"He's gotten even stronger!"
Or rather—this was his true form. In that streetball game, he hadn't gone all out at all.
Himuro refused to accept it, but it was pointless now.
Thump!
Yuuto launched from the free-throw line, soaring like he'd sprouted wings.
Yōsen's twin towers, Okamura Kenichi and Liu Wei, were still expecting Yuuto to attack the rim. Their bodies hadn't even begun to react.
But Murasakibara—
His reflexes were absurdly fast. He instantly abandoned his comfortable position in the paint and charged forward with massive strides.
2.08 meters tall. A wingspan exceeding his height by over twenty centimeters. An absolute physical freak.
When he leaped and spread his arms, it was like watching locusts descend—blocking out the sky itself.
A dark shadow rose rapidly, a storm cloud rushing to envelop Yuuto.
"So fast!" The crowd gasped.
This body type had no business possessing that kind of athleticism.
Alexandra declared her eyes officially opened.
A frame like that with mobility rivaling her student Kagami Taiga? That was just cheating.
But then—
"Slow!" Yuuto spat two syllables, his right arm hammering down. The basketball became a laser beam, threading through Murasakibara's outstretched arms and piercing the net.
Swish!
The ball went in.
The team praised as Akita Prefecture's Absolute Defense. The squad that had gone three consecutive rounds without surrendering a single point in the Winter Cup.
Their first possession, and Seihō had shattered their vaunted defense.
"That's what intimidation looks like." Yuuto touched down gracefully.
He stood surrounded by Yōsen players—in front of him, behind him, all around him.
Smaller than Murasakibara, yet no one could ignore his presence.
In Alexandra's eyes, the darkness emanating from Yuuto deepened, especially those eyes—they shook her to her core.
ROAAAAAR!
The arena erupted.
"He scored!"
"Are you serious?! Yōsen's defense was broken that easily?!"
"As expected of Seihō! The national champions just casually did what no other team could!"
"That's Yuuto—the strongest high schooler in the country!"
The crowd thundered their approval.
Throughout the earlier rounds, one of the things spectators most anticipated was seeing Yōsen's opponents put points on the board.
Ridiculous as it sounded, it was true.
After acquiring Murasakibara, Yōsen's defense had evolved to another dimension entirely.
From prefectural qualifiers to the finals, countless players had despaired against that wall.
But even such an ironclad defense had been breached—and on just the second possession of the game.
"You didn't need to be so careful storing your ring away. You're not going to get a chance to face Kagami."
Yuuto passed by Himuro, his voice ice-cold as he dropped those words.
Himuro's fist clenched instantly.
"That guy's always been insufferable," Murasakibara noted, noticing his teammate's expression. His attempt at comfort.
About as good as Murasakibara could manage. This was his limit.
"You're telling me that's just his trash talk? Got it. Thanks, Atsushi." Himuro took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
This man made of ice understood better than anyone: anger solved nothing. It only made problems worse.
...
Back to the action.
Yōsen's offensive possession.
Fukui took several deep breaths, rapidly composing himself after that devastating first exchange.
They were all battle-hardened players—something like this wouldn't crush them.
"No surprises here. We knew our shutout streak would end in this game."
Coach Araki had warned them.
Their Absolute Defense would definitely be breached by Seihō. They were facing the national champions, after all.
Without the pressure of maintaining a clean sheet, they could actually play more freely.
Smack!
Once across half-court, Fukui passed to Himuro.
As their coach predicted, Seihō had deployed their signature 2-3 zone defense.
"You can't stop me." Himuro's voice was frigid.
"We'll see about that." But Tsugawa Tomoki grinned, warm as spring sunshine.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, Himuro made his move.
His target was Yuuto. The Generation of Miracles. His brother, Kagami Taiga. Everyone else wasn't worthy of being his opponent.
But—
His previously unstoppable fakes met stubborn resistance from Tsugawa Tomoki.
It was like the defender could read his every move, appearing in his path over and over again.
"That troublesome predictive intel." Araki glanced over and understood immediately, her gaze drifting involuntarily toward Yuuto. "Truly a troublesome pair of eyes."
Time passed.
Himuro and Tsugawa remained locked in their battle.
The longer the exchange continued, the heavier Himuro's heart sank.
Why?
In barely a month, how had this defender improved so dramatically?
"Who is that guy?" Alexandra was even more shocked than Himuro.
Her student, shut down this easily by some nobody?
"Tsugawa Tomoki. One of the best perimeter defenders around."
One of the best?
That was somewhat acceptable.
But then she heard Kagami add, "He wasn't nearly this good during that streetball game. What the hell happened in such a short time?"
"Predictably, Yuuto must have given him substantial intel support. He can see Himuro's physical data, playing style—and with his basketball IQ, he can simulate matchup predictions."
"It's probably more than that. Remember how he replicated Himuro's game during that match?"
"I see. So he must have put Tsugawa through specialized training."
Huh?
What were they talking about?
Predictions? Replicating someone's basketball?
Alexandra understood each word individually, but strung together, they made no sense.
"Taiga, what are you all talking about?"
"It's Yuuto's eyes. He can see opponents' physical data changing in real-time, and after watching someone once, he can perfectly replicate their tactics and style."
"Those are secondary. What's important is Yuuto's basketball IQ—higher than even Akashi's. He can combine this data with tactical analysis to predict his opponents' actions."
This was real?
Alexandra's mind was blown. "Then what you said earlier—about him replicating Tatsuya's game—what's that about?"
"Tatsuya had a brief encounter with Yuuto before, at a streetball game." Kagami gave a quick summary.
Alexandra felt like she was listening to fantasy.
Her student's devastatingly realistic fakes—Yuuto had perfectly replicated them after just one look?
...
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