Possession changed hands. Yosen's point guard, Fukui Kensuke, brought the ball across half court, only to be instantly smothered by Kimura Tosho's tight defense. He found it almost impossible to create anything, and the ball barely made it into Himuro Tatsuya's hands.
Himuro caught it and immediately faced Mochizuki Kazuhiro. With a smooth fake, he once again deceived Mochizuki, and the defender reacted too late.
Himuro had already risen for the shot.
SMACK!
No one saw when Haizaki Shogo appeared. He suddenly soared into the air and swatted away the basketball after it had already left Himuro's hand.
Murasakibara Atsushi was close behind Haizaki. The moment he saw the loose ball fly away, he abandoned his defense and sprinted after it. The instant Haizaki landed, however, he ignored Himuro completely and exploded forward again.
He had worked hard to create that block. There was no way he was handing the ball over to Murasakibara for free.
The audience saw it most clearly. Haizaki's first step was terrifyingly fast.
Within moments, he had already reached top speed, moving like a gust of wind across the court. Just as Murasakibara stretched out his hand toward the loose ball, Haizaki got there first and slapped it farther ahead before immediately chasing after it.
Murasakibara missed.
For a brief moment, he froze. Then he exploded forward as well.
One ahead. One behind.
The two monsters raced across the court.
Haizaki secured the ball and went straight for the layup. At the same time, Murasakibara had already arrived beneath the basket. He jumped, one enormous hand reaching upward for a block.
This time, Haizaki's expression was utterly determined. Possessing the Exceptionally Strong Body, he no longer feared colliding with Murasakibara head-on.
BOOM!
Murasakibara crashed to the floor. His footing slipped and his body tilted backward.
Luckily, his reflexes kicked in and both hands slammed into the ground, stopping him from fully collapsing. He landed sitting heavily on the hardwood.
Meanwhile, Haizaki landed smoothly. Steadily. Calmly.
He glanced at Murasakibara once. Then turned and walked away.
That single glance struck Murasakibara like lightning.
It was a look of disdain.
The gaze of someone standing above another.
The force transmitted through that collision still made his heart pound. Even now, lingering fear remained deep inside him.
Was that Haizaki-chin's true strength...? So strong...
Strength. Speed. Skill. Explosive power.
He's above me in all of them.
A familiar sense of helplessness surfaced inside Murasakibara. The last time he had felt this was during his awakening against Akashi Seijuro.
Failure.
That feeling was failure.
And it hurt.
This unbearable feeling... It was only the second time in my life.
A feeling of complete powerlessness.
While Murasakibara sat lost in thought, the buzzer ending the first quarter had already sounded.
"Atsushi, the first quarter's over."
Himuro extended a hand toward him. Several moments later, Murasakibara finally came back to himself.
Reaching out his huge hand, he allowed Himuro to pull him up.
One walked ahead. One followed behind.
The two slowly returned to Yosen's bench.
========
In the audience stands, Kise Ryouta narrowed his eyes. He wasn't certain whether Haizaki had used Immovable King Form just now to forcefully overpower Murasakibara's block and finish that dunk.
If Haizaki had activated Immovable King Form, then breaking through Murasakibara would make sense. But Kise hadn't felt that aura.
If he hadn't used it, then how exactly had Haizaki broken through Murasakibara's defense?
Kise frowned deeply. The collision between Haizaki and Murasakibara replayed repeatedly inside his head.
Again and again.
Searching for some hidden clue.
Though he remained silent, an overwhelming aura began radiating from him. Kaijo's players stared at him in shock.
Only Kasamatsu Yukio's eyes glimmered with excitement.
Kise had entered that state. He had stepped into the same world as those monsters.
And that meant Kaijo finally possessed the strength to fight.
"Dai-chan, Shogo-kun was amazing just now! He actually... he actually broke through Murasakibara's defense in the paint!"
"Yeah."
Aomine Daiki's response was mysterious and absent-minded. It was obvious he was thinking about something else.
"Kagami-kun, could you do something like that?"
"Huh... not sure. You said Murasakibara's strength is insane, but I've never experienced it myself." Kagami paused briefly. "If I entered the Zone though... I think I could."
"Kagami-kun, can you freely enter the Zone now?"
"...No."
=========
Elsewhere in the stands, Midorima Shintaro knew one thing for certain.
Haizaki had not used Do Your Best.
Because the strength increase from that ability shouldn't be enough to overpower Murasakibara's natural force.
So the question remained.
How did he break through? Immovable King Form? No... that doesn't seem right.
=========
Fukuda Sogo Bench
Coach Ichiro Kudo spoke in a steady, serious tone. "Good work. Your first quarter performance was excellent. Suzuran Karasu and Okawa, keep pushing. Without Murasakibara controlling the paint, you finally have room to operate. Tosho, keep pressuring their point guard. That'll be crucial for our rhythm later."
Suzuran Karasu, Okawa, and Tosho all drank water before answering seriously. "Yes, Coach!"
Kudo then turned toward Haizaki, who was still drinking. "Shogo-kun, you still need to keep Murasakibara occupied, and if possible, suppress No. 12, Himuro Tatsuya too."
Haizaki nodded. "I understand. I'll watch the flow of the game."
Coach Kudo nodded in satisfaction. Fukuda had reached this point and won championships because of Haizaki.
But he also knew something else.
The rest of his players were battle-hardened too.
They could be trusted.
=======
Yosen Bench
Contrary to expectations, Murasakibara wasn't depressed or retreating. After taking a drink, he suddenly spoke.
"Masako-chin, can I borrow your hair tie?"
"...Huh?"
"Your hair tie."
Araki Masako looked at him uncertainly. But meeting her eyes was a pair of serious, chilling pupils.
"...Fine."
Holding her wooden sword in one hand, she reached into her pocket with the other and pulled out a spare hair tie.
Murasakibara took it. Then he tied up his long hair.
After finishing, he rolled his neck like an athlete who had only just completed his warmup.
Then every member of Yosen heard his voice.
"Everyone... Do you like losing? I hate losing. Basketball is cruel. I don't want to keep running away anymore."
He lowered his head before turning toward Himuro. "Muro-chin. Are you ready?"
Murasakibara's voice became deeper. Colder. Filled with determination.
"I never want to lose again. Never again."
At that exact moment, the whistle signaling the start of the second quarter sounded.
Murasakibara turned his back toward everyone and walked alone onto the court.