counterattack! We're already in stoppage time—only one and a half minutes left!"

The commentator's voice exploded with excitement.

On the field, Hiori received the pass but did not immediately press forward. Instead, he deliberately slowed down the tempo before sending the ball out.

"Don't even think about it!"

IRin, eyes blazing with fury, looked like a cornered animal as he locked onto Sae. His intense glare burned with desperation.

But Sae didn't even spare him a glance. Instead, he curiously glanced behind himself before sending the ball forward with a smooth pass.

"I never would've expected this… Isagi Yoichi—you are the one most deserving of this goal now."

The ball spun through the air, heading straight toward the relentless figure who had sprinted across the entire field despite his aching leg—

Isagi Yoichi!

"The hero of this match—will be me!"

BOOM!

A direct shot, the technique he knew best.

His perfect form, his perfect state, and his entire will were poured into this single kick.

The ball screamed toward the goal—

But…

A single hand denied Isagi's roar of triumph.

"Huh?!"

His eyes widened in disbelief. An overwhelming sense of despair surged through him.

Standing behind him, hands casually tucked into his pockets, Shinichi spoke in a calm, indifferent tone:

"Isagi, it seems you can resist my devour ability."

Then, his towering presence engulfed Isagi, his shadow stretching endlessly, swallowing the field in darkness.

"But… just because you can resist doesn't mean you're immune."

Shinichi's voice rumbled like a distant thunderclap.

"If I make you unaware that you've been devoured… if you don't actively nullify the effect… then you'll still lose your weapon."

"And sometimes… just once is all it takes, isn't it?"

This guy…

Shinichi… he… he missed on purpose?!

He did it just to alter my shooting habits…

He did it just to devour me…

He did it just to—

Erase the last bit of hope I had left!

------------------

Want to read 20 advance chapters ahead?

Go to my patreon: patreon.com/Kinglass