The Captain's Pride

Short Summary
Tamakoma Second defeats Suzunari First and Nasu Squad, advancing to B-Rank' top tier, and is set to battle Ninomiya, Kageura and Azuma Squads in their next match.

Long Summary
Osamu and Kuruma barrage Nasu together. Kuruma takes too much damage and bails out, but he has left a gift for Nasu. Kuruma's Hound hits Nasu following his bail out. Osamu goes to attack her, but she reads his moves and sends her remaining bullets at him. Osamu is done for. However, Nasu is reaching her limit as well, and after apologizing to a newly arrived Yūma, she bails out as well. The match is over, and Tamakoma Second wins.

Jin praises the spirit and accomplishments of Nasu and Kuruma. Tachikawa notes that this must have been Osamu's plan from the start. Nasu apologizes to her squad for not being able to get four points, but they still praise her for being able to hold her own against that many opponents. Kuruma is met with a happy Betsuyaku and Murakami apologizes for not being able to assist, but Kuruma dismisses it and tells him that despite his strength even Murakami would lose sometimes. Usami and Osamu compliment Chika and Yūma as they return to the squad room.

The three commentators give a final rundown of the match. Jin and Tachikawa agree that had Kumagai and Hiura bailed out earlier, Nasu would have had a harder time with her battle. Mikami wonders if Osamu and Kuruma's respective strategies were reflected in the outcome of the match, but Tachikawa says there is too much speculation and that it was Murakami's fault that Suzunari First's strategy did not work out as well as it may have. Tachikawa finishes by saying it isn't fair to judge a strategy by the end result.

Continuing on with Nasu and Osamu, Tachikawa notes that the two saw each other in different lights and Osamu used his "defeat or be defeated" mentality to change his plan midfight. Jin suggests that Nasu Squad get a different ace, as Nasu's situation is similar to that of Arashiyama where the captain has too much of a burden and that the latter was able to solve it by transferring ace duties to Kitora. Tachikawa says that once Murakami stops needing to babysit his squad, they will definitely get better. Tamakoma Second moves up into the top group for Round 4.

Izumi and Ninomiya, who had been watching the match from the observation room, add final comments to Tamakoma Second's strategy with the latter saying that Tamakoma Second won by luck.

Midorikawa approaches Nasu Squad with gifts from Jin in return for Kumagai's punch which leads to a hilarious misunderstanding. The two squads exchange final words with each other before going their respective ways. Suzunari First meets in the cafeteria where Betsuyaku sets off yet another chain of unfortunate events, and Arafune and Murakami have a brief conversation about Yūma. Tamakoma First congratulates their kōhai on their win.

Later that night, Usami messages Osamu with the match up for their next round: B01 Ninomiya Squad, B02 Kageura Squad, and B07 Azuma Squad.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Rei Nasu
 * Tatsuya Kuruma
 * Osamu Mikumo
 * Kaho Mikami
 * Yūichi Jin
 * Yūma Kuga
 * Chika Amatori
 * Kei Tachikawa
 * Yūko Kumagai
 * Akane Hiura
 * Yuka Kon
 * Kō Murakami
 * Taichi Betsuyaku
 * Shiori Usami
 * Sayoko Shiki
 * Arashiyama Squad (Fantasy)
 * Kōhei Izumi
 * Masataka Ninomiya (Debut)
 * Shun Midorikawa
 * Tetsuji Arafune
 * Kirie Konami
 * Reiji Kizaki
 * Kyōsuke Karasuma

Triggers in Order of Appearance

 * Asteroid (Osamu Mikumo, Tatsuya Kuruma)
 * Raygust (Osamu Mikumo)
 * Shield (Rei Nasu)
 * Tomahawk (Rei Nasu)
 * Bail Out (Tatsuya Kuruma, Osamu Mikumo, Rei Nasu)
 * Hound (Tatsuya Kuruma)
 * Thruster (Osamu Mikumo)
 * Bagworm (Chika Amatori, Ken Satori/Fantasy)
 * Ibis (Chika Amatori/Flashback)
 * Asteroid (Osamu Mikumo/Flashback)

Adapted Chapters

 * Chapter 102 (pages 11-21)
 * Chapter 103

Anime and Manga Differences

 * After the match, in the anime, Nasu Squad visits Tamakoma Second, and Shun Midorikawa gives Nasu Squad a gift on Jin's behalf, which doesn't happen in the manga.
 * In the anime, Suzunari First is seen in a restaurant, which also doesn't happen in the manga.