Rin's FLOW, Completely Insane!

Niko Ikki blocked Bachira Meguru's path at top speed.

His attacking route is blocked, and Nagi Seishiro and Kunigami Rensuke are behind me to provide defensive cover. He should understand that. Passing is the best option—and Itoshi Rin is the most suitable target.

With his excellent observation and sharp mind, Niko Ikki assessed the situation on the field. At the same time, he believed he had completely sealed off Bachira Meguru's route of attack, so his opponent should choose to pass backward.

"Hey, kappa head, pass it back."

At Bachira Meguru's side, Itoshi Rin also shouted in a commanding tone.

Just then, Niko Ikki noticed something.

He keenly sensed that Bachira Meguru's aura seemed to have changed, and his expression had also become extremely serious.

It was an expression Bachira Meguru had never shown before. His entire mind and spirit were focused completely on himself.

"Could it be?!"

Before Niko Ikki could react, Bachira Meguru had already moved.

He sent the ball straight through Niko Ikki's legs, then barely slipped past his side. He almost lost his balance, but ultimately managed to keep his center of gravity.

"What? That was way too reckless!"

Niko Ikki stared in disbelief. His defensive position had not been bad, yet Bachira Meguru had forced his way past him.

It was pure brute force, and extremely irrational at that. Bachira Meguru should have known this, because even if he got past Niko Ikki, Kunigami Rensuke and Nagi Seishiro were still behind him, ready to double-team him.

"Is this guy crazy?"

"Damn it!"

Itoshi Rin was furious because Bachira Meguru had disobeyed his order and chosen the most irrational option—a solo attack.

But Bachira Meguru's feet did not stop for even a moment. He continued sprinting toward the opposing side at full speed.

"I'll stop him!"

Kunigami Rensuke immediately stepped forward to block him—

But Bachira Meguru suddenly changed direction, drawing Kunigami Rensuke's center of gravity along with him. Then, the moment his opponent took a step, he once again sent the ball through his legs!

He had dribbled past two people in succession!

"I'm running alongside you!"

Not far from Bachira Meguru, Ariko Juubei ran parallel to him, hoping to assist Bachira Meguru with a passing play.

But Bachira Meguru had not even looked at him properly from beginning to end.

"You're so damn noisy! I'm not passing!"

For a moment, Bachira Meguru's expression seemed to turn fierce. At that instant, he was completely absorbed in his own football.

He would not pass to anyone. He would follow his instincts and attack as he pleased!

"Damn it!"

Kunigami Rensuke immediately fell back and tried desperately to defend, but Bachira Meguru had already opened up a gap.

Seeing this, Nagi Seishiro also moved forward to cover. Bachira Meguru, however, used a rapid stepover, probing Nagi Seishiro's center of gravity. Then, with a sudden Cruyff Turn, he went straight past Nagi Seishiro.

Nagi Seishiro instinctively reached out to grab Bachira Meguru, but he could not stop him at all!

At that moment, although Bachira Meguru was still fighting alone, he was also displaying astonishing attacking ability.

This attack had posed an enormous threat to the White Team.

"Double-team him!"

Although Bachira Meguru had successfully dribbled past Nagi Seishiro, the time he had spent changing direction gave Niko Ikki and Kunigami Rensuke—who had been pulled out of position earlier—enough time to chase back and defend.

Yet even when faced with the three-man double-team, Bachira Meguru showed no panic. Instead, his concentration grew even sharper.

At his feet, the ball moved left and right as if it were alive. At times, it even leaped into the air, giving the defenders the illusion that they could steal it, before luring them out of position.

"Hey, kappa head, that's enough! Pass me the ball!"

Itoshi Rin had now arrived outside the surrounding defenders and shouted furiously at Bachira Meguru.

It was not only because Bachira Meguru had disobeyed his order. Everyone's attention was focused on Bachira Meguru, and that made Itoshi Rin feel intensely irritated.

He had originally believed that Blue Lock was merely his stepping stone, and that everyone else was nothing more than a foothold beneath his feet. None of them could ever catch up with him.

But now, he felt that the others were gradually keeping pace with him. Worse still, Kira Ryosuke had appeared—a presence that even made him feel threatened.

How disgusting...

In the center of the field, Bachira Meguru moved as if he were performing an elegant waltz, controlling the ball in front of him with unbelievably flashy movements. These were techniques almost never seen in an official match.

It was as if he had become the focus of the entire world, preparing for a grand performance.

His movements were not merely flashy for show. First, he used a Horse Racing Spin to get past Kunigami Rensuke. Then he suddenly stopped and pulled the ball back, causing Nagi Seishiro, who was preparing to cover, to make the wrong judgment. Immediately afterward, he unleashed a Cruyff Turn and dribbled past Niko Ikki as well.

The three of them were not poor defenders. More importantly, they were surrounding one person together, so they should have been able to stop him with ease.

But Bachira Meguru seemed to have become an entirely different person. Not only was his concentration highly focused, but even his ball control seemed to have undergone a qualitative leap.

In that instant, Bachira Meguru seemed to become the most dazzling presence on the entire field.

It had been a struggle, but he had truly broken out of the encirclement and was charging straight toward the White Team's goal.

Only one final person remained in front of him.

Kira Ryosuke.

"Bachira Meguru is being a little too reckless."

Teieri Anri frowned as she spoke to Ego Jinpachi beside her.

She was filled with doubt. In her impression, Bachira Meguru was not the sort of player who clung to the ball. As long as a suitable opportunity arose, he would pass it out selflessly.

But Bachira Meguru was acting completely differently now. Even though Ariko Juubei and Itoshi Rin had created excellent opportunities through their movement, Bachira Meguru still refused to pass. This was entirely different from his usual style.

Even so, Teieri Anri had to admit one thing: Bachira Meguru was displaying unparalleled dribbling skills, something no one else in Blue Lock had ever shown before.

"I feel like... has his ability become stronger? He's much stronger than I expected..."

"This is a kind of awakening—or, to put it another way, what's known as 'FLOW.'"

Ego Jinpachi raised a hand and explained.

"FLOW?"

Teieri Anri was utterly confused.

"Only by focusing your mind on the feeling of challenge can you enter this state. Flow is the state of spiritual immersion that humans reach by combining it with their 'most fitting experience.' Humans become so immersed in something that they forget the passage of time, enjoying the action while their brains remain in a state of excitement. In other words, it is 'flow.' The miraculous goals in the eyes of others are born from these various states of flow."

Ego Jinpachi explained with an extremely serious expression, while Teieri Anri merely nodded lightly beside him. In reality, she had not understood a single word he had said.

Still, Teieri Anri understood that Bachira Meguru had reached, in an instant, a realm that he had never been able to reach before.

"Entering the FLOW state is the first step toward becoming a top-level player. Although Bachira Meguru has successfully entered this state, he should not be able to control it freely yet."

Ego Jinpachi spoke slowly,

"It's because of his competitiveness. His desire to challenge Kira Ryosuke is what allowed him to reach this level."

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"So, how will Kira Ryosuke respond?"

Bachira Meguru dribbled toward Kira Ryosuke at top speed.

He did not hesitate—and he could not afford to. Even the slightest pause would allow the three people he had beaten to catch up and defend again.

Bachira Meguru had only one choice now: get past Kira Ryosuke in the shortest possible time.

His fierce competitiveness burned like a raging flame, consuming every bit of fuel within him. No matter the consequences, he had to reach his peak in this instant.

Bachira Meguru absolutely did not want the gap between Kira Ryosuke and himself to grow wider and wider!

He lowered his center of gravity toward the left, trying to draw Kira Ryosuke's center of gravity off balance as well.

But in the next instant, Bachira Meguru suddenly tilted his entire body sharply to the right, like a human pendulum.

The movement was not particularly complicated, but its speed and rhythm were excellent. The simplest dribbling methods were often the most practical.

"You've done exceptionally well to make it this far, Bachira—but now that I'm your opponent, I'll give it everything I have, too."

Kira Ryosuke carefully observed Bachira Meguru's every movement. With his Rice Spirit ability, he also clearly understood what Bachira Meguru might do.

As the final line of defense for his team, he absolutely would not let Bachira Meguru score easily!

The instant Bachira Meguru shifted his center of gravity, Kira Ryosuke followed at top speed.

—Bachira Meguru seemed faster!

Before Kira Ryosuke could fully adjust his center of gravity, Bachira Meguru had already brushed past his shoulder.

At that moment, Bachira Meguru's gaze swept past Kira Ryosuke and landed directly on the goal.

He was certain to score!

This time, Bachira Meguru did not hesitate for even a moment. He stepped forward and prepared to shoot!

"If this were a full-sized official pitch, that attack of yours would have been extremely dangerous."

"But this is only a reduced-size field. The space available to you is severely limited."

"Stop right there!"

Just as Bachira Meguru thought he had gotten past Kira Ryosuke, his opponent turned even faster and successfully disrupted the shot from behind!

Chapter 72: Rin's FLOW, Completely Insane!

"What?!"

Bachira Meguru stared in disbelief. At the same time, his shot had been disrupted, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Bachira Meguru had thought he had successfully gotten past Kira Ryosuke. Yet just as he was about to shoot, Kira Ryosuke had completed the steal at the final moment.

This meant that Kira Ryosuke had not actually been fooled by his feint. Instead, he had used even faster and more exaggerated speed to complete the defense!

Although Bachira Meguru's attack had been stopped by Kira Ryosuke, the ball had also gone out over the goal line, giving the Red Team a corner kick.

"It still wasn't enough. I pushed it too far."

Bachira Meguru sat on the ground and sighed helplessly, but a happy smile once again appeared on his face.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands. He did not understand what had happened to him just now. It was as if his body had begun moving on its own.

Bachira Meguru himself did not know what that feeling meant, but he had indeed broken through the three-man defense and reached Kira Ryosuke.

At least during that period of time, Bachira Meguru had been enjoying his football.

"That was a close one."

Beside Bachira Meguru, Kira Ryosuke extended a hand.

"I reached this level, but I still couldn't get past you, Kira. You're really too strong."

Bachira Meguru smiled at Kira Ryosuke and grasped his hand, using Kira Ryosuke's strength to stand up.

As he spoke, Bachira Meguru carefully recalled everything that had just happened. It seemed that because he had always wanted to catch up with Kira Ryosuke, he had exploded with that inconceivable power.

Although he had ultimately failed, Bachira Meguru had thoroughly enjoyed that feeling of being immersed in a challenge.

"It was mainly because the field was small, allowing the defenders to close in faster. The transition between attack and defense was faster, too. On a standard-sized pitch, I might not have been able to get back in time after you broke through the double-team."

Kira Ryosuke smiled and patted Bachira Meguru on the shoulder.

In the original story, Bachira Meguru had also unleashed his true potential around this time.

But now, the power Bachira Meguru had displayed seemed even stronger than it had originally been.

"I don't particularly want to admit it, but the way you dribbled past them just now was incredibly stylish."

Ariko Juubei praised him.

"Just now... that was such a shame... If it hadn't been for Kira, you would've scored, Bachira..."

Tokimitsu Aoshi added.