"Ah, this~~ Although I already knew Seirin tends to warm up slowly, being this slow to heat up is still pretty unexpected!" Kasuga Ryuhei said awkwardly, a bead of sweat forming as he looked at the situation on the court.
One second earlier.
The electronic buzzer signaling the end of the first quarter had just echoed above the court.
And the moment that buzzer faded away, the score on the electronic display froze in place.
19:0.
A score no one had anticipated. So much so that when the first quarter ended, the stands didn't even erupt into the usual applause meant to encourage the players.
Instead, an eerie silence settled over the arena.
Looking at the Seirin bench and the faces there, dark and heavy like still water, Akashi Asuka spoke slowly. "This isn't just a matter of warming up late. Even if they're slow starters, Seirin's offense is still top-tier on a national level. Yet to score zero points in the entire first quarter… that can only mean one thing…"
...
"Yosen's defensive strength is just way too outrageous!"
Inside the Seirin bench, Hyuga Junpei felt like he was about to start cursing.
They had already studied Yosen's defensive level through game footage beforehand, but only after experiencing it firsthand did they realize that what they saw on video wasn't even half of Yosen's true power in reality.
Originally, they believed the toughest opponent in this match would undoubtedly be Murasakibara Atsushi. Yet the reality was that their shots, forget Murasakibara, were already incredibly difficult just trying to break through Okamura Kenichi and Liu Wei.
Throughout the entire first quarter,
Seirin used every method they had. But the moment they approached the area inside the three-point line, Yosen's players rose up one after another like towering trees in a primeval jungle, no matter where they went, there was simply no escaping their defense.
Aida Riko frowned deeply. Even though she had already predicted that Yosen's defense would be strong, the current situation was clearly beyond her expectations.
"Kiyoshi, did you notice anything?"
Suddenly, Hyuga Junpei noticed that Kiyoshi Teppei beside him looked a little off and couldn't help but ask.
Kiyoshi Teppei furrowed his brows in thought. "No, not exactly… it's just that… I feel like the current Murasakibara is a bit different from the one I remember."
"Different?"
"Hmm~~ How should I put it? Compared to junior high, he feels… a lot more composed now."
"Hah? Isn't that normal? Going from junior high to high school, some change is pretty common, right?"
"Maybe you're right…"
"No. Actually, I feel the same way." Before Kiyoshi could finish, Tetsuya Kuroko, his expression equally serious, interjected. "In fact, the moment I met Murasakibara-kun again, I already sensed that something about him had changed."
"What kind of change?"
"I've said this before, on a personal level, I like Murasakibara-kun. But as a basketball player, I didn't really like him. Because even among the Generation of Miracles, his physical talent was top-tier. And precisely because of that, Murasakibara-kun didn't actually like basketball. He even hated the sport. He only played because his talent naturally pushed him into it…"
At this point, Kuroko paused slightly before continuing. "But after meeting him again this time, I felt something from him once more, the feeling of loving basketball."
"Eh?"
The moment Kuroko finished speaking, the rest of Seirin froze.
"Kuroko, are you saying that…"
"I think it's probably because he was defeated by Akashi-kun during the summer. That loss caused this change in Murasakibara-kun. Whether this change is good or bad, I can't say. But there's one thing I'm certain of, right now, Murasakibara-kun is more difficult to deal with than he's ever been before."
As the Phantom Sixth Man of the Generation of Miracles, Kuroko Tetsuya's words naturally carried immense credibility.
And because of that, the mood among the rest of Seirin only grew heavier.
"No way… Don't tell me Murasakibara still hasn't even gone all out yet?"
The corners of Hyuga Junpei's mouth twitched violently. To be honest, Murasakibara's performance in this match had already stirred a certain shadow deep within the hearts of both him and Kiyoshi Teppei.
It was a shadow left behind not long after the Summer Interhigh, inside Aida Kagetora's training gym, by a certain someone…
"It's not just that."
At this moment, Kiyoshi Teppei spoke up again. "Even though the feeling isn't very clear, I get the sense that the current Yosen gives off a rather ominous, unsettling vibe."
...
"Beep~~"
The second quarter quickly began.
"Let's go! Time to get back on the court."
"Yosen may be strong, but we're not made of clay. Next, we'll use Kuroko's secret weapon to give them a real shock!"
This new secret weapon was something Seirin hadn't used in any of their previous matches. And now, against Yosen, it was the perfect time to reveal it.
The moment Seirin launched their offense in the second quarter, confusion and surprise immediately appeared on the faces of the spectators outside the court.
Because this possession, after several consecutive passes and a successful penetration into Yosen's interior, Seirin's final attack didn't go to Kagami. Nor was the ball passed to Hyuga.
Instead, it went to someone no one except Akashi Asuka and Aomine Daiki had expected.
"Kuroko… shooting?"
The instant they saw Kuroko holding the ball, Yosen's players froze.
"Why? Kuroko shouldn't have a scoring ability! And what is that bizarre shooting form? And why… does this feel so dangerous…?"
BANG!
Standing in the paint with an extremely strange shooting posture, the first to react wasn't anyone else, it was Murasakibara Atsushi.
There was no logical reason.
It was purely a sense of danger born from instinct that drove Murasakibara to appear directly in front of Kuroko in an instant, spreading his arms to form a massive defensive wall.
Yet all of it was completely useless. Because at the exact moment Kuroko released the ball, the basketball in Murasakibara's field of vision suddenly vanished.
The Disappearing Shot, [Phantom Shot].
SWISH!
The basketball reappeared above the rim behind Murasakibara and dropped straight down into the hoop.
"Beep~~"
The referee blew the whistle.
The basket counted.
19:2.
At that instant, the entire Court D, and the surrounding stands, fell completely silent.
After a brief moment of stillness,
The atmosphere in the arena exploded in an instant…