Kagetora Aida swore that the Animal Instinct aura he felt from Miyamoto Tokima was the strongest he had ever encountered.
Nothing else even came close.
Even at the peak of his professional career, Kagetora Aida knew that facing the current Miyamoto Tokima would have ended with him being crushed and brought to his knees.
Kagetora Aida suddenly felt like an ordinary man among countless others.
No matter how hard he struggled, he could never reach the highest level.
But Miyamoto Tokima?
He was only a first year high school student!
A first year with NBA level ability!
What the hell kind of monster was he?!
The more Kagetora Aida thought about it, the more unnerved he became.
But he soon had no time to be afraid.
His five hundred thousand dollars... might really be gone.
No! He could not let that happen! As long as even the slightest hope remained, he had to fight!
Kagetora Aida's expression twisted.
Now he had a reason he absolutely had to win!
On the court, Miyamoto Tokima seemed to notice the change in everyone's expressions.
'Did I... take this too seriously?'
Miyamoto Tokima knew he had said he would get only slightly serious, but he had accidentally gone much further than intended.
There was a good chance that the Animal Instinct he had summoned had frightened everyone.
Miyamoto Tokima glanced at Taiga Kagami's expression.
All right, it was not merely a possibility. They were definitely terrified.
Miyamoto Tokima had no choice but to rein in his presence a little so that Taiga Kagami and the others could keep playing.
What was he supposed to do if they all collapsed?
As Miyamoto Tokima withdrew some of his aura, the crimson eyes within the black mist disappeared.
The black mist covering the entire court gradually dissipated as well, leaving only a small mass behind Miyamoto Tokima.
The remaining mist filled the area inside the three-point line.
Once the crimson eyes and the mist engulfing the court vanished, Taiga Kagami felt the immense pressure weighing down on him ease slightly.
The tiger behind him also seemed to sense that the beast threatening it had disappeared. It hurriedly rolled back over and resumed its ferocious expression.
It acted as though its earlier display of submission had never happened.
Seeing Taiga Kagami recover, Miyamoto Tokima finally smiled.
"Haah... What a terrifying guy!"
Taiga Kagami muttered between heavy breaths.
Then he suddenly attacked, hoping to catch Miyamoto Tokima off guard.
Of course, a drive at that level was not enough to get past Miyamoto Tokima.
Miyamoto Tokima reacted instantly, reaching out and knocking the ball away with perfect precision.
Taiga Kagami suddenly felt his hands empty. He quickly turned and saw Miyamoto Tokima about to recover the ball.
In his desperation, he made the kind of play guaranteed to draw the most comments.
He kicked the basketball out of bounds.
He had turned a basketball game into soccer.
The nearby referee hurriedly dodged the flying ball and immediately blew his whistle.
"Beep!"
Miyamoto Tokima froze with both hands suspended in the air.
Seriously...
Dude...
Are you playing soccer?
Shogo Haizaki was equally dumbfounded. He ran over to Taiga Kagami and asked,
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Taiga Kagami replied with a completely serious expression,
"I'd rather send the ball out of bounds than let Miyamoto Tokima get a fast break!"
Then he added with complete sincerity,
"Because I can't catch him."
Both Miyamoto Tokima and Shogo Haizaki froze.
Seriously, man...
At least you're honest.
...
Because Taiga Kagami had kicked the ball out of bounds, possession went to the Black Dragon Team.
The dead ball also allowed Daiki Aomine to substitute for Shogo Haizaki.
Shogo Haizaki left the court, and Daiki Aomine entered.
Zack stood where the ball had gone out, preparing to inbound it.
Daiki Aomine raised both arms and constantly waved them in front of Zack.
Meanwhile, Nick and the others began moving into position.
Nick suddenly seemed to notice something and immediately cut in the opposite direction.
Shintaro Midorima followed him at once, but the next second, he felt as though he had run into a wall.
Jason Silver had set a screen.
Seeing the opening, Zack immediately passed the ball to Nick.
Nick caught it and went straight into his shooting motion.
Atsushi Murasakibara rushed over and leaped to block him.
But Nick's shot followed such an absurd trajectory that it could hardly even be called a shot.
The ball skimmed past Atsushi Murasakibara's fingertips and flew toward the basket.
Thud, thud, thud...
Heavy footsteps thundered across the court.
Miyamoto Tokima suddenly charged into the paint, with Taiga Kagami following behind him in both Animal Instinct and the Zone.
Taiga Kagami gritted his teeth and desperately stayed on Miyamoto Tokima's heels.
But it was obvious that he could not keep up.
Miyamoto Tokima rushed into the three-second zone and launched himself into the air.
He caught Nick's ball in midair.
"Miyamoto Tokima!"
Taiga Kagami roared. The lightning in his eyes erupted once more, and his speed suddenly surged.
In an instant, he reached Miyamoto Tokima from behind and leaped high, his outstretched body blotting out everything above him.
Miyamoto Tokima smiled faintly.
He folded his body in midair, avoiding Taiga Kagami's block, glided past the rim, then extended again and slammed the ball through with his back to the basket.
A double-clutch reverse dunk!
Taiga Kagami's mouth fell open.
He stared at Miyamoto Tokima as though looking at a monster, unable to speak for a long time.
In the stands, Masako Araki had witnessed Miyamoto Tokima's move.
She murmured in astonishment,
"That kind of core strength..."
Then she glanced at Satsuki Momoi, who was sitting by the court, and a knowing look flashed in her eyes.
There was envy in that gaze, but also pity.
...
On the court, possession changed hands.
The Dragon Slayer Team had the ball.
Seijuro Akashi once again brought the ball forward.
Daiki Aomine stood in the frontcourt, watching the tremendous presence radiating from Taiga Kagami.
'Has it opened a little? What is your [Key]?'
Daiki Aomine clenched his fist and glanced at Miyamoto Tokima beside him as a thought continued flashing through his mind.
He wanted to step through the second [Gate] again.
But it was difficult.
More precisely, it was incredibly difficult.
Every attempt to enter the second [Gate] was an entirely new challenge.
The difficulty was immense.
Daiki Aomine glanced at Taiga Kagami and thought,
'I hope you can truly push it open. Then... let me experience it one more time.'
'Just... one more time.'
...
...
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