Gin Gagamaru/Synopsis

**Table of Contents**
History • Introduction Arc • First Selection Arc • Second Selection Arc
References

## Plot

### Introduction Arc

Gagamaru 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

Team Z plays rock, paper, and scissors to see who gets to pick their desired position. Isagi wins the game and chooses to become the center forward. Shortly after, the match between Team Z and Team X begins.

Several minutes have passed the field is in complete chaos. Team Z desperately tries to stop Baro from his tracks. Isagi positions in front of Baro to stop him. To pass Isagi, Baro does a heel flick. This move amazes Isagi, making him unable to react quickly. After that, Baro was able to pass Kuon and Imamura with nutmegs. Baro then kicks the ball towards the net. The goalkeeper, Iemon, failed to stop the ball, resulting in the goal of Team X.

While 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.

#### Team Z vs Team Y

After the game, Team Z is changing their clothes, and Raichi states that Isagi's failure as the center forward and striker resulted in the team's loss. Raichi then notes that he should be replaced with Isagi. Naruhaya agrees with Raichi but says that Isagi needs to be replaced by him instead. Kunigami, however, notes that Isagi and Bachira's efforts allowed him to score a goal. Team Z then begins to wonder what Ego intends for them to learn during First Selection. Chigiri remarks that it may have been related to playing football from scratch to work on each player's foundations. Isagi then says that he has a hunch on what Ego meant.

Isagi says that Ego might have purposely made the rule for top scorers of losing teams for a reason. By allowing a top scorer to survive, every player will want to display all of their capabilities. Of course, this will ultimately cause chaos and a clash of egos. Subsequently, it will also create or show a striker that could be the foundation.

After Isagi's remarks, Ego appears on the TV and notes that Isagi's train of thought is on the right track. Ego also announces the end of the first round of the tourney. Following this, Ego begins to discuss the history of sports, Japanese sports, and Japanese football. To be a top-notch striker, Ego states that one must have a weapon he utilizes and optimize. Following this, Team Z began to wonder what their weapon could be.

Inside Team Z's shared room, each player identifies their unique weapons. Gagamaru says that he is great at close-quarter plays.

   Following this, the match between Team Z and Team Y commences. Several minutes have passed and the match continues to be a run-and-gun event. After halftime, players proceed to the field to resume the game. The second half starts with Team Z in possession of the ball. Following Team Z's strategy, Imamura will be the main forward for these 10 minutes. Imamura, however, is having a hard time using his weapons since the opponent has the ball. Fortunately, a teammate was able to pass the ball to him. Imamura kicks the ball, hoping to score a goal. Unfortunately, Imamura's efforts were unsuccessful. To prove that Imamura's efforts were not in vain, Gagamaru comes to the rescue. Gagamaru tries to score using his head but fails.

10 minutes have passed, and Gagamaru is the next main forward. 20 minutes have passed in the second half, but Team Z hasn't scored yet. To avoid losing again and to stay longer in Blue Lock, Isagi decided to trust his hunches. In an instant, Isagi chose to trust his instincts.

In the middle of the spirited game, Isagi realizes that he was wrong. Not just mistaken, the whole Team Z was tricked. Isagi learned that it wasn't Okawa who they need to keep watch of. Instead, it was Niko pulling all the shots for Team Y. The core of Team Y was Niko, not Okawa. Niko has been maintaining Team Y's defensive and offensive stability. Niko has been Team Y's secret leader. This shocking information led Isagi to the decision that he must put a stop to Niko.

Meanwhile, Bachira passes the ball to Isagi drives the ball towards the goal to score. Before the ball reaches the net, Niko stops it. Luckily, Gagamaru rebounds the ball.

Following this, several minutes have passed, and the main forward has changed. Naruhaya's chance to display his skills came. However, not much was changed in Team Z's score. Nevertheless, Team Z pushed through.

During the match, Bachira kicks the ball towards Gagamaru's side. Everyone thought that the pass was for Gagamaru, but it was actually for Isagi. Isagi, with the goal right in front of him, strikes it with everything he has. Isagi successfully scores, ending the game with a score of 1-2.

    After the match, Kunigami then praises Isagi for successfully scoring the goal. Gagamaru asked Isagi if he knew where the ball was heading. Isagi, however, answered that he ran just accordingly because he wanted to score. Isagi adds that it may have been sheer luck.

#### Team Z vs Team W

Several hours passed, and the match against Team W starts. Fortunately for Team Z, everything seems to go by the way they want. Thirty minutes have gone by in the first half of the game, and Kuon has scored a total of two points. 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. The new score is 3-0, with Kuon scoring all of those 3 points.

Nonetheless, after the third goal, Team W's defense improved immensely. To Isagi, it appeared as if Team W knew all of Team Z's weapons and strategies. Likewise, the top scorer for this match, Kuon, was also making several mistakes. Because of these issues, Team W was able to score 4 goals.

Surprisingly, it was then revealed that Kuon had leaked information to Team W. In exchange, Team W will allow Kuon to score goals against them. By doing so, Kuon will be considered as Team Z's top scorer. Thus, if Team Z loses in the first selection, Kuon will be saved since he is the top scorer of a losing team.

Once Team Z realized this, they were baffled, stunned, and frustrated. Raichi, provoked by the sudden revelation, attempts to punch Kuon. Because of his violent behavior, Raichi is given a yellow card. The other players are then asked to return to their specific positions to resume the game.

Nevertheless, time was running. Although the sudden betrayal was frustrating and disheartening, Team Z opted to focus on the game. The score was 3-4, with Team W in the lead. If Team Z lost this match, they will be evicted. Thus, they chose to settle on a tie instead. Fortunately, their efforts weren't wasted. The event ended in a draw, with a score of 4-4.

#### Team Z vs Team V

After the match with Team W, 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. Nevertheless, Team Z released a sigh of relief after managing the given disadvantage. 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 wonders if they can beat the undefeated Team V with only 10 players (excluding Kuon). Naruhaya then asks where Kuon is.

As Team Z enters the dining hall, they see Kuon talking with three unfamiliar faces. Apparently, these 3 players were from Team V. Moreover, Kuon was meeting with representatives of Team V to propose another betrayal to Team Z. Nevertheless, Team V rejects Kuon's offer and leaves him behind.

Back at Team Z's room, Bachira, Gagamaru, Igaguri, and Isagi play a game of "**what does the face of that Wanima bro mean?**" game. Bachira plays the role of Junichi, while the rest try to guess what he is saying. Isagi says that Bachira's facial expression means, "I wonder if we'll win the next game." Igaguri guessed that Bachira's face implies that his stomach hurts. Gagamura, on the other hand, understood Bachira's expression as "Grandma, are you doing well?" Bachira tells the three that they got it wrong and that he was doing an "I wonder what rain tastes like" expression.

Several hours passed, and the last game for the first selection begins. Before the match, Iemon, the tactician, announces their strategy to the team. Iemon states that Kunigami, Gagamaru, and Chigiri will be their key players since they're the team's best strikers.

The game proceeds following this tactic. During the match, Igaguri stops the ball before Nagi can receive it. Igaguri then calls out Isagi's name, signaling him to retrieve the ball. Isagi passes the ball to Bachira then to Gagamaru. Gagamaru tries to score a goal with his head, but the ball missed. Unfazed by Gagamaru's miss, Isagi believes that their current strategy will work against Team V.

    The game resumes once more, and the second half starts. Kunigami has the ball and passes to Bachira. Bachira then kicks the ball toward Gagamaru; however, Gagamaru ran too fast towards the pass that he went beyond its direction. To avoid the ball from being stolen by Team V, Gagamaru does a scorpion kick, an acrobatic shot. Gagamaru kicks the ball, hoping to score a goal. The ball almost hit the net; however, Zantetsu stopped it.

    Following this, the ball was tossed from one to another. Currently, Zantetsu and Chigiri are running towards it. Nonetheless, Nagi, who is nearer, states that he will be the one who will be taking the ball. Surprisingly, Isagi appears in front of Nagi, calling him naive. Isagi blocks Nagi, stopping Nagi from retrieving the ball.

Then, Chigiri retrieves the ball while Zantetsu tries to catch up. Reo calls his teammates, telling them to stop Chigiri. A player from Team V says that Chigiri won't be able to score since he is outnumbered. Chigiri proves them wrong, however. Chigiri kicks the ball, but he hits the pole and misses. Fortunately, Gagamaru rebounds the ball. Reo, however, supports their goalkeeper and stops Gagamaru's kick.

The ball is then passed from one team to the other until it reaches Nagi. With Nagi a few meters from the goalkeeper, Team Z's survival seems more impossible. Oddly, Kuon appears at Nagi. Kuon then grabs Nagi's head to prevent Nagi from scoring. Because of this, Kuon was given a red card and was asked to leave the field. Moreover, Team V was compensated with a free-kick.

The game resumes once more with a free kick. Team Z must stop Reo from scoring since it would be too hard for Team Z to catch up if Team V scored. Fortunately, Iemon's guess was correct, allowing him to stop Reo from scoring. Now the ball is loose, both Team V and Team Z tries to retrieve it.

The fastest player from both teams, Chigiri and Zantetsu, race for the ball; however, Zantetsu is nearer. Zantetsu kicks the ball but is stopped by Raichi. The ball is sent flying. Nagi picks it up, hoping to score another goal. Subsequently, Raichi, Igaguri, and Iemon try to block the ball's course. Nonetheless, Nagi's kick passes the three players. Fortunately, Gagamaru stops the ball. Isagi receives the loose ball and says that this is his last chance.

Because of Team Z's passionate efforts, Team Z was able to score another goal. With a direct shot, Isagi thrusts with all his might in this goal. Because of this, Isagi successfully scored the winning goal that Team Z needed to survive the first selection.

On the other side, Kuon watches Team Z rejoicing after their win against Team V. Kunigami calls Kuon and tells him to join them. Kuon rejects his offer and tells him that it's fine. Kunigami tries inviting him again; however, Raichi tells him to stop. Raichi says to Kunigami that no one can erase the betrayal that Kuon did. Plus, 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. Raichi then says that he hates Kuon, but he'll move past his betrayal with a punch.

## 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.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 10.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 12.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 13.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 14.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 17.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 17.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 18.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 22.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 22.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 24.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 26.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 30.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 33.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 35.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 37.
*Blue Lock* Manga: Chapter 38.