"We need to tweak our strategy. If this keeps up, we're asking for trouble."
Kota wiped the sweat off his face with a towel and looked over.
"Hey, genius—how's your condition?"
"I'm fine" Kise nodded confidently. For him, it felt like the real game hadn't even started yet.
Kota knew that with Kise's abilities, this level of intensity was nothing. He was just checking in as a formality.
"We'll have to go all out now. If we keep letting them play this comfortably, something bad's bound to happen."
"Our offense is solid, the real problem's the defense…" Kota paused, a bit frustrated.
With his Weakest Link and Death Bind talents, any normal opponent caught by Kota's defense would basically be shut down. But on Seirin's side, the lowest scorer was — surprise — Kuroko, sitting at just 4 points. Izuki wasn't scoring much either, but he still had 6 points.
Meaning Kota's one-on-one lockdown defense wasn't getting much mileage. Kuroko was just too good at vanishing — Kota couldn't catch him!
No choice then.
"Kise…"
Kise looked up and was met with Kota's "sultry" gaze. He shivered.
"Alright, alright! I get it. Defense is on me, okay?"
"Seriously though… since when does the ace get stuck doing the dirty work for the team?" Kise grumbled.
Satisfied, Kota totally ignored the complaint and turned to instruct Kasamatsu and the others on their positioning.
Meanwhile, on Seirin's bench—
Riko was giving her players a pep talk. Coaches were all the same when it came down to it.
Kagami gulped down water like he was dying of thirst, eyes burning with fighting spirit. Next to him, Kuroko sipped quietly, the polar opposite, but somehow they made a weirdly balanced duo.
A sharp whistle blew. Kaijo's timeout was over.
"Let's go, Kagami-kun."
"Yeah!"
Back from timeout—Kaijo's ball.
Kota dribbled lazily past half court, looking as unbothered as ever. His relaxed pace helped ease the tension in Kaijo's players.
Seirin's defense was steady as always, their 2-3 zone ready to block Kota and Kise's drives into the paint. But the tradeoff? The perimeter defense was thinner.
Kota raised his hand and tapped his temple with three fingers — the signal for their three-point play. As if receiving a coded message, Kaijo players immediately started repositioning.
"Don't panic! Stick to your man!" Hyuga shouted, trailing Kasamatsu.
Seirin's defense was disciplined. Even though Kaijo ran this play like clockwork, they didn't get an easy opening. But things are never that simple.
Kise and Kasamatsu both rotated to the wings, positioning themselves at the 45-degree angles beyond the arc. Now, Kaijo's top three-point shooters were all in high positions.
Kota glanced at Izuki in front of him. He could've gone for a one-on-one, but this wasn't about showing off.
He knew the importance of teamwork. If he kept forcing solo plays, they'd just be another selfish team like Too Academy.
After quickly sizing up the court, Kota passed to Kise on the left.
Izuki and Kagami immediately moved in to trap him, but Kise swiftly passed it back. Kota caught it at the top of the arc, but Izuki kept coming, now with Hyuga helping to trap him.
Before they could close in, Kota swung it to the opposite side—Kasamatsu.
This was the weakness of a 2-3 zone: while it allowed multiple traps in quick succession, it also left you vulnerable if the opponent's shooters could fire fast enough.
Kasamatsu had an open look. Kiyoshi frowned — he had the footspeed to contest it, but if he stepped out, Seirin's paint would be left wide open.
"No choice… I'll gamble that he misses"
Kasamatsu eyed the defense, saw no one coming, and confidently pulled up from three—nothing but net.
When calm and composed, Kasamatsu's three-point shooting was every bit as sharp as Kota and Kise's, aside from range and release speed.
The shot fired up the crowd again. The nickname "Kaijo's Trident" echoed throughout the arena.
In the stands, the scout watched with mild amusement.
"Seriously? It's just a well-run three-point play—not that flashy. Why are they cheering like this? Not even I get this kind of love from the crowd."
Annoyed, he clenched his fist and jotted something in his notebook under Kota's profile:
"Loves the spotlight. Vain."
Feeling oddly satisfied, he snapped the notebook shut and continued watching.
Back on court, Seirin wasn't rattled despite the basket. They never intended to completely shut Kaijo down—realistically, who could stop a team with two Generation of Miracles level players? Better to focus on their own offense.
Their possession. Izuki brought the ball past half court and immediately noticed Kaijo's defense had changed.
Kobori, who'd been play-wrestling with Kiyoshi in the post, had rotated to the corner. In his place, Kaijo's ace—Kise.
A golden aura flared around Kise, a flash of violet glinting in his eyes — Perfect Copy: Murasakibara.
Kota, meanwhile, switched to guard Hyuga.
Seirin's new offensive rhythm had shifted—Hyuga and Kiyoshi were now the primary scorers, not Kagami.
Kaijo's intentions were clear: If you can break through this defense, then by all means—try.
Izuki stayed at the top of the arc, feeling the pressure. Eventually, he lobbed the ball inside to Kiyoshi— his height matchup against Kise seemed safer.
Kiyoshi caught the pass with one hand, tried to back Kise down — and couldn't move him an inch!
Stunned, Kiyoshi made a quick decision: he lobbed the ball high off the backboard. Thanks to his court vision, he'd spotted—
"Kagami!"
Still in the Zone, Kagami had been quietly lurking along the baseline. When he saw Kiyoshi in trouble, he burst forward.
Kise's brow furrowed. With Murasakibara's defensive instincts copied, he wasn't about to let Kagami score easily.
He pivoted hard and leapt up, a resolute look on his face — I'm stopping this one!
But Kagami wasn't holding back either. In midair, seeing Kise before him, he gritted his teeth and slammed the ball down.
The dunk missed — but worse, Kise fouled!
45-33. One minute left in the second quarter—and that was Kise's third foul.