Blue Lock: Beyond Greatness

The high-speed duel between Shinichi and Snuffy was dazzling, a breathtaking exchange of rapid turns and feints that left spectators struggling to comprehend their movements.

Yet, Snuffy managed to keep up with Shinichi's every action, relying on instinctive, almost reflexive reactions to match him step for step.

Smack!

Finally, Snuffy seized the opportunity he had been waiting for.

With precise anticipation, he read Shinichi's next move and tapped the ball with his foot.

Both figures immediately closed in, but it was Snuffy who gained control of the ball first.

However, Shinichi refused to back down.

Using a swift and fluid jiu-jitsu-inspired maneuver, he wrested the ball back from Snuffy's defense.

In an instant, possession of the ball changed hands multiple times, as flames and lightning seemed to intertwine at the center of the field, leaving a trail of afterimages in their wake.

The battle reached a stalemate, but it was overwhelmingly disadvantageous for Shinichi.

Having already expended a significant amount of stamina, he now had to maintain his ZONE state.

A war of attrition was not an option against Snuffy, who excelled in endurance.

The scoreboard displayed a tense 3–3 tie.

Even if Shinichi managed to score this goal, the sheer amount of energy he'd burn would leave him struggling to secure the decisive, final point.

A quick and decisive victory was his only option.

Resolving himself, Shinichi forced his body to immerse itself deeper into the ZONE.

For just one second, he thought, he could still hold on.

The dark, thunderous glow in Shinichi's eyes deepened, now faintly wreathed in flickering flames.

He was about to push himself to his ultimate limit.

Clutching the ball, Shinichi charged straight at Snuffy with incredible speed, each movement brimming with raw intensity.

Yet, Snuffy remained unfazed.

On the contrary, the flames in his eyes burned even brighter.

What might have appeared as an overwhelming assault to ordinary players was, in Snuffy's eyes, riddled with openings.

"Getting impatient, Shinichi?" Snuffy muttered to himself.

To him, such a straightforward move was the easiest to predict.

Of course, he knew Shinichi wouldn't leave himself without any backup plan, but an opening served on a silver platter was too tempting to ignore.

If I can just suppress your speed, I can handle whatever you throw at me next!

But just as the two were about to collide, Shinichi suddenly leaned back sharply, halting his advance entirely.

Snuffy couldn't believe his eyes.

It wasn't a normal deceleration—it was as if the entire process of slowing down had been cut out, transitioning from full speed to an abrupt stop in an instant.

The disjointed movement created a jarring sense of unreality, as if the laws of motion themselves had been defied.

However, Shinichi had no intention of giving Snuffy time to recover.

Ignoring the creaking protest of his knees from the abrupt stop, he launched forward again.

The sheer inhuman nature of Shinichi's stop had thrown Snuffy off balance, and maintaining his footing was all he could manage as he watched Shinichi's next move unfold.

With precise control, Shinichi used his foot to stop the ball on the top of his instep while leaning against Snuffy.

Then, with an elegant and fluid turn, he spun away from his opponent effortlessly.

In that moment, everyone on the sidelines let out an involuntary gasp of awe, captivated by the near-perfect execution of Shinichi's move.

They couldn't find the words to describe this divine turn.

Even Snuffy, usually unshakable, stood as stiff and motionless as a pole, while Shinichi seemed like a graceful pole dancer, spinning effortlessly around his stationary opponent.

His movement was so elegant it resembled the performance of a world-class ballet dancer.

This was a stark contrast to Shinichi's usual brand of violent football, where he relied on overwhelming speed and power to crush his opponents.

At that moment, the only word that surfaced in everyone's mind was elegance.

But it wasn't just the perfect turn that left everyone speechless—Shinichi had also kept the ball firmly under control on the top of his foot.

No, this wasn't mere ball control; it was an extraordinary combination of touch and balance, allowing the ball to remain perfectly still even as he executed such a rapid, fluid motion.

Finally, Shinichi bypassed Snuffy.

The rest was inevitable.

Facing the goal, the elegance of a moment ago evaporated, replaced by his true nature as a tyrant.

With a single, devastating move, he unleashed an earth-shattering strike.

BOOM!

The deafening roar was like the launch of a cannonball.

The unstoppable shot hurtled toward the top-left corner of the goal.

The Blue Lock goalkeeper could only give chase with his eyes, utterly powerless to reach it.

Thud—

Shinichi's pupils shrank in disbelief.

Standing before him was none other than Noa, his eyes burning with the same fire as Shinichi's.

In the split second before the ball could reach its target, Noa had closed the distance, leaping fearlessly to meet the shot head-on.

Expressionless and undaunted, Noa intercepted Shinichi's explosive strike—using his head.

The world's number one, fully immersed in the FLOW state, had intercepted Shinichi's seemingly unstoppable shot.

No, even if someone else held the title of the world's best, it's unlikely they could have achieved what Noa just did.

This feat was something only a player like Noa—akin to a precision-engineered machine, focused solely on victory and rational decision-making, with no weaknesses—could accomplish.

Even after being blocked, the ball retained its incredible speed, rebounding swiftly into the air and flying toward the midfield.

At that moment, Snuffy, who had been bypassed earlier, now had the upper hand over Shinichi.

He quickly calculated the ball's landing point and dashed forward.

Shinichi immediately tried to give chase, but his overworked body finally reached its limit.

His legs buckled, leaving him frozen in place.

Upfield, Hiori and Rin, who had already fallen back to defend, made a desperate effort to intercept the ball.

Together, they managed to kick it out of bounds just before Snuffy could regain control.

The referee's whistle signaled a brief pause in the game.

This intense back-and-forth battle for dominance ultimately saw the world-class forwards regain the upper hand.

For Shinichi, this marked the end of the road.

While the scoreboard still read 3–3, the opposing team now had possession.

Once they restarted play, it was only a matter of time before the score shifted to 3–4.

Even in the best-case scenario—if Shinichi somehow had the stamina to continue attacking—they wouldn't be able to stop the opposing team's counterattacks.

They might secure one more point, but they would inevitably lose when their defense broke.

And right now, Shinichi didn't even have the strength to contribute to the next offensive play.

This match was over the moment Shinichi's shot was blocked.

"Looks like I arrived just in time," came a lazy voice from the sidelines, irritatingly casual and unwelcome.

The speaker was none other than Ego, strolling leisurely onto the field. "I'm here to call off this match. Kanzaki Shinichi, step down."

"You've got to be kidding me. Are you telling me to run away in the middle of a fight?" Shinichi snapped, ignoring Ego's words as he stubbornly forced himself toward the sideline. "I'll see this through to the end. The match isn't over yet."

"Pathetic, Shinichi," Ego said, stepping in front of him. Despite his thin, almost frail appearance, Ego effortlessly blocked Shinichi's path. "You, who aim to be the world's best, can't even accept failure?"

"..."

Shinichi was rendered speechless, but Ego wasn't about to let him off the hook.

"Persevering until the very end is admirable," Ego continued. "But refusing to accept reality and pushing yourself into reckless, irrational behavior? That's just foolish, childish stubbornness."

"If you truly can't stand this feeling of defeat, then remember it. Burn it into your memory. Use it to become stronger, strong enough to erase this bitterness. But don't act like a petulant child, hurting yourself and throwing a tantrum just to force the adults to compromise."

"Shut up, you bastard," Shinichi finally snapped, cutting Ego off mid-lecture. The thunder in his eyes dimmed, gradually fading into nothingness. "Take me to the medical room."

With that, Shinichi finally relented, his pride giving way to the understanding that his body and spirit had reached their limits.

"Do you still not understand our situation?" Ego ignored Shinichi's demand, turning his back on him.

"Do you really expect me to summon a team of medics with a stretcher to carry you to the medical room? I called this match off early because you still have enough strength to walk. If you'd gone for one more play, I'd have no choice but to drag you there myself."

Still seated on the ground, Shinichi cursed under his breath before begrudgingly getting up.

As he followed Ego, he turned back to look at his teammates. "I..."

"Shut up, you idiot," Rin snapped, cutting him off with a venomous glare, his eyes fixed on the disinterested world-class forwards ahead of him. "If we're talking about frustration, we feel it far more than you do! Don't stay here spouting self-righteous nonsense—it makes me sick!"

"Yeah, for now, just shut up, Shinichi," Hiori agreed, an unusual expression of ferocity etched onto his face—one that even his most bitter moments had never brought out before. "If it's going to take you comforting us to keep us going, I might as well quit football altogether."

"Just stay ahead of us and wait until we catch up."

"Agreed."

"Same here."

"...Me too," another voice chimed in.

Kurona and Zantetsu chimed in as well, their voices firm and resolute.

Shinichi let out a wry smile, turning back around and swallowing the words that had been on the tip of his tongue.

'Actually, I just wanted to mock you all for being so useless...' he thought to himself. '...but I guess I'll let it slide this time.'

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