Seirin vs. Tōō.
124–128.
With a minute and a half left on the clock, Seirin—relying on their numerical advantage in the Zone and the coordination unlocked by Haizaki's passing—dragged the deficit down from ten points… to just four.
Four points.
Given Seirin's current momentum, a minute and a half was more than enough time.
And then
BEEP!
Tōō called a timeout.
More precisely, Aomine Daiki himself had stepped forward and called it.
"Little Aomine…?"
"Huh?"
"What are you doing?"
"Are you alright—?" Kise hesitated as Aomine pulled the towel off his head. "You're not following coach's plan?"
"…Ah."
"Tactics, huh…"
"At this point they won't matter. Leave the rest to me."
Aomine threw aside the towel and slowly stood up. Kise froze when he saw the expression on Aomine's face—not excitement, not blazing fighting spirit.
Aomine was… calm. Unnaturally calm.
On the side, Coach Harasawa's planned instructions halted mid-sentence.
He exhaled softly.
"…Forget it."
"Forget everything I just said. From here on out—it's all on Aomine."
And so, in this crucial timeout, Tōō's bench became strangely quiet. Everyone simply looked toward Aomine, who stood there staring at Seirin's side of the court.
Even Coach Harasawa didn't question why Aomine called the timeout himself.
Until
Aomine pulled back his gaze and closed his eyes. He smoothed his hair back—hair that honestly wasn't even messy—and tucked the loose edge of his jersey neatly into his shorts.
He didn't understand why he was doing this. Under the clash he had once looked forward to with such excitement, he felt none of the sweeping, violent emotions he expected.
If this were in those happy days of the past, he'd probably be grinning from ear to ear.
Hair.
Jersey.
Then he tightened his shoelaces
Only then did he nod with satisfaction.
At that moment, his drifting thoughts came together: compared to Haizaki—who looked like he'd crawled out of a ditch, clothes messed up, hair wild—he refused to appear the same.
As he carefully adjusted his gear, the once-chaotic jumble in his mind dissipated.
What remained was a calmness—like taking a step toward the place his heart belonged
A calm that sharpened into the hunger to win.
On the bench
Imayoshi Shōichi blinked, feeling as though Aomine's silhouette had suddenly grown larger.
In the stands
The instant Aomine stood up, Shigure Akihito snapped his head toward him.
His eyes narrowed. For a moment, he could feel it clearly—Aomine's aura, fierce and overwhelming, was almost identical to Nijimura's.
Beside him, Kise looked like nothing but a decorative leaf next to a blazing flower.
"Senpai…"
"What is it?" Midorima asked.
Shigure smiled faintly, then shook his head. "I was just thinking… Aomine, who can entrust part of the responsibility for victory to Kise like that—"
"He probably doesn't have any chains left in his heart."
Midorima: "…"
?
What… does that even mean?
On the court
In front of Tōō's bench
Blue sparks flickered wildly around Aomine's body. He was seconds away from dropping completely out of the Zone—yet the intensity of his Zone was rising instead.
His consciousness sank deeper
Smoothly
Past the hidden door most people would never reach. Step by step he walked across the dark water's edge, droplets splashing under his feet.
And then
Splsh
He dove in.
Deep.
Deeper.
Even deeper.
With his eyes closed, electricity crackled from the corners of his eyes—blue arcs matching the color of his hair—before fading back into silence.
Because
He had reached the second door.
Effortlessly
He saw it: the entrance to the Second Zone, grand and radiant.
Creak
Something he once thought was a joke—Shigure-senpai saying he possessed the talent to mock everyone from the top of the Zone—was now proven true.
He didn't even push.
The door opened for him on its own, light pouring through the gap, brighter and brighter. Aomine could feel his physical condition sharpening at incredible speed.
But then
Aomine's eyes snapped open.
That was?
Across the court.
In the stands.
With his enhanced perception, he caught a few familiar silhouettes.
Green hair. Purple hair.
…They were irrelevant.
The important one
Was Shigure-senpai.
Midorima and Murasakibara also noticed Aomine's look. They couldn't see as clearly as Nijimura could, but they knew—Aomine wasn't looking at them.
He was looking at Shigure.
Of course.
Shigure suddenly clapped for Aomine. Midorima and Murasakibara saw Aomine's lips curl upward—and then he gave them a thumbs-up.
That chilling feeling they'd sensed earlier evaporated instantly.
In Aomine's inner world
He took two steps forward and
Pulled the door shut.
He closed the Second Zone deliberately, severing the blinding light.
Shigure Akihito: "Magnificent~."
On the other side
Sensing the shift, Haizaki exhaled a laugh. "That's right… Aomine, this is way more fun."
"This is way more like you."
The players returned to the court.
1 minute 30 seconds.
Seirin had to score.
For Tōō—especially for Imayoshi—the goal was to stall. Reduce Seirin's margin for error as much as possible.
But
When Imayoshi faced Seirin's increased speed, strength, and reaction speed, the pressure was suffocating.
He could barely perform the basics.
"Damn it!"
Wakamatsu, inbounding from the baseline, looked for Aomine first—but Aomine was locked tightly by Haizaki. Passing there was suicide!
FWISH
Kise sprinted far down the court to receive the pass.
Wakamatsu launched the ball just in time
But at that exact moment, surrounded by crackling sparks, Kiyoshi Teppei burst into the passing lane!
He slapped the ball toward Seirin's side
And launched forward in massive strides.
Too fast.
The defender the opposing coach had just subbed in—Atsushi Tsunezuka—couldn't even begin to keep up.
The gap widened instantly.
Until
A cold pressure swept across the floor, crawling up his legs.
Not Tsunezuka's pressure…
It was Kiyoshi's.
Kiyoshi slowed.
"Stop."
In front of the arc
Aomine Daiki appeared, eyes pale as frost, pupils tinged with falling snow.
Kiyoshi froze.
Aomine's Ice Field
What…?!
His aura was weaker, yet the effect was stronger?
But this was Kiyoshi's chance—he rarely matched up against Aomine, but he'd spent the whole game adjusting against Haizaki's oppressive defense.
He might
Actually have an opening!
THUD
Back down.
THUD—THUD
He used his regained agility in the Zone—returning to the precise point-guard footwork from his middle-school days. Every dribble was covered skillfully, his center strength protecting the ball.
Left arm shield.
Spin.
Stop.
Crossover under his legs.
Back down again.
Fire in Kagami's eyes from afar—this was Kiyoshi at his most technically refined.
And yet
Even with perfect technique…
He only managed to push forward to the free-throw line!
In the storm of colliding Zones, their clash felt monstrous.
In the stands
Shutoku and Josei's players—both defeated by Seirin earlier—stared in horror.
"Kiyoshi is terrifying…"
"But Aomine…"
"He's a monster!"
On the court
Ice crawled endlessly over Kiyoshi's legs.
Aomine locked onto the ball in Kiyoshi's hands—like a starving snow leopard in a blizzard, ready to pounce.
ROAR
Instinct or fear—Kiyoshi trembled. He didn't dare dribble again.
He leaned into Aomine, forced open a sliver of space, grabbed the ball with one hand, and whipped it behind himself
And at that instant
Aomine's fingers grazed the ball.
Kiyoshi exhaled in relief.
But Tōō
All widened their eyes.
Because Kiyoshi had passed to
Kuroko Tetsuya, who had been silent for nearly the entire fourth quarter.
Wait
WHEN DID HE GET THERE!?
His presence—like a spotlight earlier—was now completely dimmed again.
SMACK
Kuroko struck the ball forward like a steel hammer, the speed insane, spinning violently.
The piercing force blew through Kise's fingertips and shot toward the rim.
Instinctively, both Wakamatsu and Tsunezuka gravitated toward Haizaki
But Aomine
BOOM
He spun and took off—skating through ice and lightning.
In a single heartbeat, he flashed from the free-throw line
And leapt beside Kagami Taiga.
Aomine's palm slammed down onto Kagami's dunking hands and the ball.
Kagami: "!?"
Did Aomine read the play?
Or
Was this just reaction?
Kagami normally couldn't even keep up with Kuroko's passes—but he managed now, because he was faster, stronger.
Yet Aomine STILL caught him?!
Even while complaining internally, Kagami felt it—
This jump was the highest he'd ever gone. Every muscle was sharper, hotter, more alive.
This was a battle he could fight—a single possession that could cut the lead to two points.
Kagami gritted his teeth.
Haizaki frowned.
Kagami still had stamina. Incredible bounce. Haizaki's presence pulled the defense. Kiyoshi and Kuroko had opened the space
Kagami still had his Wild Instinct.
It was perfect.
On paper, nothing should go wrong.
"This possession should be Kagami's territory."
Under the rim, Aomine's eyes were calm. Kagami's jump was far higher than before, his strength exploding.
But—
"Haizaki…"
Ice snapped into solid shards, surging backward and spiraling into Aomine's hand—intertwining with unnatural arcs of lightning.
BOOM
Kagami was ripped free from the ice's bind
And swatted out of bounds.
Aomine landed. Snow-white static still clung to his palm for a moment before fading.
The crowd froze.
They had seen everything.
And it was not a good sign for Seirin.
"What do you mean this is his territory…"
"Next time"
"Make sure of that before stepping in!"
Haizaki: "…"
That—
Was Aomine's Ice Field, built atop the Rainbow Flow, but the power had surpassed all limits.
The burst of strength
Had even dragged the Zone with it.
A fixed-point Zone explosion.
END OF CHAPTER
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