Chapter 269

Rin and Isagi contest the ball with Nanase arriving to back Rin, so Isagi slips a pass behind him to Kurona and the pair advance in a one two down the pitch. Aware that the whole field is fixed on him, and having shown he can get the better of Rin while Kunigami keeps Shido pinned, Isagi decides his focus must shift to the unpredictable Charles, confident that doing so will let him choke off every Paris X Gen attack. Even so, he stays uneasy about Kaiser, realizing that a defense built around himself only raises Kaiser's chance to strike.

Watching this, Rin feels that Isagi's play is flawless and that the mental pressure Isagi supplies is precisely what torments him into growth. Picturing both Isagi and Sae, he concludes that he needs a strong, honest egoist blocking his path to unleash his destructive drive.

Dribbling on, Isagi puzzles over how to shut Kaiser down enough to score. Noticing Kaiser shadowing him and lurking in his blind spots, he chooses to wheel around and face him head on. He admits Kaiser still holds the edge in individual skill, yet counts on Hiori and Kurona for support, seeing the ball less Kaiser as a caged bird and urging him to break free of that restriction. When Kaiser bolts, Isagi trails him, treating it as the ideal way to drag defenders along so he can lurk behind.

Kurona spots the plan and picks his moment to feed Isagi, but just as he readies the pass, Rin, having guessed his position, tackles from behind and seizes the ball. Isagi sees this and understands that Rin, too, feeds on restriction to evolve.

Isagi leans on Hiori and Kurona to help him counter the danger posed by Kaiser. Rin sees straight through Isagi's plan and strips the ball from Kurona. Isagi recognizes that Rin also draws on restriction to grow.

The chapter frames a caged bird image, with Isagi coaxing the ball less Kaiser to escape his confinement. A flashback of Sae recurs as Rin identifies the kind of egoist he needs standing in his way.