Shintaro Midorima fixed his piercing gaze on the basket and jumped straight up, completely ignoring Nick's defense.
Nick immediately pushed off with all his strength and leaped after him.
Raising his right hand as high as he could, Nick gritted his teeth and shouted:
"You're too naive!!!"
But the moment he finished speaking, Shintaro Midorima's calm voice reached him.
"The naive one... is you!"
The next second, Nick stared at Shintaro Midorima in disbelief.
'Why?! I jumped after him, so why... am I falling first?!'
Nick was already descending, yet Shintaro Midorima remained suspended in the air, still holding his shooting form.
The sight left Nick stunned.
'What kind of hang time is that?! And that release point! Is he a monster?!'
Nick had also noticed just how high Shintaro Midorima released the ball. His shooting arm was almost completely straight!
In all his years of playing basketball, Nick had never encountered a shooter like him.
A high vertical leap, incredible hang time, and an extremely high release point. Against a shooter like that, all a defender could do was pray he missed. Otherwise, there was almost no way to stop him.
As Nick continued to fall, Shintaro Midorima flicked the ball away with his left hand.
The basketball soared high into the air. Its enormous arc drew everyone's gaze toward the ceiling.
Nash Gold watched from nearby and thought:
'He doesn't just jump high. His hang time is extraordinary, and even his release point is beyond normal.'
'A shooter like this...'
The corner of Nash Gold's mouth rose.
'This is fascinating!'
After releasing the ball, Shintaro Midorima landed and calmly adjusted his glasses.
"Fate is on my side. My shot will not miss."
With that, he turned and walked away without looking back.
Daiki Aomine turned away as well.
Seijuro Akashi and Shogo Haizaki followed suit, showing no intention of fighting for the rebound.
All four headed back on defense while the basketball was still soaring through the air.
Standing beneath the basket, Jason Silver stared at them in disbelief.
"Hey, Murasakibara, is that green-haired guy really that accurate? Why are they all running back on defense?!"
Atsushi Murasakibara replied:
"Yeah. Almost every shot Mido-chin takes goes in."
"I've only ever seen Mido-chin miss once."
Jason Silver's eyes widened.
His shooting percentage was that ridiculous?
Then he asked:
"If they're all heading back, why aren't you?"
Atsushi Murasakibara answered:
"I was about to leave, but then you started asking me questions. Anyway, I'm going back now."
Without another word, Atsushi Murasakibara turned and headed back on defense, leaving Jason Silver standing alone beneath the basket.
The five members of the Black Dragon Team watched the rapidly descending ball, each wearing a different expression.
Swish!!!
The basketball dropped cleanly through the net with a crisp sound.
Nick stared at the basket.
"He really is that accurate!"
Nash Gold replied:
"In that case, we can't treat him like an ordinary player."
"Allen, double-team him. Don't let that green-haired guy receive the ball!"
Allen nodded.
"Okay. Then I'll leave Haizaki to the rest of you."
Nash Gold nodded before turning to Jason Silver.
"Jason, it's time for you to start moving."
Jason Silver rolled his neck and grinned.
"Hahaha! Don't worry. If Haizaki dares step inside the free throw line, I'll swat him away!"
Zack flexed his wrist.
"In that case, I'll rotate over and contest his three point shots whenever I can."
Nash Gold nodded in approval.
Possession changed hands.
The Black Dragon Team had the ball.
This time, Nash Gold chose the simplest and most direct approach.
He called Jason Silver over to set a screen, drawing Atsushi Murasakibara out to the perimeter as well.
Nash Gold used the screen and drove to the right.
Seijuro Akashi tried to slip around it and stay with him, but Jason Silver's enormous frame blocked his path completely.
With no other choice, Seijuro Akashi let Atsushi Murasakibara step up to defend Nash Gold.
The instant Atsushi Murasakibara moved forward, Jason Silver accelerated.
Despite his massive build, Jason Silver was far from slow.
Seijuro Akashi knew Jason Silver was about to make his move, but there was nothing he could do. Someone his size had no chance of stopping that enormous body.
Nash Gold had exploited the mismatch and turned the play into an easy one.
As Jason Silver charged into the paint, Nash Gold immediately sent him the ball.
Atsushi Murasakibara tried to intercept it, but he couldn't. Nash Gold was a masterful passer.
Since Atsushi Murasakibara had been drawn out to the perimeter, he had no time to recover.
Seijuro Akashi tried to use the [Emperor Eye] to steal the pass, but Nash Gold had thrown an alley-oop.
There was no way for him to intercept it.
All he could do was watch Jason Silver slam the ball through the basket.
After scoring, Jason Silver grinned and taunted:
"Hey, kid! Where's the defense?!"
After delivering his trash talk, Jason Silver turned and headed back on defense.
Seijuro Akashi wasn't angry. He had been trash-talked far too many times for that.
Jason Silver's remark didn't sting nearly as much as Makoto Hanamiya's simple, "So what?"
Still, Seijuro Akashi gave Nash Gold a surprised look.
'Did he notice?'
'No. He shouldn't know about my [Emperor Eye]. It must have been a coincidence.'
Seijuro Akashi didn't dwell on it. He received the inbound pass and began advancing up the court.
Possession changed hands.
The Dragon Slayer Team had the ball.
The moment Seijuro Akashi crossed half-court, he noticed something was wrong.
Allen had abandoned Shogo Haizaki and joined Nick in guarding Shintaro Midorima!
Shogo Haizaki immediately shouted:
"Akashi!"
Seijuro Akashi didn't hesitate. He delivered a perfectly placed pass.
Shogo Haizaki caught it and immediately rose into his shot.
Seijuro Akashi's pass had been so comfortable that he didn't need to make the slightest adjustment.
Just as Shogo Haizaki released the ball, Seijuro Akashi suddenly shouted:
"Haizaki! Watch out!!!"
Shogo Haizaki was still confused when an ancient and terrifying presence suddenly made his entire body tense.
It felt as though a terrifying assassin had locked onto him, ready to take his life in the very next instant.
The presence sent a chill through his entire body.
...