Blue prison monster

(The starting lineup that will determine my fate is about to be announced!!)

As Yoichi Isagi thought this, a large door in the central hall slowly opened.

"Ah!"

"Eh?"

Accompanied by the crowd's gasps of surprise, a slender figure walked in.

"Hi, thanks for your hard work, you diamonds in the rough."

"This should be the second time for a face-to-face exchange, right?"

"Hello, everyone!"

The crowd was clearly stunned by the person who appeared. Hyoma Chigiri even muttered in a daze: "A living, breathing Ego..."

Indeed, the person who came was none other than the Blue Lock's chief director, Jinpachi Ego!

"First of all, I want to redefine something!"

"Football is a 'sport of scoring goals'!"

"'Scoring goals' is the entire value of a striker's existence."

"Therefore, I decided to form a team through the Third Selection 'Adaptability Test', a team centered around the egoists with the highest 'scoring' rate!"

After saying this, Jinpachi Ego paused for a moment, as if giving everyone time to digest the information, before continuing.

"Get ready, and listen carefully!!"

"Next, I will announce the eleven-man roster that will face off against the U-20 Japan National Team!"

Saying this, Jinpachi Ego tapped his tablet three times. Then, three cartoon portraits appeared on the big screen.

"First, the three forwards with immense destructive power: Rin Itoshi, Ryusei Shido, and Ryuga Banjou!"

"Rin Itoshi and Ryusei Shido 'score an average of 2.5 goals per game', the highest value of everyone present, except for Ryuga Banjou."

"Ryuga Banjou 'scores an average of 3 goals per game'."

"This team will adopt a lineup that highlights overwhelming attacking power, with you three at its core!"

Jinpachi Ego adjusted his glasses and continued.

"What I need is a team that can launch a counterattack even when trailing by five goals, and score six goals to win!"

"We will unleash 'wave after wave of destructive attacks'!"

"The ones who can embody this style of play at the forefront are you three!"

"And the other eight who will be announced next are the bullets that will gradually escalate this destructiveness!"

Immediately after, a 3D model of a person appeared on Jinpachi Ego's tablet.

"First, the goalkeeper—"

"Gin Gagamaru!"

"Huh? Me?" Gin Gagamaru, whose name was called, looked bewildered.

"Your responsiveness to sudden balls and full-body flexibility, these physical qualities are the most compatible with a goalkeeper!"

"You are the guardian deity of this team!"

Hearing Jinpachi Ego's explanation, Gin Gagamaru muttered, looking as if he understood, "So that's the standard, I get it!"

Then, Jinpachi Ego tapped the screen twice and continued: "Next, the two center backs—"

"The right back, Jubei Aryu, with overwhelming height and area coverage!"

"The left back, Jyoya Kudo, who excels at stealing the ball, predicting plays, and organizing attacks, and can also unlock his teammates' potential in a short amount of time!"

"By the way, he's the only one who has ever had chemistry with Ryusei Shido. In Blue Lock, he's the only one who can understand Ryusei Shido's thoughts!"

After saying this, Jinpachi Ego tapped the screen again and said:

"Next is the single defensive midfielder who will act as the transition between the defense and the front line—"

"Tabito Karasu!"

"Eita Otoya!"

"Yeah, okay," Eita Otoya replied to Jinpachi Ego expressionlessly.

"Kenyu Yukimiya!"

"Yes, I'm very honored," Kenyu Yukimiya replied with a faint smile.

Immediately after, Jinpachi Ego explained the reasons for choosing them.

"One is the shadow right winger who can quickly raid behind the enemy."

"The other is the left winger who leaves the opponent with no chance of retaliation in one-on-one breakthroughs."

"And in between them are the final two who will serve as the core of the attack—"

Having said that, Jinpachi Ego clicked in the middle of the screen before continuing:

"First, the unparalleled genius who has repeatedly scored extraordinary goals using his ball control—"

"Seishiro Nagi!"

"Understood!"

After Seishiro Nagi finished speaking, Jinpachi Ego glanced at everyone again: "Also, I'll say it one more time."

"This team will adopt a formation that highlights overwhelming attacking power, with Ryuga Banjou, Rin Itoshi, and Ryusei Shido at its core!"

"In other words, it's about maximizing the abilities of these three."

"Ryusei Shido is able to score amazing goals every time because of Jyoya Kudo's presence."

"Ryuga Banjou can create chemistry with many people. Simply put, he's not picky about his teammates."

"Originally, Rin Itoshi only needed Ryuga Banjou, but these two have too much individual ability, so they rarely cooperate with each other."

"That's where a substitute is needed!"

Jinpachi Ego pointed to the last person on the screen.

"Judging from the relationships between each other, the player with the most outstanding stats of all."

"Moreover, as Rin Itoshi's shadow, he can 'assert' his own value while achieving 'coexistence'!"

"He also possesses the talent to 'surpass' others and score goals himself."

"The perfect partner for Rin Itoshi, that last person is you—"

"Yoichi Isagi!!"

"Yes!" Yoichi Isagi muttered in disbelief.

"This is the eleven-man team that will challenge the U-20 Japan National Team—the Blue Lock Eleven!!"

Yoichi Isagi was stunned for a few seconds, followed by elation!

As Jinpachi Ego announced each name, he had already begun to give up hope, but unexpectedly, the last person was actually himself!

(Yes! I made it in!)

(I am!! One of Blue Lock's Eleven!)

Just as Yoichi Isagi was thinking excitedly, Hyoma Chigiri stared furiously at Yoichi Isagi, who was in a frenzy of joy, like a bomb about to explode.

"Damn it...!"

However, at this moment, Jinpachi Ego suddenly sighed and said helplessly to everyone:

"Originally, that's what I was planning to do."

Hearing Jinpachi Ego's words, everyone looked over in unison, looking at him in confusion.

"However, just after I finalized this list, a phone call came in."

"The caller was the president of the Japan Football Association, Itaru Unzen!"

"The content was that Sae Itoshi was dissatisfied with the forwards on the U-20 Japan National Team!"