Chapter 238: A Strong Start, a Weak Finish
"Just as I thought…"
Even though their goal had been breached, Shinichi immediately turned toward Noa beside him.
He had already sensed it — Noa was intending to give up on this match.
One reason was simple: Noa had barely participated in the offense leading up to that goal.
Another reason — during their own second goal earlier, when Shinichi performed that bicycle-kick pass, Noa could have pressured him harder. He could have blocked the passing route. But instead, Noa ignored the pass entirely and focused solely on preventing Shinichi from shooting.
The outcome didn't change, but Shinichi was sure of one thing:
Noa wasn't using his full strength.
Noa wanted to abandon this match tactically — using his overwhelming pressure not to win, but to train his team.
He wanted to build Bastard München's internal chemistry as fast as possible.
So he only cut off Shinichi's shots.
Because Noa didn't want Shinichi to single-handedly crush Bastard München.
The skill gap was too immense — the players on his team whose market values weren't even over 100 million wouldn't learn anything from being destroyed.
That's also why Noa kept dragging Shinichi away from the offensive half, blowing up their attack just to prevent Shinichi from participating in defense.
"Given the New Hero League format, this is the most rational approach."
Feeling Shinichi's gaze, Noa looked back at him and surprisingly took the initiative to explain.
"This hastily assembled match was never going to showcase our full strength. It's just for ratings.
And since we were the first match of the round, we couldn't adjust our strategy based on other teams' results to aim for the winner's bracket or loser's bracket. From our perspective, win or lose — the outcome is ultimately the same."
"So after my first offensive attempt failed and your team successfully took the lead, I decided to use this match for training. There's no point revealing too much information in a meaningless game. It would hurt our performance in the actual group stage."
Shinichi listened seriously.
Then he spoke plainly:
"So what? I don't care about any of that. I only want to know one thing…"
He stared straight into Noa.
"Don't you want to win?"
"Of course I want to win!"
Noa's sudden volume startled Shinichi.
Flames seemed to ignite around him as he turned, staring at Shinichi with fierce seriousness.
"I hate losing any match. But if enduring today means achieving a greater victory later…If patience brings true triumph— Then I will endure it."
Shinichi nodded slightly.
"Good. If the so-called world's No. 1 only had strength but no hunger to win, I'd be disappointed."
He turned away, heading to his own half.
Then, a few steps later, he looked over his shoulder.
"In the finals… I'm taking your title of World No. 1."
"…I'll be waiting."
....
After that, Shinichi openly held back.
He didn't want to take advantage of Noa.
He didn't want a shallow, meaningless victory that the media could twist into cheap headlines.
Reputation?
He would earn that properly — by beating Noa head-on.
So during the post-match interviews, Shinichi stayed calm and composed.
But the reporter clearly had no intention of letting a golden opportunity end quietly.
She quickly changed tactics, trying to bait him into explosive comments.
"Ahem… considering you led your team to defeat the squad captained by the current world's No. 1 striker Noa…Do you think you've already surpassed him and become a world-class striker yourself?"
"I didn't defeat Noa. This match doesn't affect advancement, so we both agreed to use it for training. The result means nothing. Noa wasn't using his full power."
The reporter raised an eyebrow.
'As expected of a high-ranking official's son. Not like a naive, hot-blooded kid at all… impossible to trick.
How boring.'
She was about to push further when Shinichi abruptly stood up, not indulging her at all.
Forced to give up, the lightly dressed reporter ended the interview — but while shaking hands, she flirtatiously slipped Shinichi a small note.
....
"Unbelievable! How could that reporter act like that?!"
Somewhere outside the venue, a certain red-haired beauty watching the livestream shot to her feet in anger.
Then she muttered decisively:
"Mom… I'm going to take the Journalist Qualification Exam."
"…Huh?"
....
After the reporter left, Shinichi called Ness over and handed him the note along with a card.
"This is a mentor's clearance card. It can pass through all the floor checkpoints. Take it to the Spain division floor later and give it to Dada Silva."
"I'm sure he'll like it."
"C-cough… understood."
The entire Blue Lock team was stifling laughter.
Shinichi's usual cold, indifferent expression was now twisted like he had just stepped on something filthy — the contrast was priceless.
But when Shinichi glared at them, everyone instantly straightened up.
"What? Did you think we actually won?"
His dead-black eyes swept across the room, radiating pressure that erased every smile.
"When Noa charged into the box, not one of you tracked back. On offense, half of you drifted out of the system entirely. You seriously think this level is enough to dominate everyone?"
"There's one week left before the group stage.
Split into training units and practice until you drop dead."
"Yessir!" ×N
"Where are you going?!"
Everyone froze mid-step.
Even Hiori broke into a cold sweat.
"U-uh… Shinichi… what now?"
"There are still two more matches today."
Shinichi's voice was as sharp as a blade.
"Watch them.
Then go die."
"YES!!" ×N
....
After the break, when the others had left, Shinichi finally called out to Kurona.
Originally, Kurona was supposed to start as one of the dual attacking midfielders with Hiori. But after Shinichi picked up Ness, he had no choice but to send Kurona to the bench — Ness's overall ability simply surpassed him.
And with Kurona's smaller physique, he didn't have enough advantage to compete for the other roles either.
Even though they were closer friends, Shinichi still selected players strictly based on merit.
"I want you to focus on improving your one-on-one defense. For the finals, I want you as a fullback — stopping Nishioka's dribbling. And we'll need your coordination on offense too."
"Got it, got it."
Kurona nodded seriously.
He liked Shinichi's businesslike attitude — he wanted to earn a starting position with his own ability, not because of favoritism.
"I'll earn my place… And help you take World No. 1."
Shinichi shrugged.
"Earn the starting spot first. Don't make me beat Noa while you're still stuck on the bench."
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