"Ah! Kise is right…"
Midorima Shintaro was the first to confirm Kise's words.
"He didn't break past Akashi. Akashi was allowed to get past him on purpose."
"Ehh? What are you all talking about?"
Satsuki Momoi looked around at her former teammates who were all speaking in riddles and puffed her cheeks unhappily.
Of course, Momoi's insight into basketball was not weak. After all, she could collect and extract so much data just through videos, without sharp vision, such a thing would be impossible.
But when two players exceeded a certain realm, normal viewers could no longer even understand what was happening.
"Heh~~ I really have to hand it to that guy for coming up with something like this."
"Huh? Aomine! What method? Explain it clearly!"
Aomine Daiki scratched his head.
"It's actually pretty simple. Put plainly, Akashi didn't break past him. Akashi was let through. And then Aomine Akashi defended him from behind."
"Hah?"
Momoi blinked blankly.
"That's impossible! Even if Asuka is fast, he wouldn't be able to catch up after being that many steps behind!"
"No, actually, he can."
Aomine continued:
"First, when he's in his Animal Instinct, he can track Akashi's movement without needing to look. He can feel him passing behind."
"Second, it's because of their height difference."
"Height?"
"That's right. Akashi's physical ability is strong, strong enough to dunk. But that still doesn't change the fact that he's just over 170 cm."
Momoi still looked confused.
So Midorima took over:
"It's simple. If we consider Asuka's block height as 100… then Murasakibara's shot height is also around 100. Mine, Aomine's, and Kise's release points fall around 85–90. But Akashi's release is only around 60–70."
"Basketball takes time to travel. The lower the release point, the longer the ball stays within the opponent's blocking range."
"The reverse is also true."
"Asuka is using the extra time gap created by Akashi's lower shot height. Even if he moves after the shot, he can still block it. And since he's defending from behind, even the Emperor Eye becomes extremely limited."
In short,
No matter how strong the Emperor Eye's predictive vision is, it does not provide a full 360-degree view.
If it did, then he wouldn't be human anymore.
And since Asuka is defending from behind, Akashi can't use Ankle Breaker, because that requires the defender to be in front.
Momoi stared in shock. Even after hearing the explanation, she still couldn't fully accept it.
"He can even defend the Emperor Eye like that? Is something like that really possible?"
"Idiot. This isn't something just anyone can do."
Aomine replied bluntly:
"Even among the Generation of Miracles, only Murasakibara could possibly do something like this. Akashi's height may be his weakness, but it's also his only weakness."
"And even then, Murasakibara might not be able to do it either. To pull this off, you need reaction speed, physical burst, and prediction. Did you not notice that Asuka could only do it because he was in his Animal Instinct?"
"Tch… there's nothing special about that. If that bird-brain can do it, then I can too."
No one bothered to respond to him.
==========
Soon, the match resumed.
As expected, Mayuzumi Chihiro was subbed out.
With his imperfect Phantom Sixth Man ability neutralized, he was no longer even useful as a decoy.
Removing him had both pros and cons for Seirin's side:
Good: No more worrying about the Phantom threat.
Bad: The new forward subbing in possessed power equivalent to top-tier nationals.
"I'll take him."
Omuro Yoshikasu stepped forward to take on the new forward.
He knew well, among the current Seirin main lineup, he was the weakest.
But he had clawed his way into being a starter for the Kingly Seirin.
So whoever he faced, he may not win, but he would absolutely never lose.
He and Kasuga Ryuhei swapped defensive matchups.
Ryuhei now faced the Uncrowned King, Mibuchi Reo.
Feeling the refined pressure coming from Reo, Ryuhei clicked his tongue.
"Tch, this is annoying. Should've just left the other guy in…"
"Well now~ A handsome defender comes to me instead? I'm happy, but I won't go easy on you, okay?"
Mibuchi's feminine tone sent chills down Ryuhei's spine.
Meanwhile, Akashi Seijuro once again faced Asuka.
In Animal Instinct, Asuka's posture was completely relaxed, no stance.
Akashi's Ankle Breaker required the opponent to move their center of gravity to be disrupted.
But Asuka wasn't defending, so there was no balance to break.
So frontal breakthrough was impossible for now.
"In that case… I'll save myself the effort."
Among the Generation of Miracles, Akashi had the most balanced scoring capability.
Three-pointers, mid-range, close shots, his accuracy was excellent.
So, from beyond the three-point line, he prepared to shoot.
But just as he raised the ball,
A crushing sense of pressure surged from Asuka's presence in front of him…
=============
Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria