Blue lock: the true egoist

"We'll need to find a new way to stop him. Kentaro and Shun are clearly overwhelmed." Miyata commented as he patiently awaited for the game to resume. 

"Agreed. Our plan isn't as flawless as we thought." Yanagi sighed.

"Forget about our initial plan, from now on Karasu is mine." Jude said firmly. 

Watching Karasu and Hiori's last play made him realize that for the first time, he had to give it everything if he had to win. It was time for him to make use of one of his greatest and oldest weapons.

His stamina. 

'The title of stamina freak might finally come back.'

Jude advanced to the half way line. A small smile could be seen on his face.

Since his arrival in Japan, he has restricted himself to playing solely as a striker. Even while playing lazily he was able to easily win. Without even realizing it, he slowly became complacent. This change led to him losing his first title — stamina freak. 

Back in Spain, he used to be the worst type of player one could imagine going against.

At the time, Jude only had one weapon, his crazy stamina. Compared to children his age his stamina was something you would rarely ever come across. 

Naturally, his playstyle shifted completely to make the best use of that said weapon. Instead of simply staying in his position, he ran all over the field and often came back to defend or even personally guarded one of the opposite strikers. 

In Blue Lock he never had the need to use it, either. Even against their strongest opponents, Team W. Jude still had the energy to go play against Akira right after and even went against Karasu and could probably last a few more rounds even before reaching true exhaustion. 

His acceleration was a weapon made specifically to take Team V by surprise, and it did allow him to score a goal.

But his stamina was different. 

His stamina was something he only showcased during training. It wasn't a weapon meant to score. 

The reason why he was so feared in Spain wasn't his abilities as a striker, but rather his simple existence. He was akin to an annoying ex you can never get rid of. He would be everywhere at once. 

He wasn't known as the strongest, far from that, most players he met were superior to him. But he was recognized as one of the most annoying players to face. 

Jude's smile widened as he reminisced his past memories. 

'I wonder how everyone's doing.' A random thought crossed his mind as he finally took in the sound of the mechanical whistle and passed the ball back to Miyata. 

The game resumed in a strangely calm manner. 

The score was even. None of Team V's players rushed to steal the ball. For the first time since the beginning of the game, Team X's players were able to catch their breath. 

Miyata imposed himself as a temporary attacking midfielder. With his talents as a playmaker finally blooming, he made use of his knowledge to take control of the field. Although to a lesser extent compared to Jude or Karasu, he was able to tell the approximate strengths and weaknesses of every player on the field. 

Thanks to this unique weapon he allowed Team X to get back in control of the game — or at least that was the case until he found himself faced with Himizu's wide smile and split tongue. 

"I have a deal." He announced in a low voice.

For the first time since the beginning of the game, Himizu's face turned somewhat serious.

"I admit it, you might be the strongest on Team X. Nobody realizes it but you're the heart of the team. So how about this? I will lend you my help and let you score twice, but in exchange you will also have to help me score just as much." 

"Pass it here!" Yanagi yelled out from Miyata's right. But he was too taken aback by Himizu's words and strange actions to react.

Himizu's sweet whispers tempted Miyata, even if for just a moment. 

He was never truly recognized for his strength, always outshined by others around him because of his weak physique. 

Even back in his high school, he was by far the strongest, and yet the coach opted for the older and taller player to be the striker and put him as an offensive midfielder instead. Deep down, he had the feeling that he was deemed to be nothing more than a supporting character for the strikers. 

Blue Lock was the factor which would allow him to potentially escape this fate. 

Ego's speech awakened in him a deep rooted rage, one he wasn't even aware of. For the first time, his buried ego came to light. 

It was his chance, a chance to prove his worth, to show that he was his own person, that he could survive on his own, even in such a harsh environment. 

"Alright," He accepted in a small voice as Himizu got closer to him. 

"Nah hahahahaha! You're such an idiot, who would want to make a deal with a weakling like you!" Taking advantage of Miyata's dazed state, Himizu launched a swift tackle to steal the ball.

"I'm almost disappointed, you're way too predictable. Didn't you think that you'd get busted after using the same clown tricks in every match?" Miyata rebuked. His previously stunned look was nowhere to be seen. 

In a split second, Miyata passed the ball in between Himizu's legs. 

This sudden change in behavior left Himizu stupefied. His body was unable to react in time as he helplessly followed the ball with his eyes. 

Miyata knew from the start?

The ball rolled for a little over 3 meters before gracefully landing on Jude's foot. 

Karasu's voice suddenly appeared from behind Jude. "What are you doing here? Wasting your precious stamina isn't a smart move."

"What does that have to do with you, shitty crow?" Jude spat back, noticing that Karasu wasn't going to let him through as easily as the first time. 

"I wouldn't want you to end up tiring yourself and using it as an excuse once again." Karasu replied with a mocking smile. 

Karasu's words induced a nostalgic smile to form on Jude's lips. After all, it had been over a year since he used that title. 

"I've got bad news for you birdy, the stamina freak is back."