[Mirage Shot]
Himuro Tatsuya broke through on an isolation once more. However, this time he was facing Kagami Taiga after he had entered his Animal Instinct state, and ordinary feints were no longer enough to play a decisive role.
After all, in a sense, the instinctive prediction granted by the Animal Instinct state was the perfect counter to flashy tricks like these.
Even so,
Kagami Taiga still failed to stop Himuro Tatsuya in the end.
Because this time, Himuro unveiled yet another new technique, one that could not be blocked even when the opponent watched him shoot right in front of their eyes.
SWISH!
The basketball dropped cleanly through the hoop.
52:30.
Himuro Tatsuya's sudden new move instantly became yet another crushing weight pressing down on Seirin.
But this time, Seirin didn't have the luxury of feeling discouraged. Almost immediately, they launched a counterattack.
SLAP!
Accompanied by a crisp impact sound, Yosen hadn't even realized what happened when the basketball shot forward like a straight laser beam, crossing the entire court in an instant and arriving beyond Yosen's three-point line.
With Murasakibara joining the offense, Yosen's defense had inadvertently left behind a tiny opening. Other teams might not have been able to capitalize on it, but Tetsuya Kuroko just happened to possess exactly that ability.
Receiving the pass, Hyuga Junpei fired off a decisive three-pointer without hesitation.
SWISH!
52:33.
"Accelerated pass?"
Several onlookers outside the court stared in shock. "But didn't only Kagami used to be able to catch that?"
·····
"Of course, it's because everyone has improved."
On Seirin's bench, Aida Riko murmured, "During the summer, we specifically focused on strengthening everyone's basic physical conditioning. Now, every member of Seirin can catch Kuroko's accelerated passes."
Fukui Kensuke dribbled the ball, his expression dark.
"Damn it… we're clearly the ones with the advantage right now, so why isn't the gap widening? Why is it actually shrinking? And Seirin, aren't they being a little too stubborn?"
Under normal circumstances, with Murasakibara and Himuro erupting one after another, the score gap between Yosen and Seirin should have only continued to grow wider.
Yet the reality was the opposite, the difference was not expanding at all, and was instead gradually shrinking…
"So where exactly is the problem?"
Fukui Kensuke scanned his surroundings, trying to find the source of this unexpected outcome.
But at the very instant his focus wavered, a sharp shout rang out,
"Fukui, watch out!"
SLAP!
The warning from his teammate came a moment too late.
Taking advantage of Fukui's distraction, Shun Izuki suddenly reached out and stole the ball.
"Ooooh!"
"A steal!"
"This is a perfect chance for Seirin to counter!"
That sudden, brilliant steal instantly sent the spectators into an uproar.
Seirin immediately launched a fast break,
"Annoying bunch. I'll crush you myself."
Seirin's counterattack was already fast enough, but there was someone on Yosen's side whose retreat was even faster than theirs.
Leading the charge, Shun Izuki suddenly felt a dark shadow flash past him. When he snapped back to his senses, he saw Murasakibara Atsushi sprinting back at a speed faster than anyone on Seirin, becoming the first to return to Yosen's paint.
"Hey, hey, what are you, Superman or something?!"
Facing Murasakibara's pressure alone, cold sweat immediately poured down Izuki's back.
There was no doubt about it.
In a one-on-one matchup between Shun Izuki and Murasakibara Atsushi, Izuki stood absolutely no chance.
Fortunately, at this critical moment, Seirin's support arrived.
"Izuki-senpai, over here!"
Kuroko Tetsuya shouted loudly, deliberately revealing his presence. Izuki immediately passed the ball over. Upon receiving it, Kuroko instantly assumed the stance of [Phantom Shot]².
"Kuroko!"
Murasakibara Atsushi roared, decisively abandoning Izuki and charging straight toward Kuroko's position.
But before he could get close, the ball had already left Kuroko's hands.
SWISH!
52:35.
·····
"T-This… if I'm not mistaken, the one with the advantage right now should be Yosen, right?!"
Seirin's sudden burst of counterplay left Kasuga Ryuhei completely bewildered. Judging from the current situation, Yosen held an overwhelming advantage on both offense and defense, and there had been no major mistakes in their previous plays, so how had things suddenly turned out like this?
As the audience around him began chanting Seirin's name in unison, nearly every team understood that the last play wasn't just about closing the score gap. More importantly, the momentum had shifted.
Seirin had been on the verge of a total collapse, yet in the blink of an eye, they had not only stabilized the situation but even seized the chance to launch a small counteroffensive.
"Well~~ that's probably how it is. Even though Seirin still can't compare to Yosen in individual strength, as long as their players perform beyond their limits, with Seirin's teamwork, they can still put up a real fight."
"They probably got some kind of stimulus during that last timeout and had a brief burst."
Akashi Asuka said this aloud, but inwardly, he didn't believe it at all. After all, overperforming once or twice could be chalked up to luck.
But Seirin?
Every single time they faced a powerful opponent, this kind of explosive growth appeared with absolute certainty.
That couldn't possibly be explained away with a simple "they got lucky."
·····
BEEP,
Two minutes later.
The third quarter came to an end.
Before the buzzer sounded, the score between Yosen and Seirin was frozen at 56:43.
The gap had shrunk to just 13 points.
While that difference was still significant, compared to the earlier situation where there had been absolutely no hope in sight, it at least brought with it a sense of suspense.
And when the fourth quarter began,
Another surprise occurred.
Right at the start, Kagami entered the [Zone] once again.
Don't be fooled into thinking that because Midorima, Aomine, Akashi, and others had entered the [Zone] in recent matches, that this state was somehow common or cheap.
In reality, even for professional players, this door only opens under extremely rare circumstances…
At equal levels of strength,
A player who has entered the [Zone] and one who hasn't existed in completely different worlds.
Relying on the power of the [Zone], throughout the fourth quarter Kagami Taiga single-handedly shut down Himuro Tatsuya's [Mirage Shot], as well as Murasakibara Atsushi's offense and defense.
By the halfway point of the fourth quarter, the score had closed to 70:66.
In an instant,
Seirin's morale surged sky-high.
In contrast, Yosen suddenly felt an unprecedented pressure bearing down on them.
And faced with that pressure, Yosen made a decision they had never made before.
On the next offensive possession,
Murasakibara Atsushi powered his way into the paint on a one-on-one drive. But this time, facing Kagami Taiga in the [Zone], he could no longer dominate the basket at will.
So,
Murasakibara Atsushi chose to pass.