The lightning in Shuzo Nijimura's eyes suddenly grew more violent, and its color began to shift toward a faint white.
Boom!
In an instant, an unprecedented milky-white light erupted around Shuzo Nijimura's body!
Within the milky-white glow surrounding his legs, countless specks of light shimmered like stars!
On the sidelines, Kōzō Shirogane couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath when he saw it.
"Selfless...?" Kōzō Shirogane said in shock. "Or is that the [Pinnacle of Hard Work]?!"
Kōzō Shirogane had only ever seen the [Pinnacle of Hard Work] while watching tennis in the past.
After all, it was one of the three gates of Selfless!
Selfless itself was already incredibly difficult to achieve on a basketball court, let alone reaching the [Pinnacle of Hard Work] within Selfless!
On the court, Daiki Aomine felt the pressure radiating from Shuzo Nijimura and immediately grew serious, bracing himself.
Shuzo Nijimura charged forward while dribbling, and the milky-white light around his legs became even more pronounced.
In the blink of an eye, Shuzo Nijimura switched from driving right to driving left.
He didn't slow down!
No!
He accelerated while changing direction!
"What?!" Daiki Aomine was stunned as he watched Shuzo Nijimura suddenly accelerate through the turn.
Those knees are even tougher than mine!
Relying on his own equally durable knees, Daiki Aomine slammed on the brakes, spun around, and chased after Shuzo Nijimura.
But he soon realized that Shuzo Nijimura had actually accelerated again!
Shuzo Nijimura took long, powerful strides, steadily leaving Daiki Aomine behind.
The moment he entered the paint, Shuzo Nijimura planted his left foot and launched himself high into the air.
An overwhelming pressure instantly swept toward Teppei Kiyoshi.
The aura produced by Selfless and the [Pinnacle of Hard Work] was immensely powerful.
Even Teppei Kiyoshi couldn't help but tremble under that pressure.
But Teppei Kiyoshi had no intention of backing down!
After all, he was [Iron Heart]!
"Ahhh!!!"
Teppei Kiyoshi roared, as though trying to psych himself up.
He jumped with all his strength, attempting to stop Shuzo Nijimura.
But Shuzo Nijimura seemed to have grown wings, rising higher and higher!
Teppei Kiyoshi could only stare in shock as Shuzo Nijimura slammed down a powerful dunk right over him.
Crash!!!
Dunk!
Teppei Kiyoshi stumbled backward uncontrollably, but Kentaro Seto quickly reached out and steadied him.
After landing, Shuzo Nijimura immediately turned and ran back on defense.
Over the next several possessions, the court seemed to turn into a one-on-one showdown between Shuzo Nijimura and Daiki Aomine.
The Kirisaki Daiichi players, Miyamoto Tokima included, all intentionally or otherwise kept feeding the ball to Shuzo Nijimura.
After all, now that Shuzo Nijimura had activated the [Pinnacle of Hard Work] within Selfless, his stamina wouldn't hold out for long.
Shuzo Nijimura and Daiki Aomine traded blows evenly, both of them wearing broad smiles.
Daiki Aomine in particular looked happier than anyone.
At that moment, he felt incredibly exhilarated.
He was genuinely enjoying himself!
For the first time in a long while, he seemed to rediscover the joy of basketball.
The two traded baskets back and forth, scoring one after another.
As the game clock continued to tick down, Shuzo Nijimura's stamina finally ran out.
Thud... thud, thud...
The basketball slipped from Shuzo Nijimura's hand, and he dropped to one knee, gasping heavily for breath.
"Hah..." Shuzo Nijimura's entire body trembled as he murmured with a relieved smile, "So this is my limit after all?"
"Beep! Kirisaki Daiichi requests a timeout!"
Satsuki Momoi immediately called a timeout, preparing to substitute Shuzo Nijimura out so he could rest.
Daiki Aomine slowly walked over to Shuzo Nijimura and held out his hand.
Shuzo Nijimura struggled to raise his head.
A sincere smile appeared on Daiki Aomine's face.
"Senior Nijimura, thank you."
Shuzo Nijimura froze, completely confused as to why Daiki Aomine was thanking him.
"Thank... me? Why?"
Daiki Aomine nodded, grabbed Shuzo Nijimura's hand, and helped pull him up.
Shogo Haizaki came over to Shuzo Nijimura's other side at the same time and supported him.
Together, the two helped Shuzo Nijimura toward the bench.
Along the way, Daiki Aomine answered his question.
"Because... you helped me find my basketball again."
Shuzo Nijimura looked even more stunned by that answer.
Still, he smiled and said,
"Then I'm honored."
...
With Shuzo Nijimura leaving the court from exhaustion, Tatsuya Himuro replaced him at power forward.
On the court, Teikō Middle School had possession.
After Seijuro Akashi crossed half-court, he passed the ball to Daiki Aomine.
Daiki Aomine didn't immediately attack Tatsuya Himuro.
Instead, he waited.
Then, under everyone's shocked gaze, Shintaro Midorima came over to set a screen!
That meant Daiki Aomine wanted to go one-on-one with Miyamoto Tokima!
Miyamoto Tokima stepped in front of Daiki Aomine with a surprised look.
"You want to play me?" Miyamoto Tokima asked.
Daiki Aomine nodded.
"Yeah, Miyamoto. I want to play you."
As he spoke, Miyamoto Tokima noticed the rest of Teikō Middle School spreading out toward the perimeter, leaving Daiki Aomine plenty of room to isolate.
Seeing this, Miyamoto Tokima smiled faintly.
"In that case, come on."
Daiki Aomine nodded.
Then the lightning of the Zone vanished from his eyes.
Miyamoto Tokima frowned slightly.
He left the Zone?
What was he doing?
While Miyamoto Tokima was still wondering, Daiki Aomine spoke.
"Miyamoto, all this time, I've seen you as the goal I needed to chase."
"While chasing after you, I've experienced sadness and found happiness. I've tasted defeat and experienced victory."
"I've gained a lot, and I've lost a lot. Until today, I never knew exactly what it was that I'd lost."
"But now..." Daiki Aomine raised his head and broke into a brilliant smile. "I found it."
Boom!
In an instant!
Under Miyamoto Tokima's stunned gaze, an unprecedented milky-white light erupted from Daiki Aomine's body!
The milky-white glow surrounded him, constantly shifting and changing.
At last, the milky-white light transformed into a brilliant radiance that completely illuminated Daiki Aomine's body.
This was different from Shogo Haizaki's and Shuzo Nijimura's Selfless!
This was Daiki Aomine's own Selfless!
"The [Pinnacle of Perfection]..." Kōzō Shirogane's aged eyes were filled with shock as he murmured in disbelief, "Aomine... you really have given me quite the surprise..."