Swish!
The ball went in!
Yuuto hit a fadeaway step-back jumper over Kagami's defense.
The ball flew over his palm and into the net.
Mirage Shot.
Kagami still tried to reach the apex on both the first and second jump, wanting to block the ball at its source to solve the Mirage Shot problem.
But Yuuto's release was abnormally fast—far more lethal than his brother's.
This was the power of the Speed Shooting talent, and the reason Yuuto had never used it as fusion material.
Though it was only a blue-tier talent, it was extremely practical.
Turning around, about to prepare for the next possession, he saw teammate Mitobe approaching the scorer's table—they were making a substitution.
Kuroko was being replaced.
"Using Mitobe to replace Kuroko?"
Izuki Shun paused for a moment.
"Is it to let Kagami focus entirely on offense without overusing his stamina?"
Kiyoshi Teppei saw through Aida Riko's thinking—to maximize Kagami's current combat power.
This much.
He wasn't the only one who could see it.
The question was.
"Playing against me, where does he have time to rest?"
Yuuto was dismissive.
Mitobe couldn't reduce Kagami's stamina consumption, because reducing Yuuto's scoring was something the rest of them simply couldn't do.
But.
Yuuto was used to Seirin occasionally playing these house-games on the court.
The substitution was quickly completed. Kuroko bumped fists with his teammate and returned to the bench.
Aida Riko naturally offered some comfort: "We'll still need your strength later."
Kuroko nodded. He did need some time to cool down right now.
The game continued.
"That's right, Kagami—just focus on offense!"
"We've got your back—just keep charging forward!"
Izuki Shun, Hyūga Junpei, and Kiyoshi Teppei approached, telling Kagami to attack without reservation.
Though Mitobe didn't speak, his expression said everything.
"Yes!" Kagami nodded firmly, ready to go all out.
He then abandoned full-court ball-handling, letting Izuki bring the ball up.
Then.
He met Yuuto head-on again, clashing at high speed in fierce combat.
It was clearly noticeable.
Compared to the previous possession, Yuuto's movements had become sharper, his defensive actions crisper, with no excess movement. His reads were even more deadly.
Yuuto was adjusting rapidly, constantly correcting his weaknesses, putting himself in the optimal state to counter Kagami.
However.
There wasn't much he could correct from Kagami, because he was already strong enough—beyond the Generation of Miracles and Kagami.
Swish!
With 12 seconds on the shot clock, Kagami shook free of Yuuto's defense and drove into the paint, hitting a little floater over Yuuto's contest for 2 points.
But Seirin didn't celebrate for long. Yuuto received the ball in the backcourt and battled Kagami all the way to the frontcourt.
At this point, Aida Riko finally spotted the problem.
They'd added defensive strength, using Mitobe to replace Kuroko. It wasn't useless, but it had basically changed nothing.
To save Kagami's stamina by letting him focus on offense required assigning someone else to guard Yuuto.
But could anyone else on Seirin guard Yuuto?
Absolutely not!
Even Zone-state Kagami couldn't do it—let alone the others.
Still, her substitution wasn't completely pointless.
At least it let Kuroko calm down and observe the court situation.
She understood somewhat of Kuroko's mindset.
He and Yuuto were old teammates with a great relationship. Precisely because of that, he wanted even more to defeat him—his desire to win was no less than Kagami's today.
Seirin's substitution hadn't worked.
Fortunately, this was basketball with unlimited substitutions. In soccer, Aida Riko would have wasted a precious sub right at the start.
BANG!
Yuuto dribbled rapidly, the high-frequency handling even creating afterimages.
Seihō cleared out space, giving Yuuto a stage to perform.
In the stands.
Alexandra and Himuro's expressions were grave.
Even in the Zone, Kagami couldn't suppress Yuuto.
And visibly, Yuuto's movements were becoming sharper—constantly correcting himself. Even at this level, he could still evolve.
"It's tough, Taiga."
"Yeah. This is Yuuto's ability. A month ago, I matched up against him a few times. At first, I didn't think it would affect things much. But come the real game, I realized he'd completely figured me out."
Himuro understood Kagami's predicament very well.
Matching up against Yuuto easily made you feel helpless.
He would keep evolving during the game, and his evolution was entirely targeted at you specifically.
An absolute counter-specialist!
8 seconds left on the shot clock.
Yuuto attacked right with a behind-the-back dribble. This time, no fake—he simply blew past.
Creating shooting space, Yuuto didn't hesitate, gathering the ball to rise.
"Don't even think about it!" Kagami growled, launching himself sideways.
His leaping talent was truly exceptional—even in this situation, he could still contest Yuuto's shooting line.
But it was useless.
Yuuto adjusted mid-air. Star Bible activated its enhancement. With his body contorted, he used his Acrobat talent to fling the ball like a slingshot toward the basket.
The ball banked in off the glass.
"He's gotten even stronger again."
Someone on Seirin's bench murmured, filled with anxiety and lacking confidence.
Yuuto's evolution wasn't visible to the naked eye, but there was a very intuitive feeling.
The time he needed to score over Kagami was gradually decreasing.
Earlier, he'd been pushed to near-24-second violations. Now, each possession was ending in the comfortable 8-12 second range.
"If only the captain and the others could help defend in time." Some hoped other teammates could step in.
It seemed clear now—Kagami alone couldn't stop Yuuto.
But.
This was wishful thinking.
Setting aside whether they had the ability, Seihō's offensive system gave Seirin no such opportunity.
Everyone spread out, occupying different zones from Yuuto, giving no one a chance to interfere with him.
Coming back, Kagami called for the ball to continue the one-on-one.
This was the match he craved most, the one he'd waited a whole year for.
That longing became endless fuel. He broke through the Demon Eyes' prediction again, bursting into the paint and rising over Iwamura.
The Demon Eyes' prediction still wasn't direct enough.
He could see real-time changes in a player's physical data, and combined with habits, technique, style, and more, make highly accurate predictions.
But there was one weakness.
Players with wildness could resist using that instinct.
Like Kagami and Aomine—finding their Dead Points wouldn't be any easier than facing Akashi.
"HAAAA!"
Iwamura roared, trying to stop Kagami, but the gap was simply too great.
Even his full-effort jump couldn't reach the ball.
The talent gap was too massive.
At that moment, a dark shadow surged up from behind him.
Star Bible's enhancement.
Yuuto exploded with leaping ability rivaling Kagami's.
One hand flew in, targeting the side of the basketball precisely.
And Kagami?
He sensed the danger. Mid-air, he changed from a dunk to a finger roll, barely getting the ball over the rim.
"Oh, it went in again!"
"That Seirin number 10 is incredible!"
"Scoring consecutively over Yuuto—besides him and the Generation of Miracles, there's actually another genius like this?"
"Worthy of a team that broke through the Tokyo bracket—impressive!"
The crowd was amazed.
At this point, even trading baskets with normal-state Yuuto was already quite an accomplishment.
Though Seirin had faced Tōō and Shūtoku in the Tokyo bracket this year, to fans from other regions, they were still unfamiliar.
Unlike the original story, their Winter Cup run had been almost entirely against Generation of Miracles teams.
...
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