Due to Kota's "misplaced" pass, possession returned to Fukuda Sogo. Unsurprisingly, Haizaki once again intercepted a teammate's pass and ignored any protests.
Just as Kise moved in to press, he felt a pat on his backside.
"Let me guard him."
Kota stepped up, switching with Kise.
It wasn't just to keep Kise safe—it was time to teach Haizaki a lesson.
Even though Target the Weakest Link didn't work on Haizaki, Kota still had Death Bind, and that alone made him Kaijo's second-best perimeter defender — right behind Perfect Copy-mode Kise.
Seeing Kota switch onto him, Haizaki lit up. He'd been struggling to get around Kise, and now someone else had stepped in to "help" him out?
His mood immediately improved. His bruised face still bore the imprint of the basketball from earlier, making his cheerful grin unintentionally hilarious.
"Look at you... grinning like an idiot."
Kota smiled too.
The two stood at the top of the key, grinning at each other—faces full of mockery.
Suddenly, Haizaki made his move—a sharp dribble and a drop-step crossover.
Without the Weakest Link bonus, and with Kota's added weight, he was a step behind. Still, Kota wasn't fazed. Haizaki wasn't Aomine. He stayed close, waiting for an opening.
Haizaki drove into the paint, leapt to shoot—but Kobori rotated in and stalled him. Haizaki pulled back to reset the rhythm, only to be trapped by Kota on the weak side!
"What?! He's already here??"
No time to react.
Haizaki instinctively tried to protect the ball.
But Kota wasn't about to be polite.
He lunged in and ripped the ball clean out of Haizaki's grasp. After three months of power training under Araki's brutal regimen, Kota's physical strength had reached a pro-level guard's average—and he was only sixteen.
Haizaki, who spent more time clubbing than training, didn't stand a chance.He barely resisted before the ball was stolen outright.
"I'm smiling because you suck. What are you smiling for?"
Kota left that jab in the air as he dashed down the court with Kasamatsu and Kise.Haizaki stood frozen, his face contorted in rage.
According to one stat nerd, Kaijo's fast-break scoring rate with those three on the run? Over 80%.
Kota threw a no-look pass to Kasamatsu, who quickly lobbed it toward the rim—
Kise took flight, slicing through the air like a human highlight reel!
The arena erupted.
"Kaijo Trident!!"
No one knew who shouted it first, but the name echoed through the gym—
"KA-I-JO TRI-DENT!!""KA-I-JO TRI-DENT!!"
Kise laughed and waved at the crowd.
Kasamatsu awkwardly rubbed his nose, clearly embarrassed by the cringe-worthy nickname.
Kota, on the other hand, remained composed. He tucked one hand behind his back and gave the crowd a little spin and a bow like a gentleman.
"Too bad I wasn't the one who scored. No post-score cheer effect this time..."
Still, he didn't need to be perfect right now—Fukuda Sogo was cracking.
Under Kota's lead, Kaijo's offense flowed even smoother. And on top of that, Kota even isolated Haizaki several times, bullying him in the post.
Even as Haizaki's dirty plays increased, Kota's superior mass and refined footwork in the low post made it look easy.
"Sorry not sorry. Big butt privilege means I do what I want."
After draining a turnaround jumper in Haizaki's face, Kota backpedaled and made a finger-gun gesture at him.
The lead stretched to 19 points.
Two minutes remained in the third quarter.
80–61.
Kise hadn't even reactivated Perfect Copy — and Kaijo was running away with it.
Haizaki's expression grew darker.
"It's now or never… I have to do it…"
The score gap screamed at him. If he didn't act, it would be too late.
Then it happened.
During a rebound battle, Haizaki boxed out perfectly and secured the ball.
Kise had already read the trajectory, standing still under the rim. He was waiting—ready to press the moment Haizaki landed.
Haizaki glanced down.
His lips curled into a cruel smile. His eyes narrowed with murderous intent.
"Die, will you?!"
Mid-air, he twisted his body and slammed his elbow down toward Kise's temple.
Kise's eyes widened.
He never expected that.
No time to dodge—he barely turned his head to avoid a direct hit.
THUD.
Kise clutched his forehead and fell to the floor.
Haizaki, meanwhile, put on his best acting face—full of panic and fake concern. He tossed the ball aside, opened his hands to the ref—
But a shadow crashed into him like a freight train.
"You son of a bitch, I've had enough of your s!!"
Kota. He'd noticed something was wrong the moment Haizaki leapt.
He didn't expect an elbow, but seeing Kise drop—and remembering all those cheap fouls earlier —he snapped.
Using his weight advantage, he tackled Haizaki to the floor, straddled him, and started throwing punches.
Haizaki tried to fight back, but Kota had the high ground—literally and physically. After three months of strength training, Haizaki didn't stand a chance. All he could do was curl up and protect his head while Kota rained fists.
"This is basketball, not MMA, you elbow-throwing piece of shit!"
"And when you were guarding me — you pinched me, didn't you?!"
Kota screamed while pounding away.
Kaijo's bench originally moved to pull him off—but seeing Haizaki getting wrecked so decisively?
Yeah, no rush.
Better to check on Kise instead.
Kasamatsu helped Kise to the sideline.
Koboria and Hayakawa stood behind Kota, ready to block any retaliation.
Not that it was needed.
Fukuda Sogo's players and coach had no desire to save Haizaki.
If anything, they looked relieved.
Finally someone shut him up.
The crowd exploded.
This was better than a boxing match—every punch hit for real.
Cheers erupted:
"KO-TA! KO-TA! KO-TA!"
Aomine's eyes gleamed like a kid on Christmas.
"Damn, I should've brought popcorn."
Momoi covered her face with her hands—but peeked through her fingers.
She'd never seen a real fight before. (Aomine usually just ended things with one punch.)
Akashi, after a moment of surprise, smiled as well.
"Even I didn't expect Kota to move this fast… impressive."
The Seirin players were stunned.
Kagami especially—he stared at Kota pummeling Haizaki, chills creeping down his spine.
"If we face Kaijo later… I better be careful."
Even the usually composed Araki looked intrigued.
She watched Kota throw punch after punch, a curious glint in her eyes.
"So he had this side too, huh...?"
Eventually, the ref finally blew the whistle like a madman, sprinted over, and gave the first ejection of the Winter Cup.
Double ejection.
Haizaki's elbow was clearly intentional, and he already had a warning.
Kota looked down at the unconscious Haizaki—
And gave him one last kick for good measure.
Then he stood up, saluted the crowd like a champion, and walked toward the tunnel.
Even though ejected, he was still allowed to watch the rest from the player's area.
The crowd went wild.
Applause and chants roared through the gym.
The fans weren't stupid—Haizaki started it.
Kota simply finished it.
Haizaki, on the other hand, woke up only to realize he'd been ejected too.
Ishida, sighing, finally called over two teammates to carry him off like trash.
Surprisingly, after the fight, there was no tension between Kaijo and Fukuda Sogo.
On the contrary—without Haizaki's drama, Fukuda actually played much smoother.
They were a solid team without him.
But the score gap had already ballooned.
Even with Kise and Kota both out, it was too late.
Final score: 112–98.
Kaijo takes their first Winter Cup victory.