"Akashi guarding Sakurai?"
Hyuga Junpei's mouth twitched as he watched the matchups between Seiho and Tōō Academy players.
Although Seirin had previously lost to Tōō Academy, Hyuga had respected Sakurai's skill as a shooter. But now, the more he recognized Sakurai's abilities, the more he pitied him.
Just imagining being guarded by a monster like Akashi was enough to send chills down his spine.
And now, Ryo Sakurai was living that nightmare.
This was no longer about pressure. For Sakurai, all he could feel was endless despair.
It could be said that if he walked away from this match without some psychological trauma, it would already be quite the accomplishment.
"Tch tch~~ Seiho is planning to make Tōō Academy's shooters go scoreless the entire game!"
Takao Kazunari clicked his tongue.
Although not a shooter himself, Takao fully understood Akashi's ability to defend shooters. Even Midorima had been completely stifled during practice, let alone anyone else.
"But wait… if Akashi's off the perimeter, can't Tōō Academy just attack inside?"
"You idiot. Do you think Seiho has no one else?"
Aida Riko's eyes widened. "Don't think Seiho only has Akashi and Tsugawa! Before they even joined, this team was already known as Tokyo's Iron Wall."
Slap!
Tsutomu Iwamura delivered a crushing block on Tōō Academy center Kousuke Wakamatsu, instantly destroying any hope of an inside breakthrough.
"Thought you could just walk through Seiho's paint because Akashi isn't there? Don't underestimate us, kid," Iwamura said, eyes wide with intensity.
"Kasuga, don't slack off. Their overconfidence means we can't give them an inch!"
The anger in his voice was palpable, even if somewhat restrained.
Though Iwamura had agreed to Akashi's plan earlier, he never imagined a player could be so arrogant as to skip playing entirely at a national tournament.
This wasn't part of the original plan.
He'd assumed Tōō Academy might fall into a trap, but at least Aomine would be on the bench. To find him absent entirely… that could only mean he didn't even care about Seiho.
Such an insult would be unbearable for any team.
Kasuga Ryuhei forced a sheepish smile.
He knew exactly why Iwamura had called his name. In the first three minutes of the game, the only points scored against Seiho had come from the Tōō Academy player Kasuga was guarding.
Iwamura passed the ball to Akashi, who immediately launched a counterattack.
Ryo Sakurai trailed closely behind.
As they approached Tōō Academy's three-point line, Akashi abruptly stopped and jumped to shoot. Sakurai leaped with all his might to block, but at 1.75 meters with mediocre vertical, he could barely reach over Akashi's head.
Even the spectators couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"What's the point of even trying to block that?! Shooting threes from that height is cheating!"
Hyuga Junpei muttered.
At 2.05 meters tall, even a standing shot from Akashi reached a terrifying height. With a small jump, his release point became unreachable for 99.9% of high schoolers.
Swish!
The ball sank cleanly into the hoop.
15:2.
Five out of five three-pointers. Every point Seiho scored so far had been solely Akashi's doing.
Tōō Academy, facing the full wrath of Seiho's main lineup, had only managed a single basket from the small forward Kasuga was guarding. Everyone else was shut out.
"Damn that Aomine…!"
Wakamatsu's veins bulged in frustration. He had always disliked Aomine, and now, with him absent, his team was left in chaos.
Even Imayoshi, usually the mediator, didn't intervene, he had no time to spare.
At this point, it was painfully clear: their Aomine had been thoroughly outmaneuvered.
"This is terrible! Since when did Seiho have such skilled strategists?"
In the preliminary game they lost, Seiho had no intention of deceiving Tōō Academy. They were only targeting Aomine, exploiting his personality, not any technical weakness.
Such careful planning required top-tier intelligence gathering.
Cold sweat dripped down Imayoshi's forehead. After so many matches, this was the first time he felt so completely outplayed.
"Wakamatsu!"
Imayoshi passed inside again.
Though the situation was grim, he maintained his composure. With Akashi guarding Sakurai and Tsugawa guarding him, there was almost no chance for them to score.
The inside might still offer some hope, but not much.
"Don't think we rely solely on Aomine!"
True to his word, Wakamatsu, though only a second-year, already rivaled many third-year students.
Relying on his strength and Satsuki Momoi's predictive defense, Wakamatsu found a small gap in Iwamura's defense and tried to take a shot.
But just as the ball left his hands, a massive shadow fell behind him. Before he could react…
Smack!
The ball was mercilessly swatted down by none other than Akashi Asuka.
The sound was deafening, like a slap across Tōō Academy's entire court.
Akashi smiled at everyone watching.
"I'm just guarding the perimeter… doesn't mean I can't go inside too."
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Chapter 83: Astonishing Scoring Efficiency
Akashi Asuka's defensive range now covered the entire three-point zone.
And since he could dash from the paint to the perimeter in an instant, naturally he could sprint back from the perimeter to defend the paint. It was a simple concept, but Tōō Academy seemed to have completely forgotten it.
Or perhaps it wasn't that they forgot. Even Satsuki Momoi's Predictive Defense hadn't anticipated this scenario.
By now, nobody could count how many times Seiho had launched a counterattack.
Tōō Academy's defenders were practically numb from the constant retreats.
This time, Akashi reached the three-point line and Tōō Academy sent two players to double-team him, Ryo Sakurai, of course, and Kousuke Wakamatsu.
At Tōō Academy's current roster, only the 193 cm tall Wakamatsu even had a chance of contesting Akashi's three-pointer.
But that was just a chance.
Akashi's vertical jump rating was 81, already at a national-level high school standard. Wakamatsu's jump was decent, but at best matched Akashi, and possibly inferior.
On top of that, there was a huge difference in height and wingspan. Even if Wakamatsu jumped with all his might, not only could he not block the shot, he couldn't even get close to touching the ball.
Swish!
Akashi shot effortlessly. The ball traced a crescent arc through the air and sank cleanly into the hoop.
18:2.
After Akashi's sixth three-pointer, Tōō Academy had no choice but to call the first timeout of the game.
Beep~~~
============
The crowd was silent.
Seirin's players gaped, completely lost for words.
They had expected some surprises in this match, but nothing like this.
"So strong…"
Taiga Kagami's jaw dropped.
During the preliminary round against Tōō Academy, Aomine had also been absent for the first half, yet Seirin had still struggled just to handle the other players. Two quarters barely gave them an advantage.
And now, five minutes in, Seiho was already leading Tōō Academy by sixteen points without Aomine. A gap this wide had probably never appeared in Tōō Academy's national tournament history.
"Kuroko, how does this Akashi compare to the Generation of Miracles?" Taiga asked.
"To be honest… I don't know."
Kuroko Tetsuya shook his head, unusually serious.
"But one thing's certain: even among the Generation of Miracles, no one has Akashi's current scoring efficiency."
"What?!"
Everyone froze.
"Even Aomine can't match him?"
"If we're talking pure scoring efficiency, Aomine isn't worse, maybe even slightly better," Kuroko explained. "But Aomine scores mostly inside, two points per basket. Akashi? Every shot is a three-pointer."
"And while Midorima's shooting percentage surpasses Akashi's, he can't break through defenses as easily."
Kuroko shifted the topic toward Midorima Shintaro.
Midorima, carefully watching the game, stiffened. When he looked up, all the eyes from Seirin and Seiho's players were on him, and an angry symbol practically appeared on his forehead:
He already knew his offensive efficiency couldn't match Akashi. Midorima's release point was high, yes, but Akashi's was even higher.
And not just higher, the sheer strength in Akashi's body also prevented any interference.
Did it really need to be said aloud?
I, Midorima Shintaro, am supposed to have pride!
"Hmph!"
Midorima snorted, deciding to ignore the annoying crowd.
Unbeknownst to him, the Seiho members watching would read this as tacit acknowledgement anyway.
"Seriously? So you're saying Akashi might be stronger than the Generation of Miracles?"
Takao Kazunari's jaw dropped.
"Idiot, basketball isn't that simple," Midorima replied, adjusting his glasses. "But one thing is certain: for Tōō Academy right now, Akashi is a huge problem."
And indeed, that was the truth.
Tōō Academy was now in serious trouble, and Akashi was far from the only cause.
"They've planned this!"
Tōō Academy coach Katsunori Harasawa pinched his long sideburns, frowning.
From Seiho's mastery over their current matchup, it was clear this wasn't improvised. They had probably already practiced against a Tōō Academy lineup without Aomine before the match even began.
Aomine's absence already made them weaker.
Now their tactics were being countered.
Even though morale suffered, Seiho looked furious, energized by their opponent's absence.
Tōō Academy's famed intelligence-gathering now offered no advantage.
"This next phase is going to be tough."
Harasawa thought for a moment. "Our main goal is to contain Akashi. That monster isn't something you can handle. We've already sent someone to find Aomine. Until he returns, focus on reducing Seiho's scoring."
"That bastard Aomine… When he's back, I'll show him!"
Wakamatsu clenched his fists, seething.
Once the Tōō Academy players returned to the court, Harasawa turned to Satsuki Momoi.
"Momoi, how's the intelligence correction going?"
Momoi's eyes flickered with apology. "I'm sorry. Information on everyone else is fine, but Akashi's stats… they're too different from before. There's no way to correct them in such a short time."
This wasn't Momoi's fault. Even her Predictive Defense couldn't anticipate the unknown.
In the entire preliminaries and the early official matches, Akashi had never revealed his scoring ability as a small forward.
One, it wasn't necessary.
Two, he had been preparing for Momoi's predictions from the start.
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Note: This will be 2 chapters because I can't post chapter 83 separately. So bonus chapter it is :)