On the court, offense and defense had reversed.
Sendoh brought the ball up.
This time…
He didn't pass.
Facing the five Kainan players who were prepared as if facing a great enemy, Sendoh moved as though he was strolling through his own backyard.
Calm.
Leisurely.
Almost lazy.
"Stop him!!"
Maki Shinchiro roared.
Together with Jin and Kiyota, the three of them rushed forward for a triple-team.
The posture was one that intended to crush him completely.
Three-sided encirclement!
But Sendoh smiled.
While moving at full speed, he suddenly made a motion as if throwing the ball toward the left.
His eyes.
His wrist.
His shoulder movement.
Even the direction of his toes.
Everything perfectly pointed toward Fukuda standing in the left corner.
"It's a pass! Cut him off!"
Kiyota Nobunaga instinctively rushed toward the left.
Even Maki, a veteran who had experienced countless battles, shifted his center of gravity by 0.1 seconds.
And in that split second—
Sendoh's wrist twisted in a completely unnatural direction.
The ball didn't fly out.
Instead, it seemed glued to his hand.
Following the movement of his body, it was violently pulled back toward the right!
"Another fake?!"
Jin shouted in shock, hurriedly moving to block the right side.
But the next moment...
Everyone froze.
Sendoh's figure…
Split apart in front of them.
In Maki's vision...
Sendoh broke left.
In Jin's eyes...
Sendoh was pulling up for a jump shot.
In Kiyota's eyes...
Sendoh had already passed the ball to Uozumi.
Everyone saw a different "future."
"What the hell is this?!"
Maki's mind stalled for a moment.
And in that fatal hesitation—
A blue figure flashed through.
Like a hot knife slicing through butter.
Straight through the gap of the three-man defense!
Not left.
Not right.
A direct charge forward!
"I already told you…"
"That was an illusion."
Sendoh's voice drifted softly behind them.
When Maki recovered—
All he could see was the back of the player wearing jersey number 7.
Leaping high into the air.
"BOOM!!"
A one-handed slam dunk!
This dunk wasn't like Makino Juro's violent display of power.
Nor was it like Rukawa's elegant and sharp style.
Instead…
It carried a strange feeling of smoothness.
As if the Kainan defenders were merely actors following a script.
As if they had willingly opened a shining road for him.
Silence.
The entire arena fell silent.
Then...
The roof almost exploded from the roar.
"WAAAAAAH!! Sendoh!!!"
"One against five?! That was literally one against five!"
"How did he get through?! Did he teleport?! Are Kainan's players sleepwalking?!"
"He's gone crazy! This is what a true genius looks like!"
Score:
50 : 59
The gap returned to single digits.
Sendoh landed.
He didn't roar.
He didn't celebrate.
He simply turned around.
Those deep blue eyes swept across all of Kainan's players.
At this moment…
The aura around him had completely changed.
He was no longer the gentle neighbor-like genius.
He was…
A top-level deceiver controlling the rhythm of the entire court.
"Want to continue, Maki?"
Sendoh lightly bounced the ball.
A chilling curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Your Zone can indeed make your teammates stronger."
"But if…"
Sendoh's figure slightly flickered.
As if he could disappear at any moment like a broken signal.
"If their eyes deceive their brains…"
"And their bodies can't keep up with their commands…"
"Then the more people you have…"
"The more bugs you create."
Maki's expression became as dark as the bottom of a pot.
He stared at Sendoh.
His fists tightened with a cracking sound.
The team coordination he was most proud of…
Had actually become a weakness?
"Don't let him fool you!"
Maki took a deep breath.
He forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart and shouted.
"Trust your instincts!"
"Don't look at his eyes! Watch the ball!!"
"Yes!"
The Kainan players answered together.
But their voices clearly carried a trace of fear.
That man covered in blue lightning…
In their eyes now...
Was more terrifying than a demon.
The game continued.
The next three minutes became Sendoh Akira's personal stage.
Or rather…
A massive magic performance.
Kainan attacked.
The moment Kiyota received the ball—
Sendoh appeared directly in front of him.
Kiyota instinctively wanted to pass.
But he suddenly realized...
The passing lane was filled with Sendoh's afterimages.
He hesitated.
Just 0.1 seconds.
PA!
The ball was gone.
Sendoh stole it and launched a fast break.
Facing the returning Maki Shinchiro—
He suddenly stopped outside the three-point line.
Maki immediately jumped to block.
But Sendoh didn't jump.
He simply stood there.
Smiling.
Watching Maki fly through the air.
Only when Maki began descending...
Only when gravity started pulling him down...
Did Sendoh leisurely rise.
Time difference.
The ultimate time difference created through visual deception.
"Swish!"
A perfect three-pointer.
Ryonan attacked.
Sendoh drove into the paint.
Facing the screens from Uozumi and Fukuda—
He didn't use them.
Instead, he treated both teammates and opponents as "obstacles."
He weaved through the crowd.
Using bodies to block everyone's vision.
The basketball came alive in his hands.
It slipped through Takasago's legs.
Flew out from under Jin's arm.
And somehow…
Appeared in the hands of Koshino cutting toward the basket.
Even Koshino himself was stunned.
He instinctively lifted his hand.
Layup.
Score.
"This…"
Koshino looked at his own hand.
His face was full of confusion.
"How did I score?"
"When did the ball even get here?"
"Don't stand there spacing out."
"Get back on defense."
Sendoh patted Koshino's shoulder.
The blue light in his eyes shimmered strangely.
"Right now…"
"I control the rhythm."
"Insane…"
"This is that spiky-haired guy's real ability?"
"It feels like…"
"It feels like that middle-aged guy is being played around like a monkey!"
On the spectator stand, Sakuragi Hanamichi's mouth was wide enough to fit a light bulb.
The straw from his drink even fell out.
Rukawa said nothing.
But the flames in his eyes almost erupted.
That realm…
That ability to toy with everyone on the court like they were pieces in his hand…
"Is this…"
"The goal I have to surpass?"
Rukawa muttered.
"Makino Juro."
Suddenly, Rukawa turned his head.
"If it were you…"
"How would you fight against this Sendoh?"
Juro paused.
He looked at the blue figure moving effortlessly across the court.
Then he looked at Maki.
Exhausted.
Embarrassed.
But still burning with fighting spirit.
"How would I fight?"
Juro tossed the last piece of popcorn into the air.
Opened his mouth.
Caught it perfectly.
Crunch.
He chewed.
A wildly arrogant smile appeared on his face.
With a hint of mischief.
"Simple."
"If he is a 'mirage'…"
"A false illusion…"
"Then use absolute violence…"
"To destroy this desert…"
"Together with the mirage itself."
Makino Juro raised his hand.
His fingers slowly clenched.
A flash of red light appeared in his eyes.
"Completely crush it."
"But…"
His tone suddenly changed.
He leaned back into his chair again.
Returning to the expression of someone happily watching chaos unfold.
"Right now…"
"Maki Shinchiro doesn't seem to have that ability yet."
"Half-step Zone versus half-step Zone."
"One is the emperor commanding an army."
"One is the magician deceiving the world."
"This grand performance…"
"Has only reached its climax."
On the court.
Score:
56 : 61
Before anyone realized it—
Ryonan had already chased the gap down to only five points.
Maki Shinchiro breathed heavily.
Sweat blurred his vision.
Looking at Sendoh…
Still relaxed.
Still smiling.
A sharp pain pierced through his pride.
"Sendoh…"
Maki lowered his head.
His voice was as rough as sandpaper scraping across the ground.
"You think…"
"This means you've won?"
THUMP!
His heart slammed violently against his chest.
A more violent.
A darker.
A more terrifying aura erupted from within him.
The purple lightning surrounding him…
Began to gain a layer of disturbing black.
"Since 'Order' doesn't work against you…"
Maki suddenly raised his head.
His eyes were crimson.
Like a beast preparing to devour its prey.
"Then come with me…"
"Fall into 'Chaos' together!"
BOOM!!
Two terrifying auras collided violently at the center of the court.
Blue and purple.
Slaughtering each other.
The storm…
Had escalated once again.
END OF CHAPTER
The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
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