On the court, Atsushi Murasakibara landed after his monster dunk and turned to look at Shigure Akihito, scratching his head in bewilderment, his expression laced with disbelief.
Meanwhile…
On Iizumi Junior High's bench, the coach sat wide-eyed in shock.
His impression of Shigure Akihito was still stuck on last year's national tournament, a high-flyer with raw athleticism. But that pass just now, that precision pass, left him utterly speechless.
"..."
"How is that even possible?"
"In just one year, he went from a pure scorer to someone who can make passes like that?"
"And how… how did he even pull it off?"
The Iizumi coach gripped his own hair, trying to suppress the rising disbelief in his chest. That pass, whether in terms of timing, angle, or trajectory, was simply flawless.
From the top of the three-point arc…
Straight through to the paint!
If that pass had been off even slightly, there's no way it would've reached Murasakibara under the basket.
What's more, Shigure had perfectly accounted for Murasakibara's height, and maybe even other subtle factors invisible to the coach. So much so that the technically-rough giant didn't even have to adjust. He just jumped and slammed it home.
It was so fast that none of Iizumi's defenders even had time to react!
"This guy, Shigure Akihito…"
What is going on with him?
His physique has grown explosively.
He looks ridiculously powerful.
And yet…
He's now developed that kind of technical finesse in his passing?
Seeing his players' confidence and fighting spirit shaken again, the Iizumi coach's expression hardened. As his team passed by him, he leaned in and gave quiet, urgent encouragement:
"It's alright…"
"In fact, his preference for passing is an advantage for us."
"If he wants to pass, let him pass!"
"Just make sure to guard everyone else closely!"
"For now, focus on executing our offense!"
The Iizumi players nodded in unison.
"Yes, Coach…"
…
"…The hell kind of advantage is that?!"
As far as the eye could see,
Shigure Akihito once again came out of nowhere to block a shot with that outrageous speed, then immediately launched into a fast break. He sprinted just past midcourt before suddenly stopping.
Through-the-legs dribble…
Whoosh!
As the ball came to his left hand on the crossover, he abruptly snapped his wrist with a whip-like motion!
The ball flew like an arrow, streaking toward Iizumi's paint!
Ultimate Move: Emperor's Pass…
Talent Skills:
Pixel-Perfect
Emperor's Alley-Oop
Better Teammate
All activated simultaneously!
[Pixel-Perfect]
Shigure's Emperor's Pass ignores normal catching limitations, no matter the distance, teammates can still trigger reception-based skills.
[Emperor's Alley-Oop]
Any Emperor's Pass can automatically initiate an alley-oop for teammates.
[Better Teammate]
A perfectly-timed pass increases the fluency and success rate of catch-based offensive skills while minimizing the chance of getting blocked.
With those three talents combined, Shigure's pass in that instant became unbelievably fast and precise.
Then…
Bang!
From beyond half-court, the ball shot forward at lightning speed, and yet again, it arrived on a silver platter. As soon as Murasakibara caught it mid-air, he twisted and slammed it home!
Then…
BOOM!
He yanked on the rim, his massive frame swinging forward like a wrecking ball!
The basket groaned under the pressure!
With that oversized first-year frame, Murasakibara launched Iizumi's center out of the way with pure force!
That aerial "seated dunk" immediately drew everyone's attention. Even Shigure's miraculous pass from moments ago seemed to fade slightly in its shadow.
Murasakibara dangled from the rim, expressionless and imposing.
On the sidelines…
The first-team assistant coach's eyes gleamed.
It wasn't exactly fair to compare, but in this moment, the usually lazy Murasakibara's face was identical to Shigure's when he'd dunk and look down from the rim last year, arrogant, overwhelming.
"Murasakibara!"
"Let go of the rim!"
This was the first time the assistant coach had ever needed to give that kind of reminder. It felt like déjà vu from a year ago, bringing with it a complicated mix of nostalgia and excitement.
Meanwhile…
Shigure Akihito, whose own pass had stolen the show just moments ago, simply raised a brow, unbothered.
Clean, low-profile, and easy to overlook, that precise assist style was one Shigure had received countless times over the past year from Himura, who'd create perfect scoring chances for everyone.
Himura would always tease him, saying he didn't understand…
The kind of power that comes from guiding a whole team with your passes, the kind of moment that makes you fall in love with basketball.
"Yeah…"
"Guess I get it now"
Emperor's Pass · Assist is King.
One assist = one ultimate move recharge.
Keep assisting, keep refreshing, keep winning.
A moment later…
Iizumi missed their next shot.
Murasakibara grabbed the board. Without even glancing at Teikō's point guard, he passed the ball to Shigure Akihito immediately, then sprinted down the court on those long legs of his.
…eyes full of expectation.
But…
This time, his smiley senpai decided to go solo.
Shigure advanced into Iizumi's half-court.
Accelerated.
Charged into the paint!
Leapt,
One spin.
360.
Still not done…
Another spin!
720!
The assistant coach: "!?"
Spinning like a high-speed top, Shigure Akihito completed a 720-degree aerial rotation. He clearly wasn't high enough to finish the dunk, but he didn't plan to.
Whoosh!
Before the landing…
The orange ball flew out of the tiny vortex created by his spinning body!
…
Murasakibara: "...!"
At that ultra-close distance, even with all the pass-enhancing skills in play, Murasakibara almost missed it. Still, he reacted just in time, reaching up with a single hand…
And slammed it down!
At the same time,
Shigure Akihito landed in his signature Spider-Man pose!
Heh
"As long as I spin fast enough, not even gravity can hold me down"
While Shigure dazzled the court with his flashy antics, everyone from Iizumi stood frozen in disbelief. On the Teikō bench, even the second string looked dumbfounded.
"Two… two full spins…?"
"So high…"
"He actually passed it at the end, thank God…"
"A 720-degree dunk? That's crazy…"
"Wait, was the goal just to draw attention and pass? But still… Shigure-senpai's bounce is just…"
As the noise buzzed around the gym, with Shigure crouching like a superhero and Murasakibara still clinging to the rim, every Iizumi player wore an increasingly grim expression.
In their minds, they couldn't help but recall their coach's words:
"Compared to his scoring ability, letting him pass is actually good for us!"
"If he wants to pass, let him pass!"
At the time… that sounded logical.
It made perfect sense.
But now…
Something's off.
Seriously off.
These passes,
This wasn't just a matter of "letting him pass."
They couldn't stop him even if they wanted to!
Who the hell passes like that?!
A 720 spin in mid-air, eyes off the court, yet still delivering a perfect alley-oop?
End of chapter...
To be continued...
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