The members of Yosen High stared blankly at Murasakibara's back as he walked onto the court.
"Resolve? I've had that a long time ago." Himuro Tatsuya stood with his hands on his hips before following after him, muttering words only he could hear. "Don't tell me we've been looked down on by our juniors."
"Looks that way."
"Let's go. I don't want to lose either."
Araki Masako watched her players as their fighting spirit suddenly surged upward. The corners of her lips curved into a satisfied smile, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Go. Go claim the glory that belongs to you.
On the other side, Haizaki Shogo led his teammates back onto the court. At that moment, only one thought existed in his mind.
Time to raise the intensity. Time to widen the gap.
The second quarter began.
Possession belonged to Yosen High. After crossing half court, Fukui Kensuke passed the ball to Himuro Tatsuya. Haizaki immediately closed in, aiming to steal it.
Himuro used a fake, trying to get past him, but Haizaki stuck tightly to him, shifting his body directly into Himuro's driving lane.
Then, in the very next second, Haizaki froze.
Something like a massive wall blocked his path.
He raised his head and found Murasakibara Atsushi standing there. A flicker of surprise crossed Haizaki's eyes.
Meanwhile, Himuro had already risen into the air. The basketball spun beautifully through the air before dropping cleanly through the hoop.
Swish!
Two points.
Murasakibara had become more agile.
That was a very bad sign.
==========
In the audience, Aomine Daiki saw Murasakibara's movements clearly. That giant who used to know only how to grab the ball and score beneath the basket had finally changed.
"Hah! Now that's interesting."
"Dai-chan, Muk-kun feels different now. He feels friendlier somehow."
Aomine nodded. "Yeah. Murasakibara really has changed. Actually, it's more accurate to say he's grown. He learned how to choose. He learned what to give up."
Momoi blinked. "Aomine, I've noticed you're getting more and more profound lately."
"Really? Doesn't feel like it."
==========
On the court, Haizaki received the ball and looked at Himuro, who was sticking tightly to him on defense. His expression slowly turned serious as the basketball danced left and right between his hands.
Faster.
Faster.
Then...
WHOOSH!
Haizaki exploded forward like a gust of wind and blew right past Himuro, leaving only a slightly stunned Himuro behind. But after breaking through Himuro, Haizaki immediately encountered Murasakibara stepping out of the paint.
Murasakibara spread his huge arms wide. That defensive range was absurd, with almost no blind spots.
Haizaki's expression grew grim because Himuro, whom he had just beaten, had already recovered and rushed back. Together with Murasakibara, they formed a double-team defense.
The atmosphere instantly became heavy.
Murasakibara and Himuro had joined forces to shut Haizaki down completely.
The audience erupted in shock. Even Aomine's expression turned serious.
Kagami Taiga stared at the combined defense of Murasakibara and Himuro, his face filled with disbelief. That was his brother, Himuro Tatsuya. Add Murasakibara, a Generation of Miracles monster, and the defensive pressure became utterly ridiculous.
At the upper level of the arena, Akashi Seijuro stared down with glowing crimson eyes. His Emperor Eye activated, and without blinking, he watched the three players below.
The combination of Murasakibara and Himuro... this should be enough to test Haizaki's limits.
The thought flashed through Akashi's mind.
Haizaki took a deep breath, his expression turning cold.
Interesting.
His plan to raise the difficulty and expand the score had only just begun, and now these two had joined forces to guard him. Most of his driving lanes were already sealed, leaving no clear path remaining.
But did they seriously think this was enough? Naive.
At that instant, Haizaki activated Do Your Best.
He burst toward Himuro's side at a speed so fast it almost looked like teleportation. Then he spun sharply and changed direction toward Murasakibara.
The two defenders had already shifted their balance and had no time to react.
Haizaki had already jumped.
A three-point shot flew out.
Swish!
The ball dropped cleanly through the net. The beautiful sound of the net rippling sent shivers through everyone watching.
The lightning-fast exchange left Murasakibara and Himuro numb with shock.
How had Haizaki done that?
The answer was simple.
His movement speed was absurd, his hand speed was absurd, and that was all there was to it.
Across the entire arena, only two people fully understood what had happened.
"Akashi, how did that shot go in?"
"Yeah, I want to know too!"
"That guy is terrifying!"
Akashi's red eyes glowed as he answered in a grave tone. "Haizaki's hand speed is too fast. While moving toward Himuro, he had already tossed the ball behind his back toward Murasakibara's side. He used his own body to block Murasakibara's line of sight. Then he turned, completed a self alley-oop, and finished with a three-point jumper."
Mibuchi Reo, Nebuya Eikichi, and Hayama Kotaro all looked completely stunned.
How was that even possible?
Akashi glanced at them before speaking gravely. "The truth is exactly that. The current Haizaki has already reached a level beyond your imagination."
"Gasp!"
"Gasp!"
"Gasp!"
==========
Meanwhile, in the center stands, Aomine's blue eyes gleamed brilliantly. If Shimizu Rena had been present, she would have sensed it instantly.
Aomine's aura had become vast and overwhelming, and brilliant colors seemed to radiate from him. At that moment, Aomine was analyzing and reproducing Haizaki's move in his mind.
That arrogant bastard... that shot was even crazier than something I'd do.
"Aomine, I didn't see that clearly."
"Yeah. It's normal. Even I might not be able to pull that off."
"Huh?! Even you can't?"
"Not necessarily. At the moment of that breakthrough, his hand speed was too fast. So fast that even Murasakibara couldn't see it."
"...Aomine, I still don't get it."
Aomine didn't explain further. Moves at that level couldn't simply be explained with words.
Without understanding the fundamentals, no explanation would make sense.
And Aomine was right.
That move had been developed by Haizaki based on his enhanced physical abilities and inspiration from Velia's terrifying close-range magical hand speed through the Illusory Eye.
Its purpose was simple: to make the opponent believe, one hundred percent, that he was driving, to force them to shift their bodies, and to make them create shooting space for him themselves.
As for the self alley-oop three-pointer afterward, it was difficult too, but that wasn't the key point.
The real keys were hand speed and movement speed.
=============
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