Under his teammates' stunned gazes, Haizaki Shogo caught the ball and tightened his focus. I can't let them be shaken by Murasakibara. If they lose their rhythm now, things will get dangerous.
That was Haizaki's thought. So Murasakibara had to be suppressed.
Haizaki narrowed his eyes, then suddenly opened them. His dribbling speed exploded.
A streak of purple lightning instantly followed beside him.
Murasakibara Atsushi.
He clung to Haizaki like a shadow, but Haizaki had already reached the basket. Ignoring Murasakibara completely, he spun around and unleashed Thor's Hammer.
BOOM!!
Yosen's captain, Okamura Kenichi, was blown backward. Murasakibara jumped as well, raising both hands to stop Haizaki's dunk.
But he lost.
KRAAAANG!!
The dunk landed.
No. This wasn't just a dunk.
This was even more terrifying than Murasakibara's own Thor's Hammer. More violent. More destructive.
This was Haizaki's full-power slam. A full-power dunk enhanced by both Exceptionally Strong Body and Do Your Best.
Haizaki landed, then casually tossed something aside.
Clang.
The hoop.
He had ripped the rim off and thrown it to the floor.
The entire arena went silent. So silent that if a piece of glass fell, everyone could hear it.
Then...
CRACK!!
The backboard suddenly groaned. Spiderweb fractures spread across its surface. The tempered glass shattered instantly, and countless fragments crashed onto the court like rain.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
After what felt like an eternity, the whistle finally sounded.
Game suspended.
Wearing Fukuda Sogo's blood-red number 6 jersey, Haizaki stood calmly beyond the three-point line. Every eye in the stadium stared at him.
At this moment, the King had descended.
Murasakibara stared blankly at the shattered glass and bent rim. Even the purple lightning in his eyes flickered unstably.
His Zone was showing signs of collapse.
The audience said nothing, but silence itself screamed louder than words.
No one even knew how those five minutes passed while workers replaced the shattered backboard. When Haizaki stepped onto the court again, the arena exploded into buzzing chatter.
Hanamiya Makoto sat among Kirisaki Daiichi's players.
Seto Kentarou swallowed hard. "Hanamiya... you were right. We should never provoke that guy."
Furuhashi Koujirou nodded rapidly. "Seriously. If he casually hits us with that strength... We won't die. We'll just end up crippled."
"Tch."
Hanamiya clicked his tongue helplessly.
No adjectives were necessary anymore. Reality spoke for itself.
Haizaki had shattered a backboard.
That fact alone was enough.
The whistle blew, and play resumed. On the court, everyone except Murasakibara instinctively kept their distance from Haizaki.
First came Death Dunk, which had sent Liu Wei out of the game. Now came a shattered backboard through Thor's Hammer.
Everyone wanted to ask:
Haizaki Shogo... what exactly are you trying to do?
Haizaki himself wanted to know too because the organizers had immediately banned that move. What could I even say? There weren't any spare backboards left. Break another one and the tournament would have a serious problem.
But after witnessing that dunk, Fukuda Sogo's players regained that look in their eyes.
Absolute confidence.
Invincible belief.
A belief Haizaki had forced into them.
Fukuda Sogo...
Invincible.
The game continued. Haizaki stepped forward once more, attempting to steal from Himuro, but Himuro had learned.
He passed immediately.
The ball reached Murasakibara, who jumped for a dunk. Haizaki followed, and both rose into the air.
But halfway through, Murasakibara suddenly pulled the ball back.
Then passed.
Beyond the three-point line, Himuro caught it.
Jumped.
Released.
Swish!
Three points.
At this moment, Murasakibara was terrifying too because Fukuda Sogo seemed to have only one reliable scoring point left.
Haizaki.
The inside players had all been completely locked down by Zone Murasakibara. Inside the three-point line, it had become Murasakibara's domain.
That was why Haizaki saw such terrifying potential in him.
Murasakibara already possessed Absolute Defense, Super Wide Area Defense, and Zone. Combined with his monstrous reflexes and absurd speed, this giant airhead possessed limitless growth.
As he matured, he might eventually develop something similar to Jack's No Fly Zone. Perhaps one day, everything inside the three-point line would become Murasakibara's personal Defensive Domain.
Haizaki took a deep breath and caught the ball. Before Murasakibara could even approach, he launched a Full-Court Shot.
The purpose was simple.
Maintain the lead.
Leave Yosen no chance to counterattack.
Swish!
The shot landed, and once again, the hearts of Yosen's players shook violently.
Not just fear.
Despair.
Pure despair.
Another confrontation.
Haizaki against Zone Murasakibara.
Murasakibara still chose brute force. He intended to overpower Haizaki and dunk through him.
The idea wasn't bad.
But scoring on Haizaki like that?
Too naive.
Haizaki's expression turned serious. His hand shot out at incredible speed.
Steal.
Murasakibara reacted instantly and switched hands.
But a hand had already been waiting there.
Haizaki succeeded.
Steal complete.
He burst away. Murasakibara froze for a split second before chasing, but all he saw was Haizaki soaring through the air.
One-handed dunk.
Clean.
Elegant.
Then...
BEEEEEP!!
The third-quarter buzzer sounded.
Score:
82:68
Fukuda Sogo still led.
========
In the audience, Satsuki Momoi stared blankly. "Aomine... Shogo-kun is terrifying..."
For the first time, she truly felt Haizaki's terror.
Real terror.
In Momoi's memories, Haizaki used to be a rough delinquent. Wild. Competitive. Always causing trouble.
Later, he became calmer.
Reliable.
Gentler.
But today, what she saw was a different Haizaki.
Violent.
Overwhelming.
Savage.
Aomine didn't answer.
Momoi turned toward him. His eyes were closed, like he had fallen asleep.
But she knew.
Whenever Aomine seriously thought about something, he shut out everything around him. He entered a state of complete focus.
Seeing this, Momoi quietly turned away. Then she looked toward Fukuda Sogo's bench.
Elsewhere, Kise Ryouta sat in a similar state.
Eyes open.
Yet unfocused.
Strange colors flickered inside his pupils.
But another person was feeling far worse.
Kuroko Tetsuya.
At this moment, he didn't even dare imagine it.
If Haizaki's Death Dunk had been aimed at me... What would've happened...?
=============
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