Chapter 101: The State of Flow
The entire field's focus was locked on the clash between Karasu and Kira.
The ball had already started its descent.
Using Karasu's pulling force as a pivot point, Kira leaped high into the air.
Mid-flight, he struck the ball.
Bang.
The ball traced an arc through the air.
Flying straight toward the goal.
"Yes! We w—"
Nanase's celebratory cheer was cut short.
Another figure launched into the air, intercepting the ball with a powerful kick.
The ball was cleared out of bounds.
The figure who made the clearance crashed heavily onto the turf.
Silence engulfed the field.
"It's... Rin."
Chigiri gasped. Seeing Rin defend with such desperation caught him off guard. This was the first time he had ever seen Rin like this.
Rin stood up slowly, his icy gaze fixed on Kira and Karasu, who were still tangled together.
"You two... having fun playing your own game? Ignoring me completely, huh?"
"Tsk. Nice clearance, Top 3."
Karasu disentangled himself from Kira, his eyes filled with appreciation.
Kira wiped the sweat from his brow. "I knew you wouldn't let the match end that easily."
This was high-level competition.
Kira glanced at the increasingly serious Rin, then at Karasu beside him.
His shot had just been dismantled by their combined efforts.
From this point on, Karasu probably wouldn't fixate on Isagi anymore. He was going to start focusing his defense on Kira.
But there was good news for Team A.
With Isagi starting to assert his presence, the scales of victory were already tipping in their favor.
On the other side.
Isagi was frustrated, continuing to analyze the situation on the field.
Although he, Nanase, and Hiori had begun to integrate into the team and even help, five players coexisting as a team wasn't the football Isagi yearned for.
That wasn't enough to become the World's Number One Striker.
He was still just like before.
Nothing more than a shadow beside Kira.
"Isagi. Still one step short, huh?"
Hiori walked up to Isagi.
Isagi looked up, smiling at Hiori, who had just delivered that pass. "That was a beautiful pass, Hiori."
"In that situation, that was the only place I could put it. Sorry..." Hiori still felt his pass hadn't been perfect.
"No, the pass was perfect. It was my own physical specs that couldn't keep up..."
Isagi clenched his fists tighter.
"If you think before you act, you're already too late."
Another voice chimed in.
Kira walked up behind Isagi and patted his head.
Pointing to his own temple, he told Isagi, "See. Think. Then act."
"That might have worked in previous matches, but if you want to steal a goal from under my and Shidou's noses, that thought process won't cut it."
Hiori looked at Kira with slight surprise.
'Kira stole my line.'
Isagi looked thoughtful, waiting eagerly for Kira to continue, but Kira gestured for Nanase to jump in.
Nanase had been eavesdropping nearby, hoping to pick up something too.
'Huh? Me?'
"Ah, well, what Kira means is... I..." Nanase stammered incoherently, clearly having no clue what Kira was trying to say.
"Since your physical specs are inferior to theirs, even if you react in time, your body will still be a half-beat slow."
Hiori took over the conversation, explaining it to Isagi.
Nanase nodded as if he understood. 'Makes sense.'
"What does that mean? If I don't think, I have even less chance of winning, right?"
Isagi was confused.
'Right.' Nanase nodded again. 'Isagi makes sense too.'
"Try turning that thinking into a reflex?"
"The world you perceive will become different..."
Hiori's words lit a lightbulb in Isagi's head.
'So that's it.'
"Okay! I get it too! Let's go! Score the last goal!"
Nanase pretended he understood as well.
The match continued.
Team A kickoff.
Nanase volunteered for the throw-in.
He hurled the ball to Kira's feet. Facing Karasu's press, Kira passed expressionlessly to Isagi.
Kira wanted to see exactly how Isagi would perform after listening to him and Hiori.
Exhale.
Isagi took a deep breath as he received Kira's pass.
'First, open up my vision.'
A bird's-eye view of the field materialized in Isagi's mind.
'Even if my vision surpasses Kira and Shidou right now, I still can't score.'
'Because my physical specs are too weak.'
Isagi spotted Hiori in open space and threaded the ball to him.
But his mind was still churning. 'Replace thinking with reflex?'
'What the hell does that actually mean?'
While pondering this, Isagi and Hiori advanced through the midfield with a series of one-two passes.
"You're getting a little too full of yourself..."
Karasu abandoned Kira and appeared in front of Isagi again.
'Annoying crow.'
Isagi turned his head, spotted Kira following up, and knocked the ball laterally to him.
Kira received Isagi's pass.
Understanding Isagi's intent, Kira joined Isagi and Nanase. The three of them pushed forward with a flurry of rapid, dense passes.
Kira suddenly paused, breaking the rhythm of the short passes.
He launched a long ball, delivering it precisely to Hiori on the wing.
All at once, Kira, Isagi and Shidou.
The three of them sprinted frantically toward the goal.
Hiori trapped the ball cleanly, preparing to face Chigiri's press.
Isagi's eyes were still observing everything on the field.
'The moment Hiori crosses, the front of the goal is going to be chaos.'
'Whoever can control that chaos will score!'
'How can I snatch Hiori's pass from under Kira and Shidou's feet?'
'So where do I go?'
'The space behind Shidou?'
'Kira's blind spot?'
'Wait. Am I an idiot? Thinking first, then acting... I'll still be a step slower than them.'
'Don't use the brain to think.'
Isagi emptied his mind completely, beginning to move solely on intuition.
In Isagi's eyes, the movements of everyone on the field began to slow down.
Hiori kicked the ball.
A cross flying toward the penalty area.
Everyone on the field moved.
Kira, Shidou, Karasu, Rin.
And all the other players.
This time, Shidou and Karasu were tangled up. It was their first direct confrontation, and Shidou wasn't used to Karasu's hand usage. In the struggle for position, he didn't gain much advantage.
Kira and Rin were the fastest to the ball.
They jostled each other for position.
Both arrived at the ball's landing point almost simultaneously.
Kira and Rin locked eyes. No words were needed.
Both raised their legs, preparing to smash the ball.
Just as everyone thought this contest would end in a draw between Kira and Rin...
Whoosh!
A figure burst out from the gap between them.
"Yoichi Isagi? How are you here?" Rin was shocked.
"Knew you'd come." Kira smiled.
At that moment, a dark glint flashed in Isagi's eyes.
He seemed deaf to their words.
He simply swung his leg at the goal!
Boom!
The ball flew straight into the top left corner.
A goal without a doubt!
5-3.
Beep-beep!
"Match over. Team A wins 5-3."
"Yes! We won!" Nanase jumped up in joy.
Everyone looked at Isagi in disbelief.
But Isagi, after taking the shot, just sat on the ground, dazed.
'What... just happened?'
Clearly, even he hadn't fully processed his own performance.
On the side, Kira also stood rooted to the spot, somewhat distracted.
Not because of Isagi's performance, but because of the system notification ringing in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Detected an absorbable skill: State of Flow]
[Absorb?]
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Just realized we finally crossed the 100 chapter mark!! It's been an amazing journey getting here together.
Next up, I'm hoping to tackle U-20 arc and then Nel. I'm not sure if there's a fic out there that actually finishes Nel, but I'm hoping this is the one that goes all the way.
Also, I just caught up with the latest Blue Lock manga chapter. I'm pretty sure Isagi is going to take a loss soon.
It'll likely be the match against France, I mean against Loki. My guess was either Germany or France, but since they're matched up with France in the group, I'm putting my money on them.
What are your theories? I'd love to hear what you guys think. If I end up being wrong, future readers, please don't roast me too hard 😭😭