At this moment, in the goalkeeper's eyes, Ryōsuke was like a bolt of lightning charging straight at him. A mix of surprise, tension, and fear churned in his heart.
However, he knew he couldn't let his opponent score so easily. This was a one-on-one situation — he had to stop him.
"Don't even think about scoring!"
The goalkeeper rushed out quickly. In a one-on-one situation, there was no room for hesitation — he couldn't give the striker time to set up his shot!
'From this angle, he can't shoot directly. He'll need to move forward!'
But just as the goalkeeper made this judgment, Ryōsuke lifted his right leg high, and his breathing pattern shifted.
In that instant, he drew in air with fierce intensity, as if pulling every molecule of oxygen from the atmosphere. His blood surged with power, coursing through his body before concentrating in his right leg.
❖ Total Concentration ➠ Thunder Breathing! ❖
"Shooting directly from this angle? How arrogant!" The goalkeeper immediately lowered his center of gravity.
Ryōsuke stood at an acute angle to the goal — a position that severely limited his shooting options and gave the goalkeeper an advantage. At his current speed, even attempting a curved shot would be nearly impossible; he couldn't possibly control the ball's impact point with enough precision.
The goalkeeper predicted a straight shot and rushed forward, arms spread wide to block the striker's path.
Ryōsuke knew this too. But he didn't care.
❖ Thunderclap and Flash ➠ Shot! ❖
The power in his right leg exploded as he struck the ball directly. His toe met leather with an earth-shattering boom.
Like a thunderbolt flashing across the field!
BOOM!
The ball rocketed toward the goal like a cannonball, its extreme speed visibly compressing its shape and tearing through the air with a piercing sound.
Despite his preparation, the goalkeeper stood frozen — the shot was simply too fast to react to.
The ball whizzed past him, and he couldn't even flinch. Only when he heard the sharp snap of the ball hitting the net did he turn back in disbelief.
The goalkeeper collapsed to the ground, his legs giving way. The ball that had just grazed past him felt like a real cannonball — he counted himself lucky just to have avoided it.
The sheer air pressure from the shot had struck terror in his heart. Even if he had managed to position himself correctly, he likely would have been blasted into the net along with the ball.
The shot's speed and power were beyond comprehension.
'My muscles are sore, but I can still run and control the ball.' Ryōsuke assessed his right leg. Competition was different from practice, after all, 'I won't be able to use this ability with my right leg until the second half, but my left foot can still deliver one more full-power strike. I just need to wait for the perfect moment.'
He checked his system interface. Both his Total Concentration Breathing and Thunderclap and Flash proficiency had increased — the First Form had jumped an unprecedented 5%.
A new prompt appeared on the interface—
〘 Using skills in official matches and successfully completing interceptions, breakthroughs, direct goals/assists will increase proficiency growth rate by varying degrees. 〙
'So skills improve faster in real matches. I'll have to give everything I've got.'
Ryōsuke closed the system interface and headed back to position to face his opponents.
After his goal, the field fell into stunned silence. Several seconds passed before Team Z realized — they had scored first, and in less than a minute!
"That was awesome, Ryōsuke!"
"That was so fast!"
"What just happened with that goal?!"
Everyone buzzed with excitement, and even Jingo, who had always shown disdain for Ryōsuke, unconsciously clenched his fist before quickly lowering it when he caught himself.
The nearest players swarmed around him, celebrating the spectacular goal.
"There it was again — that lightning-like shot." Meguru's face lit up with joy and excitement.
Ryōsuke's goal instantly ignited Team Z's morale. Scoring in the first minute was a rare feat in any match.
Everyone knew that Blue Lock players were extraordinary athletes, and every match would be intensely challenging. But Ryōsuke had given them real hope — advancing to the next round now felt within reach.
In stark contrast to Team Z's soaring spirits, Team X fell deadly silent.
"What just happened... was that sound really from a shot?"
"Hey, this is your fault for being out of position! What were you thinking? How could you fall for such an obvious fake?"
"Are you kidding? Like you could have stopped him — three of us couldn't even contain him!"
"Who is this guy?"
"That's Ryōsuke Kira, soccer's Crown Jewel, the genius! I knew he was strong, but this... this is beyond anything I imagined..."
Gloom darkened the faces of nearly every Team X player. Such an early goal had shattered their confidence.
Yet among them, one person's expression remained unchanged: Shoei Baro.
When Team X attempted to counterattack, chaos erupted immediately. As their forward received the ball and prepared to strike, a defender suddenly charged from behind to make a tackle.
"What are you doing!"
"The team's ace will advance! You getting passed so easily earlier proves you're not good enough!"
"What happened to our strategy? How are we supposed to play in this mess?"
From the very start, Team X had descended into complete disorder, with players scrambling desperately for possession.
❖❖❖
T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!
For just $1.50 you can access all the extra content, and descriptive images, costs only $2!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)
https://www.patreon.com/mrblackwing