Hiori instantly abandoned all the nonsense that Ego Jinpachi said. Anyway, he didn't want to be the world's number one...
He saw it! Arthur, this man didn't have the title of "world's number one" in his eyes! He was looking further away. This man's ambition was far more terrifying than anyone in the blue lock, even than Ego Jinpachi, who created this blue lock!
He didn't have any expectations, which supported him in taking this step.
Hiori was sure that although Arthur said it lightly, he would never stop before achieving his ultimate goal. Could he say that, relying on borrowing interest? Because it's funny?
Hiori suddenly thought of what Arthur said in the first game. Maybe he didn't take it as a challenge at all. To him, it was just a "game" that was destined to be cleared.
Hiori, who saw a completely different scenery from Arthur's eyes, felt so excited for the first time in his life. Something completely different was attracting him.
Even if it was an accidental encounter, it was enough for him to fight. He must not let Arthur be buried! And he, who was by his side, will also witness this major turning point in the history of football in exchange!
He who would grow up with Arthur since before his rise, and watching the storm sweeping the entire football world take shape bit by bit, will probably experience the unique feelings that football players all over the world cannot experience.
He, Hiori Yo! He wanted to see how far Arthur, who carried such heavy expectations, could go.
To achieve this, he was willing to become the carpet that sent Arthur to the throne. He would be willing to give his life for such a future!
This was not a choice made by others for him, but a road to the future that Hiori Yo found himself on!
~{Our boy Arthur got a Ness in making now.}~
——
"The results of the physical test have been counted. Please return to the room immediately to check the latest ranking."
A pleasant female voice sounded in every corner of the building. Arthur raised his hand, but the number on his arm did not change at all.
Seeing that Arthur did not go straight to the highest level building, the entire X team sneered at Arthur.
"The first round of selection begins!"
"The first selection is for the 55 people in Building No. 5, where you are, a total of five teams perform a round-robin tournament."
"According to the rules, only the top two teams can successfully enter the second selection."
"I've wanted to say it for a long time. Aren't we all in Blue Lock forwards? How should we be divided?"
"It will be a mess."
"Does it mean that some people can't play forward? Then what can they train for?"
At this moment, all the rooms were filled with complaints, but there were only two rooms where the people inside were silent and secretly cast their eyes on one person in the room.
Ryusei Shidou and Itoshi Rin! Only these two people defeated everyone in their team in the first game of tag. Even if they didn't speak, others would consciously give up the center forward.
"Football, in the final analysis, is a battle to see which team scores more points."
"Whether it is the position deeply rooted in your mind or the so-called tactics, it is just that the sport of football is constantly going on, people are optimizing it, thinking about ways to win more easily, and perfecting and evolving things, that's all."
"So, it is natural that all 11 people on the field are forwards. It is better to say that this is the original appearance of football. Football is born with everyone being a forward."
"And you, you have to return to the origin of football and create football from scratch in your mind."
"Don't believe in the common sense of the past, forget it all, and implant new concepts into your brain. Now, what is needed is not the teamwork of 11 people, but the cooperation of just one person
"Heroes!"
"Pele, Ronaldo, Maradona, as long as there is a player like this, this single player can constantly change the team, the country, and even the world. This is the sport of football!"
"Oh, yes, in this round of selection, only the top two teams in terms of victory points can stay, and all other teams will be kicked out of the blue lock, and these people will lose the right to enter the national team like the guys who were eliminated in the first round."
"But among the eliminated teams, the top scorers of each team can stay. If there are two tied top scorers, the "fair play points" system will be adopted, and the team with fewer deductions will win. "
"Do you choose to score yourself or help the team win? In the first round of selection, the fate of the 11 strikers will be tested."
"This is the battle to create football from scratch!"
"The first game will be in 2 hours, team X vs. team Z."
The TV on the wall went off, Arthur yawned nonchalantly, and said that he would play as a striker.
"Alright, everyone... I'm the striker, y'all can choose what y'all want."
Веер—-
With Arthur taking the kickoff, it finally started his first real match in Blue Lock.
They were playing a classic 4-3-3 formation with Arthur on top and Hiori in central midfield, the rest were NPCs, so who cares.
Passing to ball to Hiori, he began his run forward, ignoring all of the opposition midfield.
While Hiori was gracefully dribbling, the ones who tried to steal the ball and did not even look at his team, who were waiting for a pass.
Why was Arthur so confident in rushing for the goal, you may ask? Probably cuz their defence and midfield were constructed only from strikers, and because he discovered how broken the 🟡Playstyles+ was when he was training.
[ 🟡First Touch+: Has zero error when trapping the ball and can transition to dribbling much faster with greater control. ]
That meant he was greater than the king of frauds himself, Nagi. And with the help of 6'2 feet height it was close to impossible for these strikers to entirely block him.
And that's what he wanted, the moment he reached close to the backline of defenders, Hiori Yo sent a lobbed pass directly to him.
Skipping all their midfielders heading towards Arthur's back.
Even tho two midfielders were closing in and the central backs were blocking his way, Arthur managed to block the first midfielder who caught him and trap the ball with the back of his foot.
Sending it flying past the center backs that were closing on him.
And with a bit of luck, he managed to squeeze past them, reaching their penalty box.
He gracefully trapped the ball with his laces, then shot a low driven shot in the back of the net.
GOAAAALLLLL
Maybe if the goalkeeper was a true goalkeeper, the result would differ, but it didn't matter; Arthur just scored his first goal in Blue Lock.
Hiori came running and jumped on his back to celebrate their first goal. With a smile on his face, Arthur could finally experience the intense feeling again.