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Beep…
The timeout ended quickly.
The players from both sides returned to the court.
Rakuzan had possession of the ball.
However, the instant Rakuzan kicked off...
Except for Akashi dribbling the ball towards him,
everyone else found their target, sticking tightly to the Toho Kotei Gakuen players.
"Full-court marking, huh?"
Looking at Nebuya Eikichi, Kamimono blurted out.
Nebuya Eikichi grinned.
"That way you won't be able to execute your plays as easily as before!"
"I see, you want to break our momentum, huh?"
Kamimono immediately understood Coach Rakuzan's plan.
Truly, he's a cunning old fox.
While annoying,
it's undeniably a disgusting and underhanded tactic.
Besides him,
Kugawaa, Kuroki Ryuichi, and Hanafuji were no pushovers either, and naturally, they also noticed the trickery involved.
However, Rakuzan was simply using the rules normally.
They couldn't really criticize him.
Soon, Akashi brought the ball to Toho Kotei Gakuen's half of the court.
Because he was wary of Ryu's strength, he could only intentionally or unintentionally create distance between them.
Akashi looked at Ryu, his eyes flashing with crimson rings of light.
"Ryu, no matter what methods you used, it's over now. I will cut off all your opportunities."
His words had barely left his lips when his crimson pupils suddenly contracted.
A sense of crisis suddenly arose in his heart.
Without any hesitation,
he immediately activated the Emperor Eye.
A series of images appeared in his mind.
He saw it clearly.
In these images.
Ryu was approaching him.
In the first image, Ryu was still far away.
In the second image, he had already closed halfway to him, as if the frames had jumped.
There was only one explanation for this.
That the opponent's speed had reached a certain level.
At the crucial moment.
Akashi flicked his wrist, passing the ball cleanly and decisively.
The instant he passed the ball, he felt a gust of wind brush against his face.
Looking closely, he saw a hand appear where he had just thrown the ball.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Akashi's forehead.
He had been on guard against Ryu the entire time.
But he never expected.
The opponent's speed was even faster than he had imagined.
This was completely beyond his expectations and imagination.
"The steal failed?"
Ryu's voice came.
Akashi's gaze was fixed on him.
Ryu smiled slightly at his expression.
"Trying to disrupt our rhythm with full-court man-to-man marking? I'm truly sorry! Perhaps it would be more effective if your cooperated!"
Akashi frowned, not understanding Ryu's meaning.
However, a gasp quickly erupted from the stands.
This was followed by the sound of basketballs bouncing.
The sounds of basketballs hitting the ground were moving towards Rakuzan's half of the court.
Akashi looked over at the sound and was startled.
Because the ball he had just passed to Kotaro Hayama.
Now it was in Kuroki Ryuichi's hands.
'What happened? Kotaro now is not...'
Suddenly.
Akashi's eyes widened.
He saw an unbelievable scene.
At that moment, in Kuroki Ryuichi's eyes,
two black electric snakes were swaying and dancing.
'Zone? How is this possible?'
Akashi was stunned for a moment.
Ryu, seeing this, smiled and finally felt relieved.
'It seems that, just as I imagined, this move really did induce them to enter the pseudo-Zone state.'
Although Ryu's initial plan was to guide everyone on the team to enter the [State of Selflessness].
However, this idea shattered upon seeing the Zone.
'As expected, people in this world cannot enter the [State of Selflessness].'
'Perhaps this is the power of the world's rules!'
Ryu's ambiguity left Akashi confused.
'What exactly did you do to them?'
Akashi's voice suddenly rang out.
Hearing this, Ryu replied with a smile.
"Seijuro, do you believe in rules in this world?"
Akashi frowned, not understanding Ryu's meaning.
"What are you talking about?"
Ryu explained with a smile.
"This basketball court is like a world, and the rules of basketball are the rules of this world. Everyone who stands on the court is subject to these rules—or you could say fate. Some are destined for victory from the start, while others are destined for elimination. But all these people share one goal: to break the rules of this world and stand at the top."
He paused, then looked at Akashi meaningfully and continued.
"And you, whether you're Akashi or Seijuro, the world has ordained a specific outcome for you. You only have two choices: accept it and be bound by it, or break free. You are the one bound by the world. You've been bound for far too long, lost in your own repeated victories. If you want to defeat me, then try breaking the rules and fate that bind you!"
Ryu's words were addressed to Akashi, but also to himself.
As a former teammate and friend,
he wanted to rescue him from the shadows of the past.
Although their previous meetings had been tense and confrontational,
After all, he is one of the few companions he had made since arriving in this world.
Akashi seemed frozen in place.
He stood there, stunned.
His mind was filled with Ryu's words.
'Am I... truly bound by the rules of the world? Break the rules? How is that possible?'
He remained frozen in shock.
Kuroki Ryuichi had already dribbled to Rakuzan's basket.
Although Kotaro Hayama finally caught up with Kuroki Ryuichi at the last moment,
Kuroki Ryuichi suddenly slowed down.
Caught off guard,
Kotaro Hayama couldn't stop in time, his body sweeping past Kuroki Ryuichi.
Kuroki Ryuichi stood under the basket, raised the basketball, and aimed at the hoop.
Swish…
The basketball went in.
Toho Kotei Gakuen scored another 2 points.
The screams and cheers from the stands rained down on the court.
The clean and decisive counterattack was incredibly satisfying for everyone watching.
"Akashi…"
A voice jolted Akashi from his reverie.
He looked up at the sound.
Then he saw Reo Mibuchi calling him.
He realized then.
They were still in the middle of the match.
He turned to look at Ryu with a complicated expression.
He saw Ryu giving him a kind smile.
At that moment,
he finally understood his good intentions.
A warm feeling welled up inside him.
Since his mother's death,
this was the first time he had experienced such a wonderful feeling.
His usually imposing and majestic eyes, like those of the Emperor, inexplicably welled up with tears.
He took a deep breath.
Akashi closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, his entire aura was different.
Cheerful, sunny, gentle, youthful, reborn…
The group from Rakuzan looked at Akashi in surprise.
They weren't sure if it was just their imagination.
They seemed to see wisps of black energy emanating from Akashi.
Akashi himself was their teammate, someone they spent every day with.
Yet, he seemed somewhat unfamiliar.
"Thank you, Ryu."
Akashi looked at Ryu ahead, his gentle, happy smile seemingly possessing a magical infectious power.
At the same time.
The crimson lightning in his eyes now resembled a docile pet, completely devoid of its previous ferocity.
What no one noticed was.
Akashi's left eye was flashing with a faint light.
And the light in his left eye was much brighter than in his right.
"As a return gift, I will risk everything to defeat you in this match."
With those words, he dribbled the basketball and charged towards Ryu on the opposite side.
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