Kotaro Hayama gave Teppei Kiyoshi a surprised look and said,
"Kiyoshi, I know I probably shouldn't discourage you, but..."
"Can we really reach that level?"
Kotaro Hayama was rather pessimistic. He didn't believe he could ever reach such a level.
After all, even Seijuro Akashi couldn't enter the Zone and activate Animal Instinct at the same time.
And Kotaro Hayama couldn't even defeat Seijuro Akashi in his normal state, much less reach a realm like that.
Unlike Kotaro Hayama, however, Teppei Kiyoshi was extremely optimistic.
He smiled and said,
"Who knows? We still have a long future ahead of us."
Kōzō Shirogane, standing on the sidelines, happened to overhear Teppei Kiyoshi's words. A faint smile appeared on his face as he thought,
'The future... belongs to you.'
...
On the court, as all of Teikō Middle School's players entered the pseudo-Zone, the rest of Kirisaki Daiichi began to feel the pressure.
Miyamoto Tokima was being kept occupied by Shintaro Midorima, and without a defensive anchor like Atsushi Murasakibara guarding the paint, they had no one to rely on but themselves.
Watching Kotaro Hayama draw closer and closer, Tatsuya Himuro sighed helplessly.
"Looks like the pressure finally got to us."
Tatsuya Himuro slightly narrowed one eye. In an instant, layers of red and white light began radiating from his body.
The light swirled around him like a dazzling cloak.
"Hehehe."
A beautiful fox bounded out from behind Tatsuya Himuro, letting out several sly giggles.
Animal Instinct!
Fox!
After activating Animal Instinct, Tatsuya Himuro stepped slightly outward with his right foot, spread his arms, and smiled at Kotaro Hayama.
"Come on, Kotaro."
Kotaro Hayama dribbled the ball and stopped in front of Tatsuya Himuro.
"Animal Instinct?" The corners of Kotaro Hayama's mouth lifted, revealing his distinctive fangs. "Haha, now I'm getting fired up!"
With that, Kotaro Hayama unleashed his full aura and tried to activate Animal Instinct.
But he quickly felt as though something was suppressing it, preventing him from bringing it out.
If Kotaro Hayama were compared to a bottle, then normally the bottle had no cap. His Animal Instinct could easily burst through the opening and emerge from within.
But now that he had entered the pseudo-Zone, it was as though a cap had been screwed tightly onto the bottle, making it much harder for his Animal Instinct to escape.
And this was only the pseudo-Zone!
The stronger the Zone, the harder it became to activate Animal Instinct while inside it.
If activating Animal Instinct was already this difficult in the pseudo-Zone, then what about the true Zone?
Wouldn't that be like putting a brick over the mouth of the bottle?
Then what about activating Animal Instinct while in the Zone?
And what if Selfless was added on top of that?!
Kotaro Hayama didn't dare think any further.
The more he understood, the more terrifying it became!
Only now did he truly realize just how monstrous Daiki Aomine and the others were!
And he finally understood just how terrifying Miyamoto Tokima, who stood above all of them, truly was!
"Hah..." Kotaro Hayama gave a bitter laugh. "I suddenly feel like an ant staring up at a huge tree."
Despite his shock, Kotaro Hayama quickly accepted it.
Acknowledging someone else's superiority had never been difficult for him.
He wasn't the kind of person who had to be the absolute best, nor was he the jealous type.
If someone was stronger than him, he would simply admit it.
"Come on!" Kotaro Hayama dribbled the ball and shouted, "Tatsuya Himuro!"
Thud! Thud!! Thud!!!
The succession of deafening, powerful dribbles instantly put Tatsuya Himuro on high alert.
He knew exactly what this was. It was the wind-up for Kotaro Hayama's signature move, [Lightning Dribble]!
Thud!!!! Thud!!!!!
All five fingers of Kotaro Hayama's right hand pressed down on the basketball as thin arcs of lightning flickered from his palm.
Feeling the power surge through him, Kotaro Hayama roared,
"Five Fingers!!!"
Whoosh!
Kotaro Hayama turned into a streak of yellow lightning, flashing past like a bolt through the night as he burst past Tatsuya Himuro's left side in an instant.
Even though Tatsuya Himuro had been prepared, he was still half a beat too slow against [Lightning Dribble], allowing Kotaro Hayama to gain half a body length on him.
Kotaro Hayama's [Lightning Dribble] had one flaw.
After such a forceful dribble, his left hand couldn't immediately adjust the ball. Unless he met force with force and used [Lightning Dribble] again, he couldn't transition into another dribbling move.
That left Kotaro Hayama with no choice but to charge straight into the paint.
Eikichi Nebuya was already waiting for him.
The moment Kotaro Hayama jumped, Eikichi Nebuya leaped with him.
"Ha..." Seeing this, Kotaro Hayama smiled and folded his body in midair.
He changed his layup into a reverse layup.
'Crap!' Eikichi Nebuya's heart jolted. 'I forgot how much Kotaro loves reverse layups!'
Just as Eikichi Nebuya thought it was already over, an exasperated voice rang out.
"Eikichi Nebuya, are you seriously that stupid?" Reo Mibuchi rushed over and leaped beside Eikichi Nebuya, reaching straight for the ball in Kotaro Hayama's hands.
"You even forgot how much Kotaro likes reverse layups!"
Despite the scolding, Eikichi Nebuya wasn't angry in the slightest. If anything, he was excited.
"Reo! Nice one!" Eikichi Nebuya shouted.
'Damn it!' Kotaro Hayama gritted his teeth in frustration.
He hadn't expected Reo Mibuchi to come over and intercept him.
At this point, he could no longer make another evasive move. He was already halfway through the motion of his reverse layup.
Under normal circumstances, there was no way he could stop now!
But then...
Crack!
"Aaaahhh!!!"
Kotaro Hayama roared as the dull lightning in his eyes suddenly began flashing wildly.
The next moment, he somehow forced three fingers down onto the ball and hurled it toward Ryo Sakurai on the perimeter!
"What?!" Reo Mibuchi's eyes widened. He couldn't believe Kotaro Hayama was still capable of making such an extreme adjustment!
The ball flew straight into Ryo Sakurai's arms, startling him for a moment.
Tatsuya Himuro's pupils contracted as he immediately sprinted toward Ryo Sakurai.
"Sorry!"
But Tatsuya Himuro was still one step too late.
The shot was already in the air.
Swish!!!
Three-pointer good!
...
...
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