On the court
Today, Shigure Akihito had fully transformed into a version of Nijimura Shuzo, taking center stage as the core of Teiko's offense. His style focused on linking the entire team through sharp, fluid passes, turning the second half into a one-man assist highlight reel.
One after another, his Emperor Passes came rolling in with relentless momentum.
As for Murasakibara…
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
He was dunking to his heart's content!
"Vice-Captain Shigure… that's amazing!"
"He should just play point guard already!"
"But with that build, maybe power forward suits him better… but then again, his scoring ability is way too versatile. It's hard to pin down his position…"
"Murasakibara's scary too!"
"Yeah, even if Shigure-senpai's passes are crazy precise, Murasakibara's reactions are lightning fast."
"Could it be… Shigure's passes even account for the opponent's reaction speed? The success rate of those alley-oops is off the charts!"
As voices swirled in the stands, Kuroko Tetsuya looked on in open admiration.
By this point, Iizumi Junior High, who had managed to hang on through the third quarter, was collapsing under the weight of Shigure Akihito's relentless assists. And then…
The final blow of the quarter,
Was delivered by Shigure Akihito himself.
Well…
He was forced to.
"Contested!"
"Rebound!"
"Box out! Watch Teiko's center!"
"And Shigure Akihito!!"
"He's charging in!!"
In Iizumi's paint, two post players had already taken position. From behind Shigure, a guard rushed in to help, making it three defenders who all spotted his incoming sprint.
Suddenly,
Forget the rebound.
Forget boxing out Murasakibara.
Their top priority became stopping Shigure Akihito.
The three defenders bared their teeth and dove at him in unison, trying to intercept the put-back dunk they knew was coming. The ferocity of their charge, it looked like they were ready to throw their lives at him!
In an instant,
Three players, six arms, reached out to seal him off. Their bodies became a wall, front and back, closing in to crush Shigure's space mid-air.
But Shigure, who had spent the entire quarter assisting others, now faced this full-on triple-team…
His adrenaline spiked. He was thrilled.
Boom!
He coiled his legs and launched upward!
Wild Instinct, Mammoth!
The violent eruption of wild instinct carved the image of a beast into the minds of the defenders!
His explosive leap wasn't even on the same level. Fueled by his awakened strength, Shigure surged upward like a tidal wave, breaking free from their surround with ease.
Smack!
He secured the rebound!
Then, without hesitation…
Unleashed the move he had improvised today, the Hammer of Destruction.
The core motion,
Two-handed…
Shark-style aerial seated dunk!
Boom!
Though the Iizumi big men weren't as tall as Murasakibara or Shigure, they had learned a thing or two after getting dunked on repeatedly all quarter.
Namely, if the hands are always on the rim during a dunk…
Then just guard the rim directly!
They'd missed the timing before, but this time, they were ready. They waited until the last possible second. And this wasn't even Murasakibara, it was the even more dangerous Shigure Akihito!
Teiko's Twin Star…
Shigure Akihito.
Since the moment he entered the game, the match had completely flipped, from leading by 5 to trailing by 20!
If nothing else,
This one play, they had to shut down!
"Take him down!"
Both players reached the ball. Though only one managed to get a hand on it, for the first time all game, they engaged Shigure in mid-air with force.
But before the joy could even register on their faces,
In the very next second,
Shigure's explosive power surged like a dam breach, flooding past their feeble resistance like paper boats!
He broke through the block!
BOOM!
Two-handed dunk! Hanging from the rim, body swaying in a seated position!
At the same time,
Both Iizumi big men were blasted backward. As they fell, staring at the gym ceiling lights, a glittering trail of fractured sparkles filled their vision.
And then,
CRACK!
SMASH!
They hit the ground.
And under the shadow of Shigure Akihito still hanging on the rim, they realized those sparkles…
Weren't just fancy lighting.
The backboard,
Had been shattered.
By that monster before their eyes.
From the bench,
Teiko's assistant coach sighed, speechless.
Bad news…
Shigure Akihito shattered the backboard.
Good news…
It happened right at the buzzer, meaning they had a full break before the fourth quarter to replace it.
"Shigure Akihito…"
"How the hell are we supposed to stop something like that?"
"…"
As both teams exited the court, the players of Iizumi looked utterly shell-shocked, their psychological defenses in ruins.
Especially their center, the captain of the team. The one with the most screen time on court today, he looked completely unfit to lead.
Gulp.
Gulp.
He chugged water like his life depended on it.
And all the while…
His trembling lips hovered over the water bottle as he stared across at Shigure Akihito.
That monster…
Speed.
Bounce.
Power.
Even in terms of raw physicality, he was stronger than the Shigure Akihito they saw at last year's Nationals.
As for skill,
They hadn't even seen the full repertoire today.
Shigure didn't even score that much himself. He only passed, just that single ability, one he wasn't known for last year…
And it had already completely destroyed Iizumi.
At this point, the Iizumi coach didn't even have the energy to give a "motivational speech."
"Yes… Shigure Akihito is an out-and-out monster. Along with Nijimura Shuzo, he was a championship-tier core player for Teiko last year."
"There's no doubt…"
"They're among the top tier in the entire country."
"And us?"
"Our goal… for now… is just to make it to Nationals…"
He looked across the court.
At the boy wearing Teiko's number 5 jersey, chatting casually with the first-year center as if nothing had happened.
Sigh…
Even excluding Shigure Akihito,
That purple-haired first-year center was a 5.0-level monster too.
…
Start of the Fourth Quarter.
With the new backboard installed, fresh and gleaming, Shigure Akihito didn't check back into the game. Iizumi's players all let out a collective sigh of relief.
But after what happened in the third quarter…
Murasakibara's now fully activated self made something clear.
Even if the coach hadn't said it out loud,
They all now understood.
Atsushi Murasakibara.
That first-year from Teiko,
Was a monster too.
From the bench,
Teiko's assistant coach stared intently at the court, jotting things down in a notebook with his tactical board propped up beside him.
Back on the court,
Bang!
Teiko's shooting guard bricked a shot. The ball bounced hard off the rim!
Suddenly, a long arm shot out from behind Iizumi's center,
Followed by an overwhelming force smashing into him.
The Iizumi center staggered,