[Please vote with the power stones; the more you vote, the more chapters will be published. Thank you.]
50 Power Stones = 1 bonus chapters.
100 Power Stones = 3 bonus chapters.
150 Power Stones = 5 bonus chapters.
------------------------
"Hmm?"
"Akashi seems a little different."
Kise said, staring curiously at Akashi below.
Midorima adjusted his glasses and said.
"This is the first time I've seen Akashi like this."
Crunch... Crunch...
Murasakibara, who was eating snacks, stopped chewing.
His purple eyes were fixed on Akashi below, lost in thought.
...
"Aomine, don't you think Akashi seems a little different?"
Aomine nodded in agreement upon hearing Momoi's words.
"Yeah, he's definitely different from before. It must be something Ryu said to him back then!"
"But then again, this Akashi feels kind of familiar!"
Momoi murmured.
...
What the Generation of Miracles could notice,
Ryu could naturally sense as well.
From the moment Akashi opened his eyes,
Ryu had already sensed something was wrong.
Akashi's fierce aura was visibly fading.
However, he sensed an increasing pressure emanating from his opponent.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking to himself,
'Hmm? What's this feeling? Akashi seems to have changed.'
For a moment,
Ryu couldn't pinpoint the source of this growing pressure.
He narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on Akashi.
Akashi, as usual, dribbled the ball towards Ryu.
Ryu didn't wait to be defeated; he immediately used his eye.
The [Ice World] activated.
Countless ice spikes rained down from the sky, landing around Akashi.
However, something astonishing happened quickly.
In Ryu's vision,
the ice spikes embedded beside Akashi exploded and shattered almost instantly upon hitting the ground, dissipating into the world.
'What's going on? Did he see through me? Impossible!'
Ryu was as confident in his [Ice World] as Akashi was in his Emperor Eye.
But what was happening now?
He didn't believe the Emperor Eye could be stronger than his Ice Emperor Eye.
His previous duel with Akashi had proven this.
Their eyes were practically evenly matched.
And he believed his eyes were slightly stronger.
Seeing that he hadn't frozen Akashi,
Ryu flashed, blocking Akashi's attempt to break through.
The two faced off once more.
This time, Ryu truly sensed it.
Akashi's aura had completely changed.
In Ryu's eyes, the other was practically a different person.
If he closed his eyes to perceive it,
he would definitely mistake Akashi for someone else.
Without hesitation, Ryu reached out and grabbed the basketball from Akashi's hand.
A crimson light flashed in Akashi's left eye.
A series of images, tinged with color, flashed through his mind.
The person appearing in the images was Ryu.
However, this time it was different.
Besides Ryu, the images also included his Rakuzan teammates and the members of Toho Kotei Gakuen.
However, these people appeared in the images less frequently than Ryu.
Thump…thump…
Two thuds of the basketball hitting the ground rang out.
Ryu's movement to steal the ball from Akashi suddenly froze, then his entire body seemed to lose all strength, and he began to sink.
Ryu stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
'How is this possible? It's the Ankle Breaker! How could this be? I've been hit!'
He gritted his teeth, forcibly twisting his body to dispel the feeling of weakness.
Although he regained his balance,
Akashi had already passed him and was under the basket at the Toho Kotei Gakuen.
When Ryu looked back, Akashi was already standing at the free-throw line, shooting.
Swish…
The basketball went in.
72 to 67.
A cheer erupted from the stands.
"Wow! That Ryu has finally been broken through!"
"He looked like he was about to fall!"
"Rakuzan is starting to exert its strength; Toho Kotei Gakuen is in danger now."
Experts see the details, laymen see the spectacle.
What just happened...
To the spectators, it was perfectly normal.
But to the Generation of Miracles, it was completely different.
Their faces were filled with shock.
"Hey! Midorima, did I see that right? Ryu was actually beaten by Akashi!"
Midorima pushed up his glasses, frowning as he replied.
"Yeah, it's an Ankle Breaker."
"Does this mean that Ryu has been suppressed by Akashi?"
Takao asked.
"No, although it's surprising that Ryu was broken through by Akashi, Akashi alone can't suppress Ryu."
Offense and defense change.
On the court.
Ryu dribbled the basketball repeatedly.
His eyes, however, remained fixed on Akashi.
Akashi was behaving strangely.
A short while later.
He dribbled the ball to Rakuzan's half of the court.
But as he prepared to speed up his attack,
he noticed Akashi's body moved the instant he prepared to move.
His silver pupils contracted sharply.
'This is…'
Ryu's brow twitched slightly, a plan forming in his mind.
'How strange. Although I don't know how you predicted it, but…'
Ryu's gaze sharpened, and colorful light rapidly gathered between his legs.
The muscles in his calves instantly tensed, and branching veins became visible.
[Lightning] activated.
Moving like lightning.
A flash of lightning appeared.
The breeze created by Ryu ruffled Akashi's bangs.
A powerful, resounding slam dunk followed.
Clang…
Looking towards the sound, Akashi saw Ryu hanging from the rim.
74 to 67.
Another wave of cheers erupted from the stands.
The exciting and intense match had thoroughly entertained the spectators.
The duel between Ryu and Akashi was truly a fierce battle, a clash of wits and courage, like watching a blockbuster movie.
Ryu released his grip on the rim and turned to face Akashi.
"Although I don't know what happened to you, don't think you can easily gain the upper hand."
Akashi smiled but didn't reply.
Soon, Rakuzan's offense began.
The lightning bolts swarmed into Toho Kotei Gakuen's half of the court.
This scene can only be truly understood by experiencing it firsthand.
If it weren't for the [Selfless Realm], Ryu would probably have felt despair too!
Soon, Rakuzan and his group reached Toho Kotei Gakuen's half of the arena, each finding their opponent.
Ryu was naturally facing Akashi.
Colorful light wrapped around his arm.
He quickly reached out to steal the ball.
The steal failed.
Ryu saw it clearly.
Just a moment before he reached out,
Akashi, as if he had known all along, began to dodge.
'As expected, this guy…'
His attempt was futile.
Akashi tried the same trick again, attempting to use the Ankle Breaker on Ryu.
This time, Ryu, prepared, managed to steady himself in time.
But in that instant, Akashi had already bypassed him.
Akashi, just like last time, arrived at Toho Kotei Gakuen's basket.
However, as he raised the basketball to shoot, suddenly, a tremendous sense of danger arose behind him.
Akashi's pupils contracted, and the basketball he was about to shoot was instantly withdrawn.
Quickly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure appear behind him.
The figure was enveloped in red flames; it was Ryu, who had activated the [Beast's Aura].
Ryu blocked Akashi's path again, saying,
"Seijuro, the same trick won't work on me."
Akashi glanced at Ryu, then flicked his wrist, tossing the ball overhead.
Seeing this, Ryu instantly understood his meaning.
Just as he was about to step forward, Akashi blocked his way.
"You bastard."
Ryu gave Akashi a helpless look, then looked up at the basketball in the air.
There it was.
Nebuya Eikichi leaped into the air, successfully catching the basketball with both hands.
Using the momentum, he propelled the ball towards the basket.
Clang…
The basketball slammed into the hoop.
74 to 69.
"Your eyes."
Ryu stared into Akashi's eyes and said.
Akashi smiled gently.
"Thanks to you, my Emperor Eyes have evolved."
"I knew it…"
Ryu had already guessed something during their previous exchanges.
Hearing Akashi say it himself, he still couldn't quite believe it was true.
Akashi's eyes had actually evolved.
No wonder the [Ice World] that could previously rival him was no longer effective!
'This is really troublesome!'
Ryu thought to himself.
Time passed.
The subsequent events unfolded as Ryu had predicted.
Akashi had completely anticipated his movements.
Each attack became much more difficult to score.
However, thanks to the combination of [Selflessness] and [Lightning], he was still able to score points against Akashi.
The score remained around 5 points.
Huff...ha...huff...ha...
Ryu's chest heaved rapidly.
The continuous use of [Selflessness] and [Lightning] was taking its toll.
His calves were beginning to go numb.
He glanced at the scoreboard.
80 to 75.
Although he was still leading Rakuzan.
But if this continued, he'd probably collapse before the game was even over.
Without him, then defeat would be inevitable for Toho Kotei Gakuen.
The key now lay in Akashi's evolved Heavenly Emperor Eye.
'If only my eyes could evolve too.'
Thinking this, he paused, stunned.
'Evolution... I remember that time...'
Ryu recalled the time at the bank.
Back then, he was on the verge of death, and then the thug suddenly couldn't move.
'Karupin said it was the [Atobe Kingdom] evolved from the [Ice World], is that really true?'
He took a deep breath.
Looking at Akashi, who was already dribbling towards him.
Recalling the feeling of facing death.
One second passed, two seconds passed...
When Akashi reached him, he still hadn't found that feeling.
Looking at the aggressive Akashi before him.
Ryu stepped forward.
Suddenly, his legs buckled, and he stumbled, nearly falling.
Akashi seized the opportunity, easily bypassing him and making a layup.
80 to 77.
As Akashi returned to defense, he glanced at Ryu but said nothing.
Kamimono also noticed Ryu's unusual condition.
He went to Ryu's side and asked with concern.
"Are you alright, Ryu?"
Ryu gave a wry smile.
"I'm quite hurt. I used that move too frequently, and now my legs are starting to go numb and weak."
"What should we do? Should you take a break?"
If possible, Kamimono naturally didn't want Ryu to leave the game.
But he wasn't the type to abandon his teammates for the sake of victory.
Especially since he was the team captain.
Ryu smiled at Kamimono, then shook his head.
"No need, the game's almost over. If I give up now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Don't worry, Captain, I'll pass the ball to you as much as possible. I'll only shoot in crucial moments."
Kamimono didn't say anything after hearing Ryu's words.
"In that case, be careful. If you feel unwell, be sure to tell me."
"I know."
Ryu nodded and smiled in reply.
Offense and defense change.
Hanafuji dribbled the ball, slowly walking towards Rakuzan's half of the court.
The other members of Toho Kotei Gakuen seemed to sense something and ran to their respective positions.
Just as Hanafuji crossed the center line, he leaned forward, adopting a breakthrough stance.
Chihiro Mayuzumi immediately opened his arms to intercept.
But before his arms were fully extended, he caught a glimpse of an orange-yellow object flashing by out of the corner of his eye.
"What?"
Chihiro Mayuzumi was startled, following the color, then fell into a daze.
'It was a pass...'
He hadn't lost focus at all, yet the opponent still managed to exploit the opening.
Everyone said that number 4 from Toho Kotei Gakuen had a superb passing skill.
Now it seemed truly extraordinary.
The basketball landed in Kugawa's hands in front of the three-point line.
Reo Mibuchi narrowed his eyes, taking a side step and assuming a defensive stance.
Looking at Reo Mibuchi, who seemed confident and ready to devour him, Kugawa grinned.
"You seem to have forgotten, my current state is the same as yours; both of us have had our strength enhanced."
Huh?
Reo Mibuchi was still trying to decipher Kugawa's words.
But Kugawa had already ignored him, quickly moving away to the other side of the three-point line.
Reo Mibuchi already knew what Kugawa was planning when he saw his movement.
Without any further thought, Reo Mibuchi turned and took a large stride to catch up.
Just a second before Kugawa was about to shoot,
Reo Mibuchi finally blocked Kugawa's path.
Kugawa's one-handed shooting motion paused, then he immediately pulled the ball back.
Reo Mibuchi scoffed.
"Looks like things aren't going very well!"
Reo Mibuchi's smile annoyed Kugawa.
After successfully bringing the ball back, Kugawa didn't hesitate and passed it out immediately.
"You chose to pass? Are you lacking confidence in scoring from me?"
Kugawa knew the opponent was using reverse psychology.
"Even if I didn't pass, I could still score over your head."
Thud...
A large dent appeared on Reo Mibuchi's forehead.
On the other side, Kamimono, having received the pass from Kugawa, began to clash with Nebuya Eikichi in terms of strength.
Because everyone in Toho Kotei Gakuen was currently in a state of [Ability Sharing], therefore, each of their strength was now comparable to Rakuzan's.
It could be said that everything had returned to normal.
And that was indeed the case.
Nebuya Eikichi was forced back repeatedly by Kamimono's explosive power and strength.
"That damned guy!"
Nebuya Eikichi was enraged.
Kamimono practically shoved Nebuya Eikichi into the paint from near the three-point line.
Just as Kamimono was about to dunk, an unexpected turn of events occurred.
----
Could you subscribe on patreon?.
+ I publish 3 chapters daily on Patreon, in addition to the other advanced chapters, which are 30+ chapters.
That's about 90 chapters a month.
-- You can also read more than 40 advanced chapters now. --
patreon.com/ayan41x