"Hanamiya! Hanamiya-kun!? Please, stay with us! Hanamiya-kun!"
"Akihito Shigure's skills... are flawless…"
"I can't believe it…"
"One single move—he broke through and dropped two defenders!"
"He scored! Just like that, the first double-team defense line was crushed, and there's no stopping him from here on out. The lead ballooned past 50 points in the second half of the quarter!"
In the stands, the crowd erupted in shock as Akihito Shigure broke ankles and demolished defenses.
Meanwhile
Kirisaki Daiichi, now drowning in a nightmare during the second quarter, watched their game spiral out of control. Hanamiya Makoto, their point guard, was drenched in sweat, hounded relentlessly by both Akihito Shigure and Shuzo Nijimura.
Every formation, every trap, every defense they ran—completely torn apart by Teiko's twin stars.
Hanamiya had been waiting, searching for the perfect opening to strike. But Nijimura was far too experienced in reading such dirty tricks. There was no opportunity to exploit him.
And Akihito Shigure—though slightly less cunning than Nijimura when it came to these "subtleties" was faster and stronger.
Hanamiya couldn't act without alerting the referees, and so far, he'd been completely neutralized.
He hadn't managed to "take out" a single opponent.
Worse yet, Akihito and Nijimura's almost inhuman dominance had left Kirisaki in shambles.
What made it unbearable wasn't just losing—it was that nothing was going according to plan.
By now, in his script, at least one of them—Shigure or Nijimura, should've been dealt with already!
Instead, it was their own team that had suffered a brutal blow to the head and lost a key player to injury.
"Tch…"
"There's no way… we're winning this group match anymore, are we?"
"Sure, if we beat the other team, we can still get into the knockout round as second seed… but who cares about that now? I hate this…"
"So…"
"It doesn't matter if they find out."
There was no longer any need to hold back.
They'd pay. All of them.
High on frustration and resentment, Hanamiya threw himself into the next offensive play, shadowing Akihito Shigure with intent, his steps overlapping and entangling with the Teiko star's.
His eyes locked on Shigure's, burning with murderous rage. For a moment, a twisted grin flitted across his face.
Akihito paused, clearly noticing the shift, then gave a faint laugh and shook his head.
"Still not giving up? Well, don't say I didn't warn you…"
"Even with your dirty tricks, you're out of your league."
His mocking smile landed deeper than any insult. Hanamiya's eyes narrowed.
"Hmph…"
"You and Nijimura are strong, I admit it."
"But I wonder…"
"Are Fukaya Reiji and Shinji Kurokami just as tough?"
Shigure's expression darkened instantly.
Hanamiya caught it—and after being suppressed the entire game, he finally cracked a grin of his own. That flicker of superiority, even for a moment, gave him a sliver of satisfaction.
But truthfully, those words were just his usual bait.
His actions throughout the game had already made it clear—Hanamiya Makoto saw no value in targeting anyone but opponents like Akihito Shigure and Shuzo Nijimura. He thought everyone else beneath him.
Shigure took a breath, his voice lowering into something cold and sharp.
"If that's what you're thinking…"
"Then you're going to regret it."
Hanamiya chuckled.
He knew—neither Akihito nor Nijimura were the type to hold back out of morality. They wouldn't turn the other cheek. If they were crossed, they'd hit back—hard.
In fact…
All of Teiko's core players were like that.
And that's what made them valuable—interesting in a way the naïve idiots he'd crushed before could never be.
Just imagining what it'd look like to break them sent a rush of excitement through his veins.
Hanamiya: "…"
Now. Right now.
Take him out.
Not long after, the perfect opportunity came.
With only thirty seconds left in the half, Kirisaki Daiichi launched a wild shot—it clanged off the rim, a total brick.
Hanamiya's eyes gleamed. From the perimeter, he suddenly sped up and sliced into the paint, silently positioning himself behind Akihito.
It looked like he was chasing the rebound, but something was off—despite being deep in the paint, there was no contact, no physical clash, not even a jostle for space.
Hanamiya: "…"
No matter how fast you are—once you're airborne, you can't dodge!
And yet
Akihito had already prepared for this. He'd coordinated with Nijimura ahead of time, expecting Hanamiya might try something underhanded, not necessarily against him, but against someone on the court. Nijimura's sharp peripheral awareness gave him the edge to warn his teammate in time.
The moment Akihito caught Nijimura's glance, he sensed it:
Hanamiya was behind him. Slipping in, sneaky and silent.
A point guard barely 175 cm diving into the paint for a rebound against a taller, heavier guard?
Something was clearly up.
So
Akihito made his move first.
Forget the rebound.
Box out.
Skill:
Akagi's Textbook Box-Out!
Talent:
Shoulder Bash!
With a powerful spin, Akihito caught Hanamiya squarely in the trap of his widened stance. At the same time, his movement cut off the referee's line of sight.
And then
Bam! A powerful step-in, shoulder-first "Shoulder Bash" right into Hanamiya's leg!
It all happened too fast. By the time Hanamiya reacted, a stabbing pain burst from his knee, and he let out a strangled cry.
Akihito leapt and snatched the rebound effortlessly "Akagi Rebound" executed to perfection.
But he wasn't done yet.
As he landed, his body language said: "Don't you dare try to take this from me." Arms cradling the ball, elbows raised
"Ha!"
"My ball!"
Landing from the high jump, the impact bent his body forward—and in that instant, his elbows swung low, one after the other
Crack!
Crack!
Two solid hits—right to Hanamiya's stomach.
The motions were so smooth, so natural—it looked accidental.
Just a defensive rebound.
Just protecting the ball.
But because Akihito had done it with his back turned and body bent, the referee saw nothing.
The only visible detail was Hanamiya Makoto's face contorting in agony, bloodshot eyes wide with pain.
And then
Splat!
He bent over.
Collapsed to his knees.
Thud.
Head bowed, he knelt right in front of Akihito Shigure.
The referee: "…"
He hesitated for a moment.
Then finally blew the whistle.
All he'd seen was Akihito twisting while protecting the ball. And given that this was Kirisaki Daiichi's opponent—and Akihito was nationally recognized as the cleanest, most technically precise player in the league…
It probably wasn't a flagrant foul…
Maybe just…
A reflex under pressure from Hanamiya's "antics."
But Hanamiya could no longer even hear the whistle.
All he could feel was the blinding pain—the twin elbows to his gut, the torn ligament in his knee.
Nothing but pain.
Faintly, he thought he heard his teammates arguing—
"Defensive foul."
Defensive foul…?
You've gotta be f*cking kidding me!
His bangs were soaked and clinging to his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Akihito, who was now kneeling beside him, face full of fake concern.
Hanamiya wanted to speak, to curse, but the pain silenced him.
"Oh no~"
"Are you okay?"
"Hanamiya-kun, please hang in there!"
"This is terrible…"
"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize the one going for the rebound was the opposing team's point guard…"
"I thought you were the center?"
"You know how it is—us shooting guards are always at a disadvantage under the rim. If we sense danger, we have to protect the ball…"
"Ahh… this is all my fault. I should've never pushed myself to get that rebound."
Akihito kept apologizing, one after another—but Hanamiya alone noticed it.
That brief flicker in Shigure's eyes when he lowered his head
The mocking glint, the predatory grin barely hidden beneath the surface.
And worst of all
"You bastard…"
"Let go of my knee!"
Hanamiya growled through clenched teeth.
At that moment, Akihito stood up in fake alarm—his knee had been pressing down directly on Hanamiya's injured leg.
"Ah—sorry, sorry…"
"I didn't realize…"
"Huh?"
"Hanamiya?"
"Hanamiya-kun!?"
"Hang in there, Hanamiya-kun!!"
Hanamiya rolled from his knees to his side, curling up like a shrimp dunked in boiling water.
End of chapter...
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