Blue Lock: Natural Selection

Chapter 3: Duel

Joey passes to the right fielder again, and the two do a one-two combo to get around the defense. Joey lines up a shot, but Reo gets in front of him. Seeing the opportunity gone, Joey passes to Jack, hoping for an easy goal. Jack dribbles around but passes it back to Joey, seeing as the penalty area is stacked with players. Unfortunately, Reo easily steals the ball and launches a counter-attack with him leading the charge.

"Shit!" says Jack. He runs to try to defend himself, but Joey holds him back.

"Wait."

"What the hell are you doing?! If they score again, we're going to lose!"

"Just watch."

Reo again slices through the defense easily. As he gets pressed by two defenders, he looks toward Nagi. He smirks. "It's game over." He sends another lob over to Nagi, but suddenly he feels a chill. He looks over to see an aura completely overwhelming the field. It felt almost like a predator stalking its prey. Nagi trapped the ball with his foot, but as he kicked it, (Y/N) headed it, causing a loose ball. Reo looked in shock as the two ran toward the loose ball. Nagi used his height advantage and reached his foot out to get the second ball, but (Y/N) blew past him. 

(Y/N) turned around and shouted, "Fuck off, Genius!" Nagi and Reo watched in horror as (Y/N) started a counter. Looking down the field, (Y/N) gave a pass to Joey before rushing toward the penalty area. Joey dribbled the ball forward as Hakuho's defense scrambled to stop them.

"Stop Number 11! Someone get on 17!"

Reo ran back towards the defense, but all he could think about was, 'Why is that fullback pushing up?'

The ladder could only smirk as Reo ran back and pressed Joey on defense. He gave Reo a crazed look before telling him, "You're guarding the wrong genius."

Joey sent a lob pass to (Y/N), who had been completely smothered by Hakuho's defense. Suddenly (Y/N) jumped for the ball and turned his back towards the goal. "Your mine." Reo watched in horror as (Y/N) copied Nagi's trapping ability and easily trapped the ball using his chest. One of Hakuho's defenders pushed on (Y/N)'s back but could not stop him, as (Y/N) nutmegged him with a roulette.

"What the hell is with this fullback!" yelled the defender.

(Y/N) kept his eyes on the goal, calculating a shot, before aiming and kicking for the top right corner. The goalie dove for it, but at the last moment, the ball severely curved left and dropped dead, landing (Y/N) his first goal in high school soccer. His team celebrated and bombarded him about the spectacular goal. Reo looked on in shock. How did he, a fullback, just easily copy Nagi's trapping ability, something Reo believed was unique to Nagi? Joey snapped Reo out of his daze. "Don't get too pissed off about it. After all, he stole my unique ability. He's our hidden genius."

Reo brought the ball back to the middle, kicking it to the right wing to start the game. Joey pressed the right wing as he passed back to Reo. Seeing Nagi man pressed by (Y/N), Reo charged forward. Reo was pressed by two defenders and looked back toward Nagi for help. However, the so-called Genius seemed to be having trouble. (Y/N) didn't allow Nagi to take a single ounce of air. If Reo had lobbed a pass, there was no saying who would reach the ball. Reo continued to push forward, only to be met by Joey this time; there was no time. Reo pushed his luck and lobbed a pass to Nagi. Seeing this, Nagi pushed (Y/N) slightly back and trapped the ball using the side of his foot. Using his flexibility, he aimed for the top left corner, which didn't fit his shooting angle. It was an impossible shot, but it would be the lazy genius if anyone could do it. Turning to the side, he launched the kick with full power, sailing towards the goal. Reo smiled, seeing that Zach wouldn't be able to reach it. 

However, the aura of a predator came back again. (Y/N) jumped at the top corner, extending his foot out, and barely tipped the ball, giving Zach enough time to catch the goal. "You can't score on me, shitty Daru (A/N: Japanese word for someone who is lazy). Try again next year!" (Y/N) locked eyes with Zach as he said in a deep voice, "Give Me The Ball." Zach quickly rolled it to him as (Y/N) ran for a counterattack. Nagi watched as (Y/N) dribbled past the right wing and crossed midfield. Seeing (Y/N) stop him was certainly aggravating for him. He watched as Reo seemed to be losing hope. "Is Reo and I going to lose?"

As (Y/N) pushed the ball up the field, the left wing called for it, only to fall on deaf ears. Reo suddenly realized what was happening. Not only did this hidden monster go through an awakening, but he had also entered a state of flow, essentially the zone. 

(The zone is a highly positive mental state in which an athlete is entirely connected to their performance and perceives that all challenges can be overcome during a particular competition or on a specific day)

 (Y/N) kept dribbling, crossing defenders left and right. Reo kept his distance and hovered around Joey. Seeing as (Y/N) was in the zone, there was no way he would pass. (Y/N) crossed up the defensive midfielder and the fullback, standing in the front of the penalty area. Reo ran towards him in an attempt for a one-on-one to slow him down.  (Y/N) gave a glance towards Joey and winded up a pass causing Reo to plant his foot to turn around. (Y/N) gave a kick, only to whiff the ball, surprising Reo. "He missed the pass?"

"No," replied Joey. "He made you believe he was passing."

(Y/N) shot the ball toward the top right as the goalie faced a dilemma. Would (Y/N) shoot straight for the top left, or would he curve it again? The goalie took a gamble diving to the bottom right as the ball approached. Unfortunately, he was wrong. The ball stayed straight on its course as Reo watched in horror. The ball inched closer and closer, cutting off Reo's chances of an undefeated season. Suddenly, an aura of death appeared on the field. Nagi jumped to the top corner, extending his foot out, similar to what (Y/N) had done, and tapped it towards the goalie. The goalie quickly caught it and held it for dear life. With half of his face covered in the aura of death, Nagi turned to face (Y/N), with half of his face covered in an aura of a predator, as he whispered to Reo. "Hey, Reo...Soccer is fun, Huh?"

(Y/N), the hidden genius and an apex predator, and Nagi, the lazy genius and embodiment of death, faced off as sparks flew between them. "One more goal! This is the last play!" yelled the Hakuho goalie. He passed the ball to Nagi as the two geniuses began their duel.