Chapter 23: The First Match Ends — A Fuming Barou Shōei
By halftime, the score was already 3–1. Combined with the overwhelming difference between the two team leaders, the match in the second half quickly became one-sided.
Just as Ryosuke Kira had predicted, Barou spent the entire second half attacking alone, never once considering passing the ball. His teammates could only run back and forth behind him.
Although Barou possessed outstanding individual ability, his efficiency plummeted when facing Team Z's tight, layered defense. He managed to create chances here and there, but they consumed an enormous amount of ball possession and time. On top of that, it became increasingly difficult for him to even receive passes from his teammates. Yet he continued yelling at them for their "incompetence."
"Can't you idiots do anything useful!?"
"Pass the ball! Pass it to me!"
"You're all just servants, understand!? I'm the king of this field!"
This poisoned Team X's atmosphere even further. Barou's relationship with his teammates dropped to rock bottom.
Some of them, visibly irritated, thought to themselves that if Team X had been leading, they would have still passed to Barou without hesitation.
But they were now trailing by a huge margin—everything had changed.
The match was essentially lost. And since the remaining games were uncertain, every player began thinking about the alternative qualification rule: becoming the top scorer on their own team.
Barou had already scored. If they wanted to qualify, they needed to score more goals than he did.
So they stopped passing to him entirely and chose to attack themselves. But their abilities were limited, and because everyone was competing for chances, the entire team devolved back into total chaos.
"You useless servants!"
Barou was furious at his teammates' choices, but there was nothing he could do.
Meanwhile, on Kira's side, Team Z only grew more confident.
Having rested enough, Kira once again used Thunderclap and Flash with Total Concentration to score another two goals in the second half. He also delivered brilliant passes to create opportunities for teammates, gaining even more of their trust and turning eleven players who had only known each other for a few days into a cohesive unit.
The final minutes of the match became pure garbage time. The score locked in at 8–3.
When the final whistle blew, veins bulged across Barou's forehead as though ready to burst. His face flushed red from exertion and rage. He looked like he wanted to shout—yet nothing came out.
Silent and seething, he stormed off the field.
Team X said nothing. A suffocating silence swallowed them whole.
Team Z, on the other hand, surrounded Kira in excitement:
"Awesome, Kira! How did you even pull off that shot!?"
"So insane! When Barou scored to equalize, I thought we were done for—good thing you stepped up!"
"Long live Kira! King Kira!"
They lifted him up in celebration. This was their first official match inside Blue Lock—every victory was crucial.
...
"8–3. Quite an unexpected score."
After the match, Jinpachi Ego replayed the footage over and over.
He hadn't expected Team X to lose by such a wide margin.
"When Blue Lock first began, I thought Barou's team would easily beat Team Z. I didn't expect things to end up like this."
Leaning back in his chair, Ego lightly stroked his chin.
As he predicted, Barou's talent had allowed him to transform Team X from nothing to something, pulling the team together—
But soon after, the team collapsed again because Barou was too obsessed with playing solo.
Ego couldn't confirm it, but in his mind, a bold suspicion took shape.
From start to finish, Ryosuke Kira had been guiding Barou, luring him into a self-destructive cycle of constant attacking. Then Kira would regroup, assist teammates, and create a sharp contrast: Team Z grew more united, while Team X fell apart.
Everything seemed orchestrated by Kira—as if he were a puppeteer controlling the flow of the match. Even his passes served purposes beyond just scoring.
"It's only a hypothesis… nothing confirmed," Ego murmured, adjusting his glasses.
"But if it's true, then Blue Lock is holding a truly terrifying monster… One who's been hiding his fangs all along—even I misjudged him."
...
"Damn, Kira! That was insane!"
Surrounded by cheers, Kira returned to Team Z's room. Reiji Jingo was shouting the loudest.
"That pass was unreal! Let's keep winning like this!"
"Mm."
Kira smiled and nodded.
[Congratulations! You have earned: 80 Points]
'As expected, official matches award far more points than the earlier tag game. And strong performance gives an even larger bonus.'
Kira opened his system menu.
[Host: Ryosuke Kira]
[Current Points: 110]
[Current Skills:]
[Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — Total Concentration (Unlocked) LV2 | Proficiency: 38.07%]
[ Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — First Form: Thunderclap and Flash (Unlocked) LV2 | Proficiency: 35.17% ]
Using skills in real combat granted enormous proficiency gains—far beyond what regular training could offer.
Still, even with such gains, daily practice could not be neglected.
Since neither Total Concentration nor Thunderclap Flash had reached full proficiency, Kira couldn't upgrade them yet. His gaze shifted downward.
[Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — Second Form: Rice Spirit (Locked) | Unlock Cost: 100 Points]
[Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — Third Form: Thunder Swam (Locked) | Unlock Cost: 150 Points | Requires: Rice Spirit]
…
[Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — Fifth Form: Heat Lightning (Locked) | Unlock Cost: 250 Points | Requires: Distant Thunder]
[Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — Sixth Form: Rumble and Flash (Locked) | Unlock Cost: 300 Points | Requires: Heat Lightning]
[Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — Seventh Form: Flame Thunder God (Locked) | Unlock Cost: 350 Points | Requires: Rumble and Flash]
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〔TL〕
Every 100 powerstones = 2 bonus ch.
Every 2 review after 100 ps = 1 bonus ch.