Both teams returned to their benches.
"What's going on? Why a timeout all of a sudden?"
"Sannoh called the timeout? Why?"
"The match was getting good! Why stop now?"
"No idea. Since Sannoh called it, maybe there's something we didn't notice."
...
The audience, who had just been fired up by the intense match, now felt a bit uncomfortable.
Why did it suddenly stop? They weren't done watching!
Sannoh's bench.
The players gathered around, all looking somewhat puzzled at their coach.
Domoto Goro swept his gaze across them and said in a low voice, "This timeout wasn't necessary, but not scoring for 2 minutes is a problem."
He paused briefly, then continued, "Right now, Shohoku has the momentum. We need to change our strategy and hit them at their weak spot."
After a moment of thought, Domoto Goro locked eyes with Fukatsu Kazunari and said seriously, "The biggest mismatch is at point guard. So… Fukatsu, it's on you next."
Fukatsu Kazunari nodded firmly and replied with confidence, "Got it. Leave it to me, Coach!"
...
Shohoku's bench.
Anzai Mitsuyoshi calmly arranged the next plays for the team.
"Next, the other side will definitely go with a targeted strategy." As he spoke, he looked at Miyagi Ryota. "Miyagi… they'll probably use you as the breakthrough point. Be careful."
He didn't say outright that Miyagi was the weakest matchup, afraid it would shake his confidence.
Miyagi nodded seriously to show he understood.
Coach Anzai adjusted his glasses. The lenses flashed as he said, "Alright, let's get the first point. Take the lead before anything else."
As he finished, he turned to Aoi Kunisaku. "Aoi, you break the deadlock."
Aoi Kunisaku, sitting beside him, shrugged casually, showing zero pressure.
...
Tweet—
The whistle blew.
Timeout was over.
The match resumed.
Sannoh attacked fiercely and quickly pushed into Shohoku's half.
Fukatsu Kazunari dribbled the ball while scanning the court, as if looking for a pass.
Miyagi Ryota focused hard, eyes locked on every move Fukatsu made, not daring to let his guard down for even a second.
Suddenly, without warning, Fukatsu raised the ball high. His eyes were firm with resolve as he aimed directly at Shohoku's basket.
This sudden action made Miyagi's face darken.
That's just insulting.
As if he didn't even exist!
That was a punch to the gut.
Fukatsu then said, "Sorry, but this is reality, yo."
As soon as he finished, he shot the ball without hesitation.
Miyagi, furious, clenched his teeth and jumped with everything he had to block it.
But the harsh truth was clear—despite his full leap, he couldn't even touch the edge of the ball.
This wasn't about skill. It was the huge natural gap in height. There was nothing he could do.
"Damn it!" Miyagi cursed inside, full of frustration, but powerless.
None of the Shohoku players expected Fukatsu to shoot so boldly.
Then again, considering the height difference, it made sense for him to take advantage of it.
That was one flaw Shohoku couldn't fix.
The basketball soared like an arrow toward Shohoku's basket.
Ah...
Just then, Akagi Takenori suddenly let out a roar. He stomped the ground hard, took a huge leap, and stretched his arm to try and block the shot.
But the ball came too fast. His fingers only lightly brushed the edge.
Barely.
Akagi wasn't even sure if he touched the ball. Maybe it was just the rush of air from the ball's speed.
After landing, he quickly turned to look.
The ball flew above the rim and began to drop.
Then—bang—it slammed hard off the rim.
Everyone on Shohoku let out a long sigh of relief. Their tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
Fukatsu Kazunari's eyes flickered with surprise. He had full confidence in that shot and didn't expect it to miss.
Was it touched?
He looked at Akagi with a more serious gaze.
He had calculated everything before taking the shot. He didn't expect such a quick reaction from the opponent.
"Akagi Takenori, huh…" Fukatsu muttered quietly to himself.
At that moment, Akagi had no time to think about Fukatsu's thoughts.
He kept his eyes on the rebounding ball and rushed under the basket to fight for it.
But just then, Kawata Masashi came storming in like a whirlwind. He quickly boxed Akagi out, making it hard for him to jump.
As the ball came down, Kawata powered up, pushed hard with his body, and forced Akagi back half a step.
Taking advantage of the opening, he stomped hard and leapt up high, reaching out to grab the falling basketball—clearly intending to follow up with a powerful dunk.
Akagi Takenori, forced aside, was deeply shaken. "This guy… such strength."
Watching Kawata Masashi rise into the air, Akagi could only sigh inwardly.
He knew he was powerless to stop him now.
"Watch your back—"
Just as Kawata Masashi's hands were about to grasp the ball, Sawakita Eiji's urgent shout pierced his ears.
Hearing that, Kawata instinctively tensed up. A bad feeling surged through him.
The next second—
A strong gust of wind whooshed past his side. A hand shot out like lightning and touched the basketball just before he could.
Kawata's pupils shrank. His eyes filled with shock.
He glanced sideways and saw a familiar face—his eyes widened.
"Him again." Kawata was horrified.
Because the hand belonged to Aoi Kunisaku.
Aoi Kunisaku stole the ball and, with a swift swing of his arm, scooped it into his grip like a pouncing panther.
Thud… Thud…
Aoi Kunisaku and Kawata Masashi landed almost at the same time.
But before Kawata could react, Aoi pushed off and shot out like an arrow from a bow.
"So fast." Kawata's heart clenched as he watched him bolt forward.
That burst of speed—it really was like an arrow.
Sawakita Eiji saw Aoi lead the fast break and quickly got into position to block his path.
The two stood face-to-face. In an instant, they clashed like twin meteors.
Sawakita closed in tightly, kicking off a fierce one-on-one duel with Aoi Kunisaku.
From midcourt, they moved like a red and white blur, weaving across the court.
Aoi's movements were as fast as lightning. His dribbling was steady and powerful. His ball control and footwork matched seamlessly, giving Sawakita no chance to go for a steal.
The pace was so fast that Sawakita had to stay hyper-focused just to keep up.
The intense back-and-forth dragged on for over 10 seconds with no clear winner.
Both the Sannoh and Shohoku players were stunned watching it.
The Sannoh side knew just how strong Sawakita Eiji was—he was top-tier nationwide.
For Aoi to hold his ground against him was shocking, even if they had expected the possibility before the match.
Seeing it with their own eyes still rattled them.
On Shohoku's side, the sight was familiar but no less moving.
They knew Sawakita was strong—even stronger than Maki Shinichi.
Yet watching him locked in this fierce clash with Aoi in such a seemingly ordinary way was astonishing.
The last time they'd seen this kind of head-to-head battle was when Aoi unleashed his "Wild Instinct" against Maki.
The fight on the court continued. Sannoh's players rushed back in time, while Aoi drove the ball all the way to the three-point line.
Sawakita followed tightly, sticking to him without leaving even half a step.
In the paint, Ichinokura Satoshi and Nobe Masahiro stood ready, prepared to help defend at any moment.
Aoi ignored the two in front of him. Without slowing down, he charged straight between them like a raging bull.
Ichinokura and Nobe wouldn't let him pass easily.
They both stepped inward at the same time, closing off the gap like elevator doors—blocking Aoi's way.
Aoi, still sprinting at full speed, curled his lips into a confident smirk.
Then, suddenly, he changed direction and switched hands.
His figure blurred as he slipped past the left side like a ghost.
Sawakita, caught off guard by the sudden move, was a step behind.
Earlier, when he had more space to defend, he could stay close and pressure Aoi.
But now, his own teammates—Ichinokura and Nobe—became a wall in front of him.
That wall didn't stop Aoi. It stopped him.
Unless Sawakita also darted left like Aoi, he couldn't keep up.
But if he did that, he'd definitely be slower.
And against someone like Aoi, even a moment's delay could cost everything.
Going around the right would be even worse—unless he perfectly predicted the move in advance, he'd fall behind by more than a step.
Ichinokura and Nobe realized it too. But at that moment, there was nothing they could do.
Just then, Aoi leapt mid-stride while swinging around the left. His movement in the second half was nearly airborne.
He lifted the ball with his left hand and gently flicked it toward Sannoh's basket.
Whoosh…
The basketball arced gracefully through the air, climbing high over the rim, then dropped cleanly through the net.
Swish…
The sound of the ball hitting the net was crisp and beautiful.
Shohoku 2, Sannoh Kogyo 0.
Shohoku scored first.