"I am the strongest."
After saying those words, Ryan Hoshino extended his hand and clasped it firmly with Loki's.
Hearing such an arrogantly absolute declaration, Loki did not refute it.
He showed no surprise at all, as if he had expected Ryan to say something like this.
He said nothing, merely gave Ryan a faint smile, then turned and walked toward the players' tunnel.
I'm really looking forward to our next meeting, Ryan Hoshino.
One by one, the remaining members of the World Star Team stepped forward and shook hands with Ryan, expressing their recognition of the overwhelming talent he had displayed in this match.
"I'm looking forward to seeing you in Europe one day," one of them said. "Whether as an opponent or a teammate, Ryan."
The first was Luna. Out of courtesy, he also shook hands with Chigiri and the others.
"I'll give you a full score in my report to Ego."
Next came Cavasoz. Like Loki, he didn't bother shaking hands with anyone else and headed straight for the tunnel.
Then came Blake.
"Ryan, if you're thinking about heading to one of the top five leagues, you should consider my team. I'll personally fight for you to receive the best treatment a youth player can get."
He didn't hide his admiration in the slightest, directly extending an olive branch to Ryan.
Ryan neither agreed nor rejected him right away. He simply smiled and thanked him.
He wasn't in a rush to enter the top leagues yet. His plan was to finish the U-20 matches first, then move on to Europe.
With his level of ability, as long as he didn't get food poisoning or run into blind scouts, he was bound to be fought over by top clubs.
Seeing that Ryan didn't give a clear answer, Blake didn't push further. Instead, he went to the locker room, returned with a business card, and told Ryan to contact him whenever he made up his mind.
Ryan gladly accepted it.
After all, more connections meant more security.
The last to step forward was Silva.
"Kid no, Ryan. I admit that what I said to you earlier went too far. I apologize."
He looked awkward and stiff, so much so that someone who didn't know better might have thought he was confessing.
Ryan accepted Silva's apology generously. After all, it hadn't been anything outrageous, just common on-field trash talk.
Silva's apology wasn't because of a sudden moral awakening. If he had been talking to Chigiri, he probably wouldn't have bothered.
The real reason was simple.
He had been completely beaten physically and mentally by Ryan.
The man who usually charged around the pitch like a battle tank had, for the first time, become cautious and restrained.
A literal "field tank" had turned into a "field scooter."
On the football pitch, strength really was everything.
As long as you were strong enough, even your opponents would be forced to acknowledge you.
After the World Star Team exited the field, Chigiri and the others immediately surrounded Ryan.
"Ryan, a pro player, invited you directly seriously? If it were me, I'd have agreed on the spot!"
Bachira leaned over, carefully examining the business card in Ryan's hand.
But after a few seconds, he gave up. He couldn't read it anyway; it was all English, along with a string of foreign phone numbers.
Kunigami grabbed Ryan excitedly.
"Ryan, you did it! You actually beat world-class players!"
"Wasn't that obvious from the start?" Ryan said lazily. "And back off a little my ears hurt from you shouting."
He pushed Kunigami's face away with an annoyed expression.
Just then, Chigiri suddenly coughed.
The four of them exchanged looks, clearly plotting something.
Ryan noticed the strange atmosphere and glanced at them, confused, scratching his head.
"What? Did I get even more handsome again?"
Ignoring his narcissistic comment, the four suddenly launched a surprise attack, lifting Ryan together and tossing him high into the air.
Ryan didn't resist at all.
He simply let it happen, sharing in the joy of victory with them.
Blue Lock Third Selection.
Blue Lock Team 5 : 2 Victory.
Monitoring Room
Anri stared at the score on the screen, her eyes wide open, her mouth hanging agape from shock.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
She pinched her own cheek. Only after feeling the pain did she slowly accept the reality in front of her.
Ego stood there with his hands clasped in front of his mouth, eyes locked onto the replay of Ryan's performance.
Seeing how calm Ego looked, Anri was nearly driven mad.
"Ego-san! Say something already! How can you be this calm?!"
"Quiet down, Anri."
But Anri couldn't calm down at all. She pointed excitedly at the screen, her words tumbling over each other.
"How can you tell me to calm down?! Did you see that?! Ryan actually defeated the World Star Team and with such overwhelming dominance! This completely defies common sense!"
Ego remained unchanged.
"I saw it. You don't need to remind me."
Rendered speechless by his reaction, Anri copied the footage of the match, then hopped out of the monitoring room in excitement.
But in a place Anri couldn't see
Ego's hands were trembling uncontrollably with excitement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you're interested, you can read advanced chapters:
pat reon .com / Samorash