Chapter 62: A Long-Range Cannon Shot That Ends the Match!
"Let's finish this in one go."
Kira Ryosuke's gaze locked onto Team V's goal.
"This offensive round will decide the match. Time to show those loudmouths what we're really made of."
"Mm!"
"Victory belongs to Team Z!"
"Take them down!"
Kira's brilliant defensive sprint moments earlier was like a shot of adrenaline for the whole team, stabilizing their morale.
Now, it was time to thoroughly shut up those who mocked them.
Iemon kicked off, and Team Z's counterattack began!
Kira Ryosuke had already dribbled past midfield.
"Defense! Defense!"
Mikage Reo shouted anxiously. No matter what, they had to stop this attack.
"Got it!"
Tsurugi Zantetsu rushed forward, hoping to block Kira.
But Kira slid past him effortlessly—without even using a dribble move—just pure speed.
By now, Zantetsu was exhausted from his earlier full-power defending. There was no way he could produce that explosive acceleration again. He posed no threat to Kira at all.
And the moment Zantetsu was overtaken, a tall figure stepped into Kira's path—
Nagi Seishiro.
Sweat rolled down Nagi's forehead. His eyes were sharper than ever, locked solely on Kira Ryosuke.
He wouldn't fall for a feint again. This time, he would shut Kira down.
"The stalemate's gone on long enough. Time to put a period on this."
And at that moment, Kira raised his leg.
A shooting motion.
"What?!"
Behind Nagi, Reo's face twisted in shock.
"This is over forty meters out! He's going for a shot?! Is he insane?!"
Nagi also couldn't understand. From this far out, Kira wanted to shoot?
A feint?
No—at this distance, a fake shot wouldn't fool anyone.
Kira was actually aiming to score.
Nagi's genius instincts screamed danger. He instantly lunged forward to disrupt the shot.
But he had kept some distance, expecting Kira to accelerate instead; that slight miscalculation—and brief hesitation—cost him his chance.
Kira had already taken the shot.
Total Concentration Breathing.
Thunderclap and Flash.
And—
Thunder Swarm
In that moment, the world slowed for Kira. All of his power converged into his right leg—
Then detonated like a bomb.
BOOM!
Thunder roared across the pitch. The explosive sound startled every defender on Team V.
And responding to that fury, the ball flew like a cannon shell.
Even with Nagi's otherworldly reflexes, his leg couldn't reach it. The ball tore past him with a violent gust of wind.
"All of you—block it!!"
Reo roared, leaping wildly to interrupt the shot—but it already soared past him, too high to reach.
That only made him grin with relief.
"It's overhit! Too high!"
The shot angle was indeed steep, and Reo concluded that Kira had forced a long-range attempt just to intimidate them.
"It's nothing but a blind gamble—"
"No," Kira said calmly. "It's not."
This strike was the fusion of three techniques.
Thunderclap and Flash gave the ball monstrous speed and force.
Thunder Swarm imparted unpredictable spin.
In the instant Kira struck the ball, he controlled its rotation through pinpoint accuracy—
A hyper-speed curve shot.
The ball tore toward the goal. Its violent spin twisted its trajectory mid-air—
Heading straight for the top corner.
The goalkeeper dove with everything he had, but the ball's path was unreadable—
Goal.
The net shuddered like it had been shot by a wild beast. Even after the ball's fury subsided, the net continued to tremble.
The stadium fell silent.
"W-What… what was that?"
Reo collapsed to his knees, his earlier confidence obliterated.
A shot from forty meters?
With that speed?
That curve?
Was this something a human could do?
What kind of monster was Kira Ryosuke?!
Reo regretted every boast he made before the match.
Kira Ryosuke was a monster among monsters.
"Reo! Hurry! Restart the play! We still have time—if we score three more, we can still win!"
Beside him, Nagi spoke rapidly, his competitive spirit fully awakened.
But the rest of Team V had already been mentally destroyed.
Not just Reo—every teammate had lost the will to fight.
"That monster… we can't beat him…"
"All that talk about crushing them was nothing but hot air…"
"It doesn't matter. We've already secured advancement. No point pushing ourselves now…"
"Damn it… damn it!"
Zantetsu gritted his teeth, but after the intense sprinting his right leg had cramped; he couldn't even stand.
Meanwhile, Kira Ryosuke was immediately surrounded by cheering teammates.
That shot had decided the match.
"That was forty meters, right?!"
"How did you do that?! Tell me!"
"This kind of shot… even I feel ashamed of my own skills…"
---
In the monitoring room, Ego Jinpachi nodded in satisfaction.
"So in the end, there's only one true monster. This match is already over."
"Terrifying…" Anri Teieri murmured.
"Kira Ryosuke is terrifying. That speed to chase Nagi, and then that long-range shot… he's unbelievable…"
"Indeed," Ego said, pushing up his glasses.
"Sometimes I fear he'll tear Blue Lock itself apart."
---
Soon, the final whistle blew.
5–2.
That was the final score.
Until that turning point, Team V had been biting back fiercely. At any moment, the match could have flipped.
But Kira's one attack and one defense killed the game instantly. With a renewed two-goal lead and limited time remaining, Team V's chances became microscopic.
And beyond that—
Reo had mentally collapsed.
Zantetsu was forced off with a cramp.
The rest of Team V had never been integrated into the match, functioning only as extras for their "big three." With qualification already secured, they saw no reason to push themselves once the situation turned sour.
In the end, only Nagi remained fighting—but even the greatest prodigy couldn't handle an entire Team Z alone.
The match lost all suspense.
"No, no, no, no…"
Reo knelt like he'd lost his soul. His pre-match boasts had come back to slap him harder than ever before.
Zantetsu sat nearby, recovering from the cramp, helplessly frustrated.
Nagi stood silently, sweat dripping, chest heaving.
For the first time, he felt disappointment.
His first taste of failure.
But beneath that frustration, he found something else—
Interest.
Interest in football.
Interest in Kira Ryosuke.
Interest in those words Kira said earlier.
---
Team Z returned to their dorm, celebrating wildly after qualifying with a perfect record.
"We're group champs!"
"Full sweep! Not a single loss!"
"Kira is my Superman!"
Every teammate was glowing with joy. And in Kira's ears, the system chimed repeatedly.
[Congratulations! Points Gained: 210]
[Host: Kira Ryosuke]
[Current Points: 210]
[Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — Total Concentration LV3 | Proficiency 31.17%]
[Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — First Form: Thunderclap and Flash LV3 | Proficiency 23.7%]
[Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — Second Form: Rice Spirit LV2 | Proficiency 100% | Upgrade Cost 100 Points]
[Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — Third Form: Thunder Swarm LV1 | Proficiency 100% | Upgrade Cost 50 Points]
With higher skill levels, progress slowed, but double time in the training space plus match-based proficiency bonuses sped things up tremendously.
And perhaps because Team V was the strongest opponent so far—and Team Z had grown significantly as well—the points Kira earned this match were far higher than before.
After celebrating with his teammates, Kira immediately stepped aside and pulled out his phone, starting a video call.
The match was over—and of course he wanted to report his "work results" to his girlfriend first.
Within seconds, Aida Riko's gentle face filled the screen.
"How did it go, Ryosuke?"
She had been waiting eagerly. From the timing—and the noise behind him—she more or less knew the answer already.
And besides, she could clearly hear the lively cheering around him.
"Mm. We won."
Kira smiled.
"Wait, is Kira talking to sister-in-law?!"
"Shh! Don't bother him!"
"Quiet, quiet!"
The whole team fell silent instantly, all turning toward Kira.
"Um… h-hello, everyone!"
Reiko greeted them shyly, but more naturally this time. After all, she was officially Kira's girlfriend now.
"Guys, say hello to your sister-in-law."
Kira turned his screen, and eleven heads squeezed into view, waving enthusiastically.
"Hello, sister-in-law!"
"Thanks for the snacks! They were amazing!"
"Kira and sister-in-law look perfect together!"
Riko laughed softly, embarrassed.
"Um… when you all get the chance, let's go out together! I'll treat everyone! Keep up the good work!"
"Yes, thank you, sister-in-law!"
everyone said in unison.
"Oh, right!"
Reiko suddenly remembered something.
"Ryosuke, did you finish the little bear bento I made for you last time?"
"…Yeah, I finished it."
Kira answered after a tiny twitch of his eyebrow.
She woke up at four in the morning to make it—of course he was going to eat it all.
"How was it? Did it taste good?"
"Mmm… yeah. Pretty good."
He swallowed hard.
Around him, every teammate fell dead silent.
Because that day, they saw the almighty Kira Ryosuke make a face of pure agony—
And witnessed a bento that was supposed to be a cute bear… but looked more like a demon crawling out of hell.
But they were wise enough to say nothing.
"That's great! I'm so happy!"
Riko beamed.
She chatted with Kira for a while longer, and the others tactfully left the dorm for the practice field.
"First round is over. Do we really still have to train today? My body's dead…"
"I don't care where we go, I just can't stay in the dorm. If I smell the sweat in here I might choose death."
"So what do we do now? Worst case, we just sit here counting pebbles. Anyway… none of you have girlfriends?!"
"Shut up."