Chapter 144: Disposition

With two minutes left, Yo Hiori holds the ball on the last counter, weighing where to release it. Out of nowhere Rin Itoshi rips it off his own teammate, glaring with fury as thoughts of brothers, revenge, and rivals churn in his head. He decides he cares nothing for Sae, Isagi, or anyone from Blue Lock. Racing forward, Rin grasps that he kept chasing answers outside himself instead of within, finally understanding what Sae meant years ago. The one he truly needs to destroy is himself, and in that moment he enters Flow, tongue out and eyes locked in a trance.

Rin veers left off the optimal route. Teppei Neru, whose weapon is speed, steps up, so Rin baits him into lunging for the ball then nutmegs him with his left foot and bursts past, beating the speedster at his own game. Isagi thinks Rin has lost his mind, playing with none of his usual logic. Next comes Miroku Darai, a specialist at sneaking in behind, whom Rin beats with a no-look pass to Isagi, a give-and-go, and a back-heel trap while pinning Darai's back. The third man, Kazuma Nio, prides himself on physical duels, so Rin invites exactly that: he lets the ball roll into open space, and when Nio charges to steal it, Rin stays low and uses Nio's own momentum to roll him off his back.

On the touchline Jinpachi Ego explains that Rin is drawing out each opponent's greatest strength and then crushing them with it, a display of pure dominance that defines his Flow. Isagi contrasts the brothers: Sae destroys through flawless calculation, while Rin extracts the best from the pitch and demolishes it with raw aggression. Reaching the goal, Rin faces the final obstacle, Oliver Aiku, who calls his disposition warped for a young prodigy.

Rin strips the ball from Hiori and enters Flow, a state Ego describes for the audience. Single-handedly he breaks past three of the four Iron Wall defenders, defeating Neru, Darai, and Nio each with their own signature strength. The chapter closes with Rin and Aiku standing face to face.

This is the fourth chapter of Volume 17 and the 144th overall, part of the U-20 Arc. It debuted in Japan on September 1, 2021, in Issue 2021-40, and reached the United States on January 17, 2023. Episode 38 of the anime adapts this chapter.