Chapter 132: The Third Round of Selection Concludes
Just as Leonardo Luna entered the Red Team’s backfield, he was immediately met by Rin Itoshi.
Rin’s face twisted in fury as he shouted,
“It’s not over yet, damn it…!”
“The match isn’t finished!!”
Leonardo came to a stop, smiling as he looked at him.
“I thought I’d already shaken you off. You really are Sae’s brother.”
“And you’ve still got that burning desire to win.”
“Then I’ll give you everything I’ve got.”
With that, Leonardo stomped his right foot into the turf. A golden light flared around his body—he was finally getting serious.
“I’ll shatter your dreams!”
Leonardo Luna moved with flawless precision, executing lightning-fast step-overs. As he neared Rin, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
In a sudden motion, he kicked the ball straight between Rin’s legs, his tone dripping with teasing mockery.
“Ah—no, no.”
“Spreading your legs so easily makes you look a bit too easygoing, you know~”
In that moment, Leonardo slipped past Rin completely.
And under Rin’s disbelieving gaze, Leonardo Luna fired the final shot of the match.
GOAL!! Red Team 3 : 5 White Team
A grin tugged at Leonardo’s lips as he walked toward the exit, glancing back over his shoulder.
“But don’t worry,” he said lightly.
“Our mission here was to evaluate you.”
“The true purpose of this match was to select players for Japan’s U-20 World Cup team.”
Julian Loki spoke calmly,
“In other words, you were destined to lose from the very beginning.”
Dada Silva and Adam Blake followed, sneering in turn.
“Besides, it’s not like you ever had a chance of winning!”
“Go cool off at the hotel already.”
Pablo Cavasoz scratched his head, pausing at the tunnel entrance before adding,
“I’ll go report their performance to Ego.”
Once the four had disappeared down the tunnel, Leonardo Luna turned back one last time toward the Red Team.
“Adios, diamonds in the rough.”
“See you again—on a real battlefield next time!”
Blue Lock – Third Selection, First Phase: “Team World Five Tournament.”
Result: Blue Lock loses, 3–5!
“Damn it~! I’ll get revenge for this someday!”
Seishiro Nagi lay flat on the ground, arms and legs spread wide, shouting in frustration.
Jyubei Aryu sat down heavily, gasping for breath, clearly trying to recover the little strength he had left.
Rin Itoshi sat as well, covering his face with his hands, muttering bitterly,
“Damn it…”
Only Yoichi Isagi and Ryūma remained standing. Isagi looked at Rin, unsure of what to say.
“Rin…”
Ryūma walked over and gave Rin’s shoulder a firm squeeze.
“Come on, Rin. Like Nagi said—we’ll get our revenge next time.”
He held out a hand to pull him up, but Rin only shot him a glance.
He didn’t take it. Instead, he slowly stood on his own and walked toward the exit.
Ryūma gave a helpless smile, then turned to Nagi, still sprawled out on the floor.
“Come on, Nagi. I’m heading to the cafeteria. Time to turn all this frustration into appetite!”
“I’m starving too, but I can’t move, Ryūma… I’ve got no strength left~”
“Fine, fine. I’ll carry you, okay?”
“Yay! Hurray~!”
...
Blue Lock – Special Conference Room
The room buzzed with heated argument, voices overlapping in tension.
Ten people sat around a long rectangular table—four on each side, one at each end.
“One hundred million yen for each world-class player!?”
“And another million per goal scored!?”
“Have you completely lost it!?”
“How much more money are you planning to waste on this farce!?”
“Exactly! They couldn’t win anyway!”
“What’s the point of this!?”
“Explain yourself! And sit properly when you do!!”
The man at the center of their ire lounged lazily in his chair—
—or rather, squatted on it with his usual nonchalance.
“‘Uncut jade cannot become an ornament,’” he said.
“I want them to experience the level of the world’s best firsthand while they’re still young and impressionable.”
“I don’t expect people like you—middle-aged men who’ve already learned to give up—to understand that.”
“So just shut up.”
Someone slammed their hand on the table and stood up, furious.
“Wha—what did you just say!?”
Before the man could respond, a round, silver-haired elder at the end of the table interrupted.
“That’s enough, Ego.”
“The Blue Lock Project ends here.”
“We’ve received numerous complaints from the families of the participating students, and the entire operation remains shrouded in secrecy.”
“We still have no clear picture of the program’s progress, and most importantly—you have yet to show any concrete results.”
“If we keep this up, it’ll only stain our organization’s name. This charade ends now…”
The speaker was the president of the Japan Football Association, Hirotoshi Buratsuta,
and the man he was addressing was none other than Jinpachi Ego, head of Blue Lock.
Ego adjusted his glasses, his eyes narrowing into spiral-shaped pupils.
“Then I’ll show you results.”
“Let’s hold a tournament, Chairman.”
“It’s time for Blue Lock to change Japan!”
...
Blue Lock – Third Selection Dorm, Five-Man Room
Yoichi Isagi pulled the towel around his neck and broke the silence first.
“I really… couldn’t do anything against them.”
(The only time I managed a two-on-one play was thanks to Rin—and only because they got careless.)
Jyubei Aryu, still fussing with the towel around his hair like always, added,
“Yeah. I thought I’d gotten stronger since joining Blue Lock.”
“But now I’ve snapped back to reality—I know exactly how far I’ve still got to go.”
“Hmm, I guess that’s what Ego wanted us to realize. But what did they mean by ‘evaluating us,’ anyway?”
“Hey, Ryūma—you asleep?” Nagi asked, tilting his head toward Ryūma, who was lying peacefully on his bed.
Ryūma didn’t respond—he was completely zoned out, basking in the blissful calm after a good meal.
Isagi glanced at Rin, who was silently tidying his belongings, and his thoughts wandered.
(From the start, it was only Rin and Ryūma who kept pushing to challenge the World Selection team…)
(When I realized how completely we were being overwhelmed, I’d already lost the will to fight.)
(In the end, it was Ryūma and Rin who reignited our fighting spirit and made us believe in other possibilities. Without them, we would’ve lost even faster.)
(Of course, I wanted to beat them too—but they kept pushing me back.)
(Halfway through, I could only shift my mindset to learning from them.)
(Playing against the people I admire—that alone made me happy.)
(For now, this is my reality. It’s all I can do—)
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