When Team Z heard that they'd be moving forward alone, everyone was caught off guard.
"Wait… alone?"
"You mean, not as a team?"
Ego's voice came over the speakers, cold and emotionless.
"Of course not. The second selection is far harder than the first. Those who survived before thanks to their teammates be prepared. This stage will filter out the trash and leave only the truly selfish. Good luck, strikers."
The room fell silent. No one wanted to move first.
Then, from the back, a tall boy with dark green hair and long lower lashes stepped forward Itoshi Rin.
He placed two footballs on the ground.
With his left foot angled forward and his right pulled back, he kicked one ball high into the air clean, elegant, and perfectly curved.
He was about to kick the second one to collide midair when
Another ball came flying out of nowhere and slammed into his, both exploding midair with a thud.
Everyone turned in surprise, scanning the field for the source.
Near the goal stood a man with silver-gray hair and crimson eyes, casually spinning a football on one finger.
"Ryan?" Isagi muttered.
Ryan Hoshino just smirked and waved at Rin, not the team.
The two faced each other.
"Yo, long time no see, Rin-chan."
"Tch. Of course it's you."
"Can't let you steal all the spotlight, can I?"
Rin sighed. "That's exactly the kind of thing you'd say."
Ryan clapped him on the shoulder as he walked past. "Then I'll see you ahead."
"Yeah."
As he headed toward the gate, Ryan called out to his old teammates without turning around.
"This is where we part ways. The team game's over. If you want to see my back again, then catch up. Weaklings don't deserve to stand beside me."
"Oi, Ryan, what's that supposed to mean?!" Chigiri shouted, frustration in his voice.
All those days training and laughing together were they meaningless? For the first time in years, Chigiri had felt real camaraderie.
Kunigami put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
"He's right. It was never us carrying him, it was him lowering himself to carry us. He didn't choose to be with us. He just didn't have a choice. If you want answers… catch up and ask him yourself."
"…Yeah."
Ryan stopped before the gate, smirk tugging at his lips.
"Open up. I'm ready."
The door slid open with a hiss, and he stepped through.
The screen flashed:
"Challenger: Ryan Hoshino."
The Solo Test
Meanwhile, back in Team Z's room
"Damn it, that bastard just left us behind!" Raichi growled.
"Yeah! We gotta catch him and punch him!" Chigiri added.
Kunigami sighed. "We can't even beat him if we tried."
Isagi looked thoughtful. "You still want to hit him, though?"
"Of course!"
"Then we'd better hurry and go after him."
"Right… but in what order do we enter?"
"Rock-paper-scissors?"
"Deal."
Isagi won, earning the right to go first.
As he walked down the dim corridor, memories of Ryan surfaced his teasing, encouragement, and fierce competitiveness.
This time, Isagi thought, I won't hide behind your shadow. I'll catch up to you, Ryan.
Ryan emerged into a blindingly white room.
The floor was covered in artificial turf, and in front of him shimmered a holographic goal.
Then, a glowing blue figure appeared before it, its body translucent, eyes blank.
The tag beside it read: BlueLockMan.
The wall behind him opened, and a launcher extended.
A ball shot out.
"So it's a shooting drill," Ryan said, smirking.
He understood immediately this was a situational test. He'd need to read the flight path, adjust, and shoot past the AI goalie.
With his enhanced reflexes, the ball's speed looked almost slow to him. He twisted his body and volleyed at waist height clean, precise, unstoppable.
The BlueLockMan dove, but the ball ripped past its fingertips and into the net.
The scoreboard lit up:
89:50 remaining – 99 goals to go.
So I need to score a hundred in ninety minutes, huh?
He grinned. Sounds fun.
Each new ball came from a different angle. The launcher shifted randomly; the goal projection moved.
Ryan began experimenting combining elements of the "Generation of Miracles."
With Murasakibara's reflexes to read the trajectory, Aomine's flexibility to adjust midair, and Midorima's precision in aiming, he fused them seamlessly.
No matter where the ball came from, his shot found the net.
After thirty goals, the system leveled up.
The goal area filled with moving holographic defenders.
Still, Ryan slipped past them effortlessly, bending each shot around the obstacles.
Observation Room
In the monitoring room, Ego and Anri Teieri watched multiple screens filled with live data.
"Randomized ball feeds, dynamic environment, and high-fidelity projections," Anri narrated. "This chamber's modeled after elite German training facilities. It adapts to each player's traits automatically.
The BlueLockMan system even replicates real-world goalkeeper data to simulate authentic reactions."
Ego nodded. "Each ball contains a micro-sensor chip that interacts with the projection to create realistic rebound physics. It's a 3D sports simulation field."
"But, Ego-san…" Anri hesitated. "We're out of budget."
"Shut up, Anri. This chamber represents my ideal training space. The method for passing depends on individual ability. Those who relied on others before this is where they'll be filtered out.
But for the strikers who've already found their weapon, this is their forge. Here, they sharpen it, evolve, and emerge as players from another dimension."
Anri stared at Ryan's screen. "Some of them are really improving fast. This training system is incredible."
Ego smirked. "Admiring them already? Don't. The real show's just starting."
Raising the Stakes
When Ryan had forty goals left, the system's difficulty hit its peak.
The holographic defenders began moving.
The launcher fired balls faster and with unpredictable spin.
Ryan smiled, eyes gleaming red.
"Now this is getting fun… but still not enough."
A ball curved in from the side.
He leapt, using the outside of his foot to stop it midair, landing gracefully before unleashing a blazing shot through a narrow gap in the defense.
Goal.
It was Nagi's first-touch technique perfectly replicated.
He could copy it now, though he still needed practice to make it truly his.
Ego's voice echoed faintly through the observation mic.
"Simulating world-class match conditions, erratic passes, moving defenders, and unpredictable angles. Success requires mastery of body, mind, and technique. Those who lack any one of the three… will break."
Ryan barely listened.
To him, everything, the ball, the obstacles, even the goalie was too slow.
Each time the ball came near, it seemed drawn to his foot.
Each swing of his leg produced a perfect strike, cutting through space like lightning.
Anri watched, wide-eyed. "That's Ryan, right? It's like the difficulty doesn't even affect him."
Ego folded his arms. "He processes trajectories faster than anyone thanks to his reflexes, flexibility, and power. No matter the angle, he finds the optimal strike.
Even though he's already strong, he keeps evolving no ceiling, no limit. Every touch, every shot, sharper than before. He's still pushing himself, testing new extremes."
When the final ball hit the back of the net, the countdown hit zero.
Ryan had cleared the stage.
He strolled down the dark corridor, hands in his pockets.
"Heh. I've gotta be first. If anyone beat me here, I'll eat my jersey."
The next chamber opened empty.
The screen ahead read:
Form a team of three to proceed.
But since he was alone, he simply sat on the floor and waited.
A few minutes later, the door opened again.
Rin Itoshi walked in.
Ryan grinned. "Yo, Rin-chan. We meet again."
"Mm."
"Aw, don't be so cold. You'll hurt my feelings. Come on, talk to me, I'm bored." Ryan shook his shoulder playfully.
"…What do you want to talk about?"
"Like, what kind of girls do you like?"
"None."
Ryan gasped dramatically. "What, don't tell me you're into guys? I mean, I respect that! Everyone's free to love who they want!
Wait… there's only two of us in here right now. Rin-chan, you're not gonna suddenly pounce on me, are you? Go easy on me, okay? I'm delicate, don't be rough."
A vein popped on Rin's forehead.
"Can you be serious for once?! I don't like anyone. My life is football. That's all I need."
"Ohh, I see. So your kink is… football. Interesting. I don't get it, but hey, I respect your lifestyle."
"You idiot…" Rin muttered through clenched teeth.
Before he could yell back, the gate opened again.
A tall man with long black hair, dark nail polish, and long limbs stepped in, scanning the two of them.
"Oh? Looks like someone was faster than me after all."
Ryan waved. "Yo, long-hair dude! Not bad, you were just a bit slower than Rin-chan here."
The newcomer, Aryu Jyubei, walked closer, studying Ryan.
"You've got a good eye. Stylish too."
Ryan grinned. "Haha! Of course! I'm the number one most handsome man in the universe!"
Aryu chuckled. "The universe's number one, huh? I like your style."
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