This choice had no downsides for Hirotoshi!
In fact, the benefits were crystal clear!
"This is fantastic! I agree with this plan!" Hirotoshi excitedly stood up, clapping his hands, "Having Sae Itoshi join our U20 team will definitely take our strength to the next level!"
"Don't misunderstand. I've watched the footage — whether it's Blue Lock or U20, your soccer is like a drunk's vomit, completely worthless. In short, you're all just trash." Sae spoke without emotion, yet his every gesture exuded unparalleled arrogance.
Jinpachi heard these words without any particular reaction, while the other officials present were clearly irritated by this arrogant attitude.
But Sae didn't care about their opinions.
"I have just one condition for participating in this match — I'm interested in one person and want to play soccer with him, that's all." He said slowly.
"Who? Whoever it is, I can get them for you!" Hirotoshi immediately replied.
"Ryōsuke Kira." Sae pronounced this name deliberately.
Hearing his words, everyone present — including Jinpachi — was struck with surprise.
Earlier, when he learned that Sae was somewhat interested in the Blue Lock Project, he had deliberately contacted his agent to arrange his participation in this match, creating the best stage for the Project.
However, he hadn't expected Sae to directly name Ryōsuke as his desired teammate.
But it made sense — currently in Blue Lock, only that monster could attract his attention.
"That's quite a demanding request." Jinpachi said with a smile.
"The other trash is meaningless. I'm only interested in that guy. That's my only reason for participating," Sae's expression remained unchanged, "If you can't make it happen, then I'll have to decline."
"Ego, you know what to do, right?" Hirotoshi turned to stare at Jinpachi.
"Of course, after all, I understand my position — I don't have a choice, do I?" Jinpachi pushed up his glasses again.
Ryōsuke was Blue Lock's ace, but also its biggest thorn.
Though his philosophy was almost completely different from Jinpachi's, he still maintained his position as Blue Lock's strongest with absolute dominance.
Jinpachi wanted to see for himself what kind of sparks two completely different soccer philosophies would create in this match.
Moreover, during this time, he sensed that not only were Ryōsuke's teammates growing stronger, but his opponents were also evolving. Learning that Ryōsuke would now stand against all of Blue Lock might push these players to evolve even further.
Even without Ryōsuke, Blue Lock still had a chance at victory. This situation might even spark new miracles.
"Alright, I'll relay this message to him." Jinpachi answered.
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After everyone had finished their challenging lunch, Riko went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Seeing her occupied, Ryōsuke sat down next to Kagetora.
"Uncle Aida, do you have a moment to talk?"
"Oh? What's the matter?" Kagetora asked.
"I want to discuss tomorrow's match." Ryōsuke's expression turned serious.
He knew that Seirin's next opponent would be Kirisaki Daiichi High.
Their team's ace player was Makoto Hanamiya, known as the "Bad Boy" — one of the Uncrowned Kings alongside Teppei Kiyoshi.
In the original story, though Seirin ultimately won the match, Teppei suffered a serious injury that threatened his basketball career. Even after advancing to the league matches that year, Seirin couldn't win a single game in the next round without him.
This was Makoto's doing — his style was vicious, employing various underhanded tactics on the court. Every team that faced Kirisaki Daiichi High had players leave injured. It wasn't just him; the entire team was utterly malicious.
Using methods that violated sports ethics to achieve victory was something Ryōsuke deeply despised.
"I've heard about Kirisaki Daiichi and their freshman player Hanamiya Makoto — all bad rumors." Ryōsuke then shared what he knew with Kagetora, whose expression grew very serious.
Generally speaking, the basketball association pays little attention to local tournaments. These events have fewer referees, lower professional standards, and outdated equipment compared to national tournaments.
Kagetora was an upright person who wouldn't normally use his connections just because his daughter coached Seirin. However, players' health was absolutely sacred to him — as a former professional player and trainer, he despised anything that endangered it.
"Is what you're saying true?" His expression turned grave, anger flickering in his eyes.
"Yes, these incidents have been documented, but since they occurred in local tournaments with limited reach, they haven't drawn much attention." Ryōsuke replied carefully.
"I'll contact a friend to arrange more referees for the finals. Even if we're not certain, it's better to be cautious. I won't tolerate anything that violates sports ethics! I'll have someone investigate them as well!" Kagetora declared firmly.
"Yes, thank you, uncle."
Just then, Riko emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron.
"I've finished washing the dishes. I'm heading to the gym later to lead their final practice. Would you like to come along, Ryōsuke?"
"Sure." He responded with a smile.
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Soon, Ryōsuke arrived at Seirin's gym with Riko.
While others trained, he focused on his own physical conditioning exercises, successfully gaining 30 Competition Points in the process.
During his workout, Ryōsuke secretly activated Transparent World to observe the other players' training.
Time seemed to slow slightly as he captured every muscle movement in their bodies, predicting their next moves based on these patterns. He could even see the sweat beading in their pores.
This was the power of Transparent World.
However, after just a few seconds, dizziness overwhelmed him and his eyes began to ache.
'My head is spinning... So this is Transparent World's side effect? Maintaining this state drains tremendous mental energy, and my muscle movement observations still lack precision. I'm far from mastering it. Still, as my skill proficiency and level increase, these drawbacks should diminish significantly.'
Ryōsuke thought to himself while resting his eyes for a few minutes, after which his condition improved significantly.
When he opened the system interface, he saw that Transparent World's proficiency had increased by only 0.001%. Though the skill was powerful, mastering it would clearly take more effort than other skills.
Ryōsuke exchanged his recently acquired Competition Points for Competition Space duration and entered it.
The space could provide various sports equipment and even project images of world stars to simulate their movements.
This was perfect for practicing Transparent World.
"Let's begin." Ryōsuke smiled slightly as Loki's image appeared before him.
❖ Transparent World! ❖
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
The next morning was Seirin basketball team's elimination tournament finals. One win would advance them to the next round of league matches.
Riko had taken the players to the venue, while Ryōsuke chose to join them later.
He wanted to avoid disturbing Seirin's practice, and he needed to visit a nearby sports center to buy protective gear for the players.
After making his purchase, Ryōsuke ran toward the finals venue.
Just as he passed the entrance, a muscular giant over two meters tall suddenly ran out.
Though Ryōsuke tried to dodge, the collision was unavoidable — their sides crashed together.
Ryōsuke remained steady, but the giant nearly lost his balance.
"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" Ryōsuke apologized immediately.
"Oh, it's fine, my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going. This should be the entrance, right? I went the wrong way." The person replied lazily.
"Glad you're okay. I'll be going then." Though the person's appearance seemed familiar, Ryōsuke didn't dwell on it and continued running toward Seirin's game venue.
The tall man stood there staring at the retreating figure, surprise flickering in his eyes.
"Hey Murasakibara, you went the wrong way again, didn't you?" A dark-skinned boy hurried over from another direction to find him.
"Sorry, I went to the wrong venue. That person who just walked past almost knocked me over."
"You have no sense of direction... and what are you talking about? You, getting knocked over? That's ridiculous — they were a head shorter than you!"
"No, really."
Atsushi Murasakibara gazed in the direction Ryōsuke had gone, still struggling to believe it himself. For the first time ever, that collision had felt like running into a solid boulder.
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
At the game venue, Ryōsuke distributed the protective gear to Seirin's team members and warned them about Kirisaki Daiichi's underhanded tactics.
With these precautions in place, the risk of injury to Seirin's players was significantly reduced.
Thanks to Kagetora's arrangements, the game would now have three referees instead of one.
Previously, Kirisaki Daiichi High had gotten away with deliberately injuring players by having teammates block the referee's view. With three officials watching, such tactics would be nearly impossible to execute.
The game began swiftly, with Seirin taking an early lead through their refined techniques and seamless teamwork.
As the match neared its end, Makoto entered the court — a sign they were ready to employ their dirty tactics. Even facing defeat, they still aimed to injure Seirin's players.
However, thanks to Ryōsuke's warning, Seirin's players were well-prepared. With the additional referees, Kirisaki Daiichi's fouls were clearly visible, resulting in several players being benched and others ejected for flagrant violations.
Ryōsuke recorded the game on his phone, capturing every instance of Kirisaki Daiichi's dirty plays, and shared them online immediately.
With his substantial social media following among basketball fans — plus spectators at the venue — the videos quickly exposed the school's problematic playing style, sparking widespread discussion.
"Kirisaki Daiichi plays so dirty! Is this even basketball? Are they playing ball or fighting?"
"I'm a student from their previous opponent's school! Our key player was injured after facing Kirisaki Daiichi!"
"I'm at the venue! Kirisaki Daiichi's game is really dirty! Thank goodness there are more referees for the finals!"
Online criticism of Kirisaki Daiichi High intensified as sports influencers shared and condemned the videos.
In the gymnasium, Seirin dominated the game, securing a decisive victory with a lead of over ten points!
[Congratulations to Seirin High School on their victory and advancement to the national finals!]
The announcement reverberated through the gymnasium!
❖❖❖
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