The shooting posture was extremely odd. Kuroko held the ball near his chest, waiting for Aomine to raise his arms for a block.
"Swish!"
The ball, much like Yuuto's Heat Haze Shot, passed right through Aomine's outstretched hands and went into the net.
"ROAR!"
The Homi Academy bench instantly exploded. They had taken the lead, their first lead against Teikō. It wasn't an accident; Homi Academy wasn't only leading, they were also holding their own on the court. They truly felt they had a chance to win. Teikō was not unbeatable!
"I'm serious, Aomine-kun." After scoring, Kuroko straightened his back. "I'm going to defeat the Generation of Miracles with our basketball."
"..." Aomine was silent for a moment, then smiled. "I take back what I said earlier. You haven't entirely stayed the same, Tetsuya."
But that was all. He had already figured out the disappearing dribble and the Phantom Shot. Ultimately, Kuroko's dribbling still utilized the distracting brilliance of the other players. By taking advantage of Aomine's attention being on Yuuto, Kuroko seized the opportunity to break through and completely vanish from Aomine's line of sight, which is why it seemed like a disappearance. The shot was the same. The strange shooting posture kept the release point very low, and he shot in the instant Aomine raised his arms, creating a visual discrepancy.
There was absolutely no problem with it. Aomine wouldn't fall for the same trick a third time. It had to be said that although Aomine was a simpleton, in basketball, he was a genius! In the original story, during Seirin and Tōō's second battle, Aomine easily broke through Kuroko's disappearing dribble.
However, Yuuto had already warned Kuroko. The disappearing dribble and the Phantom Shot could only work on Aomine or Akashi once. It wouldn't be effective a second time. The Emperor Eye and the Wildness were Kuroko's natural enemies.
"Does letting Tetsuya master a weapon make you so proud?" Akashi looked at the composed Yuuto, his heart simmering with annoyance. "You are merely destroying his future."
Akashi had said something similar in the simulation. Yuuto hadn't responded then, but he spoke up today.
"You, who were born in Rome, won't understand why a poor person in the slums thinks every day about whether they'll eat tomorrow."
"You're too complacent, Akashi." Yuuto's calm eyes fell on Akashi. "Have your overly excellent teammates numbed your senses? Do you still feel a sense of crisis?"
Overly excellent teammates? Akashi stared at Yuuto with the look one gives a dead man.
"It is I who lead the Generation of Miracles. Don't mistake that."
This time, Yuuto did not respond, silently jogging back to his half of the court.
"I know all that, Akashi-kun. But even so, I'm going to defeat the Generation of Miracles, with our basketball." Kuroko ran past Akashi, then extended his fist toward Yuuto.
"Don't get overconfident. They've already seen through your dribble and your shot."
"Yes!"
Kuroko persisted in extending his fist. Yuuto didn't want to bump fists with him; that guy's fist, like Duncan's head rub, seemed to carry a curse.
So, Yuuto raised his hand and rubbed Kuroko's head. "Go all out."
"ROAR!"
The entire Homi Academy team responded loudly. Their momentum was like a rainbow, clearly felt even by the spectators in the stands, let alone the Teikō players. The Lions of Okukozome, led by their Lion King, were watching them with the eyes of predators.
"Ah Yuu..." Momoi whispered. This was a scene she used to love. In their first year, Teikō was also full of cohesion, just like Homi Academy now. If the one leading Teikō had been Yuuto, would things have been different?
The emotional girl silently cheered for Yuuto in her heart. "Go, Ah Yuu."
...
It was piercing. What was happening was incredibly jarring to Akashi. This was the scene he had once envisioned for Teikō... No! Akashi Seijūrō only needed to lead Teikō to victory.
Akashi quickly regained his resolve. He firmly controlled the ball, directing the team's offense.
And Yuuto? He stood there, like the spine of Homi Academy, supporting everything. Even Murasakibara couldn't help but flinch. When Akashi safely passed the ball to him, Murasakibara spun and jumped for a two-handed power dunk over Koyasu. But Yuuto had once again left Akashi's marking early, charging into the paint to deliver a stunning block.
He hadn't shown any scoring performance, yet Yuuto's defense stole the spotlight from everyone.
"Yuuto, continuous blocks!!!"
Commentators everywhere were shouting Yuuto's name. His help defense awareness, defensive technique, and timing for filling the gap... Everything had made a leap in improvement compared to last year.
The Teikō coach didn't understand why Yuuto had evolved so greatly. He only knew his team was in trouble. Even their low-post powerhouse, Murasakibara, had been shut down by Yuuto. At this moment, Yuuto was practically a smaller version of Jason Kidd, maniacally sweeping the court.
Teikō was lucky this time; the ball Yuuto swatted landed near Kise. Kise reacted quickly and secured the ball. But at this moment, Kise felt a sense of helplessness, unable to know where to attack.
"Stomp!"
Yuuto landed and moved to the free-throw line area. When his foot landed, under the gaze of Kise and the others, a Zone seemed to instantly form around Yuuto, completely covering the entire three-point line area.
"How is this possible! This defensive coverage area!" The Teikō coach completely lost his composure, exclaiming from the sideline, "He's just a perimeter player!"
Yes. He was just a perimeter player, but he was doing what only Murasakibara could do. Looking at Yuuto, who stood at the free-throw line with his arms spread out like a mountain, the coach cursed in his heart, How can such a monster exist?
"It's not just the same defensive coverage as Atsushi," Akashi knew clearly, "He knows better how to defend against us!"
That unbelievable ability to correct himself. Every time he was beaten, Yuuto would quickly change himself, making his offense and defense more perfect. Akashi classified this as Yuuto's innate talent. Like his eyes, like Shintarō's shooting touch, like Ryōta's mimicry... it was Yuuto's natural ability.
But, "There must be a limit to this ability!"
...
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