041 Blue Lock: System Ten Years Early

"I… am very weak…"

Itoshi Rin stood there in disbelief, repeating these words over and over.

"These past years… what have I even been doing… My life was ruined by that man, and now even in a place like this there's someone stronger than me… Then when will I ever be able to drag that bastard down from his throne?!"

"Damn it, damn it! Defeating you… only by defeating you can I prove the meaning of my existence. I have to keep winning, then seize a U20 spot and go to world-class competitions… For that, I must crush you… Kōken Shinichi!"

"Uh… um, Rin? We're already two goals behind. Shouldn't we discuss some tactics… or something?"

At the kickoff, Tokimitsu Aoshi asked cautiously. Itoshi Rin shot him a cold sideways glance.

"Give me the ball, then run forward. Follow me with everything you've got. That's all."

"Eek! Y-yes!"

Tokimitsu Aoshi replied loudly in fear, then turned his head and whispered to Tanaka Shingen.

"H-he… is he angry?"

"Angry? He's completely exploded."

Tanaka Shingen raised a hand to wipe away sweat. Just that last play— even as a spectator, he hadn't been able to react immediately.

That guy called Kōken Shinichi was simply too fast. But Rin still made the correct judgment in the first instant. Rin would only fail because the monster on the other side was far too overpowered!

"There's no helping it. Even if it was only for a moment, I could tell that Rin is probably the strongest among us."

"If we want to win, we can only rely on him."

Loosening up his body, Tanaka Shingen stepped beside Itoshi Rin.

"So, follow our ace's orders and get ready to risk your lives."

Beep!

The whistle sounded. Itoshi Rin carried the ball and charged forward at the front— but unexpectedly, the one defending him wasn't Shinichi.

"Get lost! Let Kōken Shinichi come up!"

Itoshi Rin's lower lashes twitched violently as he growled at Hiori Yo. However, the other only shook his head calmly.

"No can do. After you were easily taken down by him, your evaluation dropped."

"So now only someone like me is enough to deal with you."

Provoked again and again, Itoshi Rin's taut nerves finally snapped. In his heated state, he directly drove the ball forward. At his side, Tanaka Shingen advanced in sync.

"Come on, ace."

"How could I possibly need help dealing with a small fry like this!"

Itoshi Rin's pride completely overwhelmed his reason. He ignored Tanaka Shingen beside him, as well as Tokimitsu Aoshi, who had gained a good receiving position through his physical advantage. He charged alone.

Thud—

A somewhat dull collision echoed across the pitch. Hiori Yo was knocked to the ground.Yet the standing Itoshi Rin wore an irritated expression, while the disheveled Hiori Yo, lying on the ground, was smiling.

"Ah~ amazing. I was planning to completely stop you, but I didn't expect to get knocked down instead."

"Oh right, I forgot to say— even small characters' pride deserves respect."

"After all, we're always eager to climb higher."

"Be careful, or one day you might not even get to play the clown."

Red Team No. 1, Itoshi Rin, foul.

The broadcast rang out, declaring the winner of that collision. Shinichi jogged over and pulled Hiori Yo up.

"Nice one, Hiori."

"No, the impressive one should be Rin."

"He noticed my intention midway."

"It's just that his own pride wouldn't allow him to pass the ball after being provoked by me."

Hiori Yo remained clear-headed and shook his head helplessly.

"And he made the proper response too."

"That last play was actually quite ambiguous— whether it was called a foul or not could've gone either way."

"I was just luckier this time."

"With preparation, this trick won't work again next time."

"Itoshi Rin is really strong…"

As he said this, Hiori Yo couldn't help but glance toward Shinichi beside him.

'So then… how strong are you now, who can easily crush Rin?'

'And just how far behind have I already fallen compared to you…'

Hiori Yo buried all those thoughts deep in his heart. He lifted his foot and kicked off, passing the ball to Ranze Kurona.

"Go, score another one."

"OK, OK."

Ranze Kurona carried the ball forward.

"Right now, I'm in great form."

"Stop right there, nobody!"

To his surprise, Itoshi Rin appeared directly in front of Ranze Kurona. Ranze Kurona's heart jumped.He instinctively made a sudden stop, pulled away from Rin, and passed the ball back to Hiori Yo. However, the afro-haired Tanaka Shingen cut in with a foot and intercepted the pass.

'Damn it.'

'Kurona doesn't have the same chemistry with Shinichi.'

'His passes can't keep up with Shinichi's speed.'

'So our orbital theory is actually one-way.'

'As the satellite, Kurona can only link up with me.'

'Only I, as the planet, can link up with the stellar Shinichi.'

'Rin saw through this.'

'He didn't bother marking me, the relay point.'

'Instead, he pressured Kurona directly, then had his teammates block the path between Kurona and me.'

'That's how they completed this interception!'

Hiori Yo gritted his teeth and chased back, but just as he was about to block Tanaka Shingen, the ball was suddenly passed sideways.

"I need… to make up for my mistake."

Ranze Kurona blocked the path of Itoshi Rin, who had received the ball. But Rin didn't even look at him. Without any pause, he kicked the ball out again.

On the right flank, Tokimitsu was flusteredly preparing to receive the ball— and standing in front of him… was Shinichi!

"How could this be!"

"Why would he voluntarily pass the ball to Shinichi's direct matchup?"

At this point, even Hiori Yo couldn't understand it. For a moment, he didn't know what to do— should he track back on defense?

Or prepare an attacking run?

And what Rin needed was exactly that brief hesitation. He suddenly accelerated past Ranze Kurona and charged straight forward. His rage-filled eyes locked tightly onto Tokimitsu Aoshi.

'Give me the ball!'

Tokimitsu Aoshi clearly read that message from those eyes.

"Ah… so that's how it is. He really wants me to risk my life."

"Waaah… figures, someone like me is only good for being cannon fodder."

The instant he saw Itoshi Rin's run, Tokimitsu Aoshi fully understood Rin's intention.

As the ball was passed over and Shinichi stepped in to press, Tokimitsu Aoshi turned around, using his back to firmly block Shinichi, then lifted his foot and passed the ball back to Rin.

"So that's it."

"He calculated that Tokimitsu Aoshi's strength is something neither Kurona nor I can stop."

"So in the end, as long as they get close to the goal the only one defending that muscle monster will be Shinichi."

"Then, use Tokimitsu as cannon fodder."

"Tokimitsu alone can't stop Shinichi without the ball, because excessive contact against a player without the ball is a foul."

"Back then, Karasu Tabito and the others needed two people just to barely contain Shinichi."

"But if it's during the moment of receiving the ball, colliding physically with Shinichi who steps up proactively then Tokimitsu can go all out without restraint and fully use his advantage."

"Even though this kind of loophole won't last long, Rin only needs a few seconds!"

"With just that little bit of time he saw through my linkage with Ranze Kurona and fully utilized his teammates' abilities."

"This guy… is controlling the pitch!"

Green pine–colored flames burned in Rin's eyes. At this moment, all he saw was the ball flying toward him.

"I want… to score."

"I want to crush you all!"

"Is that what you think, Itoshi Rin?"

A voice, indifferent yet laced with faint mockery, sent chills down the spine. The raging flames were extinguished in an instant, as if deprived of air.

Shinichi leapt into the air and intercepted the ball midair. A heavy shadow fell from above, completely shrouding Itoshi Rin's face. That agile figure, in a daze, felt as though it pressed Rin's head firmly into the ground—suffocating…

"To think you believed that a borrowed self like that could defeat me."

"Naively adorable, foolish little brother."