By the time Teikō Middle School had gotten back on defense, the basketball had already dropped cleanly through the hoop.
Shogo Haizaki gritted his teeth, his expression dark.
He never imagined Shintaro Midorima could raise his release point even higher.
What kind of monster was he?
"Don't let it get to you," Miyamoto Tokima said, patting Shogo Haizaki on the shoulder. "Keep your head straight, or Makoto Hanamiya's going to be your special training instructor again."
Shogo Haizaki immediately shuddered, and the frustration he had been feeling vanished on the spot.
There was nothing he could do about it.
Everyone knew exactly what kind of "special training" Makoto Hanamiya gave.
I'd rather suffer physically than go through that kind of mental torture!
...
Speaking of mental torture, Seijuro Akashi was already starting to understand what that felt like.
Makoto Hanamiya simply never stopped talking trash.
Seijuro Akashi had built up a strong resistance to trash talk, but anyone would get irritated if someone kept spewing insults into their ear nonstop.
He was no exception.
Makoto Hanamiya trash-talked him on offense.
He trash-talked him on defense.
He trash-talked him off the ball.
He trash-talked him at every possible opportunity.
Even after Shintaro Midorima released a shot and Teikō Middle School collectively headed back on defense, Makoto Hanamiya would run back with them while continuing to mouth off at Seijuro Akashi.
In other words, every time Teikō Middle School retreated on defense, there were effectively six people running back.
Who wouldn't lose their mind under that kind of psychological assault?
Finally, Seijuro Akashi had enough and asked helplessly, "Can you quiet down for a while?"
Makoto Hanamiya paused.
Instead of answering the question, he responded in his own way.
With a string of extremely colorful profanity.
Seijuro Akashi went completely numb.
Good grief.
How did Miyamoto Tokima even discover someone like Makoto Hanamiya?
This guy had already been a complete menace back in middle school, and Miyamoto Tokima still decided to give him a hand?
And the worst part was that it actually worked.
He brought him up, and now Makoto Hanamiya was using that opportunity to destroy everyone else's mental state.
Who was Seijuro Akashi even supposed to complain to?
After several more possessions of relentless verbal abuse, the primary personality finally went numb and decided to hand control of the body over to the secondary personality.
The secondary personality, however, wasn't exactly thrilled about it either.
Unlike the primary personality, his temperament wasn't nearly as patient.
He felt like a few possessions of Makoto Hanamiya's trash talk would be enough to make him completely lose his temper.
"My mental game isn't as strong as yours," the secondary personality said.
"I know." The primary personality waved wearily. "Figure something out yourself. I need some peace and quiet. I'm not paying attention to what's happening outside for a while."
With that, the primary personality fell silent.
Clearly, he had truly handed control of the body over to the secondary personality.
The secondary personality, who normally loved being in control, actually hesitated for once.
It had to be said.
When it came to certain things, Makoto Hanamiya had truly taken them to the extreme.
"No way, no way. You seriously think..."
"Shut up!"
Seijuro Akashi suddenly shouted, cutting Makoto Hanamiya off.
Just as Makoto Hanamiya wondered what Seijuro Akashi was about to do, Seijuro Akashi did something that stunned him.
"Ryota, switch defensive assignments," Seijuro Akashi said coldly.
Ryota Kise pointed at himself in disbelief.
"Huh? Me? Switch?!"
"Yes."
Seijuro Akashi nodded, ran over to Ryota Kise, and pushed him toward Makoto Hanamiya.
Poor Ryota Kise found himself standing in front of Makoto Hanamiya with no idea what had just happened.
Makoto Hanamiya grinned.
It didn't matter who came over.
He was going to trash-talk them all the same.
The next moment, Ryota Kise finally experienced firsthand what it meant to have a demonic voice constantly ringing in his ears.
Meanwhile, Shuzo Nijimura had already figured out what happened and laughed.
"Akashi, even you couldn't handle Hanamiya's trash talk?"
Seijuro Akashi's expression shifted slightly before he replied flatly, "No. I just think he's too noisy."
Shuzo Nijimura froze.
Something was different about Seijuro Akashi.
That cold personality.
That detached tone.
This was...
The secondary personality?
Which meant the primary personality had been...
Damn, Hanamiya.
You actually trash-talked him right out of control of his own body.
Elsewhere, Miyamoto Tokima was facing off against Daiki Aomine.
More accurately, Miyamoto Tokima was one-sidedly tormenting Daiki Aomine.
With just a few changes of rhythm, Miyamoto Tokima sent Daiki Aomine stumbling.
He created some separation and knocked down the shot.
"Daiki, your balance is getting worse and worse," Miyamoto Tokima teased. "Been looking at too much Mai lately?"
Daiki Aomine's face instantly turned red.
He raised his voice, clearly trying to cover up his embarrassment.
"Miyamoto!!!"
Miyamoto Tokima burst out laughing and turned to head back on defense.
Looks like even the strongest man can still be locked down by a woman.
Sure enough, the best defenders are often women.
Then Miyamoto Tokima suddenly glanced toward Satsuki Momoi.
Could Satsuki Momoi lock me down one-on-one?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible!
I'm built different, damn it!
My stamina is unbeatable!
With this kind of endurance, why would I ever need Viagra?
Nothing to worry about!
...
Possession changed.
Teikō Middle School's ball.
The secondary personality of Seijuro Akashi was undeniably an elite offensive player.
As soon as he dribbled up to Makoto Hanamiya, he wasted no time.
Two consecutive changes of direction sent Makoto Hanamiya crashing to the floor.
Then Seijuro Akashi charged straight toward the paint without even looking back at him.
Because if he gave Makoto Hanamiya even the slightest bit of attention, the nonstop chatter would start all over again.
Seijuro Akashi raced into the paint.
Facing Atsushi Murasakibara's defense, he used the [Emperor Eye] to read the subtle changes in Murasakibara's muscles.
Then he effortlessly shook him off and finished with a layup.
A complete one-man drive from start to finish.
The secondary personality of Seijuro Akashi perfectly demonstrated another way to use the [Emperor Eye].
The primary personality focused more on reading the positioning of everyone on the court, allowing him to make extremely high-quality passes.
The secondary personality focused more on reading the muscular movements of individual defenders, allowing him to break them down and score with incredible efficiency.
The two personalities had completely distinct styles.
They truly played like two different people.
You could even say that if Seijuro Akashi ever made it to the NBA, whichever coach had him would be delighted.
Because having Seijuro Akashi was practically the same as having two players.
One person worth two.
In a sense, it was almost like playing six-on-five.
Of course, that was assuming Tetsuya Kuroko wasn't on the court.
After all, in a certain sense, Tetsuya Kuroko practically counted as zero.
You couldn't even find him.
Calling him the Phantom Sixth Man wasn't just for show.
There were certainly a few teams that could testify to that.
As for which teams?
Heh.
I'm not telling.
...