BOOM—
Like glass shattering, Aomine slammed the ball through the hoop with brutal force.
He swore—that was one of the best passes he had ever received.
The timing, the power, the angle—flawless.
The moment the ball touched his hands, he could unleash his full potential without hesitation.
After dunking, he couldn't help but grin. As he landed, he turned around, ready to give Tendou a big thumbs-up and shower him with praise.
But when he looked back, all he saw was Tendou calmly walking back on defense like a grandpa out for a stroll.
And behind him, the vague outline of that monster followed close, step for step.
"Man, this guy is cool."
Even Seihō's coach couldn't help but mutter that in his heart.
"So damn cool…"
Wait, no! This wasn't the time to admire the enemy.
He knew—his team was in big trouble.
Tsugawa Tomoki had been their ace up the sleeve, their secret weapon for dealing with Teikō. But if even he couldn't stop that No. 14, how were they supposed to defend?
Double-team?
But they didn't have enough manpower.
Double-team both Shūzō and Tendou? That would leave everyone else on Teikō wide open!
And the others were not nobodies.
Let's be real—Teikō's squad this year had been dubbed by youth sports media as the team with "the most firepower."
Put aside captain Shūzō and ace Tendou—Aomine Daiki, Midorima Shintarō, Murasakibara Atsushi—none of them could be left unchecked.
In the eyes of Seihō and most teams now—
Tendou Kageyoshi had become the undisputed ace of Teikō.
While the coach was deep in thought, Seihō had launched their next attack.
This time, wary of Tendou's steals, Kasuga Ryūhei played it safe, lobbing the ball into the paint.
Their Polish center fought hard for position and managed to catch the pass cleanly. With a simple turn, he'd have an easy bucket.
Murasakibara wasn't slacking either—he was wrestling hard in the paint.
Among big men, the real battle begins long before the ball is even in play.
Boxing out, bumping, low-post wrestling... all the dirty work that happens off-camera.
In terms of raw strength, Murasakibara held his ground.
But the Polish center had studied Teikō carefully. He knew Murasakibara was a naturally gifted first-year, but still somewhat raw.
A "beast-type" player.
Kinda like that Magic Beast guy from the NBA who everyone joked could be traded one-for-one for LeBron James.
Power vs. finesse.
And finesse wins... sometimes.
Just look at how badly Magic Beast got bullied by Yao "Sun and Moon" in the league—every time they met.
From the moment they learned their first match in the round-robin was against Teikō, the Polish center had planned to win with skill.
After catching the ball, he tried backing down again—but couldn't move Murasakibara.
Still, he had deep enough position.
He faked a couple more bumps to make Murasakibara think he'd keep posting up, then suddenly spun away—fadeaway shot from close range.
"Basketball's not that simple, kid."
He released the ball confidently.
Felt perfect.
He was sure this would drop.
Yeah, if only he knew that future Murasakibara could defend from the paint to the three-point line, he wouldn't be so smug.
Just as the ball left his fingertips—a giant hand shot up from below, cutting off the ball's path to the rim.
"???"
BANG!
The shot smacked against the floor with a loud thud.
The Polish center stared, stunned at Murasakibara's reaction speed.
Meanwhile, Kasuga recovered from his moment of shock and immediately searched for the rebound.
"Rebound!!"
Was that even technically a rebound? Who knows—but he was calling for it anyway.
Both teams suddenly snapped awake and scrambled for the loose ball.
And then—
SMACK—
One massive hand clamped down on the ball.
"Tendou?!"
"It's him again?!"
Everyone reacted differently—some thrilled, some terrified.
But everyone was surprised.
He was so fast, it was like he already knew exactly where the ball would bounce—even knew Murasakibara was going to block it.
And Wayne?
He spun and sprinted straight for the basket, laying it in for another easy two points.
"It's like…"
"He's got the whole game in the palm of his hand."
Shirogane Kōzō finished the assistant coach's sentence for him.
And behind Tendou—the monster loomed ever clearer.
Like Mikella in Elden Ring, fused with the Lord of Promises.
He tilted his head toward the bench.
He noticed—not everyone could see the monster.
It felt like…
"Only those with high enough court sense can see it?"
Shirogane murmured to himself.
And the comment section immediately lit up:
『No way! I can see it too!』
『Hey same! 4K Ultra-HD for me!』
『Time to flex my Ultra-Member subscription!』
『Ten-year annual subscriber right here!』
『We really are the best fandom ever—everyone has elite basketball IQ!』
No one was shocked anymore—they'd already used up their "WTFs" when the monster first appeared.
Now, it was just awesome.
The camera zoomed in on Tendou.
A calm smile on his face—and next to it, the monster, vicious and demonic, yet obedient like a loyal pet.
"Damn, coolness is really a lifelong aura."
Tendou secretly opened the comment feed, saw the reactions, then quickly closed it again.
Because as much as those nutjobs were annoying, they were the only ones who could give him Popularity Points.
Just like writing a webnovel—if readers complain or have feedback, you gotta listen. Otherwise, it's instant ramen for life—and no sausage.
Seihō quickly called a timeout.
If they didn't find a solution soon, they'd be facing collapse before the second quarter even ended.
And remember—the round-robin schedule was insanely tight.
In the original, Seirin played two games in one day—one in the morning, another that afternoon.
And then got eliminated...
This schedule was brutal. Like, "are these even human?" levels of exploitation.
But the organizers had no choice. Renting arenas wasn't cheap, and tickets were free, so they needed to wrap things up fast.
That left the coaches scrambling, trying to make magic happen within the rules.
Still, Seihō's coach now had to ask himself—
"If we burn all our stamina just to win this nearly hopeless match, is it worth it?"
They still had two more games to play.
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