That single move left almost everyone present dumbfounded, but Kira Ryosuke calmly shifted his gaze to that person. He knew exactly who he was.
Itoshi Rin was the younger brother of the genius midfielder Itoshi Sae. In the original story, he could be said to have been the most well-rounded player in Blue Lock.
However, in Kira Ryosuke's eyes, he was also completely obsessed.
In the original story, he had come to Blue Lock to surpass his brother, Itoshi Sae. He was also arrogantly unreasonable, looking down on everyone else.
Of course, he had the capital to be proud.
"Open the door. The warm-up is over."
Itoshi Rin said coldly before walking through the gate with an indifferent expression.
"Interesting."
At the same time, Itoshi Sae was at home, repeatedly replaying several videos.
They were recordings of Kira Ryosuke's matches in Blue Lock.
Earlier, he had happened to see a recording of Kira Ryosuke's match against Team X and had become interested in him. He had then asked his agent to obtain all of Kira Ryosuke's first selection match recordings from the chairman of the Football Association.
Itoshi Sae had watched them over and over for a long time. That had never happened before.
"Forward, defender, midfielder... This guy is practically omnipotent on the field. He completely dominates the game. Interesting. I've never seen a player with this kind of ability."
Itoshi Sae muttered to himself, his eyes never leaving the screen.
"If I could play a match with this person, it might be very interesting. Perhaps he is the only one who could perfectly receive my passes."
Back in Blue Lock, after saying goodbye to his teammates, Kira Ryosuke stepped through the gate as well.
Following the directions, he soon arrived at a spacious square arena.
Suddenly, a humanoid holographic projection appeared in front of Kira Ryosuke, while the image of a goal was projected onto the wall.
This was the latest technology used in Blue Lock—BLUELOCK MAN.
It was an artificial-intelligence holographic system. BLUELOCK MAN had recorded data on world-class goalkeepers and could perform the same saves as them. Moreover, it was not merely a holographic projection. Miniature chips had also been installed inside the footballs used in Blue Lock, allowing them to simulate realistic physical collisions when they touched the projection.
This was the first individual battle of the second selection: score one hundred goals within ninety minutes. As the number of goals increased, the difficulty would rise as well.
However, this was no problem for Kira Ryosuke. On the contrary, it was an opportunity to practice.
Skill Fusion—Kicking—Shooting—Hit!
Kira Ryosuke was like a shooting machine, continuously firing the ball into the net.
"Kira is way too fast!"
In the monitoring room, Teieri Anri could not help exclaiming in surprise. Although she had already witnessed Kira Ryosuke's formidable strength, his speed had still exceeded her expectations.
"He's completely at ease."
Ego Jinpachi shifted his gaze to the other people on the screens. Most of them looked rather strained because BLUELOCK MAN was already equivalent to an elite goalkeeper, to say nothing of how the difficulty would gradually increase afterward.
Only Kira Ryosuke looked completely relaxed, as though in his eyes this was not a test, but merely a practice session.
"Although his ideas conflict with mine, I really am looking forward to seeing how he performs later."
Before he knew it, Kira Ryosuke had completed the assessment. All the holographic projections vanished, and the tightly shut gate opened again. At the end of the passage was the location of the second stage.
Kira Ryosuke passed through the passage and arrived at another hall. A line of text was clearly displayed on the screen embedded in the wall.
"Form teams of three to continue forward."
This was the true content of the second selection.
"However..."
Kira Ryosuke looked around.
At that moment, he was the only person in the room.
"Looks like I finished a little too quickly."
Kira Ryosuke sighed and casually found a place to sit.
A few minutes later, the entrance gate opened again, and a familiar figure walked in.
Itoshi Rin.
"What a boring test."
Itoshi Rin muttered to himself as he walked straight into the hall.
"Form a team of three? What a waste of my time. I still have to wait for those insects..."
As Itoshi Rin spoke to himself, he suddenly noticed Kira Ryosuke's presence, and his brow twitched slightly.
He had instinctively assumed he was first and had not expected Kira Ryosuke to appear before him.
Itoshi Rin glanced at the name on the badge over Kira Ryosuke's shoulder but did not pay it any mind. In his eyes, everyone else was merely small fry.
At that moment, the third person also entered.
He was tall and had long hair. He was also muttering to himself:
"Artificial intelligence. I suppose it is rather stylish."
Kira Ryosuke shifted his gaze to that person. It was Ariko Juubei, who possessed astonishing physical abilities.
"Hey, it's just us. Let's head out now. Don't waste my time."
Seeing Kira Ryosuke and Ariko Juubei, Itoshi Rin addressed them both in a commanding tone.
He did not care who his teammates were. There just happened to be three people present, so he intended to form a team immediately.
"What a stylish statement."
Ariko Juubei nodded. Itoshi Rin's words did not bother him, and he was not opposed to forming a team with him either.
At that moment, however, Kira Ryosuke smiled and spoke:
"When did I agree to form a team with you?"
"What did you say?"
Itoshi Rin's brow twitched again. This time, he finally looked directly at Kira Ryosuke. His expression did not change, but he was clearly beginning to lose his temper.
"You heard what I said. I don't need to repeat myself, do I?"
Kira Ryosuke stood up and looked straight at Itoshi Rin. Their gazes collided.
Kira Ryosuke was usually easygoing, and he got along well with those around him. However, when faced with someone as arrogant as Itoshi Rin, who clearly had no idea what respect meant, he had no intention of indulging him.
"What a stylish conversation. This young man's face is pretty stylish too."
Ariko Juubei shifted his gaze to Kira Ryosuke. The word "stylish" seemed to be permanently attached to his lips.
"Just an insect. Watch who you're talking to."
Itoshi Rin took a step forward, as if he intended to tear Kira Ryosuke apart.
"What is it? And who are you? You don't even know basic manners. I suggest you leave Blue Lock and go back for some character education. Maybe elementary-school football suits you better."
Kira Ryosuke smiled as he shot back.
The veins on Itoshi Rin's forehead bulged like worms about to break through his skin. However, just as the situation was about to explode, the entrance gate opened again, and the fourth person, Tokimitsu Aoshi, walked in.
"Let's go."
Itoshi Rin had no intention of wasting time on Kira Ryosuke. He directly led Ariko Juubei and Tokimitsu Aoshi, who still looked bewildered and had no idea what had happened, toward the next area.
Before leaving, Itoshi Rin turned his head and fixed an incomparably sharp gaze on Kira Ryosuke.
"If I meet you on the field, I'll kill you. Remember that."
"Oh? You can try."
Kira Ryosuke merely smiled as he answered.
Itoshi Rin soon left the hall with the other two. More people arrived one after another, but they belonged to other teams and did not know Kira Ryosuke, so none of them formed a team with him.
After quite some time, Kira Ryosuke finally encountered two familiar faces.
Nagi Seishiro and Mikage Reo.
"Nagi Seishiro?"
Seeing Kira Ryosuke, Mikage Reo's mouth twitched. A trace of hostility appeared in his eyes, and he prepared to ignore Kira Ryosuke completely. He had already regarded Kira Ryosuke as his archenemy—the person who had ended his and Nagi Seishiro's winning streak.
Nagi Seishiro, however, reacted completely differently. He walked over to Kira Ryosuke and greeted him:
"Hey, Kira. You're fast."
"I just got lucky."
Kira Ryosuke politely returned the greeting.
"Are you waiting for people to form a team with?"
Nagi Seishiro continued asking, and Kira Ryosuke nodded.
"Then why don't we team up?"
Nagi Seishiro invited him. After their match against Team Z, he had become somewhat curious about Kira Ryosuke.
"Hey, Nagi, are you really going to form a team with him?"
Mikage Reo looked puzzled, unable to understand Nagi Seishiro's decision.
"Yeah."
Nagi Seishiro nodded seriously.
"Tch. If that's what you want, Nagi, then I don't mind either."
Mikage Reo shrugged. Although he was somewhat displeased with Kira Ryosuke, he did not intend to object if this was what Nagi Seishiro wanted.
"Let me make one thing clear first. I know your skills are decent, but you absolutely cannot disrupt the chemistry between Nagi and me..."
At that moment, Kira Ryosuke spoke:
"Sorry, but I intend to leave at least one spot open for one of my original teammates. If it's only you, Nagi, then that's fine."
To be honest, Kira Ryosuke did not really want someone like Mikage Reo as a teammate. For one thing, he was one of the most obsessed people in Blue Lock. For another, even after losing, Mikage Reo still wore an arrogant expression and carried himself with a superiority complex.
"Tch, what? Those people are nothing but dead weight. Since you..."
But before Mikage Reo could finish, Nagi Seishiro had already nodded.
"Okay. Then I'll join your team."
"What? Hey, Nagi, weren't you supposed to team up with me?!"
Mikage Reo froze. Several seconds later, he finally reacted, then immediately looked at Nagi Seishiro in agitation. The latter calmly replied:
"In our last match, Kira was the best player on the field. He was better than everyone else combined, so I want to try playing football with Kira."
"B-but our teaming up was absolute, wasn't it?!"
Sweat appeared on Mikage Reo's forehead, and he visibly began to panic.
"Reo, you were the one who taught me football. Me becoming number one in the world with you is absolute. But we lost, so we're no longer the strongest. I want to work harder. I want to play football with Kira."
Nagi Seishiro's expression was extremely serious. Although his voice was calm, he seemed to have made this decision long ago.
After losing that match, Nagi Seishiro had kept thinking about Kira Ryosuke's words. He had always stayed by Mikage Reo's side and been influenced by him into believing that all other teammates were merely supporting players. But after fighting Kira Ryosuke and hearing what he had said, his beliefs had begun to waver.
Kira Ryosuke was not only powerful himself; he could also make teammates who supposedly had no talent unleash potential beyond all expectations.
Moreover, Kira Ryosuke's ideas differed somewhat from Blue Lock's philosophy. Nagi Seishiro wanted to know which side was right.
"With someone like that... Fine... Do whatever you want."
Mikage Reo's face darkened as he spoke in a trembling voice, as if throwing a tantrum.
At that moment, he raised his head and fixed his gaze on Kira Ryosuke.
In his eyes, a flame called hatred burned.
Kira Ryosuke had no favorable impression of Mikage Reo, but he did not mind accepting this silent declaration of war.
Soon, more and more people entered, and more familiar faces appeared.
Before you continue