Blue Lock: Beyond Greatness

"They seem to have reignited their fighting spirit." Tanaka muttered as he watched the rebel team regroup.

Chigiri nodded in agreement. "Yeah, even though their weapons were taken away, they managed to recover so quickly..."

The sense of urgency in Chigiri's heart grew stronger.

According to Shinichi, this would be their last chance.

If they couldn't prove their worth with this final play, Shinichi would likely end the match swiftly on his own.

"We have to change... If we can't adapt, we'll be eliminated!"

On the field, the eyes of all nine players, except Shinichi, grew increasingly fierce.

They didn't know what standard they needed to meet to pass, so all they could do was give it their all and push themselves to their limits.

This was also one of the reasons why Ego didn't allow others to spectate the match.

As the whistle blew, Raichi immediately passed the ball to Chigiri, shouting loudly, "Damn it! This is so frustrating! But in this position, your speed is the biggest threat."

"Remember this, princess—you owe me one!"

"Yes, I'll remember it well," Chigiri replied softly, lowering his body's center of gravity as he received the ball. "Facing destruction at every moment, I have nothing to fear. Until I can no longer run, I'll use these legs to carve out a path for my future!"

The red comet shone brightly on the field, and standing in Chigiri's path was, once again, Reiji.

"Stopping you—if I can force you to slow down, your lack of explosive power will be exposed," Reiji stated firmly.

"I admit my explosive power isn't enough to allow me to quickly regain top speed after slowing down," Chigiri replied with a sharp glint in his eyes. "But... you're just an annoying obstacle. All I need to do is avoid you!"

Chigiri's pace briefly faltered, then he flicked the ball outward with his foot and sprinted to the side. "After all, your explosive power isn't all that great either!"

That's right—slowing down only after encountering an obstacle would be too late.

Chigiri knew he lacked Shinichi's monstrous ability to explosively accelerate and abruptly decelerate.

In his case, slowing down meant giving his opponent an opportunity to charge in for the ball.

However, if he moved sideways instead of forward, while his dribbling still required a slight drop in speed, he could at least create some distance between himself and the defender during the deceleration.

And that seemingly insignificant step would become the key to Chigiri's path to hope!

Reiji reacted swiftly, moving sideways to block him. But it was just one step too late—he could only watch as Chigiri slipped past him.

"Your calculations are meticulous, and your actions follow your logic perfectly. Any player you've analyzed probably finds it hard to escape your control. But because of that, when something unpredictable happens, you struggle to recover," Chigiri thought as he sprinted, his eyes ablaze with determination.

The friction of the air against his eyes sparked fiery embers that ignited into crimson flames. "Don't think you can see through me so easily, you calculating, cold-eyed schemer!"

"I won't let you pass," said Sokura in an expressionless tone.

He suddenly emerged from behind Reiji, perfectly filling the gap Reiji couldn't close, snuffing out the glimmer of hope in Chigiri's path. "Speed limit enforced. Time to shut down your engine and park for inspection."

"Hmph, I anticipated this!" Chigiri's eyes showed no hint of surprise. "I knew it wouldn't be easy... That's why the road I'm paving isn't just for me alone!"

Before Sokura could close in, Chigiri abruptly stopped and delivered a powerful kick to the ball.

The ball soared high into the air, passing over the tightening defense of Sokura and Reiji and heading toward the center of the field.

"Go for it! Don't let the path I worked so hard to create go to waste!" Chigiri shouted.

"Impressive, really impressive," Tanaka muttered as he received Chigiri's precious pass. "That just means we can't afford to mess up here!"

With the ball now in his control, Tanaka charged forward. Standing in his way was Yukimiya.

"Stop right there!" Yukimiya commanded.

"Alright," Tanaka responded with a slight smirk, lifting his eyebrows as he passed the ball to Tokimitsu.

"I'm not the type of player who thrives on flashy individualism. My role is simple: to understand my place and do what's needed when the team calls for it."

"Now, if I can just exchange with you, that'll be enough!"

"Huh? For me?" Tokimitsu was startled, fumbling slightly as he stopped the ball.

At that moment, Barou, radiating murderous intent, closed in alongside Haiji, surrounding him like predators cornering prey.

"I'll crush you," Barou growled.

"Eek! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Tokimitsu blurted out instinctively, his face pale with fear. But then, his eyes widened, emptying of all emotion as his focus zeroed in on the ball. "But... I need to step up too!"

"I absolutely can't mess up here. So, just like Nishioka-kun said... I'll take a page from Kunigami's playbook."

"Use my physique to secure position..." With a seemingly innocent look, Tokimitsu forcefully shoved aside the ferocious Barou and Haiji, creating enough space. "And then, act as the anchor point for the attack... and pass!"

"Ah... it looks like I managed to do it," Tokimitsu exclaimed in surprise as he snapped back to reality.

The ball had successfully slipped through the encirclement, heading straight to the unmarked Raichi, who was sprinting forward at full speed.

"Nice job, kid! Hahaha, now it's my SHOWTIME!" Raichi roared with laughter as he surged ahead.

"I won't... I won't fall here!" Yukimiya roared, shaking off Tanaka, who had been entangling him.

Astonishingly, he accelerated once more, charging straight toward Raichi alongside the ball.

Raichi could almost feel the terrifying presence of a ghastly shadow with a ferocious grin, howling and closing in behind him.

"Heh." Raichi's face showed no trace of fear.

Instead, he bared his teeth in a cold smirk, then executed a move so baffling that Yukimiya, chasing relentlessly behind him, was utterly unable to comprehend it.

Raichi didn't try to chase the ball to create more distance from Yukimiya or hastily go for a shot.

Instead, he leaned directly into Yukimiya, his strong, muscular back firmly pressing against Yukimiya's chest, locking them in a standoff.

"Damn it, this is so frustrating," Raichi growled through clenched teeth, keeping Yukimiya firmly behind him. "Another scoring chance gone. But I'm used to climbing up from the very bottom, bit by bit... So, as someone at the bottom right now, I'll willingly act as the expendable piece!"

In Yukimiya's shocked gaze, Raichi, while holding him off, managed to tap the ball lightly with the tip of his foot.

With most of his strength focused on the physical struggle, there was no way he could shoot.

Even if he forced a shot, it would lack the power to get past Blue Lock's goalkeeper.

But Raichi never intended to shoot.

Struggling to control the ball with one foot, he used every ounce of his remaining strength to backheel the ball with a powerful shove. "So don't you dare waste my effort, you damn top-tier bastard!"

The ball, slow but steady, rolled precisely to the feet of Shinichi, who had been casually walking toward the action with his hands in his pockets, keeping pace with their push forward.

"Interesting," Shinichi mused as the ball stopped at his feet. "In a 4-on-5 scenario, you created an opportunity where anyone could score—a guaranteed chance. Is this your answer?" He glanced at the ball and smirked. "Fine. I'll count you as passing."

Boom!

The explosive roar of the shot marked the end of this round of confrontation.

The ball rocketed into the net without suspense.

Shinichi Team 4:0 Rebel Team.

Yukimiya watched in despair as the ball streaked past him and into the net.

The realization hit him like a crushing weight—this meant their time to fight back...

was down to the final play!

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