Himuro Tatsuya took a deep breath. He knew the opponent before him was extraordinarily powerful—Japan's strongest high school player, the one even his teammate Murasakibara was wary of.
But still.
He refused to be inferior to anyone. To defeat his brother, he'd put in effort beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
Triple threat into an acceleration, driving straight toward Yuuto's right.
This obviously wouldn't be enough to shake Yuuto. With a simple step forward, he cut off Himuro's path.
"Fast, as expected."
Himuro noted this internally. He hadn't thought he could blow by that easily.
No player worthy of being called "the strongest" was ever simple.
Speed, power, stamina, court vision, technique, basketball IQ—all of it was elite for this generation.
That battle against Rakuzan had been eye-opening, showing him basketball could be played at such heights.
But again, that same sentiment:
He, Himuro Tatsuya, would not be weaker than anyone.
Slap! His rightward motion halted instantly, and he shifted left—movements fluid and seamless.
Pump fake. The essence of basketball's deception.
This technique creates false movements to deceive defenders, opening opportunities for subsequent offense.
The core lies in the instant ball control after initiating the first motion.
Whether shooting, driving, or passing—you use your actions to manipulate the defender's weight, then exploit their imbalance.
The true masters could make fakes indistinguishable from real moves.
Hall of Fame legend Hakeem Olajuwon's Dream Shake was also a form of fake—though it emphasized footwork.
Himuro? His entire body was the performance. Eyes, body language—everything carried massive misdirection potential.
The instant Yuuto's weight shifted for a lateral movement, Himuro's body was already swaying back to the original right side.
The speed of the transition made the watching Seirin players gasp.
But his quickness was different from Yuuto's or Aomine's—it manifested primarily in the ball pickup phase.
"It feels kind of like Phantom Mirage!"
Kagami couldn't help but think of Yuuto's signature move that split into two.
"Fundamentally, both are about deceiving the opponent. If even Kagami senses that, it proves Himuro's mastery of fakes is extremely high."
Kiyoshi Teppei understood how sharp Kagami's instincts were—a wild talent on par with Yuuto's.
Players like that had instincts that could be eerily accurate.
"But if Kagami can sense it, Yuuto probably won't be fooled by moves of that level."
Indeed.
Yuuto wasn't fooled by Himuro's fake at all.
The instant Himuro accelerated past his side, Yuuto simultaneously stepped back.
That step was precise to the millimeter—perfect, without any opening.
Then people watched as Yuuto pivoted, lunged forward, and reached out to swipe at the ball.
Himuro felt a sudden chill run through his entire body. This opponent's instincts were terrifyingly sharp.
Even though he hadn't gone all-out yet, being read so easily wasn't something he could accept.
He retreated, actively backing off to create distance from Yuuto.
"Is that all you've got?"
Yuuto didn't advance, waiting for his opponent to make a move.
After being refined by Aomine, Akashi, Midorima, and Kise, his defensive abilities had reached an almost perfected state.
His defense was now essentially without weaknesses. But Himuro represented a rare type he hadn't faced before—someone whose fakes could push him further.
"Don't disappoint me."
This guy...
Himuro was shaken. This opponent was every bit as monstrous as he'd heard.
Even in America's street courts, he'd never encountered anything like this.
But still...
"What's there to be surprised about? I already knew this going in."
Yōsen's own roster included a monster like Murasakibara. Nothing should surprise him anymore.
He steadied himself and tried again.
The result: barely one step in, a sharp slap rang out.
Himuro's expression changed dramatically. Before he could process it, his hands had already lost contact with the ball.
"If that's all you have, then disappear." What Yuuto wanted to see wasn't this.
This level wouldn't contribute anything to his evolution.
His brain hadn't even needed to engage.
"This..."
The Seirin players were speechless. This King of Seihō was ruthless beyond measure.
"Just one possession, and he's already finished calibrating?"
"It can't be that simple..."
Kiyoshi Teppei had some understanding of Yuuto's adaptation ability.
Every evolution and calibration required his brain to perform massive analysis, identifying vulnerabilities and patching them rapidly.
That process took time—but here, there was no sign of it.
"It's more like pure overwhelming force."
Exactly.
No calibration needed. This level of offense couldn't threaten him for even a second.
...
Meanwhile, Seihō counterattacked and scored again. Himuro's teammates were simply outclassed—body, technique, everything fell short. They were background characters.
But Yuuto remembered that in the original story, Himuro's debut had been carrying a team exactly like this to defeat Seihō.
So that means Tsugawa isn't actually a match for Himuro.
Himuro Tatsuya—the best player below the Generation of Miracles. The title was well-deserved.
...
Himuro had the ball again.
All traces of hope for luck had vanished from his eyes. Against this King of Seirin, anything less than his full effort would mean instant defeat.
Visibly, his dribbling rhythm accelerated.
Same probing footwork to start, but significantly faster than before.
Kagami and the others immediately noticed the change. His brother was getting serious.
And compared to a year ago, Himuro had improved dramatically—truly giving off a Generation of Miracles-level presence.
As they observed, Himuro was already in motion.
Same playing style: every action carried enormous misdirection, using his movements to bait his opponent into reacting.
As his movements sped up, the defender's reaction window shrank dramatically.
Probing step into a dramatic crossover pull, then a sudden spin move.
"That's the Yōsen shooting guard!" Someone recognized him.
After all, Yōsen was Akita's dominant power and one of the most prominent basketball schools nationally.
Outside Tokyo, most regions weren't as competitive.
Rakuzan, Kaijō, Yōsen—these schools had monopolized national tournament berths for years, reigning as regional kings.
Such programs naturally attracted attention. As a starter, Himuro being recognized wasn't strange at all.
...
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