Many say basketball isn't purely a sport of talent.
But sometimes, basketball is a very pure contest of talent.
When you possess strength enough to shatter all defenders while also possessing speed like lightning, scoring becomes as simple as eating and drinking.
Aomine was undoubtedly a player with this kind of talent.
But now.
He was being ravaged by Yuuto with strength, and he didn't have too obvious an advantage in speed either.
It wasn't like last year where he had the upper hand; it was a visible lead (for Yuuto).
At this moment, Aomine also felt immense pressure, as if a mountain were pressing towards him. every cell in his body came alive with this oppression.
"Hmph!"
He actively gave way, not confronting Yuuto head-on, utilizing his speed advantage to follow closely, waiting for an opportunity.
Screech screech screech~~~
His footwork frequency was so fast it blurred.
This was the fastest player in the country. Even if he lost the physical confrontation, he could still give Yuuto enough defensive pressure.
Strong as Yuuto was, he couldn't defeat him easily.
"Little Yuuto was actually blocked at the free-throw line?" Kise was astonished.
He had never seen such a thing.
Even Akashi, with his Emperor Eye back then, couldn't do this.
"A year ago wasn't Aomine's limit. He wasted more than a year without participating in team practice." Midorima's eyes were subtle.
He felt that Aomine didn't participate in team training back then largely to give latecomers time to catch up.
He was too strong.
If he continued to work hard, he might never find a worthy opponent.
Now the situation was different.
A year ago, Yuuto led his team to defeat him, and Aomine became the challenger.
With a goal, there was motivation. Aomine had been practicing hard for the past year. Those talents hidden in his body exploded out like a volcanic eruption.
"What's wrong, Kuroko?" Junpei Hyuga noticed Kuroko's expression; he seemed to have something to say.
"...They feel so unfamiliar to me." This was Kuroko's feeling right now.
The progress of those geniuses was so great he dared not believe it, constantly shocking him.
He could no longer view those six with the eyes of a year ago.
Compared to Aomine and the others, Kuroko felt like he was marching in place.
On the court.
Yuuto wasn't surprised, neither happy nor worried.
The opponent's changes had long been seen through by the Left Eye of God.
Even more brilliant golden light bloomed from Yuuto.
His eyes locked onto the Ace of the Generation of Miracles, acting based on data changes and memories from the simulation matches.
Smack!
Yuuto swung his body violently for a massive directional change.
He was equally agile. In "Red Eye" mode, his speed attribute also broke triple digits.
Electric arcs surged on his golden body; Yuuto moved like a thunderbolt.
Bang!
In a breath, his figure dissipated like foam, and his body appeared on the other side.
"You think a trick like that works on me?"
Aomine didn't buy it; his strong instincts made him react in time.
But Yuuto.
He moved too fast, rampaging, crossing the free-throw line with the ball. Even if Aomine caught up, he couldn't shake Yuuto's center of gravity.
A minimalist playing style, yet containing a different kind of charm.
Soar!
He killed his way into the paint and took off, raising the ball with his right arm to smash it down with full force.
Accompanied by a roar, Yuuto scored the first points of the match (for himself/from field goals).
The two landed one after another, but Aomine's expression remained the same.
"Completely unaffected by Yuuto's pass." Yamashita Shio saw clearly from the sideline.
Tōō's ace wasn't affected at all by Yuuto's opening pass.
It was as if he knew Yuuto wouldn't pass.
This instinct, this intuition, was terrifying.
"But in this regard, Yuuto won't lose to anyone."
He could feel that Yuuto's aura was stronger than Aomine's.
Not meditating like the Zen Master as before, Yamashita Shio was visibly serious in this match.
He squatted by the court, observing Tōō's weaknesses while looking for possibilities to strengthen the team's defense.
But Tōō's offense was equally simple and crude: just give the ball to Aomine Daiki.
They didn't use Aomine to strip Yuuto from Seiho's defensive system like Shutoku did.
However.
Aomine Daiki didn't care about Seiho's first line of defense either; even Tsugawa Tomoki was passed in one step.
On the court.
Aomine used a nutmeg to leave Tsugawa behind...
Almost simultaneously.
Yuuto near the free-throw line launched forward to intercept.
Aomine didn't catch the ball (after nutmeg?); he tapped it smoothly, intending to hit the ball directly behind Yuuto while speeding past Yuuto's side.
All this happened too fast; even with Yuuto's core strength, he couldn't turn in time.
But.
The Left Eye of God saw everything. With his back to the basketball, his arm grabbed out like a hook.
Eagle's Hook! (Eagle Spear?)
"You think this trick still works?!" Aomine quickly controlled the ball in his hands, but was forced to make a protective motion.
In this time, Yuuto completed his turn.
"Aomine was also blocked at the free-throw line?" Katsunori Harasawa looked solemn.
Once Aomine started, his offense was like a violent storm. Forget stopping him; opponents not getting flustered was already top-tier defense.
Result: one-on-one with Yuuto, and he was forced to stop at the free-throw line in the second round.
"Could he have already completed the correction?"
As soon as this thought appeared, he rejected it immediately.
This was Aomine Daiki!
So...
"He's just simply become stronger compared to a year ago."
Midorima was most qualified to say this. Yuuto's progress was no slower than theirs, perhaps even faster.
"Can Little Aomine win?"
"Hard to say."
In just under a year, they felt unfamiliar with each other again.
And on the court, Aomine had exploded with acceleration again.
Thinking?
Too troublesome. Compared to thinking, he was better at following his feelings.
He turned into a black light impacting Yuuto's defense.
If he couldn't break through the front, he'd look for opportunities from the flank.
Aomine dribbled towards the right side of the basket. When Yuuto caught up, he actually jumped with his back to the basket.
Then, he completed a 180-degree turn in mid-air, facing the hoop again.
"That's possible too?" Someone's eyes widened.
Too chaotic!
Truly too chaotic!
This wasn't the basketball they knew at all.
But even more outrageous things followed.
The moment Aomine completed his turn, Yuuto actually twisted his body in mid-air to defend in front of him.
The Left Eye of God had "seen" Aomine's action in advance.
"What kind of monsters are these?!" People's scalps went numb.
...
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