Very soon.
Warm-ups ended.
In front of Seirin's bench.
Hyūga Junpei stood up from the courtside bench.
"It's time. Let's go!!"
Just before taking the court, everyone formed a circle. Hyūga Junpei shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Our goal this year is only one thing—to be Number One in the nation!"
"Win it!"
"Seirin!"
"Fight!!"
"OHHH!!!"
Within the circle
Haizaki Shōgo cast a sharp glance toward where Rakuzan stood, his gaze growing colder and more ferocious.
"..."
Although everyone shared the same ultimate goal
Shigure Akihito and Nijimura Shuzo—
Most of them had deliberately avoided enrolling in schools where other pairs existed.
The reason was simple.
To let the Miracles settle things among themselves.
To advance toward the absolute strongest
Every Miracle who had gone their separate ways held the same belief.
To prove it…
They would not stop until everyone else was eliminated.
The quarterfinals
Clear this match, and they would face Kaijō head-on!
It was today
The strongest!
Not based on theory
But instinct.
At the same time, on the other side
Rakuzan.
As captain, Akashi Seijūrō stood before his teammates, wearing Rakuzan's jacket. A faint smile curved his lips.
"Everyone… today—"
"Victory, defeat, glory, despair…"
"Which one will it be?"
In Akashi's eyes, the Emperor Eye flickered to life.
An unfathomable, shadowy pressure surged from his body.
"Of course—victory and glory."
"In the end, only one team will stand at the summit."
"Rakuzan!"
"This is absolute!"
"Yeah!"
"Oh!"
"Rakuzan!!"
...
On the court.
Seirin and Rakuzan faced each other at center court.
In an instant
Every gaze in the arena locked onto these two teams.
"IH Quarterfinals—"
"Seirin vs Rakuzan begins now!"
"Bow!"
"Please take care of us!"
"Please take care of us!"
Tweet!
With the referee's whistle, the basketball was tossed high into the air at center court!
And the one jumping for the tip was
Kagami Taiga!
BOOM!
With a violent push off the floor, Nebuya Eikichi stared at the red-haired figure soaring upward like a roc riding the wind.
He couldn't help but think
This guy… in terms of height alone, he really is something else.
As expected, Kagami won the opening tip against Nebuya—who wasn't known for his vertical—and, following Seirin's pre-arranged plan, directed the tap straight toward—
Kuroko Tetsuya!
"That Seirin jumper—he's so high…!"
"Seirin gains possession!"
"It's coming…"
"The Generation of Miracles—"
"The Phantom Sixth Man!"
"Whoa!"
Seirin opened with a fierce assault led by captain Kuroko Tetsuya!
With Akashi forced to guard Haizaki Shōgo one-on-one using the Emperor Eye, the responsibility of defending Kuroko fell to—
Mayuzumi Chihiro.
Very quickly
Mayuzumi stepped up.
But the next second
Kuroko dropped his center of gravity, his eyes sharp as he glanced toward the frontcourt.
Then
Mayuzumi witnessed a terrifying sight.
The Kuroko Tetsuya before him was even more outrageous than in the videos.
His movements flickered—appearing and disappearing
One blink, the ball was dropping from his fingertips.
The next blink, it had already rebounded back into his hand.
It was
Misdirection: Frame Skip!
Mayuzumi: "!"
Absurd!
Misdirection could be developed to this level?!
Teiko's
What kind of monsters were they?!
Before his eyes
Kuroko's frame-skipping dribble grew increasingly horrifying.
Ordinary dribble combinations, when filtered through his frame-skipping, transformed into terrifying ball control techniques.
In that instant
Amid Kuroko's continuous disappear-and-reappear rhythm, Mayuzumi couldn't even react!
Then
Smack!
Mayuzumi: "!?"
As expected of the Kuroko Tetsuya who once blew past an entire court in a surprise attack against Tōō!
The end frame of his previous move and this instant's breakthrough didn't connect at all.
After an abrupt blank
The ball slipped straight through his legs!
Mayuzumi was beaten!
At the same time
Thunder roared!
"Thunder!"
BOOM!
With massively bulging thigh muscles pumping, Hayama Kotarō rotated over with ease.
"Yo~ Kuroko Tetsuya-kun. Even if you get past me, it's fine~"
"Because…"
"My speed is super—"
"Eh?!"
From the moment Kagami won the tip, Kuroko had been carefully observing Akashi's defensive positioning.
After receiving Kagami's tap, he deliberately drove toward the left sideline
To minimize exposure to the Emperor Eye's coverage.
Then
He drew the defense!
And passed the ball with pinpoint accuracy to
Kagami Taiga!
The passing lane avoided Akashi completely.
Not only that—its height was calculated to prevent Akashi from reading it early and sliding over for a steal.
After all
As a point guard, Akashi's speed rivaled Aomine's.
Whoosh!
Kuroko's pass was fast and heavy!
But just as expected
The current Kagami could fully handle this level of pass!
In fact
He jumped a beat early, waiting calmly in midair.
Both hands caught the ball
And he crushed it downward with a height-dominant alley-oop slam!
BAAAM!
The ball thundered through the net!
At the same time, Seirin struck first, sending their bench into an uproar.
"Kagami! What a dunk!"
On the other side
Mibuchi Reo, who was a step late on the chase, clicked his tongue.
"Incredible… That alley-oop posture looks like he's sitting in the air…"
"Tch~"
"That brings back some bad memories~!"
The crowd had no time to savor the dunk.
Rakuzan's counterattack had already begun.
Akashi took the ball
And Haizaki Shōgo immediately picked him up from midcourt, one-on-one!
However
Haizaki: "!?"
A pass?
From Akashi, this choice wasn't strange.
But the passing motion
It had no Perfect Pass concealment.
No rotation.
Just
A plain, ordinary pass?
And
The target, Nebuya, hadn't even shaken off Kiyoshi Teppei yet!
Haizaki: "...!"
Kagami: "!?"
Hyūga: "Ah… huh?"
The next instant
The Mayuzumi Chihiro Hyūga was guarding vanished from in front of him.
Then
Snap!
The ball was intercepted mid-flight!
Its trajectory and rhythm were forcibly altered.
Kuroko's eyes widened in shock.
"Misdirection!"
Inside the paint
Kiyoshi Teppei, who had instinctively reached for what he thought was a bad pass from Akashi, lost his balance.
He couldn't keep up with Nebuya.
Nebuya secured the ball.
Turned.
Jumped.
And slammed it down!
"Ora!"
"Rakuzan's first basket is mine~~!!"
But at that moment
A chilling sensation crawled up Nebuya's spine.
A crushing pressure surged from behind him!
HISS!
At some unknown point
Haizaki Shōgo had closed in.
Monster immersion activated.
Wild instinct, agility, Emperor Eye—fully unleashed.
"Haizaki!"
"Take him down!!"
"Go!!"
The bench roared!
BOOM!
Just as Nebuya was about to force the ball in
Haizaki sealed it with both hands!
A lateral, skillful strike shattered the power dunk of the monster strongman!
The ball flew free
Clanged off the rim and bounced skyward!
Higher and higher
Then
Thunder struck again, rushing in from afar!
So fast!
"Whoa!"
"Nice one, Haizaki!"
"Eh!?"
Seirin's players were still cheering
When a leopard-like shadow burst forward in a flash of lightning!
Under the roar of thunder
He was truly
Lightning itself!
The spectators gasped at the sudden contrast
From brutal block to blinding speed!
"Hayama Kotarō!?"
"This!"
"Whoa!!"
BOOM!
Before Haizaki and Nebuya even landed
They both saw Hayama snatch the ball out of the air like plucking a star from the heavens!
His silhouette blotted out the arena lights.
His face, shrouded in shadow, twisted into a feral grin.
Behind him
Kagami, unable to keep up at all, looked utterly panicked.
The scene radiated overwhelming pressure!
CRASH!
Hayama Kotarō—putback dunk!
As he landed, Hayama smiled.
"Everyone from Seirin"
"If you think Akashi, the little captain, is your only opponent…"
"This match is going to be painful."
"Very painful~"
"Step by step…"
"It's all coming~"
END OF CHAPTER
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