"So fast!"
"He's past him!"
"No"
"Not yet!"
"Nijimura Shuzo's reaction speed is insane, reaching from behind for the steal…"
"Eh…?"
"Hayama Kotarō dodged it!?"
Nijimura Shuzo: "!?"
Huh?
He already started the next dribble after breaking through? Faster than I imagined.
The steal attempt… was still a step too late.
This dribble isn't even comparable to his so-called Supersonic Dribble earlier.
On the court
After breaking past, Hayama Kotarō lunged forward with a long stride. Inside the paint, meeting Shinji Kurokami's defense, he sprang into the air, shielding the ball with his body as he twisted sideways, going for a one-handed layup under the rim!
But just then
A sharp whoosh ripped through the air by his ear. A shadow loomed over him, towering like a mountain, crushing down from behind!
"Breaking past Nijimura, I get why you're excited."
"But…"
"Got carried away, didn't you? Did you forget about my defense?"
Smack!
From the free-throw line, Shigure Akihito came flying in, pinning Hayama Kotarō's layup against the glass with a brutal block!
"Your breakthrough is fast…"
"But…"
"Isn't your finishing way too limited?"
"All you can do is charge blindly to the rim, huh?"
"Hayama Kotarō."
In Shigure Akihito's words, and in the wild aura flooding the court
In an instant
The joy swelling inside Hayama Kotarō, the feeling that breaking past Nijimura proved his effort wasn't wasted, that he hadn't chosen the wrong path…
All of it vanished.
His sharp, tense nerves quivered, like hovering between dream and waking.
It was as if time suddenly dragged him back to last year.
At once
It felt like he was possessed by something.
Frustration… blazed into a fierce glare toward Shigure Akihito.
And in the stands, that exaggerated, almost boastful block—shoving his physical dominance right in everyone's faces—no matter how many times they saw it, the crowd couldn't hold back their gasps.
"Whoa! Shigure Akihito chased him down from the free-throw line all the way to the paint!"
"From what I saw in Nagamoto's earlier run-and-gun game, I thought his help defense wouldn't make much impact…"
"He didn't show the same dominance he had in earlier games because their offense was spread so wide. But now that it's slowed to half-court, with Shigure standing at the free-throw line, he can practically cover from the three-point arc all the way down to the rim."
"Then shouldn't Nagamoto just go back to run-and-gun?"
"If they did that, the result would be obvious. Just because he didn't 'show' his defensive dominance earlier doesn't mean it wasn't there."
"Nagamoto International is clearly betting their victory on Hayama Kotarō's 1-on-1s."
On court
Teiko's offense, with Shigure Akihito and Nijimura Shuzo working together, remained ferocious as ever. And sure enough, when possession switched, Nagamoto International put the ball back into their ace's hands.
"Kotarō!"
Whoosh!
Catching the pass, Hayama Kotarō instantly ignited his Thunderclap Dribble!
Boom!
Thunder roared!
His movements grew even sharper—in Nijimura's vision, not only lightning flashed, but he could almost hear the growl of a wild leopard!
After breaking through Nijimura, Hayama rose into the air and sank a mid-range jumper!
This was Hayama Kotarō's first half-court, non–fast-break basket of the game against Teiko's twin guardians.
"He made it!"
"Nijimura didn't stop him!"
"So fast…"
"Unstoppable!"
In the stands
Mibuchi Reo, impressed, narrowed his eyes. "That Nijimura guy… he slowed down on purpose just now. He was watching carefully."
Indeed, when Hayama blew by him, Nijimura hadn't gone for the steal like before, he was deliberately observing every detail of his opponent's attack.
Nijimura Shuzo: "…"
Yeah… that's enough.
One more try.
Next time, I'll have him.
On Teiko's bench
The first-years were shocked their captain had been beaten so directly. But Fukaya Reiji only stared at Nijimura on the court, speaking calmly:
"Nijimura's ability to capture and analyze information is on a completely different level from mine. He won't need as long as I did yesterday against Reo to figure it out."
"Probably…"
"Just one or two more plays."
Aomine: "!?"
That thunderclap dribble… he's already going to shut it down? This fast?
Back on the court
Teiko scored again.
Nagamoto inbounded quickly, pushing the pace as if returning to their run-and-gun, forcing Teiko's defense into motion. But once they reached half-court inside the arc, they suddenly slowed down.
Hayama Kotarō vs. Nijimura Shuzo.
"Not switching?"
"You can't guard me…"
"Call over Shigure Akihito instead!"
As soon as he taunted, Nagamoto set a pick, delivering the ball firmly to Hayama's hands.
Then
Boom!
Boom!
"No good!"
"Hayama Kotarō's too fast!"
"Even Nijimura Shuzo can't"
"Huh?!"
On the court
From under the rim, Nagamoto's center shouted out, his voice overlapping with gasps from the stands: "Hayama! Watch out!"
At the same time, Hayama's pupils shrank in shock.
What…?!
Nijimura hadn't aimed to cut him off directly. Instead, the moment Hayama drove past, he exploded sideways with full power.
That way, even though Nijimura wasn't in front anymore, he landed perfectly behind Hayama's off-hand, right where he'd switch the ball.
The gap closed in from behind—Hayama was cornered!
In just those two short plays, Nijimura had already analyzed it all: Hayama's dribble maximized his explosive speed, but because it was so fast, the hand receiving the ball bore immense strain.
And so
Even though his lightning-fast crossover accelerated his drive, Nijimura's sharp vision couldn't catch him in time on the first try.
But…
That same strain meant the instant Hayama switched hands, his body stiffened ever so slightly.
That was Nijimura's target.
END OF CHAPTER
Thankyou everyone!!
Your continued support means everything. We've already made it through almost half of this journey together, and none of this would be possible without you.
Because of you, this story keeps moving forward, chapter after chapter, battle after battle. You're not just readers, you're part of the team that's keeping this dream alive.
We've come this far… now let's see it through to the very end. 🏆
Stay in the game, and let's cross that finish line together.
🔥 Rookie Recruit – Read 15 chapters ahead
🔥 Starting Five – Jump 35 chapters ahead + 6 bonus chapters!
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer