Chapter 54: upcoming U-20 National match
Tap… tap…
''Igarashi."
Igarashi spread his hands and casually walked out of the gate.
"Igarashi !" Bachira Meguru shouted in surprise.
"…Him?"
Yūshin Seiichi raised his head slightly and glanced at the Igarashi stepping into the room.
So the little monk survived. Just as the original storyline predicted—he made it through by teaming with Shidō Ryusei.
Was this what they called… a man blessed by luck?
Then, logically…
Kunigami—
Seiichi's thoughts were interrupted as everyone's attention turned to the last two figures stepping out.
"Kunigami…"
Nagi Seishirō let out a quiet breath of relief when he spotted Reo Mikage among them.
But there was only one player left.
Isagi Yoichi watched the tunnel with nervous anticipation.
Tap… tap…
"All present now!"
Shidō Ryusei strode out, hands in his pockets, his devilish smirk radiating arrogance.
No one else followed.
Kunigami Rensuke—wasn't there.
Isagi's eyes widened in disbelief.
"…He's not here," he muttered. "Kunigami… was eliminated?"
⸻
"All players advancing to the Third Selection have now arrived," the announcement confirmed.
⸻
"Hey, Reo," Isagi turned toward him. "Where's Kunigami? What happened?!"
"We lost," Reo replied in a low voice, unable to meet Isagi's gaze. "He wasn't selected. I was."
"…No way," Isagi's voice trembled. "That guy… he was our hope!"
"This just proves he didn't have the potential to become the world's best striker."
Shidō's voice cut in, emotionless and blunt.
"I don't believe it!" Isagi snapped. "There's no way Kunigami lost!"
"Oh, he lost alright."
Shidō stepped closer, sneering. "And I'm the one who sent him to hell."
"He's strong. I'll give him that. Noble. Straight-laced. A real hero-type."
"But none of that means shit on the field."
"If you can't explode in the moment—you're trash."
"That so-called righteous hero was nothing more than slime. Didn't even give me enough EXP to level up."
Isagi's face darkened.
"You're wrong! You don't understand Kunigami at all!"
"I don't care," Shidō rolled his eyes. "Save your fairytale for someone else."
Then, without warning—he launched a kick aimed straight at Isagi's head.
Bang!
But his foot never landed.
A hand caught it.
Seiichi stood there, cold-eyed, holding Shidō's leg with iron grip.
"Pink hair, you're getting bold."
With a flick of his wrist, Seiichi threw Shidō to the ground.
Shidō twisted mid-air and landed perfectly, licking his lips with a grin.
"I like you. You're totally my type, Yūshin Seiichi."
At that moment, Zeya and Bachira moved beside Seiichi.
Bachira rotated his wrist slowly, glaring. "Getting on my nerves. You wanna fight, we'll fight."
"To me, you're the slime," Zeya said flatly. "Overcooked tentacle monster."
"This tan? It's natural—sunlight," Shidō smirked, completely unfazed by being outnumbered.
Just as the tension escalated, Ego Jinpachi's image appeared on the massive screen overhead.
⸻
"Alright, alright. Enough of the brawling, you hormonal superstars."
Ego's mocking tone sliced through the air.
"You don't have time to cry over the eliminated."
"Because your entire football career—this entire Blue Lock project—may be over soon."
The players went quiet.
"Let me first say: great work. Your match against the World Stars was a valuable failure."
"But that's not what we're here to talk about today."
He crossed his arms and leaned forward slightly.
"The upper brass of Japanese football are trying to shut us down."
"But I didn't take it lying down."
"I challenged them—"
"In three weeks, you will face the U-20 National Team in an official match."
A stunned silence filled the room.
"A survival battle," Ego continued. "Blue Lock Eleven versus the U-20 National Team."
⸻
Zeya blinked and glanced sideways at Seiichi.
Right… the U-20 team.
He remembered.
About a year ago, a fat man claiming to be a Football Association exec had personally invited them to join the national team. But before the discussion could go anywhere—
Seiichi had flat-out refused.
What Seiichi didn't know… was what happened afterward.
Zeya had overheard something: their father had already signed a document.
A document that automatically placed them in the U-20 national pool once they turned 18.
But… Zeya wasn't 18 yet.
He silently exhaled.
Good.
After so long inside Blue Lock, he no longer wanted to be on the other side.
⸻
"As long as we win," Ego declared, "Blue Lock will officially replace the U-20 National Team."
"Win and become national players."
The tension snapped.
A fire ignited in the hearts of everyone.
"WE CAN BE NATIONAL TEAM PLAYERS?!"
"We have to win this."
"Replace the entire U-20 squad…?!"
Ego snapped his fingers.
"Ahem."
"Let's not get carried away."
"You're still just a bunch of selfish, immature forwards thrown together in a glorified boot camp."
"The higher-ups expect us to fail. They plan to milk the publicity and bury us as a cautionary tale."
"A complete humiliation."
⸻
"I'll say this clearly."
"You now have the power to overturn all of Japanese football."
Ego jabbed a finger at the camera.
"But the enemy isn't standing still either."
"To guarantee victory, the JFA pulled strings to add one more player."
"They called up Itoshi Sae."
⸻
Everyone's faces hardened.
Rin's jaw clenched, fury rising behind his eyes.
Seiichi's lips curved into a grin.
As expected.
The strongest piece had arrived.
But unlike Rin, he didn't care about crushing Sae for personal reasons.
He wanted the entire U-20 team—Sae included—to become his and Zeya's stepping stones.
In three weeks, they would stand atop all of Japan.
And they would do it together.
The two most dangerous strikers in Blue Lock.
⸻
Yūshin Seiichi. Yūshin Zeya.
They would show the world—
That Yūshin twins deadliest weapons… were not on the U-20 team.
They were already inside Blue Lock.