[Blue Lock] Chapter 17 – Acknowledgement (II)

Hours passed, but Naruto had yet to leave the Busujima family’s residence. Following Mr Busujima’s instructions, the new butler prepared the guest room for Naruto and a change of clothes.

Unlike the previous time Naruto visited Saeko, there weren’t any unpleasant incidents. Inwardly, he was growing increasingly anxious that Mr Busujima was being that supportive of his relationship with Saeko. Things were going a little too well.

As the middle-aged man was busy on the phone and taking care of other matters, Saeko took Naruto with her to the kitchen. Normally, the Busujima family had a professional chef who prepared their meals, but Saeko had made a promise to him during their last date: next time, she would cook for him to prove that she could do it.

Whether it was because he wasn’t a picky eater or because her cooking really was that good, the fact remained that he devoured the curry and rice she made as if it had been his first meal in days, asking for seconds and even thirds. Throughout the meal, Saeko sat across from him, her face resting in her palms, elbows on the table, watching him eat with a soft, fond smile.

As evening fell, the two of them cuddled on the couch in the living room and watched a movie. The plasma TV was massive, easily wider than his entire one-room apartment, and the living room was several times larger. The couch was incredibly comfortable, and the room temperature was just right. Even the lighting was dim and cosy. It was the perfect ambience for a movie night. 

But how could Naruto focus on the movie when Saeko pressed herself against him like that? The girl was lying with her head on his chest, her vanilla-scented hair right under his nose, while she absent-mindedly played with his abs, her every touch sending shivers down his spine. If not for the fact that he was afraid of Mr Busujima catching them in an improper posture, he would have definitely pushed her down at that moment.

“I have to say, it’s incredible. How did you get these?” Saeko said with a mix of wonder and teasing as she unexpectedly slipped her hand under his t-shirt and ran her fingers over his defined muscles.

“Saeko, are you crazy??” he said in a whisper, catching her by the wrist and shifting uncomfortably as heat crept up his face. Her touch was doing things to him, and he wasn’t sure how much more of it he could take.

But she didn’t stop. Her fingers trailed up to his chest, leaving a smouldering path in their wake as she traced the lines of his pecs. She threw a long, slender leg over his waist, half-straddling him, and leaned in close, her breath warm against his skin. Pressing her lips to his neck, she whispered softly in his ear.

“Touch me, Naruto.” 

His breath hitched as she gently bit his earlobe, and his muscles tensed involuntarily, his breathing growing rough as she pressed soft kisses along his neck. When her teeth grazed his skin and her lips brushed his collarbone, something in him snapped, and, without thinking, he suddenly stood up, putting distance between them.

“Seriously? Get back here!~” she whined, her face flushed, her smooth purple hair slightly dishevelled, and her lips glistening red.

“If your dad walked in on us, he’d kill me,” he said in spite of how turned on she had left him. “I just made a good impression on him now; I don’t want to ruin it all.”

As chance made it, Mr Busujima walked through the living room’s door at that very moment.

“Naruto? Walk with me,” he said in a serious voice.

“Father?? What are you up to?” Saeko asked, quickly getting up from the sofa, instinctively walking in front of Naruto as if to protect him.

Despite that it was evening, the middle-aged man had changed into a formal outfit consisting of black hakama pants and a blue keikogi. It was a traditional uniform that kendo practitioners liked to wear.

“Nothing, I just want to talk to him,” Mr Busujima said calmly.

“But why do you have a sword with you if you only want to talk?”

The question she just asked made Naruto break into a sweat.

“Now, now, don’t you worry your pretty little head. If Naruto is to become my son-in-law, he should-”

“Son-in-law??” Saeko squawked, and Naruto baulked at the middle-aged man, too.

“-Should have the guts to speak to me like a man. Say now, how long are you going to hide behind my little princess’ skirt?”

Naruto gulped as he glanced at Saeko and then at her father. But in the end, he stepped up. He may have had his fair share of flaws, but a coward he was not.

‘Besides, not like he would really kill me. . . right?’

⁂

In the end, Naruto followed Mr Busujima outside, heading towards their personal dojo. The Busujima residence was large, and the dojo was located in a separate building altogether.

“What are your plans regarding Saeko?” Mr Busujima asked as they walked side by side.

“What do you mean?” he asked in return, unsure of what answer he was expecting from him.

“Exactly what I just asked,” the man said as he slid the doors of the dojo open and stepped inside.

“I don’t know what to say,” Naruto started, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “We started dating a few weeks ago. I like her a lot, but- wah!” he cried out when he slipped and almost fell. 

“You’ve never been in a dojo before? Take your socks off.”

Now that he was barefooted as well, he followed Saeko’s father to the centre of the dojo, where five mannequins had been installed. They were different from the usual wooden training dummies present in most dojos.

“I’m still waiting for an answer. What are your plans regarding my daughter?” Mr Busujima asked a second time.

“Well, we’re dating for now. I don’t know what else to say. You talked about me being your son-in-law, but Saeko and I are only 18. It’s too early to think about things like mar-”

Osamu Busujima suddenly slammed the scabbard of his sword against the tatami floor and shouted:

“Stop it right there!”

Naruto became quiet. He didn’t know what part of his words had offended him.

“Do you think I’d let you just date my daughter?” he asked in a serious voice. “Do you plan on just using her and then throwing her away? Huh?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” Naruto said quickly. “I only meant that neither of us is mature enough to know what we want now.”

“That’s not how things work. Not when it comes to my daughter. If you don’t have the intention of marrying my daughter, you don’t belong with her. As simple as that.”

When the blond didn’t say anything, the man frowned.

“Or what? You think my daughter isn’t good enough for you?”

Naruto flailed his hands in front of him in a panic:

“No, not even close! She’s wayyy better than me! Anyone would be lucky to be with her. It’s just that-”

“Listen up, Naruto,” Mr Busujima said in a deep voice. “Saeko is my only daughter. Her mother, my wife, died giving her birth. Now, she is my only family. She is the light of my eyes. The one thing I treasure more than anything in this world.”

The boy didn’t know what to say in response to that, so he stood silent.

“These are ballistic dummies,” Mr Busujima said, changing the subject seemingly out of nowhere. “They are hyper-realistic dummies that imitate as closely as possible the human body. They are generally used to test the effects that various traumas would have on a human body without endangering anyone. That’s how they test the safety of various car models, for example.”

As he said those words, he walked closer to Naruto and handed him the sword in his hand.

"Take this. Unsheathe it slowly and be carefully. It's a real katana. The blade is very sharp."

Naruto took the sword with a befuddled look on his face.

“Uhm, what do you want me to do with this?” he asked as he held the sword carefully with both hands. 

“Pick one of the dummies and strike it with your katana. Try to behead it.”

“But I’ve never used a sword before,” he tried to decline.

“Are you a man or not? What kind of man never dreamt about wielding a sword? If you’re a man, stop fussing!”

At his scolding, Naruto let out a sigh and walked closer to one of the dummies.

“Hit it as hard as you can. I’ll be very disappointed otherwise. You have to behead it. I’ll never let my daughter marry a weak and feeble man.”

Provoked by his words, Naruto raised the katana above his head and chopped horizontally with all his strength.

Fortunately, even though it was his first time swinging a sword, his aim wasn’t bad, and he struck the mannequin in the neck. Despite that he had used his entire strength, Naruto’s blade sank only halfway into the dummy’s neck, not going past it.

“How was it?” Mr Busujima asked as he took the sword from his hands and put it back in its sheath.

“It’s not what I expected,” the blond said honestly.

“You thought you’d cleave right through its neck, didn’t you? Many people think that until they touch a real weapon. It takes a great deal of skill and concentration to slice through the human body with a katana. It’s not as easy as it looks in the movies. . .”

Walking to another dummy, Mr Busujima hung the katana at his waist and took on a slightly crouched stance before he let out a low shout.

Faster than Naruto could perceive, the middle-aged man drew the katana from its sheath and sliced at the dummy’s neck, sending its head flying several metres away.

“But a skilled enough person can easily behead someone with a sword,” he said. “You can do even more than that.”

Naruto watched wide-eyed as Saeko’s father used his katana to slice through all the remaining ballistic dummies. He did not go again for the neck, which was the thinnest part of the human body. Instead, he made three different cuts next: one that sliced a dummy horizontally, cutting right through the middle of its torso; one that sliced another dummy diagonally, making the upper part of its torso slide off smoothly; and one slash that chopped the last dummy in half, vertically, cutting through its skull, neck, and torso in one smooth movement, like a hot knife through butter.

‘Holy shit.’

Naruto didn’t know anything about kendo, but after experiencing for himself how hard it was to cut even through a dummy’s neck, he was left speechless to see the man slice the skull and torsos like cutting grass.

Turning towards him, Saeko’s father suddenly raised his katana, aiming it at him, and the blond involuntarily stepped back, a look of shock flashing on his face.

There was a distance of over one metre between the tip of the blade and Naruto’s chest, but the man’s intimidating presence made Naruto feel as though he was on the verge of suffocating.

“That’s what will happen to you if you break my little girl’s heart. Regardless of the consequences I may have to face afterwards.”

Overwhelmed by his intensity, Naruto didn’t even dare to speak up, but then a shout was heard from the entrance of the dojo.

“DAD! What are you doing?!” Saeko shouted, scandalised.

“Just having a healthy man-to-man conversation with my future son-in-law.”

The girl's face was beet red as she stomped inside the dojo furiously.

“What part of you threatening to kill him was healthy?!” she yelled. 

Normally, the girl wouldn’t dream of raising her voice at her father. She respected him deeply, to the point of veneration almost. But his actions just now were simply too outrageous.

“It was absolutely necessary. Professional athletes are notoriously unfaithful. Especially football players!” 

Turning towards Naruto, Osamu Busujima raised his sword again and said in a voice filled with strength:

“I’ll only say this one more time, son. I won’t allow anyone to sully my daughter! You can’t just date my princess; you marry her! If you ever hurt my little light, no matter how far you run or where you try to hide, I will find you and I will kill you. I’ll chop you into pieces and feed your remains to the dogs.”

“DAD, this isn’t the Edo Era! What are you saying?!” Saeko cried out in embarrassment. She felt like digging a hole and dying.

Despite being 18, incredibly pretty, athletic, and having millions of followers on social media, Saeko had never been in a relationship. The blond was her first-ever boyfriend because her father had always terrified any boy who as much as said hello to her.

After seeing what her father had just put Naruto through, she was terribly afraid that he would not want to have anything to do with her anymore. She rushed to his side and took his hand in hers while saying rapidly, in a voice filled with worry:

“Don’t listen to him, Naruto, he’s just pulling your leg. He wouldn’t hurt you, I promise, he’s just-”

“I am dead serious,” her father contradicted her words. “I take nothing back from what I said. If you break her heart, I’ll really cut you down and feed you to the dogs.”

Momentarily, the blond was at a loss.

‘What the hell have I got myself into?’

He had always known that his girlfriend, Saeko, might have a loose screw up there. After all, in their first encounter, he had seen her luring two men into a back alley and beating them half to death. Still, she was so damn beautiful that he had never even considered the option of breaking up with her.

‘But her dad’s even crazier,’ he thought, a shudder involuntarily rocking his body when he looked at the chopped-off remains of the ballistic dummies.

It looked like being unhinged ran in the family.

‘Like father, like daughter. . . Shit, Saeko might kill me herself first if I ever did her wrong.’

He gulped when he imagined something like that happening to him. He had no doubt whatsoever that the father-and-daughter duo were perfectly capable, both physically and mentally, of maiming or killing him.

‘Well. . . what’s life without a little danger?’ he told himself, trying to make light of the situation.

Gathering up his courage, Naruto cleared his throat before saying:

“I’ll never break her heart. I promise. We haven’t been dating for that long, and it’s still too early to talk about marriage, but I will never leave her for someone else.”

“Even after you become a famous football player and you’ll have dozens of women throwing themselves at you?” asked Mr Busujima, his hand still on the handle of his katana. 

“Even then. I’ve never seen a girl more beautiful than Saeko,” he said in a firm voice. He was not even exaggerating.

A brilliant smile lit up Saeko’s face, and her cheeks flushed slightly. She could not quite meet his eyes. But her father wasn't as simple.

“The human heart is fickle, and people’s feelings change like the weather,” Osamu Busujima retorted.

Naruto did not back down.

“You should know me better by now, Busujima-san. I was ready to give up on my future for the sake of not betraying Blue Lock and Ego-san. There is no way I’d ever hurt you or Saeko. You are my benefactor just as much as Ego-san is. And I like Saeko. I really like her a lot,” he added, lightly scratching his cheek, embarrassed at having to talk so openly about his feelings.

“I see,” Osamu Busujima muttered. “Saeko, dear? You found a good man. Your father approves.”

“Dad, seriously quit it,” Saeko mumbled, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at his words. Her father had never embarrassed her as much as he did in the present.

“That being said, as much as I would love to become a grandfather, I am vehemently against you making any children out of wedlock. I advise you to restrain yourself until after-”

“DAD!”

⁂

To say that Naruto’s previous day at the Busujima residence had been eventful would be an understatement.

‘I’ve heard before that some fathers can get very overprotective of their daughters, but this is on another level,’ he thought as he watched the flying scenery passing by.

But Mr Busujima’s machinations ran even deeper than Naruto suspected. The truth was that even the act of introducing Naruto into Japan’s U20 national team was nothing more than a test. Saeko’s father had not revealed that fact to him, but if Naruto had simply accepted that deal without saying anything, the blond would have lost all favour in his eyes.

By not accepting it, Naruto had proved in Mr Busujima’s eyes that he was a man of character. Only someone who valued duty and loyalty could be a good match for his daughter. He would not accept anything less.

However, once he passed all his tests, Osamu Busujima dropped all the hostility he appeared to have harboured before. Not only had he verbally acknowledged Naruto, but he had even insisted that the blond drop all formalities and honorifics and call him ‘father’, just like Saeko did.

Frankly speaking, as much as he loved Saeko’s company, he let out a big sigh of relief when he finally left their home. Now, he was in the backseat of a black sedan, with one of the Busujima family’s employees driving him back to Blue Lock.

Mr Busujima had assured Naruto that Ego Jinpachi had not refused to take him back, but he was still inwardly anxious about his situation.

‘The tryouts have ended, and the starting 11 were probably already decided.’

He wondered where he would fit in the equation.

Arriving at Blue Lock, Naruto was directed by one of the staff members straight to Ego’s office. As it happened, Ego’s personal assistant, a young woman named Anri, was not present at that moment. It was only Naruto and Ego.

⁂

“Naruto?! DUDE!” Nishioka exclaimed, freezing like a statue when he noticed Naruto entering the gym and wearing the Blue Lock uniform.

He wasn’t the only one. A dozen other players stopped their workout and stared at the blond in disbelief. Due to Nishioka’s big mouth, everyone at Blue Lock found out about Naruto’s transfer to Japan’s U20 national team in a matter of hours after their phone call.

“What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t you join Japan’s U20? Why are you back?”

“Did something happen?”

“Did they kick you out?”

"Did you beat up someone?"

Nishioka and Bachira immediately bombarded him with questions.

“Everyone, get back to your training,” Ego’s face suddenly appeared on the screens in the gym, and his voice rang from the speakers. “You will have time to speak later on.”

After stretching and warming up, Naruto joined them on the treadmill. Although they were supposed to be minding their breathing and conserving their energy, the three boys talked the entire time while running.

⁂

Two weeks were left until the day of the game against Japan’s U20 national team, and the starting 11 had been decided even before Naruto returned to Blue Lock. Nevertheless, Ego still gave Naruto a spot on the team. Up until the end of the match against World Five, he had been ranked first.

Days of intense physical training were mixed with days of theory and tactics training, with Ego even coaching the players individually.

“I noticed you’ve been trying to improve your dribbling by asking Bachira for tips. This won’t do you any good.”

As Ego spoke, the screen behind him played some footage of Bachira’s spectacular dribbling skills. Elásticos, rainbow flicks, Zidane turns, nutmegs and so on. Bachira was a joy to watch.

“Bachira is an instinctual dribbler. He has an innate gift for it. Could you ever reach that level of ball control and dribbling skill? Maybe, maybe not. But even if you could, it would not happen overnight. Not fast enough for you to have made any significant changes to your skillset until the match against Japan U20.”

Naruto scratched his head. “Then what should I do?”

He wasn’t upset about being wrong. If anything, he was relieved. Until now, he had never received real coaching. He had always learnt through trial and error. "Monkey see monkey do" had been his only way of learning new things. For once, it felt good to have proper guidance.

“Use your own natural gifts. Use your weapon. Isn’t that what the previous selections had been all about? What’s your weapon? What is the one thing that you are the most confident in?”

As on cue, the scene of Naruto sending Tokimitsu and Bachira sprawling on the ground from a shoulder check played on the large screen behind Ego. The scene changed then to him leaving Jingo Raichi in the dust with his sprint and then cutting inside past Hyoma Chigiri before shooting a bomb at the goal, also breaking Team Z’s goalkeeper’s finger.

“Overwhelming athleticism,” Ego answered.

As if to highlight his words, the scene changed to Naruto and Dada Silva, the Brazilian “Heavy Tank”, kicking the ball at the same time and making it explode.

“It never hurts to train your ball control and technicality, but it would be foolish to ignore what you are the best at. You are a right-winger. Make full use of your explosive acceleration, speed, and athleticism to slice through the opponent team’s defence.”

Naruto remained silent for a few seconds.

“Is that enough to compete against the U20 national team?” he asked doubtfully.

He felt as though his game was lacking in some areas. He felt like there was still a lot of room for improvement.

Ego actually chuckled at his words before asking, “Arjen Robben. Have you ever heard of him?”

“Of course I did. He plays for Bastard Munchen, right?”

“Then that just makes my job easier,” said Ego, and he pressed a button on his remote control, showing a bald, Caucasian man running at a crazy speed down the flank, tearing through the opposing team’s defence with this pace.

And every time he arrived at the box, he would either cut inside and shoot for the goal or cut outside, sprinting past the defender, before crossing the ball to his teammates or even shooting with his right foot at the goal.

“At his peak, Arjen Robben was one of the best wingers in the world. Arguably among the top 10 best wingers of all time. Over the years, many wingers perfected the technique of cutting inside, but none had reached Robben’s expertise with it. He was a nightmare even for world-class defenders, with many of them claiming he was simply the worst 1-on-1 match-up in the world. Everybody knew what he was going to do. He either cut inside and shot or cut outside and passed, but nobody could stop him.”

Ego’s words were backed up by video evidence, showing how Robben punctured even the tightest defensive formations with his pace and cutting inside.

“This is what you should be focusing on. You already have the fundamentals down; your goal against Team Z in the first selection is proof of that. Master this one skill to perfection, and you will be unstoppable.”

Naruto wasn’t fully convinced, and that must have shown on his face because Ego noticed it. 

“How about I prove it for you?” Ego said.

“Eh?!” Naruto exclaimed in surprise.

“Follow me to the pitch,” he said, and Naruto had no choice but to obey.

⁂

When they arrived on the football field, two teams of 11 were locked in an intense match against each other, while a third team spectated from the sidelines.

At Ego’s appearance, everyone stopped and looked at him in surprise. They had never seen him set foot on the pitch.

“Ego-san? Has something happened?”

“Nothing for you to worry about,” Ego replied to the curious players before turning his head toward a tall player with brown hair and a pair of orange sports glasses.

“Yukimiya, come here for a bit. I’ll take your place on the pitch for a few minutes.”

Sounds of surprise came from everyone.

“Are you going to play with us?” Yukimiya asked, his eyes involuntarily dropping to Ego’s shoes and outfit.

The man was wearing an elegant black shirt and dress pants. Furthermore, he wasn’t wearing football boots with cleats but a pair of Crocs.

“Only for a few minutes.”

Seeing as Ego was practically their boss, nobody could really complain. Yukimiya shrugged his shoulders and came off the pitch.

“Keep your eyes on me, Uzumaki.”

In truth, Ego did not have to prove anything himself. He did not need to come on the pitch and play. But, after the months spent at Blue Lock, watching Naruto’s hard work, dedication, and desperation, he had developed a soft spot for the blond.

‘I tried to instil selfishness in everyone from the very start, but despite all my efforts and despite how much it means for him to become a football player, he still chose to turn down the opportunity of joining Japan’s U20 team,’ Ego thought.

Outwardly, Ego had only had words of reproach for Naruto when he had come back, telling him that he was a fool for not putting his benefit first and foremost. However, deep down, he couldn’t help but appreciate his character. That’s why he wanted to do something for him.

“Nagi Seishiro, pass me the ball,” Ego said when the match kicked off again from the centre line.

Everyone’s eyes widened when Ego suddenly burst from his spot, accelerating to maximum speed in less than three seconds. He sprinted past Otoya, and he even left Chigiri, the full-back, in the dust by cutting inside. Aryu Jubei, the centre-back, charged at Ego to tackle him, but the man cut inside once more, reaching now the circle of the penalty box before shooting.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” said Karasu, and let out a whistle when he saw the ball hit the back of the net.

“Oi, Chigiri, did you let him outspeed you on purpose?” Zantetsu shouted at him in a voice filled with irritation.

“Shut up, idiot.”

While the two were bickering, Yukimiya spoke more to himself rather than to others:

“His shoulder feint fooled Chigiri, making him think Ego would continue running along the touchline before passing the ball. By the time he realised he was fooled, Ego had already sprinted past him. Textbook cutting inside technique... and he did it in Crocs.”

Involuntarily, Naruto snickered. Getting bested by a dude wearing Crocs had to sting.

Ego changed his position on the other wing next and showed the same technique once more. He did it a total of four times, scoring two times and giving perfect passes the other times.

By the time he was done with his little demonstration, Ego’s clothes were soaked with sweat, and he was holding his back with one hand, seemingly having difficulty walking.

“Don’t worry; I can walk on my own,” he said when Kunigami attempted to give him his shoulder and help him out. “I just pushed myself a bit too much. More importantly, Uzumaki, did you watch me carefully?”

“Yes, I did.”

“I’m just a sedentary guy who hasn’t touched a ball in years, and I still got the best of Japan’s brightest talents,” Ego said.

If someone did not know him, they would think he was showboating, but he was merely stating a fact.

“Why did I have such success now? After my first run, everyone should’ve known what I was going to do. It should've been easy to stop me.”

“The answer is simple: cutting inside is an art. Despite its simplicity, it keeps the defenders guessing. That’s how Arjen Robben did it. For the defenders, every single one of their encounters with him felt like a gamble. And, due to his impeccable timing, great reflexes, and explosive acceleration, Robben won those encounters 99% of the time. That is what you should aspire towards, too."