When the game entered its final quarter, Kise exploded without hesitation.
This wasn't part of Kaijō's game plan.
Coach Takeuchi Genta hadn't predicted it. Neither had Kasamatsu and the others.
This was simply the impulsive choice of someone who wanted to win.
"Kise..."
"Whether it's Akashi or Yuuto—whoever blocks Kaijō's path, I'll crush them all!"
It wasn't just about personal victory.
It wasn't just about preventing regrets for himself and his senpais in their final year.
More importantly!
He had to prove that his and Kaijō's basketball careers up to this point had meaning!
Crackle!
Golden lightning blazed forth, as shocking as thunder.
Perfect Copy plus Zone—Kise had pushed himself to his absolute peak.
Rakuzan's possession.
This was Akashi's first encounter with Kise in this state.
He was cautious, immediately choosing to pass to a teammate.
The Emperor Eye's absolute prediction encompassed every player on the court.
Then.
A pass that made point guards everywhere green with envy flowed effortlessly from Akashi's hands.
Angle, force, timing—even the pickiest critic couldn't find a flaw.
Hayama Kotaro received the ball and exploded forward with his Thunder Dribble, blazing past Kasamatsu in an instant.
This was his optimal position. Akashi had given him plenty of runway. Once he got moving, he was at full speed.
"Damn it!"
Kasamatsu gritted his teeth. This had happened countless times already this game.
He'd been prepared, but still couldn't stop it.
Just as his opponent was about to score again, a golden streak blazed into the paint, extending a single hand.
Just one hand—yet it completely cut off Hayama's passing lane.
SLAP!
The ball was swatted down before he could even attempt another move.
"A monster!" Every time Hayama faced these geniuses, he felt nothing but helplessness.
Physical gifts. Basketball talent.
They were a full tier above him in every way.
Existing in the same era as these people was the greatest tragedy. Except for those geniuses, everyone else's brilliance was completely overshadowed.
"It's like they're mocking our ordinariness."
The ball was knocked away, landing near Mibuchi Reo.
He quickly secured it and looked for Akashi, only to see Moriyama charging at him recklessly.
Moriyama's expression was fierce as he boldly reached in and poked the ball loose.
"Why does watching their games always feel so tragic?" Sora said, moved by what she saw.
"Because they want to win. That's all." Yuuto spoke evenly.
Kaijō's games did always give people a similar feeling.
Because Kise's body hadn't reached its peak—he couldn't sustain Perfect Copy for long.
This meant that in many matchups against teams with Generation of Miracles members, Kaijō often found themselves at a disadvantage.
They were always the ones playing catch-up.
"But it's precisely because of this that Kaijō has developed such tenacity." Midorima's gaze was deep.
That noisy guy who used to act like a golden retriever had grown up too.
At least the expression on his face now was something the old Kise never had.
"Kise!"
On the court, Kaijō's players shouted loudly.
Kise didn't respond with words—only action.
Like a bolt of lightning splitting the sky, he exploded at full speed after the ball Moriyama had poked loose, then charged forward with everything he had.
"I won't hand over a victory that's within reach, even if it's to you, Kise!"
Akashi gave chase, his eyes locked on Kise.
"Then bring it, Akashi!"
In that instant, Kise's entire aura transformed.
The basketball bounced erratically between his hands.
This was Aomine's formless basketball, but that alone wasn't enough to break Akashi's Emperor Eye.
"Yuuto, how did you break the Emperor Eye's prediction before?" Sora turned to ask.
The Emperor Eye had no weaknesses—it was virtually perfect, capable of nullifying all offense and defense.
But Yuuto had broken through its prediction twice in his two confrontations with Akashi.
"How to break it?" Yuuto thought for a moment. Aomine and Midorima perked up their ears, listening intently.
Then they heard Yuuto say: "The first time, I extended beyond the future Akashi saw. Basically, after he stripped the ball, I had to react faster—immediately secure it and keep attacking. That kind of thing."
React faster?
Your reaction back then couldn't simply be called "faster."
Aomine and Midorima mentally complained in unison.
"And the second time?"
"The second time was simpler. While creating more possible futures, I used my eyes to find Akashi's Dead Point and destroyed it."
"..."
Aomine and Midorima fell silent, somewhat disappointed.
Yuuto had answered, but it was like he hadn't said anything at all.
It wasn't that Yuuto was holding back. Rather: "The key point is actually just one thing—making your offense exceed Akashi's reaction limits, or surpassing his physical capabilities."
That was the method to break the Emperor Eye's absolute prediction.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't really "breaking" the prediction—it was developing targeted offensive strategies against Akashi specifically.
Aomine and Midorima understood this time.
In other words: make your attack so fierce that even if Akashi saw it coming, he couldn't react in time.
Beyond that, there was no other way—because they didn't possess eyes like Yuuto's.
As they spoke.
Kise had already broken through Akashi's defense like lightning.
"He got past him?!"
"How is that possible? Yuuto is one thing, but Kise too...?"
"That's Akashi!"
The three Uncrowned Kings of Rakuzan gaped in shock.
"He got through! Which method did that blonde kid use?" Sora's cute eyes widened as she watched.
"The first one. Using dramatic style changes to maximally compress Akashi's thinking time," Yuuto immediately answered.
"Rapidly alternating between Aomine's and Yuuto's styles."
Akashi could see it too.
The Emperor Eye clearly showed him everything.
At the moment of the drive, Kise had switched to Yuuto's playing style, directly skipping a major feint, compressing his own thinking and reaction time to the extreme.
BOOM!
With a thunderous sound, Kise slammed the ball through the rim.
Opening the quarter with 5 quick points, the Kanagawa fans who'd traveled to watch went absolutely wild.
"He only has 5 minutes—no, now it's 10 minutes. But in this state, Kise can create a miracle!" Coach Takeuchi Genta clenched his fist.
The 18-point gap was certainly large, but at Kise's current pace, he could flip the situation in about 3 minutes.
SLAP!
Coming back the other way, Kise intercepted Rakuzan's ball movement too...
"He even got Mayuzumi's pass..."
Seirin's group naturally hadn't missed this game.
They'd arrived at the venue early too, earlier than Yuuto, and were comfortably seated in the stands.
"How did he do that?"
"He must have copied Yuuto's eyes!"
Kagami drew a sharp breath. This version of Kise was incomparably stronger than when they first met.
He hadn't truly replicated the Demon Eyes—instead, he had completely copied Mayuzumi's behavioral patterns, using that to analyze and predict his movements.
In fact, it might not just be Mayuzumi. Every Rakuzan player might have been thoroughly copied by Kise.
"If this goes in, the gap shrinks to 13 or even 12 points! When that happens, Kaijō's momentum will be unstoppable!" Kiyoshi Teppei watched without blinking, not wanting to miss a single second.
Whoosh!
After the steal, Kise accelerated forward. His explosive speed meant only Akashi could keep up.
Akashi reached the three-point line first and set up defensively.
But at that moment, he saw Yuuto's shadow overlapping with Kise.
It was still Perfect Copy, but now Kise had selectively abandoned the other Generation of Miracles, focusing solely on copying Yuuto alone.
Yes.
No Akashi, no Aomine, no Midorima, no Murasakibara.
Only Yuuto remained—even the demeanor was strikingly similar.
Clean basketball without any excess. Occasionally skipping major movements to compress opponent reaction time to the limit.
"Isn't that basically a second Yuuto?" A fan exclaimed.
The style was far too similar to Yuuto's—it was practically Yuuto wearing a Kaijō jersey.
"I see. Focusing solely on Yuuto, pushing himself infinitely closer to Yuuto in all aspects including physical data."
He really had been underestimated!
Kise's choice was beyond reproach.
Because he and Yuuto were both all-around players, and their physical stats were highly compatible.
Under full-effort copying, they were practically indistinguishable!
But Akashi was an incredibly proud person.
This Winter Cup, Akashi and Rakuzan had grand ambitions.
To get revenge against Seihō.
As the sole heir to the Akashi financial empire, as the helmsman of the great ship called Rakuzan, he had to crush all obstacles.
The championship had been taken from them. They would seize it back!
"Fine. Consider this a warm-up before my revenge match against Yuuto!"
"Prepare yourself, Kise!"
Crackle~
Akashi roared, resolutely stepping into the Zone.
Crimson lightning blazed forth, reflecting against the golden arcs at the corners of Kise's eyes, turning the court into a dazzling display of color—pushing the game to its absolute peak.
"Akashi!" Kise growled back, like another Yuuto.
He gave everything in his copy, trying to break the Emperor Eye's absolute prediction.
Quick behind-the-back dribbles, hiding his true target. His shoulder faked right—a convincing, lightning-fast feint that made most spectators instinctively think he was driving right. But his real target was the left.
However.
SLAP!
"You're still Kise, not Yuuto. My battles with Yuuto are beyond your understanding." Akashi's voice was cold as ice, as domineering as his alternate personality, his heterochromatic eyes blazing with pride!
...
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