The Time Has Come

After the early goal, the World Five dismantle Team Blue. Loki glides past the entire defense to score, Luna strips the ball and sets up Cavasoz, Silva out-jumps Aryu, and Blake bulldozes Tokimitsu before finishing. As the visitors pile on goals with contemptuous ease, Isagi accepts that each of their weapons is being overpowered, yet finds himself inspired rather than crushed. Only Rin refuses to surrender, and even he is beaten by Luna's step-overs for the final goal in a 1-5 rout.

It emerges that Ego paid the World Five a fortune to appear, and the federation, citing parental complaints and a lack of results, moves to cancel Blue Lock entirely. Ego counters that he will deliver results in a match that reshapes Japanese football. As the thirty-five survivors of the Second Selection reunite by clearing team, familiar faces file in, and the last striker to enter is revealed as Ryusei Shido, the callous player who eliminated Kunigami by choosing Mikage over him.

Shido's cruelty toward Kunigami's memory nearly turns violent before Ego appears on screen. He unveils his gambit: in three weeks the finalists will face Japan's U-20 team, and if eleven of them win, they seize the national side's positions. To guarantee victory, the U-20 has added one more player, Sae Itoshi, news that leaves Rin seething. Ego insists a place in the U-20 is no longer a dream but a reachable reality that will open a new era for Blue Lock.

The World Five crush Team Blue 1-5, exposing the distance between the strikers and world-class talent. Chairman Buratsuta declares Blue Lock cancelled, prompting Ego's counter-proposal. The Second Selection survivors reunite, and Shido is revealed as the striker who eliminated Kunigami. Ego announces the U-20 match, where winning finalists can claim the national team's spots. Sae Itoshi is added to the U-20 roster, enraging Rin.

Airing March 25, 2023, this Third Selection Arc episode serves as the finale of the anime's first season and adapts chapters 91 through 94. It carries the opener Judgement and the ending Numbness like a ginger. Unusually, no Additional Time comedy segment was included in the episode.