"You two… are getting a little too full of yourselves!"
The moment he finished speaking, Shintaro Midorima's gaze sharpened dramatically.
A powerful aura began to radiate from his body.
Reo Mibuchi's expression changed—and then he realized…
Shintaro Midorima had disappeared.
"How is that possible?!"
Reo Mibuchi spun around, only to see that Midorima had already broken through their double team and reached the three-point line.
Kazunari Takao, holding the ball, caught the moment with his [Hawk Eye]. A grin spread across his face.
"Took you long enough to get free."
As he spoke, the ball was already flying toward Midorima.
Midorima caught it on the move and came to a stop.
His eyes locked onto the basket, his body already set in shooting form.
Behind him, Reo Mibuchi chased desperately.
Kotaro Hayama and Eikichi Nebuya also rushed toward him at full speed.
But it was too late.
Midorima had already jumped.
His gaze was sharp, his body light and steady, like an eagle spreading its wings.
He shot.
The ball left his left hand and arced through the air like a guided missile—
Swish!
"What?! You've got to be kidding! Mibuchi, both of you couldn't stop him?"
Eikichi Nebuya voiced the obvious.
Reo Mibuchi's expression darkened.
"I don't know what happened… That Superstitious kid suddenly feels different. It's like… like…"
Kotaro Hayama finished the thought.
"Like he activated Animal Instinct, right?"
Reo Mibuchi nodded quickly.
"Exactly. It feels just like that."
"Kotaro, you felt it too?"
Kotaro Hayama's expression turned serious.
"Yeah, I did. It's definitely there… But the question is—what is his Animal Instinct? And why isn't it showing?"
Eikichi Nebuya didn't bother thinking about it. He stuck to what Miyamoto Tokima had taught him.
"Who cares? Just give me the ball. I'll break through with power!"
Kotaro Hayama was speechless.
'What a brute.'
Off the court.
Shuzo Nijimura's expression grew serious.
"Miyamoto… that was… Animal Instinct, right?"
"The same as Zack's…"
Miyamoto Tokima nodded with a smile.
"Yeah. The same type as Zack's."
On the court.
Possession changed.
Rakuzan had the ball.
After crossing half court, the point guard passed it inside to Eikichi Nebuya.
With his back to the basket, Nebuya leaned into Taisuke Otsubo and began to exert force.
Otsubo's expression tightened—he was clearly struggling against Nebuya's strength.
Nebuya grinned.
"What's wrong? Didn't you eat today?"
Then he powered up.
Once!
Thud!
Twice!
Thud!
Three times!
Thud!
Each impact forced Otsubo backward.
Four times!
Thud!
This time, Otsubo completely lost his defensive position.
Nebuya immediately spun and slammed the ball in with both hands.
Boom!
"Nice one!"
Kotaro Hayama laughed.
Otsubo rubbed his chest, wincing.
Nebuya's strength was just too much.
But he quickly refocused. The game wasn't over.
He immediately inbounded the ball to Kazunari Takao.
At once, Reo Mibuchi and Rakuzan's power forward moved to double-team Midorima again.
Midorima's gaze intensified, pressure radiating from him as he began moving off-ball.
Just as Reo Mibuchi tried to follow—
He was stopped.
'Damn, a screen!'
His pupils trembled slightly as he looked at who blocked him.
It was Taisuke Otsubo.
Otsubo's expression was deadly serious.
"I'm not letting you interfere with my teammate."
Reo Mibuchi had no choice but to shout:
"Help!"
Kotaro Hayama, with his Animal Instinct active, immediately sprinted toward Midorima.
But it was too late.
Kazunari Takao delivered a perfect pass into Midorima's hands.
Catch.
Jump.
Swish!
Another three-pointer.
From the sidelines, Daiki Aomine stared intently at the court.
"What state is he in… Animal Instinct? Then why isn't it showing at all…"
On the court.
Possession changed again.
Midorima's consecutive threes had started to disrupt Rakuzan's rhythm.
Reo Mibuchi took the ball, facing Midorima's defense, and immediately called for a screen from Eikichi Nebuya.
Switch.
Now he was matched up against Otsubo.
A guard against a big man.
After a couple of between-the-legs dribbles, Mibuchi stepped back and gathered the ball into a shooting motion.
Having already been beaten by [Heaven], Otsubo hesitated—but still followed and jumped high.
Against [Heaven], you either rely on absurd vertical to block it—
Or you jump early to cut off the shot.
Otsubo chose the latter.
But…
Was this really [Heaven]?
Midorima immediately shouted:
"Don't jump!"
Too late.
Otsubo was already in the air.
At that moment, Mibuchi pulled back his shooting motion, a smile forming on his face.
Then he jumped.
Midair, he collided with Otsubo—
And released the shot.
At the same time—
"Whistle! Foul!"
Swish!
"The basket counts! And one!"
Rakuzan's bench jumped to their feet, cheering.
"Nice shot, Reo!"
"As expected of Reo! [Earth] for four points!"
Compared to other teams, their celebration was relatively restrained—just standing and shouting.
The kind of wild towel-waving cheers seemed reserved for Teiko in the past and Kirisaki Daiichi now.
Because of the foul, Reo Mibuchi stepped to the line for a free throw.
It went in cleanly.
After all, if he could make a shot like that so easily, a free throw was nothing.