Seeing the two completely disregard him, Miyagi was furious. For a moment, he actually considered taking action directly—but reason ultimately triumphed over impulse.
He passed the ball back to Nango, allowing him to drive into the paint and finish the play.
But as soon as Nango received the ball, he suddenly stopped, standing outside the three-point line and raising his hand as if preparing to shoot.
Minami chuckled to himself. "Heh! Another one? Go ahead and shoot if you want!"
But the next second, his smirk froze. Nango actually shot—without hesitation.
Hmph! Seeking your own death!
Minami turned and boxed out, ready to grab the rebound and start a fast break. He didn't believe for a second that shot would go in.
But then—
Swish!
The basketball dropped cleanly through the net.
"Fast-break three-pointer?!"
"Isn't that Minami-senpai's move?!"
Toyotama's bench was stunned. It wasn't that they hadn't seen this technique before—but it was the first time an outsider had used it like that.
"In that situation, shooting immediately wasn't the safest option. According to that old man Anzai's coaching philosophy, he wouldn't have allowed that…"
Coach Kitano turned to glance at Coach Anzai, hoping to see a reaction. But the latter remained seated calmly on the bench, Buddha-like and serene.
Shohoku's players, however, were unfazed. They'd seen Nango pull off unexpected moves like that before.
"Damn it…" Minami gritted his teeth. Watching someone else use a move he prided himself on right in front of him was infuriating. "So you want a three-point contest? Fine—let's have one!"
"Itakura!" he called, making a quick gesture.
Itakura nodded. He brought the ball past half-court, waiting for Minami to run off the screen.
As Minami cut along the baseline, Iwata Mitsuaki stepped up to screen Rukawa Kaede. Nango immediately read their intention.
"Sakuragi! Go after Minami!" Nango shouted.
"Huh?"
Sakuragi didn't fully understand but followed instinctively. Still, his reaction was a bit late—Minami had already come around.
Itakura passed immediately. Minami caught the ball, glanced at Sakuragi closing in, and released his shot.
Swish! Another perfect three-pointer.
Minami glanced at Nango, eyes full of provocation.
Meanwhile, Itakura continued to taunt Miyagi. "You're too easy to deal with. I can pass whenever I want, shoot whenever I want. Maybe you should just get off the court already."
Miyagi pouted. "Look at the scoreboard—we're still leading by twenty points. Instead of running your mouth, maybe try closing the gap first?"
Itakura only chuckled. "Heh. It's fine. As long as we beat you, that's all that matters."
Although he pretended to be calm, Miyagi's temper was boiling. He was determined to teach that arrogant clown a lesson.
Shohoku went on offense again. This time, Miyagi didn't drive inside. Instead, he created space, ready to pull up for a shot—
"Senpai! Over here!" Nango called from the top of the arc.
Miyagi hesitated but passed the ball, thinking Nango had seen a better opening.
To his surprise, Nango caught the ball and immediately launched another three-pointer.
The ball soared high, spinning beautifully before—
Swish!
Ayako blinked in disbelief. "Nango… if that fast-break three-pointer earlier was excusable, this one is just… self-willed."
Akagi's expression darkened. "That play only involved two players… Is Nango getting a bit reckless?"
Mitsui crossed his arms and smiled faintly. "It's the National Tournament, after all. Even someone as calm as Nango can't resist showing off a little."
No matter what they thought, everyone couldn't help but glance at Nango again, hoping to find an answer on his face. But his expression remained perfectly calm—as if nothing had happened.
"This kid's trying to kill us with three-pointers alone?"
Toyotama's players didn't understand Nango's shot selection either, but one thing was clear—the score gap wasn't shrinking. It was widening. They couldn't afford to let him keep shooting freely.
Still, they had to attack first. Toyotama went back to their old tactic—Minami ran through multiple screens from Kishimoto and the others, curling out for the catch.
But this time, Sakuragi's defense was sharp; he stuck close to Minami, refusing to give him space.
Minami faked, then immediately made a shooting motion.
Sakuragi took the bait and jumped.
Minami pulled the ball back, stepped sideways, and shot again.
"No way!" Sakuragi twisted midair, trying to recover, his fingertips just a breath away from the ball.
This guy?!
Although Sakuragi didn't block the shot, his reaction speed shocked Minami. He could even feel the wind from Sakuragi's hand as it passed.
"Rebound!" Minami shouted, a hint of doubt creeping in. His release felt off, so he called for backup inside.
Damn it! I want that rebound too!
Kishimoto and Iwata Mitsuaki cursed internally. Even though Sakuragi had been drawn out, Nango was still under the rim, tightly boxing out both Toyotama forwards.
His strength was already close to Akagi's, and his speed and agility far surpassed an average forward. Against such a physical monster, Toyotama's players had no chance.
Clang!
The ball bounced off the rim. Three players leapt—but Nango soared above them all, grabbing the rebound cleanly.
As soon as he landed, he fired a long pass forward.
This time, it wasn't Sakuragi or Rukawa Kaede leading the fast break—it was Miyagi. He sprinted ahead, easily outrunning everyone, and finished with a smooth layup.
After scoring, Miyagi sneered, "Where are you now, huh?"
Itakura looked at him with mock pity. "Must be nice having such a low center of gravity."
"Let's see how long you can keep up that tough talk!" Miyagi snapped, stomping off angrily.
Itakura sighed, shaking his head. Truthfully, he didn't know how much longer he could keep up either. Their entire offensive system had collapsed. Toyotama's run-and-gun style required constant movement, but Shohoku had forced them into slow half-court sets, completely breaking their rhythm.
Determined to find a breakthrough, Itakura dribbled to the top of the arc—his favorite spot—and forced a quick three-pointer.
Miyagi turned and glared as the spinning ball fell through the net.
Swish!
He immediately regretted looking.
Because he knew exactly what was coming.
Sure enough, Itakura flexed dramatically, laughing. "Time to sub yourself out! You're no match for Grandpa Itakura!"
"This guy is really full of himself…" Miyagi muttered. "It's just shooting, right? I can do that too!"
He took the inbound pass, darted across half-court like lightning, shook off Itakura, and fired a three-pointer of his own.
Clang!
It rimmed out.
"Damn it!" Miyagi cursed.
But no one paid attention—Toyotama had already grabbed the rebound. Kishimoto secured it, passed to Minami, and Minami shouted:
"Counterattack!"
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