Dozens of seconds passed, and the fourth quarter began.
The audience boiled over immediately, shouting, cheering, and applauding.
After 30 minutes of competition, both teams finally arrived at the last 10 minutes.
Seiho, and Rakuzan too.
In this game, players from both sides displayed their highest personal performances since the start of the Nationals.
They broke through their selves and shattered their limits in this most important final.
This was absolutely a visual feast of high school basketball.
More brilliant than fireworks.
More hot-blooded than an anime protagonist's comeback buzzer-beater.
"Rakuzan~"
"Seiho~"
"..."
The fans' shouting contest had lasted for over an hour and still hadn't stopped.
The last quarter began.
Seiho's possession.
After receiving the inbound pass, Yuuto took the lead and rushed out, massive amounts of steam erupting from his body. His pressure reached its peak.
"It's clearly been ten minutes, yet his condition hasn't declined?"
"Based on past experience, their physical condition should be reaching its limit."
"But they dare not exit the Zone/Demon-mode easily."
"In other words, is it a contest of willpower now?"
"Not entirely!"
Midorima's eyes seemed to glow under his lenses.
Those two were types extremely good at strategizing; their big-picture view surpassed all other players.
It was certain they would reserve enough strength to finish this game and wouldn't squeeze their stamina completely dry.
But no one knew when that point would be.
Midorima stared at the "white mist" on the court, seeing only a golden figure rapidly tangling with a red lightning bolt.
This duel wasn't more terrifying than before, but it felt even more intense.
After such a long, high-intensity duel, it was unbelievable that these two could still maintain their condition.
Akashi's eyes glowed; the Emperor Eye didn't miss a single instant.
This great battle entered its final white-hot stage. The two crisscrossed, interweaving like lightning.
Then.
Buzz~
Yuuto's vision turned pitch black again. The Dead Spot of Akashi and Rakuzan appeared.
Without unnecessary words, he immediately exploded with high speed and rushed out, seizing this fleeting opportunity.
Crack!
The future predicted by the Emperor Eye was broken once again. The follow-up couldn't be seen because the Dead Spot was irreversible.
In this moment, Akashi's defense was torn apart, "killed."
"He passed Little Akashi again, continuously breaking the Emperor Eye's predictions."
"How on earth does he do it?"
Kasamatsu Yukio found it hard to understand. He had understood the terror of the Emperor Eye and thought at most one could draw even, unable to surpass it.
"It's the gap in player level," Aomine spoke the truth. He had matched up with Yuuto twice; his instincts were sharper, understanding the powerlessness of isolating against Yuuto.
"Gap in player level?"
"Exactly. In this game, from Akashi's initial composure to borrowing teammates' strength, to the return of the other personality... he has been passively enduring the whole time."
When one player constantly needs to make changes facing another player, it already speaks volumes.
In basketball games, most of the time, the side with the advantage doesn't need to change.
Seeking change actively while having the advantage is outsmarting oneself. Only the side at a disadvantage needs to actively seek change to find a chance for victory.
While they spoke, Yuuto had already cut into Rakuzan's paint. He scored with a simple yet unstoppable floater.
Unsolvable individual ability. Rakuzan's entire defense line couldn't stop him, destroyed by one person.
"This is the strongest high school student of the current era, the King of Seiho, the Lion of Okukozome."
Reporters on the sidelines pressed their shutters, recording these moments, while countless nicknames floated in their minds.
These were all materials for tomorrow's reports.
3-point difference!
A one-possession gap!
Rakuzan's turn. Akashi also led the charge.
With eyes that could see everyone's future, he attacked through passing and making plays for teammates.
But this time, the moment Akashi released the ball, Yuuto's right arm shot out like the light of dawn, directly destroying Akashi's pass.
"I've already seen through your passing tricks!"
Rakuzan's bigger trouble appeared.
While unable to contain Yuuto's offense, Akashi's passes were almost being "killed."
"This is his evolution, surpassing me and the entire Generation of Miracles!"
Akashi felt powerless. The feeling was even stronger than his first loss to Yuuto.
But this time, there wouldn't be another self to provide help, because that person had disappeared forever.
But precisely because of this, he had to win.
"This is the last chance to defeat Yuuto!"
The opponent's individual ability had surpassed the entire Generation of Miracles, including himself.
If they played again, the situation would only be worse; they might not even last until this point...
This was a situation bought by the sacrifice of his other self; he couldn't just give up.
Akashi immediately turned and pulled back to control the ball. Then he actively moved behind a teammate to use as a screen, finally delivering the ball to Mayuzumi Chihiro's hands.
He had to do this because Yuuto had corrected himself again, completing a targeted evolution.
Swish!
The ball went in. Mayuzumi Chihiro hit a wide-open shot. Omuro Yoshikazu had no way to deal with this miraculous pass.
"What you can do, I can do too!"
"You are two hundred years too early to defeat Rakuzan!"
The gap returned to 5 points, a two-possession difference.
Yuuto didn't respond, feeling no fear in his heart.
The next second, he held the ball and turned into a beam of light to kill his way out. Using the Tezuka Zone dribble and Demon Eye to break the enemy, he easily nullified the Emperor Eye, rendering its offense and defense ineffective.
"If Rakuzan loses this time, there probably won't be any chance in the Winter Cup."
Nakatani Masaaki and the other two were shocked.
Such talent, infinite evolution ability... who could contend with him?
The current Rakuzan was already the strongest generation in history; a lineup stronger than Rakuzan might not appear in the future.
The leader of the Generation of Miracles, the ideal point guard, three Uncrowned Kings, and a Phantom Sixth Man.
If even Rakuzan lost, other teams' hopes would only be slimmer.
"Give him a few years, and he might be able to sweep the entire Japan."
"A few years? It might not take that long."
Aida Kagetora felt that Japan could no longer find a player of the younger generation capable of contending with Yuuto.
The opponent's talent was world-class; his future was definitely not in Japan.
Turning back, Akashi used a screen to pass again.
This time, his passing became even more difficult. Yuuto was killing his passing lanes!
Visibly to the naked eye, the quality of his passes dropped significantly, but Mayuzumi's Misdirection sent the ball to a key position, and Nebuya Eikichi seized the opportunity to score.
However, even though they could still score, many fans could see they were running out of steam and could be reversed by Seiho at any moment.
Because that Seiho King was truly too strong, strong to the point of being unreasonable, making people's scalps tingle.
Yuuto completely took over the ball possession. With wind under his feet like a Kun Peng, he flickered in place and vanished, once again shattering the Emperor Eye's prediction.
...
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