Jyubei Aryu flicked his bangs with a finger, gazing at the three members of the White Team in thought.

“Hmm~ let’s see... who should I take?”

Rin Itoshi looked indifferent.

“Whatever. Doesn’t matter who.”

After a moment, Aryu pointed at one of the White Team members and turned to Ryūma beside him.

“I want him!”

“Meguru Bachira—his passing skills are top-notch. The three of us are all solo players.”

“With his offensive playmaking, I’ll become even stronger!”

“And he can assist me—let me score some trendy goals!”

“You’re misunderstanding something, Aryu. You think my offense needs organizing?”

Ryūma’s violet eyes glimmered faintly as he spoke, his face unreadable.

On this small field with so few players, Ryūma could easily tear through the entire opposing defense on his own.

Aryu tilted his head in confusion.

“Then who do you want to pick?”

“Simple. A monster should team up with another monster.”

(Meguru Bachira hasn’t awakened yet, and Yoichi Isagi still doesn’t know how to use his eyes… isn’t it obvious who I’d choose~?)

Ryūma’s lips curled into a grin as he looked toward one of the White Team members.

“I want your monster-level talent and control!”

“Come on, Seishiro Nagi!”

Aryu flicked his hair again, shrugging casually.

“Seishiro Nagi, huh? His control could definitely help me score some beautiful assists too.”

Nagi froze, surprised—he’d thought the Red Team would choose Bachira.

Rin glanced back at Ryūma.

“That white-haired kid? Fine. After all, he’s the only one who ever toyed with you, idiot—and actually scored.”

“Huh? What are you barking about? That was an accident! Otherwise, I’d never—”

“Enough nonsense. Let’s get to the next stage.”

“Don’t stand there, white-haired kid. Your future’s in my hands.”

Without waiting for a response, Rin turned and started walking toward the passage leading to the fourth stage.

Ryūma closed his eyes tightly, trying to calm himself.

(Don’t get mad. Don’t punch that ice-cold face. It’s fine, Ryūma. Just hang in there.)

(Yeah… just wait until that bastard Rin enters his “FLOW” state.)

(When that big match comes, I’ll make sure to tell my sister to record everything. Heh, I’ll make Rin watch it over and over!)

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought.

“What are you laughing at? Lost it?”

“Hurry up, Rin’s already gone.”

Aryu looked at Ryūma like he was insane, then followed after Rin toward the passage.

Scratching his head awkwardly, Ryūma waved to Nagi.

“C’mon, Nagi. Let’s go to the next stage.”

Once Rin finished speaking, Nagi came to his senses and walked toward them. As he reached Ryūma, he turned back and said,

“Don’t get eliminated, Isagi. Next time we meet, we’ll be opponents.”

“And I’ll definitely win.”

When he reached Ryūma’s side, Ryūma quickly slung an arm around his shoulder with a grin.

“Of course! Next four-on-four, we’re gonna crush Isagi’s team, yeah?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

“Alright, let’s roll~”

...

They stepped into the fourth-stage room—empty, just as expected.

Rin sighed impatiently.

“What a waste of time. How long do we have to wait?”

“Hey, hey~ don’t rush. We cleared too fast anyway. Might as well chill for a couple days.”

“Right, Nagi?”

Aryu looked at Ryūma with a puzzled expression.

“Since when did you two get so close? Did you know each other before?”

“Nope. Just met.”

Nagi glanced at Ryūma, then pointed at him blankly.

“I think this is what they call ‘friendly,’ right?”

“Hahaha, since we’re teammates now, we’ve gotta get close, right, Nagi?”

“Alright, looks like no one’s coming today. I’m gonna grab a shower and check out the new dorm.”

“I’m going too.”

“Huh? Then let’s go together! Don’t wait, Rin—no one’s showing up.”

...

Red Team’s Four-Person Dorm

“Ugh, why do I get sleepy after a shower?”

“Seriously, Aryu spends more time on his hair than on bathing. Unreal.”

Ryūma muttered as he pushed open the door—and spotted Nagi lying on his bed, bored, scrolling on his phone.

Ryūma walked over, sat beside him, and casually ran a hand through Nagi’s soft white hair.

“So that’s where you disappeared to after your shower—snuck back here, huh?”

“For a second, I thought you drowned in the tub.”

“What’re you watching so seriously, Nagi?”

Nagi didn’t mind Ryūma’s hand in his hair.

“World-class soccer highlights. I’m studying their ball control.”

He pointed at a player on the screen.

“This guy’s amazing. I wanna copy him.”

“Oh? That’s Noel Noa, the current world’s number one striker.”

Ryūma paused, then grinned slyly.

“Oh right, he’s also Isagi’s idol~”

“Really? No wonder—he’s incredible.”

“You should at least learn a bit more about soccer, Nagi~”

Ryūma shook his head helplessly. Then he noticed his hand was damp. Looking at Nagi’s hair, he realized why.

“Wait, you didn’t dry your hair and just started watching videos?”

“Eh? Too lazy. Such a hassle~”

“You’ll catch a cold like that!”

“Really? Reo used to dry it for me. Now I have to do it myself. Such a pain~”

“Uh…”

Ryūma pretended not to know who that was.

“Reo?”

“Oh, you don’t know him? Reo Mikage. My high school classmate—the one who got me into soccer. I’m really grateful to him.”

Ryūma smirked and asked teasingly,

“Then why didn’t you team up with him?”

Nagi fell silent for a moment, then spoke.

“Leaving Reo made me feel lonely, but I want to get stronger.”

“So I chose Isagi—the first person who ever beat me.”

“I believe being with him will make me stronger. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do here—follow our own choices?”

“Blue Lock is exactly that kind of place, isn’t it?”

Ryūma nodded with a grin.

“Then since you’ve lost to us now, does that mean you’ll only get stronger by following me and Rin?”