Seeing Rukawa Kaede suffer a setback, Sakuragi burst out laughing.
"Haha! Serves you right, Stinky Fox!"
Just like that, his anger toward Rukawa vanished in an instant.
"Big idiot," Rukawa muttered coldly. He didn't even look at Sakuragi, just ran straight to the frontcourt.
Although he had been prepared, Rukawa still took a hit. But next time, he wouldn't let Kiyota get past him so easily.
Kiyota's basket gave Kainan a huge boost. Even Maki and the others thought: If even Kiyota, who usually just shows off, is playing seriously, then how can we hold back?
Having found his rhythm on offense, Kiyota also intensified his defense.
Miyagi still chose to pass the ball to Rukawa.
Rukawa posted up against Kiyota again, but this time Kiyota didn't use his full strength. He retreated rhythmically, matching Rukawa's movement.
The intensity of the matchup made Kiyota more focused than ever. In that state, his basketball skills grew rapidly.
Perhaps even the heavens wanted drama—Rukawa's shot rimmed out, and the rebound was snatched by Maki, who immediately pushed the ball upcourt.
Nango was in front, Sakuragi trailed from behind, and the two converged on Maki.
But Maki didn't force his way through. With a subtle tilt of his head, he used his peripheral vision and flicked his wrist.
The ball flew backward—
—and right on time, Soichiro arrived at the three-point line. He caught it in stride, bent his knees, and smoothly rose for the shot.
His movements were textbook, frighteningly stable. The ball spun with precision and swished cleanly through the net.
Soichiro finally got on the scoreboard with his first three-pointer of the game!
After scoring, he extended his right hand and pointed at Maki.
Maki grinned and jogged over for a high-five.
"Beautiful shot, Jin!" Kiyota shouted, leaping onto him in excitement.
Kainan's momentum was reborn.
On the sidelines, Coach Takato exhaled in relief.
"Maki, the rest is up to you…"
Akagi clenched his fist. "This is bad! Kainan's momentum is surging. Can Nango and the others hold on?"
Kogure was startled by his captain's words.
Nango, holding the ball, understood the danger all too well. We must cut off Kainan's momentum, or they'll only get stronger. Thankfully, there's not much time left. No need to change our offense—as long as Rukawa keeps beating Kiyota, we'll be fine.
Rukawa tried posting Kiyota again. This time, they were positioned deeper inside, drawing Takasago over to help, leaving Sakuragi free.
"Rukawa! Pass it!" Sakuragi yelled.
"No need." Rukawa faked left, then right, and pulled up for a fadeaway.
"You wish!" Kiyota wasn't tall enough, but remembering Sakuragi's trick, he suddenly reached out and covered Rukawa's eyes.
Caught off guard, Rukawa bricked again.
Maki boxed out Nango hard and grabbed the rebound. "Charge!" he roared.
"Roar!" All of Kainan surged into the fast break.
Nango cut in front of Maki. "You're not getting past me!"
"You can't stop me!" Maki feinted left, then exploded right. But Nango doggedly kept pace.
"Kiyota!" Maki fired a pass.
Kiyota drove two steps, leaping recklessly. "Red-haired monkey! Prepare to die!"
"Yaro! Haven't you learned yet?!" Sakuragi leapt higher, looming over him like Mount Tai.
But Kiyota smirked and dished the ball to Muto.
Muto went up, but Rukawa caught him, forcing a pass out.
Kogure's eyes widened. "It's Soichiro Jin again!"
Mitsui lunged to contest, but Soichiro was already in rhythm—same fluid motion, same perfect release.
Swish! Another three-pointer.
The gap shrank to just five points. Two possessions. Only twenty seconds left.
"Guard this possession! We must hold the score going into halftime!" Coach Takato shouted.
"Okay!" Kainan roared with energy.
Nango glanced at the clock. This has to be a sure basket, and I need to run down the time. I'll take it myself.
He signaled to Miyagi, who nodded and delivered the pass.
At the free-throw line, Nango sealed Maki behind him and received the ball.
Rukawa frowned but shifted aside.
"You finally can't resist, huh? But I'm not that easy," Maki said behind him.
"You're Kanagawa's No.1, of course you're not easy. But if you lose here, won't that title be mine?" Nango shot back.
"Hmph, that depends on your skill."
They stopped talking—time to battle.
Nango powered forward, Maki bracing with all his strength.
The arena buzzed as the two titans clashed. Many fans stood up to see the duel clearly.
Kano clasped her hands nervously to her chest, while Eri scoffed at her.
Nango gritted his teeth. He's a monster… his strength is nearly Akagi's.
When he couldn't push deeper, Nango suddenly used Maki's resistance against him. Pivoting, he half-turned, lifting the ball.
Maki lunged, surprised, but Nango's non-pivot foot slid forward, their bodies brushed, and Nango rose softly into a bank shot layup.
It kissed the glass and dropped.
"Damn! Beautiful!" the crowd roared.
"That footwork… and he's an outside player?! Unbelievable!" Hanagata clutched his head.
Fujima, lurking quietly in the corner despite claiming he wouldn't come, said nothing—his emotions unreadable.
"Yeah! Nango is awesome!" Kano cheered, while Eri scowled.
"Oh my, our son is really amazing!" Nango's mother grabbed his father's hand in joy.
His father tried to act calm. "Hmph, he has my style from back in the day."
His mother smiled, though inside she cursed: Pah! You wanted to kick him out before, calling him a disgrace to the family!
"Tch, just one basket and you're celebrating? Pure luck," Kiyota muttered jealously. He admired Maki the most, so seeing Nango score over him made his stomach churn.
"Miyagi coolly thought, That's the man who took my starting spot. Nango had avenged his earlier struggles against Maki.
Mitsui muttered under his breath, "Who the hell is he really…?"
In the final 5 seconds, Maki barreled upcourt, pulling a desperate three over Nango. It clanged off the glass.
At that moment, Aida Yayoi and Nakamura returned from Ryonan, arriving just in time to see the miss.
Yayoi's eyes widened. "Kainan is actually behind? And Akagi isn't even on the floor?! What happened while we were gone?"
She hurried toward the scorer's table, determined to grab the stat sheet and piece together the story.
------------
Support me at patréon com/DaoOfPeeking