"Th-They… they did it!"
"Finally, Seiho finally stopped one of the Uncrowned Kings!"
"And Hayama Kotaro is now at four fouls… Seiho's counterattack is about to begin!"
As cheers burst from Seiho's bench and the supporters in the stands, Rakuzan raised the substitution board.
"Akashi, I, "
Before stepping off the court, Hayama Kotaro looked toward Akashi Seijuro, as though wanting to explain himself.
But the only answer he received… was a single, icy, emotionless glance.
Instantly, the cold creeping through Hayama's body grew even sharper.
============
"You walked right into it, Hayama Kotaro."
Imayoshi narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Tsugawa, the one who drew Hayama's fourth foul.
"That guy really is skilled at pulling fouls out of others. If I'm not misremembering, wasn't it also him who almost forced Kagami into fouling out back when Seiho fought Seirin?"
"That's right."
The one who answered was Satsuki Momoi.
She flipped through her intelligence notebook and explained calmly:
"Based on Seiho's past match records, the average T-draw rate of players facing Tsugawa is around 67%. Meaning, on average, anyone who matches up with him commits at least three fouls per game."
"No way! Seriously?" Kazunari's eyes went wide.
In Touou, he already had the highest foul count every game, at least two per match.
If he had to face someone like Tsugawa…
He would foul out every single time.
Momoi's data was indeed correct, but still not complete.
To be precise,
Tsugawa had been provoking opponents into fouls since junior high.
But that was merely from his personality.
In short: he was asking to be punched.
His naturally sharp, unfiltered mouth made him perfect at provoking opponents into reckless acts.
However, this alone didn't always work. Not everyone reacts the same way.
But after Seiho's match against Kirisaki Daiichi, when Akashi Asuka taught Tsugawa the art of flopping,
Tsugawa awakened a completely different level of foul manipulation.
However,
The reason he successfully contained Hayama Kotaro and forced a fourth foul wasn't only because of flopping.
It was because Tsugawa himself possessed defensive potential equal to an Uncrowned King.
He originally had defensive abilities comparable to the Generation of Miracles, and earlier his difficulty matching Hayama was simply due to rhythm adjustment.
Physically, Tsugawa's foot agility absolutely rivaled Hayama's finger speed.
Even without exploiting Hayama's dribble flaw,
Tsugawa could defend him head-on.
Because of that,
Tsugawa became the first player to shut down one of the Uncrowned Kings.
And like a fuse being lit,
The others followed.
The second to break through… was Spring Sun Ryuhei.
Among Rakuzan's three Uncrowned Kings, Mibuchi Reo had the most obvious opening. After nearly a full quarter and a half of effort, Ryuhei finally grasped the subtle shift in Reo's shooting center of balance.
"Damn it… he really saw through it."
Reo's expression stiffened. His shot wasn't unusable now, but the threat was no longer the same.
"Tch, "
Several shooting attempts were cut off before release.
Finally, with a deep, annoyed eye-roll, Reo passed the ball inside to Nebuya Eikichi.
Receiving the pass, Nebuya didn't hesitate, he turned into a battering ram.
"OOOHHHHH!! LET ME SHOW YOU MY MUSCLE DUNK!!"
He roared, shoving into Iwamura like a charging beast.
Normally, this was where Iwamura would brace against him with full force.
But this time,
When Nebuya pushed,
Iwamura released.
Nebuya suddenly lost balance, his center shifted uncontrolled.
Before he could recover,
Iwamura slammed back in, locking him into an extremely uncomfortable position.
Power comes from mass plus momentum.
While Nebuya's weight was unchanged, his momentum was gone.
And that was when Iwamura spoke:
"I told you before, power alone doesn't rule the paint. After going at it for this long, I've finally figured you out. Your strength is impressive… but your body is ridiculously stiff."
Nebuya's face contorted.
"Don't get cocky! These muscles aren't weak, I'll score anyway!"
He rose into a power dunk, going for a straight-up poster,
But the ball was slapped away by Iwamura before he even reached the peak.
"You're the one underestimating others. We don't let some second-year brat run wild under Seiho's rim."
"COUNTERATTACK!!"
Spring Sun Ryuhei grabbed the rebound and hurled a long pass downcourt,
Straight to Tsugawa.
The adrenaline from stopping Hayama had sharpened Tsugawa even further, and Rakuzan's substitute defender still hadn't adjusted to the game pace.
Swish!
Tsugawa drove straight to the basket and scored with ease.
"Yes!! The counterattack begins now!"
It was only two points, but they were everything.
This was the first point Seiho scored by breaking through an Uncrowned King head-on, without relying on Akashi Asuka or team synergy.
And with that basket,
Seiho's fighting spirit exploded.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria