Hyūga Junpei noticed the expression on his coach's face. Rage instantly surged within him.
He caught the ball.
Dribbled.
Stepped back and fired immediately.
He couldn't shake Tsugawa Tomoki. Seihō's perimeter defender might not have looked impressive against the Generation of Miracles, but against everyone else—including players of Himuro Tatsuya's caliber—his defense was Tier 0.
Simply put, Hyūga's shot was a forced attempt with no real chance.
But Hyūga chose to shoot anyway.
"If Kaijō can do it, so can we!"
He roared, thinking of how Kaijō had broken through Seihō's predictive defense.
"This idiot!"
Kasamatsu Yukio shook his head watching this.
They could do that because they had Hayakawa Mitsuhiro, whose insane offensive rebounding ability bordered on obsession.
Did Seirin have someone like that?
This was nothing but a wasted possession—a desperation heave!
Clang!
The ball clanged off the front of the rim.
Instantly, the paint became a battleground. Iwamura, Ōmuro, Kiyoshi, and Mitobe all fought for position, scrambling for the rebound.
Seirin was clearly at a disadvantage—completely suppressed by Seihō.
"They even predicted the rebounding scramble." Aida Kagetora looked at his sobbing daughter on the sideline and let out a heavy sigh.
"It's not over yet!"
Just when Seirin seemed hopeless, Kagami burst through again. Using his extraordinary leaping ability, he rose late but arrived first, reaching for the falling ball.
He succeeded—outmuscling both of Seihō's bigs to snag the offensive rebound.
But—
The instant he tried to go back up, his pupils contracted as a figure flashed across his vision.
Slap!
"Yuuto!!!"
Every Seirin player's eyes trembled.
He let out a desperate roar. "You monster!"
All that answered him was Yuuto's explosive first step.
He scooped up the ball and immediately tore through the air, streaking forward like a beam of light.
Seirin gave chase desperately, with Kagami leading the charge.
But then he saw Yuuto pull up behind the three-point line.
Kagami—meanwhile—forced his body to stop alongside him, only to realize he'd been coming too fast. Momentum betrayed him, and he tumbled awkwardly to the floor.
All he could do was watch helplessly as Yuuto rose and released a shot that shattered their hearts.
Swish!
"Transition three—good!"
"Yuuto, the Lion King of Okukozome!"
"No miracle is coming! With a 34-point lead, no one can steal victory from the Lion King when trailing by this much!"
"After the Inter-High, Seihō will once again advance to the Winter Cup Finals! Their opponent will be Rakuzan!"
"A national sweep is within reach..."
The Okukozome television commentator had already pronounced Seirin's death sentence.
Kaijō, Tōō, Shūtoku, Yōsen—even Rakuzan—they all shared a common understanding.
Whether or not a team had any tricks left up their sleeve, falling behind by more than 20 points against Seihō meant the game was over.
It was an insurmountable number. And Seirin was now down by 34.
Yuuto landed, spine straight, looking down at Kagami from above. Kagami lay there like a tiger too exhausted to struggle—unwilling to accept it, yet powerless to change anything.
Aida Riko called another timeout.
No tactical adjustments were made. It seemed this timeout existed solely to halt Seihō's momentum.
Kagami returned to the bench, trying desperately to re-enter the Zone.
If he didn't use it now, there would be no more chances—even though nearly 20 minutes remained.
The result?
At this critical moment, he couldn't find that feeling at all.
Why?!
Why does it abandon me now?!
Kagami's heart was a turmoil of anxiety. He'd already noticed his teammates' faces.
One by one, every single one—heads hanging low.
Just like during the Inter-High. Or perhaps even more hopeless this time.
But—
Hope always favors those who refuse to give up no matter what.
"Coach, please put me in." Kuroko threw off his warm-up jacket and volunteered.
"Kuroko?!"
"It's fine. Please let me play."
Aida Riko hesitated. Putting Kuroko in now would certainly invite Yuuto's targeted attack.
"Please let Kuroko play, Coach." Kagami temporarily set aside his Zone concerns.
He simply wanted to keep fighting alongside Kuroko.
"All right!"
Aida Riko agreed. Things couldn't possibly get any worse.
"Seirin substitution..."
The timeout ended, and Seirin made their personnel change.
"I won't hold back. You know that, Kuroko."
Yuuto spoke first.
"A huge deficit—no sport is more torturous than basketball in that situation. But that's only true for those who've accepted defeat."
Kuroko's expression was resolute. He thought of a year ago, in that game where hope seemed nonexistent, where they faced absolute disadvantage—how Yuuto had persevered without rest and completed the ultimate comeback.
"I was also a member of Homi Academy. I'm also a lion of Okukozome!"
"Spirited. That's good. But I'm not Teikō. I'm the one who brought down Teikō."
Yuuto turned away, ending the exchange.
Seirin's morale lifted somewhat. That was the nature of this team—the members would always rally with everything they had whenever a teammate made a bold declaration or showed unwavering resolve.
Like cockroaches that wouldn't die, continuously creating miracles.
"But even with high spirits, how is Seirin supposed to win?"
Alexandra furrowed her brow.
What she saw was that Seirin's offense remained unchanged.
Kuroko's Misdirection had completely lost its effect. Though he was working hard to set screens for his teammates—giving everything he had—
Izuki Shun managed to knock down a long two by capitalizing on one such screen. But the deficit still sat at a staggering 32 points.
More importantly—
"Here it comes. The attack!"
Yuuto caught the ball at the top of the arc. Standing before him was still Kagami Taiga.
This man was the root of Seirin's despair.
"As long as Yuuto can't be stopped, Seirin has no chance. No amount of time will matter." Himuro Tatsuya knew all too well how terrifying the King of Seihō was.
He knew it. Alexandra knew it.
Strange. We're still so far behind, but I don't feel anxious at all.
Was it because Kuroko had returned to the court?
He couldn't figure it out himself. All he knew was that his mind had gone completely clear, his heart utterly calm.
Now there was only one thought in his head: He had to defeat Yuuto here and now.
"Let's settle this, Yuuto!"
Kagami roared. And alongside his voice, twin bolts of crimson lightning erupted from his eyes.
"He's in again!"
"There's still plenty of time left—this isn't the ideal moment—but this is probably Seirin's only hope now!"
This was certainly not the optimal time to enter the Zone. But Seirin had no other choice.
...
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