The First Match Ends; Barou Shoei Is Fuming / New Skill Unlocked!

"What?"

Everyone on Team Z was dumbfounded. They had never expected Kira Ryosuke to choose to pass the ball at a time like this.

"That was a great pass!"

Even Raichi Jingo, who had been somewhat dissatisfied with Kira Ryosuke earlier, couldn't help praising him after receiving his pass at that very moment.

All the defenders had focused on Kira Ryosuke, leaving Raichi Jingo, who had just rushed over from the backfield to provide support, with a huge opening for a shot!

He shot!

Goal!

3:1!

"That was a great pass, Kira! Just like that!"

Raichi Jingo immediately cheered. An hour ago, he had been extremely annoyed with Kira Ryosuke, but now he ran over to Kira Ryosuke, high-fived him, and the hostility between them completely vanished after this successful combination.

"That was a beautiful shot!"

Kira Ryosuke nodded as well.

His greatest role now was to draw the opposing team's defense and create more space for his teammates.

Moreover, that pass had allowed him to earn Raichi Jingo's complete trust. He had turned this hot-tempered, unstable element of the team into one of his supporters, further gaining control over the team.

His actions also formed a stark contrast with Barou Shoei's. In the eyes of Team X's members, the difference between the two was immediately obvious.

"You piece of trash!"

Barou Shoei glared viciously at Kira Ryosuke. He was extremely displeased with Kira Ryosuke's decision to pass.

"I believe I scored right in front of you not long ago. Besides, the way you're talking makes it sound as if you've already won."

Kira Ryosuke merely smiled faintly and didn't bother responding further, leaving the furious Barou Shoei standing there alone.

Chapter Twenty-Three: The First Match Ends, Barou Shoei Turns Red with Rage

The score had become 3:1 by halftime. Combined with the enormous difference between the two captains, the match had gradually turned into a one-sided contest during the second half.

Just as Kira Ryosuke had expected, Barou Shoei focused entirely on attacking by himself in the second half. He never considered passing to his teammates, leaving the others with nothing to do but run back and forth alongside him.

Although Barou Shoei possessed outstanding individual ability, his offensive efficiency was extremely low against the tight encirclement of Team Z. Even when he managed to create scoring opportunities, he consumed a tremendous amount of possession and time. Receiving passes from his teammates also became much more difficult, and he loudly berated them for their incompetence.

"Can't you useless idiots do anything?"

"Pass! Pass the ball to me!"

"You're nothing but my servants, understand? I'm the king of the field!"

This made the atmosphere within Team X even more hostile. Barou Shoei's relationship with his teammates had nearly fallen to freezing point.

Quite a few of his teammates were getting angry as well. If they had been in the lead, they would have passed the ball to Barou Shoei without hesitation—but now that they were trailing by a wide margin, everything was different.

The match was already doomed, and the outcome of the remaining matches was uncertain. Each of them couldn't help thinking of another rule for advancing: becoming the team's top scorer.

Barou Shoei had already scored. To compete for the right to advance, they had to try to score more goals than Barou Shoei.

Thus, they stopped passing to Barou Shoei and chose to attack on their own. However, their abilities were limited, and everyone was competing for chances to score, causing the entire team to fall back into its previous state of utter chaos.

"You bunch of incompetent servants!"

Barou Shoei was driven into a rage by his teammates' choices, but there was nothing he could do.

On the other hand, Kira Ryosuke's Team Z grew stronger with every passing minute.

After getting ample rest, Kira Ryosuke not only used Thunderclap and Flash in his Total Concentration state to score two more goals in the second half, but also created brilliant passes to give his teammates opportunities. This further earned the team's trust and united the eleven people who had only met a few days ago into a single group.

The final moments of the match were essentially garbage time, and the score ultimately settled at 8:3.

When the final whistle blew, the veins on Barou Shoei's forehead bulged as if they were about to burst through his skin. His entire face had turned bright red from the intense exercise and the rage in his heart. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, not a word came out. He left the field with an expression full of fury.

The other members of Team X didn't say anything either. Suffocating silence spread among them.

On the other side, the members of Team Z surrounded Kira Ryosuke.

"Awesome, Kira! How exactly did you pull off that shot?"

"That was incredible! That guy from the other team, Barou—when he scored the first goal and equalized, he scared me to death. Luckily, you stepped in at the right time!"

"Long live Kira! Long live King Kira!"

Everyone hugged Kira Ryosuke and cheered. This was their first official match inside Blue Lock, and the result was extremely important.

"8:3. An unexpected score."

After the match ended, Ego Jinpachi repeatedly reviewed the details of the game.

He hadn't expected Team X to lose by such a huge margin.

"When the Blue Lock project had just begun, I thought Barou's team should have been able to defeat Team Z. I never expected it to turn out like this."

Ego Jinpachi leaned back in his chair and gently rubbed his chin with one hand.

Just as he had expected, Barou Shoei had used his outstanding abilities to successfully transform Team X from zero to one, bringing the team together—

But before long, the team had collapsed again because Barou Shoei was too obsessed with fighting alone.

Although he couldn't be certain, Ego Jinpachi had formed a bold hypothesis.

From beginning to end, Kira Ryosuke had been guiding Barou Shoei's actions, luring him into a vicious cycle of constant attacks before organizing attacks himself and assisting his teammates. Under that intense contrast, Team Z became increasingly united, while Team X collapsed once more.

This had probably all been planned by Kira Ryosuke. Like a puppeteer, he had manipulated the entire match. Even his passes to his teammates had served purposes beyond scoring.

"This is only a hypothesis, and it can't be confirmed..."

Ego Jinpachi adjusted his glasses and muttered to himself,

"If it's true, then a terrifying monster is being kept inside Blue Lock... He's been hiding his fangs all this time. Even I misjudged him."

"That was amazing, Kira!"

Kira Ryosuke returned to Team Z's room amid everyone's cheers and enthusiastic support. Raichi Jingo was also there, shouting the loudest.

"That pass was perfect! Let's keep winning like this!"

"Yeah."

Kira Ryosuke nodded and answered with a smile.

[Congratulations! Obtained Combat Points: 80]

Just as expected, official matches provide far more Combat Points than the earlier game of tag. On top of that, my performance during the match also gives me a considerable bonus.

Kira Ryosuke immediately opened the System Interface.

[Host: Kira Ryosuke]

[Current Combat Points: 110]

[Current Skills:]

[Combat. Thunder Breathing. Total Concentration LV2 Proficiency: 38.07%]

[Combat. Thunder Breathing First Form. Thunderclap and Flash LV2 Proficiency: 35.17%]

Using skills in actual combat could provide Kira Ryosuke with a massive increase in proficiency, something ordinary training could never match. However, even though real combat provided a substantial amount of proficiency, he couldn't neglect his usual practice.

His Total Concentration Breathing and Thunderclap and Flash had yet to reach one hundred percent proficiency, so Kira Ryosuke couldn't upgrade them. His gaze continued moving downward.

[Combat. Thunder Breathing Second Form. Rice Spirit (Locked; Unlock: 100 Combat Points)]

[Combat. Thunder Breathing Third Form. Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder (Locked; Unlock: 150 Combat Points, and Rice Spirit must be unlocked)]

[Combat. Thunder Breathing Fifth Form: Burning Realm Thunder (Locked; Unlock: 250 Combat Points, and Distant Thunder must be unlocked)]

[Combat. Thunder Breathing Sixth Form. Electric Roar Thunderous Blast (Locked; Unlock: 300 Combat Points, and Burning Realm Thunder must be unlocked)]

[Combat. Thunder Breathing Seventh Form. God of Fire and Thunder (Locked; Unlock: 350 Combat Points, and Electric Roar Thunderous Blast must be unlocked)]

Chapter Twenty-Four: A New Skill, Unlocked!

Kira Ryosuke now had 110 Combat Points. He couldn't use them to upgrade anything, so he might as well spend them on unlocking a new skill.

[Combat Points: 10]

[Congratulations! Successfully unlocked Combat. Thunder Breathing Second Form. Rice Spirit]

After unlocking the skill, Kira Ryosuke seemed to see a chain of lightning flickering in his eyes for a moment.

As the system issued its notification, the interface in his eyes also changed.

[Combat. Thunder Breathing Second Form. Rice Spirit LV1 Proficiency: 0%]

I've unlocked a new skill, but its proficiency will need to be trained from scratch. That's bound to take quite a while. I wonder if it'll be enough...

Kira Ryosuke was thinking to himself when the system's voice rang out again. At the same time, a new screen appeared.

[Achievement Obtained: "Making Your Debut": Scored a goal in an official match for the first time. Physical attributes slightly increased.]

Kira Ryosuke felt a surge of power flow into his body before disappearing without a trace.

[Achievement Obtained: "Hat Trick": Completed a hat trick in an official match for the first time. Unlocked Combat Space privileges.]

[Combat Space: A unique space independent of the real world. The host may enter it to practice. Within Combat Space, the host will not feel any fatigue, and time in the real world will stop flowing after entering Combat Space.]

[Combat Space: 10 Combat Points/1 hour]

"There are achievements too? And this Combat Space..."

Kira Ryosuke focused on the description of Combat Space and quickly realized how important it was.

Combat Points affected the strength of his abilities, but another extremely important factor was time.

Kira Ryosuke needed time to practice and familiarize himself with these skills. Previously, it had taken him more than a week to raise the proficiency of Total Concentration Breathing and Thunderclap and Flash to one hundred percent. Now that he had upgraded and unlocked more skills, he needed even more time to practice.

Although, for the sake of maintaining the players' stamina and ensuring fair competition, there would be an interval of at least several days between two matches for the same team, that still wasn't enough for Kira Ryosuke.

With Combat Space, however, things would be different. Kira Ryosuke would have additional time to practice.

Most importantly, he wouldn't feel tired inside that space. This could greatly increase the efficiency of his training. A mere hour might even be equivalent to an entire day of practice for an ordinary person.

Just then, the screen in the room suddenly lit up again, and Ego Jinpachi's face appeared on it.

"Raw gems of Team Z, although this was only one match, I have to admit that you performed beautifully."

Ego Jinpachi spoke slowly, but his gaze seemed to be fixed on Kira Ryosuke.

"You seem to have found your weapons, as well as a way to create soccer from zero. But I have a question for you, Kira Ryosuke. Why did you choose to pass instead of attacking directly by yourself during your second confrontation with Barou?"

"Because passing was the correct choice."

Kira Ryosuke smiled as he spoke.

"Although you won, I still have to remind you that this mindset won't take you any further. A striker must be selfish. Only by constantly scoring goals can you be called the world's number-one striker. If you hesitate on the field, or if you embrace the idea of helping others, then you're completely mistaken."

Ego Jinpachi's expression gradually grew serious. The others present felt a chill run down their spines as they looked at his face, and none of them dared to interrupt their conversation.

The smile on Kira Ryosuke's face, however, didn't change in the slightest.

"I don't really agree with that, Mr. Eikoku. A truly formidable striker isn't judged by how many goals he can score, but by whether he can lead his team to victory. Isn't Barou the best example?"

Kira Ryosuke continued,

"I didn't pass because I was afraid or for any other reason. I simply believed that doing so would give us the best chance to win. What I want is victory, not goals. A truly outstanding player must make the correct decision at the correct time—in other words, only someone who can lead his teammates to victory can be called a truly outstanding player. Compared with Barou, I'd rather cooperate with my current teammates."

Kira Ryosuke's words invisibly increased his influence within Team Z even further.

"If you don't agree with my philosophy, why did you come here?"

Ego Jinpachi pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose. His dark, deep eyes focused on Kira Ryosuke's face as if he wanted to see through his heart.

"Because I came here precisely to prove that your philosophy, Mr. Eikoku, is wrong."

Kira Ryosuke answered with a smile. That was exactly why his original body had entered Blue Lock.

"And if I, the person opposing you, make it all the way to the end, wouldn't that be incredibly ironic?"