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Racing toward the ball, all five of the remaining members of room Z-2 had malice in their eyes; the flames of competition burned and emanated from their irises.

Though they all tried their best to be the first to touch the ball, it ended up in the hands of the massive delinquent, standing inches taller than even Jin who was 6'3" himself. Being the only one tall enough to truly defend him, Jin used his body to block the blonde delinquent from scoring as the giant started to post up beneath the basket.

The other three started clawing at the ball, trying their best to pry it out of his hands, but the boy's grip was far too strong. Without dribbling, the delinquent continued backing down Jin using his overwhelming size and strength, getting called out by the young man with the bowl cut.

"Hey! That's travel!" Hiroki Higuchi whimpered, trying his best to reach the ball that the delinquent held up to his own forehead. With the fiery eyes of a killer, the muscled-up young man shouted down at him with a roar. "๐™Ž๐™ƒ๐™๐™ ๐™๐™ƒ๐™€ ๐™๐™๐˜พ๐™† ๐™๐™‹, ๐˜ฝ๐™Š๐™’๐™‡ ๐˜พ๐™๐™! ๐™๐™๐˜ผ๐™‘๐™€๐™‡? ๐™ƒ๐™Š๐™’ ๐˜ผ๐˜ฝ๐™Š๐™๐™ ๐™„ ๐™Ž๐™ƒ๐™Š๐™’ ๐™”๐™Š๐™ ๐™ƒ๐™Š๐™’ ๐™๐˜ผ๐™ ๐™๐™ƒ๐™„๐™Ž ๐˜ฝ๐˜ผ๐™‡๐™‡ ๐™’๐™„๐™‡๐™‡ ๐™๐™๐˜ผ๐™‘๐™€๐™‡ ๐™๐™‹ ๐™”๐™Š๐™๐™ ๐˜ผ๐™Ž๐™Ž!"

Using all of his strength, the delinquent pivoted his foot and leaped high in the air. Ky tried his best to match him, jumping as high as he could to block the oncoming dunk, but he was no match for the 6'11" beast.

๐™Ž๐™‡๐˜ผ๐™ˆ!

The rim was nearly pried from the basket as the colossal boy slammed the ball down using every single ounce of power he had within him. As he swung from the rim, his pelvis hit Jin in the forehead, prompting the giant to taunt him. "๐™€๐˜ผ๐™ ๐™ˆ๐™” ๐˜ฟ๐™„๐˜พ๐™†, ๐™”๐™Š๐™ ๐™‹๐™๐™Ž๐™Ž๐™”!"

[Jin Ikazuchi - 0

Hiroki Higuchi - 0

Shin Matsuyama - 1

Tatsu Yamanaka - 0

Akira Nakamoto - 0

Kaede Muranaka - 1]

The rim rattled once more as Shin Matsuyama released it, landing on the ground before kicking the ball across the court. 'This guy's a complete dick!' Jin thought, tracking the ball with his eyes as it rolled to the other side of the room.

Since Jin was the furthest from the ball, he didn't even stand a chance at getting it, nor did the weirdo with the red hair or the kid with the bowl cut. The only one to reach the ball first was the unassuming kid who Jin made short eye contact with.

He wore sports goggles on his face, they were prescription goggles to help him be able to actually see while on the court. His hair was tied above his head in a top knot, giving him a sort of bird-like appearance.

Unlike Shin, the boy in the goggles didn't feel the need to travel with the ball. Instead, he opted to show off his impressive handles as all three of the other boys ran toward him.

The first to challenge him was the boy with the red hair, running toward the boy in the goggles as if he were ready to kill him. Both boys had fiery gazes as they drew near to each other, however, the red-haired boy's demented smile and fiery gaze wained upon the goggled boy hitting him with a dribble move he'd never seen before.

The ball was in the boy's left hand for one second, however, as if he was a magician, the ball suddenly disappeared, only for it to reappear in his opposite hand. Seeing the ball suddenly switch hands, the red-haired boy shuffled his feet, only for the boy to suddenly cross over to his other hand.

'WHAT!' the red-haired boy was in disbelief as he was suddenly left in the dust and the boy in the goggles continued onward toward the other two, though they too were no match for him.

It was almost as if his feet generated smoke as he shifted them to the side, crossing over the ball behind his back to get around Hiroki before approaching Jin and getting around him with a spin move within the same second.

Leaving everyone else behind, the boy in the goggles had a wide-open layup, which he scored with ease. As the ball went through the hoop, the boy caught it with his hands, glaring over at the others with venomous eyes before tossing the ball at them as if they were nothing more than ball boys.

[Jin Ikazuchi - 0

Hiroki Higuchi - 0

Shin Matsuyama - 1

Tatsu Yamanaka - 0

Akira Nakamoto - 1

Kaede Muranaka - 1]

'Shit! There are only two spots left!' Jin began stammering for the ball, only to barely be beaten by Hiroki, grabbing the ball and making a run for the basket. 'God damn it! If it let this kid score, then it'll just be me and that weirdo with the red hair! I need to stop him, now!'

Tailing close beside Hiroki, Jin glared at the bowl-cut boy with wide, murderous eyes. 'I'll stop him! I don't care about his rank! I can do this!' Jin had some confidence in his ability to stop his opponent at the basket. Jin wasn't as fast, but he had a few inches on him and the height advantage would make the difference once they reached the basket.

Side by side, the two stepped toward the basket with thunderous footsteps, the ground trembling beneath their feet as if they were gods causing tremors in the Earth. 'I have to stop him! I have to stop him!' Jin repeated in his mind over and over, the red flames emanating from his eyes as he watched Hiroki's every move.

๐™Ž๐™†๐™†๐™†๐™๐™!

Suddenly, like the sounds of tires squealing, Hiroki's shoes created a sound that echoed throughout the entire room. Not expecting him to stop on a dime, Jin stepped forward, allowing Hiroki to take a step back and begin pulling up for a mid-range jumper.

He was wide open, there was no way for Jin to block this shot. All Jin could hope for was that Hiroki would miss this shot, however, that was unlikely in his mind due to the fact that even Jin knew that he'd never miss a shot this easy, and if he'd make the shot, this higher ranked opponent would with no problem.

Hiroki jumped in the air, the ball high above his forehead as he prepared to flick his wrist and release the ball. Jin tried his best to contest the shot, but their distance was far too great. All Ky could do was hope he'd win the one-on-one against the red-haired kid...

๐˜พ๐™๐˜ผ๐˜พ๐™†!!!

Jin's eyes widened even further as he watched the red-haired boy's fist strike Hiroki's jaw as if the world was moving in slow motion. As the red-haired boy's fist struck Hiroki's jaw, a few teeth, along with blood flew from his mouth and the ball released from his hands.

The world started moving at its normal pace again, and Hiroki was sent flying in the opposite direction, rolling and bouncing on the ground like a ragdoll until he came to a stop, coughing and spitting up more blood as he lay in the corner of the three-point line.

Before Jin knew it, the ball was in the red-haired boy's hands and he drove to the basket, scoring an easy layup.

[Jin Ikazuchi - 0

Hiroki Higuchi - 0

Shin Matsuyama - 1

Tatsu Yamanaka - 1

Akira Nakamoto - 1

Kaede Muranaka - 1]

The ball then rolled toward Jin's foot and stopped right in front of him. He couldn't believe what he just saw, still glaring at Tatsu as he walked toward the wall to sit up against it. "Why did you do that?" Jin asked him.

Tatsu chuckled, and that chuckle soon turned into a maniacal cackle as his crazy eyes continued to stare through Jin's soul. "Why? Because he's the strongest one! If you want to win, you have to get rid of your greatest competition! If I were to have let him score, then you'd have been eliminated in his stead. Eliminating someone behind me doesn't help my rank go up not a single point. That would've been wasteful."

Hearing this nearly floored Jin. 'He thinks I'm so pathetic, eliminating me wouldn't even make a difference...' Jin trembled with the ball in his hand due to a variety of reasons.

Anger and adrenaline were coursing through his veins, but at the same time, he was terrified of what was to come, looking down at Hiroki who was still on the ground coughing up blood. Seeing Hiroki so weak, and so helpless made Jin feel sorry for him...

However, that inner voice within his head spoke to him once more, and his vision once again became clouded with darkness. 'Shoot it! Take his pathetic ass out of the game! Make them regret ever leaving you in this competition!'

With wide, trembling eyes, Jin continued to look down at Hiroki who was then reaching out to him with his hand as if he were asking for help. With the ball in his hand, Jin started to approach Hiroki. 'No, not like this.' Jin thought, still approaching Hiroki until he was directly in front of him.

Looking down at Hiroki with solemn eyes, Jin held the ball tightly in both hands. 'This is the right way.' Jin thought to himself as Hiroki placed both his hand and his gaze on Jin's shoes.

"P- Please..." Hiroki muttered, hoping Jin would show him mercy. However, upon looking back up at Jin he saw something horrifying.

With cold, dead eyes, Jin looked glared down at him, a crooked smile slowly forming on his face. "๐™‚๐™š๐™ฉ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง ๐™™๐™ž๐™ง๐™ฉ๐™ฎ ๐™›๐™ช๐™˜๐™ ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™๐™จ ๐™ค๐™›๐™› ๐™ข๐™š, ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช ๐™ก๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ก๐™š ๐™—๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™˜๐™! ๐™”๐™ค๐™ช'๐™ง๐™š ๐™ก๐™–๐™ฎ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™ข๐™ฎ ๐™๐™ค๐™ฉ๐™จ๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™ฉ!" Jin's chilling voice surprised everyone in the room, bringing a king-sized grin to Tatsu's face.

Jin kicked Hiroki's hand off of his foot before shooting a three-pointer right in his face. With perfect accuracy, the ball soared through the air, falling through the hooping and hitting nothing but the bottom of the net.

[Jin Ikazuchi - 1

Hiroki Higuchi - 0

Shin Matsuyama - 1

Tatsu Yamanaka - 1

Akira Nakamoto - 1

Kaede Muranaka - 1]

The score was then replaced by Ego's slender, emotionless face, showing him clapping slowly as if he were mocking them. "Good work, you lumps of talent." Ego commended the winners plainly, continuing to clap slowly. "Results are everything here."

"Now get the fuck out, loser!" Ego somehow stared directly at Hiroki through the screen, leaning in close as the boy could barely get back up on his feet. "Hiroki Higuchi, you're disqualified!"

Staring blankly at the screen, Hiroki stood with his arms dangling in front of him, his mouth dripping with blood as his missing teeth were seen by all. "No... No, this isn't fair! That was a foul! He- he-" Hiroki stumbled over his own words as he pointed at Tatsu, who was still smiling like a court jester. "He punched me in the face! That's a foul!"

Ego repositioned his glasses before talking down at the boy with a nonchalant, emotionless voice. "I said score under any means necessary. Besides, you weren't crying about fouls when you were grabbing Matsuyama's arms, were you? You're just upset because this very specific foul resulted in you missing your game-winning shot."

Hiroki trembled where he stood, his eyes shaking as he maintained eye contact with Ego through the screen mounted on the wall. "B- but! This isn't basketball! None of this is basketball! This had nothing to do with basketball!"

Still staring blankly down at the boy, Ego spoke once more. "This has everything to do with basketball. The purpose of this exercise was to practice making tough, clutch, game-winning shots.

During a real game, a true scorer will take the shot over as many people as necessary to win the game. Haven't you seen that image of Kobe Bryant shooting over four Bulls defenders?"

"But he missed that shot! It was blocked!" Hiroki spoke as if this changed anything, but whether or not the shot was successful wasn't the point.

"Who cares if it was blocked? Kobe's willingness to take that shot is what makes him great. Someone like you, someone who isn't a true scorer, wouldn't have taken that shot. Instead, you decided to go for the safer option, you decided to run away from Ikazuchi without knowing that Yamanaka was right behind you.

If you would have continued to drive toward the basket without being afraid of your shot being blocked, the results would have been different. You let victory slip from your hands because you were afraid."

Hiroki was completely muted by Ego's words, but Ego didn't stop there.

"Let's say you're in a match. There are a few seconds left and there is only one person guarding you on a fast break, just as Jin was. To win the game, you only need to score two points.

A real scorer, one who wasn't a coward like you, would have taken the defender straight to the basket and scored.

Let's say you did the exact same thing. Let's say you performed a step-back and you were fouled from behind. Instead of following through with the shot, you dropped the ball and flopped to the ground, hoping that your acting skills would help you since your shooting skills are subpar.

Had you followed through, you certainly could have scored.

Even then, you can clearly stand, can't you? However, during the game, all you did was lay on the ground as if someone else was going to help you. Had you gotten back up on your feet sooner, you could have grabbed the ball yourself and scored.

But instead, there you are, sulking and complaining to me as you would to the referee who won't change the call no matter how hard you beg."

Ego's eyes then scanned the room, he then pointed at Jin through the screen before speaking his name. "You... Jin Ikazuchi... You wanted to make sure you shot the ball right in Higuchi's face didn't you?"

Ego's eyes then shifted toward Tatsu before speaking his name as well. "And Tatsu Yamanaka... You punched Higuchi right in the mouth instead of letting him score despite your victory over Ikazuchi being nearly guaranteed due to the skill difference between you two...

The both of you abandoned common sense, yet it led to your victory. That is what Blue Lock is all about. You showed me the egotism of a scorer today."

Ego's gaze then locked onto Hiroki's once more. "As for Higuchi, you lose. Now fuck off."

"BUT HE PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE?" Hiroki shouted toward deaf ears, getting no response from Ego or his former roommates.

"THIS ISN'T BASKETBALL! THIS ISN'T BASKETBALL!" Hiroki gritted what teeth he had left, causing even more blood to spew out of his mouth as he looked directly at Jin as if he were ready to rip out his throat and feed it back to him.

Tears began to well up in Hiroki's eyes as he turned around and began stammering toward the automatic door, leaving his teeth on the ground behind him. As Jin watched, his consciousness spoke.

The world around him became shrouded in darkness as he reflected on himself. 'I ended his entire basketball career... I should feel awful right now. I should feel sorry for him...'

Slowly, a grin started to form on his face once again. That more sinister, darker voice in his head started to speak, taking over his consciousness's more tame voice. 'But in reality, I feel exhilarated!'

'No! Stop it... Besides, the one who really kicked him out was Tatsu, the fucking psycho.' Jin looked over at Tatsu, who was staring right at him with wide eyes, smiling as if they were best buds all of a sudden.

"Well then." Ego's voice broke the silence within the room. "How does surviving make you feel? Excited? Scared? Sad? Happy?

You risked your lives and now you are rewarded!

That's how things are at Blue Lock!

That's what it takes to reign victorious!

Carve that into your brains!"

Ego then began clapping. "Congratulations. You have passed the entrance exam. In each room, there are five of you. You all share a common destiny.

Sometimes you'll cooperate.

Sometimes you will betray each other.

Rivals carving out a shared dream.

You are Blue Lock's Team Z-2!"

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