Chapter 18: Meal
Personality Simulation was a new technique developed by Naruhaya Asahi, aimed at the human psyche, and also the fastest shortcut to learning new soccer skills.
Ever since he heard Ego Jinpachi talk about the Goal Formula, the very first thing Naruhaya Asahi thought about wasn't finding his own formula—
but imitating other players' goal formula.
After all, he possessed too many potential weapons, yet because of his amnesia, he wasn't proficient in any of them.
Searching for the goal formula most suited for himself would be extremely troublesome.
So he came up with the idea of finding a suitable player early on to simulate—
imitate their personality, train in their strongest field, and replace their position on the team.
And once he completely devoured that person's "existence,"
he would move on to devour others, developing more weapons.
Of course, when he first considered doing personality simulation, the people he most wanted to imitate were—
his idol Arthas,
the world's No.1 striker Noel Noah,
the lightning-fast prodigy Julian Loki,
and other world-famous superstars.
But if personality simulation were cooking,
and football ability were the difficulty of a recipe,
and simulation results were taste—
then those world-class players were like a lavish gourmet feast for Naruhaya Asahi:
Delicious beyond compare,
but incredibly difficult to prepare.
Unable to meet the difficulty requirements, Naruhaya decisively gave up.
Instead, he switched to the three highest-ranked players near him in Building 5:
Tsurugi Zantetsu (Rank 223)
Mikage Reo (Rank 222)
Nagi Seishiro (Rank 221)
If anyone else attempted personality simulation, they likely wouldn't succeed—
after all, simulating another's personality would inevitably clash with one's own worldview,
and even habitual movements could break the immersion.
But the current Naruhaya Asahi had no such worries.
He had no memories, and learned football skills just by watching.
Blue Lock had video archives of previous matches. Because of that, before this match, Naruhaya spent three hours watching Team V's games, studying their weapons.
To be honest, these three players' levels were very high within Building 5.
But when simulating Mikage Reo and Tsurugi Zantetsu's personalities,
Naruhaya felt nauseous.
The taste was like a bowl of rice steamed from old, dead grains—
plain, unremarkable, not disgusting but not delicious,
an experience he'd absolutely never want to repeat.
Tsurugi Zantetsu: great explosive speed, but slows down later—
even his thinking speed lagged during simulation.
Mikage Reo: basically a "cheap version of himself."
Good ball control, good passing—
but carried a "focusing too much on Nagi" debuff,
and worst of all, had no ambition to score.
"Tch!"
At this point, Naruhaya could only sincerely hope Nagi Seishiro's personality simulation would be better.
Otherwise, he really would've wasted three hours simulating losers' clown shows. =_=
Naruhaya looked up at the ceiling and stretched his joints.
Next was the ball-stopping genius Nagi Seishiro's simulation.
That prodigy's body was extremely unique, and the simulation requirements were extremely strict.
Any slight mistake could cause injury.
So it was necessary to stretch his body thoroughly in advance.
But compared to Nagi, an unknown-flavored dish,
Naruhaya was even more interested in a "honey cake" on his own team—
a dish that was quietly becoming more and more delicious.
He unconsciously licked his dry lips.
Unfortunately, the "honey cake" was currently being surrounded by everyone like a team hero,
and Naruhaya didn't want to join the crowd.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Amazing, Bachira!!"
Igarashi Gurimu rushed forward and hugged Bachira Meguru,
and the others also hugged him excitedly.
While hugging the blond "hero," Igarashi suddenly remembered something:
"This is a super goal that surpasses your own limits!
I feel like maybe I can do it too!!"
Kunigami Rensuke pulled Bachira out of the monk's arms and ruffled the hero boy's hair roughly.
"Igaguri, calm down. Surpassing your limits isn't something you do by charging blindly."
The monk froze.
"Eh? Really?"
Seeing his confusion, Kunigami explained seriously:
"That goal was created by Bachira's weapon—dribbling.
Limits are simply the failing formula."
Weapon A × Situation B = No Goal C (0)
"When the formula fails in a match, you must find a new one."
Weapon ? × Situation ? = Score (1)
Bachira brushed his hair and nodded.
"Yeah, that's what happened. I just followed my instinct, and it worked."
Kunigami glanced at the small tyrant stretching on the field, then said sternly:
"The key is testing new possibilities.
If you don't evolve during this match, you won't beat a monster like Naruhaya Asahi."
This was their last match as teammates with someone as strong as Naruhaya.
That opening goal alone proved even Team V's top three couldn't restrain him.
Seeing all of Team V on the verge of collapse only made Team Z fear Naruhaya more.
If they didn't evolve weapons capable of restraining him now,
then the next time they faced him as an enemy,
the tyrant would slaughter them one-sidedly.
Bachira's evolution gave everyone hope.
It showed they still had the chance to touch the ceiling called Naruhaya Asahi.
Team Z's morale soared.
Meanwhile, Team V was falling apart.
Naruhaya's overwhelming presence,
Bachira's evolution—
Team V could no longer see hope.
Many weaker players had already started comforting themselves:
"Team V has the second highest score—we won't be eliminated."
That complacent mentality spread quickly.
Most had already accepted defeat.
Mikage Reo looked at his team's gloomy, suffocating atmosphere and felt a wave of exhaustion drown him.
He had no energy left to care.
His legs went weak,
and he collapsed onto the soft turf in a star-shape,
as if lying there could relax his tense nerves.
His face displayed utter collapse.
His eyes stared blankly at the small tyrant nearby.
That tyrant was leisurely stretching, each movement radiating an overwhelming pressure,
like a beast warming up for the hunt.
Reo's heart tightened—
to him, the scene looked like the beginning of an execution.
His mind kept replaying the possible future,
knowing clearly what the tyrant would do next.
The undefeated record he and Nagi had prided themselves on was about to be shattered brutally.
Despair flooded him—
his world dimmed.
As he sank into hopelessness,
a familiar voice reached his ears.
He slowly lifted his head—
Nagi Seishiro stood before him, reaching out a hand.
"Reo."
Nagi's voice was soft, but carried a bit of firmness and encouragement.
"Na…gi…"
Reo's lips trembled.
He wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say.
He stared blankly at Nagi, eyes filled with complicated emotions.
"We haven't lost yet, right?"
In Nagi's eyes flickered a stubborn unwillingness to yield.
It was rare for him to insist on something.
Reo looked at Nagi's expression—
his heart was struck violently.
That unwavering determination was like a flame that reignited his dying fighting spirit.
He suddenly realized—
he couldn't give up.
They hadn't lost.
There was still a way.
"…Yeah. We haven't lost."
Reo gritted his teeth and grasped Nagi's hand tightly,
standing up with trembling legs.
In his eyes, fighting spirit burned once again.
That was close—
he had nearly become someone he hated most (weak + boring).
"Nagi, this might be the strongest enemy we've met so far… but we will win."
"Yes, Reo."
"Uh, I feel like you two forgot about me."
Tsurugi Zantetsu pushed up his glasses, reminding them of his weak presence.
Reo stuck out his tongue at the shorty across the field.
"No we didn't, idiot Zantetsu. We're gonna win!"
Standing beside him, Nagi released a sinister black aura.
"Ah~ I'm gonna crush that little midget."
Zantetsu felt that if he talked more, he'd look even dumber,
so he responded in a cold pretend-cool voice:
"…Mn."
The other Team V members saw their three aces hadn't given up,
so they exchanged glances, stood up, and lined up behind them.
This was the last match anyway—
if nothing else, they would fight for pride.
Morale peaked for both teams before the whistle.
But standing in the center, Naruhaya Asahi was unmoved.
He stood lazily, completely relaxed—
looking like another version of Nagi Seishiro.
That damn bastard!!!
Reo swore that after Blue Lock ended,
he'd train his close-combat skills and strength…
Just so he could punch that arrogant bastard square in the face.
BEEP—!
Team V had kickoff.
As soon as Reo passed the ball from the center circle,
he felt—an illusion maybe—
that a raging elephant was staring him down.
He immediately focused and began dribbling forward.
"Reo."
Coldness. Danger. Fear.
All wrapped around Reo instantly.
It sounded like Nagi's tone—
but not Nagi's voice.
It was the voice of Team Z's tyrant—
Naruhaya Asahi, dripping with mockery.
The moment the voice ended,
Reo felt the ball vanish from under his feet.
Naruhaya was already dribbling away.
He didn't even use his speed weapon—
just Nagi-like lazy dribbling.
That languid feeling.
Reo let out a wry laugh—
so this was empathy in reverse.
He finally understood why the tyrant looked so disgusted
when he saw Reo carrying Nagi around.
A body full of talent—
wasted by not being used on the field.
Why?
Because the opponent didn't deserve him taking things seriously.
Tch.
Was this karma?
No…
Reo's purple eyes ignited with rebellious flame.
He glared at the much shorter tyrant.
"I'll teach that little midget a lesson!"
"Nagi! Idiot Zantetsu—stop that monster!" Reo shouted.
Hearing the order, Zantetsu—Team V's fastest player—charged forward instantly.
His explosive speed got him to Naruhaya quickly, blocking him.
"Oh? So this is the feeling of rising to the occasion?"
He pushed up his glasses.
Naruhaya glanced lazily left—
about to break through that way—
when someone appeared like a ghost and blocked it.
"Idiot Zantetsu. It's rising to the call."
Nagi Seishiro arrived to defend.
His eyes locked onto the tyrant, sealing the left completely.
The rest of Team V quickly filled gaps, forming a strict defensive wall.
Facing this iron defense,
Naruhaya's expression didn't change at all—
none of them were worth noticing.
Without hesitation,
he lobbed the ball high across the field.
"Yours, little leopard!"
A red figure appeared on the right—
Chigiri Hyoma, catching the ball perfectly.
"Thanks, asshole King."
Chigiri smirked and sprinted like a leopard.
Team V had been too focused on Naruhaya.
They'd left both sides wide open.
So from the start, Chigiri had been running on the right,
waiting to receive the tyrant's pass.
As expected—
when surrounded by full-field defense,
the tyrant surprisingly used team awareness,
passing to the highest scoring probability.
He had already shown this when passing in the match with Team Y.
And when Bachira broke his limits earlier,
the tyrant passed to him.
This further proved his theory.
If the tyrant didn't have so many weapons,
he might have been the best midfielder—
the heart of Team Z's offense.
Unfortunately…
the tyrant was a football prodigy blessed by the heavens.
Midfield, winger, striker, defender—
he excelled at all positions.
Thus, Chigiri was grateful to Team V's effort,
which let him receive this pass.
"Hey, aren't you overestimating your speed?"
Once the ball went right,
Zantetsu had accelerated at full power.
Leaving the tyrant to Nagi and others,
he focused on stopping Chigiri.
Chigiri hummed arrogantly:
"You're the one overestimating yourself, idiot Zantetsu."
Hearing the spoiled princess say that,
Zantetsu snapped.
"Shut up! I hate when strangers call me an idiot!"
"Heh~ Then prove it, idiot."
Chigiri tightened his muscles and launched the ball forward with a hard kick.
Thanks to Naruhaya previously simulating Zantetsu's running style,
Chigiri quickly noticed Zantetsu's weapon was instant acceleration.
He couldn't match that in reaction speed.
But Zantetsu's zone weakened the farther he ran.
If Chigiri dragged him out of his zone into a long-distance situation,
his own weapon could shine.
Zantetsu's initial acceleration worked within 10 meters.
Within that range, Chigiri couldn't beat him.
So he would lure him beyond that.
55 meters, 5.77 seconds.
In long-distance sprinting, I'm faster.
Chigiri saw the ball approaching again,
and he smiled.
This one's mine.
But before he reached it—
another figure reached the ball even earlier.
The man stopped the spinning ball effortlessly mid-air,
maintained perfect balance—
"You two are too slow."
The one simulating Nagi Seishiro—
Naruhaya Asahi had successfully mastered ball-control.
He didn't even look at the keeper—
one smooth volley sent the ball into the net.
PONG!
[GOAL!!!]
[0 : 3]
Naruhaya clapped lightly,
then looked at the breathless Chigiri.
"Thanks for delivering the ball, little leopard."
Chigiri felt like his lungs were exploding.
AAAAAAHHH!!!
YOU DAMN TYRANT!!!