"Coach, I want to go in."
Kotaro Hayama's firm voice rang out, drawing Hotani and the others to lift their heads and look at him.
Kotaro Hayama's eyes burned with fighting spirit, his expression resolute.
"Coach, I want to play!"
Seeing his determination, the coach nodded.
"Alright! Next quarter—Suzuki out, Kotaro in!"
When Suzuki heard he was being subbed out, there was no disappointment on his face—only delight.
He wasn't the only one. The rest of Fukuda reacted the same way. Hearing Kotaro Hayama's words and the coach's substitution, everyone showed looks of surprise and excitement.
Hotani smiled slightly at Kotaro Hayama.
"Let's give it everything together."
Kotaro Hayama flashed his signature tiger teeth and smiled back.
"Yeah!"
...
On Teikō's side, Coach Shirogane calmly sipped his tea, completely unflustered. He glanced at the first-years—aside from Miyamoto Tokima and Daiki Aomine, the others were all breathing a bit heavily.
Daiki Aomine showed little sign of fatigue since he had been rotating with Shuzo Nijimura. Miyamoto Tokima, however, was different. He had barely left the court, only resting briefly during the second quarter.
Shirogane didn't dwell on it. Miyamoto Tokima trained several times harder than the others, and his stamina was the best on the team.
After making his decision, Shirogane spoke:
"For the fourth quarter: point guard, Miyamoto Tokima; shooting guard, Shintaro Midorima; small forward, Shogo Haizaki; power forward, Daiki Aomine; and center—Nijimura, I'll need you to fill in."
Shuzo Nijimura nodded, then joked helplessly,
"Didn't think I'd ever be playing center one day. Haha."
Beep!!!
The fourth quarter began.
Before stepping onto the court, Kotaro Hayama glanced at the scoreboard. It read 80–63. Thanks to his teammates' desperate defense, they were only down by 17 points.
Kotaro Hayama turned to look at his teammates. The core players were still breathing heavily. On Teikō's side, only Shintaro Midorima was slightly winded—the others looked fine.
Daiki Aomine and Shuzo Nijimura not being out of breath made sense. They had been rotating, so their stamina loss was far less than players who had stayed on the court constantly.
As for Shogo Haizaki, Kotaro Hayama hadn't even seen him play before, so of course his stamina hadn't been tested.
But Miyamoto Tokima…?
Kotaro Hayama stared at him in disbelief, utterly confused.
'Does he not get tired at all???'
Miyamoto Tokima had been on the court almost the entire game and had used Lightning Dribbling repeatedly in the third quarter. By all logic, he should have been exhausted by now. Yet not only did he still have stamina—he seemed to have plenty of it left.
Kotaro Hayama's expression grew serious. If Miyamoto Tokima stayed on the court, breaking through on offense would become extremely difficult.
And Teikō's lineup was terrifying: the No. 1 middle school power forward Shuzo Nijimura, Daiki Aomine with Animal Instinct activated, the all-around Miyamoto Tokima, Shintaro Midorima with a perfect three-point shooting rate—and that white-haired guy…
'This lineup is insane. The only possible opening seems to be that white-haired guy.'
Kotaro Hayama fixed his gaze on Shogo Haizaki. He had already made his decision. The breakthrough point was set—now it was time to fight with everything he had.
...
The game resumed. Teikō ball.
Miyamoto Tokima took over Seijuro Akashi's role as point guard. After receiving the ball, he began observing everyone's positions.
Ripples spread out from beneath Miyamoto Tokima's feet, instantly extending across the entire court.
The Fukuda players once again felt that unsettling sensation of being completely seen through. Still, they didn't panic and stayed tightly glued to their defensive assignments.
Miyamoto Tokima dribbled slowly past half court. The moment he crossed, Hotani immediately pressed up on him.
Miyamoto Tokima sighed lightly.
"You really are persistent."
With that, he pushed off the floor hard and accelerated, instantly blowing past Hotani. Kotaro Hayama rushed in to help on defense.
Kotaro Hayama would rather leave Shogo Haizaki open than allow Miyamoto Tokima to attack—Miyamoto Tokima's offensive efficiency was simply too terrifying.
Seeing Kotaro Hayama step in front of him, Miyamoto Tokima didn't hesitate. He decided to make Kotaro Hayama "imagine" things once again.
When Hotani saw Miyamoto Tokima stopped by Kotaro Hayama, he immediately shifted to cover Shogo Haizaki.
Thud! Thud!! Thud!!! Thud!!!! Thud!!!!! Thud!!!!!!!!
Kotaro Hayama stared intently at Miyamoto Tokima, thinking silently.
'Four-Finger Lightning Dribbling again?'
'No!'
Kotaro Hayama's pupils dilated, fear flashing across his face. Around Miyamoto Tokima's body, faint strands of black electricity flickered into view.
An overwhelming pressure surged forth—completely different from the Four-Finger Lightning Dribbling before.
'This… could it be…? That's impossible…'
A possibility flashed through Kotaro Hayama's mind—and then Miyamoto Tokima answered it.
"Five fingers."
Miyamoto Tokima said calmly. His right hand drove the ball fiercely to his left with all five fingers, tearing past Kotaro Hayama like a bolt of lightning.
In Kotaro Hayama's eyes, Miyamoto Tokima turned into a streak of black lightning, vanishing in an instant. By the time Kotaro regained his senses, the ball was already in the basket.
The arena fell silent once more—then erupted into thunderous applause.
"Incredible!! That was amazing, Miyamoto Tokima!!"
"That's insane!! Five fingers!! That's Five-Finger Lightning Dribbling—something even Kotaro Hayama himself can't do!!"
On the court, the Fukuda players all looked at Kotaro Hayama with concern.
Lightning Dribbling was Kotaro Hayama's pride and greatest weapon. Even the creator of Lightning Dribbling himself could only use Four Fingers. Yet someone else had instantly mastered the founder's technique—and used it even better. Anyone's mentality would collapse from that.
Just as the Fukuda players were worrying, Kotaro Hayama snapped back to his senses. Flashing his signature tiger teeth, he smiled and said,
"The game isn't over yet. Let's keep going!"
Seeing that Kotaro Hayama hadn't been crushed, the Fukuda players nodded in relief and excitement.
But was it really that simple?
Only Kotaro Hayama himself knew.
Only he understood the pain of seeing his signature move used so effortlessly by someone else—and with even greater power. Only he knew the sorrow of pushing himself to the limit just to unleash Four-Finger Lightning Dribbling, while someone else could casually perform Five-Finger Lightning Dribbling.