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Chapter 167 - [167] The Limit of Countless Trials — The One Who Reaps the Rewards

[Unbelievable! After Hiori's sudden dribble run, Ubers' formation was thrown into disarray! Then Ness passed the ball to Kaiser, who found himself in a golden 1-on-1 against the just-substituted Igarashi. A perfect chance! But—already on a yellow—Kaiser got blocked multiple times and committed a foul, earning a red card!]

[With their top striker gone, Bastard München is in real trouble! They were already struggling to crack Ubers' iron defense! Wait—what's this? We see Shinichi approaching Bastard München's bench—what is he—Noa! Noel Noa is taking off his jacket—he's stepping onto the field! Shinichi is giving up a guaranteed win… to challenge the world's number one, and now—]

[The world's number one… has accepted the challenge!!!]

...

Noa's stepping in too? That means the whole dynamic of the match is shifting again...

A large part of Isagi's body broke into floating puzzle pieces as he processed the new development, but simultaneously, countless fresh fragments floated through the air and began to reassemble him.

Hiori's attack earlier worked. Ubers' defense isn't flawless. But now, what matters most is…

"How do we stop Ubers' counterattack?!"

Watching Shinichi steadily carry the ball forward, sweat beaded on Isagi's brow. Shinichi wasn't even fully unleashing his presence yet, but Isagi could still vividly recall how his previous read was completely used against him.

Now, he had to push his brain to the limit to predict Shinichi's next move.

What will Shinichi do? Rely on team coordination like before? Or go all-in with his personal skill?

The question barely formed in his head before Isagi took off running. There was no need to think further.

Shinichi wasn't a simple-minded player—but he was the one who dared to provoke Noa. The one who bore the wildest ambition in all of Blue Lock. Right now, there was only one answer.

There is no Plan B. Not for this. Unless someone breaks up this confrontation before it begins, Shinichi will absolutely try to take down Noa by himself. He's going to challenge the world's number one—right here, right now!

...

"You're not lacking in ambition, I'll give you that," Noa said calmly, clearly seeing through Shinichi's intent.

In his eyes, flames ignited without wind.

"Then let's see if you've got the power to back that ambition."

"Do I even need to say it?"

In Shinichi's equally calm eyes, a storm raged—black flames that seemed ready to incinerate everything, intertwined with lightning so dark it devoured even light itself.

The moment he fully committed to his personal offense mode, even the silver flashes of lightning in his teammates' eyes—signs of their collective rhythm—vanished entirely.

"I told you already… I don't want to wait even a second longer for the era that belongs to us!"

At that moment, two of the world's top players entered FLOW at the same time.

Their motivations might've differed slightly—but strangely enough, their goal was the same:

To seize—or defend—the throne of the world's number one!

...

There were no unnecessary words.

In the next instant, Shinichi and Noa collided.

Their speed was nothing short of insane—so fast that even Isagi couldn't track their movements in real time.

Shinichi unleashed a series of feints—inside cuts, outside pulls—but none of it was enough to shake Noa's balance.

The "world of ice" had already been activated, and yet there wasn't the slightest sign of anything freezing.

...

No… that's not it. It's not that there are no weak points. It's that Noa has so few to begin with—then he hides even those behind perfectly positioned physical barriers I can't reach!

This damn monster… the ultimate embodiment of reason itself!

"In that case—"

Shinichi's eyes sharpened.

"Then I'll create the weak point myself!"

His perception hit its peak, and within his mind, another door opened.

And then—

From his back, a pair of massive wings slowly unfolded—not the butterfly wings he had mimicked from Lavinho, but something entirely his own: hawk wings, forged from Shinichi's unique style and technique.

"And a hawk's specialty—

—is lightning-fast dives!"

In that moment, Isagi didn't even see what move Shinichi had made.

All he saw was Shinichi suddenly shift across the field in a sharp, unnatural motion—creating two full strides of space between him and Noa.

A clean breakaway.

It was an explosive takeoff designed by analyzing his own weaknesses—Shinichi had developed a way to unleash his full speed without any wind-up, transforming his first step into an almost teleport-like burst.

This wasn't just a new move.

This was the refined, fully mastered form of a move he'd already studied and replicated from earlier—Kaiser Impact.

But now it had evolved beyond its original form.

By cutting out all the unnecessary in-between steps, Shinichi had created an opening so sudden that the opponent didn't even have time to react.

"—!"

But with a series of sharp mechanical clicks—like gears grinding—Noa reacted.

He didn't chase directly after Shinichi's movement.

Instead, he surged ahead toward Shinichi's projected path, erasing the one-step gap through sheer efficiency in route planning.

Then he reached out to block Shinichi's upper body—

A simple, almost unremarkable motion,

But executed with terrifying precision and power.

That perfectly rational move stopped Shinichi's completely irrational burst in its tracks!

...

"But who said… this move was over?"

The enormous wings behind Shinichi, which had been folded along his sides for his dive, suddenly snapped open—triggering an emergency stop.

His momentum, which had just peaked, plummeted to zero in an instant. It was like he'd hit an invisible wall—

completely unreasonable. Physically impossible.

...

Shinichi's whole body screamed in protest.

He could hear the strain in his knees—the groaning of joints pushed beyond their limits.

But with his undying will, he didn't care. At most, it'd just mean skipping practice for a couple of days.

Even Noa's rationality couldn't predict this borderline inhuman maneuver.

Carried by inertia, Noa surged past—two whole steps in the wrong direction.

And just then—

A small, sharp silhouette darted into the fray.

...

"I knew it."

Isagi appeared in Shinichi's path, puzzle pieces swarming around him as he blocked Shinichi at his moment of weakness—

when his power had run dry, and new momentum had yet to rise.

"You'd never tarnish this duel by handing it off to someone else."

"And I believe in you—because you're someone who always chases the inevitability of victory."

"Shinichi… I've finally devoured you!"

---

"…Yeah," Shinichi replied, a complicated light in his eyes.

Just like Lavinho once said—

He had incredible overall ability,

But every individual trait still fell just short of that "elite" level.

Even though he used a brand-new technique to catch Noa off guard and claim victory,

He couldn't continue the play afterward.

And that was exactly why he always felt inadequate—

Because at his current level,

Even if he won a 1-on-1…

He couldn't win the match.

...

"But, Isagi…" Shinichi's voice grew cold.

"You're not the one who devoured me."

In that instant, the puzzle image Isagi had formed shattered.

At the end of his path, Shinichi's eyes reignited—

flashing silver with crackling lightning.

Then he nudged the ball to the side—

From the shadows,

A beast emerged—

Muscles bulging, body ablaze with raw bloodlust.

"DIE FOR ME!!!"

Barou roared as he pounced, launching the ball like a cannon.

From the goalkeeper's perspective, he'd been completely obscured by Shinichi and Isagi's bodies.

By the time Gagamaru saw the ball scream toward the corner—

It was already too late.

Thud!

GOOOOOOAL!!!

...

In this clash of gods, The one who ultimately reaped the reward—

Was the rebellious hunting dog at Shinichi's feet—

Barou Shoei!!!

Italy Ubers 3 – 0 Germany Bastard München

Match Over!

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