The only survivors of Stratum 5 were Teams Z and V, not counting those from other teams who had scored the most goals among the rest, who had also survived.
And those who survived were subjected to a long training method with no set end in sight.
In the academy wing, Team Z could be seen following Ego’s training regimen, everyone on treadmills running as hard as they could — though, obviously, there was one who stood apart.
TAP!
TAP!
TAP!
Successive, heavy and rapid footsteps were heard by everyone.
It was Haise Sasaki, who looked on the verge of breaking the treadmill as he ran.
“Hff…” Haise let out a deep breath, visible to the naked eye.
Hiori, running beside him, was puzzled by the change in Haise.
He was serious and completely locked in on the run — since the match against Team V he had been like this, so absorbed in his training that it seemed as though the sessions had consumed him entirely.
‘He’s been strange…’ Hiori adjusted his breathing as he kept running.
‘Ever since that match he’s been like this.’
Haise watched his own data on the monitor: heart rate, oxygen consumption, speed, time.
His expression remained serious, but his mind was somewhere far beyond.
The conversation he had with Ego, the words he had spoken with absolute conviction…
With that, he felt his ego propel itself even further.
Beep.
His finger pressed a button, and the treadmill speed increased.
Hiori blinked in surprise.
“Huh?”
For Haise Sasaki, there was a massive difference between a weapon and a miracle.
A weapon could always be used.
A miracle happened once.
And he had no interest whatsoever in depending on miracles.
TAP!
The speed increased again.
TAP!
Faster.
TAP!
Faster still.
The entire machine began to vibrate dangerously, the bolts rattling as though begging for mercy.
Hiori noticed.
“Hey!” Hiori called out.
“That’s going to break!”
Haise didn’t so much as glance at him, his eyes fixed straight ahead, unshakeable.
Another button was pressed.
Beep.
The speed increased once more, and the treadmill let out a worrying crack.
Hiori’s eyes went wide.
“Are you even listening to me?!”
When Haise finally seemed ready to run for real…
BOOM!
The treadmill exploded.
The belt tore and flew off the track, the deck snapped apart, bolts went singing across the floor, smoke poured from the motor, the drive belt was shredded, the front and rear rollers buckled in place and the shock absorbers burst to pieces.
“Hm…” Haise grabbed his water bottle and walked out of the gym wing.
‘Is he frustrated?
But about what?’ Hiori thought, watching his friend leave after destroying the treadmill.
Hiori tried to read the situation and failed miserably — because Haise wasn’t even frustrated.
Calling it frustration was inaccurate.
He was annoyed with himself.
He had just created more work for someone he cared about.
‘I’ve given Anri more work.
I’ll apologise later.’ Haise thought, finishing the last of his water.
The image of Anri having a breakdown upon receiving a report about a destroyed treadmill appeared in his mind.
He sighed heavily.
Blue Lock already spent far too much money, and he had just added to the bill.
“Sorry about that, Anri-chan…” He murmured to himself.
A few minutes later he arrived at the closed artificial training pitch.
Given the hour, it was completely empty.
Haise walked to the centre as he finished his water bottle.
Ego’s words came back to him.
A small smile appeared on Haise’s lips.
“Stupid old man…”
He set the empty bottle aside.
Because there was something Ego didn’t know — or perhaps he did know, but wanted Haise to admit it for himself.
He had never forgotten how he had scored that goal.
He could remember every detail his body executed in that instant — the muscular flexibility, the agility, the spatial awareness, the control of his centre of gravity.
He remembered the adjustments, the corrections made in fractions of a second.
“Miracles or luck…” Haise murmured, reaching for the ball on the pitch.
“That’s inadequate for the best in the world.”
Haise’s eyes took on a dangerous gleam.
“I don’t need miracles.”
The ball at his feet rolled slowly, and his aura grew alongside his conviction.
His mind reconstructed the 1620° Volley with absolute precision — thanks to his supernatural memory, capable of storing techniques and movements perfectly, he could relive that instant as though it were happening right now.
A confident smile was born on his face.
“The old man was wrong about one thing.” His hand slid through his hair.
“The 1620° Volley was not a miracle.”
It had been the proof.
The proof that his mind and his body, when completely in sync, were capable of producing something that only seemed miraculous — because it lay entirely within the logic of his own talent.
And to turn it into a weapon, all that was needed was to turn it into a formula.
And then refine it.
His fingers closed slightly.
“If I managed it once…” The ball was lifted with a gentle touch.
“I can manage it twice.”
Another touch.
“If I can manage it twice…”
Another touch.
“I can manage it ten times.” The ball rose again.
“If I can manage it ten times…”
His eyes gleamed.
“I can manage it a hundred.”
A genius could depend on talent.
But the Number One turned talent into certainty.
…
A few days passed, and then a voice echoed through the dormitory where everyone was sleeping.
“The First Selection has now concluded. Those who passed, please put on your training gear and head to the Central Base of your building immediately.”
The message repeated, and immediately a chorus of suffering groans filled the room.
“Already?”
“I wanted to sleep more…”
“My legs are still dead…”
The players woke slowly, exhausted by the excessive physical training of the past few days.
But one of them got up without a single dark circle under his eyes, without any sign of fatigue — it was none other than the genius himself, Haise Sasaki.
“Come on, you idiots. Don’t go soft on me now.”
Everyone got up and followed the path indicated on the dormitory screen, arriving at a door with the words written on it: Second Selection.
When they entered the room, other teams were also arriving — some from Team X, others from Team W, Z or V.
Something Hiori noticed immediately.
“This is…”
“Yes, we fell into his trap.” Haise said beside Hiori, his eyes sweeping the room.
“That bastard never had any intention of separating us into truly different groups.”
A slight smile appeared on Haise’s face.
“That was brilliant, old man.”
Suddenly, the screen of the pentagon-shaped hall lit up, displaying the familiar figure of Jinpachi Ego.
“Hey there, you rough diamonds.” Ego greeted the players in his own way.
“Good work with all the physical training. So, 25 people from each block have gathered here, which means 125 of you managed to pass the First Selection.”
Ego adjusted his glasses on his face.
“Well, I’m sure some of the sharper ones among you have already noticed, but…” Ego directed his gaze straight at Haise, Hiori and Karasu.
“There is not a single person here who came from the first, second, third or fourth block. None of them existed, after all.”
The entire hall froze.
“…What?”
“Wait.”
“Huh?”
“Only the fifth block ever existed within Blue Lock. All of you thought you were on the worst teams, from V to Z, and so you fought like idiots to survive.”
The hall erupted.
“YOU LIAR!”
“YOU TRICKED US?!”
“THAT MAKES NO SENSE!” This story is hosted at g.com.
“WHAT KIND OF TEST IS THIS?!”
Ego sighed and spoke.
“Listen up, you conformist bastards.” Ego’s insult broke the commotion.
“Did you really think I’d reveal the participants’ true ranking right away?”
No one answered.
“If I had told the truth…” Ego interlaced his fingers.
“Half of you would have settled.”
“You grew because you believed you were at the bottom of the pit. You ran harder, trained harder, took more risks. Do you know why? Because you were desperate, simple as that.”
The commotion gradually subsided, and Karasu crossed his arms.
“That bastard…” The crow was stunned.
Ego’s brilliance was incredible.
Beside him, Hiori simply sighed.
“What?”
“You and your yapping.”
“Excuse me?”
Behind the two of them, Haise stared at them seriously.
“Shut your mouths, you whining idiots.” Haise’s insult silenced both of them quickly.
“If you want to get comfortable with something like this, and don’t want to develop a hunger for goals, then you can go to hell.” Ego declared, facing the room through the screen.
“The Hunger for Goals to become the Best Striker in the World — that is what Blue Lock seeks to obtain.”
Haise smiled slightly.
“All of you came here wanting to knock down everyone above you, didn’t you?” Ego asked, tilting his head slightly.
“That hunger will become the Ego that changes the World.”
Like a god gazing upon the mortals below him, Ego spoke:
“Very well… Let’s begin the Second Selection.”
From the floor of the hall, several compartments opened up and revealed baskets filled with footballs.
“In the First Selection, you evolved from Level Zero to One, but now…” Ego raised a finger, and holograms began to appear at his fingertips.
“You will go from Level 1 to 100.”
The holograms formed by pentagons floated in the air, numbered 1 to 5, casting a cold light over the players’ faces.
Karasu observed them carefully — and then, without noticing, his gaze drifted to the side.
More specifically, toward Haise Sasaki.
The tricolour-haired genius watched the projections with a calm, almost bored interest, like someone already thinking beyond what had been presented.
And that caused a thought to surface in Karasu’s mind involuntarily.
‘What if there’s already someone at level 100 among those at level 1?’
The idea surfaced instantly.
And Haise’s face was the first thing his mind associated with the question.
“Tsk.” Karasu clicked his tongue.
As much as he hated to admit it, Haise was, without question, the greatest player of the First Selection.
He could say with complete certainty that within Blue Lock there was no player equal to that monster.
“The Second Selection consists of 5 phases. Your objective is to complete the first 4 and reach the fifth, where you will train with some of the best players in the world that I have handpicked.”
Murmurs spread immediately through the hall.
“The best in the world?”
“Seriously?”
“Is that possible?”
Even some of the calmer players seemed genuinely surprised.
A door opened, revealing a black entrance with the words Second Selection engraved above it.
“Those who are mentally prepared, enter through the gate individually.”
TAP.
Before Ego had even finished speaking, a single footstep was heard cutting through the silence of the hall.
It belonged to someone who did not know the meaning of hesitation, someone who would not waste even a fraction of a second on doubt.
“I’m going first.” Haise murmured, already approaching the door with his hands in his pockets.
Hiori watched this and let out a sigh.
“Of course he’d be the first.”
Karasu simply shook his head.
“That idiot doesn’t even know the meaning of the word caution.”
For someone like Haise, there was no room for doubt — that was a fact.
The absolute confidence and conviction he carried within himself allowed him to face any challenge head-on, without retreating, without calculating the risk.
Within Blue Lock, he was the only one with an unshakeable certainty, built upon his own abilities and Ego.
And as the black doors began to open before him, slowly a smile appeared on his lips.
…
Let the Second Selection begin!
Players will clash their egos in pursuit of their hunger for goals!
NEXT CHAPTER → Number One