Blue Lock: Beyond Greatness

"The only player worth paying attention to on their side is 'Aomori's Messi,' Hajime Nishioka. He scored four goals in their last match," Hiori said, handing Shinichi his shin guards.

Shinichi, however, waved him off dismissively. "Doesn't matter who it is. If you limit your focus to players at that level, you'll only restrict your own potential."

"Let's go. I'll try out my new move in this match."

"Huh? You already have an idea?" Hiori, who had been blindly increasing his training without a clear direction, put on a pained expression. "Are you serious? We've been training together, and it's only been two days!"

"Well, I am a genius, after all," Shinichi replied, rolling his shoulders before leading the way out of the locker room.

"Let's go. Time to win this match."

...

Whistle!

"Hey, Mr. Bangs, I hear they call you 'Aomori's Messi,'" Shinichi said with a grin as he blocked Nishioka, who had just received the kickoff.

"Oh? So, you're the guy who scored 11 goals?" Nishioka replied with interest, giving Shinichi a small wave before lowering his stance slightly. "Let's see if you're any good."

'Change direction? First option is the right foot… so he'll feint left first. If I block the left, he'll have no choice but to go right.' Shinichi quickly analyzed, positioning himself to cut off Nishioka's left side and forcing him into a predictable path before moving in for the steal—

"If I take you down instantly, stop calling me 'Mr. Bangs.'"

'What?! His direction change is so fast!'

'No, it's not just the speed—it's his absurdly high touch frequency!'

'Every touch of the ball creates a new possibility for direction, like a wall riddled with countless holes.'

'Every time I block one, he immediately slips through another!'

'Even though I can foresee his moves and react to them, my body's speed in sealing the gaps just can't keep up with his!'

'By increasing his touch frequency, he's overwhelming defenders with information and exploiting any momentary lapse to strike straight at the heart. '

Such a brilliant way to attack… but—

"This kind of predictable breakthrough ends here."

Hiori suddenly emerged from Shinichi's blind spot, using his body to block Nishioka completely.

The unexpected physical challenge left Nishioka with no space or leverage to continue his movement.

Unable to keep control, the ball was cleanly stolen by Shinichi.

"Too bad. You still couldn't escape my claws," Shinichi said, smirking at the stunned and speechless Nishioka.

Without wasting a moment, he burst forward in a lightning-fast sprint.

'My lateral movement is still lacking. Back when I trained for track and field, I never focused on this specifically. I'll need to add about ten sets of lateral jumps to my routine when I get back.'

With these thoughts in mind, Shinichi passed the ball to Hiori and sprinted off into the opponent's half, focusing on off-the-ball movement.

"So, the new weapon isn't about dribbling but improving off-the-ball play?" Hiori mused, taking control of the ball. "Well, before that, let me show what I can do."

With that thought, Hiori charged forward alone, skillfully weaving through the defense and opening a gap in their formation with his precise dribbling.

"You're going in a bit too deep, aren't you, Shinichi's lapdog?"

Nishioka suddenly appeared behind Hiori, cutting him off. "So, how does it feel now? Your 'king' can't help you here."

"Phew! That was close," Hiori exclaimed as he quickly used his heel to flick the ball upward, narrowly avoiding a successful interception.

Nishioka clicked his tongue in frustration at the failed sneak attack but used his faster footwork to position himself in front of Hiori again.

"To be honest, I was a little shocked when I heard you guys scored 11 goals. So, for the past two days, I've been holding back. I only allowed myself one piece of that insanely delicious steak and used the rest of my points to get a new phone," Nishioka remarked casually, his tone carrying a hint of sarcasm.

"Thanks to the rules, though, I've gotten a pretty good handle on your information."

Lowering his stance again and spreading his arms wide, Nishioka continued, "Kanzaki Shinichi—a player who's undoubtedly a genius. From what I've gathered, he's only been playing football for about six months, less than a year, right?"

"To refine everything to this level in such a short time—really impressive," Nishioka remarked, making another attempt to steal the ball with his quick movements.

However, Hiori kept firm control of the ball, not giving him an opening.

"We've eaten so much steak we're sick of it," Hiori replied, casually shielding the ball and pulling it side to side to avoid Nishioka's sneaky attack.

He added with a smirk, "But you, sneaking in an attack while chatting—you've got a dirty heart that doesn't match that baby face of yours."

As he continued to scan the field, searching for any gaps in Nishioka's defense, Nishioka grinned and moved closer. "Can't handle this already? And here I haven't even gotten to the important stuff," he taunted. "For example, Shinichi is undoubtedly impressive, but his dribbling is still second-rate. His take-offs and changes in direction slow him down every time he touches the ball."

"And you? Once the match turns into an open-field game, it's hard for you to keep up with Shinichi, isn't it? Not that it's your fault. With someone like him, if it weren't for his lack of experience, no one would be able to catch him even when he's dribbling."

"Take just now, for instance. If I hadn't interrupted you, you'd probably have already made a long pass to him for a goal. But too bad—because you hesitated for that one moment, Shinichi's speed was completely wasted, and now my teammates have already caught up to him."

"Thanks to you, that monster has been 'contained.'"

"You sure talk a lot. So, this is the kind of player you are?" Hiori shot back, staring at Nishioka as if he were a dead man. "Or maybe, after watching the match footage, you got scared? And now you're trying to boost your chances of winning by playing dirty."

"But none of that matters anymore—because I'm not lost anymore!"

Hiori faked a move to open up a sliver of space.

To Nishioka's shock, instead of continuing to dribble, he launched an unexpected pass forward.

"You're insane!" Nishioka shouted in surprise as he turned to follow the ball's trajectory. "Shinichi is offside right now!"

...

"You're so slow. I was wondering how much longer you'd make me wait," Shinichi said with a smirk, standing inexplicably unmarked by any defenders.

He perfectly controlled the long pass, using his right foot to balance himself as his left leg swung high.

His posture resembled a drawn bow, ready to release its arrow.

Boom!

The ball, still midair, compressed dramatically as it collided with his foot, resembling a water balloon under immense pressure.

The powerful strike reverberated with a thunderous sound, sending the ball soaring in a beautiful arc, unstoppable as it rocketed into the goal.

Goooooooooal!

1-0.

"Hey! Wasn't that offside?" Several players from Team W yelled in frustration toward the monitor above the field.

However, the calm, detached voice of the female announcer responded coldly:

"Team X, Kanzaki Shinichi, committed no foul. The match continues. Team W, return to your half to restart play."

Nishioka tried to argue further, but when the announcer warned that wasting time and disrupting the match procedures would result in a yellow card, he had no choice but to fall silent.

"Looks like your information is a bit outdated, Little Messi," Hiori said, not even glancing at Nishioka but delivering the jab with pinpoint accuracy.

His empty, spiraling eyes absorbed the entire scene on the field like a predator scanning its prey.

"A guy whose vision is limited to just this view dares to judge us? Allow me to send you off with a resounding Game Over."

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