31 U20: Final Whistle

The final performance continued.

Reo initiated a rapid assault, and the forwards surged forward in unison. The opponents stood ready, each labored breath fueling the heat on the pitch. The national team players were gradually awakening to the intensity of the match. After receiving the ball, Aiku quickly passed it to Sae Itoshi, shifting the momentum.

But this time, Sae made a different choice—perhaps Shidou’s performance had revealed the determination of this downtrodden forward to him, or perhaps his connection with Shidou had become too frequent and predictable. Shidou sprinted to the landing spot, prepared to strike, but the shooting line planned by Sae Itoshi was once again read by Rin Itoshi.

Rin slid in without hesitation to intercept, heedless of the risk of injury.

The stands erupted in cheers once more. The outcome of the match remained completely unpredictable.

There were only seven minutes left.

Rin stood up, raising a hand to wipe his slightly disheveled face.

You tightened your grip on your clothes unconsciously. The hand you had just used to check on Rin was covered by a sudden warmth; it was Hyoma Chigiri, placing his hand over yours. He seemed much calmer, his rose-colored eyes shining as he looked at you, as if conveying the resolve currently burning within Blue Lock.

You glanced sideways at Ego Jinpachi and Anri Teieri. Anri, your cousin, was still frowning, diligently recording details, while Ego rested his chin on his clasped hands, his expression revealing neither anger nor tension.

In these final moments, the play began with a corner kick by Sae Itoshi.

His sharp gaze swept over the positioning of both teams in front of the goal, and Sae quickly stepped up to kick—

At that instant, everyone moved.

Where did the genius midfielder consider the most dangerous spot to be?

Rin Itoshi leaped to intercept, but the ball did not land perfectly in his path.

He had guessed wrong!

Rin watched helplessly as the ball landed on the ground beside him, then bounced—

But someone else had guessed correctly. Yoichi Isagi claimed the ball and moved quickly to pass.

The ball soared toward the other half of the field. The final counterattack had begun.

Everyone ran as if their lives depended on it, except for Rin, who remained standing where he was.

A step behind, he wore a dazed expression for reasons unknown, but in an instant, his face twisted into a mask of fury and hostility.

You had no way of knowing what Rin Itoshi was thinking, but his psychic fluctuations were more unsettling than ever.

His teammates were tense as they passed and advanced, and Rin had already caught up.

Blue Lock’s absolute egoism was being enforced once again—scoring was more important than his teammates, and defeating Sae Itoshi was more important still.

Rin seized the ball with a frantic posture of destruction and self-reinvention. The cruciform shadow beneath his feet grew deeper, as if something were about to break through the surface—Rin Itoshi had completely unleashed himself, descending into a frenzy.

Reo called out while running beside him, but Rin ignored him entirely, driving the ball forward alone.

He showed no fear of the defenders opposing him, using pure technique to break through with brute force. The stamina and reaction speed of the Sentinels remained at an astonishing level, like a final weapon exploding after being suppressed to the limit. The physically exhausted Sentinels failed in their resistance, and they could clearly feel that Rin Itoshi’s terrifying psychic power had reached the critical point of eruption.

You could feel it from the sidelines, and the Sentinels on the pitch were even more intimidated by his near-feral state.

Is he really alright?

You looked at Ego on your left and Chigiri on your right; both were watching the pitch with grave expressions, offering no comment.

It seemed you were overreacting. You collected your thoughts, but watching Rin in this near-inhuman state, you fell into deep contemplation:

Why is Rin Itoshi sticking his tongue out?

In the process of destroying and rebuilding himself, Rin Itoshi was also frantically destroying everyone else.

Destruction and havoc—that was his football philosophy in this moment.

Disregarding the lack of decorum as saliva flowed from his long-exposed tongue, Rin barreled toward the goal. The defensive line swarmed around him in a desperate attempt to block his path, while Isagi hovered behind him, trying to force a pass to break the deadlock.

But nothing could distract him.

With a feint, Rin bypassed a defender and sent a curved ball directly toward the goal.

"—!"

The entire stadium held its breath, but the shot was narrowly blocked by the contorted posture of Shidou.

The attempt failed.

Blue Lock quickly retreated to defend, and the rebounding ball landed once again in front of Sae.

Rin caught up quickly, but Sae seemed distinctly uninterested in his younger brother’s frenzied display.

"Your level only goes this far." His cold, beautiful face spoke cruel words without mercy, "A brother who never grows."

Rin’s psychic power was colliding and spiraling out of control. Even without him speaking, the overflowing, almost tangible aura of a demon betrayed his state of mind.

Nonsense, how annoying, shut up, trash, die...

Rin Itoshi was thoroughly enraged, his terrifying psychic power constantly lashing out.

A harrowing halo ignited in his pine-green pupils, and he charged forward with the will to destroy everything.

Sae reacted with lightning speed, but Rin’s current state could not be underestimated. No matter how Sae tried to pivot, Rin blocked him with such tenacity that even Sae began to lose his patience.

Sae Itoshi’s expression finally changed—his face darkened, and he lowered his body, preparing to execute a rabona pass. But Rin reacted almost simultaneously, leaping to kick the ball away the moment Sae’s right leg shifted.

An expression of disbelief appeared on everyone’s faces, including Sae’s.

The intercepted ball fell from high in the air, and every gaze in the stadium followed its trajectory.

In the only opening available, the surrounded Hiori Yo leaped to deliver a header pass, though in the chaos, the direction was truly uncontrollable—

Then, everyone saw Yoichi Isagi appear in that spot.

In a situation and location no one had foreseen, only Yoichi Isagi had run to meet that sliver of possibility.

Unmarked, his only obstacle was the goalkeeper.

Seizing the perfect contact point on Hiori Yo’s pass, he unleashed a volley. In the final five seconds, the entire match finally reached its conclusion.

4:5.

The world fell silent.