Blue Lock: Beyond Greatness

"These are the first batch of players we're supposed to evaluate? They look so uptight—seems like a bunch of boring people," remarked Lavinho, the Brazilian instructor with dyed blonde hair, yawning as he glanced over the entering team led by Shinichi. "Don't bother stepping in later. I alone can scare them enough to wet their pants."

"That won't do," retorted Chris Prince, the British instructor, striking a confident pose while scanning the area for cameras. "This match will serve as promotional material for the next phase. No way I'm letting you hog the spotlight."

"Alright, it's work, after all," chimed in Snuffy, the Italian instructor with a hooked nose, adjusting the headband on his forehead. "Let's just get it done."

"Snuffy's right. Don't act so childish," Noel Noa added with a blank expression, watching the bickering Lavinho and Chris. "It's embarrassing."

"Hah? You've been acting high and mighty lately. All because some dumb media outlet gave you a worthless title," Lavinho snapped back.

"Exactly," Chris chimed in. "And I only narrowly missed out on being Europe's Best Player last year—just a hair's breadth from first place!"

...

To everyone's surprise, the dignity expected from world-class strikers was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, the group of star players bickered like children.

Meanwhile, the least experienced among them, Loki, quietly handed out five boxes to Shinichi and his team.

"These are high-performance mini simultaneous translation earpieces. They can convert speech into the preset language and even mimic the original speaker's voice quite closely," Loki explained with a smile after everyone opened their boxes and put on the earpieces. He gestured to his own identical device. "Good luck. Let's make this a great match."

"Players, please prepare for the game. The match will begin shortly." The surrounding speakers blared the announcement. After nodding to everyone, Loki returned to his team's half of the field.

"Unexpected. Are these really world-class players? They seem no different from ordinary people," Hiori muttered instinctively, glancing at the still-bickering stars on the other side.

"I think they're doing this intentionally, probably to help us stay calm," Shinichi replied, standing at the front. But his opinion shifted when he saw Lavinho attempting to sneak-kick Noa's backside. "Though, how much of this is an act is anyone's guess."

"Blue Lock, third round selection match. Five-on-five. World Selection Game. Rules are the same as in the second selection. The first team to score five goals wins."

Beep!

As the announcement ended, the whistle blew. Shinichi used the instep of his foot to pass the ball to Hiori, then sprinted forward with full focus.

Take the lead while they're off guard!

Shinichi pushed his speed to the limit, dashing into the penalty area in the blink of an eye.

Hiori's long pass arrived perfectly on time.

Without even looking, Shinichi raised his leg and unleashed a powerful volley.

The thunderous roar of the strike echoed throughout the field.

The sheer force of the shot deflected the Blue Lock goalkeeper's diving save attempt—

Boom!

The anticipated sound of the ball hitting the net never came.

Instead, a dull thud echoed through the field.

Noel Noa had leaped into the air and executed a sliding block, using his shin to stop the powerful shot that was mere moments away from entering the goal!

"Focus. Stop acting like children," Noel Noa said, his expression unchanging as he glanced at his teammates, who had been bypassed by Shinichi's off-the-ball acceleration.

"Why so serious? Aren't we here to evaluate these kids?" Lavinho replied dismissively, waving his hand. "I thought that play just now was pretty impressive—full of impact. Come on, don't be so stingy, Noa. Don't you want to let them score at least one?"

"Ego's instructions were clear—we're here to assess their abilities," Noel Noa responded with unwavering precision. "If that's the case, we need to push them to their limits to see their true potential."

"Facing a cybernetic robot like you, these kids are truly out of luck," Lavinho said with a helpless shake of his head.

But Shinichi stepped forward and locked eyes with him. "I actually think Noa is right. If you don't go all out, this 'kid' might just hand you a loss to stain your record."

"Haha, you're a cocky one. I like that," Lavinho replied unexpectedly, not showing any anger.

Instead, he laughed and patted Shinichi on the shoulder. "But if you're going to say things like that, you'd better back it up with the strength to match."

From the backfield, Noel Noa noticed the confrontation between Shinichi and Lavinho.

True to his word, he passed the ball to Lavinho without hesitation.

After all, as he had said earlier, his every action would serve the purpose of evaluating the players.

Lavinho deliberately paused as he received the ball, creating a moment of tension.

Shinichi, recognizing the opportunity, lowered his stance and assumed a defensive posture.

His anticipation was running at full throttle, his sharp gaze fixed on every move Lavinho made.

"Come on, kid, dance with me!" Lavinho shouted, as the ball weaved seamlessly between his legs.

It moved so fluidly that it seemed less like dribbling and more like a sentient sprite performing its own intricate choreography—graceful yet dangerous.

Suddenly, Lavinho made his move! His right leg surged forward, but Shinichi didn't react immediately.

His eyes were locked onto the ball, waiting for the critical moment.

When Lavinho's left foot nudged the ball to the right, Shinichi shifted his weight, ready to intercept.

"Is that all you've got?" Lavinho taunted mid-play, his composure unfazed.

In an instant, his right leg dropped low, and the ball—which had been sent to the right—collided with his knee and flew back left at an accelerated speed.

'What kind of move is this?'

'Pretending to execute a pendulum-like left-to-right feint, but using his knee to redirect the ball before his foot even touches it.'

'The unconventional technique disrupts the rhythm and speeds up the ball, making my anticipation completely useless!'

For the first time, Shinichi's exceptional perception failed to predict his opponent's actions.

However, his top-tier speed compensated for his delayed reaction.

Exploding forward with a powerful first step, he managed to cut into Lavinho's offensive path.

"Oh~ interesting..." Snuffy, observing from the sidelines, couldn't help but remark. His eyes gleamed with intrigue. "But a straightforward move like that won't stop someone like him."

As Shinichi closed in, Lavinho remained unfazed. Instead, he seemed bored. "Too rigid. You're such a stiff, unfree player."

With a sudden spin and pull-back, Lavinho pivoted sharply.

Shinichi didn't even see when Lavinho's left foot touched the ball; the next thing he knew, Lavinho had already created enough space to break past.

Gritting his teeth, Shinichi forced his body to stop and shifted his weight again to block him, but as he lunged forward, an ominous feeling surged in his mind.

"Keep dancing till you drop!" Lavinho roared, launching into yet another dazzling move.

In the blink of an eye, the ball had vanished from Lavinho's feet!

'When did this happen? He used his heel to backheel the ball through my legs while spinning to face away from me?'

Shinichi couldn't believe it.

'How?! If I hadn't been sticking so close to him, that would have been a giveaway pass straight to me.'

'And even now, although I fell for his trick, I'm still blocking his path. Sure, I'll need to turn around to chase the ball, but my speed gives me an edge. So why—'

A sudden alarm rang in his mind. Shinichi's thoughts raced, and in an instant, he understood Lavinho's true intention.

Without hesitation, and to the shock of everyone watching, he spread his arms wide and tackled Lavinho mid-laugh, grabbing hold of him as the Brazilian attempted to dash past.

The two collapsed to the ground under the force of the collision.

Beep!

The referee's whistle blew, awarding Shinichi a yellow card.

However, a strange energy seemed to flow among the top-tier players observing the match.

Lavinho, in particular, looked both flustered and exasperated.

"Whoa, now this is something else," muttered Snuffy, his pupils dilating slightly as he studied Shinichi, who sat on the ground looking annoyed. "Where in the world did Ego find this kind of monster to lock up in Blue Lock?"

"The landscape of the New Generation World Eleven might just be about to change," he added quietly.

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