"Woah~~ such tight defense!"
"There's not a single gap. Rakuzan's defense is just as strong as Seiho's!"
"Amazing."
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Right from the start, the match between Seiho and Rakuzan had the crowd gasping in amazement.
Akashi Seijuro dribbled past midcourt, and Akashi Asuka stepped up to defend. Seijuro decisively passed the ball to Hayama Kotaro. Asuka and Seijuro were in a constant state of mutual restraint, though Asuka was slightly at a disadvantage.
At this moment, Hayama Kotaro, nicknamed the "Thunder Beast", was matched against Tsugawa Tomoki.
Among the Uncrowned Kings, Hayama's dribbling skill was almost at Generation of Miracles level. Some even argued he was second only to Aomine Daiki. To stop a player of this caliber, a defender needed an equally high-level skillset.
In Seiho, only Tsugawa could compete at that level aside from Asuka.
Earlier, Tsugawa and Hayama had already gone head-to-head for two consecutive plays, and the results were still deadlocked.
"Impressive! Definitely a whole different level than our previous opponents. In that case, I won't hold back. Let's try it with four fingers this time!"
Hayama grinned, suddenly increasing the number of fingers he used to dribble to four.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The deafening sound of the ball hitting the court rang out. Every player's attention immediately snapped to the noise.
This was Hayama Kotaro's signature technique: the Lighting Dribble.
The harder he dribbled, the faster the ball moved, and the harder it was to steal. Hayama focused all his strength into his fingers. Using three fingers, he could perform Lighting Dribble, and adding each additional finger increased the speed by another level.
With a rolling boom like distant thunder, the next moment, Hayama suddenly vanished from Tsugawa's sight.
"So fast!"
Tsugawa's eyes widened.
Although he had Asuka's detailed intel on Hayama, experiencing it firsthand revealed just how insanely fast this guy's dribbling was.
In sheer dribbling skill, Hayama was on par even with the Generation of Miracles.
"However, that alone isn't enough."
Tsugawa quickly retreated and then spun to chase him. Hayama, still riding the momentum of his dribble, barely had time to celebrate before Tsugawa reappeared right in front of him.
Hayama's pupils contracted.
"This guy…"
"Hey! Definitely fast dribbling, enough to outrun an old lady selling popsicles at a gate, I suppose!"
Tsugawa grinned, mocking his opponent.
"Huh? What did you just say?"
"Ah~~ sorry, I accidentally spoke the truth again. My bad. Next time, I'll be more subtle."
Tsugawa had a funny trait: most of the things he said were the truth.
Even if it made others angry, it wasn't intentional. Whether teasing or apologizing, he always spoke sincerely.
But that honesty often made people even more frustrated.
"You bastard, you've got some nerve! Fine! This time, I'll use five fingers!"
Hayama's forehead veins bulged. He increased his dribbling fingers to five, and the next instant, Tsugawa heard a BOOM! as the ball vanished from sight.
WHOOSH!
By the time he realized it, Hayama had already shot the ball into the hoop from behind.
9:15.
==========
"So fast… after full burst, can he reach this level?"
Tsugawa's eyes glimmered with shock. At full speed, Hayama's pace matched that of a Generation of Miracles player. Even Tsugawa found it difficult to keep up.
But after the initial shock, excitement flashed in his eyes.
"Interesting… very interesting. An opponent like this makes it more thrilling to play!"
"Hey~~ Tsugawa, you just spoke your mind again!" Kasuga Ryuhei called out.
"Huh? Did I? Oh well, sorry~~"
"Forget it. This time, I'll let you mess around. An opponent like this is tough even without giving full effort!"
Seiho began their counterattack.
Kasuga dribbled to the perimeter. Mayuzumi Chihiro stepped up to defend, but Kasuga glanced at him and quickly passed to Omuro Yoshikasu.
Omuro charged to the paint but couldn't shake off Mibuchi Reo's defense despite several attempts.
"Damn, his defense is solid too!"
"Ugh! A sweaty, stinky guy crashing into me like this… way too rough!"
Omuro shivered at the remark and decisively passed to Tsutomu Iwamura inside.
Iwamura went one-on-one against Nebuya Eikichi.
Both power forwards clashed beneath the basket. Though Iwamura's strength was top-tier nationwide, he couldn't gain an advantage against Nebuya.
After a few spin moves, he still found no opening. As he prepared to force a dunk, Nebuya closed in again.
"Tch!"
Iwamura clicked his tongue but passed the ball back to the perimeter.
Seiho's ancient martial arts training gave them unusually clean passing, making it difficult even for Akashi to intercept.
Receiving the pass, Akashi Asuka raised his hands to shoot, but the instant he did, the ball vanished from his grasp.
"Steal!"
"Amazing… this is the third time already, isn't it? Seiho's ace is no match for Akashi!"
From Asuka's angle, the action wasn't clear, but the spectators could see it perfectly.
The moment Asuka raised his hands, Akashi Seijuro had moved at an unimaginable speed, snatching the ball from his hands in an instant.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria