Night Snow

Sae feeds Rin, who finishes effortlessly, their partnership rattling the opposition. Sae critiques the strike as sloppy and asks for more pace, and Rin promises to try. Playing beside his brother feels like invincibility to Rin, who is sure they will conquer the world together, and he taps in another easy goal off Sae's pass. Afterward they eat popsicles by the shore, where Rin wins yet another prize and quickly tosses the stick to hide it, drawing Sae's remark about wasting his luck.

Sae asks what runs through Rin's head during a match. Rin says only scoring and being wherever the play is most critical, which he explains means the spot where opponents panic and crumble. Sae warns he leans too hard on instinct, but Rin shrugs that his brother has his back while others simply feel lacking. When Sae asks what Rin will do once he is gone, Rin flippantly says he will just find a replacement, earning a kick and the reminder that no one could stand in for Sae. Sae reveals he flies to Spain the next day to join Real Madrid's youth side, news Rin already knew. Rin figures it was inevitable for a future world's best striker, and Sae tells him to catch up on the global stage while Rin vows to first become Japan's best and get scouted the same way. Both renew their pledge to reach the top of the world.

The following day Sae departs by plane as Rin and their parents wave him off, Rin quietly certain he will follow. Four years later Rin hogs the ball in a match, ignoring his coach and teammates as they demand a pass, feeling far more boxed in without his brother. Wondering what he lacks, he finally releases it, resolving to master the crowded pitch and drag his team to the top of Japan, then scores a perfect goal to win.

That night Rin lingers alone drilling long-range shots as snow begins to fall. A voice calls one of his efforts sloppy, and he spins around thrilled to hear Sae, only to find him hollow-eyed and worn. Rin welcomes him home and notes he has returned early, then gushes about following his Real Madrid appearances, even asking if he has lost weight. Sae answers that the world is vast, full of players who outclass him, and that he has swapped his dream from the world's best striker to its best midfielder. Bewildered, Rin protests that being the best at anything but striker is pointless for Sae, but Sae counters that Rin only believes that because he has never tasted the wider world. Rin refuses to accept the switch, insisting he wants to remain the little brother of the world's greatest striker, and accuses Sae of coming back only to spout something so pathetic. Stung, Sae brands him lukewarm and says Rin fails to grasp that professional football is a battlefield. He proposes a one-on-one: if Rin wins, Sae will reclaim their old dream, but if Rin loses, that dream dies for good.

As boys, Sae and Rin form an unstoppable pair before Sae leaves for Real Madrid's youth team, the two vowing once more to reach the world's summit. In Sae's absence Rin, already playing selfishly long before Blue Lock, works to become Japan's best. When Sae returns to Japan ahead of schedule and announces his changed dream, an upset Rin is challenged to a one-on-one that will settle everything.

"Night Snow" is the 124th chapter overall and the third collected in Volume 15, part of the U-20 Arc. The chapter features only Sae and Rin Itoshi. It was adapted within Episode 33 of the anime and released in Japan on March 24, 2021.