Volume 3

The White Knights continue to pummell the Devil Bats into the end of the third quarter. Sena continues to take hits from Shin's Spear Tackle, but gets a little faster with each play, which Shin notices as a potential threat. After Hiruma benches Sena to let him rest his legs, he and Kurita try to intercept one of Takami's touchdown passes, but fail, bringing the score to 56-6.

Hiruma calculates that the Devil Bats now have no chance of winning and decides to quit. But just as he's leaving, Sena speaks up and states that he wants to outrun Shin. With recognition of Sena's determination, Hiruma decides to stay in the game.

Sena's speed gradually grows, and so does Shin's frustration. He finds it more and more difficult to block Eyeshield 21, to the point of barely grabbing him each time.

On the bench, Sakuraba agonizes over his mediocre performance and the pressure placed on him to be the White Knights' ace, when Shin is more deserving of the title. Just then, Miracle Itou's sticker flakes off his helmet and onto the field. When Sakuraba hurries to retrieve it, Sena crashes into him mid-run and breaks his collarbone, forcing a panicked Itou to drive him to the hospital and enraging Sakuraba's fangirls.

Before the final play begins, Hiruma orders Sena to break through the line at full speed. Kurita successfully blocks Otawara as Sena does so, with Shin right behind him. But just as Shin closes in, Sena immediately excellerates and outruns him and scores the last touchdown of the game.

Sena collapses onto the field in exhaustion, his energy completely spent. Kurita carries him away as Hiruma gives a passing congratulations for beating Shin. Sena nearly blows his cover in front of Mamori after she gives him water, but she clearly views Sena and "Eyeshield" as two different people.

The game winds down and ends with a blowout loss for the Devil Bats at 68-12, disqualifying them for the rest of the spring season. Kurita breaks down and bursts into tears. As the two teams line up and congratulate each other, Shin tells Sena that the White Knights will make it to the Christmas Bowl, a declaration of their rivalry.

Meanwhile, on the way to the hospital, Sakuraba learns from Ojou's medic that Eyeshield 21 had scored a touchdown after outrunning Shin. He silently weeps at his own uselessness. As everyone starts leaving the field, the newswoman from earlier attempts to embarass a still-crying Kurita. But Hiruma blocks her cameraman's lens with his palm, on which he drew an advertisement for new team players.

With the spring season now over for the Devil Bats, Sena winces through aching muscles and returns to a peaceful school life. As the clubhouse undergoes renovations, Hiruma tasks Sena with organizing the photos from the White Knights game. So he sits in his homeroom and pours over the photos while happily reminiscing about the past two weeks. But once Sena finds himself alone, he is overwhelmed by grief and tears.

Hiruma and Kurita then stop by to pick up the photos. Sena learns that they'll soon start training for the fall's Tokyo tournament. On his way home in the pouring rain, Sena stops by the muddy field, where a rope ladder is still lying out. He begins doing leg drills, tripping and sliding as rain and mud soak him. But soon enough, Sena finds his footing and passionately continues his stepwork, while Hiruma watches him quietly through the homeroom window.

On his way to school, Sena bumps into a short, hotheaded ball-boy from Deimon High's baseball team with a monkey-like face. The ball-boy skillfully catches Sena's football after a passing garbage truck blew it out of his hands, then yells at Sena for not throwing the dropped baseball he had asked for. Sena apologizes and explains that he was practicing for his team. The ball-boy's demeanor changes as he expresses awe at his dedication. He then invites Sena to watch his team's scrimmage later.

Sena and Mamori arrive at the newly renovated Devil Bats' clubhouse, with its new lighted front sign and casino interior. Hiruma asks them and Kurita to put up new recruitment posters around the school. As Sena puts up the last poster in his homeroom, he notices writing on the television in the corner. Upon closer inspection, he sees a message written in marker— "GO FOR IT! The Christmas Bowl"—and the signatures of Hiruma, Kurita, and someone named Musashi.

Sena watches the baseball scrimmage from the window and thinks about Hiruma and Kurita having to carry the Devil Bats by themselves. Just then, he notices the ball-boy catching pitches and decides to ask him to join.

Sena shows up at the baseball scrimmage to watch. Raimon, the ball-boy, is a great catcher but terrible at everything else, much to the annoyance of his coaches. Sena puts on a helmet to protect himself while watching, but gets mistaken for a player. The coach forces him into a jersey and pushes him to bat. He strikes out all three times, then dashes off when yelled at to run the bases.

Raimon strikes up a conversation with Sena when the latter returns the helmet and jersey. He turns down the offer to join the Devil Bats, saying that he can't give up on his dream to become a professional catcher. That evening, everyone watches the White Knights game airs on television. After playing footage of Sena colliding with Sakuraba, the newscasters include a voiceover statement that Hiruma provided as "Eyeshield 21," claiming it was a deliberate "homocide tackle." Sena agonizes over Hiruma's ploy, while Raimon expresses angry disgust.

Sena arrives at school and finds everyone abuzz about Eyeshield 21, speculating about who he is and expressing admiration for Deimon High's new "evil hero." He feels uncomfortable with these impressions, even more so with the hatred Raimon vocalizes for him. He and Raimon agree to celebrate each other's wins after school: the Devil Bats' win against the Koigahama Cupids, and Raimon making it onto the baseball team, as the team's new player list will be posted soon.

Later on, when Sena checks the list himself, he learns that Raimon didn't make it after all. Disappointed for his new friend, Sena returns to the clubhouse. He asks Hiruma and Kurita whether wide receivers need to be tall, which both of them deny. Hiruma then admonishes Sena for his poor managerial skills, and forces him to run through town while tied at the waist to Cerberus.

Meanwhile, near the school field, Raimon sits alone with a stash of celebratory snacks and solemnly stares at an old baseball glove in his hands. Cerberus suddenly charges and bites him, all while dragging Sena in tow, and so pair converse as Cerberus wolfs down the snacks. Raimon tells Sena that the glove was given to him as a child by Masaru Honjou, an all-star catcher and his personal idol. But he begins to cry, knowing now that he'll never follow in Honjou's footsteps. As he gets up and leaves, Sena

Hiruma walks through the school hallways with a cart of footballs while throwing them at random students to test their reflexes. When he spots Sena with Raimon, he remembers Sena's question about whether wide recievers need to be tall and throws one in their direction. A startled Raimon catches the ball without hesitation, so Hiruma triumphantly ties him up and locks him inside the cart.