"You guys… how did all of you end up together?" Dada Silva's tone weakened noticeably as he looked at the group of Eleven Elite players approaching in a pack.
"Yo, Shinichi, we came to hang out," said Kaiser casually. Unfortunately for Dada Silva, none of the Eleven Elite players paid him any attention.
Kaiser impatiently shoved him aside, and Lorenzo quickly leaned toward Shinichi with a curious grin.
Forced to pause his training, Shinichi casually wiped his sweat with his jersey and looked at the clearly uninvited Lorenzo. "What are you doing here? You're definitely going to Snuffy's team anyway, right?"
"Not necessarily. Snuffy told me I could choose wherever I want to go," Lorenzo replied with a smirk.
"Since we're close in age, odds are I'll be working with you the most in Ubers going forward."
"I never said I was going to Ubers."
"Ah, don't worry about it. Snuffy's designs never miss. It's only a matter of time. So I came to check things out here first. If it looks good, I'll stick with you."
Though Lorenzo seemed carefree and unserious, Shinichi didn't think he'd blindly follow anyone other than Snuffy.
Snuffy might have approved of Shinichi, but Lorenzo clearly had a mind of his own. Maybe he was here to evaluate him.
Shinichi shook his head and pushed the thoughts aside.
One way or another, the New Hero Battle was his most important step toward becoming a legend. If he could get someone like Lorenzo—a top-tier defender—on his side, it would be a huge advantage. But... that might push their team's salary over budget. He'd have to think more carefully about that part.
"Hey, Kaiser, you punk! You wanna start something?!"
Shinichi's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by shouting.
Dada Silva was glaring at Kaiser, clearly furious from being shoved aside.
"You got wrecked by a bunch of nobodies and still act like you're somebody? You're nothing but a washed-up king who couldn't even conquer that kind of trash!"
"Hah?! You got a death wish, Silva?!"
"Yeah, fight! Don't just talk big—throw hands already!"
"...So noisy," someone muttered in exasperation.
...
"Shut the hell up!"
Just as the arguing was about to escalate, Shinichi finally lost his patience and roared. In that instant, an overwhelming pressure swept across the field like a tidal wave.
A suffocating weight, laced with the threat of imminent death, clutched at the hearts of everyone present. For a second, they all gasped for air like drowning men finally breaking the surface.
"I don't care why any of you are here. But since you've stepped onto my turf, you'll play by my rules. If you want a say, then defeat me. If you can't—then you have only one option: obey!"
Dark lightning, like a black hole hungry to devour everything around it, surged wildly across the pitch.
With the old, well-oiled Ubers system wiped clean, Shinichi had shed his mantle as the Wise King—what emerged now was the tyrant underneath.
"You've got 30 minutes to prepare. After that, the tryouts begin. They'll last the whole day. In the morning, you'll follow my personal training regimen. At noon, you'll have free time. Then starting at 2 PM, I'll divide everyone into random teams for matches. Each of you will get one chance to team up with me and one to play against me. That's it. Any objections? Oh, and if at any point you think this is unreasonable, feel free to leave and try another floor. That's all."
He paused briefly—no one responded. Taking that as his answer, Shinichi slung a towel over his shoulder and headed toward the locker room. Only then did the crushing aura vanish.
Dada Silva finally seemed to snap out of it, still visibly shaken. He glanced at Kaiser with wide eyes.
"That guy… what the hell is he? That pressure… that wasn't something a normal human could produce. Is he some kind of hidden urban assassin who decided to play football instead?"
"Use that gorilla brain of yours. Does that sound even remotely possible?" Kaiser snapped, still unsettled himself. He watched Shinichi's back as he left.
"Shinichi… not Isagi Yoichi, you are my greatest rival on the path to becoming number one. I'll crush Isagi first… then drag you down and stomp you underfoot!"
...
Ultimately, thirty minutes later, a total of seventeen players had gathered on the Blue Lock floor to participate in the tryouts.
Aside from familiar faces like Hiori Yo, Zantetsu Tsurugi, and Kurona—players who had been part of the original Blue Lock foundation—there were also former members Isagi Yoichi and Jubei Aryu.
As for the rest, they were mostly youth academy players brought in by teams for the New Hero Battle. No other big names had shown up.
"And honestly, it's going to be tough getting any of the Eleven Elite guys to sign," Shinichi muttered to himself in the locker room, scanning the players present. "The salary cap Ego set is just… annoyingly tight."
Just moments ago, Ego had finally sent out the detailed player selection rules to all the mentors—probably to prevent any of them from making careless promises during the tryouts.
"With a 1 billion yen salary cap, and factoring in Hiori, Sae Itoshi, Kurona, and Zantetsu, I've already burned through most of my budget. If I add Lorenzo to the list too… I'm probably left with barely 100 to 200 million yen."
"But then again, it's not just me—it's the same for every mentor. In the first phase, the aces from each team were valued around 100 to 200 million yen. And with the addition of several national-level players, signing just two of them already eats up half the cap. Even so, there are still plenty of players valued at over 50 million—and that's based on the third match pricing. Once the updated price list drops, those numbers are bound to rise. Looks like after everyone splits up the star players, we'll all be left with barely 100 or 200 million to spare."
"And those supposedly 'nameless' youth players? Don't be fooled—many of them were starters in the New Hero Battle. Even someone like Gagamaru, who only squeezed into the lineup in the final few games, is already worth 10 million. So yeah, even the 'extras' aren't cheap."
After agonizing over his roster with no solution in sight, Shinichi finally gave up and walked out of the locker room.
"Alright, time's up. Let's begin the tryouts!"
---------------------
Want to read 20 advance chapters ahead?
Go to my patreon: patreon.com/Kinglass