At the very instant Midorima was frozen in place by Mibuchi Reo's "Void," the latter had already leapt high into the air.
The "Void Shot," which prevents defenders from jumping, relies on crouching deeper before release. At the moment the defender begins to jump, their body stiffens and they can no longer react.
With body control far beyond the level of a middle schooler, Mibuchi could execute this bizarre rhythm, releasing the ball from beyond the arc, and sinking it.
Even more than that…
The arc.
The angle.
Everything was measured with precision.
Swish!
Three points!
"Midorima-kun~ Defense like that is almost zero difficulty for me~"
Reo's taunting, sing-song voice made Midorima scowl. In the stands, the crowd wore puzzled expressions.
What had just happened?
They hadn't understood it at all.
"What was that…?"
"What happened?"
"Did Teiko's first-year shooter just… freeze in place?"
"Could this be… another technique, after the 'Heaven' and 'Earth' shots?"
"Three different kinds of threes?"
On the other side of the court,
Because of the physical limitations of a middle school body, Reo's "Earth Shot" looked quite different from his "Heaven Shot." The mechanics couldn't be unified, which made the move easier to read and much less threatening.
That was why, when Shigure Akihito had watched Senzan's match earlier, he had judged the "Earth Shot" to be an unfinished technique.
But,
During that same match, Shuzo Nijimura had pointed something out.
If the "Earth Shot" was bound by body mechanics… then all Reo had to do was slightly compromise the form of the "Heaven Shot," making it visually identical to "Earth." For someone with Reo's three-point skill, sacrificing a touch of accuracy in exchange for deceptive variety was hardly difficult.
And indeed,
That was exactly what had happened.
The opening motion of Reo's shot just now was indistinguishable from the "Earth Shot."
But… Shigure had underestimated him.
It wasn't just "Earth." He had even fused it with the "Void." That was why even Shigure himself was briefly stunned when he saw it.
The Void… was not easy to defend.
The principle lies in the depth of the crouch at the start. Before releasing, Reo sank deeper than usual, then inserted a slight hesitation as he rose. At the instant a defender's knees locked out, their jump power was fully discharged, leaving nothing for a follow-up contest.
Unable to rise further, they were grounded.
Reo, however, by crouching deeper, still had reserve power in his legs, enough to elevate and release.
That was the "Void."
For Midorima, it was a nightmare. Unlike his high school self, who would stand at 195 cm as a shooting guard, he was only 175 cm now, a full disadvantage in both height and wingspan against Reo.
And so, with the Void as the core threat…
Combined with the Earth Shot.
And the Heaven Shot.
Even if Midorima was told the theory outright, defending against Reo was no simple matter.
Before he could even begin deciphering the Void, he still had to track the subtle shift in Reo's center of gravity between Heaven and Earth.
The balance point.
…
On the court,
Midorima was caught completely off guard.
When he had watched the Senzan game with Shigure-senpai, he had already heard a thorough breakdown of Heaven and Earth.
So all his focus was on reading those shifts in balance.
Never did he imagine there was a third shot.
On that last attempt, Midorima believed he had defended perfectly. Yet against a shot whose principles he couldn't grasp, his effort looked clumsy.
All he could do was mutter softly:
"…Good shot."
Reo smiled faintly.
"Your turn next~ Though I wonder if your senpai will even give you the chance to answer back~?"
"Midorima-kun~"
Midorima fell silent.
It wasn't doubt about his senpai, he knew Shigure would give him the ball. After all, it was Shigure himself who had insisted Midorima start in the first place.
No, Midorima's silence came from something else, the uncanny, almost eerie way Reo addressed him.
Before long, it was Teiko's possession again.
…
Crossing into Rakuzan's half, Midorima immediately, almost recklessly, called out for the ball from Shigure.
And Shigure, seeing the fierce determination in his kouhai's eyes, didn't hesitate for a second.
He passed.
Whizz!
Midorima caught it.
"Looks like your senpai has high expectations of you~"
"Midorima-kun~"
This was the first time since entering the Nationals that Reo had faced an opponent who dared to challenge him head-on from beyond the arc.
And a first-year, no less.
Interesting~
From the recordings, Reo knew Midorima's shooting ability was monstrous. A stable, terrifyingly high accuracy, his performance in the Nationals had been nothing short of astonishing.
Reo's conclusion from his analysis:
Without exaggeration, Midorima Shintarō was already one of the top three shooters in the entire tournament.
As for the top two?
Shigure Akihito.
And himself.
"Come at me~"
Reo steadied his stance, keeping his center of gravity balanced, ready for either a drive or a shot. That was the standard way to defend a high-percentage shooter, because true shooting threat always carried the hidden menace of a drive.
Even though…
From the footage, Midorima rarely attacked the rim.
Beyond the arc,
Midorima lowered his stance, letting the ball hang near his knees.
He didn't rush. Instead, he studied Reo's defense carefully. For five full seconds, the two held their eerie standoff.
Then suddenly,
A jab step!
The very next instant,
Midorima, without a hint of hesitation, stepped back!
Gathered the ball!
His motion was lightning-fast, his release quicker still, and the arc soared higher than anything Reo had ever seen, higher than any clip on tape!
Reo leapt to contest, but under that absurdly steep arc, his fingertips only brushed air.
The ball slipped just past them, climbing, curving,
Swish!
Straight through the net.
Thankyou everyone!!
Your continued support means everything. We've already made it through almost half of this journey together, and none of this would be possible without you.
Because of you, this story keeps moving forward, chapter after chapter, battle after battle. You're not just readers, you're part of the team that's keeping this dream alive.
We've come this far… now let's see it through to the very end. 🏆
Stay in the game, and let's cross that finish line together.
🔥 Rookie Recruit – Read 15 chapters ahead
🔥 Starting Five – Jump 35 chapters ahead + 6 bonus chapters!
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer