[11] Ten years later...

"There it is, folks! The tempest of the south has started to move!"

The commentator shouted on the mic with vigor and excitement as the crowd cheered on, watching a young man with white cloudy hair, sharp eyes, and a lean body swiftly dribbling the ball toward the enemy's goal.

With an abrupt cut toward the middle, the young man effortlessly left behind the defenders in his tail, leaving them frustrated.

Now, the only one left to stop the young man from scoring a goal was the enemy goalkeeper.

"Gulp"

The enemy goalkeeper silently gulped, feeling the immense pressure as he stared into those deep and sharp eyes of the young man.

Without hesitation, the enemy goalkeeper rushed toward the young man in an attempt to steal the ball.

But the young man wasn't fazed and danced the ball back and forth between his feet before he pulled the ball back and flicked it with the back of his heel, sending it up in the air.

"...!"

Seeing the ball above the air, the enemy goalkeeper didn't hesitate and leaped, intending to intercept it with his head.

Unfortunately for him, the young man suddenly backflipped and kicked the ball in mid-air before he could reach it.

Without any suspense, the ball flew and cut the air, lunging itself into their goal net.

"Wah! A bicycle kick!?"

The commentator exclaimed in shock and astonishment as the crowd went wild with cheers.

"As expected of the reigning king of the south, Aoba Academy. Still keeping their crown on their heads with another win!"

The commentator expressed and nodded at himself, looking very impressed and amazed by the match.

"And let's not forget the MVP of the match..."

"The tempest of the south, the relentless storm, the ace of the Aoba team... Izumo Kizashi!!"

The commentator yelled out at the top of his lungs, screaming into the mic as the crown went wild.

"Izumo!"

"Izumo!!"

Hundreds of spectators in the stands cried out the name of the young man, filling the whole stadium with loud noises.

Meanwhile, Izumo who was on the receiving end of the cheers wasn't happy or sad.

What he felt was nothing but boredom and indifference.

However, he did feel slightly cringed out by the introduction he was given by the commentator.

'Well, It doesn't matter anyway'

Izumo thought and decided not to care too much.

A lot had happened anyway to worry about some titles.

Indeed, It has been ten years since he enrolled in Aoba Academy and he had won countless matches to the point he wasn't even keen about winning anymore.

There just wasn't enough challenge for him to be excited.

Most of the opponents he had met were too weak and pathetic that it wasn't even funny.

Those fiery passions he had back then had slowly put out, leaving nothing but a small flicker of flame.

"Ego was right... Japan is truly second-rate"

Izumo muttered, staring at the enemy players on the field with a cold and indifferent gaze.

The only reason he still persists even to this day is the thought of being invited to Blue Lock.

It was the only thing keeping his passion alive.

If it weren't for that then he would have left this country long ago and gone to powerhouses such as Spain or Italy.

"Hah..."

Izumo breathed out a long sigh before he turned his gaze to the corner of his eyes where a small virtual panel appeared.

[+7]

"Only seven points?"

Izumo questioned with a hint of displeasure in his tone, seeing the pitiful amount of points he received.

'It must be because the opponents this time are too weak'

Izumo clicked his tongue, truly annoyed at the level of skills Japan has in terms of football.

He knew after all these years spent that this point system was based on the level of his opponents.

The more skilled and stronger the opposing team was, the higher the points he received when scoring a goal against them.

From the past ten years, the highest points he received so far were when he fought against the Osaka Youth team and scored 2 goals leading to a total of 32 points.

And that was by far the most enjoyable match he had played in for these past years.

No...

Every match against the Osaka Youth team was always fun since Karasu and Hiori were there, making the match actually challenging.

But that wasn't enough to rekindle his passion, Izumo wanted more...

He wanted to feel the pressure and challenge every day which only furthered his desire to be in Blue Lock even more.

'A year and a half... I just need to be patient'

Izumo reassured himself, knowing he only needed to wait a bit more.

Indeed, he knew this through determining Aiku's age...

From what he recalled, Aiku was about 19 years old when the Blue Lock project was initiated.

Currently, Aiku just turned 17 years old, and considering Isagi was invited after a tournament match in his 2nd year...

Izumo analyzed the information and concluded an estimated time and date for when Blue Lock was finalized.

And now, he only needed to wait and relax, hoping he'd get invited by Ego.

"Let's go!"

While Izumo was lost in his thoughts, someone suddenly leaped and roared, pouncing themselves toward his back.

"...?!"

Izumo snapped out of his thoughts and had no choice but to turn his head around, just to see a spikey-haired young man riding his back and seemingly laughing at the air in celebration.

"Get off my back, Kabuto"

"No way!"

It was Izumo's good old friend, Haruto who was overly enthusiastic and joyful at another win on his belt.

"Why is my back your go-to whenever we win?"

"Haha!"

"Go ride someone's back instead"

Izumo complained, not hiding the annoyance on his face at all as Haruto just laughed in response.

He still couldn't believe that the naive and pushover kid he had met years back then had become so...

Sunny and optimistic.

Occasionally, Izumo often had to squint his eyes whenever he had to look at Haruto due to how bright his personality was.

Even to this day, Izumo still wonders how he became such an annoying person.

'I quite miss the old Haruto... he was so easy to order around'

Izumo couldn't help but lament, wondering whether this was how parents felt when they watched their children grow up.

Though he wouldn't know since he had never married someone in his past life.

He just never found someone to truly love plus, he had heard from his co-workers that it takes a lot of money to date someone which only further made him reluctant to do so.

He'd rather be a rich virgin than be broke.