"Then I'll be heading back."
Tendou waved his hand, said goodbye to Anri, and walked towards the dormitory. He had no intention of leaving Blue Lock right now. He hadn't forgotten that his purpose in coming here was to rake in popularity points.
Professional matters could wait. He still had enough time. He was more focused on clearing the current "dungeon."
...
Returning to the dormitory, Chigiri and the others seemed to have been waiting for a long time and eagerly surrounded him.
"How did it go, Tendou?"
What they were asking about, naturally, was whether there was any result regarding Tendou playing in the top five major leagues.
"What do you mean, how did it go?"
"Of course, it's about the invitation! Did you agree?"
"It's still too early."
He hadn't had a talk with those pros. Tendou felt that even if he did, it wouldn't be of much use. What kind of treatment he could get, whether he could get enough playing time—in the end, it all came down to strength. Talking to the players was useless; you had to talk to their head coach and manager for it to be useful.
Hearing this, Karasu and the others also felt that there was no rush and returned to their own beds with their own thoughts.
"By the way, now that we've passed the second assessment, can we watch the other teams' matches?" Karasu looked at the corner of the wall.
The match against the World All-Star Team was the final match of the third selection. At this moment, the five of them were all very idle.
Ego's gaze happened to be on their dormitory, because he wanted to know Tendou's inner thoughts. And so, not long after, the television in their dormitory lit up. On it was a broadcast of the third battle between Isagi's team and Rin's team.
At this moment, a scene on the field caught Reo's attention.
Nagi Seishiro was completing his second evolution.
"This match is amazing. Isagi and Rin are going head-to-head, fighting for control of the field."
"And, just dealing with Rin alone is tricky enough, but Bachira's inspiration has also ignited a chemical reaction among the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ranks."
His eyes were fixed on the opponents and even his teammates on the field, and the passion in his heart was once again ignited.
"This way, they're no longer a team that relies purely on individual technique. These guys are really too strong."
"But..."
"They still haven't reached Tendou's level. If it were Tendou, I feel like he would win no matter what. But with them... I really want to crush them!"
The score was 1:2, with Isagi's team temporarily behind.
They kicked off again, and the two sides immediately launched into an exciting battle of offense and defense. Isagi's and Rin's brains were spinning at high speed, searching for the opponent's loopholes.
However.
Just then, Nagi, with a move that surprised both of them, started to act.
A battle of offense and defense at the edge of the penalty area. Rin had read the enemy's tactics. When Isagi passed the ball to Nagi, Rin also closed in.
Seeing this, a flash of inspiration went through Nagi's mind. He suddenly took a shot, but it wasn't a shot, it was a trap! This was Nagi's signature "shooting-style trap." The ball grazed his leg and changed its path, miraculously dodging Rin's slide tackle.
And then.
Facing a goal with only the goalkeeper, Nagi met the ball with a furious shot.
BAM!
The ball went in. Nagi had used his monstrous trap to score for himself. The score came to 2:2.
This spectacular performance stunned the "audience" in front of the screen. This was true for the real-world audience, and also for the audience in Blue Lock.
"Are you serious? He can even do something like that?" Karasu scratched his head. Such trapping ability made even him feel inferior.
"Is he really that strong?"
They had just played against Isagi's team not long ago. Without a doubt, the most eye-catching ones in that match were Isagi and Otoya. The Nagi at that time was far from as dazzling as he was today.
"Nagi..." Reo looked at his companion, feeling both familiar and strange. Then, he couldn't help but smile, happy for Nagi's evolution.
2:2!
The two sides were tied again, and the match continued. These two teams were definitely the strongest 4-man groups at this stage; it was difficult to tell who was stronger. The score rose alternately, from 1:1 to 2:2, and then to 3:3.
Finally.
They brought the score to 4:4, and the match had reached its final climax.
'Please, please, just win one!'
'Get Bachira back for me, Isagi-ge!'
'Go for it!'
'It's one thing to lose to Tendou, but don't lose to Rin again!'
'Revenge! Get your revenge, and then snatch that lower-eyelash brother over for me.'
...
"Lower-eyelash brother" was Rin's new nickname. It originated from a flashback inserted during this match, a snippet of the match between Tendou and Sae. And so, the audience began to call Rin that.
"Tendou, who do you think will win?" Chigiri couldn't help but ask. He personally hoped that Isagi could win.
"Who knows? In a one-goal-decides-all match, anything can happen."
Tendou really wasn't sure. This match was already different from the original story. Isagi's team's fourth member had changed from Chigiri to Kira, and he had also experienced the Flow state ahead of schedule.
And also.
In the original story, at the end of this match, Isagi's control over the game had at one point surpassed Rin's. His understanding of and trust in Bachira had allowed him to successfully block Bachira's certain goal. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side. The ball he had blocked landed at Rin's feet.
And this time.
"Here it comes," Tendou said, his interest piqued.
In front of the screen, Bachira still welcomed his own evolution. He roared in his heart for the "monster" to disappear, to follow his own heart. A simple understanding should be: don't play as a team, play selfishly.
Under the surprised gazes of the others, Bachira refused to pass to anyone. With two consecutive nutmegs, he got past two people, followed by a third nutmeg. In that instant, he had torn open the enemy's defensive line with his own dribbling.
And at this time, standing in front of him was Isagi. The two best friends had met, as if by fate.
Bachira had already made up his mind to score this final goal himself. However, the flames at the corners of Isagi's eyes also ignited at this time. He had once again stepped into the realm of Flow.
"Isagi?!"
"Give me the ball, Bachira!" Isagi's eyes were so cold it was horrifying.
Having seen true strength, his vision had now become much broader. He charged towards Bachira, but what he saw was not Bachira's face, but Tendou's back.
"My target..."
"...is not you!!!"
Tap!
One second, the audience was still watching Isagi chasing Tendou's back. But the next second, Isagi had rushed behind Bachira and completed the tackle, switching from defense to offense.
...
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