In that moment,
Akashi's expression completely shifted from cold indifference to shock and disbelief.
"How…?"
"That Akashi actually, ?!"
Seeing Akashi not only fail to stop Akashi Asuka's attack, but even get hit with a 2+1, everyone's faces filled with astonishment.
Meanwhile, Akashi, who had fallen to the floor, felt an uncontrollable rage boiling inside him, his entire body trembling.
I actually… I actually made a mistake.
"Don't be ridiculous!"
"I am the absolute one… No one is allowed to oppose me."
"In my entire career, there must never be defeat. Absolutely never…"
============
Akashi Asuka's free throw landed cleanly, narrowing the score between Seiho and Rakuzan to 59 : 65.
Next, Rakuzan took possession.
Akashi Seijuro received the ball, and without any warning, launched into a sudden fast break. The explosive burst of speed in that instant shocked even the Seiho players watching from the bench.
"Not good, it's Akashi's fast break! Get back on defense!"
Someone shouted loudly from the bench, but before anyone could react, the spectators saw a figure crackling with black lightning streak past in pursuit of Akashi.
Akashi was fast, extremely fast, and with ZONE activated, his speed had reached a terrifying level.
However, the difference in height allowed Akashi Asuka to maintain a long-stride sprint speed equal to, if not greater than, Akashi.
Just before Akashi reached Seiho's interior, Akashi Asuka cut off his path,
"He's here! Akashi vs. Akashi, the ace confrontation!"
The audience and players from both sides held their breath, fearing even their breathing might interfere.
BOOM!
Time seemed to both freeze and rush forward.
Then, Akashi moved.
His rhythm under ZONE was no weaker than Aomine's, shifting acceleration in an instant beyond what Akashi Asuka could chase.
But Akashi Asuka had no intention of chasing.
Everything was the same as before, Akashi slipped past him easily, getting behind him. Yet no one reacted surprised.
Everyone knew, this was only the beginning.
The instant Akashi passed him, Akashi Asuka finally turned.
But at that exact moment,
Akashi Seijuro stepped back and reappeared in front of Akashi Asuka again.
"Not good… that's the Emperor Eye. Akacchi has already predicted Asuka's defensive movement." Murasakibara murmured.
The Emperor Eye, a power that nullifies all offense and defense. No matter how high the defense, it becomes meaningless. Murasakibara had learned that truth long ago.
"No, that's not it…"
Before Murasakibara could finish, Aomine Daiki spoke casually:
"Even if Akashi predicts everything, it doesn't matter. That guy's defense probably isn't based on 'prediction' to begin with. It's something simpler and more pure."
============
Akashi stopped moving.
His mismatched Emperor Eye pupils trembled violently in disbelief.
Because the Akashi Asuka standing before him,
Had no opening at all.
No, more accurately,
His entire body was an opening.
It looked like Akashi could break through from any angle at any moment.
But every time he tried to move, a crushing sense of danger slammed into him.
"How can this be?! I am the absolute one! No one can stop me!"
Akashi's expression turned sharp. He suddenly jumped, no ankle-breaks, no misdirection.
A direct confrontation. A dunk to decide everything.
Yet the moment Akashi took off, Akashi Asuka still did not react.
Did he read me?! Did he read my reading of him?!
Akashi had planned to use the dunk to draw Asuka into jumping, then switch midair into a layup to win.
But that plan died instantly.
"No… Impossible. No one sees further than the Emperor Eye… Then I'll just dunk you outright!"
The decision, the reaction, the force,
All happened in a single instant.
Akashi slammed forward,
And at that moment, Akashi Asuka moved.
PAH!
His arm blurred like an afterimage, so fast even the Emperor Eye could only catch the shadow of the motion.
The ball vanished from Akashi's hand.
Akashi's heart trembled for the first time.
"How… is this possible…?"
============
"That isn't anything fancy." Aomine said plainly. "It's just 'see the ball, then block the ball.' That's all."
"No one can out-predict Akashi. So from the start, he stopped trying to compete with Akashi in predictions."
"Earlier on offense, he used sheer grip strength and arm power to crush the ball and dunk it. Even if Akashi saw it, he couldn't stop it."
"And now? Same idea."
"When he went one-on-one, he shrank his defensive radius, entered ZONE, and used ultra-focused perception. Combined with his reaction speed, dynamic vision, reach, height, and shot-blocking skill, he created a no-fly zone."
"In that space, any ball that leaves the hand, or any attack that can't change direction, gets blocked instantly."
"It's basically a Demon King's Forbidden Zone."
Aomine had seen everything clearly. It wasn't complicated, but without entering ZONE, no one else could understand it.
"Of course," Aomine added at the end, "Even if it sounds simple, right now, in the entire country, only that guy can do it."
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria