Chapter 10: Goal Count
Inside Team Z's dorm, since Ego Jinpachi mentioned they needed to make use of their personal weapons, the one who always took care of everyone—Kuon Wataru—began recording each person's personal weapon so that everyone could play their role properly on the field.
Bachira Meguru, half-asleep, muttered:
"My weapon is dribbling."
Raichi Jingo, acting as arrogant as ever, declared:
"My weapon is my dazzling shooting technique. My motto is sexy football."
Gagamaru Gin:
"I guess mine is body flexibility."
Iemon Okuhito:
"I think I'm pretty all-around."
[TL: I just realize Lemon is Iemon not Lemon... damn maybe I am dumb.]
Gagamaru Gin (Correction: you meant the squat guy earlier? But I'll translate faithfully):
"I'm the spirit of never giving up!"
Kunigami Rensuke:
"My left-footed shooting ability."
Imamura Yudai:
"Speed and technique."
After pulling the wadded paper out of his ear, Naruhaya Asahi lazily answered:
"As I said before—other than speed, everything else is just… okay."
"My weapon is jumping power."
Kuon Wataru wrote continuously in the notebook. Then he turned toward the one who still hadn't spoken:
"Next, Isagi—how about you?"
Isagi Yoichi hadn't reacted yet. He slowly tried to recall what his weapon was.
"My weapon… uh… what is it?"
Gagamaru:
"Passing, right?"
Isagi immediately waved his hands in denial.
"No—being a striker, that won't do."
Seeing Isagi act so indecisively, Raichi Jingo grew impatient:
"You can't even name your own weapon? That's already a problem. Alright—next."
Not wanting his turn to be dismissed, Isagi rushed:
"Ah—wait. I'll think of something."
Kuon had no choice but to let Isagi think on his own. Then he turned to the next:
"Chigiri, you?"
Chigiri Hyoma sat on his futon, hugging his knees like a wounded little animal.
"I don't want to say."
Seeing both of them struggling, Kuon sighed helplessly.
He then turned his gaze toward the strongest player on the field—Naruhaya Asahi.
He hoped the "King of the Field" would pressure them into speaking.
Naruhaya immediately noticed the plea in Buratsu's eyes. After a brief moment of thought, he decided to help.
After all, he didn't want unnecessary chaos or unpredictable trouble developing on this field.
He slowly rose from his futon and walked with steady, powerful steps toward Isagi.
Isagi looked up to find Naruhaya towering over him, his heart tightening instantly. He unconsciously shrank back, imagining several possible scenarios—
maybe this "King" would strike him without mercy…
But what happened next was shockingly calm.
Naruhaya stood before him and spoke in a firm yet gentle tone:
"Just relax. In football—has any senior you admire, or any peer who recognizes you, ever said words of praise to you?
If yes, repeat those words to me exactly as they were said. And remember—it has to be the praise that made you happy from the bottom of your heart."
A senior he admired…
Isagi involuntarily recalled his high school coach at Ichinan High.
But then he also remembered how they lost the Saitama regional finals during the national team selection.
"Isagi! One for all, all for one!"
His coach's shouting only brought him pain. Losing brought even more pain.
Isagi squeezed his eyes shut.
A peer who recognized him…
Japan's football prodigy—Kira Ryosuke.
"He said: 'Should I say you have great field vision, or a fantastic football IQ? If you were on my team, you'd give me amazing passes.' That's what Kira told me."
The moment those words left his mouth—
the caramel-haired boy (Naruhaya) suddenly swung his arm with lightning speed and smashed something into the wall.
Isagi instantly sensed the movement—his pupils shrank, his body curled defensively as if facing a terrifying threat.
A single object was now deeply embedded in the wall.
"Not bad. Fast reaction. Wide vision. Even while talking to me you could still sense my movement. Seems Kira wasn't exaggerating.
Since he said your vision and football IQ are exceptional—
from now on, consider those your personal weapons."
Naruhaya smiled and then walked toward Chigiri.
Isagi blinked, stunned—then quickly nodded in acknowledgment.
But once Naruhaya turned away, he stared again in horror at the mechanical pencil buried deeply in the hard wall, a chilling reminder of Naruhaya's monstrous strength.
The entire Team Z had the same thought:
We must never disobey Naruhaya Asahi.
Kuon in particular trembled—after all, he once planned to manipulate Naruhaya. He immediately bowed his head and pretended to keep writing frantically.
Naruhaya approached Chigiri.
Two silent, naturally cold-aura players stared at each other.
If someone didn't know better, they'd assume they were about to fight.
Chigiri felt nervous, but still met his gaze.
"Why are you hugging your knees?" Naruhaya asked thoughtfully.
Normally, football boys were open and casual. Some were more emotionally aware, but overall, they presented confidence.
Chigiri curling up like that… it felt like a wounded person trying to protect themselves.
Naruhaya decided to bluff him:
"Knee?"
Chigiri immediately bowed his head—like his secret had been exposed.
Naruhaya's mind flashed through knee-injury categories:
"ACL tear, meniscus damage, cartilage wear… which one is it?"
Damn king! Where did he learn medical knowledge!?
Chigiri looked up, doing mental self-encouragement before saying:
"Right knee ACL tear. One year ago, I suffered a severe injury. The doctor said if I get hurt in the same place again—my career is over."
"What's your personal weapon?"
Naruhaya's tone had zero sympathy. Only icy coldness.
The cold of a coach who cared only about whether a player had value.
"Speed. My proudest weapon was always my speed."
"Good."
Clap clap clap!
Naruhaya clapped, gathering everyone.
"In the next match—Monk, no… Iemon, you'll be goalkeeper.
Everyone else—I'll play midfield.
Which means next match, all of you are to attack with everything you have. No holding back.
If your goal count doesn't satisfy me… you'll sit on the bench for the match after that."
His deep brown eyes radiated death.
Absolute force.
Cold analysis.
Cruel authority.
He was the shortest player on the team—
yet his presence forced everyone to bow before their King.
At the same time, the thought of this "King" playing midfield and feeding them passes filled them with a strange mix of terror and excitement.
"YES SIR!!" ×10
---
Blue Lock – Building 5
Match 4
Team Y vs Team Z
Team Z's intel king Kuon studied the yellow-tufted player on the opposing side:
"Everyone, watch number 9. He's the Sennou High School's star player—Okawa Hibiki. His shots are dangerous."
Team Y's Blue Lock rank 254, Okawa Hibiki, stood out immediately.
Black hair—with a sharp yellow tuft sticking straight up from the top.
Eyes like a starving wolf staring down Team Z.
But Okawa's gaze locked directly onto Naruhaya Asahi—who was tiptoeing, warming up his joints like a predator ready to strike.
Naruhaya radiated terrifying, coiled-up power.
Okawa watched for a few seconds, then exchanged a glance with a small teammate whose bangs covered his eyes.
Instant mutual understanding.
The others tensed.
The whistle blew.
And as expected—
within seconds, Naruhaya was swarmed by three Team Y players.
No matter how skillfully he moved, they clung to him like shadows.
But then—Team Z's other core, Bachira Meguru, showed his brilliance.
Slipping through defenders with ease, he broke through the crowd—
but the small bangs-guy and two other Y players quickly sealed the defense.
Bachira only grinned:
"Not bad, Bangs-kun!"
With a fake-out and a smooth movement—
he passed the ball to Naruhaya, who had slipped past all three markers thanks to Bachira drawing their attention.
"HEY!"
Niko Ikki, the bangs guy, sensed a dangerous aura.
Naruhaya had broken free in just two seconds.
With open space—Naruhaya's speed became a nuclear weapon.
Untouchable.
Meanwhile, Kunigami, Kuon, and Raichi were pushing toward the penalty area.
With so few defenders, they cut through easily.
Then "the King" launched a long pass from midfield—dropping right into the box.
The Team Y keeper nearly had a heart attack.
"HEY HEY HEY! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
PONG!
Kunigami blasted it with his left foot—
GOAL!!
0–1
Kunigami's face flushed red with excitement.
His heart pounded—
this was his first time fighting teammates for a ball and scoring amidst the chaos.
The pass was perfect for a left-footer like him; the sensation of impact was addictive.
He wanted more—
he wanted to beg Naruhaya for more passes.
Meanwhile, Niko stared in disbelief.
How could a speed monster also have such refined passing technique?
The match was barely two minutes in—and the field already seemed to reject Team Y's existence.
"You… what are you thinking!?"
Niko formed binoculars with his hands, staring at Naruhaya—the grim reaper of the field.
Naruhaya squinted at the clock.
He wondered if his fellow fans back in America would upload new Arthas highlight videos today.
He wanted to study his idol's shooting techniques after the match.
Niko understood instantly:
this "King" didn't even see them as opponents.
He simply expected his teammates to do the work.
Despite Team Y's hopeless situation, Niko refused to give up.
---
The rest of the match turned into a super strong artillery formation of:
Bachira's dribbling → Naruhaya's long pass → Team Z's strikers shooting.
Team Y conceded 8 goals.
0–8.
A truly despairing difference.
Ultimately, Niko gave up on the idea of specifically marking Naruhaya, instead directly going onto the field himself to deal with Bachira Meguru and win the ball for his own team.
Even so, Naruhaya Asahi's presence was like a shadow; with the slightest misstep, his opponent could use a small blind spot to take the ball from his feet and then pass it to others.
Kunigami Rensuke scored two goals with his left foot, and Kuon Wataru also scored two headers using his jumping ability.
And Raichi Jingo directly snatched the ball that Isagi Yoichi had painstakingly obtained and shot it into the goal.
Bachira Meguru cheekily waved, and Naruhaya Asahi, seeing that his dribbling had solved many problems for him, directly bypassed other players and granted him a goal.
Gagamaru Gin, although not very fast, still used his flexible body, like an orca at sea, to send the ball into the goal.
Imamura Yudai barely managed to break through the layers of encirclement, relying on his skill to send the ball into the goal.
Now, in the entire Team Z, apart from lemon Okuhito as goalkeeper and Naruhaya Asahi as midfielder, only Isagi Yoichi, Chigiri Hyoma, and Igarashi Gurimu had no goals.
Match end countdown: 5 minutes.
The consequence of not scoring and the "King of the Field's" gaze, like looking at dead men, doubled the pressure on the three of them!