Chapter 58: Sorry, but the One Who Wins in the End Is Me
At that very moment, Nagi Seishiro made the most correct decision. Although he never watched match replays seriously, he had silently memorized Kira Ryosuke's technical characteristics.
Extremely high speed—
and explosive, straight-line shots!
Such shots were overwhelmingly powerful and could travel from long distances, but they also had one weakness:
they lacked curve, flying like cannonballs in a straight path.
As long as he intercepted that line, Nagi could block the shot.
However—
Nagi still underestimated Kira Ryosuke!
Total Concentration Breathing!
Thunder Swarm!
Kira swung his leg fiercely, but this time, it wasn't a straight-line shot!
He struck the side of the ball, giving it tremendous spin!
The ball seemed almost alive as it curved through the air in an exaggerated arc, skimming past Nagi Seishiro's side!
And that curve—
aimed directly toward the dead-angle of Team V's goal!
The keeper dove—
and failed!
The ball struck the upper right corner of the net with perfect precision!
"Banana shot!"
Kunigami shouted excitedly.
3–1!
Their advantage grew even larger!
"No…"
Mikage Reo stared blankly at the scoreboard, on the verge of collapse.
He had never trailed at halftime.
He had never been scored on three times in a single half.
He had never felt defeat looming so close.
Kira Ryosuke was completely toying with him.
When the halftime whistle blew, both teams returned to their locker rooms.
"Damn it—damn it, damn it!"
Mikage Reo shouted in frustration as he dropped into his seat.
At the start, he hadn't taken Kira Ryosuke or Team Z seriously—
yet now he had been pushed to this point.
The feeling of imminent defeat was driving him mad.
"Reo… even if we lose, it's okay, right? Both our teams already secured advancement…"
One of his teammates asked hesitantly.
"Okay? OKAY!? Do you have any idea how humiliating losing is!? I've never felt this kind of disgrace! Unlike you useless nobodies who don't care about anything!"
Reo had completely lost control, screaming as he pointed at his own teammates.
"That's enough, Reo. Let's figure out how we're going to handle the rest of the match."
Unlike Reo, Nagi Seishiro was calm. And very clearly—
he was invested in the match now.
Everyone's attention shifted toward Nagi.
In this match, Nagi had done something rare—
he was active.
He took the initiative in offense and defense, something the old Nagi would never have done.
"We can't afford to lose."
Nagi said seriously. Only then did the others notice—
this was the first time Nagi had actually broken a sweat in a match.
"Yeah. We definitely can't lose."
Zantetsu pushed up his glasses. His face was drenched with sweat, but his expression wasn't tired at all—
he looked even more fired up.
"We're going to win this match with a perfect record. We may be down by two goals, but we still have a chance. We just need to overturn it in one push."
"Hm."
Mikage Reo finally calmed down, exhaling long and steady as he shook his head.
"You're right. We still have a chance. We absolutely can't lose in humiliation…"
His mind raced, analyzing how to break the situation.
"So next—offense will be handed completely to you, Nagi. And you, idiot Zantetsu, you'll be handling the dirty work."
"Hey! Don't call me an idiot! Just tell me what I'm supposed to do."
"Restrict Kira Ryosuke. By any means necessary. On both offense and defense, you must limit him."
Reo said firmly.
"Kira Ryosuke is the one connecting their entire team. We cannot let him move freely. On defense, use your speed and reaction time to hound him relentlessly—don't let him breathe. On offense, screen for Nagi. Block Kira as much as possible. Don't let him defend easily. With your size, you should have a bit of advantage."
"…Got it."
Zantetsu nodded.
"In short, your job is to drain Kira Ryosuke's stamina. I don't believe he has enough energy to keep supporting both offense and defense! Everyone else—same goes for you!"
While Reo was talking, Nagi Seishiro was also thinking.
He replayed Kira's movements in his mind—
like memorizing a final boss's attack patterns in a video game.
…
On the other side, Team Z's locker room was full of explosive morale.
"Kira, that was awesome! Did you see Reo's face? He was totally losing it!"
"Nagi may be strong, but our Kira is stronger!"
"As long as we stay steady in the second half, the win is ours!"
Seeing his teammates burning with fighting spirit, Kira smiled and nodded.
A group of players who should have been nobodies—
had pushed Team V to the brink.
But Kira also understood that Team V wouldn't give up easily. They were just as hungry for victory and would fight to the very end.
He couldn't afford to relax.
After all, Nagi Seishiro was someone capable of creating miracles.
But even so—
Kira Ryosuke had no intention of giving victory to anyone else.
He had promised Aida Riko, after all.
…
At Seirin High School, Aida Riko was leading her basketball team in their final sprint training.
They were about to participate in the qualifiers soon. Only by clearing the qualifiers could Seirin advance to the next round of league matches.
She picked up her phone. She had sent Kira a "good luck in the match" message earlier that morning, and after that, she hadn't sent anything else.
The previous night, Kira told her they would be playing their final match today—
against the strongest team.
Although Aida Riko really wanted to know how he was doing, she forced herself to resist the urge to message him.
She hadn't bothered Kira much these past few days, wanting him to fully immerse himself in training for today's decisive match.
She didn't want to affect his condition. Besides, she knew—
if Kira won, he would definitely contact her first.
"You have to win, Ryosuke…"
Aida Riko clenched her fists tightly.