"Reo, replace Makoto Hanamiya and play shooting guard. If Kagami and Aomine double-team Atsushi, you'll be free to shoot."
"At the same time, if Nijimura-senpai gets matched up against Kuroko, he can shoot without hesitation."
"Tokima will handle point guard for now."
"On offense, focus as much as possible on Nijimura-senpai and Atsushi. Most importantly, we need to wear down Kagami's stamina and exploit Kuroko's weakness on defense."
"Atsushi, I'm going to need you to work a little harder."
Atsushi Murasakibara nodded indifferently.
"Okay."
Satsuki Momoi laid out each part of the strategy with complete confidence.
Everyone nodded and accepted her instructions.
...
"Timeout's over! Both teams, take the court!"
The referee blew the whistle to resume play, and the players from both sides stood up and prepared to return.
Tetsuya Kuroko loosened his wrists and got ready to enter the game.
Taiga Kagami straightened his jersey and stepped onto the court as well.
Kirisaki Daiichi's players returned at the same time.
Kōzō Shirogane turned to look.
When he saw that Kirisaki Daiichi had sent Reo Mibuchi in for Makoto Hanamiya instead of Eikichi Nebuya, he gave a helpless smile and muttered, "The younger generation really does surpass the old."
That suddenly reminded Kōzō Shirogane of an old saying.
The waves behind push the waves ahead, until the old ones are left behind on the shore.
That was right.
An old-timer like him would eventually be overtaken.
The future belonged to the younger generation.
On the court, who was happiest to see Reo Mibuchi enter the game?
Naturally, it was Seijuro Akashi's secondary personality.
Makoto Hanamiya was finally off the court.
That meant no one would be there to constantly mess with his head anymore.
He could finally play freely and, at the very least, properly think through his tactics.
Wait.
Something was wrong.
If Makoto Hanamiya was off the court, then who was playing point guard?
Damn it.
Miyamoto Tokima.
Good news, Makoto Hanamiya was gone.
Bad news, Miyamoto Tokima had taken his place.
Seijuro Akashi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
No matter where he turned, there was another problem waiting for him.
Still, it didn't matter.
The secondary personality had wanted another chance to go up against Miyamoto Tokima for a long time.
If anything, this was even better.
...
The game resumed.
Kirisaki Daiichi's ball.
Miyamoto Tokima slowly dribbled into the frontcourt, gradually closing the distance between himself and Seijuro Akashi.
Seijuro Akashi focused completely.
The golden rings in his eyes spun rapidly, and his right hand was already itching to make a move.
"I wouldn't recommend that."
Miyamoto Tokima's voice interrupted Seijuro Akashi's thoughts.
Seijuro Akashi paused and stared at him.
Miyamoto Tokima continued dribbling while meeting his gaze.
"If you try that, I'll be behind you before you know it."
"What?"
Seijuro Akashi froze.
But the next second, Miyamoto Tokima vanished from directly in front of him.
Seijuro Akashi's eyes widened, and he immediately turned to recover.
But Miyamoto Tokima had already pushed his speed to the limit.
In the blink of an eye, he had reached the paint.
Taiga Kagami didn't even have time to react.
The moment he turned his head, Miyamoto Tokima was already soaring above him.
"What?!"
Taiga Kagami cried out and instinctively raised an arm in front of his face.
Miyamoto Tokima slammed the ball down right over him.
The force of the dunk sent Taiga Kagami stumbling backward until he finally crashed into the padding around the basket support.
Once he stopped, Taiga Kagami stared at Miyamoto Tokima, still shaken.
That was terrifying.
Both his speed and power were at an absurd level.
Taiga Kagami hadn't even had time to react.
He had seen it before, but seeing it again was still just as shocking.
After scoring, Miyamoto Tokima turned and headed back on defense.
Tetsuya Kuroko carried the ball out of bounds, his expression as calm as ever.
"Kagami, please start running."
Still dazed, Taiga Kagami replied, "Yeah... okay."
Then he began sprinting toward the frontcourt.
Shintaro Midorima didn't move.
He remained in his own backcourt.
"Do you need it already?"
Tetsuya Kuroko nodded and inbounded the ball to him.
"We need you to draw one defender away, Midorima. No, preferably two. And if you can draw Miyamoto's attention, even better."
"Understood."
Shintaro Midorima held the basketball and settled into his shooting stance.
He bent his knees and jumped high into the air, speaking with absolute confidence.
"As I am now, no one except Miyamoto can stop me. And with fate on my side today, I..."
Whoosh!
Shintaro Midorima flicked his left wrist and sent the basketball soaring high into the air.
Shogo Haizaki immediately looked annoyed.
How the hell had he forgotten that Shintaro Midorima could shoot from anywhere on the court?
After releasing the shot, Shintaro Midorima landed lightly, his confidence rising even further.
"Today, no one but Miyamoto can stop me. And even against Miyamoto, I can still challenge him."
His words were overflowing with confidence.
Everything he said conveyed one simple message.
Against anyone but Miyamoto, I'm unbeatable.
Against Miyamoto himself, I'll at least try trading one-for-one.
That was the confidence that came from both strength and fate being on his side.
The basketball arced high through the air before dropping cleanly into the hoop.
...
Possession changed.
Kirisaki Daiichi's ball.
After Miyamoto Tokima dribbled into the frontcourt, he naturally remembered his wife's strategy.
With a flick of his wrist, he sent the ball to Atsushi Murasakibara.
Atsushi Murasakibara caught it and leaned about half his body weight into Taiga Kagami, adding just a little extra force.
As for why he didn't put his full weight on him...
He had been burned by defenders pulling the chair on him too many times before.
Even so, half his weight combined with a little extra force was already enough to make Taiga Kagami uncomfortable.
Atsushi Murasakibara knew Taiga Kagami couldn't withstand him head-on.
So he suddenly put the ball on the floor and drove his body backward like an explosion, slamming into Taiga Kagami.
Taiga Kagami quickly held his breath and braced himself.
Bang!
"Ugh!"
Taiga Kagami let out a muffled grunt, then immediately opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath.
Because Atsushi Murasakibara was coming again.
BANG!
"Ugh!"
Taiga Kagami groaned again.
Just as he opened his mouth to take another breath, Atsushi Murasakibara's next impact was already coming.
There was nothing he could do.
Even though he had only managed to inhale halfway, Taiga Kagami had no choice but to brace himself again.
The next second...
BANG!
"Pfft!"
Atsushi Murasakibara's impact crashed into Taiga Kagami like a sledgehammer.
Since Taiga Kagami hadn't managed to catch his breath properly, the collision forced all the air out of him at once.
And the moment that happened, his strength gave out.
BANG!
...
...
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