BEEP~~~
The sudden timeout broke the rhythm of the intense game.
"What? A timeout this early?"
Although it was Shutoku who had called it, the most surprised were actually the Seiho players.
Veterans Tsutomu Iwamura and Kasuga Ryuhei, however, seemed unsurprised. They simply stood on the court, quietly watching the Shutoku players return to their bench.
Kasuga chuckled. "Looks like even if you recruit a member of the Generation of Miracles, it's still a double-edged sword.
==========
Except for Takao Kazunari and Midorima Shintaro, every other Shutoku player returned to the bench with a dark expression.
Seeing the mood in the team, Coach Nakatani Masaaki sighed helplessly.
"Midorima, sometimes you need to trust your teammates on the court."
"Sorry, Coach."
Midorima pushed up his glasses and apologized without hesitation.
His sincere tone eased the tension a little, until he spoke again.
"But for this one, Coach, please let me handle that guy myself."
"Hey, Midorima! What the hell did you just say? Say that again and I swear I'll smash a basketball into your face, you bastard!"
Midorima's lone-wolf statement made veins bulge on everyone's foreheads. If it weren't still during the game, players like Otsubo Taisuke would have already thrown a ball at his head.
They'd sensed his lone-wolf nature in practice before, but none of them thought he'd actually pull this stunt in an official match.
This wasn't just a personality issue anymore, this was basically ignoring the third-years entirely.
Coach Nakatani, however, didn't seem too angry. He stroked his chin in thought before asking, "You know the one marking you? Number 10?"
"We played a few games back in middle school."
"No wonder."
Nakatani nodded. "That Number 10's defense is relentless. He also seems to know you quite well, he's been glued to you the whole match…"
"Hmm… fine. You've got three willfulness passes today."
"What?! Coach, you're spoiling him way too much!"
From the moment Midorima entered Shutoku, Nakatani had given him plenty of privileges, one of them being that Midorima was allowed to be willful up to three times a day.
In other words,
Even this nearly unreasonable request of his was approved.
Some players looked ready to argue further, but Captain Otsubo raised a hand to stop them.
"If Coach has spoken, I'll say no more. But remember this, Midorima, if we win this game, fine, all is well. But if you cause us to lose, you know exactly what's going to happen."
By the end, the dark aura radiating from Otsubo nearly swallowed Midorima whole.
Even Midorima, with his usually unshakable composure, felt a twinge of intimidation.
But he quickly regained his calm, pushing up his glasses again.
"There will be no problems. Today's morning horoscope said Cancer has the best fortune."
"And I've brought my lucky item, a bamboo-joint cane; I put on my glasses with my right hand this morning; tied my right shoe first… I've done everything possible."
==========
BEEP~~~
The referee's whistle signaled both teams to return to the court.
Seiho had the first possession. Since the match had only just begun, both teams were still at peak stamina and focus. Without a single misstep, Seiho scored through coordinated teamwork.
6:4.
Shutoku's offense followed. First-year point guard Takao Kazunari dribbled past half-court, but with no chance to break past Kasuga Ryuhei's defense, he passed straight to Midorima.
"Hmm? Still going one-on-one? Not changing tactics? Or do they have something else in mind?"
From Seiho's perspective, Shutoku's choice was strange. Given the situation, simply changing their passing pattern could break through easily.
Instead, they chose the least appropriate setup, illogical on the surface.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not planning any sneaky tricks." Midorima, staring at Tsugawa Tomoki, spoke flatly. "But as a member of the Generation of Miracles, if I can't respond to a direct challenge, then I'd be too cowardly."
BANG!
The moment he finished, Midorima exploded forward.
"What? He's even faster than before?"
Tsugawa's eyes widened. Compared to earlier, Midorima's acceleration had clearly gone up another level.
But his surprise didn't last long, he instantly caught up.
"Still… if you think that is enough to shake me, you're too naïve."
In a flash, Tsugawa was back in front of him, blocking the path.
Such agility and reaction speed made even Shutoku's players' expressions change. In terms of defense alone, Tsugawa was now comparable to the Generation of Miracles.
But the moment he caught up,
Midorima stopped abruptly, stepped back just beyond the three-point line, and released the ball.
"Damn! His release is faster too!"
Tsugawa leapt to block, but quickly realized his jump height couldn't reach Midorima's shot.
After all, even without factoring in vertical leap, Midorima had grown to 195 cm since entering high school.
SWISH!
The high-arching shot left his hands and, unsurprisingly, dropped cleanly through the net.
"To challenge the Generation of Miracles, you've still got a long way to go."
Pushing up his glasses, Midorima looked down at Tsugawa with a calm, indifferent expression.
Tsugawa's eyes widened in both shock and fury. It felt like he was right back in middle school again. The bitter humiliation twisted his expression.
"Don't underestimate me, damn it!"
=============
108 Advance Chapters Available on Patreon! Patreon.com/Veltoria [remove brackets]
250 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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