Chapter 134: Not Giving Up Yet
"What am I seeing?! Ryosuke Kira pulls off a stunning overhead kick for his fourth goal of the match!"
"The U-20 fought so hard to find the equalizer, but Kira has snatched the lead back with two goals in rapid succession!"
"The athleticism is off the charts. From this angle, that strike was a carbon copy of Shidou's own miracle goal. Absolute insanity!"
Atsuto Tereasa's voice roared through every speaker in the stadium.
"KIRA! KIRA! KIIIRAAA!"
The crowd was a vibrating wall of noise. The fans were no longer just spectators; they were witnesses to a superstar's birth. Kira's name echoed from the front rows to the very top of the rafters.
Down on the pitch, Kira didn't immediately run to celebrate. Instead, he decided to lean into the moment. He stood still, eyes closed, letting the waves of adoration wash over him. In this moment, he was the only person on the stage.
"Kira! That was world-class!"
Just as Kira was peaking in his "main character" moment, Bachira launched himself onto his back. Kira stumbled, nearly face-planting into the grass.
'So much for looking cool,' Kira thought, throwing a dry look back at the grinning boy clinging to him. Bachira didn't care about the aesthetic; he was just pure, unfiltered energy. "That was a hell of a goal, Kira!"
"Well done," Rin muttered as he walked past. It was rare for the younger Itoshi to acknowledge anyone's existence, let alone offer praise. It was a sign of just how high the stakes had become.
***
On the Blue Lock bench, the atmosphere was chaotic.
"Unbelievable. That's our captain!"
"Tch... the guy is a freak. I hate it."
"This was supposed to be my stage," Barou growled, his face twisting into a mask of pure jealousy. With a 4-2 lead and the team playing at this level, his chances of getting subbed in were dwindling by the second.
Anri let out a long breath she didn't know she was holding. She looked at Ego, who was still acting like he had predicted the entire sequence.
'He's so confident because he knows Kira is out there,' she thought. 'He wasn't panicking because he already had the winning card on the table.'
Ego looked calm, but internally, his mind was racing. He'd expected Kira to influence the game, but this level of dominance—four goals against the national elite—was beyond even his calculations. Still, as the mastermind, he had to maintain his persona. He adjusted his glasses and stared at the pitch with dead eyes.
***
Across the field, the U-20 squad was drowning in despair. There wasn't much time left. They needed three goals to win or two to even force a draw. At this level, against an opponent this hungry, that required a literal miracle.
"Hey! You 'elites' done already? You look like you're ready to cry."
Shidou's voice was like a serrated blade. He looked at his teammates with pure, unadulterated contempt.
"If you're planning on giving up, do us all a favor and walk off the pitch now. There's no room for losers who have already surrendered."
"Who the hell said we surrendered?" Sendo's face was contorted with rage. "I'm not losing this. Not like this!"
"Ooh, so there's still a pulse," Shidou mocked.
"Enough. Everyone, get in position," Aiku said, his eyes burning with a steady, unyielding light. "It's not over until the whistle blows. Let's show them what the National Team actually looks like."
The U-20 players straightened their backs. Sae gave a subtle, appreciative nod. This version of the U-20—driven by desperation and wounded pride—was finally starting to look like a team he could work with.
The match resumed.
"Attack! Drive them back!"
"We're taking this net!"
The U-20 forwards began a frantic, synchronized press. Sae received the ball and was immediately met by Yukimiya and Karasu.
"We're ending this in the midfield!" Yukimiya shouted.
Karasu's expression was grim. "Don't push too far, Yuki."
From Karasu's perspective, Sae wasn't looking to beat them individually—he was hunting for a line to Shidou.
"I see it," Yukimiya replied. Karasu would apply the physical pressure, while Yukimiya would focus entirely on obstructing the passing lane.
Sae scanned them both with a look of utter boredom. "You're in my way."
With a flick of his ankle, Sae threaded the ball through the microscopic gap between the two defenders. Yukimiya spun around, shocked. The pass wasn't going to Shidou at all.
"I distribute to the hungry," Sae said, answering the unasked question. "I give the ball to the man most desperate to score."
The pass found Kento Chou in the center, with Kitsunezato overlapping on the flank.
"Go, Teru!" Chou shouted.
The two wingers executed a perfect one-two, bypassing the initial Blue Lock line. They faced Hiori and Aryu, switching positions with a level of fluidity they hadn't shown all game. Kitsunezato, the more agile of the two, took the return ball and squared up against Aryu.
Aryu stared down the smaller player but found himself struggling to track the movement. Kitsunezato was moving like a hummingbird, shifting his center of gravity too fast for Aryu's long limbs to react.
"Take him, Teru!" Chou bellowed.
"I'm feeling it, Chou! This is the one!"
Kitsunezato pivoted away from Aryu, creating a sliver of space. He wound up and unleashed a violent strike toward the goal.
"Feeling it? Not anymore."
Reo appeared out of the shadows, his hands tucked behind his back. He threw his entire body into the path of the ball, the shot rebounding off his chest.
"What?!" Kitsunezato gaped.
"Stylish recovery, Reo," Aryu said, giving him a quick thumbs-up.
"LOOSE BALL!" Gagamaru roared.
The keeper's voice galvanized the defense. Hiori sprinted toward the drop point, but Shuto Sendo was faster. The U-20 striker lunged into the space.
"Too slow, Blue-head! This is my moment! This is my era!"
Sendo didn't even wait for the ball to settle. He launched into a first-time volley.
"Tch... what a drag."
Nagi had tracked the play from the midfield. He soared into the air, using his chest to kill the momentum of Sendo's shot mid-flight. The ball dropped harmlessly to the grass. Poor Sendo—another chance, another failure.
But Gagamaru didn't celebrate. He saw the ball rolling toward a trailing runner. Itoshi Sae.
Sae set his feet, his eyes locked on the target.
'Crap... this is the nightmare scenario,' Gagamaru thought. He could handle Sendo all day, but against Sae, he was flying blind.
"You aren't shooting! I see you!"
"Try it, Big Brother! I'll break your legs!"
Isagi and Rin converged on Sae simultaneously, flanking him and shutting down every possible shooting angle. Sae didn't panic. He glanced behind him.
"Nice instincts, Captain."
With a sudden, no-look turn, Sae back-heeled the ball to an unexpected runner: Oliver Aiku.
The U-20's defensive anchor had pushed up into a deep offensive position. Aiku trapped the ball, his eyes flashing with the confidence of a hunter who had already caught his prey.
"Sorry, kids. I was a striker before I was a defender. Scoring is in my DNA."
Aiku cocked his leg back for a long-range blast.
'Who could have seen this coming?' Reo thought, his mind racing. Aiku was leading the charge from the front.
'He's through,' Isagi realized, his face pale. It was all down to Gagamaru now.
But just as Aiku's boot made contact with the ball, a blue jersey blurred into the frame.
Ryosuke Kira.
Kira's leg extended, his boot deflecting the shot at point-blank range. The ball careened off his studs and spiraled over the touchline for a corner.
"Tch..." Aiku wiped the sweat from his eyes, looking at the teenager standing in front of him. "You finally decided to show up, you little brat."
Kira flashed a sharp, cocky grin. "Sorry about your dream, Officer. I couldn't let you close the gap that easily."
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