Ashito stepped out of the bathroom looking utterly dejected. The moment he took a bite of that food, he felt like his great-grandmother was beckoning him from the afterlife.
In that instant, he realized all his previous training meant nothing — eating this food was the real test.
Yoichi had been right earlier — it truly was an unforgettable taste.
Thinking back to when Ryōsuke had threatened "I'll kill you" a few days ago, everything made sense now. This food was literally deadly.
After rinsing his mouth, Ashito walked out of the bathroom — only to find Rensuke and Yoichi sitting by the entrance, "enjoying" the lunch boxes Ryōsuke had brought.
For a moment, he hesitated, wondering if something was wrong with his taste buds.
"Ashito, did you join in too? Ugh!" Rensuke glanced at him before immediately retching — yet he kept stuffing food into his mouth.
"Kunigami-senpai... are you okay...?" Ashito swallowed nervously, now certain it wasn't just him.
Could Rensuke have suddenly fallen ill too?
To Ashito's eyes, Rensuke looked like a zombie rejecting food — his face contorted in pain, yet he wouldn't stop eating.
Were all Blue Lock people... this wild?
"By the way, Kunigami-senpai, where's Kira-senpai?" Ashito asked, noticing Ryōsuke's absence.
"He went to the cafeteria to get drinks — said it would be impossible to swallow without them." Yoichi answered from the side, his face pale as he paid penance for his earlier words.
"But... Kunigami-senpai, this stuff... can you really eat it?" Ashito finally gathered the courage to ask, looking at Rensuke in confusion.
"It's awful!" Rensuke nodded frankly.
"Then why..."
"This is training, Ashito!" Rensuke declared earnestly while wiping vomit from the corner of his mouth.
"Training?"
"That's right, the harder food is to swallow, the more it brings out human potential."
"Huh?"
"It trains willpower. After eating food this terrible, you'll feel like there's no obstacle in life you can't overcome! Kira can maintain such intense training because he eats food of this caliber every day!" Rensuke was completely serious.
He truly believed this — which explained why he had been hospitalized for food poisoning during the break.
"I see..." Watching Rensuke's pained yet determined expression as he continued eating, Ashito realized he meant every word.
If consuming such horrific food was the path to becoming as strong as Ryōsuke, then he couldn't back down!
What was this mere challenge compared to facing death?
"Wait for me, Kunigami-senpai!" With these words, Ashito dashed to the bathroom and returned with three buckets, "Here!"
"Huh?" Yoichi stared at him in disbelief.
He had initially assumed Rensuke's bizarre behavior was a side effect of his previous food poisoning, but now Ashito seemed equally unhinged.
Could this condition be... contagious?
"Let's throw up together!"
Ashito announced cheerfully, distributing buckets before sitting down, taking a deep breath, and digging into the nearby lunch box.
"Hey... why are the Blue Lock guys eating by the bathroom?"
From around the corner, Alexis watched the scene with bewilderment.
These past few days, while Michael trained alone, the idle Alexis — who both resented and grudgingly admired Ryōsuke — had been secretly observing him to gather intelligence.
But he never expected to find Ryōsuke's group eating in front of the bathroom — and vomiting while they ate.
What kind of... strange ritual was this?
Alexis's face contorted in confusion.
When Ryōsuke returned with water moments later and found Ashito and Rensuke crying, laughing, and dry heaving while eating, he froze in place.
Had these two completely lost their minds?
Beside them, Yoichi stared lifelessly at the food in his hands, lost in thought.
"Another bowl... ugh... Ashito, well done! A true hero never retreats! Ugh!"
"Yes, I'll keep going, Kunigami-senpai! Ugh!"
Ryōsuke looked at the two of them, hesitating to approach. They had clearly gone insane...
"Okay, let's stop here for today — we don't want this affecting training." He grabbed both of them, knowing if this continued, he might face criminal charges.
"It's fine, Kira-senpai! I can still eat!"
"How can I back down now? I can keep going!"
Ryōsuke grabbed Ashito with his left hand and supported Rensuke with his right, forcibly removing them from the scene. He couldn't fathom what had caused such a drastic change in these two.
Was it his fault? Well, better get them to their rooms first and clean up this mess later.
Yoichi, feeling suddenly liberated, quickly followed behind Ryōsuke.
After they left, Alexis hurried to the bathroom entrance, frowning in contemplation.
"What exactly were they eating? What secrets are hidden in this strange food?"
He didn't know, but seeing an unopened lunch box still sitting there, he glanced around to ensure no one was watching, then quickly stuffed it into his clothes and hurried away.
A few minutes later, Ryōsuke returned to the bathroom to clean up the garbage.
"Strange, is a lunch box missing?" He wondered, but didn't dwell on it, "I must be remembering wrong... thank God..."
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A few minutes later, Michael returned from the training ground.
Over the past few days, his thoughts had been consumed by Ryōsuke.
After the battle with FC Barcha, he realized he needed to improve his abilities further. He was determined to defeat Ryōsuke in their next match.
To achieve this, he needed to work better with Alexis.
"Alexis, let's practice some one-two passes later..." Michael wiped the sweat from his forehead as he walked into the dormitory.
He found Alexis sprawled across the table, lifeless. A lunch box sat nearby with just a single bite taken from it.
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
That evening, Ryōsuke headed to the field for his night training.
This time, not just Blue Lock members joined in — several of Bastard München's original players participated as well.
These players had come to a realization: Ryōsuke had surpassed Michael to become the team's new core. Noel had already declared that the team should adapt to Ryōsuke's style, not the reverse.
Recently, Erik had been cut from the youth team roster for confronting Noel about Ryōsuke, while Alexis was benched for refusing to pass and follow the new core strategy during matches.
The message was clear — if players wanted to keep their positions, they needed to learn to work with Ryōsuke. Those who couldn't adapt would gradually lose their place on the team.
When the players approached him seeking reconciliation, Ryōsuke welcomed them, working alongside them to improve tactical movements.
The team quickly noticed the stark contrast between Ryōsuke and Michael, both in skill and character.
Michael's extreme arrogance was legendary — he treated teammates of average or lower skill with contempt during training. In his mind, he was the star, while everyone else merely existed to support him. He would openly mock those who couldn't match his pace.
Before, only top players like Alexis, Benedict, and Erik felt secure in their positions.
Ryōsuke changed this dynamic with his collaborative playing style and positive attitude. Had Michael not interfered earlier, the team would have naturally gravitated toward Ryōsuke from the start.
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
From his instructor's room, Noel watched the field activities through surveillance cameras.
"He's transformed Michael's team into his own. Impressive..." he mused appreciatively.
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
After team tactical practice, Ryōsuke met privately with Rensuke, Ashito, and others to assign specific training tasks.
While Ashito had already seen some field time and needed to refine various skills, Rensuke and the others were still hungry for their chance to prove themselves in actual games.
Once he finished organizing everyone's practice routines, Ryōsuke used his points to access the Competition Space.
Despite having achieved world-class fighting abilities, he knew it wasn't yet enough.
Not just the top players from Blue Lock's second phase, but with Captain Tsubasa's characters now in this world, the U-20 World Cup would surely bring even stronger opponents.
Winning the championship would be no easy feat — he needed to push his abilities further.
Though Divine Reflection allowed him to copy others' abilities, it heavily taxed his body. When combined with Transparent World, it drained both physical and mental energy even more.
"Let's begin." Ryōsuke muttered as projections of his past opponents appeared before him.
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
Meanwhile, in the England building...
Seishirō, Reo, and Hyōma were deep in physical training.
Manshine City's core principle was maximizing potential — with physical capability being paramount.
Through their training here, Hyōma's speed, Reo's agility, and Seishirō's flexibility and jumping ability had all reached new heights. These improvements had earned them starting positions on the team.
Yet even so, these three weren't the team's absolute core — that position in England had long been established.
On the other side of the gym, another player had just finished training.
Haruhisa Kuribayashi — Esperion's masterpiece.
His technique was nearly perfect, and despite his youth, he had already proven himself in professional matches.
Though reluctant to admit it himself, his physique had been notably weaker than his technical skills.
But this Haruhisa was different — his build had become visibly more robust, a stark contrast to his previously frail appearance.
In Manshine City's internal practice matches, he had led his team to victory with absolute dominance.
"The match against Bastard München is in a week." Haruhisa muttered, his expression steady but his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
The next morning, Anri arrived at the German building to escort Ryōsuke to the advertising shoot location.
As soon as they reached the lobby, they were surrounded by a swarm of reporters.
"Sorry, it's not time for interviews yet!" Anri announced, guiding Ryōsuke toward the inner lobby.
In the deepest part of the lobby, massive posters adorned the walls — Prince Mineral Water.
"Oh, you're here, Ryōsuke!" Standing beneath the posters, a muscular man flashed a smile, "Nice to meet you, though I've heard so much about you already!"
The perfect hero from England's Manshine City — Chris Prince!
❖❖❖
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