Beep~
A whistle blew, ending the first quarter.
Seiho temporarily led Kaijo by 4 points, 24:20.
The gap wasn't large, but the atmosphere on Kaijo's bench was very heavy.
Because they knew they threw in many luck shots in the first quarter (second quarter mentioned in text but context implies first ending?).
Without those luck shots, the current deficit might not be 4 points but 8 or even double digits.
Kise was already panting when he came off.
Even without using his body to imitate, just simulating and calculating in his brain made him feel extremely exhausted.
"Imitating Little Yuuto and the others is indeed too difficult."
This was an attempt he hadn't tried before.
For most players, his imitation was as simple as drinking water and eating.
His body could easily imitate it.
But for the imitation of those few people, he needed a lot of preparation, recalling it over and over in his mind.
Of course.
He had already completed most of the imitation.
What he was pursuing now was the perfect rhythm Yuuto displayed after the Shutoku match.
This was the last piece of the puzzle missing from his Perfect Copy!
If he could complete it.
Perfect Copy would be truly perfect.
The duration could be further extended.
Just very difficult.
Five people at the same time, and being in his own perfect rhythm.
"Just thinking about it makes my brain want to go on strike."
"Hey, if you can't do it, don't force yourself. We will give you full support."
Yukio Kasamatsu told him not to mess around.
That level of imitation sounded incredible just hearing it.
To present it with a perfect rhythm, one could imagine the difficulty.
The more so, the harder he had to work, right?
Kise looked at his teammates' faces and revealed a smile.
After that match with Seirin... couldn't say he completely agreed with Kuroko's basketball philosophy.
However.
He did imagine in his mind achieving something with the group of people around him, at least winning one championship.
All of them standing on the podium together, laughing wildly, hugging each other, even shedding hot tears.
That scene must be great!
Kise liked this team from the bottom of his heart—if only the seniors didn't kick him at the drop of a hat.
...
"Can such a thing really be done?"
Seiho bench, Yamashita Shio squatted beside Yuuto.
Tactical board?
That thing was thrown away long ago; he cared about Kise's imitation problem.
"Should be completed already." Yuuto didn't hide it. "Since he can conduct that level of simulation confrontation in his brain, it proves he has observed me to an incredible degree."
"In other words, next we might face another you?"
Iwamura's words shocked his teammates.
"Spare me, something like that."
Ryuhei Kasuga was unlucky enough today.
Many of Kaijo's luck shots were made over his head.
Now having to face another Yuuto?
Might as well kill him; it'd be more straightforward.
"Might be even more troublesome than another me appearing."
Yuuto drank water to rehydrate.
"Eh? What do you mean? Are you telling a cold joke?"
Was there anything more terrifying than a guy named Yuuto on the opposite side?
They couldn't imagine.
...
Beep~
The referee blew the whistle again; the second quarter began.
Seiho attacked first.
Right away, Yuuto singled out Kise and succeeded.
Kise's Imitation Emperor Eye wasn't real; it was a deep simulation combined with data, playing habits, and many other factors.
To put it bluntly, it was data basketball.
Different from Momoi's theoretical school, Kise's imitation was the practical school.
However.
No matter what, once his data had errors, the predicted result would deviate from reality.
Yuuto broke Kise's database with the incomplete version of the Pass Without Warning.
6-point gap.
Turning back, Kise tried to challenge Yuuto's defense again.
Failed.
The Lightning Dribble belonging to him had been corrected too many times.
With a smack, Yuuto's arm cut out like a scalpel, intercepting Kise's dribble directly.
"Such fast dribbling, cut off just like that?"
Mibuchi Reo disdained opponents other than Akashi, but recognized his teammate's strength quite well.
Hayama Kotaro was the fastest dribbler he had ever seen.
"Even if not cut off, the outcome wouldn't change much." Akashi spoke calmly. "Kise's dribbling is too habitual."
Yes.
Seen too much, enough for Yuuto to complete several corrections and find the perfect way to deal with it.
What he was really curious about was Kise's plan.
"Ryota's imitation should be complete."
"Yeah, but he still hasn't taken action. Is he preparing something?"
Two Akashis communicated in one brain; this was true left-brain fighting right-brain.
Since he had completed the Imitation Emperor Eye, it meant Kise had at least completed the imitation of Yuuto.
What exactly was he waiting for?
Swish!
Seiho added two more points on the counterattack.
Speaking of weaknesses, Seiho actually had them; their lineup wasn't without flaws.
Their perimeter firepower points were too few; only Yuuto alone.
Ryuhei Kasuga and Tsugawa Tomoki's mid-range shots were developed with Yuuto's help.
Therefore, their scoring explosiveness was far less high than Shutoku's.
Before Shutoku met Seiho, Shutoku's matches could easily blow out opponents in a single quarter, pulling away by 30 or even 40 points.
Seiho was more about nibbling away at the opponent bit by bit.
But such stable scoring ability was equally rare.
At least Kaijo's current situation wasn't good, being pulled apart gradually.
"Not an opponent at all." A bench player said anxiously.
Kise's defense against Yuuto barely counted as successful only once.
That was forcing Yuuto to pass in the first quarter.
After that, no overly effective defense was formed; instead, the opponent scored directly or assisted teammates for many points.
Genta Takeuchi wasn't anxious.
"Current Kise is indeed inferior to Yuuto."
He admitted it very simply.
"A year ago, like most coaches, my first choice was Yuuto."
"Eh? Is it really okay to be so direct, Coach?"
"Nothing good or bad about it. Recognizing the gap is also a kind of growth."
Genta Takeuchi crossed his arms, staring at the court, seemingly reminiscing.
"After being rejected by Yuuto, I chose Kise among the five Generation of Miracles without hesitation."
"Why?" They asked.
Looking at last year's matches.
Akashi and Aomine of the Generation of Miracles seemed to be the stronger two.
"Because his potential is unrivaled." Genta Takeuchi gave his reason. "He is a true genius!"
Yes.
A true genius.
He had never seen a player who could reach that level after contacting basketball for such a short time.
Therefore, after failing to get Yuuto, he immediately turned his attention to Kise, the least conspicuous of the Generation of Miracles.
This was his characteristic, good at discovering players' potential.
Just like Yukio Kasamatsu was criticized last year and once wanted to give up basketball, he insisted on making Kasamatsu the team captain.
He saw infinite potential in Kise.
On the court.
The fierce duel continued. Everyone could see that Kaijo's situation wasn't good.
But whenever people felt the gap was about to widen, they could hit those luck shots, forcefully biting onto the score.
Seiho's players were helpless; Ryuhei Kasuga cursed angrily more than once.
But Yuuto didn't; his expression remained calm.
That face seemed to want to crush the opponent's good luck.
Such a player was really cool.
Kise thought so in his heart.
But why feel cool?
He asked himself several times in the past and finally got an answer.
"I want to become a player like them."
But at the same time, he understood that blind admiration was destined to only watch their backs go further away.
So.
Kise suddenly revealed a calm expression like Yuuto's, his voice sounding as if it had passed through ice. He said, "I don't want to admire you anymore."
As soon as this was said.
The surrounding people's bodies trembled inexplicably because they felt something coming.
Yuuto raised his hand to wipe his sweat, his expression still cold. "Slower than I expected."
...
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