Blue Lock Control Room.
The screens hummed with the static of a finished match. On the main monitor, the feed was paused on a specific frame: Barou Shoei, the self-proclaimed King, on his hands and knees, head pressed into the turf, broken. Standing in the foreground, walking away with indifference, was the silhouette of Renzo Takamine.
The score 9-0 burned in neon letters in the corner.
Anri Teieri sat at her console, her hand covering her mouth. She had watched every minute of the match. She had seen the way Renzo dissected Team X, not just tactically, but spiritually.
"He..." Anri's voice trembled slightly. "He didn't just win. He dismantled him."
She swiped a finger across her tablet, bringing up Renzo's profile. The photo showed a polite, handsome young man with a calm expression. But the data next to it told a story of violence.
Match 1: 5 Goals (vs Team Y).
Match 2: 3 Goals, 3 Assists (vs Team W).
Match 3: 5 Goals, 2 Assists (vs Team X).
"It's disturbing," Anri murmured. "It's like he's two completely different people inhabiting the same body."
She looked up at Jinpachi Ego, who was slumped in his chair, staring at the screen with an unreadable expression.
"On the phone with that girl... Koyuki-chan..." Anri continued, "he's sweet. He smiles. He jokes about food and complains about the beds. He's a normal, lovesick teenager."
She pointed a shaking finger at the screen where Barou was weeping.
"But this? This is a monster. He taunted him. He gave him the ball back to steal it again. He called him a 'frog in a well.' He breaks his opponents physically and mentally until they lose the will to even stand up."
Anri shivered. "It's borderline sadistic, Ego-san."
Ego slowly peeled the lid off a cup of instant yakisoba. He swirled the noodles around with his chopsticks, his eyes never leaving the image of the broken King.
"Sadistic?" Ego mused, his voice raspy. "Perhaps. But in the world of strikers, we call it 'efficiency.'"
Ego took a bite, chewing thoughtfully.
"A striker's job isn't just to score goals, Anri-chan. It is to destroy the enemy's hope. If the opponent thinks they can still win, they will fight. But if you crush their soul... if you make them realize that their existence is inferior to yours... then the goal becomes empty. The defenders stop running. The keeper stops diving."
Ego pointed his chopsticks at Renzo's retreating figure on the screen.
"Renzo Takamine understands this. He uses his duality as a weapon. He switches off his humanity the moment he steps onto the pitch. He doesn't see people; he sees obstacles. And obstacles are meant to be removed."
A twisted, dark smile spread across Ego's face.
"He motivates himself with love points? Cute. But imagine..."
Ego leaned forward, his eyes widening behind his glasses.
"Imagine if we upped the stakes. Imagine if I kidnapped that little girlfriend of his. Brought her here. Put a fake gun to her head and told him, 'Score a hat-trick in five minutes, or she dies.'"
Anri turned pale. She stood up, slamming her hands on the desk.
"EGO-SAN! YOU SHOULD NOT BE SPEAKING STUFF LIKE THAT!" she screamed, horrified. "That is a crime! You would go to prison! This is a football program, not a SAW movie!"
Ego blinked, then let out a short, dry laugh. "Relax, Anri-chan. It was a hypothesis. A thought experiment on the limits of motivation."
He turned back to the screen, his expression softening into something resembling satisfaction.
"Meh. It's not my fault, he's the perfect striker I was looking for. He has the ego. He has the skill. And most importantly, he has the cruelty."
Ego adjusted his glasses, the reflection of the 9-0 score glinting in the lenses.
"All he needs to do now is keep evolving. Because in Blue Lock... the moment you stop devouring, you get eaten."
The Real World. The Takamine Household.
While the atmosphere in Blue Lock was heavy with the scent of crushed dreams, the residential streets of Tokyo were bathed in the warm, orange glow of the setting sun.
Hop. Skip. Jump.
Koyuki was practically vibrating. She moved down the sidewalk with a spring in her step. She was humming a pop song, swinging her bag, and smiling so hard her cheeks hurt.
Why was she happy?
It was simple math.
Renzo had started with 0 points after buying his phone. Match vs Team W: 3 Goals = 3 Points. Match vs Team X: 5 Goals = 5 Points. Total: 8 Points.
The price for a "Day Out" pass: 10 Points.
"Two goals," Koyuki whispered to herself, clenching her fist in victory. "Just two more goals! He's going to crush the next team, get the points, and then he's coming home for a day!"
She reached the gate of a modest, two-story house. The nameplate read TAKAMINE.
Koyuki took a deep breath to compose herself, failed miserably, and rang the doorbell.
"Coming!" a cheerful voice called from inside.
The door opened. A teenage girl with hair similar to Renzo's, though tied up in a ponytail, stood there. This was Saki, Renzo's younger sister.
"Oh! Koyuki-nee!" Miu's eyes lit up. "You're here! Did you hear from Ren-nii?"
"I did!" Koyuki beamed, stepping inside and taking off her shoes. "Are your mom and dad home? I have the update!"
"Mom! Dad! Koyuki-nee is here with the Renzo Report!" Saki yelled into the house.
A moment later, Renzo's parents appeared from the living room.
Daiki Takamine, Renzo's father, was a tall man with kind eyes and a newspaper in his hand. Akari Takamine, his mother, was wiping her hands on an apron, looking anxious.
"Koyuki-chan," Yumi said, rushing over. "Please, tell me. Is he eating? Is he sleeping? Is that 'Ego' person starving them?"
"He's fine, Oba-san!" Koyuki laughed, sitting down at the dining table as the family gathered around her like she was a prophet bearing scriptures. "Actually... he's more than fine."
Koyuki pulled out her phone, where she had kept notes from her conversation with Renzo.
"So," Koyuki began, her voice dramatic. "Yesterday, they played against a team called Team X. They had a guy named Barou who called himself the 'King.'"
"A King?" Daiki raised an eyebrow. "Sounds arrogant."
"Renzo thought so too," Koyuki grinned. "Renzo apparently told him, 'I'll show you what a real King is, you bug.' And then..."
She paused for effect. Saki leaned in, eyes wide.
"Renzo beat them 9-0."
"NINE?!" Daiki choked on his tea.
"Yes! Renzo scored five goals himself," Koyuki continued excitedly. "He told me he literally made the other guy cry. He said he stood over him and told him he was just a 'frog in a well' and that he should enjoy the mud."
Silence descended on the Takamine dining table.
Renzo's mother, Akari, slowly raised her hands and covered her face. She looked horrified.
"My son..." Yumi whispered through her fingers. "My sweet, polite Renzo... he called someone a bug? He made a boy cry? He told him to enjoy the mud?"
She looked up, her eyes watery.
"What have they done to him? He's turning into a delinquent! A bully! Like he used to!"
Akari buried her face in her hands again. "I failed as a mother. I raised a villain."
Koyuki blinked, about to comfort her, when she heard a sniffling sound from the other side of the table.
She looked at Hiroshi and Saki.
They weren't crying from sadness.
They had literal stars in their eyes.
"So..." Daiki whispered, clutching his chest. "He made the 'King' bow down to him? He scored five goals and crushed his spirit?"
"He's..." Saki breathed, her hands clasped together in prayer.
Then, at the same time, Renzo's father and sister stood up and screamed:
"MY SON IS SO COOL!!!""ONII-CHAN IS SO COOL!!!"
Daiki pumped his fist in the air. "That's my boy! Show them who the boss is! Don't take any prisoners! Crush them all, Renzo!"
Miu was jumping up and down. "He's like an anime protagonist! 'Enjoy the mud!' Oh my god, that's such a badass line! I need to put that on a t-shirt!"
Akari let out a long, suffering groan and facepalmed so hard it made a slapping sound.
"Why..." Akari lamented. "Why are you two encouraging this? He's going to come home with a criminal record at this rate."
"He's coming home with a trophy, Mom! Wait, do they even have a trophy?" Saki yelled.
Koyuki watched the chaos — the dad shadow-boxing in the living room, the sister planning merchandise, and the mom praying for Renzo's soul.
She couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.
"You guys are the best," Koyuki giggled, wiping a tear from her eye. "Don't worry, Oba-san. He's doing it for a good reason."
"What reason justifies psychological torture?" Akari asked weakly.
"He needs ten points to get a day off," Koyuki grinned, blushing slightly. "He's doing it... so he can come see me."
The room went quiet again.
Denki and Miu exchanged a look, then grinned at Koyuki.
"Oho?" Hiroshi smirked. " The power of love creates a monster. I approve."
"You two are totally getting married," Miu declared.
Akair sighed, finally lowering her hands, a small, resigned smile appearing on her face. "Well... at least he has his priorities straight. But tell him to be nicer to the frogs next time."
"I will," Koyuki promised. "Two more goals. Just two more."
Outside, the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a long shadow over the house where a monster was loved, feared, and celebrated all at once.