Blue Lock: Beyond Greatness

"This guy's positioning is really strategic. It's not about completely blocking me but rather leaving a few routes open where teammates can step in to defend if I get past him. He's mainly focused on guarding the paths where my breakthrough would be unstoppable for his teammates."

Before making a move, Shinichi carefully observed Sae's defensive maneuvers and immediately noticed something different. "This is a strategy I've never used before. In the past, I only coordinated with teammates who would actively come up to support defense. But Itoshi Sae, without even calling for support, has maximized the defensive threat of his teammates to limit my attacking options."

"Maybe I can apply this approach to offense too? Not just relying on teammates who can directly pass and coordinate with me, but considering a broader range of players..." Lost in thought, Shinichi appeared slightly absent-minded.

Seizing the opportunity, Sae aggressively pressed forward to steal the ball. Just as he was about to succeed, Shinichi suddenly raised his arm to shield the ball, using his strong frame to forcefully block Sae.

Then, with a quick pivot and drag back, he broke through.

"Ohhh! This is the moment, right? Since Aiku said so, I'll be the sacrificial pawn!" However, Sae's defense wasn't so easily overcome.

Kazuma immediately moved in to block Shinichi's path the moment he broke through, using his strength to entangle him tightly.

Meanwhile, Sae swiftly adjusted and charged forward from behind to prevent Shinichi from escaping their grasp with his agility.

At the same time, Teppei decisively abandoned his assigned mark to join the double-team, while Aiku, slightly positioned behind, kept a close eye on the situation, ready to fill any gaps.

The combined forces of Kazuma's strength, Teppei's speed, and the all-around defensive capabilities of Sae and Aiku created the ultimate killing move—a formation crafted specifically to counter Shinichi's abilities!

"Oh no! Is Shinichi being too overconfident? He's about to be completely surrounded—will he lose possession of the ball?" The commentator's voice rose with the intensifying match. "Let's see if there's a passing route! But Itoshi Sae is being extremely cautious, not giving Shinichi any chance!"

Although Shinichi had previously pulled off a stunning solo run, tearing through the entire U20 defense, anyone familiar with the game knew that when physically strong players reach top speed, the impact they create poses a tremendous threat to defenders.

In such cases, there aren't many players capable of stopping them. Despite the visual spectacle, the difficulty is often not as high as it appears.

However, this time, Shinichi hadn't built up speed and was now surrounded by four defenders.

The difficulty of breaking through in this situation far surpassed that previous goal.

Yet even in such a predicament, Shinichi's expression remained calm. His serene, unwavering eyes reflected the figures of the defenders, sending an inexplicable chill down Aiku's spine as he stood ready to cover.

"Is this all you've got?" As dark flames ignited within him, the roar of a celestial storm lit up the field once again. Shinichi's hollow gaze locked onto the encircling players.

"No matter how many of you there are, trash is still trash. I guess I'll have to personally make that clear to you..."

As Shinichi's words faded, his entire body seemed to glisten as if coated in oil, muscles gleaming with an alluring sheen. He suddenly raised his arm, forcefully blocking Kazuma—the most troublesome defender in close-range situations. With sheer strength and ball control, Shinichi managed to create a slight but critical gap between them.

Freed from the brute force of this "muscle wall," Shinichi finally had room to deal with the others.

He immediately shouldered Teppei, who was attempting a sneaky move, completely isolating him from the play.

One wave of fierce physical clashes after another left Teppei disoriented, feeling as if he had been thrown into a swamp—the more he struggled, the deeper he sank.

"That brat... using my defensive techniques on a global live broadcast," muttered Chris, who, for certain reasons, hadn't left Asia and was currently watching the Blue Lock vs. U20 match alongside the other four Phase 2 selectees.

Upon witnessing this scene, Chris couldn't hold back and stood up abruptly. But he soon eased back into his seat, glancing at Lavinho beside him. "Don't laugh just yet—you're next."

Sure enough, dazzling butterfly wings unfolded as Shinichi simultaneously dealt with two defenders.

Despite being unable to freely shift his center of gravity, he used only footwork to mislead Sae into raising his leg to block to the right.

Although this stopped Shinichi from immediately cutting out of the encirclement, it left a slight gap in the previously airtight defense.

Sensing danger, Aiku quickly stepped forward to cover the breach, desperately trying to patch up the situation.

But this was exactly the moment Shinichi had been waiting for!

He opened the gates to the second stage of ZONE, elevating his already terrifying strength to an even higher level.

With sheer brute force, he forced his way through the narrow gap between Kazuma and Teppei, shoving both aside and instantly breaking through the seemingly impenetrable defensive formation, charging straight toward Aiku.

Aiku, like a poised viper ready to strike, lunged swiftly toward the ball at Shinichi's feet.

However, with a simple yet devastatingly effective high-speed direction change—a move reminiscent of Loki—Shinichi easily dodged Aiku's attack.

"If I don't crush you completely, people might actually think we're on the same level," Shinichi remarked coldly, without sparing a glance at the defenders left in his wake. He calmly raised his right leg, locking onto the ball for a shot—

"Shinichi, don't even think about it!"

"Stop him!"

Two voices echoed simultaneously from opposite sides—one belonging to Hiori, who trusted Shinichi completely and moved instinctively to block, and the other to Isagi, who sensed imminent danger and rushed forward on reflex.

The two converged, their legs crossing as one went high and the other low, sealing off every possible shooting angle.

"Nice struggle," Shinichi murmured, genuinely impressed by their impeccable timing. Yet within his indifferent eyes, dark lightning flickered ever more fiercely. "But you're still not on my level."

In an instant, Shinichi's raised right foot suddenly froze in place, leaving Hiori and Isagi watching in disbelief as they lost their footing and crashed to the ground.

Before they could recover, Shinichi, expressionless, shifted his right leg into a support position and swung his left leg violently toward the ball.

A split-second delayed attack!

The cannon-like roar from his strike momentarily drowned out the cheers and screams of countless spectators.

Then came an even more deafening wave of madness, as if the sky itself might shatter from the sheer force of their celebration.

The reason? A world-class, jaw-dropping wonder goal from Shinichi.

GOOOOOOAL!

U20 National Team: 1

Blue Lock Team: 2

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