Beep~~~
A long electronic whistle sounded, signaling the end of the third quarter.
The score froze at 80:43.
Even by the end of the third quarter, Aomine Daiki still hadn't managed to reduce the point gap to under twenty.
But at this point, Tōō Academy's players clearly weren't in the mood to blame Aomine. After all, it was obvious to everyone that this game wasn't about Aomine not trying, it was just that the other side had an equally monstrous player!
In Seiho's bench area, Akashi Asuka stared ahead, his gaze seemingly vacant. Yet in reality, his attention was firmly fixed on the system panel.
Under the passive skill section, a few glowing words flashed:
[Animal Instinct · Mammoth]
This was the result of his original skill, manifesting into a new form.
It was quite interesting, really.
Animal Instinct is a part of human "beast nature." The weaker someone's rationality, the stronger their beast side tends to be.
In other words, the less intelligent a person, the higher their potential to awaken Animal Instinct.
This was evident from previous cases in the original story. The Animal Instinct levels of certain characters were:
Jason Silver (Ancient Tyrannosaurus) in the movie version
Taiga Kagami (Tiger)
Aomine Daiki (Black Panther)
Kiserou Hayama (Leopard)
Shinji Koganei (Bobcat)
Interestingly, these levels were inversely proportional to their academic achievements.
So under normal circumstances, with Akashi's intelligence, he shouldn't have been able to awaken Animal Instinct…
============
The fourth quarter began quickly.
Some spectators had already started leaving; even the sharp-eyed could tell this game was effectively decided.
Those who remained weren't watching for the final result, they were here to witness the duel between Akashi Asuka and Aomine Daiki, the true aces of the game.
Tōō Academy's morale was already crumbling.
Seiho started with possession, and this time, Tōō Academy's defensive intensity had noticeably dropped… except for one player.
Aomine, facing a near-hopeless situation, didn't falter. His defensive presence intensified even further.
"Still refusing to give up at this point?" Akashi asked, glancing at Aomine with mild curiosity.
"Give up? Don't be ridiculous." Aomine's lips curved into a grin. His eyes betrayed no hint of despair; on the contrary, he was invigorated. "The game is just getting started!"
This guy really has a stubborn mouth, Akashi thought, shaking his head.
"Heh~ defeating me isn't that easy. Only I can beat myself!"
And he wasn't entirely bluffing. Even now, Aomine hadn't unleashed his full power.
This was why Akashi remained vigilant.
Chasing a 37-point deficit in one quarter would be impossible in real life, but in the world of Kuroko's Basketball, anything was possible.
Still, Akashi was merely staying alert…
"Only you can beat yourself? Aomine, I haven't seen someone so arrogant in a long time. I have to admit, you've earned that arrogance. But what's your trump card now?"
"Going into the [Zone]?"
"I've been calculating your Tōō Academy team from the preliminaries. Even during the finals, I deliberately set a trap just for you."
"Now that we're at the last step, do you really think I'd leave your final move undefended?"
Akashi laughed. The weight of his words stunned even Aomine, narrowing his eyes in shock.
And the moment Aomine's attention wavered, Akashi struck, launching a fadeaway three-pointer. By the time Aomine reacted, it was already too late.
Swish!
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
83:43.
Seiho widened the gap to over 40 points again.
Akashi never relaxed his vigilance. Even with only seconds remaining in the match, he would score by any means necessary.
He knew Aomine would inevitably enter the [Zone] in the fourth quarter.
What Aomine could achieve in the Zone, even Akashi couldn't predict. Players in the Zone can perform absurd feats, whether in Kuroko's Basketball or real life.
A simple example: Tracy McGrady's 13 points in 35 seconds.
For this reason, even leading by nearly 40 points, Akashi remained alert. He even provoked Aomine verbally to disturb his focus.
Of course, words alone couldn't stop Aomine from entering the Zone.
But they could at least delay him by thirty seconds.
In those thirty seconds, both Akashi and Aomine ran a round of plays, three points versus two, and Seiho regained a one-point advantage.
86:45.
These two plays, and restoring the gap above 40 points, crushed the last bit of confidence Tōō Academy players had.
Yet amid the despair, Aomine, standing at the very back, drew a deep breath and slowly pushed open the door.
Crackle~
A flash of blue energy sparked in his eyes.
The next second, Aomine launched an attack.
It was an unstoppable, undefended attack, for him, there was no defense to contend with.
Tsugawa and Iwamura didn't even react in time. A streak of blue light flashed past, and Aomine vanished.
Akashi, stationed under the basket, reacted, but by the time he reached for the block, the ball had already left Aomine's hands.
Swish!
Smooth as silk, the ball floated into the net effortlessly.
86:47.
When the electronic scoreboard updated, everyone froze.
Not just the players, spectators in the stands were equally stunned. No one understood what had just happened.
"It… went in?"
"Huh???"
"What just happened? Why didn't Seiho defend at all?"
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria