Chapter 45

**Battle to the Death** (殺 (ころ) し合 (あ) い, *Koroshiai*?) is the 45th chapter of Blue Lock manga series.

## Summary

The match between both teams commences. The game will occur in a mini-field with an area of 30 by 40 meters. In front of the nets, goalkeepers (Blue Lock man) are seen guarding it. For this match, Isagi, Bachira, and Nagi are Team White. Similarly, their Blue Lock Man is white to represent their team.

After a few seconds, the game officially starts. Isagi has the ball and passes it to Bachira. Because of this, Aryu assigns Tokimitsu to guard Bachira. To get past Tokimitsu, Bachira did a swift scissors kick and successfully got past Tokimitsu. After freeing himself from Tokimitsu, Bachira runs toward Rin and challenges him. Rin, however, remains indifferent. Nevertheless, instead of going against Rin, Bachira chose to pass to Nagi. Nagi runs forward to receive the pass. However, Aryu sees this and tries to steal the ball from Team White. As both players try to prevent one another from stealing the ball, they notice that the pass is short. Suddenly, Nagi realizes that the pass was actually meant for Isagi, not him. Suddenly, Isagi appears in the corner running towards the goal. Isagi, now in front of the ball and goal, attempts to score with a direct shoot. As Isagi’s shoot was nearing the net, the Blue Lockman failed to stop it. Thus, resulting in Team White’s first score. The score is now 1-0, with Team White in the lead.

After the goal, Team White huddles up and rejoices together. Both Nagi and Bachira commend Isagi’s growth during since the second selection. Due to this, Isagi felt ecstatic and confident. He also described in his head that Team White was a seriously strong team. Meanwhile, the opponent team reacted differently. Tokimitsu is panicking, while Zantetsu compliments Isagi’s goal as stylish. Nonetheless, Rin still remains unconcerned. Rin then describes their skills as lukewarm. Rin then states that, to some of the players currently present, football is just a sport. Rin corrects them, however, saying that football is a battlefield.

After Rin’s declaration, he tilts his body and attempts a score. Although he was far from the goal, the ball’s spin compensated for it. No one saw it coming. Although Nagi and Bachira wanted to stop the ball, their feet were glued to the floor. They could only watch the ball go past them. Similarly, the Blue Lockman also failed to stop the ball. Thus, the scores are now 1-1.

After watching this, Isagi is in awe. Rin was able to pull off a score from attacking in the kickoff. Nagi then asks Bachira if scoring at that location (kick-off spot) was allowed. Bachira answers yes, noting, however, that its rate of succeeding was not high. On the other hand, both Tokimitsu and Aryu were also shocked. Rin, however, reminds everyone that he could not care less about his teammates or opponents. May they be a friend or foe, to Rin they are all just lukewarm mobs that will serve as his stepping stone towards his goal. Rin then states that they should end this game already as it has become a waste of time.

Because of Rin’s arrogant remarks, Isagi confronted him. Isagi tells Rin that he, too, is betting his life here. Isagi joined Blue Lock for the sake of his goals, like Rin. After hearing Isagi’s words, Rin tells him that goals were not lukewarm and serene subjects. To elaborate, Rin notes that losing in soccer is the same as losing one’s reason to exist. Thus, by losing a game, the player has died. Rin concludes that, to him, football is a deathmatch.

All 5 players were shocked after hearing Rin’s remarks. Nonetheless, Isagi lets go of his momentary shock and chooses to bask in his ego. Isagi challenges Rin, telling him that the lukewarm match has now ended and turned into a deadly battlefield.

## Chapter Notes

* Team White consists of Isagi, Bachira, and Nagi.
* Rin considered his teammates and opponents skills as lukewarm.
* Rin describes football as a death match battlefield where one's reason to exist is at stake.
* Isagi scored the first goal of their team.
* Rin scored the first goal of their team.
* The scores are 1-1.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

1. Rin Itoshi
2. Yoichi Isagi
3. Meguru Bachira
4. Seishiro Nagi
5. Jyubei Aryu
6. Aoshi Tokimitsu