The match resumed on the court.
Shohoku and Kainan were once again locked in another round of fierce offense and defense.
Kainan followed Takato Riki's instructions to the letter, throwing their full effort into helping Jin Soichiro break Shohoku's perimeter defense from the outside.
Maki Shinichi dribbled the ball, weaving across half-court with sharp focus. His eyes scanned like lightning and locked instantly onto Jin Soichiro's position.
To give Jin Soichiro a better look for a shot, Maki Shinichi deliberately pulled Miyagi Ryota away from him.
At the same time—
Jin Soichiro kept moving around the court, trying to shake off Mitsui Hisashi, who was dogging him closely.
Meanwhile, Takasago Kazuma had already entered Shohoku's paint, subtly battling Akagi Takenori for positioning under the rim.
Everything went exactly as Takato Riki had planned—one step at a time, without a hitch.
Suddenly, Jin Soichiro broke free for an open look. He waved to Maki Shinichi, calling for the ball.
Maki Shinichi's eyes flickered slightly. Without hesitation, he swung his arm to pass the ball to Jin Soichiro.
But right at that crucial moment, a figure shot in like lightning and cut off the passing lane between him and Jin Soichiro.
The sudden block stunned both Maki Shinichi and Jin Soichiro. Their faces showed clear surprise.
Maki Shinichi stared at Miyagi Ryota, who had intercepted the pass, with a mix of confusion and suspicion.
Miyagi Ryota felt like he had already anticipated that Maki Shinichi would pass to Jin Soichiro and had positioned himself accordingly.
After a brief moment of shock, Maki Shinichi flicked his wrist smoothly and redirected the pass to the other side—to Kiyota Nobunaga.
With his skills, he could've forced the ball high to Jin Soichiro. But he didn't.
He didn't want Shohoku to think that passing to Jin Soichiro was the only viable option.
He wanted them to believe that even if Jin Soichiro's line was cut off, Kainan still had plenty of other ways to attack.
Under normal circumstances, Shohoku might have fallen for that bait.
Too bad for Kainan—Shimizu Kanon had already seen through their real goal with perfect clarity.
Kiyota Nobunaga caught the pass from Maki Shinichi, but immediately ran into fierce resistance from Rukawa Kaede.
Their eyes locked, both blazing with competitive fire.
The tension in the air was explosive.
Kiyota Nobunaga's heart was full of frustration. His gaze burned with anger, but he held back his impulse, remembering his coach's earlier warning. He tried several times to break free.
When he realized he just couldn't shake Rukawa Kaede, he reluctantly passed the ball away.
Rukawa Kaede didn't say anything when he saw Kiyota Nobunaga give up the ball.
Even though Shimizu Kanon had told him to provoke Kiyota Nobunaga at all costs, deep down he still felt a little uncomfortable with deliberately goading an opponent.
He preferred to win fair and square with his skills—not cheap tricks or trash talk.
On the other end of the court—
Muto Tadashi had caught Kiyota Nobunaga's pass and immediately started posting up against Sakuragi Hanamichi.
He kept ramming his body into Sakuragi Hanamichi.
"Hey! Redhead, where's your strength? You're the weakest one on your team, right?" Muto Tadashi talked trash while backing down, trying to fire him up.
Sakuragi Hanamichi's face turned red with anger. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "Damn bastard! Watch this! I'm a genius!"
"Oh? A genius?" Muto Tadashi gave him a mocking once-over, then scoffed. "A guy who gets knocked out every match dares call himself a genius? What a joke."
"You bastard!" Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes blazed. Steam might as well have been coming out of his head. He was seething and looked like he was ready to punch the guy out.
He clenched his jaw and lunged at Muto Tadashi with his body.
Muto Tadashi, still in the middle of posting up, was caught off guard. He stumbled backward several steps, nearly falling, and lost control of the ball as it rolled away.
Tweet—
The referee's sharp whistle pierced the court's tension.
He pointed directly at Sakuragi Hanamichi and called out loudly, "Shohoku number 10, charging foul."
Hearing the whistle, a wave of sighs rose from Shohoku's bench.
Kogure Kiminobu frowned and muttered, "What the heck? Shimizu-san did warn him before the match. How could he forget so fast?"
Ayako looked helpless as she shook her head and said, "That guy—once his temper flares, he loses all sense. Such a headache."
But Shimizu Kanon showed no sign of surprise. Her face was calm, like she had seen it coming all along—as if she knew Sakuragi Hanamichi would commit that foul.
She kept her gaze on Muto Tadashi, who had kept provoking Sakuragi. Her eyes didn't waver at all.
She knew what Kainan was trying to do. They wanted to provoke Sakuragi Hanamichi into committing a foul, to disrupt Shohoku's interior mobility.
But she wasn't in a rush. This was all just a prelude.
On the court.
Kainan launched another offensive against Shohoku.
The ball returned to Maki Shinichi's hands. His eyes were sharp as lightning, scanning the court in a flash.
Maki Shinichi repeated his usual trick, faking a pass again.
Miyagi Ryota was ready this time. Just like before, he quickly positioned himself between Maki and Jin Soichiro, completely cutting off the passing lane.
Seeing this, Maki's lips curled into a knowing smile.
"So that's it. Looks like you've been guarding against me passing to Jin this whole time. You figured out we were going for outside offense from the start, didn't you?"
On the surface, Miyagi kept his calm defensive stance. But inside, he was rattled.
'He figured it out? No way… I was just following normal defensive strategy. I didn't do anything special!'
'As expected of the Emperor Maki. He saw through it that fast,' Miyagi thought with awe.
With the passing lane blocked, Maki gave up on passing. He quickly changed direction. Using his explosive burst and agility, he broke through Miyagi's defense in an instant.
This time, he decided to go in himself.
Maki dribbled like lightning, breaking through into Shohoku's paint.
Miyagi chased after him closely, trying hard to stop him.
Akagi Takenori also had to shift his focus toward Maki charging inside.
For a moment, Shohoku's interior line was on full alert.
Maki was blazing fast. As soon as he entered the paint, he soared up in front of the free-throw line. Both hands raised the ball steadily. His eyes locked onto Shohoku's rim as he posed for a shot.
Akagi didn't hesitate. He leaped high, arms fully extended, aiming to block the shot.
Behind them, Miyagi—though tense—moved without panic.
Right in that instant, Maki's mouth curved in a smug smile.
Seeing that, Akagi's heart dropped. Something was wrong.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Maki abruptly changed his shot into a pass. He quickly flung the ball toward Jin Soichiro beyond the three-point line.
Seeing this, Miyagi tensed up again.
Actually, he had already anticipated that Maki might switch to a pass mid-air.
He had been guarding against that possibility the whole time.
As soon as Maki changed from a shot to a pass, Miyagi's eyes flashed. In his mind echoed Shimizu Kanon's instructions.
He gritted his teeth and swung his arm hard at Maki's hand.
Pa—
A loud, crisp smack echoed through the court.
Miyagi's palm slapped Maki's arm hard. The ball popped loose and rolled onto the floor.
Doo…
The referee immediately blew the whistle and pointed decisively. "Shohoku No. 7, hand-check foul!"
Hoo…
Miyagi exhaled deeply, then calmly raised his hand.
Maki looked at the ball rolling away, showing no visible change in expression. He seemed to take it as just an overzealous defensive slip.
Of course, everyone else in the gym thought so too. Just a regular foul.
But those in the know on Shohoku's side understood—it was a deliberate foul, part of Shimizu Kanon's plan.
Time kept ticking under the tense atmosphere.
The game seemed to be locked in a strange loop.
Maki grew more suspicious. He'd started noticing it clearly—every time he tried to set up Jin Soichiro for a play, Miyagi would cut in at just the right moment and mess up their coordination.
He had suspected this earlier. It had been confirmed a few times. But the targeting was way too obvious now.
Maki couldn't ignore it anymore.
He clearly realized Miyagi was specifically targeting his coordination with Jin from the outside.
Soon, the ball returned to Maki's hands again.
Relying on his skill, he once again shook off Miyagi's defense.
He dashed into Shohoku's interior line just like before.
But this time, he didn't pass. He directly went for a forced shot.
Despite Akagi's full effort to block him, Maki used a smooth pullback in mid-air and skillfully tossed the ball into the hoop.
Tap—
Maki landed steadily and turned to look at Miyagi behind him.
His face showed no joy from scoring. Instead, there was a heavier expression.
He was quietly surprised—Miyagi hadn't gone all out to stop him that time.
It was… strange.
Maki's sharp mind was already working through what it could mean.
From that play, he realized something—Miyagi Ryota wasn't guarding them all-around. He was locking down their outside game, but he didn't care much about inside attacks. He was letting Maki Shinichi do whatever he wanted in the paint.
In the next few possessions, Maki seemed to give up on passing to Jin Soichiro. He started going hard himself, driving to the rim again and again.
The tempo of the game almost reset to how it was at the very beginning, shifting into a different rhythm.
Takato Riki on the sideline also picked up on the shift. His brows furrowed little by little.
With all his coaching experience, he could already sense the cracks.
Shohoku seemed to have completely unraveled the strategy he had carefully laid out. Every offensive point he had planned was being quietly dismantled.
Takato knew this couldn't be just coincidence. Someone behind Shohoku had to be pulling the strings.
In his mind, that someone could only be Anzai Mitsuyoshi.
Takato glanced toward Shohoku's bench and saw Coach Anzai calmly sipping tea.
'Just as expected, Coach Anzai… The old are always sharper. You broke us down completely. But…'
His eyes shifted to another part of the court.
That was where Muto Tadashi was matched up with Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Right now, Sakuragi looked like he'd been completely provoked by Muto's words. His whole face was red with rage. He looked like he could forget the rules and start a full-on brawl any second.
The way he looked drew constant glances from the referee, who was keeping a close eye on him, worried he'd go too far.
Takato watched and finally felt a bit more at ease.
'As long as Sakuragi Hanamichi gets fouled out, Shohoku's interior will only have Akagi Takenori left. Then it'll be much easier to deal with.'
He could already picture Takasago Kazuma and Muto Tadashi teaming up to pressure Akagi inside.
In his scenario, once Sakuragi left the game, Shohoku would fall apart on defense. Even with a super rookie like Rukawa Kaede, they couldn't cover that loss.
After all, Maki Shinichi alone was enough to tie up Rukawa and keep him from helping anyone else.
That thought made Takato's mouth curl into a smug smile. He could already see Kainan turning the game around and taking the win.
On the court.
Muto's taunts continued.
"That guy Kiyota called you red-haired monkey, and he was totally right. You're just jumping around like a stupid monkey in front of me."
He kept throwing out sharp jabs with a mocking smile.
At the same time, he gave little bumps with his body—legal, but still provocative—pushing Sakuragi further.
It worked. Sakuragi's anger built up fast. His face turned crimson, eyes blazing, chest heaving. He looked seconds away from snapping.
Muto was thrilled. He figured Sakuragi was all rage and no patience. He'd already fouled once from losing his temper—he'd definitely lash out again.
If Sakuragi fouled again, maybe even got ejected, Shohoku's inside defense would be wrecked. That would give Kainan a big shot at winning.
But just as Muto was waiting for Sakuragi to explode, something unexpected happened.
Sakuragi's clenched fists slowly loosened.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. His eyes still burned with anger, but now there was a hint of clarity in them.
He remembered Shimizu Kanon's advice before the game. He remembered he couldn't throw the team off just because he lost his cool.
He grit his teeth and shoved down the fury, refocusing on defense instead.
Muto saw the shift and froze. His smile vanished. His eyes flickered with surprise.
He hadn't expected Sakuragi to hold himself back, especially not when he was that worked up.
On Shohoku's bench.
Shimizu Kanon watched everything play out. A faint, confident smile tugged at her lips.
It was like she'd predicted this would happen all along. Her eyes were calm, steady.
Back on the court.
After all Muto's taunts, Sakuragi didn't snap the way everyone expected.
Instead, he went cold. All the chaotic energy vanished from him. It was replaced with something sharp and deadly.
He stared at Muto with a fierce gaze and said in a low, firm voice, "You're saying all this just to throw me off and make me foul, right?"
Muto's expression shifted. There was a flash of panic in his eyes. But he quickly forced a blank face.
"What are you talking about? What foul?"
Sakuragi scoffed, "Tch, drop the act. I already saw through your little trick."
The next moment, Sakuragi's gaze turned razor sharp. A wave of intense pressure surged off him.
He was like a wild beast unleashing its power as he lunged toward the ball in Muto's hands.
Pa—
A loud, crisp sound cracked across the court.
Sakuragi had snatched the ball from Muto's hands before he could even react.
"What the—?!" Muto's pupils shrank. His face twisted with shock.
He hadn't expected Sakuragi to move that fast. It was too quick for him to even respond.
The other Kainan players were stunned too.
They all stared wide-eyed, faces filled with disbelief.
"Wait… that's… 'Wild Instinct'?" Kiyota Nobunaga stared at Sakuragi Hanamichi, jaw dropped and eyes full of shock.
He had always been jealous of the 'Wild Instinct' Maki Shinichi possessed. He desperately wanted that kind of raw power, but no matter how hard he tried, he could never awaken it.
Now, seeing Sakuragi awaken his own, he couldn't help but feel a tidal wave of envy and frustration.
'Dammit! Even that red-haired monkey awakened his Wild Instinct!'
His face twisted with bitterness. Jealousy and resentment poured out of him.
On Shohoku's bench—
Everyone was stunned speechless by Sakuragi's sudden burst of Wild Instinct.
"Unbelievable… I never thought that guy would awaken Wild Instinct too," Kogure Kiminobu said, eyes wide with excitement.
Ayako was just as shocked, her mouth slightly open. "He's always been so simple-minded… who knew he had something like that in him?"
Hohohoho…
Anzai Mitsuyoshi chuckled with satisfaction. His wrinkled face lit up with joy.
Shimizu Kanon, calm and composed, had a faint smile as she spoke gently, "Sakuragi-kun already had the potential to awaken Wild Instinct. Actually, he already awakened it once. He just hadn't used it properly until now."
Everyone on Shohoku's bench blinked, stunned. Their faces were full of doubt.
Sakuragi had already awakened it?
Ayako couldn't hold back. "Kanon, what do you mean? Are you saying Sakuragi awakened it before?"
Shimizu Kanon gave a small nod and said, "Do you remember? At the start of the school year, Sakuragi-kun had a match against Akagi-senpai."
They all started recalling it—back when the first-years had just enrolled.
Sakuragi and Akagi Takenori had a fierce one-on-one in the gym. It was a ten-shot game.
That match had stirred up a lot of buzz. It was all anyone talked about on campus for a while.
"You mean… he already…" Ayako looked shocked and uncertain.
Shimizu Kanon nodded again. "That's right. He awakened Wild Instinct back then."
"No way! That early?" Kogure felt a swirl of emotions—shock, envy, joy, and relief all mixed together.
He was happy the team had another Wild Instinct user.
That meant their chances at dominating the nationals had just gone up.
Bang…
Bang…
Bang…
On the court, the basketball thudded against the floor fast and heavy. Sakuragi Hanamichi dribbled with both hands, bolting toward Kainan's basket like a red lightning bolt.
His speed was insane. Everyone on Kainan was stunned.
Kiyota gritted his teeth and sprinted after him, face twisted in frustration and fury. He cursed out loud, "Damn it! Even a guy like you awakened Wild Instinct? That's so unfair!"
His heart was full of jealousy. He'd longed to awaken it himself, and now that Sakuragi had done it, it felt unbearable.
Muto Tadashi was drenched in cold sweat. His eyes showed panic. Watching Sakuragi blaze forward, he muttered helplessly, "No good. He's too fast… I can't catch him."
He was anxious but had no way to stop it.
As the Kainan players scrambled to react, a white blur shot across the court like a beam of light, flying toward Sakuragi at unimaginable speed.
Sakuragi broke into the paint clean. He didn't hesitate. He took a giant step and leapt, gripping the ball tight in both hands, throwing his full strength into a massive dunk.
He shouted boldly, "Here comes the Sakuragi Slam Dunk!" His voice oozed confidence and dominance.
But just as the ball was about to slam through the hoop, a figure flew in from behind and smacked it hard.
Smack!
The ball was blasted from Sakuragi's hands. It slammed against the backboard and bounced out.
"Aaahhh!" Sakuragi screamed, furious. "Damn it!"
His face was burning with rage and frustration. His fury surged higher.
When he landed, he spun around to see who had blocked him.
"You damn middle-aged old man!" he shouted without thinking.
The one who stopped him was none other than Maki Shinichi.
Right then, Maki's presence radiated something almost identical to Sakuragi's.
It was the same overwhelming aura—Wild Instinct.