Chapter 027
"It's not good to do such sneaky things from behind, Aomine-kun," Hanamiya said with a malicious grin.
Ranki immediately rotated over to defend, and Kotaro Hayama looked at him with internal contempt: 'Sorry, but with your abilities, you can't stop my Lightning Dribble.'
In an instant, Hayama's dribbling speed became like actual lightning as he attacked from the left side, completely blowing past Ranki. Ranki couldn't react at all and gritted his teeth internally: 'This speed is too fast! I didn't think much of it when watching from the sideline, but experiencing it firsthand is completely different.'
Driving toward the basket, Hayama found Murasakibara's mountain-like frame blocking his path. He looked up and thought: 'What a dangerous guy! But this ball is mine.'
Hayama once again employed his Lightning Dribble's explosive power, weaving left and right as he broke past Murasakibara and went up for a layup.
'You think you can just waltz in for an easy layup? Don't underestimate people.' Murasakibara immediately contested, jumping up to swat down Hayama's attempt.
'So high! This guy.' Kotaro Hayama gritted his teeth slightly, immediately abandoned his layup, and passed the basketball between Murasakibara's legs to Nebuya, who was positioned behind him.
Nebuya secured the ball and said excitedly: "Great pass!"
'This time I absolutely have to beat you.' The corners of Nebuya's mouth twisted upward as he shouted: "Watch this—Muscle Dunk!"
Murasakibara's eyes remained steady as he pressed his left palm against the basketball, completely stopping Nebuya's dunk attempt.
Players around the court looked shocked at this defensive play. Imayoshi thought to himself: 'Hey, hey, what kind of reaction speed is that? There should be no way to defend a ball like that, right?'
'Despite having such a massive body, he still has this kind of reaction time. That completely defies common sense!' Nebuya looked even more stunned, felt Murasakibara's overwhelming strength, and watched helplessly as the basketball flew from his hands.
After securing the loose ball, Ranki felt excitement surge through him. During usual practice sessions with Murasakibara, he'd known his defense was exceptional, but on the court Murasakibara typically chose to focus on offense, giving limited opportunities to witness his defensive prowess. Ranki had always considered himself a balanced two-way player.
But now he understood just how dominant Murasakibara's defense truly was.
"Fast break!" Ranki shouted loudly, firing the ball directly to Aomine beyond half-court.
Aomine grinned as he received the basketball: "That's really worthy of you, Atsushi! Absolutely incredible!"
Looking at Hanamiya defending him, Aomine immediately employed his refined street basketball skills—a lean-back, irregular shot, throwing the ball upward in a high arc from underneath.
The shot found its mark. MiracleCreator scored the first 2 points.
"Finally someone scored! MiracleCreator strikes first," a middle-aged spectator in the back smiled slightly.
"So the stalemate is finally broken?"
Hanamiya's eyes turned slightly vicious as he looked at Aomine and gritted his teeth: "Damn."
"Forget about it—let them have that one," Imayoshi approached with his characteristic cold chuckle: "Let them score first, but we can't allow them to control the game's rhythm."
Hanamiya looked at Imayoshi's smile. Even he never knew exactly what calculations were running through that bastard's head.
After Kotaro Hayama received the ball, Aomine stepped up to defend again. The two forwards faced off once more, but Hayama simply smiled and passed directly to Hanamiya instead.
Hanamiya immediately pulled up for a quick jumper. Ranki saw this and jumped to contest—his height naturally gave him an advantage over Hanamiya, and on this basketball court, he was the tallest player after Murasakibara.
Hanamiya gritted his teeth internally, realizing this shot would likely get blocked.
He abandoned the attempt and passed to Shoichi Imayoshi, who found himself defended by Haizaki. Though annoyed by the matchup, with everyone else covered, he had no passing options available.
"Really, there's no choice," Imayoshi muttered quietly before pulling up for a jump shot—a three-pointer.
Haizaki watched Imayoshi's release and immediately jumped, thinking: 'Damn, so high!'
Touch-
Haizaki's middle finger barely grazed the basketball, and Imayoshi's pupils showed surprise: "What incredible jumping ability! A middle schooler jumping that high—truly monstrous!"
The basketball hit the rim, bounced around, but still dropped through for three points.
"Damn it!"
"Hehe, there's nothing you can do about that—it's purely a matter of luck," Imayoshi smiled darkly. "I actually thought that ball would miss after you touched it!"
"Don't worry about it, Haizaki," Aomine patted his teammate's shoulder. "Let's get those points right back!"
Hanamiya watched Imayoshi's sinister smile and thought to himself: 'It's not that the ball couldn't go in after being touched—it only went in because he touched it! This guy's personality is still so twisted.'
The first quarter ended quickly, with Team MiracleCreator holding a narrow 15-14 lead.
Back in the rest area, Aomine sat down and grabbed a water bottle: "I'm exhausted. How are these guys even stronger than the teams we faced in the middle school league?"
"I'm so tired. I should have called Midorima-chin and Akashi-chin to come along, then we wouldn't have had to struggle this much," Murasakibara complained while eating a sliced lemon.
"Dai-chan, here's a towel."
"Oh, thanks." Aomine casually accepted the towel, then suddenly recognized the familiar voice behind him. He turned around to find Momoi had appeared without him noticing, and said with excitement: "When did you get here? No wait—why are you here, Satsuki?"
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