Until This Fire Burns Out

The contest between Team Z and Team W finishes level. Isagi phones Chigiri to tell him how brilliant he was, and Chigiri throws it back, admitting that watching Isagi play with such abandon left him furious at his own caution. Fearful of reinjury, Chigiri confesses he had been reining himself in, and he now resolves to keep sprinting until his legs fail him. When Isagi offers to fight alongside him, Chigiri instead declares that he will become the world's finest striker himself. The rest of Team Z gathers around him, with Igaguri relieved to have such a dependable weapon on the roster.

On the far side of the pitch, Team W turns on Kuon, kicking and trampling him under the belief that he hid Chigiri's ability so Team Z could win. Their accusation is false, yet they ignore his protests, and Keisuke vows revenge until Isagi and Kunigami step in to stop the beating. Kuon flees the field to escape both squads.

Back in the locker room, Naruhaya marvels that Team Z pulled off a result despite being outnumbered twelve to ten. Over food, the players discuss facing the undefeated Team V next, with Raichi laying out the daunting odds and Gagamaru questioning whether ten men can topple them. Naruhaya then asks where Kuon has gone.

In the fifth stratum dining hall, Kuon is found bargaining with three of Team V's key players, offering to leak intelligence on Team Z in exchange for being allowed to score against them, the same ploy he tried with Team W. The trio turns him down flat. Zantetsu, mangling his grammar, argues that such a deal would erase his worth as a player, while Reo mocks him as spineless and lame. Nagi, bored by the meeting, wants to leave and gets a piggyback ride from Reo, with Zantetsu trailing behind. Desperate, Kuon begs them to hear more, and Nagi coldly tells him that anyone who cannot win despite their best effort is simply weak and should quit. Overhearing this, Isagi warns Nagi not to belittle those who devote themselves to the sport. Reo asks who this stranger is, and Isagi introduces himself and his team, pledging to defeat Team V.

Team Z's next and final opponents, Team V, hold an unbeaten record in the fifth stratum, and a win is required to survive the First Selection. Kuon attempts to sell information about Team Z to Zantetsu, Reo, and Nagi, who reject the offer, confident in their own talent. Isagi declares to Team V that his side will beat them.

This is the ninth chapter of Volume 3 and the 22nd of the manga overall, drawn from the First Selection Arc. It first appeared in Japan on January 16, 2019 and was adapted as part of Episode 7 of the anime. Muneyuki Kaneshiro writes and Yusuke Nomura illustrates.