Chapter 9

“Let’s go with ‘Operation: Me next 9 – Style: Haunted Cave’.”

Whilst Team Y is setting the ball down on the kick-off spot Gagamaru takes a step back and looks at his, comparatively mini-teammate. “If I get the impression you’re trying to screw me over Gento, I’m going back to our normal plan.”. Looking up at his giant of a teammate Gento calmly responds, “Yo no problem Big Guy, that’s what we agreed on anyway. Come on let’s wrap this up, this game’s going to get boring real quick.”

Upon ending their conversation Okawa passes the ball to his teammate, Gagamaru immediately presses Team Y trying to force a bad pass. With Gagamaru going in with a fast slide-tackle Team Y’s midfielder tries to pass the ball to his left in the seemingly open space.

Gento, who up till this point was trying to not gain any attention, intercepts the ball and immediately passes it over to his right, towards the waiting Bachira. ‘All right, let’s vanish for a bit’ Gento thinks to himself.

*Flashback to Half-time*

Pointing at the whiteboard Gento finishes his rant. “Alright this is my plan, a bit more high risk, high reward.” 

*Back to the game*

Whilst Bachira was tearing up the right side of the pitch, Gento positions himself in Niko’s blind-spot, ‘He’s the only real threat to my plan at the moment, the rest just run around like chickens with their heads cut off unless he tells them what to do.’.

Looking back towards their side of the pitch Gento sees that Raichi has attached himself to Okawa, ‘Thank fuck, he actually believed my excuse to put him on defense.’.

*Flashback*

“Huh?! WHY AM I ON DEFENSE?!” Raichi gets angry upon seeing his position. “Eh? That’s obvious, no?” Gento tilts his head at the angry blond, “None of the rest can keep up with your ‘super-sexy soccer’, don’t you think it’ll be fun to completely destroy that arrogant striker of theirs?”.

Getting into the blond’s face, forcing Gento to look up “Or are you scared that you can’t do it? What the oh-so-great Jingo Raichi can’t stop a measly striker from scoring? I mean, I managed to do it for the first half, aren’t you supposed to be better than me? Guess I expected more, maybe Igaguri is up to the task if you can’t do it.”.

“ME?! SCARED?! I’LL FUCKING SHOW YOU WHO’S SCARED!” Raichi yells back.

*Back to the present*

Bachira, seeing that Isagi is free, passes the ball over to him. ‘For Gagamaru and Gento’s play… I’m on the left wing. My objective for now, is to send the ball way to the empty space in front of their goal… and go for a crazy early cross!’ Finishing his thought Isagi sends a pass way up the field, seemingly too far for any player to reach.

Sprinting between the defenders Gagamaru leaps forward almost parallel to the ground and hits a powerful header sending the ball towards the left side of Team Y’s goal.

This time however Team Y’s goalie manages to reach the ball and send it careening into the post and pouncing back towards the penalty box. “Second ball!” one of Team Y’s defenders shouts, moving to intercept the rouge ball.

Niko, already in position, prepares to receive the ball and initiate a counterattack, “I got it, don’t worry. Just focus on fulfilling our plan.” He calmly orders his teammates.

“You sure about that?” 

Startled by the sudden voice behind him Niko turns around seeing a mop of white hair running in his peripheral vision. ‘Huh? Where did he-‘ His thoughts get interrupted when Gento’s leg shoots forward, hitting the ball mid-air before Niko could receive it.

Not expecting the sudden shot, Team Y’s goalie can do nothing but watch as the ball hits the back of his net.

​​Team Z GOAL!!! – Scorer: Gento Hirako – Team Y 0-2 Team Z

“YEAHH!!” various shouts of celebration ring out from all across the pitch as the members of Team Z make their way over towards Gento. Gento, completely ignoring the commotion around him, continues to stare at the shocked Niko. “What? Didn’t see that coming?”

Turning back to the celebrating Team Z Gento puts his hands in his pockets and calmly makes his way towards Gagamaru holding out his hand to help the taller striker get back on his feet. “Come on Caveman, can’t leave you to starve can’t I? I promised you a goal after all.”

Niko, still in a state of shock, stares at the retreating duo. “You good, by the way? That looked like it hurt your nose.” Gento asks the taller of the two with a slightly concerned look on his face. “Oh? Yeah I’m fine, don’t worry about it.” Gagamaru replies while using his jersey to whip his nose.

“You and me, we have the same eyes don’t we?” Niko suddenly speaks up causing Gento to look over his shoulders. “That play, it should have ended with Okawa’s goal, but you intervened.”

“Dude, what?” Gento replies utterly confused, “It was obvious you were the anchor of your team, so I just followed my instinct to haunt you to get my goal.” Walking back towards the halfway line Gento cringes at his choice of words, ‘Dude ‘haunt you’ the fuck was I even saying, is Bachira’s schizophrenia infective or something?’

Okawa takes the ball from inside the net and walks over to the half way line, an annoyed expression on his face, ‘How isn’t this working? THEIR LITERALLY THE WORST TEAM IN ALL OF BLUE LOCK FOR FUCK SAKE!!’ putting the ball down he passes the ball to his Teammate immediately and begins moving towards Team Z’s goal.

Making his way through Team Z he looks around spotting Gento hovering near their defensive line, close to Gagamaru. ‘At least that weirdo is away from me, Niko just has to get me the ball and I’ll score.’ At the moment Okawa finishes his thought, Niko receives the ball from one of his teammates. He looks up, locking eyes with the striker deep in Team Z’s territory. ‘This is it!’ Okawa thinks to himself, beginning to run towards Team Z’s goal, spotting the striker’s run Niko shoots a long range pass up the field.

With the ball up in the air Okawa’s focus remains on the spherical object making its way towards him. However before the ball can reach him, an arm shoots out from his right blocking his run.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going, Mohawk?!” an enraged voice shouts near his ear, turning he spots a sweating Raichi close to him with a truly wrathful expression on his face. “I won’t let you get close to our goal, you nobody!”

Using his physicality Raichi manages to force his way in between Okawa and the ball currently hurdling towards them. Upon receiving it with his chest he passes it over towards Kunigami who was waiting in the midfield. “GET YOUR ASS UP THE FIELD, HERO!!!”

“Got it, Raichi!” Kunigami responds to his angry teammate, moving up the field with the ball at his feet. Evading one of Team Y’s midfielders he looks for an opportunity to pass the ball to a teammate.

“Here, Kunigami!” A voice to his right gains his attention, turning he spots Gento who moved back to support his teammate. Kunigami passes the ball to Gento who continues to push forward, spotting Bachira to his right he passes the ball over to him “Come on, let’s double team this.”.

“Got it Gen-chan!” The dribbler responds, the two of them make their way towards Team Y’s goal using a combination of quick-passes, Bachira’s dribbles and Gento’s positioning. Nearing the penalty box Gento spots a prowling Gagamaru and decides to shoot a cross towards him, “Get your goal, Caveman!”.

Seeing the ball fly towards him Gagamaru yet again jumps forward and heads the ball towards the goal, this time however one of Team Y’s defenders manages to deflect the ball causing it to go out of bounds.

At this the intercom speaks up “Ball is out-of-bounds. Corner-Kick for Team Z.”

Bachira takes the ball and sets it down on the corner, steps back and prepares to fire a cross into the box. ‘God, I fucking hate corners. Why must I be so short…’ Gento, who decided to position himself outside of the penalty box, thought to himself. Looking around he spots Isagi who appears to be completely lost in thought “Come on Isagi, we’re doing a corner kick. Quit dreaming.” he says to his teammate, “Huh? Oh, yeah sorry!”.

With Bachira going up and shooting a high-cross near the goal players of both Team Z and Team Y alike begin trying to push their way to where the ball would land. Near the outside of the bundle of players Isagi suddenly comes to a realization.

‘Wait a second… Where’s that Niko guy?’ spotting the defender waiting near the far side of the goal Isagi begins moving towards him. ‘It’s like Gento said ‘only that Niko guy seems to have a functioning brain in their defense’. Their strategy doesn’t revolve around Okawa… It’s all about him!’.

At the same time Isagi finishes his thought, Team Y’s goalie jumps forward and punches the ball away from his goal towards where Niko is already waiting. “FUCK!!” Raichi yells, due to the keeper ruining his chances at getting a goal. “Shit! We have too many players on offense!” Kuon yells realizing the situation his team is in. 

‘Exactly! That’s why I ran towards the actual player behind it all!’ Isagi thinks whilst jumping up to receive the ball with his chest before Niko could get to it. ‘I’VE GOT HIM!’ With the ball at his feet Isagi begins running towards the goal seeing a path towards the goal on his left, pulling his leg back Isagi shoots the ball forward.

Although before the ball could reach the ball Niko’s leg shoots forward, causing the ball to go off course. With the ball flying towards the touch line, most players were expecting another corner.

However, just before the ball could cross the line Gagamaru jumps forward. With his left leg stretched, the caveman manages to just barely touch the ball causing it to go right, hitting the back of the net.

​​Team Z GOAL!!! – Scorer: Gin Gagamaru – Team Y 0-3 Team Z

At the same time the ball hits the back of the net, Gagamaru crashes into the post at full speed. “Great reaction time!” Kuon yells running over to help Gagamaru off the floor.

Gento standing near Isagi turns to talk to him, “Finally saw who the problem was, eh striker?”. At this Isagi looks down at the shorter striker, “Yeah, I just got something like a premonition?… That alongside your comment during half-time helped me figure it out.”. Hearing this Gento gains a teasing smile on his face “Took you long enough~. Just gotta get your goal now and you’re actually playing like a striker.” Isagi laughs at his younger teammates comments “Yeah? Just you wait Gento-“

“So you managed to increase your lead.” At the sudden voice both Isagi and Gento turn towards it seeing Niko staring at Isagi, “Were it not for you, that counter would have ended with Okawa’s goal and we would have closed the gap.” After finishing his sentence he looks towards Gento, “And without you, your Team would be dead in the water, no one could have defended our strategy.”

“I won’t let you run free again. I’ll stop you and we will win!” Isagi says with a determined expression on his face, “Both of you have the same eyes as me but you won’t win against me. I’m the one controlling this game, don’t celebrate too early, you will lose.”

“Is he forgetting that they’re 3-0 down already?” Gento whispers to Isagi, ‘Also that ‘same eyes’ bullshit again? What’s up with him?’ He thinks to himself afterwards. During Gento’s confusion Isagi determinately thinks to himself ‘Just try it, mophead.’

“Hey it’s been 15 minutes, it’s my turn now!” Naruhaya yells excitedly, “Let’s go!! If we keep this up, we’ll score some more in no time! No time at all!”

Operation: “Me, next 9” – Style: Naruhaya

‘His strength is hovering near the defense’s line and breaking past it to score goals.’ Gento thinks to himself before quickly passing the ball to Isagi. ‘So to enable his plays, we have to pass through the line!’ Finishing his thought Isagi sends a high pass over Team Y’s defense.

“Like hell I’ll let ya!” one of Team Y’s defenders yells, whilst jumping to intercept Isagi’s pass. With the ball flying to Team Y’s #5, Team Z continues pressing, trying to get the ball back. “Gimme the ball!!” Igaguri shouts running at Team Y’s #5. Feeling pressured, Team Y’s defender sends a desperate pass towards their only hope “Shit! Niko, we need you!”.

Before the pass can reach Team Y’s ace Isagi, having seen the pass coming from a mile away, manages to intercept the pass. “I’ll catch every pass headed your way!!” He yells before sending the pass over to Gento, who starts to make his way up the field.

Whilst Gento passes the ball alongside his teammates, Niko begins talking with Isagi. “You guys heard it too, right? Ego’s speech about weapons.” Hearing the mophead start talking, Isagi turns towards him with an annoyed expression on his face, “And? So what if we did?”.

“You see, I thought a lot about it. ‘What is my weapon?’ Doesn’t it seem like every player in Blue Lock has some outstanding talent?” He continues, “Even so, we wouldn’t win relying solely on Okawa’s powerful, yet simple shooting technique. But, I can’t afford to lose.”

“Even if I’m not as fast, even if I’m not as strong, the weapons I carry to stay in Blue Lock are…

My eyes for knowing exactly where I need to be, and my mind for manipulating the players on that field.” Using his finger to tap himself on the forehead he finishes his monologue, “Even if you try to stop me, you can’t stop my planning”

‘Dude you’re literally losing.’ Gento thinks to himself a couple meters away from the monologuing mophead.

“Yeah!! It’s my turn now! My weapon is my unyielding heart to give it all on the field!!” Igaguri yells across the pitch, “A strong defense and a swift attack! O’ Great Buddha!”. Team Y’s players steal the ball from the excited monk and begin passing it between themselves.

‘… really? Yell out your ‘weapon’ and get the ball stolen within the same move? Good Job Buddy.’ Gento deadpans at the situation unfolding in front of him, ‘Fuck playing defense we don’t need it, they’re not scoring three goals in the next ten minutes.’ He thinks to himself before moving up the field next to Isagi.

“Hey Isagi…” Hearing the younger player Isagi turns to look at him, “I told you last game didn’t I? You gotta score one this game, if you can’t even score against those guys, get lost.“. At the white-haired boy’s declaration Isagi’s eyes widened. “You’re not stupid, I know that. I’ll help you once, I’ll do the same thing I did against Team X. This time you better fucking score, got it?” Looking forward and beginning to pass Isagi, he finishes with one last statement 

“Don’t fuck it up this time.”.

‘Shit there’s not much time left.’ Isagi realizes. With the ball moving to Okawa something switches in Team Y’s playing style, causing all of them to go onto the offense. “This is something our Team planned ahead of time,” Niko begins talking, “If we’re behind at the end Team Y will attack with everything we’ve got.”

Team Y passes the ball between them, consistently making their way up the field. “Fucking hell, Stop ’em!” Raichi yells at the rest of his team. ‘Why are you so worried they basically lost already?.’ Gento thinks to himself, not bothering to move back and defend.

With a final pass Niko is completely free in front of the goalie. ‘Shit it’s another 1-on-1’ Iemon thinks to himself, he quickly looks around trying to stop one of Team Z’s defenders ‘Fuck… I can’t rely on Gento this time, why’s he not moving back to help?’. Iemon begins running forward trying to get the ball away from Niko, when all of a sudden he fires a pass to his right. ‘Huh?! A pass?’

The pass flies towards the waiting Okawa, however before it could reach him Isagi manages to intercept it. “I knew it… it’s always Okawa, Niko. He ‘smells like a goal’ more than anyone.” Preparing to fire a pass up the field Isagi continues speaking, “You and I, we’re the same. We see and think the same. That’s why you were passing to Okawa, instead of shooting yourself. But this is my win Niko, You don’t have what it takes to be a striker!” He finishes and shoots a pass towards Kunigami. 

“Nice on, Isagi!” Kunigami shouts, receiving the ball. With the ball at his feet Kunigami makes a run towards Team Y’s goal, defenders throwing themselves at him to try and stop his advance. Getting overwhelmed, Kunigami finds another option, “Coming at ya!” he yells, sending a pass towards Bachira.

Receiving the ball, Bachira begins dribbling up the field, nearing the right side of the penalty box he prepares to cross. Seeing this Gento moves up the field purposely gaining the attention of most of the defenders. ‘Let’s see if they fall for this.’

Seeing Gento moving towards the penalty box Niko alongside other defenders make their way towards him. Seeing the trajectory of the ball Niko positions himself before Gento “What? Didn’t see that coming? Awfully confident for such an obvious move.” he cockily says towards the striker, whose ‘attack’ he managed to intercept.

Seeing this, Igaguri yells out shocked “They saw through it?!”. At the same time Bachira’s cross continues past both Niko and Gento, “Nah, they fell right for it.” Gento calmly says towards his panicked teammate. “Yup! What I was aiming for wasn’t the ‘obvious’ Gen-chan but the other flank.” Bachira continues with a huge grin on his face.

On the other side of the penalty box Team Z’s #11 prepares to shoot the ball on the first touch. “Come on striker, get your goal.” Gento smiles at his teammate.

‘I am a striker!’ Isagi thinks to himself, as he hammers the ball into the back of the net.

​​Team Z GOAL!!! – Scorer: Yoichi Isagi – Team Y 0-4 Team Z

“Wooaaaaahh!! Isagi!!” Igaguri exclaims jumping on the goalscorer’s shoulders. “How did you run like that?!” Kuon shouts at Isagi.

Shortly after the goal the intercom announces the final score “Time’s up!! In the fourth game of Blue Lock’s fifth Stratum the winner with a score of 4 to 0 is TEAM Z!!“

Wing 5 Game 4 – Full Time – Team Y 0-4 Team Z

At the announcement all of Team Y falls to their knees, varying expressions of anguish on their face. Whilst the rest of his team was celebrating, Isagi begins walking towards the distraught Niko. Staring down at the crying Niko all he can think to himself is ‘It feels so good!’

Seeing his teammate in front of the kneeling Niko, Gento runs over and loops an arm around Isagi’s shoulders. “Nice one, Isagi! Knew you could do it!” Gento says with a laugh. After finishing his sentence he looks down at Niko with a cruel smile on his face.

“What’s up Niko… You scared?!”

– End of chapter 7 –