After several more possessions
On the court
Nebuya Eikichi flexed his muscles with reckless intensity, trying to body up against Shigure Akihito. But Shigure, with his dazzling technique—especially those unpredictable footwork patterns in the paint that were impossible to read unless you were watching for them—toyed with his opponent with ease.
Like a passing breeze, he never gave his opponent a chance to meet him head-on.
Akagi Takenori's Dream Shake.
Turn after turn…
Until Nebuya Eikichi's whole sense of balance went numb.
"How many possessions has it been? Shigure Akihito hasn't shown any crazy physical bursts, but Eikichi hasn't managed to stop a single shot…"
"This is…"
"That's got to be a huge blow to Eikichi, right?"
"Ever since he built up his body to that extent, it's probably the first time he's been completely overpowered purely by skill."
On Ibu's bench, the substitutes murmured among themselves.
Meanwhile, up in the stands
Hagioka Kasayuki wasn't surprised. Watching Nebuya Eikichi's movements, he spoke in a calm voice.
"Nebuya Eikichi from Ibu… he's not just some meathead."
"In middle school…"
"To carry that kind of muscle mass without losing agility—that's talent in itself."
"A genius, perhaps… though always stubborn and proud."
"With that exaggerated build, I doubt he's faced many opponents in Ibu's region who could match him physically. Under normal circumstances, his muscle power alone should make him nearly unbeatable under the basket."
"But now, his opponent—setting aside raw physical ability—has skill far beyond the middle school level."
"To a man so devoted to his muscles… this must be a revelation."
Indeed
Aside from the abnormal cases like Teiko's "Twin Stars," most middle school players, no matter how gifted, have flaws.
Nebuya Eikichi's gift for raw muscle power had allowed him to reach a level most middle school centers couldn't dream of, without needing any notable technical skills.
And so
He never developed any standout technique.
…
"Shigure Akihito!"
After being repeatedly toyed with inside, Nebuya Eikichi's expression began to crack. Even the way he gritted out Shigure's full name carried a note of frustration.
Being scored on one-on-one over and over would frustrate anyone, but worse still was the helplessness of not being able to unleash that muscle power at all during the exchange.
It made him all the more irritated.
"Ooohhh!"
"And another! Shigure Akihito completely crushed Ibu's musclebound center with nothing but post skills!"
"Domination…"
"Even for a center, Shigure Akihito is among the best of the best. It's unbelievable—just how many tricks does he still have left?"
"From start to finish, this is his show."
"This year's Teiko… just Shigure Akihito's explosive growth alone makes them even scarier than last year!"
…
Late in the second quarter
Teiko vs. Ibu, the score stood at…
67–21.
But more than the gap, the crowd's attention was fixed on Shigure Akihito's basket-by-basket evolution—starting from a single set of footwork, then layering on more and more techniques, each more dazzling than the last.
Nebuya Eikichi
As one of the "Five Generals," his muscle power had already been proven in earlier games and even against Teiko's own center.
Yet here he was, unable to gain any advantage at all. Shigure Akihito's technique simply suppressed him, toyed with him, and beat him down.
From the look of it, Shigure's seamless combination of quick footwork and varied skills either sent Eikichi flying off balance or froze him in place in hesitation.
Compared to Eikichi's violent, power-driven attacks, such mastery of technique was even more jaw-dropping.
"Ahhh~ Sorry, Eikichi, but you really do jump pretty high~"
Swish
A soft lay-in off the glass.
Turning around—
"Shinji, Murasakibara, you guys see it clearly now?"
Another two points for Shigure Akihito. His face remained calm, but in Nijimura Shuzo's eyes, the smugness was obvious. Meanwhile, his constant stream of teasing remarks only stoked Eikichi's anger.
And
Compared to Shigure, Eikichi—who kept trying to force power-on-power battles—was clearly breathing harder.
After another highlight-reel basket from Shigure, the gap between Ibu and Teiko ballooned to more than triple.
In Ibu's middle-school basketball scene, where strength training was rarely the main focus, they had sacrificed future flexibility to grind out muscle mass through a year of relentless training.
Yet under that dazzling display of post skills, it felt like all of Ibu's training over the past year was being mocked outright, leaving every player bewildered.
Since entering this year's Nationals, Ibu had cruised to victory in every game—never once being dismantled so easily, purely by skill.
Halftime
A 46-point gap.
Normally, they were the ones using overwhelming power to crush opponents by that margin.
But now, the reverse had happened.
Even worse
Thanks to Shigure's on-court "lesson," even Teiko's towering center was now handling Ibu's physical battles with more ease.
…
On the sidelines
The Ibu coach rubbed his temples, clearly pained.
This was their first time facing Shigure Akihito, and the plan to dominate with sheer muscle power had failed completely.
Instead
They had been utterly smothered by superior technique. Worse still, Shigure even showed bursts of power greater than Eikichi himself—yet he didn't even need to rely on it.
Just with more efficient, contact-avoiding skills, he could keep Ibu completely under control.
The Ibu coach: "…"
Had he… made a mistake?
Maybe he should have stopped the players' obsession with strength training over the past year…
As he thought that
While shuffling back on defense along the sideline, Shigure Akihito's relaxed voice floated over:
"Muscles aren't just that simple, you know~"
Clap!
Shigure patted the muscle on his arm.
It was a natural pose for Eikichi, but coming from Shigure's lean frame, it looked almost comical. Still, he kept talking
"What we call muscle…"
"Basketball muscle…"
"It should carry the memory of basketball—every bit of experience, every sensation, every skill you've ever had—turned into the muscle on your body."
"That's the real 'muscle'!"
"Muscles should be like this, you bunch of Ibu muscle rookies!"
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