Chapter 19: The Elephant, The Paradise
"You bastard tyrant—
you deliberately passed the ball to me just now so you could use me to split Team V's defensive focus on you!"
Chigiri Hyoma glared murderously at Naruhaya Asahi, who had just finished clapping for him.
Originally he wanted to demand an explanation, but after the tyrant finished clapping, the utterly natural expression on his face only made Chigiri burn hotter.
If Naruhaya had done it for the sake of scoring as a team, Chigiri might have tolerated it—
but that look on his face…
as if saying:
"Oh? You just realized that now, you idiot?"
Bastard.
Damn scum.
The grinding sound of teeth came from Chigiri's mouth—
like two stones rubbing together, sharp and grating, making even bystanders shudder.
His crimson eyes burned like flames, locked onto the little tyrant, as if wanting to reduce him to ashes.
Seeing Chigiri like this, Naruhaya Asahi began to doubt himself.
Did he… actually do anything wrong?
They were teammates in the same match.
He even helped Chigiri get an assist point.
Besides, the only reason Chigiri's ball got stolen was because Chigiri's initial acceleration and average speed were slower than Naruhaya's.
So of course Naruhaya easily intercepted the ball and scored.
If Chigiri had speed surpassing his own, he wouldn't need Naruhaya's pass at all—
he could simply steal the ball by himself, outrun him and every defender, and score alone.
Too weak.
Unwilling to accept it.
Unable to accurately see his own ability.
Heh—
it's like a once-injured "genius" who returns to the field,
only to realize the field no longer belongs to him.
If you're so weak you let your teammate steal your ball and score,
then don't get angry at others.
Reflect on yourself.
Urgh…
Naruhaya could feel himself becoming increasingly disgusted with weaklings.
He didn't feel like saying anything more to a "teammate" he would never see again after this match.
There was no benefit to him.
But then the little tyrant suddenly thought of something—
and the corner of his mouth curled upward.
Since Chigiri was already this angry…
why not add more fuel to the fire?
And get the other Team Z players burning too.
After all, he'd already acquired Nagi Seishiro's ball-stopping technique.
Team V no longer qualified to be simulated.
There were still 50 long minutes left in the match.
He could try making other Team Z players awaken their weapons like Bachira had—
so he could properly "eat his fill."
With that thought, Naruhaya pretended to look confused.
"Isn't this last match basically just playing house?
Shouldn't we mess with the other team a bit and have some fun?"
Playing house?
For fun?
Every player on the field—Team Z and Team V alike—stared at him in disbelief.
Did this guy…
never treat them as players from the very beginning?
Were they nothing but toys to him—
objects to kill time during his boredom?
Rage began spreading like wildfire.
On both teams, nearly everyone now wore expressions like Chigiri's—
they wanted nothing more than to tear the tyrant's mouth apart.
But three people still remained calm.
You've really done it this time, you bastard tyrant.
Mikage Reo's temples bulged with veins as he stared at the tyrant, who looked completely relaxed.
He didn't know if it was his imagination,
but the sight of Naruhaya treating everyone as toys overlapped with memories of his parents.
He was the heir of the Mikage conglomerate.
Anything he wanted, his parents would give him.
But the moment he became genuinely interested in football…
and wanted to win the World Cup…
"No. Give it up."
"You're my heir. Only talented people can become professional players. Starting now is too late."
"Exactly, Reo. You need to become a top-class entrepreneur."
"We're saying this for your own good."
That was the overwhelming posture of parents who believed they were giving their child everything he needed—
because they stood above him.
And Naruhaya Asahi was the same.
I already humored you by playing this match with you.
If I treat you all as toys to kill time with, isn't that only natural?
This was the posture of a tyrant on the field,
utter contempt toward the weak.
Toying with them.
Viewing this final match as nothing more than entertainment.
Bastard.
Monster.
Parasite.
How many more times are you people going to mess with my life?!
Reo stuck out his tongue, white breath curling into the air,
his mind replaying Naruhaya's earlier simulations of them.
Since you simulated our personalities…
I'll simulate yours, you damn tyrant.
The braided youth became like a chameleon,
bleaching his original colors into dull gray
and beginning to mimic the strongest presence on the field—
Naruhaya Asahi.
Nagi Seishiro sensed Reo's change,
then looked toward Naruhaya—
the man standing at the top here.
One was his guide into the world of football.
The other was the true genius who made him realize his own weakness.
Sorry, Reo.
I won't follow your words anymore.
I'll use my own awareness
to create my own goals.
Black mist began gathering behind him.
It used to be the visual shape of his laziness—
his unfocused consciousness drifting apart—
but now the fog gathered into a faint, eerie skull before slowly fading and sinking into him.
As Mikage Reo and Nagi Seishiro awakened, Isagi's eyes kept shifting,
and when he glanced at Naruhaya,
he found the tyrant was already looking directly at him.
Their gazes collided.
Naruhaya smirked with a mocking glint,
then casually looked elsewhere, uninterested.
Isagi swallowed hard.
So you have spatial awareness too…
Same as me.
Same as Niko.
He let out a bitter laugh.
Was his ability that commonplace?
But he wouldn't give up.
Becoming the world's No.1 striker—
that was the reason he came to Blue Lock.
Whether by using Team V's awakening geniuses,
or using the arrogant tyrant who treated the match like playing house,
he would use them all
to create his own shot.
In the void of his mind,
a puzzle piece labeled Adherence
clicked into place next to Speed.
In the monitoring room, Jinpachi Ego's glasses reflected the three players' reactions.
Beside him, Anri Teieri spoke:
"This match is unfolding exactly as you predicted, Ego-san."
"Cold yet burning hot. Life or death.
Only by surpassing their limits and attacking can players awaken."
Ego folded his hands calmly, eyes fixed on the screen.
"This is what I wanted to see."
"Anri, do you know what awakening really is?"
The sudden question startled her.
She raised a finger hesitantly.
"Uh…
when a normal person suddenly becomes superhuman?
Like Super Saiyan?"
"Completely wrong."
"…"
Ego explained:
"That's the fantasy of someone who hasn't achieved success.
Awakening is the 'puzzle piece' formed through accumulated thought and experience.
Through constant failure and repeated testing—
in the struggle for victory
and confronting one's limits—
scattered puzzle pieces move toward success
and eventually bloom."
"In other words, awakening is
the moment you understand yourself."
Anri felt she somewhat understood.
Then her gaze drifted to the brightest existence on the field.
"If both Mikage and Nagi awaken,
do they have a chance to defeat Naruhaya?"
Ego shook his hand dismissively.
"If it's just scoring one goal, maybe a miracle could happen.
But defeating the survivor of the 'Future Star' elimination—
where over four thousand players were reduced to one—
is impossible."
Anri frowned.
"Even if Naruhaya is amnesiac now, it's still impossible?"
"Anri, amnesia doesn't erase muscle memory
or the finishing sense honed since childhood."
Ego tapped his glasses.
"Tell me—did you study biology and geography properly?"
Anri puffed up her cheeks indignantly—
feeling like Ego was treating her like an idiot.
"Of course I did!"
"Good."
Ego played a video on his tablet:
a small Asian elephant searching for food.
In the video, the little elephant wandered along a riverbank,
its eyes caught by fruit on the opposite shore.
It walked into the river—
clumsy, yet effortlessly crossing a depth that would drown most animals.
Reaching the other side,
it saw the fruit high above in the treetops.
But with its trunk, it reached the fruit easily,
plucked it, and happily ate it.
Anri thought for a moment,
then confidently gave her interpretation:
"You mean—
even with amnesia, Naruhaya's body is like that huge elephant's body, trained long ago.
Coming to Blue Lock is like the elephant entering an orchard.
To get food (score), he easily crosses the river (defenders) using his huge body (skill).
And in front of the tree (goalkeeper), he just uses his trunk (weapon) to pluck the fruit (goal)."
Feeling proud, little flowers almost bloomed around her.
But Ego crushed her happiness immediately.
"Half right, half wrong."
"Eh?!"
Ego took a sip from his cup as he observed the sweatless tyrant on screen.
"If this were Naruhaya from three months ago—
who had never left Japan—
I'd agree with you."
"But this little elephant has seen the outside world
and returned to a weak country where he can do whatever he wants."
"In his amnesiac state, he wouldn't obtain fruit (goals) through such simple means."
"I'll borrow the words of a certain guy who once lay bedridden."
"The world of football is one enormous ecosystem.
Talented players are animals with evolved forms.
The talentless are microbes floating in the air—so small they're ignored."
"Powerhouse nations are real hell."
"Weak nations are false paradises."
"A memory-less little elephant, after traveling the world,
returns to its birthplace paradise.
When he sees other animals too scared to cross the deep river,
he does not feel proud that he can cross it easily."
"Instead, he observes the carp swimming freely."
"He learns its movements,
rolls up his trunk,
holds his breath,
and adjusts his massive body to mimic a carp,
swimming across the river like a fish."
Anri gasped quietly.
She immediately turned to the screen.
Naruhaya had just used a personality simulation of Bachira Meguru—
dribbling past player after player
to cut through Team V's wall.
Ego continued:
"When the little elephant reaches the other side
and sees fruit on the tree,
his instincts tell him to pluck it with his trunk."
"But his body memory tells him:
'Delicious fruit should not be so easy to reach.'"
"So he looks around,
sees monkeys climbing trees,
and begins learning from them."
"Fortunately, this little elephant is a genius.
Even with his massive size,
he knows how to distribute his weight
and climb skillfully to reach the fruit."
On the field, Naruhaya kicked the ball high—
like Bachira—
looping it over defenders
and into the goal.
[GOAL!!!]
[0 : 4]
Naruhaya replicated every detail of Bachira's movements.
Anri didn't understand.
"Why not just shoot using his own weapon?
Wouldn't that be faster?"
"Because this little elephant hasn't forgotten
the feeling of facing powerful enemies."
"Mimicking the carp's swimming—
because he has swum in seas far deeper than this river (defensive wall)."
"Mimicking the monkey's climbing—
because he has faced forests far taller than these trees (goalkeepers)."
"For an elephant who has suffered endlessly in the outside world,
returning to a paradise where he can rule…
even if survival feels easy,
he cannot feel joy."
"Because his battle-scarred body urges him to leave this false paradise."
"And even without that reminder,
just tasting the fruit is enough."
"What animals in paradise treat as precious delicacies—
taste unbearably sour to him.
So sour he spits them out."
At the moment of scoring,
Naruhaya — Team Z's top scorer — felt no joy at all.
Even with all eyes on him,
he felt nothing.
To him, both the weaklings and the goal he just scored
were nauseating.
The only consolation was that a few players
were finally starting to develop a "delicious flavor."
In the monitoring room, Anri swallowed hard,
eyes locked onto the "little Asian elephant" ruling the field.
"Is Japan's soccer environment really that terrible?!"
"Horrible. Extremely horrible."
"But now, we should be grateful to the little elephant."
"Because his imitation surpasses the originals,
the other animals have finally realized
their environment is awful."
Halftime arrived.
Players from Team V and Team Z returned to the rest area,
panting and exhausted.
Mikage Reo, Nagi Seishiro, and Isagi Yoichi
all cast subtle glances toward the tyrant on the field.
The second half of the final match
would be their best chance
to use the little tyrant
as a catalyst for evolution.
Seeing everything clearly,
Ego pushed up his black glasses—
the corner of his mouth lifting.
"The era of Japan's soccer evolution
is finally about to begin."