"Nice little trick you pulled there."
Kota walked up to Kagami and Kuroko, smiling sarcastically without an ounce of sincerity.
Kagami frowned slightly but said nothing. Since Kise picked up his fourth foul, Seirin had clearly been using Kuroko's low presence to bait him into fouling. It was a solid countermeasure by Seirin.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not here to start trouble. I'm just a little annoyed. Drawing fouls is part of the game."
Kota scrunched his nose. As someone skilled at baiting fouls himself, he didn't look down on such "tricks". In fact, had he been in Seirin's shoes, he would've made the same call.
"We appreciate the game" Kagami replied, realizing Kota had no ill intent and nodding after a brief pause.
After Kise fouled out, Kaijo subbed in their backup small forward — Shoji.
He had solid fundamentals, decent athleticism, and a reliable mid-range jumper. Before Kise joined, Shoji was Kaijo's starting SF and a main contributor to last year's team. Now a third-year, he was experienced if a bit anxious.
Kota gave him a brief greeting. They hadn't really shared court time in official games, but they'd practiced together. There was at least some chemistry between them.
Shoji, though, was nervous as hell.
"Can I really handle the opponent that even Kise couldn't shut down? If I screw up, Kaijo fans might straight-up murder me after this match…"
And it wasn't just Shoji. Even Kasamatsu and the others looked grim. On the bench, Takeuchi had his eyes locked onto the young referee, as if trying to burn his face into memory. If not for that double-foul call, Seirin wouldn't have had the chance to force Kise out!
Kise, on the other hand, was oddly chill about it. It wasn't like Kaijo was losing just because he was benched — they still had the lead. More importantly, they had Kota on the court. He trusted his vice-captain completely.
Thus, Kaijo's bench had a comically weird atmosphere — on the left, Takeuchi looked like they'd already lost the match, while on the right, Kise was casually humming a tune like this was a picnic. The contrast was surreal.
On the court, Kota noticed the mood and clapped his hands to draw attention.
"Why the long faces? Relax! Smile a little, will ya?"
He beamed, throwing on an exaggerated, overly cheerful grin.
Kasamatsu couldn't take it anymore and walked over to give Kota a karate chop to the side. He'd done this so many times, it was practically their team ritual.
"You sure seem relaxed. You'd better have a plan!"
His words made everyone glance at Kota with hopeful eyes. Without Kise, he was the only one left who could control the game.
Kota scratched his nose, a bit unsure.
"Well… I might have a plan. But you guys will have to work hard too."
Us… work hard??
"Here's the deal..."
—
Seirin's Offensive Possession
After the brief interlude over Kise fouling out, Joirin resumed their offense.
As soon as Izuki got the ball, he immediately passed it to Kagami. With Kise out, the strongest player left on the floor was clearly Kagami.
And Kagami didn't waste time—he drove hard into Kaijo's paint. With time running low, he had to close the gap quickly and secure the win!
Kota furrowed his brow but didn't step up to defend. He needed to conserve his energy for a more critical moment.
Seeing Kota hesitate, the newly subbed-in Shoji had no choice but to step up, despite the obvious mismatch. To be fair, Shoji's defense wasn't bad. He had been Kaijo's starting small forward for a reason.
But against Kagami? Average defense didn't cut it.
Kagami didn't even need any fancy moves. With sheer physical power, he bulldozed through Shoji, took it into the paint, and banked in a smooth hook shot—two more points.
The crowd roared again. The momentum was clearly shifting toward Seirin.
"Don't worry about it."
Kota walked over and gave Shoji a light pat on the butt.
"Come on, man. Solo-guarding Kagami is like trying to stop a freight train with a traffic cone."
—
Kaijo's Possession
Kota casually dribbled past half-court.Seirin was desperate to catch up, but Kaijo just needed to slow the pace and protect the lead they'd built while Kise was still in.
And a slow game? That was Kota's jam.
Besides... he needed to run the clock just a bit more.
Seirin's last play took only eight seconds.
Kota glanced at the scoreboard. 3:19 remaining.
Izuki stood beyond the arc, watching Kota carefully. Even though he knew Kota would likely stall, he couldn't afford to let his guard down.
As the clock ticked past the three-minute mark, Kota's eyes sharpened.
Zone.
Fourth Quarter King
Thanks to Kise's earlier offensive rampage, Kota had just enough stamina to go all out again. But this time… he wasn't going to solo.
At the same time, Shoji moved up to set a pick for Kasamatsu. The captain read it instantly and took the screen, creating a clean shot window.
The Right Choice
A mechanical voice echoed in Kota's head as he whipped a pass over to Kasamatsu without hesitation.
That was the plan Kota had mentioned earlier—he'd become the passer while the rest of the team handled the scoring. He even timed it precisely so that the offense began the moment the clock dipped under 3 minutes. The first shot option? None other than the reliable Kasamatsu.
Izuki's expression changed. He hadn't expected Kota to pass. Seirin's entire defensive structure was subtly skewed to handle Kota one-on-one.
Kasamatsu was wide open—only one defender could stop him now: Kiyoshi.
Kiyoshi had been watching Shoji creep up and instantly recognized the danger. The moment he saw Kasamatsu take the screen instead of Kota, he bolted to the perimeter for help defense. As a center, Kiyoshi was ridiculously fast and reached Kasamatsu just in time.
A towering hand came up to block Kasamatsu's view—but Kasamatsu wasn't fazed. He faked a shot with such perfect execution that Kiyoshi took the bait and flew by.
Two seconds left on the shot clock.
Kasamatsu immediately drove past him, stopped just inside the free throw line, and launched a high arcing floater—splash!
At the same moment, the referee's whistle blew.
Shot clock violation...?
Takeuchi stood up at once, glaring at the scoring table. If the ref dared call it off, he looked ready to storm the court and throw hands.
Given the intensity of the match, every point mattered. And possibly because of Takeuchi's killer glare, the ref hesitated… and went to review the tape.
The footage showed the ball leaving Kasamatsu's hand just before the clock hit zero. It counted!
BEEP—
Two points, Kaijo
The stadium went silent for a heartbeat, then exploded in cheers. Kasamatsu's clutch bucket pushed the lead back to seven — 96 to 89 with just over two minutes remaining.
"Nice shot, Senpai!!"
On the bench, Kise cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled in a teasing, cheerful voice.
Even in this high-pressure situation, Kise looked completely relaxed. He was off the court, yet more composed than his teammates. Because this Kaijo wasn't just his team anymore.
Back on court, Kasamatsu waved dismissively at the praise but couldn't help glancing toward Kota.
"That pass... made everything feel so smooth. Was it him?"
He wasn't wrong. That was Kota's old — yet newly upgraded — talent: The Right Choice.
In the final 3 minutes of the last quarter, each pass you make slightly buffs your teammates.
Kota had tried it during the interhigh qualifiers, but it hadn't worked that well. His teammates didn't notice any difference, so he wrote it off as a minor passive.
But after unlocking Fourth Quarter King and Zone, he had a bold new theory.
Zone boosted his performance. Fourth Quarter King further enhanced it in the fourth quarter. Combine both with The Right Choice and… what do you get?
Answer: Fourth-Quarter Akashi. (Well, offensively anyway. His defense was still trash-tier.)
"Whatever. As long as we outscore them, we win."
Kota watched as Kagami scored again, this time muscling through both Shoji and Kobori. His expression stayed calm, though he was definitely feeling the pressure inside.
But a point guard is the team's brain. No matter what, the body had to believe it was in control. Kota couldn't afford to show any signs of panic.
He wasn't wrong either. Basketball's core principle is simple: outscore your opponent. They could drop 500 points, but if you drop 501 — you still win.
Kota's words brought everyone back to focus. The Kaijo players, who were starting to lose composure, settled down again.
96:91. Two and a half minutes to go. Five-point lead.
Kaijo's next possession.
Kota once again dribbled slowly, milking the clock while Izuki looked like he wanted to leap across the court and steal the ball with his teeth.
With Kuroko off the floor, Kota could pass freely without worrying about his "vanishing drive."
After a few clean passes, the final shot opportunity fell to Kobori. Catching the ball from Kota, he felt a sudden surge of energy—like his vertical leap had increased!
The fired-up power forward charged at the rim. Rising up high, ball in both hands, he went for a monster poster dunk!
But Kiyoshi didn't jump. Instead, he sprinted back to Kaijo's half of the court.
Kota's eyes widened. There was only one reason for that move.
From the corner, a red blur flew in.
BOOM!
A thunderous block! Kagami came flying in for a devastating chase-down, swatting Kobori into the hardwood and sending him skidding.
On the bench, Kise winced.
"Good luck, Kota… This one's all yours now."