Episode 13: TOP3

Isagi's Team White meets Itoshi's Team Red on a mini pitch with a Blue Lock Man in goal. An early move sees Bachira feint a one-two and slip the ball to Nagi, who delicately releases Isagi for a direct-shot opener. Isagi believes his trio can beat the top three, but Itoshi, calling the pitch a battlefield, answers straight from the kickoff with a direct strike of his own. Declaring everyone else NPCs, Itoshi drags the game toward his level.

Aryu's towering reach lets him score from behind Isagi, and Tokimitsu, panicking about elimination, bulldozes through a foul attempt to make it 3-1. Isagi realizes that a squad with zero teamwork is crushing his coordinated side purely on individual power, and senses defeat looming. Nagi, energized rather than discouraged, proposes a plan for the first time: the trio will cluster in a tight fifteen-meter triangle, pass instantly, and use Isagi to finish.

The strategy briefly works when Bachira feeds Nagi a heavy spinning ball that tells him not to stop it; Nagi redirects, spins past Aryu, and scores. Isagi's hope rekindles, but Itoshi keeps answering, curling in a vertical-spin direct shot from a corner for 4-2.

As Team White cycle their triangle passing, Itoshi baits Isagi rather than reading him, leading him into a space so he can strip the ball. Isagi grasps too late that he was never controlling the field; Itoshi was, manipulating his vision by studying how the human eye works. Itoshi then slices past Nagi and Bachira to score the winning fifth goal, closing the match 5-2 for Team Red.

Claiming his prize, Itoshi leaves the choice to Aryu, who picks Bachira for his exceptional passing, hoping it will lift a team strong only in individual skill. Bachira, wanting to stay with Isagi to the end, obeys the rules but warns Isagi that he will not wait around: if Isagi wants him back, he must come and take him.

The episode belongs to the Second Selection Arc, opening with Chaos ga Kiwamaru and closing with Judgement. Its Additional Time skit, "The Secret Tale Behind the 'Top 3' Team," recounts how the trio formed: Aryu assumes the three fastest clearers should unite, an anxious Tokimitsu tries to bow out claiming luck, and Itoshi bluntly orders him to stop wasting time and join, striking Tokimitsu as even worse than Aryu.