Right now, it felt like the entire gymnasium had been put on mute—dead silent.
Every pair of eyes was locked onto Aoi Kunisaku on the court.
Their faces were full of disbelief, like they'd been hit with a freeze spell. Everyone was still trapped in the shock of Aoi's jaw-dropping move.
The players from Ryonan and Kainan were no different. Their mouths hung wide open, stunned and awestruck.
Aida Hikoichi was the most dramatic. His eyes were bulging out of his head. He rubbed them hard and muttered to himself, voice full of disbelief. "My god! How is that even physically possible?"
Sendoh Akira looked at Aoi on the court, admiration in his eyes. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "That guy still loves to go wild."
Koshino Hiroaki couldn't help but speak up too, a mix of amazement and respect in his voice. "He actually used Fujima like a shield… can't believe he thought of that."
…
Maki Shinichi frowned, his eyes never leaving Aoi. He couldn't help but murmur, "I never expected he could go this far."
Jin Soichiro sighed with genuine emotion. "Truly amazing."
Kiyota Nobunaga swallowed hard, Adam's apple bobbing. His face was filled with shock and disbelief. "Is this guy for real? He's that confident he won't mess up?"
Even the two teams' coaches were left speechless by Aoi's performance.
Taoka Moichi: "His agility's sharper than it was during practice games. Was he hiding his full strength this whole time?"
Takato Riki: "Where the hell did this kid come from?"
No one knew how long the silence lasted before the crowd suddenly exploded, the stands erupting into thunderous cheers and applause.
"Whoa! Did I really just see that? He went right through his legs!"
"How did he do it?! He even turned around and took the ball back—insane!"
"He's way too strong! That's Aoi Kunisaku?!"
"That dribble move is insane! So cool! So smooth!"
"Is basketball even supposed to look like that?!"
…
The Shohoku side of the crowd was like a powder keg going off, deafening cheers shaking the building.
And it wasn't just the regular fans. Even players from other high school teams stared at Aoi with wide eyes and admiration.
No surprise there. What Aoi had just pulled off was too amazing—so smooth, so slick, so dazzling no one could look away.
Bet anything that after this match, the whole town would be trying to copy his move.
On the court, the Shoyo players' faces were dark as storm clouds.
Fujima Kenji was both shocked and furious. He never imagined someone would use him as a human shield like that.
To him, it was nothing short of a massive humiliation.
But he was still Shoyo's captain and coach. He quickly pulled himself together and calmed his teammates. "It's fine. It's just one basket. We'll get it back."
Offense and defense flipped again.
Shoyo launched their next attack.
Still shaken by Aoi's last move, Shoyo's players handled the ball with extreme caution.
Fujima dribbled up to Shohoku's Three-Point Line. He locked eyes with Takano Shoichi. Takano nodded and stepped in, cutting Aoi off and blocking him tightly.
Fujima seized the moment. With a flick of the wrist, he zipped the ball to the opposite side of the court—away from Aoi's zone.
Hanagata Toru was already in place and caught the pass easily.
Akagi Takenori tensed up instantly, full defensive alert.
Hanagata stepped forward and drove toward Shohoku's basket.
Akagi chased hard, but after just two steps—pain.
Something slammed into him.
He looked up and realized Hasegawa Kazushi had slipped in and blocked him.
"Damn, a screen," Akagi cursed in his head.
Hanagata took advantage of the opening, leapt up high, and fired off a shot.
No one stood in front of him now. He was sure this would score.
But just as the ball left his fingers, a red streak slashed across from the side like lightning—it was Aoi Kunisaku.
He'd pushed his speed to the absolute limit. He soared, arms stretched as far as they could go.
The sudden shock made Hanagata flinch. He could only watch as Aoi's fingers scraped the ball mid-air.
Fujima saw it all too. His eyes widened. His whole face screamed disbelief. "How… how is this possible?"
He'd purposely placed Aoi on the opposite half of the court—how could he have made it back so fast?
This made no sense.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Hanagata landed, barely steady, and shouted, "Rebound!"
Clang—
The ball bounced off the rim and shot upward.
In a flash, players from both teams swarmed beneath Shohoku's basket like sharks smelling blood. Everyone threw themselves into position, scrambling to grab the Rebound.
"Ah... watch me!"
Just as things reached a critical point, a fierce shout suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned toward the voice. A flash of bright red hair came into view—it was Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Right now, he looked like a beast that had locked onto its prey. His eyes were wide open, burning with fire. His arms stretched to the limit. Surrounded by towering players, all trying to steal the ball, he still managed to grab the Rebound and pull it tightly into his chest.
The moment his feet hit the ground, Sakuragi hugged the ball with both arms and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'm the Rebound King, Sakuragi Hanamichi!"
Whoosh—
A gust of wind rushed past the Shohoku players, wrapped in a streak of blazing red. It shot across the court like lightning.
Fujima Kenji froze for a second. Then panic hit, and he shouted, "Damn! Get back on defense!"
The Shoyo players snapped out of it like waking from a dream. They turned around in a panic and bolted for their own half.
But when they looked ahead, dread filled their hearts.
Somehow, a figure wearing a number 9 Shohoku jersey was already ahead of them. Aoi Kunisaku.
So fast.
In the blink of an eye, Aoi had already dashed across half the court like a bolt of red lightning.
Sakuragi had originally been planning to charge down the court himself and finish with a flashy Layup. But Akagi Takenori was yelling frantically beside him, urging him to pass the ball.
With a reluctant frown, Sakuragi pouted and tossed the ball forcefully toward Aoi.
That long pass made every Shoyo player's heart clench.
They were already sprinting full speed to get back, but they'd hesitated at the start. Now, no matter how hard they pushed, they could only watch helplessly as Aoi's figure grew smaller and smaller in the distance.
One step late. Every step late.
They just couldn't catch up to Aoi Kunisaku.
Aoi raced ahead. The basket was wide open. He leapt into the air, body fully extended. With all his strength, he slammed the ball down in a powerful one-handed Slam Dunk.
Bang!
The ball crashed through the Net cleanly. Shohoku scored again.
Shohoku 4 to 24 Shoyo.
"Damn it…" Fujima clenched his fists, blaming himself. Why didn't I react faster?
In an instant, offense and defense switched again. Shoyo surged forward like a tidal wave.
Just as Aoi was about to make a move, he noticed a flicker in the corner of his eye. Someone was suddenly at his side.
He looked closer—it was Takano Shoichi.
Aoi smirked with a bit of a taunt in his voice. "You think that's enough to stop me?"
Takano's face hardened. He forced himself to answer, "I never said I could stop you alone."
As soon as he said that, another figure appeared on Aoi's other side. It was Nagano Mitsuru. Clearly, they were going for a Double Team.
"A Double Team, huh? Tch…" Aoi scoffed. His face was full of disdain. "That trick won't work on me."
Just as he spoke, he made a sudden move, aiming for the small gap between the two defenders to escape.
But—hm?
Aoi's motion halted. His eyes narrowed. Another figure had blocked his path.
It was Hasegawa Kazushi.
Damn. A full-on Triple Team.
The crowd in the stands exploded. Everyone gasped.
Shoyo had pulled out a Triple Team? No one saw that coming.
Taoka Moichi nodded slightly, approving. "Using a Triple Team to widen the lead. That's the best move right now."
Takato Riki watched the court with intense focus, calculating. "They're pushing all the risk onto the rest of Shohoku. Not a bad idea, but the problem is…"
Maki Shinichi was analyzing too. "If they really manage to shut Aoi down, then fine. But if they can't…"
Sendoh Akira saw right through the plan. "Looks like Fujima and Hanagata are planning to go two-on-four."
"Two-on-four? What does that mean?" Aida Hikoichi blinked, confused.
Koshino Hiroaki quickly explained, "It means Shoyo has three guys smothering Aoi. So Fujima and Hanagata are taking on Shohoku's other four players."
"Wha? Are they serious?" Aida's eyes went wide. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Then Taoka Moichi chimed in. "There's only one reason Shoyo would go this far. They think Aoi Kunisaku is the bigger threat. Fujima and Hanagata must be confident they can handle the rest of Shohoku on their own. Let's see how it plays out."
The match's tempo suddenly twisted into something strange.
Fujima and Hanagata squared off against Akagi Takenori, Rukawa Kaede, Sakuragi Hanamichi, and Mitsui Hisashi.
While Aoi Kunisaku was stuck inside a Triple Team from Takano Shoichi, Nagano Mitsuru, and Hasegawa Kazushi.
In that moment, the game entered a whole new kind of balance.