Sendou Shuto's expression was unfriendly. Before he could act, Shidou Ryusei, sitting in the back, had already leaped onto his table, extended his hand, grabbed Shuto's head, and slammed it heavily onto the tabletop.
BAM!
It happened so suddenly that no one had expected Shidou Ryusei to act on a whim. Shuto was, after all, the team's starting forward. How dare a newcomer, a rookie, do such a thing?
"Is this how Blue Lock trains its players?" Sotei Hoitsu's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Sendou Shuto, the one who was hit, was, strictly speaking, his player, while Shidou Ryusei was a product of Ego Jinpachi. What was the difference between this and slapping him directly in the face?
He turned to look at Yukimiya Kenyu. The handsome man with glasses just gave a professional smile, not paying any mind to this violent incident at all. Sotei cursed in his heart, What kind of freaks has Itoshi Sae brought in?
In the end, it was the captain, Oliver Aiku, who stepped forward to stop the about-to-brawl Shidou Ryusei and Sendou Shuto, and the matter came to a temporary end.
"Both of you, stop. We're really being looked down upon."
BAM!
He grabbed Shidou Ryusei's leg, and with a reverse throw, slammed him onto the ground and subdued him with brute force. As strong as Shidou was, he was suppressed to the point of being unable to move.
"You little puppy, I like how you love to bark, but you have to show your results on the field."
"Little genius, don't just talk. Win our trust with your skills."
These words were meant for Itoshi Sae.
The Japan U-20 representative team was not entirely made up of slouches; they were all elites selected from across the country. The starting forward, Shuto, had broken into a first-division league at the age of 20. The captain, Aiku, had even received an invitation from an Italian team. The remaining players also had promising development prospects.
Japanese football, which was once only at a second-rate level in Asia, has now become the undisputed strongest in Asia. One has to admire that their football development has never stopped; it has been constantly improving. Unlike the "sea cucumber team," which is already in the sewer yet can still continue to regress.
And Itoshi Sae, he was the same as always, his expression never changing.
...
Meanwhile.
The members of Blue Lock were also studying the members of the national youth team.
"Oliver Aiku. As far as I know, he has already received an offer from a Serie A team. He is a heavy-duty defender and the absolute core of the national youth team's backline," Chigiri said, holding the materials and introducing them to the others. He placed special emphasis on Oliver Aiku.
"In other words, the national youth team is a defense-oriented team?"
"You can pretty much understand it that way. Besides Captain Aiku, the defensive line he forms with the other three is at a world-class level."
Italian football has always been famous for its pragmatism and places great emphasis on defense. Their matches often start with not letting the opponent score. Therefore, to be able to receive an invitation from a Serie A team shows Oliver Aiku's level as a defender. What's more, he also has Saramadara Kairu, Neru Teppei, and Niou Kazuma by his side.
The "Four Heavenly Kings" formed by these four are the foundation of the national youth team.
"And, Itoshi Sae has also chosen Shidou and Yukimiya."
"To be honest, I'm not very confident about this match," Chigiri said, voicing his worries. Compared to the national youth team, their team, composed entirely of forwards, was just too strange. Let alone defenders, they didn't even have a proper goalkeeper. What's more, the other side had Sae, as well as Shidou and Yukimiya, whom they knew inside and out. These two were both from their top six in Blue Lock.
"Why the long face? Even if they have Sae, don't we have Tendou?" Bachira, on the other hand, was optimistic. For him, football was the most interesting sport; it shouldn't be mixed with too many complicated things. This childlike innocence allowed him to go all out in every match and also allowed him to continue to improve.
"That's true. Even Sae probably can't go toe-to-toe with Loki," Chigiri's brows relaxed. He looked at Tendou, who was constantly practicing his shooting with his left foot on the field, and inexplicably felt a sense of security.
"Morning training is over. Everyone, please take a rest."
The broadcast sounded at this time, ending the team's morning training session. The content Ego had arranged for the Blue Lock Eleven was actually very limited. Besides basic practice matches to let everyone get familiar with each other, the players could freely dispose of the rest of their time.
Ego actually knew in his heart that a dozen or so days was too short for a team to build chemistry; they couldn't play complex tactics. In the match, they would still have to rely on the players' individual performances. Sticking to the old ways was a dead end. To put it bluntly, it was about finding victory in chaos. For this, he planned to inform the players about the existence of Flow in advance.
...
Isagi finished his practice and was preparing to go back to rest, but when he passed by the gym, he heard a noise from inside. He opened the door and saw that it was Rin, still lifting weights.
Itoshi Sae had chosen Shidou instead of him. Ego had also chosen Shidou instead of him. Rin still seemed to be brooding over this. He swore that he would make those who looked down on him pay in the official match. This unwillingness brought him an endless stream of motivation.
Isagi walked in and said, "It's rest time now. You should rest a bit."
"Huh?" Rin looked over with a cold glare. "If you want to interfere with me, then get out."
"But if you get injured from overtraining..."
"Getting injured just means this is all I'm capable of. To finally be able to... with my big brother..."
"Isagi is right. Now is not the time to be stubborn."
Tendou happened to be passing by. Seeing Rin still lifting weights, he spoke up to persuade him.
"In just a dozen or so days, no matter how hard you work, you won't see a significant improvement. Go and rest obediently. Only with a good rest will you have the energy for me to teach you a lesson."
Hearing this, Rin stopped his movements and obediently said, "Oh."
This magical scene left Isagi dumbfounded. But...
"Just now, he gave me a dirty look. How come he's so easy to talk to when it comes to Tendou?!"
He really wanted to ask Tendou, how on earth did you do it?
Tendou just smiled simply and beckoned for the two of them to walk together.
"Let's go. The four-eyed mushroom head wants us to go to the meeting room."
"The meeting room? Are we having a tactical meeting?"
"Probably. But it's more likely that he's going to tell you about the existence of Flow."
The state of Flow is different from the Zone. In the later stages of the manga, it's a skill that everyone has. Unlike the Zone, which, until the end of the anime, only Akashi, Aomine, Kagami, and Murasakibara had entered. Kise only unlocked it in the movie. In comparison, the threshold for Flow is too low. Of course, the difference in the improvement of strength is also not small.
"Flow, huh." Isagi was now also very eager to master this state.
"By the way, Tendou, I heard from Chigiri that you entered a state different from Flow during the match with Loki and his team."
"Are you talking about the Zone?"
"The Zone? Can we master it too?"
"Who knows? Probably not."
Tendou didn't explain much. Logically speaking, if the Zone was really as Jordan and Kobe said, then all athletes should be able to enter it. But there was a problem here. The level of the world in Kuroko's Basketball was clearly higher than that of Blue Lock.
Could a low-level world comprehend the abilities of a high-level world? Even if they could, it would probably be extremely difficult, as difficult as a mortal becoming a phoenix. Anyway, Tendou didn't hold any expectations for Isagi and the others.
...
Get 30+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"