Chapter 54: The Match Begins
"Even though I knew this would happen, I can't help but feel a bit sad," Bachira chimed in from the side.
"What's going on? You know all of them?" Aryu felt a bit puzzled by the scene; the three opposite them seemed to be Kira's old acquaintances?
"Yeah." Kira nodded, slowly stood up, and walked over to the three of them.
"Hey, seeing you all actually makes me really happy. But this is Blue Lock. Playing with skilled players is the only way for me to discover more of my potential."
"If you want to play with me, then come and steal me back!"
After speaking, Kira slowly turned and walked back to sit near Rin and Aryu.
"Steal back? What does that mean?" Isagi looked confused.
But then, Ego's figure appeared on the screen again, explaining the rules of the [Enemy-Stealing Decisive Battle] to the newly arrived trio.
"I see. So that means other three-person teams will arrive here next..." Bachira seemed to understand.
"Correct," Chigiri nodded.
"In that case, we don't necessarily have to face Kira's team right now, do we?"
Isagi analyzed the situation. Clearly, Kira's team seemed terrifyingly strong on paper. Challenging them and losing would be a significant risk. Leaving Kira aside, that show-off Itoshi Rin from earlier didn't look weak either.
The other two nodded silently. Challenging Kira's team first thing was very unwise.
"In that case, if winning lets us steal a player, then choosing to face a team that has a player we want is also a good option..." Chigiri now understood what Kira meant by 'stealing him back'.
All three instinctively looked toward Kira. 'Should they challenge them and steal Kira back?'
"Correct. Choosing who fights alongside you is also key to clearing the stages. To give everyone a reference point, the new Blue Lock rankings will now be announced..."
"Of course, these rankings aren't fake; they're based on the clearance order of the first stage!"
Ego Jinpachi continued his explanation on the screen.
Beep beep.
As Ego spoke, Kira noticed the number on his arm update: 3rd Place.
Rin, unsurprisingly, was 1st Place.
Aryu was 2nd Place.
Isagi's rank updated to 16th. Bachira was 15th.
Chigiri, who joined them last, was 44th.
From a distance, Kira watched Isagi's trio with interest, keen to know if they would challenge his team.
"You seem very concerned about them. Do they have some stylish traits? Their ranks are all so low," Aryu asked, noticing Kira's constant glances.
"They all have great potential. They are opponents worth noting."
"Oh, really?" Aryu was surprised, but he honestly couldn't see this 'great potential' they supposedly had.
'Huh? Very stylish long hair?'
Aryu suddenly stood up and walked over, grabbing a handful of Chigiri's long hair. "What kind of conditioner do you use?"
"Ah? What are you doing? Just the common one everyone uses in the big bathhouse!" Chigiri was baffled. 'Are we that close for you to touch my hair right away?'
"I see. The cuticle is also very stylish, looks glossy. You're a natural-born stylish person." Aryu carefully examined Chigiri's hair in his hand.
"Hey?!" Chigiri couldn't take it anymore and swatted Aryu's hand away.
"Sorry, it was too beautiful to resist. I have no resistance to anything stylish. Meeting a stylish person like you is my honor. Pleased to meet you, I'm Jyubei Aryu." Aryu extended his hand as if to shake Chigiri's.
Chigiri was a bit stunned but still reached out and responded, "Hyoma Chigiri. Pleased to meet you."
"However, your rankings are too low. If we're competing, of course we should face the team formed by the 4th, 5th, and 6th placers. That would be the most stylish."
"Beating you guys doesn't feel beautiful at all. Except for you, Chigiri." Aryu's arrogant remarks made Isagi and Bachira's expressions darken.
'What to do? Challenge them?'
"Shut up. I don't care who the opponent is. I just want to win and move on to the next stage. Staying here is a waste of my time. You two are just fillers I picked anyway..." Itoshi Rin was clearly impatient with this dawdling.
"You're putting on airs in front of me again!" Aryu got angry. Kira quickly stepped in, positioning himself between the two. Peacekeeping was his specialty.
"Don't fight! We're still teammates for now!"
The scene was gradually descending into chaos.
"What's going on? Aren't they teammates?" Bachira was confused.
"Bachira, Chigiri, sorry. Even though those three are very strong right now..."
Isagi took a step toward Kira.
"Eh? What?"
"Isagi, you're not thinking of…"
Both Bachira and Chigiri had a feeling of what Isagi intended to do.
"You don't care who the opponent is, right?" Isagi Yoichi stood before Rin, his gaze firm. "Then face us in a match!"
"I want to settle things with Kira, and with you!"
"That's the spirit! Let's steal Kira back!" Bachira's face was full of anticipation.
"I was thinking the same thing anyway," Chigiri looked boldly at the opposing trio.
"Yo, challenging me? Interesting," Aryu swept back his long hair.
'A match against us? Isagi Yoichi.' Kira's eyes also burned with fighting spirit. 'Then let me see how much you three have really grown.'
Itoshi Rin nodded coldly in agreement.
"Second Selection, Third Stage. [Enemy-Stealing Decisive Battle] Matchmaking Successful."
The two teams went to the next stage's entrance and registered their fingerprints.
All six changed into the pre-prepared jerseys by the field.
White Team: Isagi Yoichi, Meguru Bachira, Hyoma Chigiri.
Red Team: Kira Ryousuke, Itoshi Rin, Jyubei Aryu.
Kira also observed the mini-pitch. It was 40 meters long and 30 meters wide. The goals were also mini-sized. The goalkeepers, as Ego said, were two identical BLUE LOCK MAN units.
"Attention everyone. In this match, the winner can select one player from the opposing team to proceed to the next stage."
"The loser will lose one player and return to the previous stage."
"Three versus three. First team to score five goals wins."
On Kira's side, Rin stood in the center, Kira himself on the right, and Aryu on the left. Opposite them, Isagi faced Rin. Bachira faced Kira. Chigiri faced Aryu.
Both sides assumed their formations.
BEEP!
"Match start!"
White Team's possession. Isagi passed the ball to Bachira on his left immediately after kickoff.
Bachira, upon receiving the ball, was visibly excited because he was facing Kira.
"The so-called new Blue Lock rankings are just based on the first stage clearance order. I'm not afraid of you, Kira!"
With that, Bachira slightly bent the knee of his standing leg. Then he rapidly swung his calf around the ball.
Kira's eyes narrowed. 'Here it comes. Bachira's continuous stepovers.'
However, Kira had already figured out this technique. 'Continuous stepovers. The attacker uses their dominant foot for inward stepovers to unbalance the defender. Once the defender takes the bait and follows the attacker's rhythm, the attacker swings their dominant foot past the front of the ball again. At this point, the defender will inevitably try to block a breakthrough in the other direction. The attacker can then use their weaker foot to break through in the actual other direction.'
'In short, the key to defending against continuous stepovers is knowing the opponent's weaker foot, their non-dominant foot.'
'And Bachira's weaker foot... Kira happened to know it. It's his left foot.'
'So he'll break through from the left. All the previous moves were fakes.'
In an instant—
Bachira's left foot suddenly stepped powerfully to the right, his shoulder leaning right!
'A feint!'
Bachira's right foot pushed off the ground strongly, touched the ball, and accelerated, breaking through to the left.
"Huh?"
Yet, Kira seemed to have predicted Bachira's move. His left foot was already extended, intercepting Bachira's ball.
'Intercepted!'
Bachira's jaw dropped. This was the first time someone had directly defended against his dribble breakthrough.
"No way? Failed on the first try?"Isagi stared in disbelief as Bachira was intercepted.
Even though he knew Kira was strong... since when was Kira's defense this terrifying?
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