The same black lightning traced across the court. Shigure Akihito appeared behind Nijimura Shuzo, leaping high.
In the next instant
SLAM!
The seemingly unstoppable, lightning-fast shot Nijimura had just released was cut off cold.
The ball, still spinning from its furious flight, was already in Shigure's hand, snatched out of the air with a terrifying block that left the crowd frozen in disbelief.
Even coach Hakugin Kōzō's jaw dropped wide open.
After Nijimura…
Was this… another Zone?
No—this didn't look like a deliberate entry. It felt like Shigure had been forced into it, driven by the pressure of Nijimura's overwhelming Zone.
On the court, the moment Nijimura released his shot, Shigure's pursuit had looked like teleportation. His speed—unfathomable.
Even faster than Nijimura's.
Zone was supposed to demand absolute focus, but the power flooding Shigure right now was so raw that his overflowing emotions should have scattered it. Yet instead, he held it together, as if the iron concentration required by Zone had been locked deep beneath a dark lake, unreachable, untouchable.
"Terrifying!"
"I couldn't even see when he blocked that!"
"Shigure-senpai too…"
"Did he hide this strength all along, just like Captain Nijimura?!"
Around the court, voices rose in shock. Nijimura turned, staring at Shigure.
In Shigure's eyes, black arcs of lightning swam like living things, moving with his gaze, carving demonic lines in the air.
Expressionless, Shigure's voice rang out, cold and sharp:
"I win… Nijimura."
The words had barely fallen before Shigure exploded forward, sprinting downcourt. His Teiko jersey whipped in the wind, the sound of fabric cutting through the air sharp as a blade.
Nijimura chased.
But
He couldn't catch up.
Both were in Zone, yet no matter how he pushed, Nijimura only fell further behind. And faintly, as though mocking him, he saw that familiar emerald glow.
"Shigure-senpai's counterattack!"
"So fast?!"
"Captain Nijimura can't close the gap!"
"It's full court, he's only getting further away the more they run!"
The Teiko members gasped. Their captain, their rock—failing to match that speed. Even Aomine Daiki's face was blank, eyes wide with disbelief.
How? How could he be this strong?! What was that?
"You…"
"What are you even defending against, Nijimura?"
FWIP!
Shigure hurled the ball at the backboard and, without breaking stride, said calmly:
"Watch closely from behind."
His voice echoed past Aomine and Haizaki's frozen forms on the sideline, the last words growing faint as he vanished down the court.
The speed was overwhelming. The contrast was so violent it left everyone stunned.
BANG!
Heads whipped back just in time to see him finish—an outrageous self-alley-oop, slamming down a rim-shaking dunk.
Shigure turned, breath steady.
"Your defeat… was sealed from the very start."
"I told you…"
"I'd drag you into the abyss, Nijimura!"
For a moment, the entire gymnasium went silent, as though the world itself had frozen. Only after a long pause did the crowd erupt.
"He—he broke through!"
"Unbelievable, Shigure-senpai!"
"Absolutely overwhelming strength!"
Tap.
Tap.
Tap… tap… tap.
The ball rolled back to midcourt, nudged by Shigure toward Nijimura Shuzo.
Nijimura's expression was calm, steady as always, but beneath that composure flickered excitement.
Even inside Zone, he recognized the look on Shigure's face—the same cocky smirk that always appeared when he scored on him back in the day.
Damn him. Always the same. But… exhilarating.
2–0.
Nijimura's turn with possession.
From the sidelines, Fukaya Reiji spoke up, sharp-eyed.
"Shigure's defensive stance has shifted further back. Now that he's entered that strange state, his already terrifying defensive range… I think it's beyond comprehension."
Step!
Nijimura stepped up to the three-point line. Instantly, his instincts screamed. The pressure crashed down like a tidal wave.
"…!"
Here? Even from this distance…?
Shigure Akihito's range… was this his defense?
Nijimura drove anyway, slashing forward. But even without breaking past him, the instant he went up for the basket
SMACK!
The ball was swatted aside by a merciless block.
"Block!"
"He sent it flying to the frontcourt!"
"Shigure-senpai's faster again—he's already got it!"
"Fast break!"
Nijimura braced himself, bodying Shigure hard
But then came the drop of his shoulders, the sudden burst of speed, the snap of the ball shifting hands. Mammoth footsteps thundered, and his defense cracked wide open.
Fear etched itself across the faces of Teiko's members. Even Aomine, even all of them—identical looks of dread.
What… what kind of monster was this?
Shigure crossed into Nijimura's half.
His eyes were icy, his focus absolute.
Beyond the rim…
Nothing else remained.
Not even Nijimura Shuzo.
HISS!
He rose from the free-throw line.
Higher than ever before.
Right arm pulling back like a bow drawn to its limit.
Lightning erupted from his eyes, streaking violently through the air.
This wasn't a dunk, not in the traditional sense. But it might as well have been.
Halfway into his leap, Shigure's head rose above the rim.
And from that impossible height, with his body tilting forward
He unleashed.
The ball tore through the air like a cannon shot.
BOOM!
The sound rang across the gym like thunder, everyone hearing it clearly no matter the distance. A shot so savage, so violent, it drowned the world in silence.
Shigure staggered forward a few steps as he landed, his momentum carrying him. Then he raised his arms wide, face lifted, eyes closed, fists clenched.
In that instant
This silence, this ecstasy, this perfection
It belonged to him alone.
Shigure Akihito.
END OF CHAPTER
CROWN BEFORE THE MIRACLES
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