Inoue stood frozen, murmuring under his breath.
"No… no way… he… he just… dunked?"
He began doubting himself. The freshman he had just defended—did he really just dunk?
The point guard stared blankly at Daiki Aomine, then turned to look at Miyamoto Tokima.
Hey, hey, hey—one freak wasn't enough, now there's a second one???
"Am I dreaming? That freshman just dunked, right?"
"If you're dreaming, why the hell are you pinching me?!"
"He really dunked… Is he seriously only a freshman?"
The stands erupted into noisy chatter.
Daiki Aomine pumped his fist excitedly and jogged back on defense, running up beside Miyamoto Tokima.
"Hey, Tokima, how was that? Pretty cool dunk, right?"
Miyamoto Tokima nodded helplessly.
"Yeah. Very cool."
Uesaki's center inbounded the ball straight to Inoue.
Inoue wasn't shaken by Aomine's dunk—at most, he was surprised. After all, he'd already been dunked on countless times by Nijimura.
He dribbled the ball past half-court, facing Daiki Aomine's defense. Lowering his center of gravity, he decided to teach this rookie a lesson.
He burst hard to the right.
Daiki Aomine immediately kept up.
Inoue switched the ball from his right hand to his left—a crossover.
Another crossover? That won't fool me.
Aomine shifted to his own right to cut him off.
The corner of Inoue's mouth lifted slightly. The instant his left hand touched the ball, he swung it back to his right.
A double crossover.
Crap.
Daiki Aomine realized he'd been fooled. Inoue had already blown past him on the left.
He hurriedly turned, reaching in to strip the ball—but Inoue had already gathered it, stopping abruptly for a pull-up jumper.
Atsushi Murasakibara tried to rotate over, but his defensive range was nothing like what it would be in high school.
Swish.
The ball slid cleanly through the net.
Daiki Aomine wasn't discouraged. He kept calling for the ball, trading baskets with Inoue.
The game turned completely into a one-on-one duel between the two.
Originally, Seijuro Akashi only planned to give Daiki Aomine five possessions, but he couldn't withstand Aomine's constant pleading. In the end, he passed him a few more balls, right up until the first quarter ended.
The score was Teikō Middle School 23, Uesaki 21.
Uesaki showed astonishing toughness, keeping Teikō's lead to just two points.
Exhausted, Daiki Aomine dropped onto the bench, gulping down water handed to him by a teammate.
The assistant coach glanced over everyone's condition.
"Next quarter, Aomine comes out. Haizaki goes in."
"Huh? Coach, I can still play."
Aomine protested, clearly unsatisfied.
But one look from the coach shut him up.
Shogo Haizaki nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Miyamoto Tokima, a trace of fear still lingering on his face.
Ever since that night when he'd chatted with the Grim Reaper, Haizaki had developed a psychological shadow toward Miyamoto Tokima. Now, whenever Tokima spoke to him, Haizaki would instinctively snap to attention.
The game resumed.
Shogo Haizaki took the court.
Miyamoto Tokima casually said,
"Play well. Don't mess it up."
Haizaki immediately stood straight and nodded repeatedly, assuring him he wouldn't.
Teikō had possession.
Seijuro Akashi dribbled past half-court, calmly surveying the floor.
Uesaki's Inoue was still on the court. His stamina was clearly better than Daiki Aomine's, who hadn't yet fully awakened.
After Aomine subbed out, Miyamoto Tokima took over his matchup. Shogo Haizaki played at small forward.
Akashi passed the ball to Haizaki, curious to see how far he could go.
Haizaki caught the ball and looked at the Uesaki small forward guarding him. He gave a wicked grin and licked his lips.
Being afraid of Miyamoto Tokima didn't mean his personality had changed. Toward everyone else, he was the same as ever.
Haizaki slammed the ball down and blew past the defender in a single step.
The center tried to rotate over, but Haizaki stopped abruptly and released the shot.
It was exactly the same move Inoue had just used.
What?!
That's my move!
Inoue stared at Haizaki in disbelief. He couldn't accept that his move had been copied so easily.
Miyamoto Tokima thought to himself.
So Haizaki can already steal techniques at this stage?
The center clenched his teeth. He'd expected Haizaki to go straight up for a layup—he never imagined a sudden pull-up.
But there was nothing he could do.
As long as it went in, it was a good shot.
The point guard had just received the inbound.
"Give me the ball," Inoue called out.
When the team's ace asked for it, there was no reason to refuse.
The ball was handed to Inoue.
He dribbled toward Miyamoto Tokima. In his mind, Tokima was nothing more than a first-year with a fast release.
Even Daiki Aomine could dunk in his first year, yet Inoue could still blow past him easily. So he felt no fear toward Miyamoto Tokima.
If anything, he wanted to tear through Tokima's defense.
Inoue slowly lowered his center of gravity, preparing to drive.
"Hey, hey, hey—what's he thinking? Trying to break through Tokima's defense?"
Daiki Aomine commented from the bench, his voice filled with pity for Inoue.
The Teikō players on the court all wore strange expressions, as if silently mourning him.
Seeing those looks, the Uesaki players grew confused, completely unable to understand what was going on.
Inoue's focus never left Miyamoto Tokima. He didn't notice the expressions around him at all.
Just as he prepared to drive right, a massive iron wall seemed to rise from the ground, completely sealing off his path.
His forward momentum stopped instantly.
"Hiss—"
"W-what… what is that thing…?"
"Where did that iron wall come from?!"
Sharp gasps rippled through the stands.
Shintaro Midorima stared at the towering wall, his expression solemn.
There it was again. Every time he saw it, it was just as shocking.
Miyamoto Tokima listened to the murmurs around him, looking slightly exasperated.
Clearly, his defense was being wildly overinterpreted again. Everyone was being way too dramatic.
He had only taken a standard defensive stance, shading to the weak side—but in everyone else's eyes, it had turned into an iron wall.
Inoue stared at the steel barrier in front of him. His right side was completely shut down, leaving only the left lane open.
No choice—he'd have to go left.
Inoue abruptly dropped his center of gravity and drove hard to the left.
His ball-handling was excellent, but his left hand was undeniably less practiced than his right. The dribble felt noticeably more awkward.
Miyamoto Tokima seized the moment and gave him a small bump.
To Inoue, it felt like crashing into a solid wall.
The ball in his left hand nearly flew out of control.
Inoue hurried to adjust, trying to reorganize his offense.
Suddenly—
A massive hand filled his vision.
SMACK!!!
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser