"This…"
On the sidelines.
The Third String players watching from the bench had all jumped in surprise the moment Shigure Akihito checked in and immediately went off with a monster play. Among them, Kuroko Tetsuya wiped his eyes, looked up at Shigure still hanging from the rim, and murmured:
"Relentless pursuit… is a kind of talent too."
"But…"
"At this level…"
"There's no way anyone can keep up…"
"Shigure-senpai."
At that moment, the assistant coach leading Teiko's squad scratched his head in mild distress. "I knew it. With the current Shigure, there's just no such thing as 'holding back'…"
Even without going full force, this was the result.
On the court,
Shigure Akihito released Teiko's regulation-grade rim. The air was filled with the sound of gasps. Standing beside him was Atsushi Murasakibara, starry-eyed and sulking.
"Shigure-senpai, you promised you'd pass to me! Why'd you dunk it yourself? And wait, was that move really called 'Hammer of Destruction'~?"
The sudden complaint made Shigure chuckle and reach out to ruffle Murasakibara's hair into a bird's nest.
"Wha!"
"Don't!"
"I don't care if you're Shigure-senpai or not, I'll crush you~!"
Even for someone usually expressionless and chill like Murasakibara, he clearly didn't appreciate having his hair messed up. He pressed a palm against Shigure's arm.
But
He couldn't budge it.
Murasakibara: "...?"
That strength!
"You don't have to worry about crushing me. You literally can't."
Boom, !
Like a phantom mammoth charging through space, Shigure's force made Murasakibara instinctively step back, only to stare in shock. The hand he'd placed on Shigure's arm had been completely overpowered and pushed down.
Rustle,
Rustle,
Shigure took the opportunity to thoroughly ruffle his hair again, grinning as he said, "Think of it as the naming rights fee for borrowing my 'Hammer of Destruction'."
It was a shameless line, but it came with a mischievous smirk.
Still, Murasakibara's eyes lit up.
"Well then…"
"Fine~"
The two carried on as if they had the court to themselves. Not because the opposing team was dumb enough to waste time not counterattacking, but because Shigure's one-man demolition run had stunned the entire match to a halt.
At that moment,
Iizumi Junior High had called a timeout.
The players from Iizumi walked off the court with blank expressions, muttering among themselves in hushed tones.
"He was too fast. He blew past our double-team in the blink of an eye…"
"It's not just the speed…"
"That dunk… how the hell are we supposed to defend against that?"
"Shigure Akihito, now in his second year, got way taller, but it hasn't slowed him down one bit. His speed and bounce, they've only gotten scarier…"
"Monster."
When they reached the bench,
The team captain was the first to recover. Though deeply shaken, he clapped his hands hard to refocus the team, trying to boost morale.
"Everyone…"
Huff…
"Let's focus on our offense first!"
"Don't forget!"
"We're still in the lead! As long as we keep scoring, we'll be fine!"
"Shigure Akihito is only one man! No matter how strong he is, he can't guard all five of us! We'll find our chances against the rest of Teiko!"
"Run more pick-and-rolls on the perimeter!"
"Inside, too, avoid that first-year giant as much as you can!"
"Sure, his offense is raw, but on defense, with that frame and athleticism, he's no joke."
Encouraged by the captain's words, the rest of Iizumi's players started regaining their composure, while the coach looked on proudly at his leader.
"That's right!"
"We're still ahead!"
"We just need to keep scoring!"
Soon,
The teams returned to the court. Iizumi inbounded from the baseline.
Their point guard calmly brought the ball up under pressure from Teiko's Second String, then passed it to their power forward on the left block.
By their calculations, this was the safest option, avoiding Shigure on the wing and the Teiko center on the opposite block.
But then,
Bang, !
Bang, !
As their power forward backed down into position, preparing for a fadeaway jumper, something felt off…
Because from near the free-throw line, where he'd been looking relaxed but had oddly been staring this way the whole time, Shigure Akihito suddenly accelerated.
Way too fast!
Even faster than during his dunk!
Wild Instinct + Goda Tomokazu's Full-Speed Acceleration + Shinichi Maki's Closeout Block!
Whoosh, !
Shigure launched from a startling distance. Under the white lights of the gym ceiling, his silhouette streaked across the floor like a black comet.
Bang, !
Block!
The ball ricocheted off the backboard!
Murasakibara had also started charging over for a block, but a few strides away, he stopped, Shigure had already finished the job.
Standing 190cm tall, and without having yet "bloomed," Murasakibara's current movement speed was still quite "conservative." He simply couldn't perform the kind of "hyper-coverage defense" that Shigure just did.
"Senpai…"
"So strong~"
Frozen in place, Murasakibara watched as Shigure turned on a dime and burst back to snatch the rebound.
Ever since he started basketball, thanks to his height, he'd always dominated without needing much technique. He didn't care about effort or interest; he simply crushed everyone by being big.
So whenever someone asked, he'd always say:
"Basketball? I'm not really into it."
But the truth was…
Murasakibara hated losing.
Like now,
In his memory, Shigure-senpai had been more like Aomine: fancy ball-handling like a dancer, pretty, but fragile.
In his mind, he was the strong one. Someone who could beat that kind of player.
But just now,
Shigure did something that even he, as a center, couldn't.
In that moment, as he stood still…
He felt like he'd lost.
"Senpai…"
"Hmm?"
"I'm not gonna lose to you."
"…Huh?"
The sudden declaration caught Shigure off guard.
The next second, he watched as the usually lazy Murasakibara bit his lip, stretched his long legs, and started running ahead, like the rest of the Teiko team, during the fast break.
Shigure shook his head, unable to understand what was going on in this kid's brain.
Bringing the ball upcourt.
184cm.
Point guard.
The Iizumi point guard saw the scene unfold, and went stiff.
"…"
Goddammit.
Are you seriously shifting from center to point guard?!
Point guard…
That's not something you just switch to!
You monster!
The Iizumi PG started harassing Shigure at midcourt, trying at least to slow his pass. As for actually stopping Shigure from scoring, that was someone else's problem.
If a double team didn't work,
Then try a triple team!
But Shigure Akihito wasn't fazed at all. He perfectly timed his pace with his teammates on the break.
And then,
The Iizumi PG realized that while Shigure was dribbling fast as hell toward the three-point line…
The ball was gone?!
Where's the ball?!
While the PG was still trying to figure that out,
On the other end,
Atsushi Murasakibara, who had just reached the paint, saw the pass come in.
A stealthy, underhand scoop pass from Shigure.
Perfect arc.
Perfect height.
His body reacted before he even thought.
He jumped.
In the air, maybe the thought of that "Hammer of Destruction" was still buzzing in his head,
So,
He spun midair!
Both hands behind his head!
Drew the bow!
SLAM DUNK!
A monstrous pass from Shigure Akihito!
Shinichi Maki's Signature Move: Emperor's Assist!
Talent:
Emperor's Alley-Oop
Emperor's Alley-Oop: Any pass delivered using the Emperor's Assist automatically enables the teammate to perform an alley-oop.
At the same time,
Assist Master: The perfect pass boosts your teammate's shooting accuracy for a short period. Completing the assist also restores one ultimate usage.
End of chapter...
To be continued...
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