When the second quarter ended and halftime passed, five minutes into the start of the second half, Kaijō had already overturned their six-point deficit from the first half—now leading by six.
At this moment
Midorima Shintarō was drenched in sweat.
After careful consideration, Araki Masako finally called a full timeout, giving Midorima a chance to catch his breath.
Seated on the bench, Midorima accepted a towel from a substitute and wiped his face hard, then took the bottle Murasakibara handed him and drank deeply.
After exhaling slowly, he lifted his gaze to the scoreboard.
70 : 64
Among everyone on the court, he was probably the one who had been mentally prepared the most for this battle—given the exhaustive tactical preparations he'd made before facing Kaijō.
But no amount of preparation could fully erase the reality now before him.
Shigure-senpai.
Captain Nijimura.
And
Fukaya-senpai.
The three of them standing together formed an insurmountable peak.
Shigure and Nijimura, in particular, were monsters with talent surpassing his own—and Captain Nijimura's suppression of his abilities felt almost… inevitable, like fate itself.
When his teammates looked at him, their gazes seemed to say:
You've already done everything you could. You were amazing.
And it was true.
Facing those two monsters
No one had the right to criticize his performance.
Yet
Those looks of you've done enough only made Midorima Shintarō's eyes grow firmer.
Teiko's philosophy of victory
There was no such thing as honorable defeat.
Basketball
The winner is king.
If this truly was his destiny, then he would shatter it for everyone to see.
Midorima flipped over his good-luck charm—the group photo taken at the end of last year's training camp—nudged his glasses up with a fingertip, and stood.
The two-minute timeout hadn't restored much of his stamina.
But his fighting spirit burned higher than ever.
On the other side
Murasakibara silently crushed his Umaibō snack, saying nothing.
His hair, already cut back to its middle-school length, was pulled tight by his own hands into a small knot at the back of his head.
…
When play resumed, the struggle remained white-hot.
Midorima came off the screen to receive the ball
After executing the set play, he shook off Fukaya Reiji, used Murasakibara's close-range screen, rose against Nijimura Shuzo's defense, and nailed the mid-range jumper through contact.
Swish!
The arena erupted.
But Kaijō answered immediately.
Still running through their system, Nijimura initiated from the top, delivered to Shigure Akihito, who drew the double-team and kicked it out
Fukaya Reiji finished with ease.
On the court
Both sides were playing absurdly sound basketball.
It was as if Kaijō had fully committed to shifting from first-half isolation to second-half tactical offense—meeting Yōsen head-on to claim victory.
Midorima and Murasakibara never relaxed for even a moment.
Especially Murasakibara—not in scoring or blocks, but in how deeply he participated in Midorima's tactical divination.
That massive body constantly in motion was overwhelming enough on its own.
"Defense! Defense!"
Driven by Midorima and Murasakibara, the crowd gradually unified into a single chant during Yōsen's defensive possessions.
Midorima's gaze sharpened further.
Murasakibara, meanwhile, was only thinking about one thing—
That Umaibō snack is huge. I'm definitely chewing it all the way through.
"Midoricchi!"
"Pass it to me!"
On Yōsen's offensive possession, Murasakibara made his desire clear.
Midorima poured everything into his tactical calculations, creating a one-on-one between Murasakibara and Kurokami Shinji.
The pass came instantly.
Snap!
Murasakibara clamped the ball with both hands, the sound sharp and heavy.
"Oh? A rematch, Murasakibara?" Kurokami said.
Murasakibara didn't answer.
He moved.
The next second
A body even larger than Kurokami's surged forward from the post.
Purple hair whipped through the air.
Front pivot
Fake!
Spin back!
Another fake—square up!
Continuous pivots off the left foot, paired with power unleashed without regard for stamina—against Kurokami's serpent-like pressure, Murasakibara tore open a massive shooting window with ease.
Then
Facing the basket, his left arm hooked across Kurokami's body, denying the steal, as he powered into the paint.
But Murasakibara knew
Against Kurokami's wild defense, he couldn't dribble long.
Two dribbles
Hard stop. Gather.
Still not quite under the rim, Murasakibara raised the ball one-handed and stepped forward.
Kurokami's pupils shrank—he'd almost jumped.
The move mimicked a dunk fake.
And against Murasakibara's size and bounce
Hesitation was deadly.
One-handed pull-back—back to the basket!
Dead ball.
Shoulder feint
Left
Right
Left
Right
Suddenly, pivot foot anchoring, Murasakibara turned sideways and flowed into a short-range hook
But then
A figure flashed past his vision.
Before he could react
BOOM!
A super-long-distance flying block from Shigure Akihito!
Yet
CRASH!
Another thunderous sound followed almost simultaneously
Midorima Shintarō came crashing down from the sky with a putback dunk!
The crowd was stunned.
Shigure's block had been impossibly fast and powerful
Yet Midorima had matched that speed.
At this stage of the game
To still pull this off
The scene looked almost like Shigure had swatted the ball straight into Midorima's hands for an alley-oop.
All eyes locked onto Midorima.
He stumbled slightly on landing—clearly pushed to the limit.
But the next instant, the usually composed Midorima turned and slammed his palm into Murasakibara's.
That feral, exhilarated expression made the crowd inhale sharply.
Yōsen was still behind.
Yet this Midorima
Felt more terrifying than at any point in the game.
Not stronger in raw power
But overwhelming in presence.
Everyone felt it.
Players. Coaches. Spectators.
"This is the best match of this year's Interhigh," someone murmured from the stands.
And as soon as the words left their mouth
The arena stirred again.
Because during Kaijō's next possession, Midorima directed a defensive switch that flawlessly placed him directly in front of Shigure Akihito the moment Nijimura released the ball.
Shigure paused slightly.
Then smiled.
"You're incredible," he said lightly.
"Everyone's evolving into monsters one by one~"
"If you've shown me something this good
then let me show you something interesting too~"
Midorima's expression hardened instantly.
He knew
Everything Shigure had shown so far was already present last year.
Even this state
He'd used it during last year's camp against those two Summer Kingdom prodigies.
And based on past experience
Expecting Shigure not to evolve further was wishful thinking.
On the court
Shigure Akihito dribbled casually between his legs as he advanced.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
In that instant
A chilling black aura began to seep from his body.
Then
Behind him, fused with the wild Mammoth, it condensed into a grim oni mask!
Everyone facing him
Saw it clearly.
Legendary Rukawa Kaede
Demonic pressure incarnate!
Crackle
Dark flames like Amaterasu burned in Shigure's pupils, rippling through the air.
Under that pressure, Shigure stepped into a new world.
Hip rotation
Crossover!
Step!
Step!
Midorima's center of gravity wavered—like riding a shaking toy.
"Midoricchi?!" Murasakibara shouted.
Liu Wei and Okamura collapsed to help
Shigure.
Between the legs!
Hard stop!
THUD!
THUD!
Two bodies hit the floor.
Shigure sliced through with a face as savage as the oni behind him
Leaving only Murasakibara ahead, braced like a fortress.
Then
A completely absurd fadeaway
Hang time
An unheard-of double-clutch
After slipping past Murasakibara's block
Shigure calmly passed the ball.
Far side.
The instant Kurokami Shinji caught it, his expression froze.
The speed.
The distance.
All extreme
Yet the ball settled into his hands with eerie lightness.
Almost
Like Akashi's perfect pass.
Without hesitation
Kurokami rose from beyond the arc.
Swish!
The net snapped.
The arena stared at Shigure Akihito in disbelief.
That pass
More shocking than the impossible shot before it.
And so
Everyone on both sides could only widen their eyes.
Midorima: "..."
As expected—
Every year, Shigure-senpai revealed a new, terrifying evolution.
Yōsen's turn again.
Midorima, eyes razor-sharp, brought the ball safely beyond the arc
Then suddenly stopped.
At the same time
With a clear wave of his hand, Murasakibara stepped up to set a screen.
But
What followed shocked everyone.
Midorima didn't use it.
Instead
Before the screen even formed
He passed.
Murasakibara caught it, focused completely on Midorima
Didn't roll.
Didn't move.
He simply raised the ball high overhead with one hand.
The arena fell silent
Then erupted.
"What is that?!"
"Ah?!"
"A three?!"
"You can shoot it like that?!"
"An alley-oop three?! Does that even count?!"
The image burned into everyone's eyes
Midorima sprinted toward Murasakibara
Leapt!
Nijimura and Shigure jumped as well
But Murasakibara stuck his hips out slightly, shifted the ball aside
The mistimed contest covered by his vertical leap.
Tap!
A light hop.
A soft feed.
Midair, Midorima twisted his body
Caught the ball
And fired in one motion.
Swish!
Nothing but net.
Midorima and Murasakibara slapped hands and immediately sprinted back on defense.
Behind them
Shigure Akihito and Nijimura Shuzo exchanged a glance.
"…That worked?"
"…Don't overcommit on Midorima."
"Spread the defense."
"That trick"
"works once."
"…Yeah."
"Time to close it out. If these kids don't hit the Zone."
END OF CHAPTER
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