018 Blue Lock: System Ten Years Early

Damn it, is that guy really human? I can't even see his back at all. If he had started training in football from childhood too, what would he be like now?

Nishioka Hajime bit his lip hard, completely unable to believe what he had just seen. Called a Genius since childhood and praised as the Aomori Messi, he had never felt the crushing suppression of talent this vividly.

'If there really is someone who will win in this Blue Prison and become the world's number one striker, then that person definitely won't be me, but Kōken Shinichi — that more gifted "monster"!'

This was the miserable yet undeniable reality Nishioka had realized during that brief confrontation. He suddenly became aware of his own shallowness. 

The light of Nishioka Hajime's dream was about to be swallowed by the "monster" named Kōken Shinichi...

"No, I can't think like that. He's just fast. Messi's overall abilities aren't particularly outstanding among top football stars either, but he still fought through his own efforts and proved himself to the world."

With his resolve on the verge of collapse, Nishioka Hajime recalled his dream and kept hypnotizing himself.

"What's wrong? You're shaking badly. Sure enough, seeing that guy makes it impossible for anyone to stay calm, right? He's practically a monster that makes people tremble."

"So that's why you got scared and shamelessly knelt down to become his watchdog?"

As if a sore spot had been poked, Nishioka Hajime reacted far more violently than expected and roared at Hiori Yo.

"A guy like you with no dreams can give up so casually, thinking that because this guy exists it's impossible to become the world's number one striker, so you even abandon the dignity of a striker. How could I sink to your level? I'm the Messi of Aomori!"

...

After a brief silence, Hiori Yo showed an unusually puzzled expression. His flat words instantly shattered all of Nishioka Hajime's pride and his final psychological defense.

"Afraid? Why be afraid? Isn't it exciting to see football played like that? If anything, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with him, afraid I won't get to witness the moment Shinichi changes the world."

'That's not right... it shouldn't be like this... This guy really has no striker's pride, but it's not what I imagined.'

This bastard is something completely different from me — a true "madman"!

'Then... me... what exactly am I, having truly developed "that kind of emotion"?!'

"Hiori? What's wrong?" Seeing that Hiori seemed to be arguing with Nishioka Hajime, Shinichi hurried over to help. Not to brag — in football he might not be able to take on 11 alone. But when it comes to fighting, relying on overwhelming stat suppression, his only worry was whether he'd hit too hard and beat these high school students to death.

"Shinichi!" The low, hoarse voice caught Shinichi's attention. He saw Nishioka Hajime's pupils filled with bloodshot veins and hatred.

'This guy! He's the one who destroyed everything I had (dreams, confidence). If I can't defeat him here, I'll rot in the dirt forever.'

"Shinichi, I will definitely crush you!"

"Ara, this is getting interesting. By the way, Hiori, why did you use my name to draw aggro? Look how angry you made him."

Hiori Yo, who had also been overwhelmed by Shinichi's presence before, recalled some unpleasant memories. He didn't want to talk to this humanoid talent monster. In fact, when Nishioka Hajime erupted, he roughly understood what was going on — after all, he had experienced it once in the corridor back then.

If you can't endure it, you'll be destroyed. Kōken Shinichi is just that domineering of a person. Even this time, though it was merely something he did unintentionally, it still carried his consistent aura.

"Kōken Shinichi!"

"Alright, alright, stop howling. Seriously, you don't look like this kind of character at all. As expected of the prison of facial expressions — anyone who looks decent turns into this once they go crazy."

Recalling how Kira Ryosuke and Rin went berserk in the original work, Shinichi couldn't help but feel lingering fear, worried he might follow in their footsteps.

Speaking of which, this guy is just like Barou back then, huh? Has the meaning of playing football been destroyed for him? So is this his last stand now? Thinking this, Shinichi pretended to be calm, shrugged, and turned around.

However, no one noticed that the moment Shinichi turned his back, he raised his hand to cover his face, hiding his expression. Beneath his long fingers were a wildly upturned smile and eyes full of madness.

'Even if it wasn't intentional, completely destroying him should earn quite a bit of system rating, right... No, even without system rating, I really want to try crushing every enemy who dares to resist me.'

'It's about time to pile up the first loser's corpse beneath my throne as the steps for my ascent.'

...

"Hiori, later just block the fodder for me."

"Oh... ah?"

"I kind of want to see what happens against an ultimate low-spec Messi." Shinichi turned his head and gave Hiori Yo a brilliant yet non-negotiable smile. Hiori Yo thought about it and still didn't speak, simply nodding to show he understood.

After arranging the field, Shinichi finally turned back and looked down at Nishioka Hajime from above.

"There was clearly still a slim chance of survival, but since you insist on courting death."

"I'll be the one to completely crush the last scraps of trash you have left, 'Messi'."

But Nishioka Hajime had no mind left to trade words with Shinichi. His eyes became hollow yet focused. Right now, his mind held only one thought—

Defeat Kōken Shinichi. No matter what method, defeat him. Prove his own value and possibilities. Otherwise, the goal he had fought for — the dream of becoming the world's number one striker — would be meaningless.

Even though a teammate was about to pass the ball, unable to wait even a second, Nishioka roughly intercepted it. He didn't even pay attention to Hiori Yo beside him, charging straight toward Shinichi with the ball. Thanks to Shinichi's instructions, Hiori Yo didn't make a pointless attempt to steal it.

'In the face of offense, the defending side is always passive. Otherwise there wouldn't be so many rules, like offside, to restrict offense. Let alone a guy at Nishioka's level. But Shinichi, you can do it, right?'

Finally, Shinichi faced Nishioka Hajime one-on-one for the first time. Familiar high-frequency touches repeatedly shifted Shinichi's center of gravity. The iron wall of defense was poked full of holes.

"So what if I can't get past you? I'm a striker to begin with! As long as I attack, as long as my dribbling can be a weapon, I still have value! And if you weren't ganging up, no one could stop me anyway. I am..."

Shinichi suddenly spoke: "Are you happy being called Messi?"

"Being smug just because you became a shoddy copy of someone else, using that as your dream — don't make me laugh."

"If chasing someone else's back could make you the world's number one, then the world's number one would be way too cheap. That so-called Messi title isn't worth mentioning. No, it's complete garbage with negative effect."

'Shut up, what do you know about me!' Nishioka Hajime roared, but no sound came out, because without realizing it, Shinichi had already stopped him for 30 seconds!

Clearly he looked on the verge of collapse, clearly the wall was full of holes, clearly he would fall with a single poke — then why won't you move aside?! Do you absolutely have to block the road to my dreams?!

Kōken Shinichi!

Nishioka took a deep breath, trying his best not to listen to Shinichi's nonsense. He dribbled like crazy, dazzling feints appearing one after another, yet Shinichi showed no sign of wavering. Those deep black pupils made it impossible to read his thoughts.

'Damn it, don't scare yourself! I can win! Right here!'

'Get out of the way! Kōken Shinichi, my dream will not be decided by you!'

Screech—bang!

Nishioka Hajime rejoiced as he burst forward after shaking open a sliver of space, but Shinichi suddenly swept his leg, kicking the football away while also catching Nishioka Hajime's calf. Caught off guard, Nishioka Hajime flipped sideways and fell to the ground.

But Nishioka Hajime didn't care about the broadcast announcing Shinichi's foul, nor did he care about the pain in his body. He just stared blankly at Shinichi.

"Still a bit slow, huh." Shinichi stood there, his eyes equally vacant as he looked at Nishioka Hajime. Even though he had fouled, the corners of his mouth kept rising.

"So that's how it is. I think I get it now... Next time, I'll definitely stop you."

'Kōken Shinichi, you "monster"… just how desperate do you plan to make me before you're satisfied...'