Shigure Akihito's drive to the basket, if judged purely by physical attributes, may have reached a vertical height on par with, or perhaps even slightly exceeding, Hagioka Kasayuki's 193 cm frame.
But stats alone weren't the sole foundation of Shigure Akihito's explosive finish.
His skills, that was where the difference lay.
So...
In this full-throttle acceleration,
He clearly launched that shot well beyond Hagioka Kasayuki's blocking range!
Poster dunk on Kiyota Nobunaga!
Boom!
Teiko vs. Okayama!
24:19.
"Beautiful…"
"Shigure!"
On the court,
Tachika Makoto saw it all, crystal clear.
So this is Shigure Akihito…?
From his absurdly imaginative techniques to his raw speed and leaping ability, it was all on another level.
But even that wasn't the full picture. That other first-year, Nijimura Shuzo, played just as crucial a role in that attack.
Put the two of them together...
Ever since Hagioka Kasayuki became captain of Okayama, he'd imagined this:
If monsters like these ever stood on the opposite side of the court...
Just the thought alone gave him goosebumps.
And now,
That bone-chilling feeling was here.
Okayama's offensive possession.
Hagioka Kasayuki once again initiated the attack from the top of the three-point arc.
But his expectation, that Teiko would switch the shorter Nijimura with the ultra-athletic Shigure, never materialized.
Nijimura Shuzo remained his defender.
Standing before him, arms dangling, Nijimura looked completely relaxed.
But behind him, that wild aura, the hallmark of his Instinct, was beginning to take form.
And,
It was only growing more solid.
Yet even in this heightened mental state, Nijimura had enough awareness to taunt him mid-defense, eyes sharp with warning:
"You've been bringing the ball up from the baseline all game long…"
"So really, you're playing point guard."
"Well, so am I now."
"You bastard…"
"You're trying to blow by me and go after Shigure directly, aren't you?"
"Don't get cocky!"
Hagioka adjusted his stance slightly, eyes locked on Nijimura, then calmly nodded.
"I get it now…"
"As I thought, "
"No matter what goal you want to reach, you've got to take it one step at a time, build from the ground up."
"And the first step, starts with completely crushing you."
Nijimura smirked, "If you think you can."
Boom, !
The moment his words dropped,
Hagioka suddenly posted up, 193 cm against 175, there was a sheer difference in size and weight class. Even setting muscle aside, his sheer mass made Nijimura's defense a heavy burden.
With power, he nudged Nijimura slightly off, then dragged the ball laterally.
Jump shot,
Pump fake!
Nijimura, forced to rely on his vertical leap to make up for the height gap, had no choice but to bite when Hagioka raised the ball in a full shooting motion.
In the stands,
Fukaya Reiji's eyes betrayed a hint of worry.
The height, wingspan, Nijimura was outmatched.
That's why Hagioka could create space and bait him with a simple pump fake.
In this scenario...
It probably would've been better to let Shigure switch onto him.
Back on the court,
Hagioka's fake jumper drew Nijimura into the air, then he immediately attacked off the dribble.
From the moment he advanced past half-court to when he shook off a defender like Nijimura, it took just,
One bump and one fake.
It may have seemed like a simple, cost-effective move born from his height advantage...
But,
When you factor in that previous possession, hitting a contested three over Nijimura, and the one before that, using massive strides to match Shigure and Nijimura's speed…
This was all carefully laid groundwork.
The real threat wasn't just this one move,
It was the momentum he'd built.
Yet,
Just as Hagioka reached the paint,
Nijimura Shuzo appeared before him again, and for a moment, Hagioka froze!
The crowd gasped at Nijimura's burst of speed.
"What?!"
"Even this isn't his top speed?!"
"He's gotten even faster!"
"He's faster than when Shigure exploded at full power just now!"
"Teiko's two first-years…"
On court,
Roar, !
A lion's bellow still echoed in the air.
Hagioka: "…"
This guy…
His wild instinct had deepened.
This was a skill he'd just awakened during this very game,
And he'd already brought it to this terrifying level?
Seriously... he's the type I hate most.
No solid fundamentals,
Just talent, blasting through everything in one go.
Hagioka glanced at the lion-shaped aura behind Nijimura, a faint smile crossing his lips. Then, subtly, his eyes flicked toward the far wing.
Slap,
Slap,
With his frame, built like a perfect junior-high center, he displayed a fluid handle.
Not flashy,
But deadly practical.
And it was clear,
Hagioka wasn't relying on that alone.
His true strength was in orchestrating his teammates with his basketball IQ. Like now,
Boom, !
A screen from Tachika Makoto!
Triggered by just a simple eye signal from moments ago, the timing was perfect.
But Nijimura's aura only intensified.
That surge of wildness let him blow straight past the screen,
With a sharp pivot, he was already back in front of Hagioka.
In response, Hagioka quickly dropped into a between-the-legs dribble, snapped his wrist to fake a pass toward Tachika, then seamlessly transitioned into a crossover!
Followed by,
A step-back!
Because of that earlier fake and wrist pull, Nijimura paused just slightly on the step-back.
Hagioka's move was clean and fast, he was already rising for the shot,
Until,
Smack, !
With another ferocious lion's roar,
Nijimura leapt, just as Hagioka gathered the ball, and with a lightning-fast reach, picked the ball clean mid-jump!
Hagioka: "…"
So that slight delay,
Was bait?
And then,
He used his deepened instinct,
To time the steal exactly at the gather.
Thinking back, there were more layers, like how his defensive positioning subtly encouraged Hagioka to favor a jumper.
Incredible.
This is what hours of daily, repetitive drills are meant to achieve:
In basketball, on offense or defense, those who can layer just a little thinking onto their instinctual reactions in split-second moments…
They're rare.
And as experience builds, that thinking evolves into a weapon, intuition,
Something close to instinct, yet shaped by memory and intent.
Few ever reach that level.
And fewer still,
Can express it like this.
Hagioka looked at Nijimura Shuzo,
And finally, couldn't help but say aloud:
"You're incredible."
Nijimura, already annoyed with this guy for reasons he couldn't explain, maybe it was the similar playstyle, or the way Hagioka acted like a veteran, replied bluntly:
"Your plan won't work."
"You won't beat me on offense."
"And on defense…"
"You're not stopping Shigure either."
Teiko's next possession.
Hagioka's intensity had far exceeded Shigure Akihito's expectations.
All the pre-game strategies their coach had laid out, Shigure had long since tossed them aside.
At this point, his only thought was:
"I'm going to make him pay."
Pass me the ball…
Pass it now!
Nijimura shook his head with a sigh.
He knew this would happen.
This guy…
Can't hold himself back.
But even so,
Watching the raw, wordless excitement burning in Shigure's eyes, Nijimura eventually gave in, pursing his lips slightly as he passed the ball.
And not just that,
He passed it from the backcourt.
As Shigure crossed into Okayama's half, he didn't say a word.
His gaze locked onto Hagioka Kasayuki ahead of him.
Unlike Nijimura's predatory aura, Shigure didn't glow green this time, his energy bar for his ultimate was still empty.
But that boundless energy, that hunting posture, that vibrant eagerness,
It was all there.
Then,
He lunged toward Hagioka.
End of chapter...
To be continued...
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