…
"Huh?"
Hanamiya looked genuinely confused, but when he noticed that all the Kaijō players had retreated to the corners of the court — far, far away from Kota — a glint of wicked understanding flashed across his eyes.
"Originally, I was aiming for Kise… but since you came walking right up to me yourself, don't blame me for taking the opportunity…"
Hanamiya swept the court with his eyes. At that moment, the referee just happened to be standing somewhere with a terrible angle—unable to see clearly what was going on.
"Even the heavens are helping me. Go take a break on the bench, Kaijō's "commander."
What Hanamiya didn't realize was that the spot he was standing in… was precisely where Kota had led him.
"Yeah… this angle should do."
Kota muttered this softly. Before Hanamiya could parse his words, Kota suddenly dropped his center of gravity—launching straight into an attack.
His move was simple, not flashy at all, and Hanamiya kept up with laughable ease.
His eyes were locked on Kota's ankles. The moment Kota even hinted at jumping, Hanamiya planned to slide his foot forward—right into Kota's landing spot.
In a fast-paced full-court game, every shooter jumps with tense muscles. Even stepping on something as small as a stray bottle can twist an ankle — let alone landing on someone's foot on purpose. It's a high-risk dirty move. An attacker who falls for it almost always goes down with at least a sprain.
But to Kota, who already completely understood what kind of player Hanamiya was, this trick was child's play.
Hanamiya's weight was shifted slightly backward — normally a clear sign to go for a step-back jumper. Just one retreat step and Kota could've easily created the shooting space.
And Kota usually would've done that — if his defender were anyone but Hanamiya.
Just as Hanamiya confidently predicted a jumper, Kota suddenly did the exact opposite. He slammed his shoulder forward — forcing a body-to-body collision.
Hanamiya instinctively leaned in to absorb the contact and avoid getting knocked away. Unfortunately for him, that adjustment completely blocked the referee's view of Kota's arm.
Expression perfectly calm, Kota rammed into him again—but this time, his elbow bent ever so slightly… and dug straight into Hanamiya's stomach.
Thud!
The sound of muscle hitting muscle drowned out Hanamiya's strangled groan. His eyes rolled for a moment. His body folded forward as his stomach flipped violently.
He nearly threw up the curry rice he ate for lunch.
Good thing he hadn't eaten anything liquid… or Kota's jersey would be wearing it.
The referee immediately noticed something was wrong and blew the whistle. Before he could approach, Kota stepped in first.
"You okay? What's with you running into me like that? Gave me a scare."
Kota asked with sincere concern, even holding Hanamiya up. When he saw the ref arrive, he gave him a friendly, harmless smile.
And now the referee genuinely didn't know what to call. Looking at Kota's innocent face, he hesitated, then turned to the scorer's table to check the monitor footage.
Hanamiya finally recovered a little. Kota had chosen the elbow angle perfectly — painful as hell at the time, but leaving no visible trace afterward.
"You—"
Hanamiya's face twisted with rage, but Kota cut him off.
"Feel good?"
Kota asked casually, hands still on Hanamiya's shoulders, kneading lightly. His expression was unreadable.
"You'd better keep all those little ideas in your head hidden where I can't see them. That was just a greeting gift… If you don't stop, I don't mind showing you something much more interesting."
He murmured the words softly—almost like talking to himself. Yet somehow every syllable reached Hanamiya's ears crystal-clear.
"What are you even talking about? I didn't understand a single word."
Caught red-handed, Hanamiya's expression darkened, though he obviously wasn't going to admit anything.
Kota gave him one last look, then turned and walked back to Kaijō's half.
Watching Kota's retreating back, Hanamiya's eyes filled with something he rarely showed—wariness.
Kota's playstyle and demeanor often made him look like a gentle, well-behaved player. But anyone who had watched Kaijō at least once knew he had another side entirely.
Baiting fouls. Flopping for calls.
Rakuzan's coach, Shirogane, had once said in an interview:
"If Kota ever starts intentionally committing dirty fouls, he'd be a complete menace on the court. But since he doesn't, the most accurate label I can give him is… a sly, rule-bending street thug of basketball whose antics make me sick. That's all I can say."
"I'm grateful someone with that kind of rule mastery and referee-manipulating talent didn't go down the wrong path. Though he drives me absolutely insane sometimes… I have to admit—Kota is an excellent and formidable player. He's strong in a totally different way from Akashi."
…
Remembering those stories, Hanamiya clenched his fists in frustration. He looked at the scoreboard.
The point difference was now a steady 15… and still climbing.
So little hope of winning…
Just as he was about to accept the loss and plan to fight again next year, the referee's delayed call finally arrived.
"Defensive Foul, two free throws"
Hanamiya froze midsentence. He turned, staring at the referee with wild anger.
"Are you kidding me? Defensive foul? ME? Do you even know how to ref!?"
He stormed up to him furiously.
Meanwhile, Kota looked just as confused.
"Huh? Hanamiya fouled? Pretty sure I'm the one who elbowed him…"
Seeing Hanamiya arguing, the referee replayed the footage.
The bodies were so close, Kota's elbow wasn't visible at all—exactly what he planned.
But that alone wouldn't justify calling a foul on Hanamiya…
Then the footage continued.
After Kota's elbow connected, Hanamiya flailed reflexively—and accidentally slapped Kota across the head.
Seeing this, Kota realized everything. He quickly placed a hand on his head, acting like he was still dizzy.
Hanamiya was stunned. Then furious.
"Listen! You can't seriously—he literally just—"
BEEP!
The ref cut him off with a sharp whistle, waving him away.
Hanamiya wanted to argue more—but the ref gave him a narrow-eyed warning.
Hanamiya clamped his mouth shut instantly. No need to get hit with a technical too.
Kota stepped to the free-throw line. He glanced at Hanamiya, lips lifting in a mocking smirk.
He hadn't planned on getting the two free throws—just a bonus. But either way, the entire exchange had gone heavily in his favor.
Getting an advantage, then tilting the opponent's mentality? That was Kota's specialty.
Both free throws went in cleanly. Hanamiya's expression darkened with every swish.
Seeing Kota's faintly taunting grin, his anger peaked.
"You… forced me into this."
A vicious glint flickered in his eyes. He gathered his teammates.
"From now on—no holding back. Ramp up the contact!"
…
The moment both teams made contact, Kota immediately sensed something was off.
"These guys… they're trying to crank up the physicality on us?"
Kota frowned slightly, watching as the opposing center used a move that was way over the line, forcefully shoving aside Hayakawa and finishing an easy score under the basket.
"This kind of sudden shift in playstyle doesn't come out of nowhere. Someone definitely told them to do this…"
Kota glanced over at Hanamiya—who at that moment was staring right back at him with a wicked grin, practically yelling Yes, it was me! I am the villain here!
Kota shrugged. Well, that was solved quickly.
But it wasn't a huge problem. They were just being overly aggressive with their contact — Kaijo wasn't the type to get lost from something this small.
And sure enough, after only two possessions, Kaijo quickly adapted to the new level of physicality.
As the reigning three-peat champions, as long as the opposing actions were still technically "within the rules," Kaijo had absolutely no issue adjusting.
But soon enough, Kirisaki realized that this level of "physical play" wasn't enough to threaten Kaijo at all.
Another offensive possession. Same center from Kirisaki. He lowered his center of gravity and rammed into Hayakawa twice—only to discover that he couldn't budge him.
One would think he'd give up and pass the ball.
But no—apparently, IQ was not his greatest stat.
Instead of retreating, the center went forward, ramming Hayakawa again—this time even throwing in an elbow!
Hayakawa didn't react in time and was knocked back several steps, forced to watch helplessly as the center finished another layup.
He spread his hands at the referee, the message clear:
This seriously isn't a foul?
But to his surprise…
The referee lifted his whistle to his mouth, hesitated as if contemplating the meaning of life itself… then slowly lowered it again.
No whistle.
Hanamiya's face twisted into an outright deranged smile.
"Showtime… has arrived."