Shogo Haizaki had the ball, matched up against Shintaro Midorima, who had been shifted to small forward.
"Midorima, let me show you what I can really do," Shogo Haizaki said.
Shintaro Midorima's voice remained perfectly calm.
"Mm."
The next moment, Shogo Haizaki moved.
Just like a low-slung sports car hugging the ground, he dropped his center of gravity and exploded toward the right.
Sometimes, things had a funny way of repeating themselves.
Just like Shuzo Nijimura earlier, Shintaro Midorima reacted a fraction too late, allowing Shogo Haizaki to create half a body length of separation.
Once that gap opened, Shogo Haizaki jumped without hesitation.
He gripped the ball in his right hand, pulled it sideways, then flung it toward the basket.
The shot came from a completely unorthodox angle.
Shogo Haizaki had [Pillaged] Daiki Aomine.
No.
More accurately, he had [Copied] Daiki Aomine!
Against a Formless Shot, where neither the timing nor the release point could be predicted, even Shintaro Midorima, someone who could practically be called the ruler of the air, had trouble defending it.
Clang!
The ball struck the backboard and dropped through the hoop.
...
Possession changed.
Teikō Middle School's ball.
As Seijuro Akashi brought the ball up the court, he kept his attention on Makoto Hanamiya.
He could easily break through Makoto Hanamiya's defense, but Hanamiya's mouth could just as easily make him furious.
And once he got angry, there was a real chance he would act impulsively and do something that hurt the team.
Against Kirisaki Daiichi, even a single mistake could become the spark that caused the entire game to fall apart.
If Makoto Hanamiya were playing for any other team, Seijuro Akashi wouldn't have hesitated like this at all.
He would have gone straight at him and crushed him one-on-one, angry or not.
Why?
Because against an ordinary team, he could practically take them all on by himself.
But Kirisaki Daiichi was different.
They didn't just have Atsushi Murasakibara, another member of the [Generation of Miracles].
They also had his former middle school captain and teammates.
And most importantly...
They had Miyamoto Tokima.
So rather than saying Seijuro Akashi was afraid of Makoto Hanamiya's trash talk, it was more accurate to say he was afraid that losing his temper would drag the entire team down.
He couldn't allow his own emotions to become the reason they lost.
And defeat was the one thing the secondary personality could never accept.
So he had to be careful.
Seijuro Akashi waved a hand, signaling Ryota Kise to come over and set a screen.
Ryota Kise nodded, moved beside Makoto Hanamiya, and planted himself in position.
Using Ryota Kise's screen, Seijuro Akashi forced a switch and found himself matched up against Shuzo Nijimura.
As for why he hadn't asked Shintaro Midorima to set the screen so he could switch onto Shogo Haizaki...
The reason was simple.
Shogo Haizaki was another foul-mouthed trash-talker.
At this point, the secondary personality genuinely felt as though Kirisaki Daiichi had been assembled specifically to torment him.
There were two people on that team he could target.
And both of them were a pain in the ass to deal with.
Seijuro Akashi approached Shuzo Nijimura with an utterly miserable expression.
He took a deep breath, pushed the negative thoughts out of his mind, and refocused on the game.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Shuzo Nijimura clapped his hands, then spread his arms with a smile.
"Come on, Akashi. Show me what you can do!"
Seijuro Akashi said nothing.
The golden rings in his eyes began spinning rapidly.
In an instant, every subtle movement of Shuzo Nijimura's muscles appeared clearly in Seijuro Akashi's vision.
Then the scene before his eyes began to play out.
In his vision, Shuzo Nijimura first moved to the left.
Then he quickly reset his footing and shifted to the right.
Immediately afterward, he turned and rushed toward the paint, as though something had suddenly entered the lane.
Whoosh!
The vision disappeared.
The "future" had finished playing.
Now that Seijuro Akashi had seen the "future," he moved.
First, he dribbled toward Shuzo Nijimura's left.
Then he abruptly crossed over to the right.
The moment Shuzo Nijimura reset his feet to follow, Seijuro Akashi changed direction once again.
That final crossover came before Shuzo Nijimura's feet could react.
He dropped to the floor.
Seeing the "future."
Changing the "future."
That was the terrifying power of Seijuro Akashi's [Emperor Eye].
After dropping Shuzo Nijimura, Seijuro Akashi gathered the ball and shot.
The three-pointer dropped cleanly through the hoop with a satisfying swish.
...
As the first quarter approached its halfway point, there was still very little separating the two teams on the scoreboard.
But everyone knew this was only the beginning.
The real battle had yet to truly begin.
With five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Kōzō Shirogane called a timeout.
"Beep! Teikō Middle School requests a timeout!"
Both teams headed to their benches.
Once the Teikō Middle School players gathered around him, Kōzō Shirogane got straight to the point.
"Five minutes have passed. The groundwork for the 'Light' is almost complete."
"It's time for the 'Shadow' to take the court."
"Kuroko, you're replacing Kise."
Tetsuya Kuroko nodded, his face giving nothing away.
"Yes, Coach."
Kōzō Shirogane then glanced toward Teppei Kiyoshi.
Teppei Kiyoshi clearly wasn't in great condition.
His injury had healed, but repeatedly battling a monster like Atsushi Murasakibara for position under the basket was obviously taking its toll.
It was also becoming increasingly clear that Teppei Kiyoshi was struggling to contain Atsushi Murasakibara.
Fortunately, Kirisaki Daiichi's offense wasn't currently centered around Atsushi Murasakibara.
If it were, Teppei Kiyoshi would have been completely overwhelmed.
He needed some time on the bench to recover.
With that in mind, Kōzō Shirogane spoke again.
"Kagami, replace Kiyoshi and play center for now."
"They may bring Eikichi Nebuya in on the next possession to strengthen their interior defense."
"So, Aomine."
Kōzō Shirogane turned toward Daiki Aomine.
"Keep an eye on Kagami's position. If you get the chance, help him double-team Atsushi."
Daiki Aomine and Taiga Kagami nodded at the same time.
"Got it!"
Kōzō Shirogane then looked toward Kirisaki Daiichi's bench.
Age had begun to affect his eyesight, and things at a distance were becoming somewhat blurry.
His gaze vaguely settled in Satsuki Momoi's direction.
Momoi...
I wonder how far your abilities have come.
Kōzō Shirogane knew perfectly well who he was really matching wits with right now.
It was Satsuki Momoi.
Meanwhile, over at Kirisaki Daiichi's bench, Satsuki Momoi immediately began giving her analysis as soon as everyone sat down.
"They'll probably take Kise and Kiyoshi out for a while to preserve their stamina."
"The players coming in will most likely be Kagami and Kuroko."
"The conditions for the 'Shadow' have already been set."
"So..."
...
(One million characters!!!)