Icarus opened his eyes to the familiar ceiling of his bedroom. His gaze swept over Yuan, who had long been waiting to the side, and he rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”
Yuan respectfully handed him his clothes, “It is already 10:00 AM.”
10:00?! It was almost time for the match against the world-class strikers!
Icarus sprang up from the bed, took the clothes Yuan handed him, finished washing up quickly, and sat down in front of the monitoring room.
The timing was perfect. The world-class strikers were just walking from the player tunnel toward the match venue prepared for them. Opposite them, Itoshi Rin and his group had already been waiting for a long time.
The moment the two sides met, Luna began to smile.
“Are you the strikers cultivated by Blue Lock? Icarus values you highly; I hope you can bring me some surprises.”
I won’t let you score. Icarus had made a promise, and he would accept that smile.
Itoshi Rin looked at the person with blond hair and blue eyes across from him and frowned.
Icarus? Who is that?
As they spoke, the blond man across from them seemed to notice something and said with great interest, “You look a bit familiar. You must be that Itoshi Sae’s younger brother.”
Opponent talk shifted to the person he least wanted to mention, and Itoshi Rin’s brows sank deep.
“That is not important. I will defeat you.”
“Alright, I’ll be waiting,” Luna laughed in a cheerful manner, his turquoise pupils becoming very profound in an instant, “However, I won’t give you the opportunity.”
The match whistle sounded, declaring the official start of the game.
Isagi Yoichi passed the ball. After Bachira Meguru controlled it, he feigned a Marseille turn, but in reality, waited for Cavazos to shift his center of gravity before rapidly passing him.
Isagi Yoichi ran off the ball to the side, his movement blocked by the defending Loki. Bachira Meguru’s pass was caught by Itoshi Rin, whose positioning was just right; the latter raised his foot to shoot. Just as the goal seemed certain, it was suddenly blocked by a single leg from Luna, who had emerged from a blind spot in his field of vision.
The ball was deflected far away, rolling rapidly into the opposite half. The Blue Lock members hurried to defend the second drop point.
“Hey, hey, can you guys be a bit more serious,” Luna turned toward his temporary teammates to complain, “Even though we can hardly be said to have any coordination between us…”
“Cavazos, you weren’t really defending that yellow-haired one just now, were you?”
The master free-kick taker with freckles on his face stuck out his tongue.
“And Loki, the defense on that dark-blue-haired one was far too lax.”
Loki smiled, “I was originally intending to be polite. After all, this is someone else’s home turf; if we shut them out, it would be too ugly.”
“It doesn’t matter. I still really want that promise from the Cecil family,” Luna’s turquoise pupils reflected the Blue Lock members, who all wore grim expressions; his own face was filled with indifference.
“Then let’s be a little more serious,” Loki sighed slightly. The next second, he accelerated violently. After receiving a pass from Cavazos, he didn’t wait for Isagi Yoichi to react; relying on his speed, he raw-powered past several defenders to shoot directly.
The next ball was kicked off by Blue Lock. Isagi Yoichi passed the ball to Bachira Meguru again, hoping to use Bachira Meguru’s dribbling technique to help them break through, just as in the previous turn.
Loki stepped forward to press the attack. Bachira Meguru paused for a second, but it was precisely this second that gave Luna the opportunity to intercept the ball.
“We are still in a match; is it really okay to be so full of holes?” After intercepting the ball, Luna quickly passed it to Cavazos on the side. The latter performed a precise cross to avoid the pressing Itoshi Rin and Isagi Yoichi, passing it to Silva’s feet.
The sturdy Brazil representative scored with a header; the World Representative Team scored again.
Looking at the 2:0 score on the scoreboard and with less than 5 minutes having passed since the start Itoshi Rin’s gaze was heavy.
“Ah, I want to get off work quickly,” Cavazos stretched, “I want to go to Harajuku later~”
“Probably be done soon enough,” Blake said indifferently, “These people can’t even protect the ball.”
Looking at the World Striker Team chatting and laughing, Itoshi Rin gritted his teeth.
“The match isn’t over yet. Pass all the balls to me; I will shoot and score.”
“I really like your eyes,” Luna tilted his face slightly to look at Itoshi Rin, who was staring fixedly at him, “As if you truly believe you can win.”
“…Ah, could it be that the striker Icarus favors is you?” the blond-haired, blue-eyed Spaniard asked, as if suddenly enlightened.
Icarus? Who is that?
Itoshi Rin ignored Luna’s words. His spirit had now become highly focused; upon receiving Bachira Meguru’s pass, he immediately brought the ball forward to break through.
A blond figure suddenly followed beside him. Luna said lightly at his side, “Even though you are that Itoshi Sae’s younger brother, you are very different from him.”
Too noisy, too noisy, too noisy!
Feeling the encroaching pressure, Itoshi Rin’s eyes swept, seeing Isagi Yoichi and Tokimitsu Aoshi waiting for a pass to his front-left and front-right.
“Pass!” Isagi Yoichi shouted.
Too noisy, too noisy, too noisy!
With a ruthless heart, Itoshi Rin poured all his strength into his toe and shot immediately
Only to be interfered with by the suddenly appearing Loki. The ball grazed Loki’s toe tip, flew off-course, and went straight out of bounds. Blue Lock was awarded a corner kick.
“You are lucky,” Luna sighed.
Itoshi Rin ignored him and went to the corner kick area without a word.
Watching Itoshi Rin standing in the penalty position, black aura seemed to emerge from behind Luna.
“Very well…” He curled his lips.
The kick-off whistle blew, and Itoshi Rin kicked the ball instantly. A beautiful falling-leaf ball curved over the head of the leaping Blake, only to be saved at the goal line by Luna, who kicked it out with a hook.
“Tch.” Itoshi Rin frowned.
“Too close, too close,” Luna tilted his head, looking at Itoshi Rin, who had an unhappy expression, “Your shot has his shadow in it… have you learned shooting from him?”
“Who?” Itoshi Rin asked, full of impatience.
Why does this Spaniard talk so much.
Luna was stunned for a moment, then laughed, “No one.”
“Let’s settle this quickly,” watching the interaction between the two, Loki spoke up.
Itoshi Rin: “That is exactly what I intended.”
The rest of the match seemed to have been put on fast-forward. The World Striker Team didn’t give Blue Lock any more time to extend the game. Of the final two goals, one was taken again by Loki, and the other was finished off by Luna.
The final whistle sounded, and the Blue Lock members collapsed on the field, gasping for breath.
It was clearly a match of only 5 points, yet the energy, mental power, and physical strength they had expended were far beyond what an ordinary 90-minute match could compare to. Is this the strength of world-class strikers!
And this was even before the world-class strikers had achieved any tacit understanding. Their 1-on-1 personal physical quality alone was enough to keep them from scoring!
Isagi Yoichi hammered the turf angrily.
With the 5:0 score, Luna stood condescendingly in front of Itoshi Rin, who was sitting on the turf; his turquoise pupils were very deep.
“If Blue Lock is only at this level, then I would advise Icarus not to waste any more time on you guys.”
Icarus, Icarus, what on earth is this Spaniard talking about?!
“I think your brother is truly very smart to choose to be a midfielder,” hearing the name he cared about, Itoshi Rin’s breath hitched.
“You should also learn from your brother and be a smart person, how about that?” Luna left behind a light sentence and walked away, not caring about the enraged Itoshi Rin.
Itoshi Rin gritted his teeth watching the five of them leave the field, and then heard the voice of that Spaniard coming from the player tunnel
“Icarus? Are you here to fulfill your promise?”
Hearing the familiar name, Itoshi Rin turned his head in complete indifference, and then his gaze froze.
Green pupils and black pupils stared at each other for a moment.
So it was him. The person who played soccer with me that night.
“That’s right,” Icarus withdrew his gaze and looked toward Luna.
“Then can you play a 1v1 with me?” Loki asked first.
“Sure.”
“How cunning, I want to too~” Cavazos pouted discontentedly from the side.
“I will be at Blue Lock for this period, I’ll be happy to accompany you at any time. How about you others?”
“I want money,” Silva said.
“Then I will also increase the reward a bit more,” Blake said.
“Okay~” Icarus asked Luna, the last one who hadn’t spoken, “And you?”
Luna raised a smile without a single cloud, his tall striker’s frame leaning slightly closer to the black-haired youth. From Itoshi Rin’s perspective, the two seemed intimate and inseparable.
Luna whispered softly in Icarus’s ear, “I want to save it for later.”
“Save it if you want, but speak properly and don’t lean so close,” Icarus stepped back half a step, rubbing his ear, which was itchy from the hot breath.
“Alright~ Alright~” the blond-haired Spaniard raised his hands in surrender and stepped back one step.
“Then you guys go rest first; I’m going to go have a word with them,” Icarus passed them sideways, dropped a sentence, and walked away with a big stride without looking back.
Watching the black-haired youth’s figure walk further away, in the dark member tunnel, someone suddenly said in a low voice.
“Clearly, whether it is talent or ability, that group in Blue Lock is not the top-tier.”
“But they happen to be able to gain the favor of the Cecil family.” Which was tantamount to obtaining an initial admission ticket to the world ahead of time.
“They are truly lucky ones.”
Since you want to cultivate the world’s number one striker, then why not put more focus on them?
…
Icarus lowered his head and looked toward Itoshi Rin, who was sitting on the field with his head bowed, wondering what he was thinking.
“Ah, you are that doctor!” Isagi Yoichi, who was on the side, recognized him and said in surprise.
Aryu Jyubei: “Is that the doctor who people say looks very good? As expected, very stylish.”
“Meet again, Doctor~” Bachira Meguru waved happily.
Icarus responded to them one by one. As he lowered his head, he happened to lock eyes with a pair of gloomy green pupils.
“What did Luna say?”
Icarus had watched the second half of the game from the sidelines, so naturally, he hadn’t missed the blond Spaniard approaching Itoshi Rin several times during the match.
The noble son of RE.AL wasn’t as cheerful as he appeared on the surface; he had to keep an eye on things so Itoshi Rin wouldn’t be affected.
Itoshi Rin didn’t reply, bringing up another matter instead, “What did you mean by fulfilling your promise?”
Icarus didn’t want his identity discovered just yet, so he spoke vaguely, “Nothing. I am just an ordinary doctor.”
A doctor who can make deals with the famous noble son of RE.AL, Luna.
Itoshi Rin silently added in his heart.
Ego Jinpachi’s sudden appearance on the projection diverted everyone’s attention.
“Talent’s raw stones, after competing against world-class strikers, you have profoundly realized the gap between yourselves.”
“Now is not the time to be sitting foolishly; Blue Lock is about to enter the next phase—”
“Adaptability Selection.”