Blue Lock: They All Call Me the Demon King of the Field

Inside the monitoring room.

Ego Jinpachi carefully pondered over several matches, his eyes seemingly deep in thought.

"Every genius will experience a setback; this setback can either turn a person into an ordinary individual or make them even stronger."

"They are currently undergoing a transformation."

"Undoubtedly, this test yielded excellent results."

"The only two people who stood out to me were these two."

His gaze fell upon the screen, on Ryu Sanada and Nagi Seishiro—one a wild, unrestrained madman on the field, the other an undeniable genius. In Ego's view, the potential of these two was the most anticipated in Building Five.

But he also clearly understood Ryu Sanada's wild personality.

How many geniuses would be lost because of it?

"You've noticed him too?" Anri, dressed in business attire, also looked at the screen, a disdainful smile appearing on the photo of Ryu Sanada.

"I can notice any player with potential." Ego rolled his eyes at her and continued, "So, what do you think of this guy?"

Anri frowned slightly. "I've paid attention to every one of his matches, but he always gives me a sense of urgency. Despite possessing absolute strength, he repeatedly lets the score fluctuate on the field."

"It seems intentional."

"Moreover, his stamina is terrifying, plus the 'weapon' you mentioned earlier..."

"The data shows that this guy's overall stats have been skyrocketing since he entered Blue Lock, with some individual indices even approaching substitute level."

"Undoubtedly, he has been hiding his strength until now."

Ego curved his lips into a strange smile. "You've guessed part of it correctly. It's not that he's hiding his strength, but rather that he's always been controlling the changes on the field."

"Have you heard the saying? Controlling the opponent's changes is equivalent to controlling the entire field."

"Ryu Sanada doesn't play around with the team in every match."

"Instead, he makes the opponent feel the pressure first."

"This approach causes both teams to become tense and feel pressured, thereby unleashing greater potential."

"Of course, there's no doubt about his strength; this guy definitely hid it."

After all, Ego was also seeing such a player for the first time. The data showed that Ryu Sanada was once a hexagonal warrior in his previous matches, with slightly superior shooting skills. However, after entering Blue Lock, this guy seemed to have let loose.

Speed, shooting, stamina... in his opinion, he had already surpassed everyone in Building Five.

To say he could grow this much in a short time, Ego would be the first not to believe it.

So, there were only two possibilities.

One, Ryu Sanada had hidden his strength in the past.

Two, Ryu Sanada inherently possessed this strength.

Anri raised an eyebrow. "This... that's impossible, right? Football is a team activity. What can he do by himself? Nothing more than scoring goals. This kind of pressure is commonplace for any player."

Ego chuckled. "That's why I said you don't understand football at all."

"Indeed, it's a team sport."

"But since I started the Blue Lock experiment, I've come to understand one truth: the squeezing of potential sometimes comes not only from opponents but also from teammates."

"Haven't you noticed that Ryu Sanada's matches are all incredibly bizarre?"

"The 'bursts' from both opponents and teammates seem to be entirely expected in his eyes."

"And he can still handle it with ease; it's not because his strength is overwhelming, but because he already knows; perhaps he's done something on the field that even we can't understand."

Anri, standing beside him, fell into thought.

A glimmer of light flickered in Ego's pupils. "Ryu Sanada... you truly are special..."

"Field controller? Or destroyer? It no longer matters. What's important is... how do you make your opponents fall into self-doubt?"

This is similar to advancing the Blue Lock project now.

But it's a good thing...

....

Inside the cafeteria.

All the Team Z players were having a meal together. Having won two consecutive matches, they were practically guaranteed promotion. As long as they won the next match, all of them would pass this second phase of the test.

"Ryu, I want steak!" Bachira's big eyes stared intently at Ryu Sanada, as if saying he would stare all day if he didn't get that steak today.

"I'm really done with you!" Ryu reluctantly pushed the steak in front of him towards Bachira and asked, "Didn't you score a goal in the last match?"

"You can exchange points for steak."

Bachira chuckled. "No way, Ryu's tastes better."

Ryu rolled his eyes at Bachira. Just as he was about to eat a dumpling, his gaze happened to fall upon a familiar figure not far opposite him.

Nagi Seishiro and Reo Mikage.

Interesting.

But he had no intention of shamelessly going over to greet them.

Instead, his gaze attracted Isagi, who looked over. He immediately recognized these two as the ones who had crushed Team Y earlier, and through observing the matches, he also knew that these two were the core of their entire team.

Almost all their goals came from the white-haired one.

"Are you very interested?" Ryu suddenly asked, "Isagi, if you try to approach a monster like that now, you'll just get beaten up."

Isagi pouted. "Can't you say something nicer?"

"What do you mean 'beaten up'? I've gotten stronger now, alright?"

Ryu chuckled, his gaze fixed on Nagi. "Stronger? You're just starting to grasp the power you should possess, while this guy... is still just a football novice up to this point."

"A football novice?" Isagi was a bit confused; of course, more so about the meaning of "football novice" from Ryu's mouth.

After all, Ryu often referred to people in the team as rookies.

They had grown accustomed to it.

"Literal meaning." Ryu knew that this guy had misunderstood, but he didn't correct him. Instead, he continued, "The upcoming matches will only get more difficult one after another."

"Every match is for you rookies to more skillfully master the potential hidden within your bodies."

"And your 'weapons.'"

Saying that, he looked at Bachira, who was devouring his steak. "That monster inside your body, hasn't it come out recently?"

Bachira's cheeks were puffed out like a hamster's.

Isagi kindly handed him a glass of water from the side.

Only then could he laboriously swallow the meat. Bachira shook his head. "It has appeared once or twice, and every time it appears, it attaches itself to you, Ryu."

"A few passes before, it was the one that told me."

"Is that so?" Ryu fell into thought. He naturally knew about the monster Bachira spoke of, but he couldn't see it.

Although the two had been childhood playmates, Bachira's monster had existed before he met Ryu.

He had asked many times; it seemed that because of his presence, the monster appeared less frequently, and Ryu wouldn't let Bachira avoid contact with the monster within him.

Because that represented "selfishness" and "evolution."

Now, Bachira saw himself as a monster, constantly chasing it to become stronger...

However, in Ryu's eyes, this was a wrong way of evolving, because that way, Bachira would always only be a pursuer.

"Monster? What monster?" Isagi interjected.

"You wouldn't understand." Bachira replied with a chuckle, "But I can tell you about the monster's existence."

Isagi tilted his head, a bit confused.