The members of the Black Dragon Team watched the basketball soar high into the air before dropping through the hoop.
Nick rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"A shooter like that is seriously hard to deal with."
This was the first time Nick had ever found a single opponent so troublesome.
He had never considered any shooting guard particularly difficult to handle before, because none of them were as absurd as Shintaro Midorima.
As for Miyamoto Tokima, Nick had felt nothing but despair.
As Shintaro Midorima's shot went in, Nash Gold seemed to realize something.
Possession changed hands.
The Black Dragon Team had the ball.
Since Zack had activated Animal Instinct, Nash Gold had no intention of letting it go to waste. He immediately passed the ball to Zack and let him attack one-on-one.
The moment Zack caught it, Daiki Aomine pressed up against him.
Zack knew that Daiki Aomine had activated Animal Instinct as well.
He asked with interest:
"Kid, what form does your Animal Instinct take?"
Daiki Aomine replied expressionlessly:
"Shouldn't you tell me yours before asking about mine?"
Zack bared his teeth in a grin. An ancient predator appeared behind him.
A Deinonychus!
Daiki Aomine's pupils contracted sharply.
'His Animal Instinct is a dinosaur?!'
The Deinonychus appeared only briefly before vanishing.
Zack took in Daiki Aomine's reaction with satisfaction. He loved showing off like this.
"So, kid, what's yours?"
Daiki Aomine quickly regained his composure. A black panther appeared behind him before fading away moments later.
"A black panther?" Zack said. "No wonder you're so fast."
"But you've still got a long way to go!"
With that, Zack lowered his center of gravity and drove to the right.
Daiki Aomine hurried after him.
But Zack soon left him behind.
After bursting to the right, Zack inserted a brief pause that caused Daiki Aomine to instinctively slow down.
The moment he did, Zack accelerated again, catching him completely off guard.
That was Zack's rhythm-changing drive.
Changes of pace like that were among the hardest moves to defend.
Sometimes, pure speed was easier to stop than that jerky, stop-and-start rhythm.
After Zack got past him, Ryota Kise immediately stepped up to help.
Zack looked slightly puzzled, but his hands didn't slow down.
Without hesitation, he passed the ball to Allen.
Allen caught it and immediately lined up a shot.
Tap, tap, tap...
Daiki Aomine suddenly appeared in front of him.
Allen sighed helplessly.
"Why does everyone keep treating me like an easy target?"
The next second...
"ROAR!!!"
A fierce, cunning, and vicious presence erupted behind Allen.
A small dinosaur, roughly the size of a turkey, appeared at his back.
A Velociraptor!
Also known simply as a raptor!
The moment the Velociraptor appeared, Allen's speed increased dramatically.
He dribbled repeatedly in place, showing no sign that he intended to drive.
Then he suddenly moved.
Zack had come over to set a screen!
Daiki Aomine tried to get around Zack, but it was already too late. He had no choice but to leave Allen to Ryota Kise.
Allen suddenly accelerated while moving forward.
Ryota Kise reacted immediately and stayed with him, but Allen beat him with a change of direction without losing any speed.
After entering the paint, Allen's eyes shifted toward the basket. He tossed the ball high into the air.
Jason Silver leaped from where he stood and laughed.
"Beautiful pass!"
When Atsushi Murasakibara realized Jason Silver intended to dunk over him, he roared:
"Not happening!"
The giant bear behind him roared as well.
"ROAR!!!"
Atsushi Murasakibara pressed his arm against the ball, and the two once again battled for strength in midair.
But Atsushi Murasakibara quickly realized something was wrong.
He couldn't stop Jason Silver!
His pupils contracted sharply. His body was driven backward as though struck by a massive hammer.
BANG!!!
As Atsushi Murasakibara was forced back, Jason Silver slammed the ball through the hoop!
After scoring, Jason Silver lectured him:
"Are you an idiot? You jumped without enough room to take off. Aren't you afraid of getting hurt?"
Atsushi Murasakibara gritted his teeth but didn't argue.
His takeoff position had been terrible, yet he had forced himself to jump anyway.
The outcome was obvious. Without enough room to take off, Atsushi Murasakibara couldn't generate his full strength, so Jason Silver naturally dunked over him.
Jason Silver shot him a fierce glare before turning and heading back on defense.
"Looks like I still haven't taught you enough of a lesson!"
Nearby, Seijuro Akashi sighed and turned to Ryota Kise.
"Kise, we'll need you from here on."
Ryota Kise rotated his wrist and smiled.
"Don't worry, Akashi. I've been training my wrist too. As long as I'm only shooting from the three-point line, I'll be fine."
Seijuro Akashi smiled gently and nodded.
"Then I'm counting on you."
Possession changed hands.
The Dragon Slayer Team had the ball.
This time, Shintaro Midorima didn't run into the frontcourt. He remained in his own backcourt and leisurely walked forward.
Allen and Nick quickly understood what he was doing.
Since both of them were double-teaming Shintaro Midorima, he was single-handedly tying up two defenders.
If Shintaro Midorima stood in the frontcourt, Allen and Nick would still have opportunities to rotate over and help against his teammates.
But if he remained in the backcourt, neither of them would have any chance to help.
Because of the backcourt violation rule, Shintaro Midorima slowly made his way toward the half-court line.
That position was still within his shooting range.
Allen and Nick now had two choices.
They could remain with Shintaro Midorima and allow his teammates to play four-on-three in the frontcourt.
Or one of them could drop back to help, allowing Shintaro Midorima to move into position, receive the ball, and shoot.
Allen and Nick understood that perfectly, so they quickly made their decision.
They would stay glued to Shintaro Midorima.
They trusted Zack to cover for both of them on defense.
After all, the only person capable of shooting like Shintaro Midorima was Shintaro Midorima himself.
But they were soon left dumbfounded...
...
...
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