Blue prison monster

"Luck" isn't just a matter of chance.

It's a hidden rule of the field, only occurring for those who are prepared.

If you can't understand that, you're not qualified to survive in the competitive world!

Yoichi Isagi stood frozen, clearly processing what Rin Itoshi had just said.

Just then, Ego Jinpachi's voice interrupted everyone's thoughts.

Heyyyyy— all you diamonds in the rough!

First of all, congratulations on passing the Second Selection!

"Luck," you ask?

Hmm hmm...

That's a topic worth exploring.

Come on, step inside!

As a reward for passing, I'll tell you all about it—

Following Ego Jinpachi's words, a mechanical door in front of the five opened quickly.

The group entered one after another, waiting for Ego Jinpachi's explanation.

Second Selection Passing Room...

Wataru Ryosuke looked around the room as soon as he entered, complaining inwardly.

(Good grief, one big screen wasn't enough, they had to put in three.)

(Alright, Isagi's exclusive lecturer is in position!)

Wataru Ryosuke grumbled inwardly as he walked towards a chair in the center of the room and sat down.

Like a well-behaved student waiting for the teacher to start class, he watched Ego Jinpachi on the screen, waiting for his lecture.

Ego Jinpachi didn't beat around the bush and began explaining directly.

Let me tell you about the mystery of "luck" in the world of soccer!

("The mystery of 'luck'! ?")

Hearing this, Yoichi Isagi was first stunned, then called out in confusion.

What does that mean?

How could there be any mystery!

Those losers always like to distort the facts with their tofu-brains to deceive themselves.

Yoichi Isagi was choked by Ego Jinpachi's barrage of toxic words, only managing to squeeze out a single sentence.

What!?

Shut your mouth and listen carefully!

Saying this, Ego Jinpachi clenched his right fist and slammed it into his left hand with a 'pop' to get everyone to listen quietly.

First, I'll ask you a question.

Have you ever been hit by pigeon poop?

The group was stunned, clearly not understanding why Ego Jinpachi would suddenly mention this.

Huh?

Ah? ??

Pigeon poop? ?? ??

As the others were puzzled, the screen began to change, and Ego Jinpachi's explanation continued.

That feeling is terrible, right? And people always only notice it after they've been hit.

There's actually a lot of pigeon poop underfoot, and when you look up, there are a lot of pigeons standing on the wires.

But if you notice these things beforehand, you can avoid being hit by poop.

Can you still attribute this phenomenon to bad "luck"?

Nagi Seishiro heard this and whispered to Wataru Ryosuke beside him.

Ryosuke, it feels so dirty to be hit by pigeon poop.

Uh, yeah, it is, and this example is really apt~

Ego Jinpachi paused for a moment and continued,

Let me ask you another question, let me think, for example...

A "lottery" stall at a summer festival!

If a black-hearted shop owner doesn't even put in one "winning" ticket, then the person who draws a "thank you for participating" ticket...

Can you say that he has bad "luck"?

Yoichi Isagi still looked confused and asked,

? So.......

What exactly are you trying to say?

Ego Jinpachi didn't mock Yoichi Isagi this time, but continued to explain patiently.

What I'm trying to say is that "luck" isn't everywhere; it favors whoever stands where it will descend.

The same principle applies on the field. Just think of a soccer match as a series of "certainties" and "coincidences" occurring within 90 minutes.

Improving the accuracy of shooting, dribbling, and passing, and adopting tactics and formations are all planned behaviors.

The goal is to trigger the "inevitable result" of scoring a goal!

Think back...

Creating "1" from "0", improving reproducibility, and discovering the formula for your weapon.

Everything you've learned in Blue Lock can be said to be training to increase the "certainty" of scoring!

However, when the "certain" actions of both sides collide with each other, the "coincidence" that everyone is unwilling to see will occur.

And that will become the epicenter of "luck"!

Saying this, Ego Jinpachi pointed to the screen and said,

This last scene is exactly like that—

Wataru Ryosuke dribbled past three people in a row, and then passed the ball to Rin Itoshi.

These five people are the ones who slowed down or stopped.

Except for Yoichi Isagi, who predicted the runs of Rin Itoshi and Wataru Ryosuke in advance, everyone else based their judgment on that instant.

They decided to watch the result of the shot!

After the ball was blocked, there was still one person who started running the moment Rin Itoshi shot.

That's right, it was Wataru Ryosuke. He judged that the blocked ball would fly to the position in front of him.

He bet that the "shot being blocked" coincidence would happen, so he continued to run.

Yoichi Isagi heard this and asked even more confusedly,

Wait... wait a minute!

Although Ryosuke did score the last goal because he didn't stop.

But where the ball would land was a "coincidence", right!?

The blocked ball could have landed at anyone's feet, right?

Ego Jinpachi nodded and continued calmly,

That's right, but the others were only likely to "get possession of the ball", right?

For a striker, that's like drawing a "thank you for participating" prize—

Suppose Wataru Ryosuke had slowed down or stopped like the others at that time.

The ball might have flown to where he was.

But even if the ball flew to him, the surrounding defenders could immediately interfere with his shot.

If you count the time from stopping the ball to shooting, then that wouldn't be a position where you could shoot directly and score.

There wouldn't be pigeon poop falling there, so Wataru Ryosuke accelerated and jumped directly towards the soccer ball.

He rushed to the position where he could score with one move when "good luck" came!

He was waiting alone for the arrival of "good luck" in a position where he would draw a "winning" prize as long as he used his strength!!

Nagi Seishiro seemed to really understand and said to Wataru Ryosuke again.

I get it, Ryosuke, you actively went looking for poop to get hit by, so you activated your scoring potential!

Uh, do you want to see what you're saying, Nagi?

Well~ there might be some luck, but it's more likely that I've already developed a conditioned reflex.

The moment Rin's shot was blocked, I had a hunch where the ball should fly.