Chapter 145: The Predator
"Take a look at these beauties! Pure gold, baby!"
Lorenzo unhinged his jaw, flashing a mouth full of high-karat metal. Both Kira and Barou immediately recoiled, their faces contorted with pure disgust.
"Get the hell away from me. Stay back, you freak..."
Barou sounded like he was fighting the urge to gag as he shoved Lorenzo away. Kira was just as speechless.
He couldn't wrap his head around why someone would intentionally ruin their face like that. At seventeen or eighteen, Lorenzo looked like a walking horror show, and the gold grill only made his already questionable look ten times worse.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm not exactly a high-society guy," Lorenzo said, shrugging with a lazy, disjointed motion. "I was a street rat. My parents tossed me out like yesterday's trash. I spent my life doing whatever it took to survive, mostly scamming every lowlife adult I could find just to see tomorrow."
Kira and Barou both froze. They had both grown up in stable, comfortable homes—the kind of grit Lorenzo was describing was something they'd only seen in movies. Still, Kira couldn't help but wonder. Now that Lorenzo was the defensive centerpiece for Ubers, how the hell did he transition from a gutter-dwelling thief to a world-class prospect?
"So, what happened? How did you end up in a place like Ubers?" Kira asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Well... I was basically at death's door. The street life had chewed me up and was getting ready to spit me out. Then Snuffy appeared," Lorenzo said, his eyes reflecting a rare moment of sincerity.
"He walked right up to me and asked if I wanted to play soccer. I didn't care about the game, though. I just wanted a payday. I told him I'd do it if he gave me cash. I looked at him and figured he was just another crazy adult I could squeeze, so I went for the throat. I told him I'd only play if he paid for a dentist to rip out my rotten, starving teeth and replace them with solid gold."
Lorenzo grinned again, looking incredibly proud of his younger self's audacity.
"And Snuffy actually did it? He took a kid from the gutter to a dentist and paid for a gold grill?" Kira asked, already guessing the answer.
"Bingo. How'd you know? Maybe you're just as twisted as I am," Lorenzo laughed, his gold teeth catching the light.
"Okay, so Snuffy has a savior complex. What does that have to do with us? Are we supposed to feel sorry for you?" Barou barked. He wasn't interested in a pity party; he wanted results.
Lorenzo's smile shifted into something sharper, more predatory. "The point is, Snuffy doesn't throw away talent. He's a madman who's willing to hand us a future on a silver platter, okay?"
Kira and Barou fell silent. It was obvious that Lorenzo didn't just respect Snuffy—he worshipped the man who had pulled him out of the grave.
***
Knock. Knock.
The door creaked open, and Snuffy stood there, watching the three of them with a calm, professional gaze. "Time for the night session, boys."
"On it, Coach! Woof woof!"
Lorenzo barked like a loyal hound and sprinted out the door. Snuffy looked at Kira and Barou for a second before turning to leave. Tonight was tactical training for Ubers—a step up from the basic drills they'd been doing. Since Kira had already turned down the role of successor and Barou was still at war with the "corporate" philosophy, Snuffy hadn't made the session mandatory for them.
"Hey, wait. Snuffy!" Kira called out.
Barou shot Kira a surprised look.
"Let us in. I'm not interested in being your little heir, and I'm still not a fan of being a cog in a machine, but I'm ready to learn. I'm going to use your system to make myself a better striker, and then I'm going to surpass you," Kira said. He had made up his mind. He was in Italy to get stronger, and Snuffy was the best teacher on the planet.
"Deal. Consider the contract signed, Ryosuke Kira!" Snuffy smiled, looking like he'd expected this all along. He turned his gaze to Barou. "And you? Still planning to hold out on my vision?"
"Tch. You folded fast, Kira," Barou muttered, looking annoyed. But the hunger in his eyes was undeniable. "Snuffy... can you actually make me the King of the World?"
Kira was stunned. Barou's ambition was still as massive and arrogant as ever.
"Hahaha! Now that is what I like to hear!" Snuffy laughed out loud.
Barou's face reddened instantly. "What the hell is so funny?"
"Sorry, little King," Snuffy said, wiping a tear from his eye. "But maybe you should worry about beating the guy standing next to you before you start talking about the world."
Barou looked like he was about to explode. Snuffy had hit him right where it hurt. Kira was the only player in Blue Lock that Barou actually respected as a rival, and being told he wasn't even the best in the room was a bitter pill to swallow.
'Great, Snuffy. You just painted a target on my back,' Kira thought. 'The old man is a master at psychological warfare.'
"Alright, enough talk. You both have the potential to be elite. Let's get to work. Show me what you geniuses can do."
***
For the next few days, Kira and Barou were put through a specialized striker program. While the rest of the team worked on link-up play, the two of them were placed in front of the net, surrounded by high-speed robotic defenders and shifting barriers.
'Focus... wait for the opening,' Kira thought, wiping sweat from his eyes. This was the first time he'd ever trained like this. It was tactical, psychological, and physically demanding.
"The team is going to be your support system. I'm arranging the tactics so the ball finds you," Snuffy explained as he paced behind them. "But once you have the ball, you need to learn how to hunt the keeper. You're not just shooting. You're playing a game of chicken."
Snuffy's lesson was simple: if a world-class keeper sees your wind-up, they'll save it. You have to be more than a striker. You have to be a predator.
He wanted them to develop Predator Vision—the ability to ignore the ball and the defenders for a split second to watch the goalkeeper's eyes. You wait for that one micro-second where their focus wavers, where their pupils flicker, or where they shift their weight. That is when you strike.
Kira felt a surge of adrenaline. This was the missing piece. He wasn't just learning to shoot; he was learning to kill the keeper's confidence.
"Training is over. Everyone in!" Snuffy called out, standing at the entrance to the facility.
"Our first match is officially locked in," Snuffy announced once the group gathered.
Kira stopped his drills, his heart starting to race. "Who are we up against?"
Snuffy rubbed his chin, a playful glint in his eyes. "We're facing Julian Loki's squad—P.X.G. I believe you have some history with their players. A couple of guys named Itoshi Rin and Ryusei Shidou, right?"
Kira's grin was wide, his eyes glowing with an intense, competitive light.
'The rematch of the century. Let's go.'
***
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Let's Gooooo!!!
I need your Power Stones!!!