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Using his right foot as the pivot, he feinted a step with his left, followed by a forceful push off the left foot into a step-back shooting motion.
The entire process was executed in one breath.
By the time Aomine pounced, Yuuto's toes were still glued to the floor—Aomine had been completely faked into the air.
"Ohhh~"
Tweet!
The sound of the basketball swooshing through the net and the referee's whistle rang out almost simultaneously.
A 3+1 opportunity!
The south stands erupted like a volcano.
"Four-point play!"
"Yuuto! He sent Teiko's Ace, Daiki Aomine, flying!"
"The three-pointer counts, plus a penalty shot!"
"If he makes this, the score gap will be erased!"
The people of Tochigi were ecstatic.
This feeling was completely different from last year.
Last year, they could feel a genuine gap in strength. Their hometown team had no one other than Yuuto who could stand up and share the pressure.
Every person from Tochigi felt that despair deeply.
But this year was truly different.
Yuuto had helpers by his side. And...
The Homi Academy coach's prediction was coming true: Yuuto is the strongest high school student in the country.
They truly saw hope for victory!
Yuuto landed and walked past Aomine decisively.
The latter said nothing, but he could feel his heart rate accelerating.
That familiar feeling of boiling blood, absent for over a year, crawled back into his heart.
Swish!
Yuuto made the penalty shot.
The point difference was officially erased. The two teams were back on the starting line.
"Akashi-cchi..."
Seeing the score tied and Yuuto's unbelievably hot form, Kise panicked.
At this rate, their Teiko dynasty might actually capsize.
He wanted to ask Akashi if there were any other methods.
"His speed of correcting his own weaknesses is too fast. At this rate, he might even intercept my passes directly."
"However, it is not completely hopeless..."
Akashi called his teammates over and said a few words.
Then.
Teiko's offense.
As soon as Aomine crossed half-court, he reached out to Akashi for the ball.
He didn't give it.
Then, under the unexpected gaze of everyone else, Murasakibara pulled up to the high post.
The moment Akashi passed Haizaki, and the instant Yuuto rotated to help defend, Murasakibara's massive frame blocked Yuuto like a wall.
"Pick and roll? Teiko is actually forced to this extent?"
This was simply too surreal.
Teiko, famous nationwide for individual ability and holding the title of the Generation of Miracles, was actually forced by someone to rely on teamwork one day.
In contrast, Homi Academy, known as the Iron Legion, was relying on Yuuto's individual ability to conquer cities and seize territory.
Yuuto's formidable instincts allowed him to perceive the danger in advance, and he bypassed Murasakibara at the fastest speed to block Akashi again.
But the Emperor Eye was not for show.
Snap!
The basketball hit the floor and bounced into Aomine's hands.
Aomine caught the ball and launched immediately, his body gliding toward the hoop.
Yuuto completed his recovery defense again.
But...
"That domain no longer belongs to you."
With a BOOM, Aomine smashed the ball into the basket with one arm.
Yuuto's recovery speed was fast, but he was still a step too slow.
When Akashi gave up one-on-one play and tried every means to deliver the ball to his teammates, it was difficult to stop.
Especially when those standing beside him were teammates like Aomine.
However...
[Weakness]
[Correction]
Yuuto's brain churned again, incorporating the opponent's pick-and-roll into his "database," rapidly calculating the way to break this style of play.
When Akashi called for Murasakibara to screen again...
Before Murasakibara arrived, Yuuto had already bypassed the giant purple baby in advance.
"This monster!"
Teiko's coach was astounded.
This talent was simply unreasonable.
As long as it related to basketball, as long as it was on the court, he could quickly correct for any adjustment by the opponent.
Their all-out efforts to score ended up helping the opponent complete his own evolution.
Kentaro Fujimura (from the stands) had long since been stupefied.
From the moment Yuuto successively defeated Akashi and Aomine.
At this moment, he felt nothing but shame.
That kind of talent made the talent he was so proud of look worthless.
Heroes don't ask where they come from; perhaps his father wasn't necessarily right.
What matters is the person. Birth and environment cannot determine everything!
On the court.
Akashi still managed to pass the ball, this time to Kise behind him.
Imitating someone unknown, Kise flashed past Haizaki and once again delivered the ball to a cutting Aomine.
Yuuto twisted his ankle, his body crashing into the paint like lightning.
Haizaki's delay had an effect, and Kise's pass was not as perfect as Akashi's.
This time.
Yuuto completed his recovery defense in time, leaving no space for Aomine to dunk.
"He can even correct for Aomine's cuts..." Even Akashi couldn't help but sigh. Yuuto was infinitely approaching the ideal state of every player.
Omnipotent on both offense and defense.
However.
Just as Yuuto's large hand sealed off the front, about to complete the block, Aomine's eyes snapped open. He executed a double-clutch in mid-air to dodge Yuuto's arm, maneuvering to the other side of the basket to lay it in.
Pure individual ability. An innate sense for scoring.
This was the Ace of the Generation of Miracles, Daiki Aomine.
"It doesn't matter! Teiko can't stop our offense either! Next time, Yuuto will definitely defend it!" The old coach was much more composed now.
Yuuto had brought him a great surprise.
They really had a chance to win this game.
Yuuto thought so too.
His talent completed another correction. The stronger Aomine was, the stronger he became.
Offensive end.
He received Haizaki's pass and turned into a sun crashing into the Teiko paint. Facing Murasakibara's defense, he also used a mid-air double-clutch to dodge the block and score.
Coming back, Aomine received another pass from Akashi. Jumping on the right side of the hoop, he withstood Yuuto's defense and banked the shot off the backboard into the net.
The talent activated again.
Then a third time, a fourth time...
At this moment.
Yuuto finally sensed something was wrong.
When the [Weakness Correction] talent activated continuously, yet he still couldn't stop Aomine from scoring, it spoke volumes.
Akashi and the others also noticed that Aomine's state was rising step by step.
No matter how many times Yuuto drove him into a desperate corner, Aomine could explode with even greater energy to break the game open.
He was evolving toward a higher realm!
And Aomine himself?
He didn't care about anyone. The corners of his mouth rose involuntarily into a smile.
Under Yuuto's repeated oppression, the immense pressure made his body seem to awaken.
The impulse from his childhood—rushing to the court immediately after eating, challenging the opponent who beat him yesterday—returned.
This feeling intoxicated him, igniting the 36 trillion cells in his body.
The surrounding environment became quieter and quieter. Superfluous information was automatically filtered out by him.
Now.
In his eyes, only the basketball and the sun-like, dazzling Yuuto remained.
"Dai-chan..."
Momoi stared blankly at the boy on the court.
For a split second, she truly felt as if she had returned to the very beginning.
Standing on the sidelines, watching Aomine being beaten down, shouting ignorantly of the immensity of heaven and earth: "One more time, this time I'll definitely beat you."
...
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