Asahi Naruhaya/Synopsis

**Table of Contents**
Introduction Arc • First Selection Arc • Second Selection Arc
References
## Plot

### Introduction Arc

Naruhaya attends the initial Blue Lock meeting and agrees to join the program like the other 299 high school forwards. When he arrives at Blue Lock, he receives his uniform and training gear like everybody else. He then goes to his designated room and awaits what's next while sitting on the far side of the room.

   After entering Team Z's shared room, Ego appears on the screen and greets the players in the room. He explains their current room situation and the Blue Lock ranking system. Ego also explains that the top 5 players at the end of Blue Lock will have a guaranteed spot on the Japan U-20 team for the U-20 World Cup. Nevertheless, there are also consequences to joining Blue Lock. To elaborate, players who lost at Blue Lock would be permanently barred from ever playing on Japan's National team. With those details, the first test of Blue Lock is announced. For the dormitory test, play a game of tag.

Given a limited amount of time, the "it" of the game must pass the ball to someone else and hit them. Once the time runs out, the last "it" would be eliminated from Blue Lock. Shortly after, a ball drops in the center of the room and Gurimu Igarashi is noted as the person who is "it" since he is (currently) the lowest-ranked person in the room. By the end of the dormitory test, Ryousuke Kira was tagged. Thus, Kira is eliminated. The 11 players in the room will now live there together as a group called Team Z.

Afterward, Team Z spent the next few days training their bodies to condition themselves into the way of living at Blue Lock.  Following the training, Ego announces the new rankings in Blue Lock. He then informs Team Z that they are currently the lowest-ranked team in the facility. Lastly, Ego reveals that Blue Lock will be having its First Selection soon.

### First Selection Arc

#### Team Z vs Team X

Ego begins to explain First Selection and how Team Z will have to come together to survive Blue Lock. Chigiri questions Ego's plan for a team of all forwards. Because of this, Team Z plays rock, paper, and scissors to see who gets to pick their desired position and. Isagi wins the game, choosing to be the center forward. The team then begins to prep and set up their informal formation.

The match between Team Z and Team X had a rocky start. All of the players started playing for themselves. Seeing the greedy playstyle of the players, Isagi remarks that this game isn't football. Players started becoming more physical towards their opponents and teammates as well. Nonetheless, amid the turmoil, someone was able to break through. Baro, in possession of the ball, faces Isagi. Baro is from Team X and ranked 250th. Isagi states that he must stop Baro from passing to avoid losing.

Nevertheless, Baro's skills overwhelms Team Z. Moreover, the goalkeeper, Iemon, failed to stop the ball that Baro kicked in hopes of scoring. Due to this, Baro was able to score a goal against the opponent. To take advantage of Team Z's meltdown and selfish playstyle, players from Team X decided to pass all the balls to Baro to win. Isagi, seeing Team X playing as a team, considered Team Z's win as hopeless and impossible. The game reached a score of 5-0 with Team X in the lead. To make a comeback, Bachira suggested that he and Isagi must score to win. The chapter ends with Isagi stating that he must become the foundation for Team Z, like how Baro is the foundation for Team X.

As Team Z was still focusing on scoring by themselves, Team X slowly understood that they can win through cooperation. Thus, players of Team X started passing the balls to Baro. While Team Z was stealing the balls from one another, Team X formed a team to allow Baro to score goals. As a result, Team X won the match. After their first loss, Team Z rests in their shared room.

After the game, Team Z goes back to their shared room. Team Z then wondered what the first selection meaning was. Chigiri remarked that it may have been related to playing football from scratch to work on each player's foundations. Isagi then said that he may have understood the purpose of the first selection. Isagi believes that the "football by scratch" that Ego described is similar or equal to a freestyle game. The chaos brought by the freestyle game was destroyed by Baro when he successfully scored a goal. Baro then became the foundation of Team X. After witnessing Baro's sheer talent, his teammates improved their play by following Baro's lead.

Soon after, Ego appears in the TV screen and explains the importance of having a “weapon.” Following Ego's announcement regarding weapons, each member identified their weapon. Naruhaya notes that he can fly across the pitch.

### Chapter 09

Inside Team Z's shared room, each player identifies their unique weapons. Naruhaya notes that he can fly across the pitch.

### Chapter 12

The game resumes with Naruhaya in possession of the ball. The ball, however, was stolen from him. A player from Team Y, in possession of the ball, passes the ball towards Niko. However, Isagi saw this pass coming and stopped it from coming to Niko. Isagi declares that he will catch every pass heading Niko's way.

### Chapter 17

Thirty minutes have passed in the first half of the game. Following their new tactic, the three forward players will be Gagamaru, Raichi, and Naruhaya. To stop Naruhaya, who has the ball, Junichi grabs Naruhaya's jersey. Because this is a foul from Team W, Team Z is given a free-kick. Bachira, doing the free-kick, sees his target. Instead of scoring by himself, he kicks at a height advantageous to only one player, Kuon. Kuon hits the ball with his head, scoring another goal.

### Chapter 22

After the match, Team Z is changing in their locker room. Naruhaya remarks that he thought that there was no way Team Z could win since it was a 12 against 10 game. Igaguri then invites them to eat. While walking, they discuss their next match. Raichi tells them that they will challenge Team V next. The chances of winning, however, are slim, considering that Team V has no losses yet. Gagamaru then wonders if they can beat the undefeated Team V with only 10 players (excluding Kuon). Naruhaya then asks where Kuon is.

### Chapter 29

To avoid the ball from being stolen, Zantetsu passes to Nagi. Surrounded by Igaguri and Naruhaya, Nagi receives the ball. With Nagi having his back turned to the goal, Igaguri thought that Nagi wouldn't be able to immediately score. Likewise, Naruhaya believes that he or Igaguri can steal it from Nagi before he scores. Contrasting their beliefs, Nagi slowly goes to a shooting position. Nagi then kicks the ball, hoping to score another goal. Igaguri notices Nagi slowly going to a shooting position. To prevent Team V from scoring, Igaguri stops the ball with his face.

### Chapter 30

At Team Z's Locker Room, the team is quenching their thirst and wiping away their sweats. Naruhaya, Imamura, and Igaguri are ecstatic, feeling hopeful. Igaguri then tells Kunigami that he was shocked to know that he had a long shooting range.

### Chapter 32

    The game resumes. Reo has the ball. While dribbling the ball, Reo vows that he won't lose. Raichi, however, appears in front of Reo. Raichi asks Reo if he is afraid of losing. Raichi then says to Reo that he'll be the one to hand Reo his first loss. With Raichi marking Reo, Reo finds it difficult to do something with the ball. He can't pass it to Zantetsu because he is currently being blocked by Chigiri and Naruhaya. On the other hand, Nagi, who is in front of the goal, is blocked by Igaguri and Imamura. Plus, Reo can't forcibly pass through Raichi because he might lose the ball. Having a difficult time, Reo believes that the field is currently controlled by Team Z. Knowing that, Reo can't believe that he and Nagi will lose.

### Chapter 38

After the match, Raichi notes that he hasn't forgiven Kuon yet. Raichi believes, nonetheless, that, thanks to Kuon grabbing Nagi's head, Team Z didn't lose. Raichi then extends his hand and invites Kuon. Kuon comes closer and reaches for Raichi's hand. Before Kuon can touch his hand, Raichi punches his face. This shocks everyone in Team Z. Raichi then says that he hates Kuon, but he'll move past his betrayal with a punch. Igaguri, Imamura, and Iemon agreed with Raichi.

After that, Kunigami helps the fallen Kuon stand. Kunigami invites Kuon to celebrate together. Subsequently, the buzzer rang, announcing the results of the first selection. With the end of the first selection, Team V and Team Z survived. Plus, the top strikers of Team W, Team X, and Team Y will also advance. Junichi Wanima (6 goals), Ikki Niko (4 goals), and Shoei Baro (10 goals) are the top strikers. Team Z rejoices their victory against Team Z and for surviving the first selection.

## References

*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 2.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 3.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 5.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 6.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 7.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 8.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 9.