Haizaki Shogo shook his head and pushed the distracting thoughts aside. Receiving the pass from Mochizuki Kazuhiro, he immediately refocused on the game. At the same time, Himuro Tatsuya followed closely behind, preparing to pressure him with tight defense.
Haizaki's expression remained relaxed. The basketball moved rapidly between his hands, every motion clean, sharp, and efficient.
Whoosh!
A straightforward drive to the right.
No tricks. No hesitation.
He blew right past Himuro.
Himuro froze in place, his eyes widening in shock. The gap in speed was simply too large. They were not even playing on the same level.
For Haizaki, getting past Himuro was almost effortless.
Charging directly into the paint, Haizaki leaped for a dunk. At that instant, a massive hand rose to meet him.
Murasakibara Atsushi had rotated over to help on defense.
Facing Murasakibara, Haizaki narrowed his eyes. If things continued like this, his dunk would definitely be swatted away. But in the split second before impact, Haizaki twisted his body in midair like an acrobat.
His body rotated, turned, and spun around Murasakibara's block before he slammed the ball through the hoop.
BOOM!
Murasakibara landed and stared at Haizaki with visible surprise. At that moment, Haizaki looked dazzling.
"Haizaki-chin, you're seriously annoying."
"Hahaha! Atsushi, feeling frustrated?"
"No." Murasakibara pouted. "Next time I won't let you get away with it."
"Fine." Haizaki grinned. "I'll be waiting."
This was Haizaki's second successful aerial spin. Relying on his monstrous hang time, balance, and body coordination, he completed another midair rotation to evade a block.
That basket sent a clear message. Even Murasakibara Atsushi, Yosen's king of the paint, could not completely stop Haizaki once he entered the lane.
And that was exactly why Murasakibara found him so irritating. Some people just kept jumping around right in front of him, acting arrogant, causing trouble, and no matter what he did, he couldn't do anything about them.
That feeling was incredibly annoying.
As for Yosen's other ace, Himuro Tatsuya was completely stunned. Haizaki's playstyle, his speed, everything about him was exactly what Himuro dreamed of becoming.
Himuro had already developed his own style, but speed? That kind of natural talent was completely beyond his reach.
Haizaki only needed to increase his pace slightly, and getting past Himuro became absurdly easy.
Himuro looked distracted. When he brought the ball up court again, Haizaki suddenly accelerated.
Instantly.
The pass Himuro attempted was intercepted. The quality of that pass had already dropped.
Haizaki stole it effortlessly.
Another open court. Another uncontested opportunity.
Haizaki casually tossed the ball into the basket.
Then, with one minute left in the first quarter, Yosen coach Araki Masako called a timeout.
Back at Fukuda Sogo's bench, Haizaki drank some water and accepted the towel Shimizu Rena handed him. Wiping the sweat from his face, he glanced toward her.
"How is it?"
Shimizu shook her head, looking troubled. "No. Number 12, Himuro Tatsuya, looks a little shaken, but his fighting spirit is still very strong. He's not suitable as a target. And his skills are above our teammates' level. No one else on our team can pressure him enough."
Disappointment spread across Fukuda Sogo's group.
For now, Yosen showed almost no weaknesses. Murasakibara, Liu Wei, and Okamura Kenichi were all giants over two meters tall.
Against shorter players, they naturally possessed overwhelming confidence. That confidence gave them strong mental resilience. None of them could easily become collapse points.
And now Himuro was also close to being ruled out.
Which meant there was only one possible target left.
No. 5, Fukui Kensuke.
Yosen's point guard.
After a few seconds of thought, Haizaki turned toward Coach Kudo. "Coach, have them guard No. 5, Fukui Kensuke. Full pressure defense. Suzuran and Okawa can hold the paint for now. I'll help with interior defense when needed."
Coach Kudo considered it briefly before nodding. "Shinichi, switch to Fukui. Pressure him the whole game."
"Got it, Coach!"
=========
On Yosen's bench, Araki Masako looked helplessly at the absent-minded Himuro. The only players capable of matching Haizaki were Himuro and Murasakibara.
But Murasakibara dominated the paint. He could not constantly leave his area.
Now Himuro was being completely suppressed. He had no room to breathe and no room to fight back.
Do I really have to send Atsushi to guard Haizaki?
Araki fell into thought.
Then her gaze shifted.
Suzuran Karasu. Okawa. Liu Wei. Okamura.
Suddenly, she smiled.
"Atsushi, you guard Haizaki. Tatsuya handles offense."
"Coach!"
"Masako-chin, is that okay?"
Araki immediately drew her wooden sword and pointed it toward Murasakibara and Himuro. "Execute your queen's orders."
Everyone instantly surrendered beneath Queen Araki's authority.
One minute later, play resumed.
Yosen had possession.
Haizaki glanced sideways and saw Murasakibara standing beside him. A trace of surprise appeared on his face.
"Whoa, Atsushi. What happened? Why'd they switch you over? Did your teammate run away?"
"Muro-chin isn't running. This is our coach's strategy."
"Strategy?" Haizaki chuckled. "Now you've got me interested."
Murasakibara opened his arms and assumed his defensive stance. "Haizaki-chin. I'm gonna crush you."
Haizaki narrowed his eyes.
Interesting.
Yosen had Murasakibara abandon the paint. Did they really not care about interior control anymore?
Or were they looking down on Suzuran Karasu and Okawa?
Haizaki's lips curled upward.
Okawa... maybe. But Suzuran Karasu? Heh. Let's wait and see.
=========
Meanwhile, Himuro had already received the ball. A quick fake sent Mochizuki flying.
Then...
Pull-up.
Swish.
Two points.
Yosen's adjustment worked immediately. Everyone smiled. Even Coach Araki and Yosen's substitutes stood up cheering.
Haizaki received the ball again. Facing Murasakibara this time, his expression finally turned serious.
Murasakibara's wingspan was absurd. It felt like facing a wall.
"Atsushi, there are some shots... no matter how tall you are or how long your arms are, you still can't stop them."
After saying that, Haizaki jumped right on the spot and launched a three-pointer.
Murasakibara leaped. His huge hand stretched out.
But the basketball passed directly through his palm.
Like it had disappeared.
Swish!
Nothing but net.
Murasakibara and nearby Himuro both stared at Haizaki in complete shock. Murasakibara was stunned by how impossible Mirage Shot was to defend.
As for Himuro, his emotions were much harder to describe.
Watching someone use your signature move right in front of you, and somehow use it even better than you could...
What exactly was that feeling supposed to be?
At this point, whose special move was Mirage Shot anyway?
=============
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