Blue Lock: Reborn As Isagi

Chapter 3: Episode 3



It has been an eventful six years for me. The first thing that happened was that I was sent to a Saturday club.

The coach was very helpful even though he didn't let us play matches that much. It was mostly a lot of training like passing or shooting drills because we were so young, meaning that most of us were very bad at the game.

After one year of training, we were allowed to play more games, and the difference between us and other teams was actually insane. I was sent as a striker but often tracked back as a midfielder. We were winning games left and right.

Soon, some of us got the attention of a sponsor. He was known for training players who would go to youth teams. I knew that this was the next stage for me, so I trained with him for three years as a striker before getting noticed by a Japanese club.

During those three years, my skills had skyrocketed, and I would say I was on my way to becoming the best striker in the world. Being nine meant that school was also a thing I had to include in my life due to my parents. I played for the school team and often carried the team since we were so bad. I was averaging five goals each game.

As for the other two years, I had spent them in the youth team for under-14s even though I was only 11. I had been promoted due to my constant use of meta-vision. They just thought I had good positioning, but in truth, we all know my little trick.

Meta-vision was something I was trying to improve but limit at the same time. My basic skills were good enough for my league, but they weren't where I wanted them. I knew that my skills would come with time, but I wouldn't make it big at this rate. I would need some kind of miracle if I wanted to become better.

I know I've been thinking too much of one ability and not of the others, but it seems I've been unable to unlock any of them or rather, I don't know how to use them at all. To be honest, how on earth was I supposed to use adaptability when I'm not even trying, or flow state?

I shook out my thoughts and focused on where I was. I was in a football match, and it was currently 0-0. I was actually unable to score because of one person.

Sae Itoshi.

He was keeping me on guard and making it very difficult for me to play. I wanted to test myself before going all out, but since he was as good as me, I would be forced to use my weapon. You could say he awakened the demon in me.

One of my teammates had the ball, briefly dribbling past one player, then making a slicing pass towards me. I knew what I had to do. Hopefully, my flow state could be awakened at this moment because Sae was right in front of me.

I thought that he would still be with Rin, but it seemed that they had departed a bit early. Even so, there were rumors that Sae had received an offer from La Real, or Real Madrid as it is called in my old world. I thought he was a bit older, but of course, I don't know everything.

Concentrating back on the game, I tried a feint to open up my view and see where he was blocking my peripheral vision because meta-vision worked off that basis. In a blink of an eye, he went for a tackle that was read by me.

I was trying to use a Messi-type ability; it would make it so much clearer and better for me. So I focused solely on Sae, as well as a few teammates and opponents. Even though he had only given me a split second to open wide space, my vision was now back in work.

I then did another feint to tempt him to tackle me. Seeing this, I did a lightning-fast La Croqueta. Sae seemed disoriented, but that wasn't going to slow him down. So I did another feint, which seemed to get him off my trail for a bit.

I did say I was going to play like Messi, so the flicks were expected, I guess.

I saw another midfielder approaching me with a slide tackle. It is only so dumb to do that unless you are losing the ball in a critical area. Seeing this, I controlled the ball to be on the laces of my boots, jumping over him in the process.

As soon as I landed, another player was marking me. The ball wasn't yet sliding on the floor smoothly, so I decided to do something a bit flashy. I turned my back to analyze the field, also doing a sombrero flick over the defender's head.

I saw the defenders becoming frantic. This was a huge mistake on their part. I had only gotten past three players who were still relatively in formation. This was hugely irrational and stupid—just a bunch of kids tensing up under pressure. I had played normal in the first half, and now they expected me to be some kind of dribbling genius.

But because of this mistake, the attackers were able to have a lot more options, but I didn't want to pass. I wasn't a midfielder to pass the ball. Ask the captain to do that.

"Hey Isagi, pass the ball, man! I'm open!" one forward said to me.

"B!tch, suck my d!ck," I replied, preparing to shoot. However, another annoyance came back. Sae was there, so I faked him out before making an impeccably placed but powerful shot in the left corner.

The score was 1-0.

This was probably my best goal yet, so I had to celebrate it in style. I remembered the Jude Bellingham celebration going off on the internet—plus, it looked cool.

I ran to the empty stands and spread my arms while standing there. My whole team didn't seem to care and asked me to come back to my position. They were supposed to support me, and they just left me. They are not real friends.

"Nice goal, but that won't be enough to stop me," a stoic Sae replied with confidence.

As kick-off started, the team passed to Sae, expecting him to do the work. I was kind of surprised by his improvement in the series. Yes, he was good, but to be world-level while playing in Japan was crazy. Maybe the breakthrough was when he found out about meta-vision.

"Oh, this is nothing. I just think that… this level of play wasn't enough for me to go serious. What you saw now was child's play," I replied back with a smug face.

"It's something I could have done as a newborn baby," Sae mocked.

Marking him was no joke. His feet were fast, and his positioning perfectly matched my meta-vision. It was very hard to predict what he would do.

A fake was done by him, and I matched his volume in a split second. He wasn't bothered by that fact and did another fake. I reached out for the ball since it was in my range, but he proceeded to do a La Croqueta to get past me.

Sae was also defended by a midfielder but turned his back before doing a sombrero flick over his head. I wasn't going to watch him destroy my team, so I went in for a tackle only to be feinted. And then, he made a shot to the right corner.

He didn't celebrate but simply went back to the field. It was only then that I realized.

"This motherf*cker copied me move for move," I muttered under my breath.

I wasn't angry but impressed. I'm surprised I didn't notice until after the flick he did. Shooting it in the right corner was basically like pointing a gun at my head. I wasn't going to let that slide. Next time, I would make a goal he wouldn't be able to copy.

"I didn't copy you. I simply did what you did better… thanks for the meal, clown," he replied back with a sickeningly serious face.

"Keep talking, you copycat," I said. It wasn't the best response, but we've got to do what we've got to do.

I wouldn't let him take all the glory out of this match. I had finally seen someone roughly on my level or even above it, and now I was going to let them "devour" me. No, I would not let that happen.

"I'll kill you!" I continued with a foul frown on my face. I know it wasn't worth getting angry, but he just had to add insult to injury. He should have just kept his mouth shut after copying me move for move. At first, I was impressed, but now he dares to call my movements his? That's like putting a tick on your shirt and calling it Nike.

"I'd like to see you try."

Kick-off started, and my team seemed to notice my behavior. My aura pressured them into passing the ball to me. I didn't even take a second glance at them before activating meta-vision.

The first player came at me, but I did a swift Maradona turn, getting past him with almost no effort.

After regaining my sense of gravity, I saw the next opponent approaching, but I embarrassed him by feinting to the left. Ultimately, he opened his legs, and I took this opportunity to nutmeg him.

My next enemy was Sae. I didn't care who he was and just speed-blitzed him. However, reality seemed to have different plans as he quickly caught up. So, I decided to use some advice I had heard on YouTube in my old life. I made myself seem open, and Sae took the bait surprisingly, but in that time he went for the hustle, I was able to switch directions and get past him.

I was now roughly 30 yards away, and the defenders were my next challenge. Two came at me at the same time, but some quick step-overs and a Ronaldo chop sent them looking the other way.

Now, there was only one defender and the keeper. I used a feint and a pull-back V to nutmeg the defender.

Now the keeper was left. But I didn't feel the need to dribble past him since dribbling wasn't even my strong suit. It was just that meta-vision sometimes allowed me to go into this state.

I swung my leg to kick, but a devil appeared out of nowhere.

A powerful slide tackle was sent my way in the penalty box by none other than Sae Itoshi. He was grinning while tearing apart my ankles. I wasn't actually injured, but it was a dirty tackle.

"AAAHHH F*CK!!" I yelled out. Nobody seemed to mind that I swore due to the dirty tackle that I had received.

"How does it feel to have your perfect goal stolen from you by me?" Sae said with a smug grin on his face. It was the first time I had seen him smile the entire game.

"The perfect opportunity to prove that you were better than me was all taken away by a simple slide tackle," he finished.

The same technique that I had thought was improper and irrational was the same thing that stopped me from scoring.

"DAMN IT ALL!!" I screamed again. My team scrambled toward me, asking questions if I was alright and giving dirty looks to Sae.

Even though a penalty was given, I still felt pretty empty. I scored it by sending the keeper the wrong way and chipping it. Sae had ruined everything with a single tackle.

I know that I wouldn't be able to reproduce this kind of feat again. I felt like no one could stop me—unbeatable even. It was like I was in another world. Was this what the flow state was?

When I first realized I was able to use meta-vision, I thought it would be the same with flow state. Like Aomine from Kuroko Basket, I would be able to forcefully open the gates and lock in when I wanted.

To be honest, I felt like killing Sae. Sending him off the field wasn't enough. I wanted him dead after that stunt he pulled. Stopping me with the defending skill I thought most useless.

A few minutes later, we won the game 3-1. I scored another goal, but it was just another free kick. My spirit was still crushed, and I wouldn't be getting over it.

This just shows how much I've got to improve. I know how good I am in the world and how he was able to stop me at any time but chose to when I was at my highest point. It showed that he really outclassed me, but that still didn't mean I had no right to be angry. Imagine going from 100 to 0 in one second.

After getting out of the changing room, I was dejected and frustrated. My parents seemed to think that I had lost the game and went straight to assumptions.

"Don't worry, Yoichi, you can win next time," my dad said to me.

"That's right, don't be too sad, Yuu-chan. It doesn't look good on you," my concerned mother added.

Their advice was exactly what I needed. I had won the war but lost the battle. That was all I needed to become better. 

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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