Zantetsu Tsurugi

Name: Zantetsu Tsurugi

Age: 18

Blood type: O

Height: 187cm (6'2")

Zantetsu Tsurugi (剣つる城ぎ 斬ざん鉄てつ, Tsurugi Zantetsu?) is a contender for the Blue Lock Project, who played as a right wing for France's Paris X Gen during the Neo Egoist League.

Zantetsu is a simple yet fast forward. When first arriving at Blue Lock, he was a member of Team V during First Selection. He is one of the remaining contenders of Blue Lock after Second Selection.

Appearance:

Zantetsu has spiky, dark-colored hair and fake glasses that he wears even while playing. At Blue Lock, Zantetsu wears the standard-issued body suit (black with gray stripes) and tracksuit. During the First Selection, he wore Team V's blue #10 jersey and wore Team V's gray-capped cleats, and during the Second Selection, he wore Team White's #53 jersey.

Personality:

Zantetsu is not a very intelligent individual, and when speaking, he mainly uses idioms just to sound cooler, but he almost always says them incorrectly and always asks others if what he has just said is correct. Due to that, Reo and Nagi have nicknamed him "Baka Zantetsu". On the other hand, he is a calm and coolheaded individual but loses his calm when being called an idiot, as it is something that bothers him immensely, and he believes that truly intelligent people don't call other people idiots.

The other reason he is called an idiot is for his lack of comprehensive ability. At school, he couldn't understand what the textbook was saying, couldn't calculate the train fare, and misunderstood most of Blue Lock selection's activities, as he thought that to pass the Dormitory room test, all he had to do was simply steal the ball from the one who was "it". Another example would be when he thought that in order to pass the First Selection, he had to score 10 goals and, through the point system bonuses, exchange the points to get the one day outside pass so that one can escape Blue Lock.

He is also a determined person, as his motto is "Carry out what you've set out to do", and since he found out that he is good at running, he decided to devote himself to sports just so that he can achieve his dream of becoming the "World's Most Esteemed Moron", though the reason he chose soccer is purely on intuition.

As he comes from a family of dentists, he never forgets to brush his teeth and considers himself the black sheep of the family, as he is the only one who isn't smart. Their family motto is "Even if you forget ceremonial occasions, don't forget to brush your teeth".

Abilities:

Archetypes Forwards: Also known as strikers, have the main objective of scoring goals. They are often the players who get the most attention since their role is designed to be in a scoring position. They also take part in penalty kicks and corner kicks when the opposing team kicks the ball out of bounds. They are normally the players in charge of starting off the game at the start and halftime.

Wingback: Wingbacks are often more adventurous than fullbacks and are expected to provide width, especially in teams without wingers. A wingback needs to be of exceptional stamina, be able to provide crosses upfield, and defend effectively against opponents' attacks down the flanks. A defensive midfielder may be fielded to cover the advances of wingbacks.

Winger: The winger aims to attack the opponent's goal by driving to the byline for a cross or cutting inside to overload. They need to be technically proficient and fast enough to do so, and if their dominant leg is the opposite of their flank, they can be a potent attacker on goal. Zantetsu being left-footed makes him suitable for an inverted winger, being quick enough to get to the byline for a cross but also being able to cut inside and shoot or pass. His explosive acceleration enables him to get the better of defenders.

Skills:

Explosive Acceleration: Zantetsu's acceleration is a key weapon in his arsenal. With his quick reactions and incredible acceleration, he can react to any movement his opponent makes and intercept them. Chigiri noted that within 10 meters, even he could not overcome Zantetsu's acceleration, indicating that Zantetsu's speed is most dangerous over short distances. Double Wing Boost: By combining his speed with Chigiri's, he sprints at top speed and trades short passes between himself and Chigiri, boosting down the field at a speed the opposing defenders struggle with keeping up. Their speed is so potent that careless passes can be caught up to with their sheer acceleration. Bullet Train Maglev: When racing with his opponent to get a loose ball, Zantetsu will force his enemy into a strait-away sprint via clutching onto them, thus giving him the advantage, especially against curved line type speedsters. Jet Counter: When being rushed by multiple opponents, Zantetsu increases his speed quickly and drastically to easily get past them, using their momentum against them. Left-Foot Shooting: Zantetsu has a powerful and accurate left-foot shot. His favored tactic during a game is to use his speed to bypass a defender before cutting inside to his own shooting zone and firing a shot on goal. This shot is incredibly fast and accurate, but Zantetsu can also convert it into a cross to pass to another player in the box.

Etymology:

His given name, Zantetsu (斬ざん鉄てつ, Zantetsu?), means "to cut iron". His surname, Tsurugi (剣つる城ぎ, Tsurugi?), means "a sword castle". His name can thus be interpreted as "a cutting iron sword castle". Phonetically, his name can refer to Zantetsuken (斬ざん鉄てつ剣けん, Zantetsuken?), meaning "a sword that cuts iron".

Quotes:

To Nagi) "Truly intelligent people have the grace not to call an idiot an idiot". (To Team V) “Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the honored run”. (To Team V) “The ones that bear most, are the ones who hang the slowest”.

Trivia:

Majority of this information is from the official Egoist Bible. He has an older and younger brother. His favorite movie is Parasite. His favorite animal is the rhino beetle. His hobby is meditating, especially sunbathing. His favorite foods are hamburgers and curry. His least favorite food is fish (he can't tell the difference in their taste). His hometown is Saitama. His strengths are that he's honest, a good guy, and an eager learner. His weakness is the part where he's stupid. He sleeps 7 hours a day. His favorite player is Arjen Robben. If it were his last day on Earth, he'd run as fast as he could. If he received 100 million yen, he would buy whatever he wants. He spends his holidays meditating and walking his family's dog. His motto is "Carry out what you've set out to do". He goes to Kashikoi Academy Senior School. His least favorite subjects are everything. The first thing he washes while taking a bath is his teeth. Zantetsu ranked 16th in the first popularity poll with 212 votes. Since his initial Blue Lock ranking was 241, the highest in Room V, he and four other unknown participants share the highest initial ranking possible. His glasses are actually fake, and he wears them only to look smarter. By the end of the Neo Egoist League, Zantetsu got a ¥33,000,000 offer from "Celticos" (セルティコス, Serutikosu?). Celticos is based on Celtic F.C.

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