"Nijimura."
"You bastard."
During the brief pause after both were sent crashing out of bounds, Shigure Akuto clearly felt his stamina draining away at an alarming rate after that ferocious exchange. Zone was like opening the floodgates, and on top of that, he had also unleashed Green Light to overwhelm Nijimura in speed.
And Nijimura Shuzo
He wasn't faring much better.
The sheer self-punishment it took, Shigure couldn't even imagine: keeping his brain in a state of hyper-focused instinctive reaction, constantly breaking down and countering every single one of Shigure's movements in real time. The mental and physical strain must have been unimaginable.
"So this is what you call live or die together, huh?"
"You're planning to wait until my stamina runs dry… then turn it into a battle of willpower?"
"You really…"
Even now, Nijimura's wild instinct was burning at full power. After both of them crashed into the sidelines, they sat propped against the basket stanchion, almost symmetrically. Hearing Shigure's words, Nijimura turned his head slightly.
"You're perfect…"
"Hah?"
If you hadn't appeared, I should have been the protagonist.
But since you've come
"Shigure!"
"I won't lose to you!"
My ending
Even if you drag me into the abyss, I'll find a way to claw out a miracle!
Snatching the ball from the side, Nijimura Shuzo could feel it: his condition had never been this sharp before.
His mentality.
His spirit.
At this instant
In stark contrast to his physical exhaustion, Nijimura had reached his peak.
In Shigure's eyes, Nijimura's wild aura, that overwhelming illusion of the roaring lion cloaked in lightning arcs, had become even fiercer, even more oppressive than before.
"Make me enjoy this even more, Shigure!"
"Hah~"
"Fine," Shigure smirked, "but first, you'll have to score."
On the court, Shigure locked down Nijimura, while Nijimura fought back with raw power, constantly breaking through his defense. On offense, he used the same approach, dragging Shigure into his level of speed.
Whizz!
What's this
Off the glass?!
"Eh?"
"Nijimura-senpai's going for a self alley-oop?!"
As the crowd cried out in shock, Nijimura locked horns with Shigure, refusing to give an inch.
Shigure: "…"
Of course.
On offense, as long as you're dribbling, you have to split your focus. That instinctive immersion inevitably weakens.
So
By tossing it off the glass, he freed himself from ball control.
But because the rebound point was fixed, so was his route. That meant there was no way to shake off Shigure's relentless pressure.
Going for a straight clash, then?
Boom!
Locked in constant collisions, their wild instincts burned at full blast. Like two fireworks slamming into each other, sparks flew in every direction!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
From behind the basket, second-string players watched in disbelief as two blinding silhouettes came tearing toward them with impossible speed. Their eyes went wide.
And still, the words of battle kept flying:
"Don't get in my way, Nijimura."
"Shut up."
Smack!
In midair, Shigure grabbed the ball with both hands, but a heartbeat later Nijimura jammed one hand between his grip!
With no footing in the air, Shigure was like a rootless leaf. If someone drew a force diagram, he and the ball had become a single mass. Nijimura's power turned that mass into downward momentum, shoving everything toward the rim.
But
The answer wasn't so simple.
Shigure's arm strength and wrist power flared. With a quick grimace, he shifted, riding Nijimura's dunking force, and before the ball could even be slammed into the hoop, he redirected it—smashing it off the glass!
Under Nijimura's interference, its trajectory changed, striking the back rim before bouncing far, far away!
Smack, smack!
They hit the ground.
The very next instant
Shigure lunged for the frontcourt, Nijimura tearing back toward his own half.
Their target
The same ball!
"Nijimura, you bastard, were you trying to dunk me into the hoop along with the ball?!"
Boom!
Nijimura answered with another brutal collision.
Boom!
Shigure struck back!
Electric arcs blazed, wild instincts clashed, and the arena was stunned into silence. At that moment, Shigure's lips curled. He could hear it—his own heartbeat pounding with excitement.
Boom! Whoosh!
With a mammoth's roar, Shigure was the one to seize the ball first.
Ball in triple-threat, standing right before Nijimura.
For one brief static moment, everyone in the arena exhaled in unison.
The Generation of Miracles, Kuroko, Kise
Even from the stands, they could feel it: the sheer focus radiating from Shigure Akuto, and the crushing aura that followed.
Tap, tap, tap…
His ballhandling, fused seamlessly with his very body, flowed into a performance of rhythm-breaking dribbles. Then, with blinding speed, he snapped into a Hardaway crossover!
Nijimura's arms hung loose, his body like a predator coiled to strike. His prey was right in front of him. He moved with Shigure's breakthrough.
And then
The furious rhythm of their duel ignited again!
Shigure tested him with every skill in his arsenal, while Nijimura's suffocating defense pushed back without yielding.
Shhh!
Nijimura lunged for a steal!
Shigure slipped it with a sharp change of direction. And then Nijimura realized—Shigure's dribbling rhythm was shifting. Less 4.8 tempo trickery, more direct moves!
Two lightning-fast silhouettes clashed over and over in a matter of seconds.
Then suddenly
Shigure exposed the ball deliberately. Nijimura went for the steal, and in that fleeting window, Shigure exploded past him like a flash!
The arena froze.
"Pure instinct"
"Heh~"
But instead of frustration, Nijimura's lips curved upward. Even as he chased, his expression cooled once more.
Breaking free, Shigure's speed tore at the air, his jersey snapping in the wind. He launched himself high.
And
Nijimura still kept pace, right on his heels!
END OF CHAPTER
CROWN BEFORE THE MIRACLES
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