"Joint Tryout, Joint Tryout!"
"Seriously? Another whole morning wasted on evaluations? When do we actually start playing?!"
"Exactly, come on already!"
….
While the heated training session continued, the players were clueless about the chaos unfolding in the livestream comment sections.
But just by watching how restless they were, it was obvious this group of high-energy maniacs was more than ready to get down to business.
However, for the six mentors gathered together for the first time, there was still plenty to prepare behind the scenes.
"Isagi Yoichi, huh? That kid's body coordination and flexibility are better than I expected—not bad for someone who can pull off those mid-air switch-foot shots. How about handing him over to me? I'll teach him how to dribble properly," Lavinho said casually, glancing at a player profile chart as he turned to Noel Noa.
"Lavinho, I'm not going to control where the players go. But you'll have to follow the rules. If you want him, pick him during tomorrow's selection," Noa replied without even looking up, his expression blank as always. Then, he turned to Shinichi. "Have the profiles of the new entrants been finalized?"
"Almost. Still missing the freckled kid—his passing stats are a pain to quantify." Shinichi tapped a few times on his tablet, sending the updated data to the other mentors. Stretching his arms, Snuffy let out a long sigh of relief. "Finally done. This work's exhausting."
"Yeah, like, doesn't FIFA already have all the forms ready? Why are we doing this ourselves?"
"Says the guy who couldn't handle it alone and dragged us into it. We shared all our player data with you for free! This joint tryout could've been wrapped up by noon, and I even had to cancel a commercial shoot because of you!"
"Ahahaha…"
"Well, they probably want to see how we function as mentors too. So then…" the ever-kind Loki tried to ease the tension with a soft smile before turning to Snuffy, "What's the plan for the afternoon? Have you figured out how the tryout's going to work?"
"Of course." Snuffy replied with a cryptic grin. "This afternoon's tryout… will be a star-powered meat grinder that will tear through everyone on the field."
...
"They're here, they're here—things are about to get serious."
"Announcement said the afternoon session is kicking off. Let's see what kind of chaos this tryout stirs up."
"Come on, it's a tryout. Can't be anything too crazy, right? Probably just more team scrimmages or something. There are way too many players for anything else."
"He literally came up with the whole New Hero Battle and you're doubting his ability to stir things up?"
…
On the field, nearly a hundred players stood lined up neatly at the center pitch, ready for the joint tryout.
The six mentors made their entrance one after another, each with their own distinct presence and attitude.
As for Shinichi, he didn't bother trying to steal the spotlight. He knew very well that, compared to the others, his fame still didn't quite measure up.
"Ahem. This afternoon, we'll be holding a series of team matches—but with a few tweaks to the rules."
Reliable mentor Snuffy stepped forward, addressing the full lineup of players and beginning his explanation of the joint tryout format.
"There will be four matches in total, each lasting 90 minutes, with a 30-minute break between games. Also—and this is important—for every single match this afternoon, all six mentors will be participating as players alongside you."
"All six mentors... playing?!"
That single line alone sent a wave of excitement through the crowd.
This was a lineup rarely seen, even in top-tier professional leagues.
The idea of Snuffy, widely regarded as the most balanced player, teaming up with Noa, the undisputed world number one... or of prodigies like Loki and the unpredictable genius Shinichi fighting side-by-side—this was nothing short of an All-Star Battle Royale.
"But wait," someone quickly pointed out, "with only four matches, there won't be enough playtime for everyone, right? There are already six full teams worth of starting players, plus backups... won't a bunch of people be sidelined?"
"No, no," Snuffy replied calmly, clearly expecting this concern. "This won't be a traditional match format. In fact, every single one of you will be participating in every match."
"Let me break it down for you. First: in each match, all players will be split into two teams. Each team will be assigned three mentors. The mentors will wear jersey numbers 1–3. The rest of the on-field players will wear 4–11, with 11 always designated as the goalkeeper."
"Second: the match won't stop after a goal. Once a team scores, the conceding team restarts from midfield immediately, and not just from midfield either. The restart will be taken from within the penalty box by any player on the conceding team. This means a match with nonstop transitions between attack and counterattack, a battle without pause until the final whistle."
"Third: every time a goal is scored, and every 5 minutes, both teams must substitute one player (excluding the mentors). The subs will be rotated according to jersey number—after the first goal, players wearing number 4 are subbed off; after 5 minutes, it's number 5, and so on. If a player fails to substitute on time, possession automatically goes to the opposing team."
"As for the goalkeepers (number 11): only the conceding side must sub out their keeper after a goal. Otherwise, goalkeeper changes will happen every 30 minutes."
This, Snuffy concluded, would be a tryout of endurance, adaptation, and chaos—a true battlefield of egos.
...
Whether on the field or across the BLUE LOCK TV app, a long silence blanketed everything.
And then—in the very next moment, a barrage of bullet comments exploded like a blizzard, instantly flooding the entire screen.
"No way, no way! These rules are even more insane than the unlimited substitutions in the first stage!"
"Damn! Constant subs? You could score and the next second your teammate is a total stranger! And the losing goalkeeper gets subbed out immediately? Brutal—but awesome!"
"This is like a full-court relay, except now it's a goal-scoring relay. Sprint to the other side, score, tag out. Insane!"
"You can't just go full offense anymore—push too far and you're wide open for a counter. Feels almost like a basketball scoring rule."
"Six world-class forwards on the field, nonstop subs, fragile defensive lines... the goal count today is going to be wild."
"Which is exactly why it's called a tryout. You can't count on stable teammates—you don't even know who'll be next to you in the next minute. You can only rely on your own ability. With only three fixed mentor slots per team, it's the ultimate way to see who clicks best with which mentor in real time."