Blue lock: the true egoist

[3rd POV]

As per Karasu's demand, Hiori passed the ball back to Karasu and stayed behind, watching from afar as Karasu launched himself forward.

Both Himizu and the other midfielder stood a few meters behind Karasu as he began his counter attack. 

'It's time for me to prove myself. Without Hiori.' 

Karasu advanced with a determined look. Jude's approaching figure didn't intimidate him in the slightest. Far from that, he was somewhat excited to test his skills. 

"What's wrong, you broke up with your little girlfriend?" Jude mocked, noticing that Hiori wasn't crossing past the halfway line. 

"Good guess, but I don't think that's what you should worry about." Karasu's lighthearted response was followed by a scissor dribble to get past Jude. 

Noticing the very small number of attackers, Akira allowed himself to step out of position and help Jude. 

Both players now stood on either side of Karasu to lock him in place, yet the cornered man didn't show any visible sign of concern. Instead, a small, confident smile formed on his lips. Using his hands to keep the two players in check, he kept the ball glued to his feet. 

"What's wrong shitty crow? You can't play if your girlfriend isn't here to spoon feed you?" Jude taunted again. Even if he didn't want to show it, Karasu's confident aura worried him. 

"I wouldn't need him when it comes to picking on small insects like you guys." He replied in a somewhat annoyed tone. 

To others it would seem like Karasu lost it and was acting hot-headed due to his emotions. Yet in that moment he was calmer than ever.

Without wasting any second, he feigned an attack on the left, pushing Akira to slightly move, before nutmegging him and getting past him, using Akira's body as a wall to stop Jude from coming after him. 

He then continued his solo run, easily getting past Miyata and Yanagi. They both joined forces and attempted to stop him together, yet Karasu was able to once again free himself from both of them and use them to delay Jude, who by now was following him closely, only a few steps behind. 

'This is bad, I can't let him advance any further.' Jude's mind raced. His special weapon was now unusable, the aftereffect of it was hard on his mind, his thought process suddenly felt way slower.

'Using [Excitement] allows me to fight opponents even stronger than myself, yet I can't keep relying on it. Once the effects wear off, my mind is left in a muddy state, even my body feels heavier than usual.' 

Jude knew that he shouldn't let Karasu score. No matter what, he had to stop him. 

'Without my special weapon, I'm not confident in scoring another goal. I've already used up everything I had.'

His breathing was getting noticeably heavier.

With 20 minutes left on the clock. Jude used up all his cards. His hand was empty.

"Yanagi, take care of the snake bastard." Jude yelled out in a last attempt to turn the situation around. 

With both Yanagi and Miyata blocking Karasu's passing options, this forced him to rely on himself and himself only. 

Yet, this was exactly what the crow was aiming for. 

'This is it, the final push I need to evolve.'

Karasu was in a trance-like state. His focus reached an all-time high. He was so absorbed by his desire to evolve, he no longer noticed the passing of time. 

Unbeknownst to him, for the first time since his arrival in Blue Lock, Karasu entered the flow. 

With four defenders standing in his way, he didn't look the slightest bit intimidated. He could already visualize the path to the goal. It was right in front of him, a new pathway to becoming the best striker in the world. 

He could notice the slightest of details in the opponents, the small signs of fatigue, their worries, their doubts, their biases. Everything was laid bare in front of his eyes. Karasu easily dribbled past the first 2 defenders, one of them almost falling in the process.

With two defenders left, fouling Karasu was no longer an option, but instead a necessity. 

"We need to stop him. No matter what. We need to play our role." Fujita, Team X's left back, was known for his quick dribbles and speed. Yet, now he was throwing away his pride in a desperate attempt to stop Karasu. 

Fujita stood his ground, blocking Karasu's path with his small stature, while simultaneously grabbing his shirt from an angle the stadium's cameras were unable to see. 

If dirty play is what he needs, then he won't back down.

As long as his path to becoming the world's best striker doesn't end here!

With this, Karasu's freedom of movement was slightly more restricted, and yet his wide smile didn't hint to any feeling of unease or worry. 

Instead of playing along with Fujita's plan by moving away and drawing in a foul. Karasu made use of his superior physique to push away Fujita. He didn't even bother taunting him.

Without wasting any time, he moved past him with a roulette while slapping Fujita's hand away with his elbow. Fujita fell down to the ground from the sudden pain in his wrist, but Karasu had no plan to stop. 

Finding himself face to face with the last defender, he didn't try to make use of the open space or scarvenge opportunities as he used to. 

Moving to the side and shooting would assure him a goal. 

'But if I do that, I won't be able to change. I'll always be a man who relies on others to score.' 

With newfound vigor, Karasu engaged in a close quarter duel with the last defender.

In terms of stature, the defender was almost as big as Karasu, yet the gap in technique was far too wide. An ecstatic grin formed on his face as he completed his metamorphosis and got past the last defender. 

With the goal, less than 10 meters away from him, he knew that he finally succeeded. He found it, the way to get stronger. 

The crow was finally freed from his cage — or so he thought. 

A sharp sliding tackle from the side emerged from the periphery of his field of view, effectively sending the ball flying out of bounds.

In that instant, even if he lost the ball, Karasu smiled.

After all, he wasn't the only one who achieved it — the flow. 

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[IMAGE] 

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Author: I'm too tired so I'm going to sleep, once I'm awake I'll edit and release the second chapter!