It was the third day since the group arrived at Blue Lock. Inside the training room, the air was thick with effort.
"Huff... huff... Kira, you're hitting a wall already?"
"With this kind of stamina, you want to be the world's best striker? Give me a break!"
"You should head back before you lose to me and start crying, you commoner... Hahaha!"
Raichi Jingo, a fierce-looking player from Room Z, was shouting from his treadmill. He had been running at 20 km/h for an hour and thirteen minutes—the best stamina in the room. Having found an area where he finally outshone Kira, he was determined to let everyone know.
Kira ignored the taunting, gasping for air as he stepped off his machine. His limit was an hour, and that was only after two days of intense training using Raichi's stamina attributes to gain a permanent boost. It seemed his original body was only average in terms of endurance.
"Ugh... I'm gonna puke," Igarashi groaned from his treadmill, his face a mask of pain. Isagi was right beside him, pale but pushing through. As the two with the lowest stamina in Room Z, they were already reaching their breaking points after just thirty minutes.
"Kira! Let's go eat!" Bachira called out, jumping off his machine and sticking his tongue out. "I want your stir-fried pork liver and chives!"
Bachira noticed Kira glancing back at Isagi. "Are you waiting for Isagi? Looks like he'll be a while," Bachira added with a wide-eyed grin.
"Don't you run away, Kira! Admit you're weaker than me!" Raichi bellowed again. Kira sighed; the thought of Raichi's loud personality was giving him a headache. "Let's just go," Kira muttered to Bachira.
Over the last three days, Bachira had constantly stuck by Kira's side. In the original story, he was supposed to bond with Isagi, but Kira's dominant performance seemed to have drawn him in as his preferred "partner" on the pitch.
In Blue Lock, additional side dishes are assigned by rank. Kira had pork liver, Bachira had curry, Igarashi had pickled radish, and Isagi had natto. Since Kira preferred curry and Bachira loved pork liver, they sat together to swap dishes, ensuring both got what they wanted.
Upon entering the cafeteria, they found a quiet, long-haired boy already eating. "Oh? Chigiri?" Bachira noted. Chigiri Hyoma gave a brief nod before returning to his meal.
"Wow, he really doesn't talk much," Bachira concluded. Kira knew Chigiri was perhaps the most talented player in the room besides Isagi and Bachira due to his incredible speed, but he was currently plagued by a leg injury and self-doubt. Kira resolved to find a way to trigger Chigiri's evolution soon; he needed that speed attribute for his own growth.
"Man, this pork liver is so good!" Bachira patted his stomach after they finished. "I'm glad I came to Blue Lock, otherwise I'd never meet a player as amazing as you—or eat liver like this!"
Kira remained humble. "Everyone here is talented. Your dribbling the other day was incredible; I couldn't move that fluidly if I tried."
"Really?" Bachira stared at him with genuine intensity.
"Really. Do I look like a liar?" Kira stared back.
"Score! Then let's do some extra training tonight. I'll show you more of my skills," Bachira proposed. Kira admitted he went every night anyway, which shocked Bachira. "What? Why didn't you invite me?!"
That night in the training room, Bachira dropped into a defensive stance. "Come on, Kira, let me see what you've got!"
Just as Kira prepared to move, Isagi appeared, fully dressed in his gear. "Kira? Bachira?" He looked awkward, worried he was interrupting. "You guys go ahead, I'll just practice my dribbling over there."
"Isagi, join us," Kira suggested.
"Oh? You want to take on both of us at once?" Bachira grinned, excited by the challenge.
"No," Kira explained. "Ego said we're a team. I bet the next selection involves playing against other rooms. We should use this time to practice our coordination so we can dominate those matches." Isagi nodded in agreement, and the three began working on their passing.
The New Rankings
Thirty minutes later, an announcement rang out: "The three-day physical testing is complete. Please return to your rooms to confirm your new rankings."
Back in Room Z, the players were busy putting on new jerseys.
"Look, Kira! My rank went up a ton! I went from 300 to 275!" Igarashi bragged.
Kira checked his own locker. 265. He wasn't surprised. Isagi was thrilled to see he was now 274. Kira knew the truth: because one player had been eliminated from each of the 25 rooms, everyone's rank had simply shifted up. Isagi and Igarashi were still the bottom two.
Suddenly, Ego Jinpachi appeared on the screen. "How's life in Blue Lock treating you?"
"It's terrible!" Raichi barked. "The environment is trash!"
"I'm tired of pickled radish! I want real food!" Igarashi cried.
Ego looked at them with a flat expression. "Your food is poor because your skills are poor."
"What? Explain yourself!" the room demanded in confusion.