👻 𝐑.𝐈.𝐏 𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐏 𝐒𝐄𝐀

[4] Inviting.

As if a switch had been flipped, the hall plunged into darkness, only to be punctuated by a solitary spotlight that illuminated a figure standing at the forefront. The lighting, abrupt in its arrival, directed all eyes toward this enigmatic figure.

"Congratulations, diamonds in the rough."

The man commanding the spotlight seemed to have an unsteady grip on his diet, his physique hinting at neglect and irregular habits. His sloppy appearance and haircut that appeared to defy conventional style choices drew immediate attention. An unexpected appearance in the otherwise ordinary setting.

"You are the 300 18-and-under strikers who have been chosen according to my arbitrary and biased decision-making. And I am Ego Jinpachi, the man hired to make sure Japan wins the World Cup." The man clarified and introduced himself, now known as Jinpachi Ego.

"Simply put, there's one thing Japanese soccer needs to become the best in the world. The birth of a revolutionary striker. I'll be performing an experiment here to turn one of you 300 into the world's best striker." He announced, pacing to the right as the screen behind him shifted into a building that resembled one big pentagon on a football. 

"This is what this facility is for... "Blue Lock"

"Starting today, you will live here together and undergo the special top training I've devised. You won't be allowed to go home, and you'll say goodbye to whatever soccer life you've been living up to now. But I promise you this, if you manage to survive and beat out the 299 other guys here to become the last man standing, you will be the world's greatest striker." He continues.

"That is all. Nice to meet you." The man said as the light reverted back to normal, the screen slowly turned to a door with the word 'Blue lock' on it.

Seems like one of the strikers didn't agree. "Um, excuse me. I can't agree to the conditions you just laid out. Each of us has a team that's important to us. Some of us have nationals coming up I can't abandon my team to participate in some nonsensical program."

(Y/n) let out a quiet sigh as he heard what the questioner asked. It wasn't long before he looked at the direction that his voice came from as he recognized it.

'...That guy's lame and naive. Reminds me of Ono. Can't believe U-18 was that desperate if that were true at least.' The (h/c) hair male silently pondered, Referring to the rumors(gossip) that the blond was in the U-18 team. He swears he would cut that guy in the middle of the sentence if he could as he felt the second embarrassment. 

The Lanky man went quiet for a while then stated, "I see. You're all seriously ill, then...Lock off. Anyone who wants to leave can go. Is becoming the number one high school team in this backward country more important to you than becoming the world's best striker? Hm?"

"Just thinking that the future of Japan is in your hands makes me lose hope. Listen up. The power of Japanese soccer organizations is first-rate. You could call it the result of Japanese thoughtfulness. But in all other respects, it is undeniably second-rate." Ego illustrated.

"Let me ask you this, What is soccer? Is it about 11 guys working together? Valuing your ties to others? Self-sacrifice? Playing for your teammates?" He asked condescendingly, not waiting for any reply.

"This is why this country's soccer has remained weak. I will tell you the answer. Soccer is about scoring more goals than your opponent."

"Whoever scores the most goals is the greatest. If you just want to play friendly games with your buddies, then lock off. " He continued, glancing down at everyone in the room with a glint of mockery.