Blue Lock: Beyond Greatness

"Come on, kid!" Chris blocked Shinichi's full-speed charge. The two physical monsters collided, and Shinichi's momentum faltered for an instant. Even Chris couldn't avoid stepping back under the impact.

"Hahaha, you're really something, you little freak!" Chris laughed loudly as he advanced again to press and steal the ball. "Come on, show me the limits of this nameless little monster!"

"Get out of my way… World Number Two!" Shinichi attacked Chris's defense with rapid, high-frequency touches, but Chris's terrifying ability to pivot allowed him to block Shinichi at critical moments and continuously shoulder-check him with unrelenting physical clashes.

Chris's defense wasn't as flashy and blatantly dangerous as Lavinho's dribbling.

Instead, it was like quicksand—once pulled into his rhythm, you would gradually sink deeper into his endless physical pressure, eventually exposing a weakness.

"So this is… the World Number Two!" Behind them, Hiori's gaze was locked on the relentless battle between the two.

He raised his foot to join in, determined to provide even the slightest support, but Snuffy shattered his hopes.

"With strength like that, you're a monster too." Without even looking, Snuffy precisely intercepted Hiori's feint and counter-run. "After letting you off earlier, my assessment of you is complete. Don't add to my workload."

"!" Hiori used all his strength but still couldn't shake off Snuffy's marking. And during their duel, Snuffy's attention remained mostly focused on the showdown between Shinichi and Chris!

The world-class players were beginning to bare their fangs!

'Hiori is locked down, Zantetsu doesn't stand a chance against Loki, and Noa is watching Kurona? That leaves…'

"It's me!" Rin suddenly burst out from the other side, his bloodshot eyes locked onto Shinichi.

'Hurry up, Lavinho is catching up. I don't care if you're using me or not—just pass me the ball!'

Having sprinted relentlessly back and forth, Rin forced himself to keep up with Shinichi, holding his breath as he pushed his limits.

He didn't even have the strength to say another word, yet despite his silence, Shinichi perfectly understood Rin's intentions.

"As expected of you…" Shinichi leaned into Chris with his shoulder, dragged the ball back with his foot, and turned—but it was a feint! With a half-turn, he bought himself a precious moment of space before locking eyes with Rin and lifting his leg to kick.

However, Chris's reaction was absurdly quick.

Even Shinichi's improvised maneuver didn't catch him off guard.

Chris not only reacted in time but even had the composure to keep his arms behind his back before lunging sideways to intercept.

In Rin's widening eyes, Chris's massive frame blocked the path between him and Shinichi.

The hard-won possession… was about to slip away again.

"That's enough, you twisted bastard," Rin muttered, regaining his calm as though his earlier panic had been an illusion.

"I knew you'd keep up," Shinichi's gaze met Chris's, and a smug smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "So this is all there is to the World Number Two!"

Shinichi's right leg swept forward, grazing the ball, causing it to flick off his shin with the slightest, most deliberate touch.

The ball soared gently into the air, landing perfectly ahead of his left leg.

A fake pass and a perfect stop!

Shinichi had used the passing feint to mask a deft lift of the ball, completely tricking Chris's read.

Now, no one could stop Shinichi's finishing shot!

"Don't lose track of the game's flow. You can do even better."

A deep voice rumbled, and an immense force hit Shinichi from behind.

The sudden impact completely destroyed his balance.

To the shock of everyone on Shinichi's team, Noa had arrived just in time—the final straw to crush the camel's back.

"Don't underestimate adults, you foul-mouthed brat!" Chris, still sprawled on the ground, grinned widely, though his twisted expression looked ferocious. "This is the top-tier collaboration of the World Number One and World Number Two!"

Only now did Rin realize—all of their tricks had been seen through.

Chris had intentionally fallen for the bait!

While Chris had fully hit the ground to convince Shinichi, he had no need to feign anything and quickly scrambled back up.

Shinichi now found himself trapped in the most suffocating defensive circle ever assembled—a prison formed by the World Number One and World Number Two.

Shinichi's right foot planted on the ground, barely maintaining his balance and preventing a fall.

However, with his body tilted at an awkward angle, the opportunity to shoot was practically gone.

Chris had completely sealed off his left leg's shooting path, but the greater threat loomed behind—Noa. Shinichi could feel Noa's presence, like a needle piercing his back.

"Now, in this deadlock, you only have one touch left. What will you do?" Ego's intense gaze burned into the screen, watching closely.

In his eyes, the embryo that could change the world was about to crack its shell—giving birth to the destructive monster known as Kanzaki Shinichi.

Under Ego's blazing focus, Shinichi leaned his body even further, ignoring every disadvantage. With absolute determination, he swung his left leg—

"Your feint is far too obvious." Noa's emotionless voice cut through the moment.

As expected, Shinichi's left leg missed the ball completely.

His intentions had been thoroughly read.

Shinichi crashed to the ground, and Noa reached out to claim the ball.

But just as the ball came within reach, Shinichi's leg shot out again, hooking the ball and pulling it back toward him.

Shinichi hadn't completely fallen!

Instead, he braced himself with his hands against the ground, his lower body suspended in the air.

With a powerful shout, he executed a movement reminiscent of a street dance ground trick—balancing on his hands, his legs shot out and snatched the ball from under Noa's feet.

Ego sprang to his feet, his eyes widening in shock and admiration.

In the vision he saw, the metaphorical embryo shattered, and from within, a pair of delicate yet strangely mesmerizing butterfly wings unfurled—youthful, yet filled with otherworldly brilliance.

'As expected, surpassing Lavinho's dribbling right away is a bit much for me. Stealing the skills of top-tier players the moment I start out is just unrealistic. However… if it's simply degrading and partially replicating their techniques—that much, I can still manage.'

Shinichi's thoughts were calm, deliberate, and razor-sharp, even as his miraculous move unfolded.

As Shinichi's eyes narrowed, veins bulged across his face as he gritted his teeth.

Pouring strength into his hands to spin his body low to the ground, he released his legs upward with a light flick, then slammed his heel into the ball.

The ball shot out at blistering speed, skimming the ground as it nutmegged Chris, slipping perfectly between his legs.

It landed at the feet of Rin, whose expression was frozen in disbelief.

"Don't hesitate! Shoot!"

!

Hearing Shinichi's furious roar, a dazed Rin instinctively struck the ball.

His form was rushed, and the motion was a little off, causing the shot's trajectory to lack its usual grace.

But with Blue Lock's goalkeeper fully drawn to Shinichi, the ball sailed unimpeded into the net.

Blue Lock Team 1:0 World Five-Man Team.

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