Chapter 105: Entering the FLOW
"That presence in the box... it is unreal."
Reo stared at Shidou, momentarily distracted by the striker's sheer insanity. He could not help but admire the ability of the Top 2. It was a level of talent that felt unreachable.
'What do I have to do to catch up to these monsters?'
"Hell yeah, Shidou!"
Igaguri let out a loud cheer for his teammate. Shidou shot a sideways glance back at him, and the monk immediately shut his mouth. The memory of the beatdown he had received earlier flashed through his mind.
'God, that hurt. I am not poking the bear again.'
"That goal was beyond stylish. Pure instinct," Aryu noted. He did not mind that kind of primal, raw football.
"Alright, stay focused. We are taking that goal back right now," Yukimiya shouted to the rest of Team C as they moved into formation for the kickoff.
'This is getting interesting,' he thought, a predatory glint in his eyes.
***
Match continued. Team C kickoff.
Reo tapped the ball to Otoya. "Let's move, everyone."
Yukimiya took the ball and immediately began a solo drive. Igaguri knew Yukimiya was a nightmare in a one-on-one, but the winger was currently in his zone.
Igaguri gritted his teeth and lunged forward. "Get some!"
"You really think you are on my level?"
Yukimiya did not even blink. With a few subtle shifts of his weight, he accelerated into a blur, blowing past Igaguri like he was a traffic cone.
"Crap! Sorry! He got past me!"
Igaguri shouted, already bracing himself for Shidou's fist.
"That is enough, Igaguri," Kira's voice rang out.
The moment Yukimiya broke past the monk, Kira was already there. He executed a perfect, clinical slide tackle from the flank, sniping the ball right off Yukimiya's boot.
"You are actually pretty trash at two-on-ones, aren't you, goggles?"
Kira had identified the weakness. Against Nagi and Igaguri earlier, Yukimiya's "brilliant" shot had actually been his only option. He could not find a way through both of them.
"You really aren't as nice as you look, are you?"
Yukimiya's glasses reflected the pitch lights, his gaze sharpening.
"Loose ball!" Igaguri screamed.
Reo had been trailing Yukimiya's run and managed to scoop up the rebound before anyone else. Nagi was on him in a heartbeat.
The two of them stared each other down. Reo vs. Nagi.
'Tch...'
Reo felt a surge of irritation. He still did not have the confidence to look Nagi in the eye. Nagi, however, showed nothing—no pity, no history—only the cold hunger for the win.
"I will help, Nagi!"
Igaguri recovered and closed in on Reo's other side. Another double team.
'Not again!'
Reo's instincts flared. He knew if he let Igaguri get close, the ball was gone. He needed an exit. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow ghosting down the wing.
Otoya.
Reo did not hesitate. He fired a low, hard pass toward the flank.
'When did he get behind me?'
Aryu realized too late that the ball was meant for the space he had just vacated. By the time he turned, it was over. Reo's fundamentals were solid, and the pass was surgical.
Otoya took the ball in stride, moving toward the goal with the grace of a phantom.
'His awareness and off-the-ball movement are insane,' Aryu thought, glancing back at Kira. 'He is like a budget version of Kira.'
Otoya reached the box, faced the keeper one-on-one, and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner.
2-2.
The score was level. This was the football of the man ranked number five in Blue Lock.
"Nice!"
Reo let out a breath of relief. His vision had finally paid off.
Kira watched the replay in his head, dissecting the goal. Otoya had used Yukimiya's gravity to pull the entire defense toward the center, then vanished into the "darkness" to wait for the delivery.
'The Shadow Striker, huh?' Kira thought. 'He plays a lot like I used to before I came to this place. He hunts the blind spots.'
Apparently, the guy was actually the descendant of a ninja clan. It made sense why he ran with his hands behind his back like a character from a different anime.
"Man, without Karasu around, I feel practically invisible out here," Otoya muttered, missing his usual partner.
"Don't sell yourself short. Now that I know your rhythm, I am going to use you for everything," Yukimiya said, walking over to offer a hand.
"Just make sure you keep up with my tempo," Otoya replied.
They shared a look. The Top 5 and Top 6 had officially synchronized.
***
Top 5 and Top 6.
Kira cracked his neck. He was starting to feel the fatigue setting in, and honestly, he just wanted to finish this and get some rest.
Mentally, he chanted: 'FLOW.'
[FLOW State activated. All attributes increased by 20%.]
[Enjoy the slaughter!]
[Duration: 20 minutes]
Suddenly, every cell in Kira's body felt like it was vibrating. This was what Isagi had felt in the final moments of the last match. The world shifted. Kira's vision turned into a high-definition map where every player, every lane, and every possibility was highlighted in black and white.
"Hey, Kira-chan. You look different all of a sudden," Shidou noted, sensing the shift in the air.
"Just give me the damn ball, pinky."
"Huh?"
Shidou blinked, stunned by the sudden change in Kira's tone. It took him a second to realize he had just been insulted.
The match resumed. Shidou, curious to see what a "serious" Kira looked like, passed him the ball immediately.
Kira ignited.
'He's gone!'
Shidou barely saw him move. Kira vanished from his starting position in an explosive burst of acceleration.
It reminded Shidou of Julian Loki—the world-class prodigy who had embarrassed him just a few days ago. The speed was not quite at that level yet, but the "scent" was the same.
Kira was already fast, but with the FLOW boost, he was easily the fastest player in Blue Lock.
Otoya was the first to react, his own speed allowing him to cut across the lane. Yukimiya snapped out of his trance a second later and joined the chase. They closed in from both sides, determined to sandwich the Top 1.
Facing the pincer press, Kira's eyes glowed with a dark, focused energy. He did not slow down. With a delicate flick of his toe, he lofted the ball into the air.
The ball sailed over both their heads.
Swoosh.
Kira's body followed, tearing through the narrow gap between the two defenders like a cannonball.
A textbook Sombrero Flick!
He had just erased two of the Top 6 in a single move.
Yukimiya, who prided himself on his one-on-one dominance, was frozen in shock. He had reached his top speed, and it had not even been close. Otoya, the "ninja," felt the same crushing sense of helplessness he had felt against the World Five.
"You are too fast, Kira."
Gagamaru stepped out of the goal, trying to close the angle. The sweat on his brow told the story—his nerves were fraying.
'He is going to use his speed to go around me,' Gagamaru thought, bracing for the sprint.
Instead, Kira stopped the ball dead.
'What does this mean?'
Gagamaru's heart nearly stopped. He realized it then.
'This guy... He is going to show off.'
'I'm about to become a background mob.'
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Hand over all of your Power Stones!!
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