[Ah! With Ubers' Sendou scoring just moments ago, they've officially reached match point. And now, with everything on the line—has Manshine really chosen to rely on Mikage Reo to pull off a solo miracle?]
[We can see Mikage Reo dribbling with incredible flair—he's managed to shake off Aiku, who currently has a transfer valuation of 45 million! But… he's still too far out for a shot, and now he's trapped in a pocket of defenders! Is this checkmate? One more goal and this match is over!]
As the commentator shouted in shock, Aiku steadily closed in on the increasingly boxed-in Reo.
"You really got me back there," Aiku muttered, "but I've figured out your weakness, Reo. Every move you're using right now—it's all borrowed. Copied from others. But all those original players? Their techniques were custom-made for their personal weapons. Yours don't connect."
"And because those styles are fundamentally different, you can't fluidly link them together. Every time you switch styles, there's a brief hiccup, a lag while you adjust your posture. That flick you did earlier—it was to fake me out and buy time to realign your stance. Otherwise, it was totally unnecessary. You would've had a better shot just cutting out with speed directly. That hesitation? That's why you're trapped now."
Aiku's heterochromatic eyes glinted with the radar-like scan of Meta Vision, tracking Reo's every micro-movement. But instead of looking panicked, Reo suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
"Ah well… guess you caught me. Looks like I still can't be the main character on my own with just this level."
"So… to fulfill my ego—I'll just have to borrow even more strength!"
"Kurona!"
Before Aiku could process the shift in tone, he sensed something was off. Abandoning the containment strategy, he lunged straight at Reo, aiming to shut down the play completely and stop this attack for good.
But in that exact moment—a figure darted from behind Aiku. Reo fired off a crisp pass, and Kurona, having positioned himself perfectly, caught it in stride.
Aiku hadn't accounted for Kurona's movement at all.
He could only watch helplessly as the ball sailed right past him.
By the time he slammed on the brakes and tried to pivot—Kurona was already speeding away with the ball.
"That... that magnetic field from before?!"
Aiku's eyes widened as the realization hit.
"Now you can create that gravitational pull even without Shinichi at the center—and without even needing his pass?!"
As a former opponent, Aiku remembered all too well the damage this small midfielder had once inflicted on them.
That terrifying ability to forcibly synchronize even a pre-awakened Shinichi with the much less polished Blue Lock players… If Kurona hadn't been subbed out at halftime due to exhaustion, their U-20 team might've been utterly crushed back then.
And now… that same damn ability was right in front of him again.
"And I'm here too."
Kurona's play didn't go unnoticed by everyone.
Niko, who had also awakened Meta Vision, immediately dashed forward to intercept.
He wasn't even aiming to shut Kurona down entirely—he just wanted to stall him for a moment, give his teammates time to reorganize their defense.
But what Kurona did next made even that feel like an impossible luxury.
The moment he saw Niko closing in, Kurona gently tapped the ball left mid-stride. Instinctively, Niko stepped in that direction—
Only for Kurona to suddenly trap the ball with his left foot, spin his body, and shift his weight—his right foot coming down to stop the ball.
'Marseille turn?!'
Niko's mind instantly identified the move and he stepped back quickly to avoid being spun off.
But when Kurona completed the turn, the ball was already gone—passed to the left, far away from his feet.
"What the—?!"
Niko's eyes widened beneath his fringe. But he quickly pieced it together. Kurona hadn't been trying to dribble past him—he had acted as the midfield pivot, using his turn to disguise a seamless directional pass.
While Niko had been focused on preventing a spin, Kurona had passed the ball while turning, using Niko's retreat to mask the motion.
"I got played… I focused too much on his movements and lost sight of the overall situation. In that context, passing really was his only option. I should've just focused on blocking that pass."
"Even with Meta Vision, my field of view… is still too narrow!"
But there was no time left for regret. The ball had already crossed half the pitch—landing squarely at the feet of Agi on the left flank.
Kurona's ability to link up play was unmatched—serving as the axis that connected both wings of the team.
But even so—Ubers' defensive wall was still monstrously overwhelming.
Not only did Ubers have Lorenzo, Aiku, and Niko—three defenders with Meta Vision—but they also had Kunigami Rensuke and Barou Shoei, two physically elite players with excellent one-on-one defensive capabilities.
With sheer strength and explosive speed, they could shut down most opponents—and that was before factoring in the intensive training they'd received under Snuffy's system.
Because of that, even though Kurona had spent so much time setting up his pass, Barou was still the first to react—cutting off Agi immediately.
Ubers had so many elite defenders that they could go man-to-man with spares to spare.
"So, they passed to you, huh?" Barou growled, glaring at Agi.
"That means they're finally giving up on that childish little chick of yours? You, the babysitter?"
This match had offered Barou little chance to shine.
His only real opportunity had been stolen by Sendou, and now his plan to surpass Itoshi Rin and Isagi in this match was completely ruined.
Regardless of whether Germany or France won their match, one of those two was guaranteed to have scored more than one goal.
Even if Barou somehow netted a goal now, he'd still only have one to show for it.
So yeah—he was pissed. And he needed someone to take it out on.
But Agi didn't even bother to look at him.
"Barou Shoei, while I'll admit you're a decent player… I'm not currently interested in your data."
"Besides, I'm still waiting for that little chick to grow into an eagle—so he can hunt down more data for me. No way I'm giving up on Nagi."
"Then get ready for that stroller of yours to break down right here!"
Barou snarled, bracing himself for the clash.
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