Break Through!

Trailing by a single goal, Rensuke Kunigami urges his teammates to net an equalizer so the contest can at least finish level, saving their worries for whatever comes next. He calls for Yoichi Isagi to feed him the ball, admitting he cannot carry the moment alone, yet Isagi resists the idea. Sensing that the real chance to score radiates from Hyoma Chigiri instead, Isagi sends the pass wide toward him.

The delivery looks reckless, since no Team Z player appears to be waiting for it, and Keisuke Wanima with Wataru Kuon mock the choice as a blunder at the worst possible time. Chigiri, however, tears after the loose ball at full stride, blowing past both defenders and steering toward the net. No one on the pitch can match his pace. When Keisuke grabs at him in desperation, Chigiri refuses to be slowed and keeps pressing forward.

Bearing down on the Team W keeper, Chigiri strikes with his dream of becoming the world's finest striker fueling the effort, and the shot finds the back of the goal. The whistle closes the game at a 4-4 stalemate, leaving Isagi stunned by the weapon he has just witnessed.

Chigiri buries the final goal that pulls Team Z even, ending their clash with Team W at four apiece. To advance out of the First Selection, though, the group still has to claim victory in its following fixture.

Break Through! is the eighth chapter of Volume 3 and the twenty-first overall, part of the First Selection Arc. Its events are adapted in Episode 7 of the anime. The story is written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura.