"I'll crush you!"
Atsushi Murasakibara suddenly muttered.
Hearing that, Tetsuya Kuroko suddenly realized something.
"I think I know why!" Tetsuya Kuroko said.
"Huh?" Taiga Kagami looked at him in surprise. "Kuroko, you know what's causing it?"
"Yes." Tetsuya Kuroko nodded. "Right now, Murasakibara really is in a state where his mind is completely free of distractions."
"More precisely, he isn't thinking about anything except crushing the two of you."
"Right now, the only thought in Murasakibara's head is crushing you both."
"Damn!" Taiga Kagami exclaimed. "That actually works?!"
"Yes." Tetsuya Kuroko nodded. "After all, Murasakibara can be surprisingly childish and stubborn about certain things."
"In that case..." Daiki Aomine scratched his head, looking troubled. "Things are about to get annoying."
"Hey." Daiki Aomine turned toward Taiga Kagami. "You still have enough stamina?"
Taiga Kagami nodded.
"I'm good!"
"I see." Daiki Aomine murmured, then grinned. "Then let's really give this a shot."
The instant he finished speaking, blue lightning flashed in Daiki Aomine's eyes, and the pressure surrounding him changed dramatically.
"Let's take Murasakibara on together!"
...
Possession changed.
Kirisaki Daiichi's ball.
After Miyamoto Tokima brought the ball into the frontcourt, he immediately passed it to Atsushi Murasakibara.
By now, he had also figured out why Atsushi Murasakibara's Animal Instinct had changed.
At the same time, he noticed something else...
He could apparently see the visual effects now.
If that was the case, did that mean his own Animal Instinct...
Could be seen too?
On the court, purple and milky-white light shimmered around Atsushi Murasakibara, the two colors intertwining and making him look even more intimidating.
The lightning flashing in his eyes had also become far more violent.
Daiki Aomine and Taiga Kagami simultaneously activated both their Animal Instinct and Zone, standing together behind Atsushi Murasakibara as they prepared for his attack.
With his back to them, Atsushi Murasakibara dribbled the ball, looking as though he could make his move at any moment.
"Get ready!" Daiki Aomine shouted. "He's coming!"
"Got it!" Taiga Kagami replied seriously.
The two braced themselves, waiting for Atsushi Murasakibara to slam into them.
But contrary to their expectations, Atsushi Murasakibara didn't try to overpower them head-on.
Instead, he used a surprisingly agile spin and slipped around Daiki Aomine.
"What?!"
Daiki Aomine cried out in surprise.
Before he could recover, Atsushi Murasakibara had already jumped.
He took off from the side and drifted diagonally toward the basket in midair.
Daiki Aomine jumped alongside him, initiating contact in the air.
A tremendous force slammed into Daiki Aomine, knocking him off balance.
At the same time, the referee's whistle sounded.
"Beep! Teikō Middle School, number 12, foul!"
The referee called Daiki Aomine for contact on the arm.
While they were airborne, his hand had indeed caught Atsushi Murasakibara on the forearm.
BANG!
Atsushi Murasakibara powered the ball through the hoop.
Daiki Aomine, meanwhile, fell toward the floor after losing his balance.
Fortunately, Taiga Kagami was right beside him and managed to catch him before he could get hurt.
After scoring, Atsushi Murasakibara turned and glared viciously at both Daiki Aomine and Taiga Kagami.
"I'll crush you!"
Daiki Aomine slowly steadied himself and stared back without saying a word.
...
Over the next few minutes, Atsushi Murasakibara proved with his actions that he meant exactly what he had said.
With the triple boost of Selfless, Animal Instinct within his body, and Zone, Atsushi Murasakibara completely battered Taiga Kagami and Daiki Aomine inside the paint.
He didn't use Selfless to copy anyone else's movements.
He simply relied on pure physical force.
Either he backed them down with the ball or challenged them directly in the air.
No finesse.
No tricks.
Just brute strength.
Atsushi Murasakibara forcibly tore a massive hole through Teikō Middle School's interior defense using nothing but raw power.
And he did it against Taiga Kagami and Daiki Aomine, both of whom had activated Animal Instinct and Zone.
At first, Taiga Kagami and Daiki Aomine tried using technique to strip the ball away from Atsushi Murasakibara.
But after entering Selfless, Atsushi Murasakibara seemed to suddenly figure things out.
The moment they tried to beat him with technique, he simply stopped playing along.
He would gather the ball and jump immediately, then overpower them in the air.
It left Taiga Kagami and Daiki Aomine completely frustrated.
They simply had no good answer for Atsushi Murasakibara.
He was like a monster in the paint, rampaging through the interior without restraint.
Fortunately, Teikō Middle School managed to keep the score close through Shintaro Midorima and by continuing to attack Reo Mibuchi, whom they viewed as Kirisaki Daiichi's weak point.
That situation continued until the end of the first quarter.
"Beep! End of the first quarter! Both teams, off the court!"
The referee blew the whistle.
Players from both sides headed to their benches to recover their stamina.
Originally, everyone had assumed the first quarter would simply be a chance to test how strong everyone had become, and that neither side would truly start going all out yet.
But no one expected Atsushi Murasakibara to single-handedly force the real battle to begin early.
"Damn! Is that purple-haired guy Shaq or something?! He's been bullying two guys at once for this long!"
"Now this is basketball! Pure physicality, straight-up strength against strength. You don't see this kind of thing often anymore!"
...
At Kirisaki Daiichi's bench, Miyamoto Tokima watched Atsushi Murasakibara gasping heavily for breath.
He had already dropped out of Selfless, Animal Instinct within his body, and Zone, leaving him visibly exhausted.
Miyamoto Tokima fell into thought.
Putting everything else aside, experiencing Animal Instinct within his body and Zone for the first time was already enough to take a serious toll on Atsushi Murasakibara.
And on top of that, he had also activated Selfless.
In that state, Atsushi Murasakibara had even surpassed Ryota Kise while Kise was using both Zone and [Perfect Copy].
It was an all-out burst of overwhelming power.
Once Atsushi Murasakibara entered that state, he became the strongest player on the court besides Miyamoto Tokima himself.
Even Shintaro Midorima wouldn't casually attempt a shot in front of Atsushi Murasakibara while he was like that.
...