Blue Lock: Why Rin Itoshi Was Finally Forced to Acknowledge Isagi

During the Rivalry Battle—a stage where victorious teams steal players from their defeated opponents—Rin Itoshi emerged as Blue Lock’s undisputed number one, boasting breathtaking individual skill.

As the absolute best, Rin frankly admitted he cared little for his teammates and openly looked down on the other participants.

For Rin, the only thing that mattered was exploiting Blue Lock’s winning system. His goal was absolute: to automatically secure a spot on the Japan U-20 national team at just 16 years old, and to ultimately surpass his older brother, Sae Itoshi.

This apathy was clear in the initial 3v3 match between Team Red (Rin, Aryu, and Tokimitsu) and Team White (Bachira, Isagi, and Nagi).

After Team Red easily secured the victory, Rin couldn’t care less about which rival they stole. He left the decision entirely to Aryu and Tokimitsu, who chose Bachira for his exceptional passing abilities.

Here Are 4 Reasons Why Rin Itoshi Finally Acknowledged Yoichi Isagi:

1. Yoichi Isagi Kept Pace With Rin’s Mind

Some time later, Isagi challenged Rin to a rematch in the final stage of the Rivalry Battle, driven by a burning desire to defeat Rin and win Bachira back. This sparked an epic 4v4 showdown: Team Red (Rin, Aryu, Bachira, and Tokimitsu) against Team White (Isagi, Barou, Chigiri, and Nagi).

After Rin scored a brilliant equalizer to make it 1-1, Nagi and Chigiri were left in awe, unable to stop him even in a 2-on-1 situation. Isagi stepped in to explain exactly how Rin had made himself unstoppable.

Isagi had deduced that as Rin dribbled into his shooting zone, he deliberately baited Chigiri and Nagi into staggering their block attempts. This allowed Rin to execute his exact prediction: a series of fake shots that completely deceived his defenders. By shifting his body weight as if to shoot and abruptly changing his speed, Rin effortlessly manipulated his opponents.

Hearing this analysis, Nagi admitted he simply couldn’t compete with Rin’s tactical mind. Chigiri, meanwhile, praised Isagi for possessing the incredible vision required to keep pace with Rin’s thought process.

Even Bachira, who had played alongside both of them, was mesmerized by Isagi’s rapid growth. Isagi was proving his phenomenal ability to analyze the field, orchestrate scoring strategies, and dismantle enemy attacks in real-time.

2. Isagi Successfully Fooled Rin

The tactical warfare peaked when Chigiri prepared to cross the ball to a teammate rushing the net. Team Red’s defenders desperately tried to intercept, but with brilliant off-the-ball movement, Isagi slipped entirely out of Rin’s field of vision. With lightning speed, Chigiri launched a pinpoint cross to Isagi near Team Red’s goal.

Unfortunately, as Isagi chased the pass, Rin suddenly materialized right beside him, aiming to steal the ball. However, Isagi cleverly pivoted, turning his back to his opponent. Tricked by this sudden shift, Rin tried to strip the ball from the front. But Isagi was one step ahead—he instantly executed a backheel strike, sending the ball blazing into Team Red’s net for a spectacular goal.

Nagi was amazed, praising Isagi for actually defeating Rin in a one-on-one duel. Fascinated by the play, Barou demanded to know how Isagi pulled it off. After weighing every possibility, Isagi explained his trick: he knew Rin expected him to trap the ball and shoot directly from Chigiri’s cross.

By utilizing a backheel, Isagi shattered Rin’s prediction. Chigiri realized the sheer brilliance of the play—this goal was only possible because Isagi deeply understood exactly how Rin read the game, using that very logic against him.

3. Isagi Nearly Defeated Rin

With the score deadlocked at 4-4, the next goal would decide the winner. Isagi unleashed a direct volley that nearly sealed the victory for Team White, but Rin managed to block it with a desperate header.

The rebound, however, fell to Bachira. Utilizing his elite freestyle football skills, Bachira embarked on a breathtaking solo run, dribbling past the entirety of Team White. Just as Bachira released what should have been the game-winning shot, Isagi heroically appeared to block it.

According to Jinpachi Ego, in the exact moment Isagi blocked Bachira’s shot, his predictive abilities had completely surpassed Rin’s. If Isagi had been positioned even a single centimeter to the left or right, Team White could have launched a devastating counterattack and won. Instead, the deflected ball launched high into the air and fell, by pure chance, perfectly at Rin’s feet. Rin capitalized instantly, scoring the fifth goal to secure Team Red’s victory.

Normally, Rin treated his teammates merely as tools to be exploited, which is why Bachira, Aryu, and Tokimitsu didn’t even bother asking for his input on who to steal from Team White. This time, however, Rin intervened, explicitly forbidding them from choosing. He desperately wanted Isagi on his team.

His teammates were stunned by this decision. As a player who always maintained absolute control over the field, Rin admitted he could not predict the chaotic sequence where Bachira played selfishly and Isagi intercepted him. Rin chose Isagi because he wanted to keep him close—incorporating Isagi into the list of rivals he intended to crush, and making him the closest witness to Rin becoming the best striker in the world.

Despite winning the match, Rin tasted defeat for the very first time at Blue Lock. To Rin, losing on the pitch was equivalent to losing his very existence; his philosophy treated football as a literal life-or-death battlefield. Isagi was the one who finally made him feel that death.

4. Jinpachi Ego Broke Down Rin’s “Lucky” Victory

Jinpachi Ego later explained the hidden mechanics of the final play. When Bachira selfishly drove the ball forward without passing, Team White’s defenders—Nagi, Chigiri, and Barou—froze, utterly mesmerized as Bachira bypassed them with a flawless rainbow flick.

Even Team Red’s Aryu and Tokimitsu stopped moving, realizing they weren’t going to get a pass. It was as if time itself had stopped to admire Bachira’s genius.

As nearly every player stood immobilized outside the penalty box, watching Isagi desperately chase Bachira down, they all waited to see what would happen: would Bachira score, or would Isagi block it?

Unlike his teammates who stood like statues, Rin refused to stop. He kept sprinting at full speed, fully aware he wouldn’t receive a pass. Rin gambled entirely on the possibility that Isagi would successfully block the shot, betting that the rebound might fall to him. He took a massive risk, positioning himself for a miracle.

While the exact trajectory of the blocked ball was impossible to predict, Rin’s relentless hunger for a goal placed him perfectly inside Team White’s penalty box, entirely unmarked.

Ultimately, Rin found the luck he was searching for. The ball dropped right in front of him, leaving him wide open against the net. He buried the fifth goal, snatching victory for Team Red.

5. Rin Admitted He Was Lucky to Beat Isagi

After the match, Isagi reassured his Team White teammates that their loss was a mere stroke of luck. He firmly believed they had practically dismantled Team Red and hadn’t truly been defeated.

Still seeking closure, Isagi confronted Rin, demanding to know the real reason behind his loss. With a relaxed demeanor, Rin bluntly stated that even a monkey could see the victory was decided by luck. But Isagi wasn’t satisfied with “luck” as an excuse; he needed a concrete reason so he could grow stronger.

Rin then clarified that luck isn’t merely a coincidence. He described luck as a mysterious force that favors those who fiercely pursue it. According to Rin, if Isagi couldn’t grasp the true nature of luck, he had no right to survive in their hyper-competitive world where victory and defeat are absolute.

Rin frankly admitted he would have completely missed the scoring opportunity if he had stood frozen outside the penalty box like everyone else, waiting to see the outcome of the Isagi-Bachira clash.

He openly confessed that the final opportunity was entirely out of his control—a fortunate coincidence born from the chaos Isagi created. Looking Isagi in the eye, Rin sincerely acknowledged that his victory over Isagi was only possible because he was in the right place to get lucky.