Chapter 140

**"Essence"** (真髄 (しんずい) , *Shinzui*?) is the 140th chapter of the Blue Lock manga series.

## Summary

The crowd is ecstatic as Sae Itoshi further dribbles down the field unopposed. The sportscaster is calling Sae amazing for getting through the Blue Lock Eleven's defense all by himself. Reo Mikage calls for Kenyu Yukimiya to stop Sae and he moves in accordingly. As all of this is happening Rin Itoshi runs down the field still attempting to synchronize with Sae; he thinks if he were Sae Itoshi how would he destroy Blue Lock. Sae flows past Yukimiya and Rin notices Sae's dribbling is not the same as Yukimiya's or Meguru Bachira. Natural born dribblers have their own individual style and they "actively" move past defenders but Sae is more "passive" in the sense that he specializes in dribbling after observing then just dribbling as he observes. He analyzes the opponent's rhythm and motions then flows past them with a counter dribble.Shuto Sendo comments on Sae's moves, Teru Kitsunezato suggests the Japan U-20 forwards go all in, and Kento Cho asks Sae to pass the ball already.

Rin continues looking on in frustration thinking Sae won't pass yet. Rin thinks back to when he was a kid and notes back then Sae's football philosophy was something he simply admired; It's the most efficient and it destroys the opposition quickly with Sae calculating the most optimal way to score. The core essence of Sae's football style lies in "destroying beautifully" and as Rin thinks this Sae once again jumps over a defender while dribbling the ball. Hiori is utterly surprised and Gin Gagamaru looks on in disbelief wondering if Sae will charge all the way to the goal. Rin concludes that because of Sae's style Sae desired an egoist outside of his usual formula, someone who nobody could easily perform with, a problem only his genius could solve; that is why he chose Ryusei Shido. Sae knew that he could lead the uncontrollable demon to new heights that nobody else could, to the most optimal level and this frustrates Rin even more. Rin thinks on what he should do and how Sae will finish this play. Rin questions "If he were Sae Itoshi, how would he destroy Blue Lock? What kind of goal would he want?" Jyubei Aryu marks Sae and trys to think of his next move but as he is thinking Sae kicks the ball up and over Aryu right into the penalty zone for a cross but by the time Aryu notices it's too late. Double marked by Reo and Bachira, Shido moves in between them and jumps in preparation for the cross. Reo notes that all alone, Sae destroyed Blue Lock's entire formation and he perfectly calculated the perfect moment and the ideal shooting area that only Shido could reach. Unshackled, Sae Itoshi is unstoppable or so the field thinks when at the very last second Rin comes out of nowhere to meet the ball right before Shido's leg is able to swing for it. Rin states that he knew he shitty brother would pick this spot to send the ball for it is the most beautiful place. Rin's last second convergence on the ball surprises Shido and Isagi but Shido still attempts to kick the ball but instead ends up kicking Rin right in the head who used his head as a shield to prevent Shido from scoring.

The referee blows the whistle and the sportscaster comments on the audacious last second save by Rin. Tabito Karasu immediately talks to the referee and demands that Shido be carded but the referee denies such action. Shido scoffs at Rin's play and Hiori goes to help Rin get up and ask if he is okay. Yoichi Isagi looks on in disbelief as he thinks that Rin's movements just now were totally unexpected. Rin usually moves only to score for himself; all of Rin's plays center exclusively around himself and yet the last play makes it seem like Rin has suppressed that feeling in exchange for fully focusing on defense. Rin is switching his style this late in the game in an attempt to seal off Sae's movements and Isagi calls it amazing. Isagi wonders how Rin even went about doing such a thing and he thinks back to the state of the game. The level of the game has steadily increased in response to many different factors such as the player's natural abilities, some of them entering FLOW, Sae's change in intensity, and now the field is changing again due to Rin's response to all of that. Rin is becoming an existence made to completely stop Sae and Isagi realizes Rin is evolving. With all the players distracted, Reo decideds to continue the game and clear the loose ball out of Blue Lock's defensive zone, straight into the midfield, right to Seishiro Nagi and the Blue Lock Eleven move to start their counter. Isagi notes that Rin erasing Sae's movements has completely changed the field again and realizes that as people evolve and change on the field so does the field in response to those people and their actions. Everything is changing thanks to Rin, Blue Lock can still evolve, Blue Lock can still win. All Isagi has to do is react to this moment, find they key that unlocks the chain of trances, and lead Blue Lock to an attack that is only possible for them. As the Blue Lock offense moves to counter, Bachira comes from the midfield to assist in their attack. He states the monster has arrived and says the last piece to Isagi's puzzle is obviously him.

## Chapter Notes

* Sae completely dribbles through the entire Blue Lock formation alone and destroys their formation altogether
* Sae's football philosophy is revealed
* Sae and Shido almost score another effortless goal
* Rin stops their goal at the last second by synchronizing with Sae
* Rin is changing his play style to be more defensive to cancel out Sae
* Blue Lock gains possession of the ball and starts their counterattack.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

1. Sae Itoshi
2. Reo Mikage
3. Kenyu Yukimiya
4. Yoichi Isagi
5. Kenyu Yukimiya
6. Jyubei Aryu
7. Gin Gagamaru
8. Shuto Sendo
9. Teru Kitsunezato
10. Kento Chou
11. Rin Itoshi
12. Seishiro Nagi
13. Yo Hiori
14. Meguru Bachira
15. Ryusei Shidou
16. Tabito Karasu
17. Miroku Darai
18. Kazuma Niou
19. Teppei Neru