017 Blue Lock: System Ten Years Early

"So that's how it is. The offside judgment only requires the receiver's position at the exact moment the ball carrier passes, and Shinichi deliberately stayed at the critical edge of offside. Then, using his powerful reflexes, he quickly stepped back at the instant he judged his teammate was about to pass, and then used his speed to shake off the opponent and receive this seemingly offside pass."

"Not only did he break free from the limitation football imposes on his speed, he also used the offside rule to reduce the opponent's vigilance, achieving the effect of disrupting the opponent's organization through a change of direction."

Anri Teieri couldn't help but praise Shinichi's ingenious idea:

"Ego, this can be said to be an attack with no way to defend against, right?"

"Well, considering the time it took to pull all of this off, it was indeed done quite well—one could even say it exceeded my expectations." Ego Jinpachi rarely agreed with Anri, but at the same time he shook his head.

"However, if his creativity is limited to this, then I'm honestly a bit disappointed."

"Anti-offside is indeed a unique way to improve. Kōken Shinichi probably applied his ability to read opponents' actions in advance onto his teammate Hiori Yo, which is why he could grasp the timing so precisely."

"It could even be said that without any guidance, Kōken Shinichi had already subconsciously reached the next stage—reproducibility."

"The previous goal could likewise be replicated by Shinichi, but in the same position, with the same defender, Shinichi wouldn't necessarily make the same choice. This shows an unclear understanding of his own weapons, ultimately forcing him to rely on a Genius flash of inspiration to make decisions."

"And Shinichi didn't become complacent over a coincidental success. While carrying the ball he couldn't clearly define his own weapons, so he instead maximized the advantages of his speed and reflexes in an off-the-ball state, proving his own existence and outlining a new goal equation."

"Now, as long as it's during the off-the-ball phase, Shinichi can endlessly replicate this goal. But for the world's number one, this kind of goal is equally meaningless."

"As the team's ace, as the world's number one striker, you will be given infinite attention by opponents. No one will ignore you anymore. Every move you make will be observed under a magnifying glass. There will always be one, even two defenders marking you. Under such circumstances, this kind of small-cleverness goal can never be reproduced."

"That is to say, A (absolute weapon) × B (the conditions for using A) = C (mass-produced goals) is the basic theory of the equation, and the B condition in Shinichi's equation will gradually be blocked off on the road to pursuing the world's number one striker."

Ego Jinpachi's eyes—uncertain whether dead silent or crazed—almost pressed against the screen:

"Through this goal, I've learned that Kōken Shinichi's talent may exceed my imagination, but at the same time his 'hunger' is severely lacking. Is it because he has subordinates? To actually place hope in this kind of 'group hunting' link and fall into a game of friendship."

"Kōken Shinichi, I'm going to peel you away from this false collective and make you realize that you are completely different in species from this group of barely sharp-tongued beasts. For you, becoming a 'group's leader' is not enough! I will forge you into a 'weapon' who can stir storms all by himself!"

...

"Game Over? Just someone else's lackey, and you've got the nerve to say that." Nishioka Hajime took a deep breath, doing his best not to let his emotions sway him.

"Stay calm. I'm Aomori's Messi. This level is nothing…"

Nishioka comforted himself while observing the situation on the field. That blue-haired guy hid behind Shinichi again? Seriously, this guy who lurks in others' shadows waiting to come out and gnaw on others' 'leftovers' is really irritating!

Nishioka Hajime didn't pass the ball to his teammates for circulation, but continued to dribble. Shinichi moved to meet him:

"Haven't you learned your lesson? You can't break through alone."

"Two people pressing and you say it so righteously." Nishioka Hajime sped up, the football like a sprite dancing at his toes, flipping up and down. His nimble style was dazzling and dangerous.

"But that's what makes it interesting."

'As expected, it's Shinichi blocking one side and Hiori Yo stopping me again… How could such a simple defensive idea work twice? Idiots.'

Nishioka Hajime feinted a double change of direction, but in reality, when he avoided Shinichi's block on the second touch, he suddenly accelerated a step. His body moved a position ahead of the ball, his instep pulling the ball to the other calf, and with a backswing he flicked the ball up.

The football was flung out from behind Nishioka Hajime, tracing a beautiful arc as it sailed over Hiori Yo's head. Nishioka Hajime himself used his slimmer frame to slip sideways through the gap between the two.

Rainbow flick!

'I got past! So how about that, you rigid-thinking idiot—eh? A shadow?'

A shadow shot into the air, blotting out the sky as it enveloped Nishioka Hajime. Under his horrified gaze, the leaping Shinichi actually intercepted this beautiful rainbow flick in midair.

"Damn it! Shouldn't he have tried to steal the ball after Hiori Yo blocked me? Even if he noticed my flick, he'd need reaction time. How did he jump directly? Can this bastard see the future?"

Nishioka Hajime grit his teeth and chased Shinichi with the ball.

'Luckily, this guy isn't that fast while dribbling. When I'm off the ball I can barely catch up. As long as I wait for him to slow down on his next touch, I can stop him—huh?'

Holding his breath and sprinting, Nishioka Hajime was shocked to discover that while sprinting with the ball, Shinichi actually still had the energy to look back at him—and even stuck out his tongue at him.

"The next touch will indeed slow me down, but you still won't catch me."

Nishioka Hajime no longer had time to think about why, even while charging at full speed, this guy still had time to talk. He only saw that at the moment of contact, Shinichi suddenly drove the ball hard with one foot straight toward the sideline.

This play imitated Chigiri Hyoma's weapon, 'no-deceleration dribbling.' Its weakness is the same as Chigiri's: kicking the ball far naturally means losing control of the ball. But Shinichi was even more insane. He didn't kick the ball straight ahead—he kicked it toward out of bounds.

A football kicked at such high speed isn't something ordinary people can catch. Even someone with average physical ability like Isagi Yoichi would find it difficult to intercept even with anticipation. The greater possibility would be a forced stop that fails and goes out of bounds—counted as a small optimization of this move by Shinichi.

And what Shinichi relied on to use such a move that seemed extremely risky to ordinary people was naturally his top speed of 97, still incredibly high even without any trait boosts!

Freed from the shackles of the football, Shinichi finally displayed all of his talent on the field for the first time—beyond doubt, unprovokable, an absolute strong point.

"Just crawl slowly behind me, turtle."

Even though Nishioka Hajime had already accelerated while Shinichi had just passed the ball and was still in the starting phase, Nishioka Hajime was completely blown away in an instant—this wasn't even the same tier of speed!

Shinichi's near-max speed attribute, outstanding even among professional track athletes, finally bared its fangs in Blue Lock. This was a 'hunting weapon' belonging to the top of the food chain!

He lightly feinted past the defender, raised his right foot, and struck hard.

'Right side!'

The goalkeeper, replaced by a forward, instinctively dove out. However, Shinichi's right foot stopped just before touching the ball. Only after confirming the goalkeeper was completely fooled by the feint did he calmly push the ball in for a goal.

At this moment, stunned by Shinichi's inhuman actions and unable to catch his breath, Nishioka Hajime was still stuck at the center line, watching in despair as Shinichi toyed with his teammates, coughing nonstop until tears involuntarily fell.

Current score 2:0.