"If I just think about it for a moment, if I were the one eliminated back then, I would most likely be even more hysterical than him."
"So that feeling isn't good. But if I had to do it again, I would still do the same thing."
Huh?
Isagi was stumped, a little unable to understand Tendou.
"You don't get it?"
"Crushing Kuon's dream with my own hands did make me a bit uncomfortable. But compared to my own discomfort, I'd rather make the other person uncomfortable."
Hearing this, Isagi understood.
This was the egoist that Ego Jinpachi had spoken of.
And this was the new persona Tendou had prepared for himself.
Pseudo-yasashii (pseudo-kind).
Just like the villains in movies; they have a conscience, but not much of one. He would care about the people around him, even his opponents, but on the premise that it would not affect his own interests. This kind of persona was very realistic, highlighting a down-to-earth quality. However, such a persona was also a considerable challenge; if not handled well, it could turn into "hypocrisy."
"That's about it. Let's go, time to eat."
"Okay."
Isagi felt that he understood Tendou a little more. But then again, they were on the same team before, so why did it seem like he had never really talked to Tendou in his memories?
"Well, whatever. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future anyway."
He felt that he and Tendou would get along very well.
...
Cafeteria.
Tendou, Isagi Yoichi, and Bachira Meguru walked in together.
In terms of food, Blue Lock also had unique regulations. Besides the standard rice and miso soup, the side dishes one could get were different depending on their rank.
Take Isagi, for example. Ranked 299th, his side dish was only a portion of natto. Tendou, on the other hand, was able to eat chicken and eggs. Bachira, ranked below Tendou, received food similar to his.
As soon as the three of them sat down, Isagi's face fell. The disparity was just too great!
"Eat up." Seeing this, Tendou gave some of his food to him.
"Eh? Is that okay?" Isagi asked, pleasantly surprised.
"Of course. Since it's my food, the right to distribute it naturally belongs to me," Tendou said very naturally. "Besides, I still have this."
He picked up the boiled egg on the table and spun it. Low-fat, high-protein, low-carb—this was the dietary habit he had cultivated over many years. His body's stats weren't permanent. It wasn't like once they reached 99, they would stay at 99 forever. If he lacked exercise and didn't control his calorie intake, Tendou could also turn into a fat pig. So, ever since his time in the world of Kuroko's Basketball, he had already begun to control his diet.
"You have to be good to yourself sometimes. Eating eggs every day is too cruel to yourself," Bachira, in any case, would never treat himself poorly. This guy's style of play was not only similar to South American players, but his lifestyle was as well. Perhaps it was because of this that he could always produce moments of brilliance.
But Ronaldo and Ronaldinho...
Tendou shook his head. The careers of these two emperor-level superstars were regrettable. They should have achieved more, but due to a lack of self-discipline and excessive indulgence, their form declined far too quickly.
Isagi, however, thought Tendou was amazing. As expected, amazing people aren't amazing for no reason.
Anri Teieri watched everything from the control room. Looking back at Ego Jinpachi, who was squatting and eating instant noodles, she couldn't help but complain, "You're not even as good as a high school student."
"This is one of my few happy moments. Please spare me." Ego Jinpachi also hadn't expected Tendou to be this disciplined. After all, even professional players couldn't be this self-disciplined. Even he himself had a great love for high-calorie foods like instant noodles and mixed noodles.
And Tendou was only in his first year of high school!
However, this could explain why Tendou's body contained such tremendous energy. Innate talent, matched with corresponding self-discipline, had forged an athletic champion. A person like this could succeed at anything. He was even more excited to see what kind of monster Tendou would grow into after undergoing his training.
"Starting tomorrow, let's make some adjustments to Tendou's food. Prepare it according to a high-protein, low-carb, low-fat standard."
"That doesn't follow our rules."
"Rules are made to be broken. Besides, geniuses always get preferential treatment."
"I understand."
Anri Teieri nodded, then turned her head to look at the screen again, her gaze fixed on Tendou, not blinking. Then her face inexplicably turned red, leaving Ego Jinpachi stunned.
...
Night.
The players, who had been busy all day, quickly fell asleep. There were no beds; everyone could only sleep together on the floor. Some guys were terrible sleepers, rolling over to the person next to them as they slept.
And then.
Tendou had insomnia. He had a bad habit.
He was picky about his bed.
"Why do I have to sleep with 10 other men?"
It was all because of these damn cameras; otherwise, he would have already run back to the world of Kuroko's Basketball and slept with the soft and fragrant Satsuki.
"Sigh."
Tendou sighed, not knowing how he would get through the night. All he knew was that it felt like he had only been asleep for a short while before the unromantic broadcast sounded.
"The results of the physical fitness test have been tallied. Please return to your rooms immediately to check the latest rankings."
Couldn't it have sounded a little later?
Tendou struggled to get up, his head feeling heavy from lack of sleep. The others were much the same; very few had rested well. But everyone still tidied up their bedding and changed their clothes with the fastest speed possible, waiting.
And then.
They saw that the numbers on their shoulders had all changed.
Igarashi Gurimu had the biggest reaction because his rank had climbed from 300 to 275. He boasted to Isagi, "Look, Isagi! My rank has improved a lot! I'm 275th now."
275th...
Isagi's heart tightened. During yesterday's physical test, he discovered that his physical condition was practically at the bottom; he couldn't compare to many people, let alone Tendou. He looked down at his own shoulder and found that his rank had also improved, from 299 to 274. He was still one rank higher than Igarashi.
"I went up 25 places!" Isagi's expression brightened, but he quickly thought of something. "Wait, yesterday, besides us, the other rooms should have also played the tag game."
"300 forwards, 12 people per room, and then one eliminated... that's exactly 25!"
Crap! Doesn't this mean there was no improvement at all?
He and Igarashi were still the bottom two!
What about Tendou?
He hurriedly looked at Tendou's shoulder and found that his rank had also only improved by 25 places.
"Impossible! With Tendou's physical test results, how could his rank only improve by that much?"
He began to doubt the rankings of Blue Lock.
...
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