Just as Seirin's coach had predicted, the timeout barely affected Kise.
The moment he stepped back onto the court, he immediately re-synced with Aomine
their resonance returning as naturally as breathing.
And then
Smack!
A clean block from Kise Ryōta on Kagami!
Seirin's attack this possession relied on Kuroko's reverse misdirection,
but this time they were confronted by two Zones—one on each side of the free-throw line.
And they shut the attack down perfectly.
Zone.
A state of absolute concentration—no wasted thought, no stray emotion—
a focus so intense it surpasses the limits of normal concentration.
Like in the third quarter, when Aomine entered that perfect Zone,
even with his flawless control, he was completely locked onto the rim.
But now…
Aomine had deliberately lowered his intensity.
And Kise—who could only enter Zone through synchronization
neither of them had that burden anymore.
Whoosh!
Aomine, facing Haizaki, passed the ball to Kise.
In Zone, Kise radiated an overwhelming aura.
His gaze burned straight through Seirin's defense
a crushing pressure settling heavily onto Kagami and the others' shoulders.
Kagami braced himself, but—
"!"
The speed was beyond description.
Only when facing Zone head-on could they finally understand
what kind of monster Haizaki and Kuroko had battled last quarter!
Kise shattered Kagami's defense and, in the blink of an eye,
appeared before Kiyoshi Teppei.
Then
A behind-the-back dribble that looked almost frozen in time.
Accelerate.
Break.
It was a simple move
but with Kise in Zone, copying Aomine's monstrous agility,
even the simplest motion became a lethal weapon.
"Kise's coming again! Other than Haizaki and Kuroko double-teaming,
Seirin has no one who can stop him!"
"That sudden stop… even the air felt like it froze!"
"But it still delayed him for a moment…?"
"Haizaki Shōgo hasn't given up!"
It was like the previous possession all over again
Haizaki chased Kise using the same method, timing his jump perfectly.
His body, honed to challenge monsters, granted him terrifying block height.
But against Zone—this was not Haizaki's domain.
In midair
Pull back.
Rotate.
Right hand
switch to left!
A hang-time maneuver avoiding Kiyoshi's desperate block,
then twisting past Haizaki
And then
A violent dunk straight through!
BOOM!!
Under everyone's stunned gaze, Kise hammered the ball through the rim.
After scoring, he didn't say a word.
He only stared at Haizaki
with a heat in his eyes that Haizaki had never seen directed at him.
Normally, after being scored on like that,
especially by someone whose talent rivaled his own,
Haizaki should've felt frustration… irritation… something.
But now
With nothing in his mind except how to win,
he felt none of that.
Instead, he felt a pure, unwavering respect
for the opponent standing before him.
Haizaki Shōgo: "…."
Thunder Step…
And that sudden stop just now…
Even though Kise minimized the time needed for his drive,
with Emperor Eye and his proximity to the rim,
Haizaki could still chase his Zone.
But the key was the midair battle
Speed…
The Emperor Eye can see it
but it can't touch it.
Just like how nothing can touch the depths of the black hole.
…
Seirin's possession.
Haizaki pushed the ball to the free-throw line.
Positioned near Tōō's free-throw line,
he became the axis—dragging Aomine toward the middle,
then swinging the ball outward.
Simple to describe
But in reality…
He was borrowing all of Kuroko's abilities.
Frame-Skip.
Frame-Insert.
His own Monster Immersion.
Aomine-like agility.
And finally—Akashi's perfect passing.
Against Aomine, Haizaki held nothing back
using everything he could muster
just to deliver the perfect pass.
On the far side, Kiyoshi Teppei read Haizaki's intention perfectly,
pulling out early to screen for Hyūga Junpei.
As Hyūga passed him, he positioned to receive the ball
But Kise was already tearing around the screen unnaturally fast.
Hyūga's face tightened
Yet the moment he felt the speed of Haizaki's perfect-timing pass,
his body made the right choice automatically.
Raise
Fake!
Under the perfect pass, the motion was incredibly fast.
Kise exploded again!
But paired with Kuroko's Frame-Insert—
Hyūga slipped to Kise's opposite side,
and in the instant Kise spun around to cut him off
The Frame-Insert window opened.
Hyūga whipped the ball toward the baseline.
Swoosh!
Kagami was there
catching it cleanly and scoring in one smooth motion.
He let out a sigh of relief,
glanced toward Haizaki,
and nodded once.
Although
Haizaki didn't respond at all.
He was already sprinting back on defense.
On the opposite bench
Imayoshi Shōichi watched Haizaki's retreating back and sighed internally.
Even in this situation
as long as he's on the court,
he can still organize an attack this orderly.
At least on offense…
he can even stand toe-to-toe with two Zones.
That flash of teamwork
and that court awareness
He's just like Nijimura Shuzo…
END OF CHAPTER
(Some chapters in patreon are double chapters)
4 IN 1 - BE A MEMBER, GET 4 ONGOING STORIES!!
35 CHAPTERS AHEAD!!
Starting Five - Kuroko's Basketball: Before Generation Miracles, I Already Crowned
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer