Blue Lock, I, Kira Ryosuke, Obtain Thunder Breathing at the Start

"I came to see you. It's not that far from where you are anyway. The cafeteria here is so-so, not as good as what Reiko makes. I'd rather come back and try your cooking!"

Kira Ryosuke replied with a smile.

"Um..."

Hearing Kira Ryosuke's words, Aida Reiko clenched her fists slightly, lowered her head shyly, pursed her lips, and then quickly smiled, turning her gaze to the screen.

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you! You absolutely have to score ten goals!"

"Got it! Don't worry!"

"One more thing!"

Aida Reiko's expression turned very serious. She leaned forward, extending a finger to gently touch the screen as if touching Kira Ryosuke's forehead.

"You have to win in the end! Prove that arrogant guy wrong!"

"Mhm, it's a deal."

Kira Ryosuke nodded.

"Then you guys probably have training later, so I won't bother you! Contact me if anything comes up! When are you coming back? I'll prepare a ton of delicious food for you!"

After finishing the call with Aida Reiko, Kira Ryosuke arrived at Team Z's exclusive field. Everyone else's gazes immediately shifted towards him.

He could keenly sense the envy in their eyes.

"Um, Reiko isn't my..."

Before Kira Ryosuke could finish explaining, Imamura Yuudai walked up and patted his shoulder.

"I get it. After all, you're a bit of a celebrity, Kira-bro. If the media found out, it would cause quite a bit of trouble. I'll definitely keep it a secret for you."

After speaking, Imamura Yuudai gave Kira Ryosuke a thumbs-up, looking as if he could be completely trusted.

"..."

Kira Ryosuke sighed helplessly. It was useless to explain now.

"Everyone is tired today, so there's no need for intense training. Let's practice some basic coordination and tactics. Then tomorrow, we'll watch the footage in the monitoring room to see where we performed poorly in today's match. We also need to watch the match between Team Y and Team V. Although the score was lopsided, both Team V and Team Y will be our opponents in the future, so we can't let our guard down."

According to the original plot, their next match was against Team Y.

Even though Team Y had just been beaten 8-0 by Team V, it didn't mean Team Y was weak.

There were two players worth noting: Oogawa Hibiki, who possessed excellent scoring ability.

But one of his teammates had a higher tactical importance than Oogawa Hibiki – Niko Ikki.

He was the true core brain of Team Y, formulating strategies for the entire team and implementing counter-attacks.

And their first-round opponent, Team Y, was the strongest among the five teams.

In the original work, three of their players had scored a total of 18 goals in the first four matches.

Mikage Reo, who excelled at passing and controlling the ball, and Tsurugi Zantetsu, with his incredible acceleration.

And the genius Nagi Seishiro.

He possessed unparalleled physical talent and an astonishing ability for ball control, capable of stopping the ball and shooting from various angles and in various ways.

Most incredibly, Nagi Seishiro had only been playing football for half a year, yet he had already reached a level unattainable by ordinary people.

Their match against him was likely to be a tough one.

However, Team Z's match against Team V was the last one. Kira Ryosuke knew he had to focus his attention on the opponent in front of him, and he also needed to further improve his own strength during this time.

Team Y's locker room.

The atmosphere in the entire team had dropped to freezing point.

In fact, under Niko Ikki's leadership, Team Y had quickly formulated their tactics and were not as chaotic as Team X.

But in the face of absolute talent, their efforts were meaningless. Team V's "Big Three" easily broke through their goal time and time again.

Even the strongest player, Nagi Seishiro, didn't even break a sweat. It was as if football was just a routine job for him; he easily scored and then stood aside to rest.

Even so, Team Y couldn't manage a single goal, which made everyone in the team extremely resentful.

"Since we've already lost, there's nothing we can do."

Niko Ikki clapped his hands, his thick bangs covering his eyes.

He wanted to ease the current cold atmosphere in the locker room and also motivate the others to prepare for the next match.

They had already lost one game, and only two out of the five teams could advance. They were already on the edge of a cliff; another loss would mean complete elimination.

"We should now focus on identifying our mistakes from this match and shift our attention to the upcoming games. Team X and Team Z have also finished their match. They will definitely play against us in the future, so we can go to the monitoring room to watch their match footage from today and get to know our opponents in advance."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: New Function Unlocked, Combat Space!

In the monitoring room, Niko Ikki, along with Oogawa Hibiki and their other teammates, watched the match between Team Z and Team X. Expressions of surprise appeared on everyone's faces.

Undoubtedly, Barou Shoei possessed very strong skills and physical fitness, which gave him formidable offensive capabilities. Even Oogawa Hibiki, who was once the top scorer in his region, felt inferior to him.

But even so, Team X still lost.

It wasn't just because the team had internal strife and eventually collapsed, but also because of Kira Ryosuke's presence.

"That Kira Ryosuke... I've heard of him, many people call him the Treasure of the Football World. I've watched his games before, and he was indeed very skilled, but I never expected him to be this powerful in Blue Lock..."

Oogawa Hibiki couldn't help but exclaim, his voice even trembling slightly.

"Oogawa, could you do that kind of shot?"

Niko Ikki reached out and pointed at the screen, which was frozen on the image of Kira Ryosuke dribbling past Barou Shoei and taking a shot.

"No, it's impossible... His first shot was with his right foot, and then he skillfully used his left foot for the second... that's already an incredible level."

Oogawa Hibiki swallowed, "And to maintain such speed and power, the goalkeeper clearly didn't even react... Barou was already a monster, but Kira is a monster among monsters."

"Not only that, unlike Barou who insisted on playing solo, Kira also chooses to pass at the right moment, which makes him terrifying. He almost controlled the entire field by himself."

Niko Ikki reached out and gently stroked his chin, seemingly contemplating how to deal with such a situation.

"However, facing an opponent like this, the defensive strategy we devised earlier should be effective."

He lowered his hand, his tone becoming incredibly firm.

"Kira is the absolute core and brain of Team Z. As long as we shut him down, Team Z won't be difficult to handle. We will win—we must win."

"Just like in the first match, after the forwards cross the halfway line, Raichi, you guys will push forward according to your rotating positions..."

On Team Z's field, Kira Ryosuke had already finished the most basic tactical drills with everyone. The others quickly went to rest.

Kira Ryosuke remained on the field alone, preparing to do some specialized practice.

He hadn't had a chance to test the effects of the Thunder Breathing Second Form he had just unlocked, and what Kira Ryosuke was most curious about was what this so-called Combat Space actually was.

While thinking, Kira Ryosuke opened the system interface again.

[Combat Space: 10 Combat Points/1 hour]

Kira Ryosuke currently had exactly 10 Combat Points left, enough to try out this so-called Combat Space.

[Redemption successful, entering Combat Space]

[Three, two, one...]

[Entering]

Kira Ryosuke felt the scene before his eyes change. The surrounding environment shattered like scattered puzzle pieces and then reassembled before him.

In the next instant, Kira Ryosuke found himself in a new space.

A green football field appeared before Kira Ryosuke, and a soccer ball lay quietly at his feet.

[This Combat Space provides all football-related sports equipment. If needed, you can open the system menu to select them.]

Following the system prompt, Kira Ryosuke opened the system menu. What greeted his eyes were various training equipment, dummies, obstacles, heavy balls... and even equipment Kira Ryosuke had never seen before.

Moreover, the size, style, and even color of these pieces of equipment could be changed according to Kira Ryosuke's wishes.

And in the middle of the sky above the field, huge numbers appeared.

60:00

59:59

59:58

Kira Ryosuke immediately realized that the numbers above were a countdown of the remaining time in the Combat Space. This was an opportunity that cost ten points, a precious hour earned through a day of hard training, and he absolutely could not waste it.

He immediately went to the goal, entered the state of Total Concentration Breathing, and then used Thunderclap and Flash for a shot.

After taking the shot, Kira Ryosuke carefully felt his legs—this time, he felt no soreness.

"This way, the efficiency will increase significantly!"

A smile appeared on Kira Ryosuke's face, because practicing skills in the state of Total Concentration Breathing not only allowed him to improve the proficiency of two skills simultaneously, but the speed of improvement was also slightly faster than using the two abilities separately.

After he finished shooting, the soccer ball in the goal disappeared, and a brand-new soccer ball appeared out of thin air in front of him.

"It seems quite user-friendly, which will save me a lot of time."

He quickly took shots with both legs, and still felt no soreness.

"As expected, there are no stamina limitations here. I can fully practice my skills to improve their proficiency."

Kira Ryosuke muttered to himself, then temporarily stopped practicing Thunderclap and Flash, shifting his attention to the newly unlocked skill.

Second Form. Rice Spirit.

The ability of First Form. Thunderclap and Flash was to increase the explosiveness of the legs, and Kira Ryosuke was curious about the effect of Rice Spirit.

He maintained the state of Total Concentration Breathing and, guided by the memory that had just flooded his mind, moved his body instinctively.

Kira Ryosuke started to run—and the soccer ball at his feet moved with him.

Then, he stepped on the ball with the side of his foot, and the ball bounced off the ground, landing perfectly on Kira Ryosuke's chest.

All of this was done by Kira Ryosuke while he was in high-speed motion.

Kira Ryosuke quickly performed a series of fancy moves while dribbling the ball. The small ball seemed to have a life of its own at this moment, moving around Kira Ryosuke as if it were a contracted spirit. It would leap up, spin, and move freely between Kira Ryosuke's feet.

Although these moves, no different from street football, looked flashy, they were extremely fast. If a defender tried to tackle, they would likely lose their balance and be out of position.

"So that's it, so this is the skill."

Kira Ryosuke's lips curved into a slight smile as he stopped his movements. He now understood the effect of the skill "Rice Spirit."

Superb dribbling technique.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Spark Hidden in Chigiri Hyoma's Heart

Thunderclap and Flash gave Kira Ryosuke incredible leg explosiveness, while Rice Spirit greatly enhanced Kira Ryosuke's dribbling skills.

His original body's strength was excellent, and his dribbling and ball-handling skills were above average. However, there was still a significant gap compared to top dribblers like Bachira Meguru.

Previously, Kira Ryosuke's victory over Bachira Meguru was mainly due to his superior physical fitness and speed.

It was the same during matches. With the boost from Thunderclap and Flash, Kira Ryosuke possessed the speed to easily tear through the defense. He also used this explosive power to get past opponents and shoot.

Speed, not technique, was the most crucial factor in achieving all of this.

At the same time, Team X's defense was chaotic, with no coordination between players. This allowed Kira Ryosuke to easily break into the penalty area.

However, the next team they would face, Team Y, was completely different. Their coordination was orderly, and they placed great emphasis on defense. Creating a suitable shooting opportunity would not be easy. Moreover, the opposing team had likely watched the recording of his match against Team X and knew he possessed superior speed. Therefore, they might set their defensive line even deeper and more densely packed. This would not only make breakthroughs difficult but also easily block long-range shots.

With Rice Spirit, Kira Ryosuke had another offensive option.

Generally, street football moves are too flashy, with too many unnecessary actions leading to a high error rate. However, the dribbling moves granted by Rice Spirit to Kira Ryosuke had no superfluous components and could better shake the defender's balance.

What Kira Ryosuke needed right now was precisely this ability, giving him more opportunities to score without using Thunderclap and Flash.

Unlike Thunderclap and Flash, Rice Spirit was purely a skill. Therefore, it wouldn't have a very noticeable effect enhancement in the Total Concentration Breathing state. However, it could allow Kira Ryosuke to possess advanced dribbling abilities even in his normal state.