Aomine's wild, jaw-dropping, impossibly clutch shot—
Hits!
Only 20 seconds remain.
Seirin vs. Tōō Academy.
129–132.
For Seirin, there is still a chance to tie.
For Tōō, with just 20 seconds left, they hold every advantage—whether on the scoreboard or psychologically.
Kiyoshi Teppei controls the ball at the top of the arc, doing his best to manage the possession while Kise Ryōta hounds him relentlessly.
"Down by three… this is brutal for Seirin!"
"Tōō could even foul on purpose—give up two free throws, then take back possession."
"They could… yeah."
"But Tōō definitely won't choose that option."
Up in the stands, all eyes lock onto the matchup between Haizaki and Aomine, their thoughts quietly echoing the earlier whispers from the crowd.
Soon
15 seconds…
13 seconds…
Until
11 seconds!
At that very moment
Haizaki moved!
Crackle!
Pa!
Crackle!
No one knew where the burst of energy came from, but gray lightning flashed deep in Haizaki's eyes as his sprint carved sharp gray streaks across the court!
Aomine, who had been watching Haizaki like a hawk, reacted the instant he did—
and took off!
Meanwhile
Between the legs
With his body holding off Kise's pressure
Behind-the-back pass
Kiyoshi's pass was excellent, but Aomine's Zone-fueled, pinpoint explosive acceleration was monstrous. Paired with his primal instincts, he spun around violently—his body nearly catching up to the ball in midair!
On the other side, Haizaki's animalistic reflexes flared. He lunged forward with a dangerous burst of speed
And seized the ball first!
8 seconds!
Thud!
Aomine's pupils contracted.
Because the moment Haizaki exhaled deeply—just like he did earlier when battling Kiyoshi
He suddenly stuck his butt out.
Thud!
Thud!
Backdown dribble—protecting the ball—controlling the tempo!
Aomine: "..."
Left wing, 45 degrees beyond the arc, Aomine managed to stop Haizaki's drive, but with that kind of ball protection—there was no opening for a steal.
Only
5 seconds left!
Haizaki spun forward and suddenly jumped straight up—a pure pull-up three!
The height wasn't bad.
But not as overwhelming as Aomine's Zone-charged leaps.
The instant Haizaki saw Aomine rising for the block, he knew—
This shot will absolutely be stuffed
But
That was part of the plan.
In the air
He tucked his abdomen
And pulled the ball down mid-shot!
A perfect imitation of Aomine's own midair pull-back move from earlier.
The only difference: Haizaki's version lacked Aomine's icy snow-light and crackling arcs.
Seeing the familiar motion, Aomine's expression tightened.
At a moment like this
Haizaki
If it were him, he would definitely do this exact thing.
Indeed.
Haizaki tucked in midair, shifting into a mid-air adjustment
clearly preparing to pass.
Aomine swung early, cutting off the passing lane!
But
Pa!
Before he reached it
Someone else knocked the ball away!
It was
Kuroko Tetsuya!
And the one who caught it was
Kagami Taiga, who had kept running nonstop.
He finally broke free in the corner
Wide-open for a three he wasn't very confident in.
But
He had to take it!
"Kise!!"
The instant Aomine shouted, his eyes met Kise's—and in that split second, Kise understood everything.
Their synchronization snapped into place in a flash.
The Zone
flared open on Kise once again!
And he was closer to Kagami's position!
Boom!
He leapt!
For a moment, in the stunned eyes of Seirin
there was a faint glimmer of snow-light.
Whoosh!
Kagami's three
Released!
Kise's block
Also launched!
Snap!
Clang!
The ball slammed the rim
and bounced away, sending a cold shock through Seirin's hearts.
Seirin vs. Tōō.
Still
129–132.
With one second left—and Tōō in possession
Seirin's chances were gone.
Everyone in Seirin froze for a moment as the ball missed.
Even Haizaki's sharp expression faded away.
They…
lost.
The moment that shot rimmed out, Seirin's chance vanished.
The game was sealed.
With only one second remaining
Aomine carefully moved close to Wakamatsu Kōsuke, took the hand-off pass, while Seirin's Haizaki sprinted forward to foul Aomine
But
Aomine stepped back
and leapt out of bounds
hurling the ball high into the air!
By the time the buzzer sounded
The ball still hadn't come down.
Beeeep!
"Game over!!"
"Teams, line up!"
Huff
Huff
Haa
On both sides—Haizaki and Aomine alike
the moment that tension released, the pain hidden by adrenaline came crashing in.
Haizaki stood in place, panting hard.
Kiyoshi placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.
"You okay, Haizaki?"
Haizaki noticed Aomine watching him from not far away.
Even with his legs trembling from lactic acid, and his breath uneven from exhaustion
he raised an eyebrow.
"I'm… fine."
On the other side
Aomine half-closed his eyes, clearly exhausted.
He bent forward
Hands on his knees.
…
"129–132."
"Tōō Academy wins!"
"Bow!"
"Thank you for the match!"
Aomine looked at Haizaki's expression, and sighed.
"Heh. With that sour look on your face, no one can even tell which of us won. If you lost, at least act like you lost."
"Hmph."
That was the only reply Haizaki gave.
Then
Silence fell between them.
"..."
"At Nationals, we fight again…"
"Yeah. We'll settle it there…"
Both spoke at the same time.
Haizaki blinked, startled, staring at the fist Aomine extended toward him.
He hesitated for a moment
but as Aomine raised an eyebrow
Haizaki spoke first.
"At IH, you better watch your back. Next time, you won't be so lucky!"
Aomine lowered his head, a faint smile flickering, clicking his tongue.
"You're talking nonsense." Aomine glanced at the scoreboard. "Next time… of course I'll win again."
Haizaki: "..."
He stared at Aomine, who impatiently pushed his fist forward again.
Memories flashed through Haizaki's mind
their middle school days,
their heated training sessions,
their score-duels,
facing Shiyu's monstrous 2-on-1,
the hesitation during training camps…
Scenes flickered one after another
leaving him momentarily dazed.
"I…"
Aomine looked at him and shook his head.
"No talking."
"Just bump fists."
Haizaki took a breath.
"…Fine."
"Next time, I'll definitely win."
Pa!
"Yeah."
"This time… you win, Aomine."
…
After the match.
In Seirin's locker room
"It's not over yet. If all goes well—we can still take two wins and enter Nationals as the second seed."
"As for today's match with Tōō, consider it a wake-up call before Nationals. High-school basketball this year is nothing like before…"
Aida Riko glanced around.
She knew the shock wouldn't fade easily.
After all, the opponents were two Miracles—and one was the Ace.
She paused.
"How's Kagami?"
"He stepped outside to cool off. He's taking that missed shot really hard. But don't worry—Koganei is with him."
"And Haizaki and Kuroko?"
"Same… Kuroko went after Haizaki."
…
Outside, near the gym staircase
Haizaki lay on his back, staring blankly into the sky.
Kuroko approached silently.
"Haizaki."
Haizaki didn't move.
After a moment, he suddenly spoke:
"Shut up, flowers voter."
"Tetsuya…"
"After we finish the round-robin…"
"Let's learn some new moves, yeah?"
Kuroko expected that answer.
He nodded calmly.
"Of course. Together with the seniors—and Kagami."
"Kagami…"
"…has great potential."
Haizaki snorted lightly, not affirming or denying.
But soon, the topic returned to Aomine.
"I'll have to train like hell again… especially stamina. I have to surpass him in stamina. For the rematch…"
…
Meanwhile.
On the other side
Since returning to Japan, Kagami had tasted defeat over and over.
But today cut deepest.
A real, official match.
And in the final seconds
the final possession
he was the one who buried Seirin's chance.
And the ball was passed to him by Haizaki and Kuroko
because they trusted him.
Even his pride couldn't cover the sting of that defeat.
When Kise leaped to block
Kagami could feel it:
A destiny sealed shut.
An overwhelming difference in ability.
Compared to the Generation of Miracles
He was still far behind.
Even the one Haizaki always called "the weakest"
Kise
Was far, far stronger than him.
I…
"Kagami!"
"So you were here~!"
Koganei's cheerful voice broke through Kagami's thoughts.
Kagami turned, seeing the senior smiling and patting his shoulder.
"Senpai…"
"That last shot…"
"…Sorry."
Koganei froze.
"Huh?"
"What are you apologizing for? You played great. Even Izuki said that against an opponent like Tōō, he wouldn't be confident he could've done better."
"…"
"We only lost by one shot. Tokyo has three slots—we can still absolutely make Nationals. And honestly, considering how strong Tōō is, we practically didn't lose at all~"
"And also"
"When you broke free in the corner at the end—you looked super cool."
"You really helped us!"
"You did great!"
Koganei wasn't very good at comforting people.
He babbled nonstop, then nervously extended a fist.
That should be okay… right?
Kiyoshi would do this…
Yeah…
Haizaki and Aomine did the same just now…
As Koganei grew more nervous from Kagami's lack of response
A cheerful voice suddenly called from not far away:
"Yo~ little kitten~"
"Your rookie this year isn't bad at all~"
"But…"
"Doesn't this mean you're not gonna get any playing time~?"
Kagami: "!?"
Koganei: "..."
Both turned
To see a figure crouched on the railing like an actual big cat
even though he called them "kittens."
The first thing Kagami noticed
Was the man's
ridiculously thick legs.
Even crouched on the railing, his thighs were so tightly packed with muscle that they stretched his pants to terrifying tension—completely mismatched with his otherwise lean figure.
"Kotarō…?"
"You…?"
"What are you doing here?"
Thud!
Hayama Kotarō flipped down from the railing, scratching his head seriously.
"Oh, I was kinda lost. Though I think I played a Junior High final in this gym once~?"
"…"
Damn it!
This guy!
Koganei silently cursed—but
The next second
A wave of wild pressure surged from Hayama, like scorching sunlight crashing down on them.
Roar!
Mya!
Instinctive, reflexive reactions!
Kagami's weakened tiger aura was crushed instantly by Hayama's leopard-like wild instinct.
Koganei's "stray cat" aura fared even worse—barely enough to let out a pitiful mewl.
"Tch~"
"That's the level of your wild instinct~?"
"So weak~ four."
END OF CHAPTER
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