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"One more time, this time I'll definitely defeat you!"
Momoi could almost hear the childish, ignorant voice of Aomine from back then.
That was truly a long, long time ago.
At that time, Momoi stood on the court, watching Aomine play against a group of kids older than him.
Defeated repeatedly, fighting repeatedly...
Forgetting time, forgetting place, throwing his whole heart and soul into the game, enjoying the pure joy this intense sport brought him.
"Come on, Yuuto!"
On the court.
Yuuto once again transformed into a sun crashing toward the Teiko defense.
His talent had activated time and time again, but Aomine's condition was also improving.
What was meant to come had finally come.
If this continued, Aomine would sooner or later step into the domain of the Zone.
At that time, all of Aomine's physical potential would be released. That would be the moment the Ace of the Generation of Miracles revealed his true face.
Yuuto's indifferent face showed a ripple of emotion; he gritted his teeth slightly.
"Get lost!"
He shouted, electricity wildly blooming from his hands. The Thunder Dribble was exerted to its extreme.
Abandoning all flashiness, he returned to simplicity, carrying a heaviness solely focused on taking down the opponent.
He passed him!
Even this Aomine couldn't stop Yuuto's footsteps.
Yuuto swept through like a hurricane, killing his way into the Teiko paint.
Akashi suddenly darted out, trying to cover the position.
Useless.
At this distance, Yuuto could already attack the rim directly.
But...
"The Generation of Miracles is not just one person, Yuuto."
As soon as Akashi's voice fell, a shadow rapidly rose into the air, shrouding Yuuto completely.
It was Atsushi Murasakibara.
The giant purple baby now had no impatience on his face. With a fierce, childish intensity, he swung his massive palm down.
"Get down!"
"!"
But Yuuto pulled off another mid-air clutch.
Using almost the exact same method as Aomine, he pulled the ball down the moment Murasakibara's palm swung, then twisted his body in the air, maneuvering to the other side of the rim for a reverse layup.
"He can't even stop that?!" The Teiko head coach cursed inwardly at the absurdity.
Their defense was already maximized; it couldn't be better.
That Yuuto could score was purely because he was that good.
This was a typical "superstar goal," having nothing to do with defensive logic anymore.
The fans in the arena were still cheering.
Cheering for Yuuto's earth-shattering goal.
Only a few noticed.
"Teiko's team style has changed."
"Yeah, ever since Akashi regained his cool, Teiko has become more of a unit, not just relying on individual heroics."
Genta Takeuchi felt fortunate that he brought his prized disciple to watch the game live.
The soul of a team isn't necessarily the Ace player.
Whether it was Yuuto or Akashi, today they both played the role of leading their teams forward, using different means to condense the team's strength.
This is the quality a truly excellent leader should possess.
They saw Teiko's change.
In fact, many could see the difference in Teiko compared to before.
Offense, defense—everything was played more like a cohesive whole.
This was unseen in previous matches. But what they couldn't sense was that the situation on the court was silently shifting.
"This sucks."
Yuuto was all too familiar with this feeling.
During the simulation process, he had experienced it many, many times.
Game continues.
Teiko's ball.
Teiko played increasingly as a unit. Under Akashi's leadership, they constantly stabbed at the holes in Homi Academy's defense.
Under the radar, Aomine's state was escalating.
This elevation had caught up to, or rather surpassed, the speed of Yuuto's Weakness Correction.
Finally.
After reaching a certain critical point.
With a silent BOOM, Aomine arrived in front of a large door.
That door exuded a mysterious aura, seemingly standing there for eternity.
The door opened. Aomine moved his legs and stepped inside, immersing himself in a body of water. The surroundings instantly became silent.
On the court.
Yuuto, radiating cold electricity, bypassed layers of defense and pierced into the Teiko paint like a sharp knife.
Facing Murasakibara, his body crooked and askew in mid-air, he found space to shoot despite having lost his balance.
This ability was enough to make coaches stomp their feet.
He felt this was probably how other teams felt facing Aomine.
Unreasonable scoring ability.
But just then.
Just as almost everyone thought this ball was good.
A figure at the free-throw line burst into this "domain" with speed that left no time to cover one's ears.
ZZZT!
Blue lightning blossomed without any warning, as brilliant as fireworks in the night.
In mid-air, Yuuto's eyes suddenly widened.
Almost simultaneously.
Aomine's silhouette appeared in the trajectory of the basketball.
SMACK!
With a swat of his palm, the shot Yuuto was determined to make was slapped to the floor.
"!!!"
"Yu... Yuuto... was blocked?!"
The agitated people of Tochigi felt their hearts skip a beat.
Since Yuuto flipped his scoring switch, the people of Tokyo hadn't been able to stop him even once.
But...
Thud!
Aomine's body landed lightly, followed immediately by an explosive acceleration.
"Haizaki, protect the ball!" The old coach roared from the sidelines, telling Haizaki, who was closest, to secure the possession.
Haizaki tried to do exactly that, snapping out of his shock and chasing the landing point of the ball.
Kuroko, having better dynamic vision, noticed something moving at high speed.
"Haizaki-kun..."
ZZZT!
Too late.
Blue lightning flashed past the corner of Aomine's eye. Haizaki only felt something streak past his eyes, and the basketball before him vanished.
I knew it would happen, what is there to be surprised about.
Yuuto roared in his heart.
Then, Haizaki felt another figure pass by his side.
Turning his head again, Yuuto was already chasing Aomine across the centerline.
They were too fast; in a blink, they ran from one half-court to the other.
Yuuto used every ounce of his strength to intercept Aomine at the free-throw line.
But Aomine.
It was still that flashy streetball style—at least in Yuuto's eyes, this basketball was practically farting around, indistinguishable from juggling skills.
Only now, Aomine, having entered the Zone domain, had taken his speed to another level.
He was like the embodiment of chaos; his offensive patterns were untraceable.
Facing Yuuto's single coverage, he turned into a beam of blue light, suddenly ducking and sweeping past Yuuto's side.
Yuuto didn't stand idle; he reacted. With his back to Aomine, he reached out his arm and poked the ball away.
However.
Aomine's expression didn't even change. His fully absorbed focus actually allowed his brain to predict this scene.
Though the ball left his control, he spun with the momentum, caught the ball again, drove into the paint, and dunked it home.
...
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