Nash Gold glanced at Seijuro Akashi, then switched over to defend Taiga Kagami.
Taiga Kagami understood what Seijuro Akashi was trying to do. After creating some distance, he passed the ball behind his back to Seijuro Akashi.
He also knew that Nash Gold possessed eyes capable of seeing through his movements.
That made a behind-the-back pass the safest option.
Seijuro Akashi stumbled slightly but managed to catch Taiga Kagami's pass at the very limit of his reach.
After securing the ball, Seijuro Akashi shot Taiga Kagami an irritated glare.
Taiga Kagami immediately looked embarrassed and scratched his head sheepishly.
"Sorry, sorry..."
Seijuro Akashi said nothing more and shifted his attention to Zack.
Zack spread his arms in defense while launching into some trash talk.
"Kid, at your height, basketball really isn't the sport for you!"
Zack had not openly insulted him, but every word was meant to belittle Seijuro Akashi.
Zack was even taller than his counterpart in the original story, standing at 2.1 meters.
Seijuro Akashi, on the other hand, was only around 1.76 meters tall.
The difference between them was striking.
Zack's comment was clearly meant to mock Seijuro Akashi's height.
Seijuro Akashi frowned. This was the first time anyone had brought up his height directly to his face.
And on the basketball court, no less.
Because of his height, Seijuro Akashi was often forced to look up at others while they looked down on him.
But the secondary personality's domineering pride made him despise being looked down upon.
Whenever someone who displeased him looked down at him, it filled him with anger.
Zack was no exception.
"Such arrogance."
Seijuro Akashi suddenly spoke in a cold voice.
Zack froze for a moment.
Seijuro Akashi continued,
"I, who conquer everything, am unrivaled!"
The next instant, Seijuro Akashi executed two rapid between-the-legs dribbles.
Zack suddenly felt the ground disappear beneath his feet, and his body involuntarily tipped backward.
His expression changed at once.
'No way! That's the same as Nash's...'
After dropping Zack, Seijuro Akashi did not pause for even a moment. He drove past him on the right.
Nick immediately rushed over to help defend.
"Hey! I'm not letting you get past me that easily!"
Seijuro Akashi replied coldly,
"Move."
Nick froze, apparently unable to believe that Seijuro Akashi dared speak to him that way.
The next second, Seijuro Akashi continued,
"That's an order."
He suddenly chained a between-the-legs dribble into a behind-the-back dribble.
Nick's center of gravity shifted instantly, and he involuntarily fell backward.
Seijuro Akashi stopped beside him, gathered the ball, and raised it.
"And one more thing..."
Seijuro Akashi released the shot.
"My orders..."
Swish!
The ball dropped cleanly through the hoop.
Seijuro Akashi finished,
"Are absolute."
Nick stared at Seijuro Akashi with wide eyes.
'Those eyes... They're just like Nash's!'
The primary personality had never fully displayed the power of [Emperor Eye], so Nick and the others had not realized how similar Seijuro Akashi's eyes were to Nash Gold's.
That was why they were so shocked when they faced the secondary personality's [Emperor Eye].
Miyamoto Tokima watched Seijuro Akashi showing off and shook his head helplessly.
When was the secondary personality ever going to grow out of this dramatic nonsense?
Possession changed hands.
The Black Dragon Team had the ball.
After Nash Gold brought the ball into the frontcourt, he asked Seijuro Akashi,
"So, do you have any other personalities? What abilities do they have?"
The secondary personality remained expressionless, but for once, he actually answered Nash Gold's question.
"There are no others."
Nash Gold's disappointment was immediately visible.
"I see..."
Seijuro Akashi frowned and replied coldly,
"You should worry about yourself first. Even though the future I can see is one second shorter than yours, I still don't believe I'll lose to you."
Nash Gold grinned as he dribbled the ball and stared at Seijuro Akashi.
"Oh? Is that what you think? Don't you know that sometimes, a single second can separate you by an eternity?"
Without any preparatory movement, Nash Gold raised his hand and unleashed his true trump card.
The No Motion Pass!
In the original story, Nash Gold's No Motion Pass had contained a subtle preparatory motion.
That was enough against most opponents, but against Seijuro Akashi and his [Emperor Eye], even the slightest motion would become an exploitable weakness.
Now, however, after years of training, Nash Gold's No Motion Pass no longer required any preparatory movement at all.
Whenever he wanted to pass, every pass he made could become a No Motion Pass.
Even Seijuro Akashi's [Emperor Eye] could not intercept a pass with no preparatory motion.
He had no way of knowing when Nash Gold would release the ball.
On top of that, his [Emperor Eye] could see one second less into the future than Nash Gold's [Belial Eye].
The ball turned into a streak of white light as Nash Gold released his No Motion Pass, landing in Zack's hands in an instant.
Before Shogo Haizaki could even understand how the ball had reached Zack, Zack had already taken the shot.
Shogo Haizaki gritted his teeth.
'Damn it! Not that move again!'
Nash Gold's No Motion Pass had left a deep impression on Shogo Haizaki.
After all, he had suffered because of that move countless times in the past.
Seijuro Akashi stared at Nash Gold in shock, completely caught off guard.
Nash Gold smiled at him.
"Get ready for what comes next."
...
Possession changed hands.
The Dragon Slayer Team had the ball.
Taiga Kagami stood one step inside the three-point line, matched up against Miyamoto Tokima.
There was no helping it. Shogo Haizaki had absolutely insisted on switching with him.
Taiga Kagami knew he had to give everything he had.
He decided to burn himself up and contribute everything he could to the team.
He had not burned out yet.
After making up his mind, Taiga Kagami closed his eyes and focused on his body.
At that moment, he felt like a drowning man slowly sinking beneath the water.
Deeper and deeper he sank, until he finally reached the bottom.
The next instant, he opened his eyes.
Crackle!
"Raaah!"
...