A few hours later, Ryōsuke arrived at Blue Lock's entrance in Kagetora's car.
"So this is Blue Lock? It's quite impressive." Riko stepped out of the car, marveling at the five interconnected pentagon-shaped buildings before her.
"Well, I'll be going now."
Ryōsuke carried a large backpack and two smaller bags, all filled with snacks and nutritional items Riko had prepared — some for him, some to share with his teammates.
"Thank you for everything, uncle!"
"Don't thank me, kid. I'm just doing what my precious Riko asked." Kagetora maintained his fierce expression, "And listen here — even if it kills you, you better finish the bento that my precious Riko made for you, understood?!"
His mouth twitched slightly, as if recalling some unpleasant memory.
"Even if it kills me... right, I understand." Ryōsuke turned to Riko, whose gaze hadn't left him, "Well, I'm off then, Riko."
"Yes, remember our promise! You have to come watch during the round-robin tournament! So hurry up and score ten more goals!"
"Sure, sure, I'll score twenty and come out to play for two days, how about that!"
"Do it first before you talk! Now go!"
Riko watched with a smile until his figure disappeared through the gates before leaving with her father.
Meanwhile, Kagetora stood with arms crossed, looking seriously at the building complex.
"Kid, since Riko thinks so highly of you, you better perform well."
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Meanwhile, Ryōsuke had returned inside the building.
[Finally back, huh.]
The large screen suddenly lit up, and Jinpachi appeared on it again.
"Mr. Ego, you're making yourself look like an AI..."
Ryōsuke remarked sarcastically, as the man had only ever appeared on the big screen since they entered Blue Lock.
"By the way, Mr. Ego, can I bring these things into Blue Lock?"
[Yes.]
Jinpachi pushed up his glasses and nodded quickly.
[But only you can.]
"Only me?"
[No more questions, hurry back to your room. There will be another match soon.]
"Understood."
Ryōsuke took his bags and returned to Team Z's room while Jinpachi remained silent.
Technically, these items were strictly forbidden in Blue Lock.
However, having received orders from his superior — the Football Association President who controlled Blue Lock's budget — Jinpachi decided to turn a blind eye to this minor exception.
Still, he wondered why Ryōsuke had caught the Football Association President's attention.
This young man's abilities and background had surpassed his expectations, revealing aspects their initial investigation had missed.
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At the Japan FA headquarters, President Hirotoshi Buratsuta shared Jinpachi's curiosity.
Just who was Ryōsuke Kira?
The Basketball Association's president had recently reached out, requesting that Hirotoshi ask Jinpachi to grant Ryōsuke certain privileges.
Though Hirotoshi and the Basketball Association president held equal rank, they maintained a cordial relationship — after all, such connections were vital for navigating the political landscape.
For Hirotoshi, granting this small favor made perfect sense.
The request had come through Kagetora, a former national team star with considerable influence in sports circles. His close ties to the Basketball Association president had facilitated this favor.
Kagetora, deeply devoted to his daughter, couldn't bear the thought of Blue Lock rejecting his precious daughter's home-cooked bento.
While the matter seemed trivial, it piqued Hirotoshi's interest in Ryōsuke's apparent influence.
More intriguingly, even Sae Itoshi had shown particular interest, having his manager request footage of Ryōsuke's matches and training sessions at Blue Lock.
"How peculiar…" Hirotoshi mused to himself, "Ryōsuke Kira may be well-known, but this level of attention seems excessive. Could there be more to his background? And even Jinpachi Ego seems especially interested in him..."
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Meanwhile, inside Blue Lock, Ryōsuke had returned to his team's room.
As soon as he opened the door, Team Z's members rushed over eagerly.
"Kira, you're finally back!"
"I'm so jealous — you get to go out after scoring ten goals! Hey, Kira, what's in your backpack? Are you going camping?"
"What did you do outside, Kira? You must have been playing with sister-in-law!"
"Ah, that's right."
Ryōsuke nodded with a smile and checked his phone, finding several messages from Riko.
| Riko-chan |
| We're leaving! Come out soon! I need to prepare for the tournament these days too! |
| Remember to share the snacks with your teammates! |
| And the bento I made myself! Make sure to finish it! Dad said it's delicious! |
After replying to her, he quickly distributed the snacks to everyone present.
"These are specially from your sister-in-law for you guys."
"Thanks, sister-in-law!"
"This is delicious!"
"Is there more?"
The large bag of snacks was quickly shared among the other ten people. For them, who had eaten the same meals for half a month, these snacks were like precious treasures.
As he watched the others enjoy their food, Ryōsuke took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and pulled out the special bento Riko had prepared for him.
When he opened it, he froze in shock.
The bento was supposed to be arranged in the shape of a bear, but perhaps due to over-processing of the ingredients, it looked more like a demon.
"Is this sister-in-law's loving bento?!" Yūdai Imamura peered over curiously, then furrowed his brows and quietly retreated.
"Let me try it... maybe it tastes good- ugh..."
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