Omuro Yoshikasu froze for a moment, staring at the direction Hyuga Junpei had passed the ball.
If he remembered correctly, there had been nobody in that spot.
A mistake?
That thought flashed in his mind as he prepared to leave Hyuga and rush to grab the ball.
Suddenly,
"Omuro-senpai, don't move! Hyuga!"
The sharp command came from none other than Akashi Asuka, who had been observing all Seiho players from the inside. Although Akashi had warned them countless times before the game, he knew that once on the court, not every player could always act calmly and rationally.
Some things, after enough training and matches, became subconscious reactions.
Like Omuro seeing Hyuga's "mistake", his body almost reacted faster than his brain. Seeing this, Akashi instantly shouted a warning.
Thanks to Akashi's voice, Omuro snapped back and quickly returned to guarding Hyuga.
At the same time,
Out of the corner of his eye, Omuro thought he saw a shadow flash by. When he blinked, the ball that had "missed" from Hyuga's pass had completely disappeared.
A cold sweat broke out on Omuro's back.
That was close! This skill is basically vanishing!
Before the match, Akashi had explained the principles of Kuroko Tetsuya's ability to the Seiho players.
Kuroko doesn't literally vanish. His skill works by combining his naturally faint presence with misdirection of vision, two elements fused to create this unique effect.
But no amount of explanation is as impressive as experiencing it firsthand.
When the ball reappeared, it had already reached Seirin's center, Mitobe. The sudden pass caught Iwamura Nū off guard, it didn't come from the front but from behind Mitobe's body.
Ah, so that's what the "mysterious pass" means…
Iwamura narrowed his eyes. Mitobe immediately went for a layup, and Iwamura leapt to block it, but the pass was too sudden. His reaction was slightly delayed.
On top of that, Mitobe used a hook shot, so Iwamura couldn't block it in time. The ball flew over his hand toward the basket.
Countless eyes followed that single shot.
This shot carried the hopes of all Seirin players, it was the key to breaking through Seiho's defense.
Then, out of nowhere,
BOOM!
A massive hand swatted the ball midair, sending it flying. It felt as if it had struck all Seirin players in the face at once.
Finally, the real action starts!
Akashi descended like a force of nature, grinning at the Seirin players.
At 2.05 meters tall, he was like Mount Fuji blocking the entire Seirin team. The suffocating pressure they had already felt from Seiho's defense intensified exponentially in an instant.
Glug~
The sheer aura made Seirin players' throats tighten; for a moment, their minds seemed to freeze under the weight of it.
Until a shout came from the sidelines,
"Don't stop! The offense isn't over!"
Seirin snapped back.
The ball Akashi had swatted hadn't been recovered by Seiho; Kuroko had picked up the rebound.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Hyuga sprinted to the three-point line and yelled, "Kuroko, give me the ball!"
Crap!
Omuro snapped back and rushed toward Hyuga, but by the time he arrived, Hyuga had already received the pass and released the shot.
Yet the instant the ball left his hands, a shadow crossed his vision.
He blinked and realized the shadow was Akashi's massive hand.
Why… why are you here? How far is this from the basket?! …Where did this monster even come from, the ultimate overlord?!
BOOM!
A devastating block sent the ball flying out of bounds.
Hyuga's eyes twitched uncontrollably, his eyelids jumping as he tried to process Akashi appearing instantly in front of him.
The arena fell completely silent.
============
"This ominous premonition is true. No doubt about it, Akashi Asuka's strength can rival the Generation of Miracles."
Aida Riko spoke with a grave expression.
Although she had Akashi's physical data beforehand, raw stats can only reveal so much. Basketball relies on strength, but also on skill, game sense, and real-time decision-making.
Before now, she could only estimate his ability roughly, she couldn't predict exactly how he would perform in a real game.
Even prior match footage offered limited insight.
Before the D-Block preliminaries, Akashi had never truly displayed his full skill, and his playing time was minimal.
The only reference match was Seiho vs. Kirisaki Daiichi, which revealed his high technical ability but not his full basketball potential.
It wasn't until those two recent blocks that Aida fully grasped the terrifying reality of Akashi's skills in action.
Now we're in serious trouble…
Biting her finger, Aida's worry deepened.
Yet compared to Akashi's strength, Seirin's immediate concern wasn't him, it was Kuroko.
The game resumed. Seirin still had possession, but even with Kuroko's passes, advancing was painfully difficult.
The reason was Seiho's defense. Kuroko's sudden, unorthodox passes normally create chaos, forcing opponents to search for the origin and break their rhythm.
This time, however, was different.
Seiho clearly understood Kuroko's style. While they couldn't stop his passes, they could tightly mark the players he passed to.
The ball can't vanish on its own.
Seiho didn't care where it came from; their goal was simple: once the player they guarded got the ball, pressed immediately, allowing no chance for offense.
Even Kuroko's lack of scoring ability seemed accounted for. Otherwise, they wouldn't allow him this freedom.
Even Aida had never seen opponents analyze Seirin and Kuroko so thoroughly. From the very start, Seiho had cornered them completely.
Any way through? Is there a way to break this?
Aida began to panic slightly.
Then Kuroko moved. Silently, he slipped next to Tsugawa. Seeing Kuroko set a screen, Taiga Kagami decisively drove forward.
Tsugawa tried to chase, but Kuroko blocked him. Aida's eyes lit up.
Then,
As Kagami leapt for the dunk, a massive figure suddenly blocked him. A single hand swatted down.
In midair, two towering presences collided, the basketball at the center, a cosmic clash like Mars hitting Earth.
But the standoff lasted less than a second.
With a heavy, thudding impact, Kagami's towering body flew back like a rag doll, crashing to the floor.
=============
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