Back to the game.
Toyotama regrouped and launched another Offense.
Minami Tsuchiya brought the ball across Half-Court.
His eyes locked onto Aoi Kunisaku, flashing with a chilling glint.
This time, his approach was way more aggressive. His movements were bigger than before.
But Aoi Kunisaku didn't care at all.
Next second, Minami Tsuchiya lunged forward with a long stride, closing the gap between them.
He went into a Between-the-Legs Dribble to his left hand, then pivoted sideways. His elbow aimed right at Aoi's lower waist. He stomped off the ground, trying to break through.
At the same time, his elbow drove toward Aoi Kunisaku's lower side.
That angle, that precision—no way you could pull this off without years of practice.
Everything looked so smooth and natural.
Even the Referee on the sideline didn't catch anything. Totally in the dark.
You almost had to admit how slick Minami Tsuchiya's dirty play really was.
But there's no way Aoi Kunisaku would just let himself get hit.
He'd seen way dirtier tricks on the street courts. In those games, there were no rules. The players were shady, their tactics even worse than Toyotama's.
Just as Minami Tsuchiya's elbow was about to hit, Aoi spun sharply. He moved like a panther, dodging cleanly.
In the same motion, he slipped around Minami Tsuchiya's side. His arm flashed out like lightning, cleanly Stealing the ball.
Minami Tsuchiya was left frozen, still in place, totally stunned. Before he could react, Aoi had already pulled away by several steps.
Minami Tsuchiya stood stiff, face blank like a statue, slowly turning his head. That dumbfounded look still stuck on his face.
Aoi was already past Toyotama's Three-Point Line.
In the paint, Toyotama's Center Iwata Mitsuaki was bracing for impact. Yajima Kyohei came rushing over from the right to help.
These two had been trailing on the last play.
As soon as Minami Tsuchiya got picked, they sprinted back on Defense.
But they didn't expect Aoi to arrive so quickly. They barely set their feet before he was already there. No time to react.
Aoi gave them zero breathing room. He pulled a sudden stop, going from MaX speed to zero in a blink.
He jumped with the ball. The motion was smooth, tight, and clean.
Iwata Mitsuaki and Yajima Kyohei flinched for a split second. They didn't move in time.
By the time they realized, it was already too late to jump and Block.
They could only stand there and watch Aoi float in midair, aiming straight at the hoop, and take the shot.
Swish…
Ball through the Net.
Shohoku 10 to 0 Toyotama.
The gym exploded.
Everyone was stunned by Aoi's Step-Stop Jumper.
"Whoa! What was that? A Step-Stop Jumper? It looked different from what I've seen!"
"That was beautiful. Not a single wasted motion."
"How the hell did he pull that off? He just stopped like that at that speed?"
…
Thud…
Aoi Kunisaku landed and turned back to Defense without sparing a glance at the two frozen defenders.
Less than 3 minutes had passed since the game started.
The scoreboard read 17:57.
Which meant Shohoku had gone up 10 to 0 in just 2 minutes and 3 seconds.
2 minutes and 3 seconds—about 2 minutes.
Everyone was floored.
The other teams watching were wide-eyed, jaws dropped. Some even wondered if they'd read the score wrong.
They all knew what Toyotama was.
In national-level tournaments, Toyotama's reputation as a dirty team was infamous. They were thugs in jerseys.
To shut out a team like that and lead by 10?
That wasn't something a regular team could do.
All of a sudden, this low-key school—Shohoku—had everyone's attention. And their guard.
But the ones feeling the worst right now were Toyotama's players.
They never imagined this kind of result.
It was the complete opposite of what they'd planned.
They thought they'd dominate from the start, play dirty behind the Ref's back, force Shohoku's Players off the court, and walk away with the win.
Now it felt like Toyotama was the one getting steamrolled.
Everyone's eyes shifted to Aoi Kunisaku.
It was all because of him that they were getting wrecked like this.
If he weren't here…
If they could take him out…
Those kinds of dangerous thoughts quietly started forming in Toyotama's players' minds.
A plot targeting Aoi Kunisaku was beginning to take shape.
But for now, they had to stop the score from getting worse.
Toyotama still had possession.
This time, their Offense was especially cautious.
All eyes locked onto Aoi Kunisaku. They knew they had to avoid this troublesome opponent no matter what.
To them, as long as they weren't facing Aoi Kunisaku, the rest of Shohoku's players weren't much of a threat.
With that mindset, they brought the ball across Half-Court and got to Shohoku's Three-Point Line.
Yajima Kyohei had the ball. Facing Mitsui Hisashi's Defense, he suddenly jumped for a shot.
His form was a little weird. His body leaned forward on purpose.
Mitsui Hisashi saw it and his pupils shrank. This is bad, he thought.
He didn't have time to react before Yajima Kyohei's knee and elbow smashed into him.
Tweet—
The Referee blew the whistle.
At the same time—
Thud—
Mitsui Hisashi crashed to the floor. His face twisted in pain. He clutched his chest and stomach.
His chest took an elbow, and his stomach got kneed.
That one hit clearly hurt.
The Ref pointed at Yajima Kyohei and said sternly, "Toyotama number 7, Flagrant Foul. One warning. Two Free Throws."
"Tch…"
Yajima Kyohei spat lightly, but his face didn't show the slightest bit of regret.
He knew this was all part of his plan.
It was on purpose. The goal was to take Shohoku's players out, one by one.
Once Aoi Kunisaku was left alone, they'd have more ways to deal with him.
Shohoku's players quickly gathered around Mitsui Hisashi.
"Mitsui… are you okay?" Miyagi Ryota asked, worry all over his face.
The others looked equally concerned, eyes filled with unease.
Mitsui Hisashi gritted his teeth and pushed himself up from the floor. He took a moment to catch his breath, then forced a smile.
"Don't worry! I'm not dead yet."
Then he turned and glared at Yajima Kyohei. "You did that on purpose."
Yajima Kyohei spread his hands and put on an innocent look. "What are you talking about? I just bumped into you by accident."
The Shohoku players all glared at him angrily, but there wasn't much they could do right now.
This was a game, after all. They couldn't just throw punches.
"I'm fine," Mitsui Hisashi waved it off. His eyes were sharp. "Let's just be careful from here on out."
Off the court, Sakuragi Hanamichi was already fuming. He pointed at Yajima Kyohei and started yelling, "You did that on purpose, didn't you, you scumbag! Ref, toss this guy out already—!"
His yelling annoyed the Referee, who snapped back, "Shut up! Keep it up and I'll call a Technical Foul on you."
Smack—
Kogure Kiminobu walked up behind Sakuragi Hanamichi and slapped him down with a folded paper fan. "Quiet down."
Shimizu Kanon's face was calm, like she'd seen this coming.
She looked at Coach Anzai and said, "Coach Anzai, looks like they've started targeting us with dirty plays. This could lead to something serious. Better call a Timeout."
Anzai Mitsuyoshi thought it over, then nodded. "You're right."
But it was Free Throw time, and by rule, you can only call a Timeout after the shots.
Mitsui Hisashi stepped up for two Free Throws.
Whoosh—
Clang—
Maybe it was rust, maybe it was the pain—he bricked the first shot.
Then came the second.
Mitsui Hisashi took a deep breath, steadied himself, and shot.
Whoosh—
The ball drew a perfect arc through the air and dropped straight into the hoop.
Swish—
Nothing but net.
Shohoku 11 to 0 Toyotama.
Tweet—
The Referee's whistle blew.
Shohoku called a Timeout.