Boom—
In that instant, the entire gym exploded like a massive bomb had gone off.
Everyone froze like they'd been hit by a spell. Their eyes were locked onto the court, faces filled with shock, as if they were witnessing a fairy tale come to life.
They rubbed their eyes hard, but still couldn't believe what they'd just seen. It felt like some absurd dream.
Faces flushed red, bodies trembling from excitement, the audience was at peak frenzy.
"Oh my god! What… what was that?!"
"Did that ball actually go in just now?"
"I've never seen a shot like that before!"
"Was that even a shot? Are we sure that wasn't a circus stunt?"
"Holy crap! From behind the backboard—how did he even pull that off?!"
"Did you notice he was facing away from the basket when he shot?"
...
The crowd erupted like a barrel of fireworks, going completely wild.
That shot—so flashy and one of a kind—not only had they never seen it live, they couldn't even imagine it in a dream.
The gym shook with thunderous cheers and screams. Everyone lost their minds over that impossible moment.
Players from other schools stood frozen like statues.
Their jaws dropped. Eyes bulged like they might burst. Every face screamed disbelief, like they'd just seen a ghost.
Taoka Moichi from Ryonan and Takato Riki from Kainan didn't even look human anymore. "Shocked" didn't begin to cover their expressions.
Their mouths hung open like you could shove an egg in there. Their eyes looked ready to pop out of their heads. Aoi Kunisaku's miraculous shot had left them both completely speechless, their faces twisted in an almost comical way.
In the middle of this chaos, Sendoh Akira finally came back to his senses and mumbled, "That guy… really scared me this time."
Aida Hikoichi pointed a trembling finger toward the court, mouth opening and closing wordlessly. He couldn't get a single syllable out. His throat felt blocked, only able to make strange, useless noises.
Koshino Hiroaki kept shaking his head, dumbstruck. "This has gotta be a joke… this is way too insane."
Uozumi Jun looked more serious than ever.
His brow furrowed tight. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out how that shot went in.
A backward, behind-the-backboard shot—it broke everything he thought he knew about basketball.
You couldn't even make this stuff up.
Over on Kainan's side...
Kiyota Nobunaga jumped to his feet. His eyes bulged like cannonballs, full of disbelief and raw shock. "What the hell was that?! How can anyone shoot like that?! Is he some kinda god?!"
Maki Shinichi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but the storm inside wouldn't settle.
This Aoi Kunisaku... he had already gone beyond imagination.
That shot just now—Maki couldn't even begin to think how to guard against it.
If Aoi could score like that from now on, then what's the point of defense? There'd be no way to stop him.
Warning bells blared in his mind. That was the level of threat Aoi Kunisaku now posed.
On the court...
The Shoyo players were frozen stiff.
Their eyes were empty. They stared blankly at Aoi, who stood outside the baseline, like their souls had been sucked out.
It all happened too fast, too unreal—like a nightmare you don't want to believe, but have to accept.
Fujima Kenji was still sitting on the floor, his eyes fixed in a daze on Aoi's back.
Whatever joy he'd felt from their earlier score had long vanished. Now there was only despair, pure and overwhelming, and the bitter taste of helplessness.
He'd never imagined he could look so pathetic, feel so powerless, in a game.
"Can we really beat this monster?" The thought pierced his chest like a needle.
But he clenched his teeth and screamed in his heart. "No! No way! I won't give up! The game's not over! Shoyo still has a chance!"
...
Shohoku bench.
The whole team sat frozen, eyes locked onto the court, completely stunned by Aoi's mind-blowing performance.
Even Coach Anzai, always calm and seasoned, had unknowingly stood up from his seat, eyes filled with awe.
"Someone pinch me. Did I just hallucinate?" Kogure Kiminobu mumbled in a daze. His voice trembled like he still couldn't believe what he saw.
Yasuda Yasuharu shook his head, trying to snap himself out of it. "That was... that was insane."
Miyagi Ryota's jaw was still hanging open. Aoi's unreal shot had completely blown his mind.
That wasn't a shot. He was facing away from the rim—he threw it from behind the backboard! It was insane.
And that wild, dizzying dribbling from earlier? Everyone was left speechless.
Ayako finally snapped out of it. Her excitement overflowed. "That was insane! He actually made that from that angle!"
But then, a thought hit her. Her brows furrowed in concern. "Wait... is a shot like that even legal under the rules?"
Coach Anzai's eyes never left the court as he calmly explained, "Aoi Kunisaku didn't step on the line before the release. By the rules, that basket counts."
Shimizu Kanon's eyes sparkled as she stared at Aoi Kunisaku lighting up the court. Deep down, she thought, He finally used that move.
Ayako's eyes lit up like she suddenly remembered something. "Kanon, that dribble and shot Aoi just did—was that what you told me about before?"
Shimizu Kanon nodded with pride. "Yeah. That's Saku-chan's unique style—Super High-Speed Dribble paired with Formless Shot. Once he goes full out with it, stopping his offense is nearly impossible."
"You're saying… that shot wasn't a fluke?" Ayako's eyes widened in shock.
Shimizu Kanon nodded again. "Not at all. That shot was just one of the forms his style can take."
Hiss...
Everyone on Shohoku's bench sucked in a cold breath. Their understanding of Aoi Kunisaku's skill had just been shattered and rebuilt.
Up in the stands, Akagi Haruko's dreamy eyes had already moved away from Rukawa Kaede. Now, they were glued to Aoi Kunisaku.
Her gaze was filled with awe and admiration, as if she were under a spell.
Next to her, Matsui rolled his eyes and poked her with his finger. "Hey, that Aoi Kunisaku already has a girlfriend."
Fujii chimed in right after. "Yeah, don't get any ideas!"
But Akagi Haruko didn't hear a word they said. Her mind was totally lost in Aoi's breathtaking plays. It was like the rest of the world had vanished, and only he existed on the court.
The game resumed.
Shoyo came out strong on offense.
But after Aoi Kunisaku's miracle shot, it was like a massive weight had dropped onto their hearts. No matter whether they were attacking or defending, the moment Aoi got close, fear surged through them.
Fujima Kenji noticed this mental shift immediately. He patiently encouraged his teammates, trying to lift their spirits. But it barely made a dent.
Aoi Kunisaku had broken free.
He'd activated his unique mode and stopped playing by anyone else's rules.
His Super High-Speed Dribble raged like a storm. His Formless Shot struck like a ghost in the dark. He kept hammering Shoyo's basket.
And his speed had gone up another level—so fast he was like lightning. Impossible to track.
The Shoyo players, who already hated trying to guard his style, now found themselves completely crushed. They had no answer for him at all.
In the paint, even while facing a two-man defense, Aoi didn't hesitate. He fired the ball with such speed they couldn't even react.
Near the free-throw line, he casually pulled off a gravity-defying lean back. The range and precision of his shots left Shoyo helpless.
One play saw Aoi drive right through Hanagata Toru, twisting into a sideways layup that not only scored but also drew a foul—an and-one.
He was like an unstoppable virus, tearing through Shoyo's defense and breaking down their rim over and over again.
As time went on, the score surged like a wild horse.
40 to 37.
48 to 39.
55 to 43.
62 to 46.
...
Shohoku pulled farther and farther ahead. The gap kept widening.
At that point, anyone could see it—Shoyo was done for.
Even so, Shoyo's players didn't quit. They clenched their teeth and kept searching for scoring chances. They showed real fight.
Watching Shoyo's collapse, Maki Shinichi felt a twinge of sorrow. So this is what it's like when a giant falls...
The once-mighty second-place team in Kanagawa—Shoyo—was now getting crushed.
The Kainan players were dead silent, faces tense.
The Ryonan players didn't say a word.
So many other high school teams had shown up to watch. And now they were all quiet too.
They had just witnessed the end of an era.
The powerful Shoyo was crumbling under Shohoku's attack.
And at the same time, they were witnessing the start of something new.
Shohoku had shown overwhelming strength and limitless potential.
"Shoyo… Shoyo… Shoyo…"
Shoyo's cheer squad was still giving it their all, shouting their hearts out.
But even their cheers carried a tinge of sadness now. It sounded more like comfort than support.
Tweet—
A sharp whistle rang out like a hammer. It signaled the end of the match.
In the end, Shohoku defeated Shoyo 144 to 71, and advanced to the Final Four.
At that moment, Shoyo's players couldn't hold it in anymore. Their tears flowed freely.
For Fujima Kenji and Hanagata Toru, this whistle marked the end of their summer.
The teams from Kainan and Ryonan stood slowly. They took one long look at Shohoku celebrating.
Then they left in silence.
They still had matches ahead of them.
But now, each of them felt a heavy weight pressing on their hearts.
That weight had a name: Aoi Kunisaku.