As soon as Miyamoto Tokima finished speaking, he launched his attack.
He drove to the right, surrounded by swirling black mist.
Daiki Aomine quickly turned to follow, but the instant he did, all he saw in front of him was a cloud of black mist. Miyamoto Tokima had completely vanished.
Then, the sound of a basketball striking the floor came from his other side.
Daiki Aomine whipped his head around and saw Miyamoto Tokima driving past him from the opposite direction!
Daiki Aomine's eyes widened. He had no idea what had just happened.
He was not the only one. No one else had clearly seen what had happened either.
The only person who knew was Miyamoto Tokima himself.
After initially driving to the right, Miyamoto Tokima had immediately followed it with a spin move.
Combined with his speed and the cover of the black mist, the motion had been almost impossible to detect.
Daiki Aomine had been left completely bewildered.
Once Miyamoto Tokima entered the paint, Atsushi Murasakibara immediately stepped up to help defend.
"Tokima-kun!"
Atsushi Murasakibara spread his arms wide. Beneath his guarded expression was a hint of panic.
Clearly, even he did not understand why he had rushed over to help defend against Miyamoto Tokima.
Miyamoto Tokima smiled faintly and came to an abrupt stop in front of Atsushi Murasakibara. He then tossed the ball high into the air.
Atsushi Murasakibara immediately jumped, but he quickly realized something was wrong.
Miyamoto Tokima's floater was not aimed at the basket at all.
Instead, it looked like...
It was meant for an alley-oop!
"ROAR!"
The roar of a Tyrannosaurus rex erupted behind Atsushi Murasakibara.
A thunderous dunk followed immediately afterward.
Boom!
Atsushi Murasakibara landed and turned around, only to see Jason Silver grinning as he came down heavily from the rim.
"Tokima-san! Your passes are as awesome as ever!"
Ignoring Atsushi Murasakibara entirely, Jason Silver called out to Miyamoto Tokima.
Miyamoto Tokima smiled, gave him a thumbs-up, and turned to get back on defense.
Jason Silver grinned and followed close behind him.
The sight instantly filled Atsushi Murasakibara with irritation.
He glared at Jason Silver's back, his annoyance growing by the second.
He had already noticed it when they were playing for the Black Dragon Team.
Jason Silver's appetite was almost as big as his own!
That was why he was starting to worry...
What if Jason Silver secretly took Miyamoto Tokima out to eat something delicious?
Would that not mean there would be a lot less food left for him?!
He could not allow that to happen!
Even if it did happen, he would never forgive it!
Jason Silver was unforgivable!
As for Miyamoto Tokima, he had not done anything wrong, so why would he need to be forgiven?
This was all Jason Silver's fault!
Therefore...
"I'll crush you!"
Atsushi Murasakibara's eyes suddenly became incredibly fierce.
Powerful gusts of wind began swirling around his feet as if something were about to erupt.
Possession changed hands.
The Dragon Slayer Team had the ball.
After Seijuro Akashi dribbled into the frontcourt, he immediately began assessing the situation across the entire court.
On their side, Atsushi Murasakibara had activated his Animal Instinct, while Taiga Kagami had activated both Animal Instinct and Zone.
Daiki Aomine had also entered the Zone.
Shintaro Midorima, meanwhile, remained in his normal state.
If they wanted to close the gap, they still needed Shintaro Midorima to step up.
However, Nash Gold had already figured out the principle behind his passes. That meant someone capable of stopping Nash Gold had to intervene.
It also had to be someone who could force Nash Gold to take a longer route even after seeing one second into the future.
And that person...
Crackle!
An explosive burst of lightning rang out, followed by a chaotic and ferocious roar.
Seijuro Akashi smiled.
He knew...
That person had arrived.
The Animal Instinct behind Atsushi Murasakibara had disappeared. In its place, an overwhelming ferocity now burned in his eyes.
He had entered the Zone!
Seijuro Akashi signaled with his eyes and hands, telling Atsushi Murasakibara to set a screen for Shintaro Midorima.
However, Atsushi Murasakibara seemed not to notice. His face twisted fiercely as he remained completely focused on his rivalry with Jason Silver.
Seijuro Akashi froze.
That person had arrived, yet at the same time, it was almost as though he had not.
Nick noticed as well and immediately laughed.
"Ha... You didn't expect that, did you? Once Murasaki entered the Zone, he stopped caring about tactics altogether."
"Right now, the only thing on his mind is going head-to-head with Jason Silver!"
Seijuro Akashi frowned and looked at Nick, who was guarding him.
He had not expected Nick to see through his plan so quickly.
Was he not a shooting guard?
No. The tactical awareness and adaptability Nick had displayed earlier were no different from those of a capable point guard.
Could that mean...
Nick smiled.
"My Animal Instinct..."
"Is the Troodon!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a relatively small dinosaur appeared behind him.
However, a peculiar intelligence seemed to flicker within the dinosaur's eyes.
A Troodon?
After hearing that, Seijuro Akashi finally understood why Nick seemed so unusual.
Despite being a shooting guard, his understanding of the situation on the court surpassed even that of a point guard.
It was not that he had chosen to become a shooting guard.
He had only taken that position because Nash Gold was already on the team.
The Troodon was known as the Einstein of the dinosaur world.
It was often regarded as the most intelligent of all dinosaurs.
"No. You have the mind of a point guard, but you lack the skills of one."
"You spent all your time training as a shooting guard because even you never expected your Animal Instinct to be a Troodon."
Seijuro Akashi spoke coldly.
Nick nodded with a smile.
"That's right. Before I met Tokima-san, all I cared about was flashy dribbling and beautiful shots. There was nothing else in my head."
"The reason my style has become so simple and efficient is all thanks to Tokima-san."
"He... is the guiding light of my life!"
The moment he finished speaking, Nick reached out to steal the ball from Seijuro Akashi.
Seijuro Akashi frowned.
"Arrogant!"
He immediately shifted into a behind-the-back dribble.
Boom!
In an instant, Nick lost his balance and collapsed to the floor.
Seeing this, Seijuro Akashi instinctively tried to observe the future.
However, his vision suddenly became clouded.
When it cleared again, he turned and found himself staring directly into Nash Gold's eyes.
Nash Gold smiled.
"I've blocked your view of the future."
...
...
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