A suffocating aura spread across the entire arena, and the court gradually fell into an eerie silence.
Off the court.
Cold sweat ran down Taiga Kagami's forehead. In his mind, he had already been shocked ten thousand times over.
Because even from the stands, he could feel that oppressive aura.
"What the hell is this? How can someone have such overwhelming pressure?"
Junpei Hyuga's expression was grim as well. The aura Miyamoto was giving off felt strangely familiar.
"It feels… kind of like Animal Instinct. But why would Animal Instinct produce this kind of terrifying pressure?"
Shinji Koganei trembled as he spoke.
"And Animal Instinct is supposed to be obvious, right? But Miyamoto doesn't look like he's entered Animal Instinct at all."
For a moment, the entire Seirin group was filled with confusion, unable to understand what exactly was happening.
Over on Shūtoku's side.
Shintaro Midorima's eyes sharpened as he silently muttered to himself.
'Miyamoto… could it be your Animal Instinct is like mine? Something fused into your body—an instinct that belongs only to you?'
On the court.
The Yōsen players were visibly shaken as they looked at Miyamoto.
In their eyes, a thick black mist seemed to surround his body. Within that mist, faint red glimmers flickered, creating a deeply unsettling feeling.
Strangely enough, it seemed that only the players on the court could see it. Those off the court couldn't see anything at all.
For example, Masako Araki had no idea what was happening. She only knew that her entire team suddenly seemed frozen in place.
As if their courage had completely collapsed.
On the court.
It wasn't just Yōsen who were stunned—even the Kirisaki Daiichi players were shocked.
Shuzo Nijimura swallowed nervously, sweat forming on his forehead.
"Good thing he's on our side. If he were the opponent, I'd have a real headache."
Miyamoto slowly dribbled the ball forward until he stood in front of Kensuke Fukui, looking down at him with clear disdain in his eyes.
Instantly, an overwhelming pressure swept over Fukui's entire body, making him tremble involuntarily.
Miyamoto didn't pay him much attention.
After all, why bother with someone who posed no threat?
While scanning the court to check his teammates' positions, Miyamoto suddenly realized something.
Every single one of his teammates was wide open.
In that case, Miyamoto—who claimed to suffer from decision paralysis—made a quick decision.
He'd just shoot it himself.
Too many options?
Then I won't choose at all.
Without any unnecessary moves, Miyamoto gathered the ball and rose straight into a jump shot from where he stood.
The motion was clean and effortless.
Standing right in front of him, Fukui didn't even react in time. He could only stare blankly as Miyamoto shot the ball right in his face.
And…
It went in.
After scoring, Miyamoto calmly turned and ran back on defense.
The suffocating pressure that had filled the court vanished instantly.
The invisible weight pressing down on the Yōsen players slowly lifted.
Kenichi Okamura took several deep breaths and muttered in a low voice:
"What kind of monster is this…? He's so strong it feels like he doesn't belong in this world."
Kensuke Fukui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and spoke like someone who had just escaped death.
"You guys had it easy. When he stood in front of me, I felt like I was about to meet my ancestors."
Yōsen's small forward hesitated before asking:
"So… are we still targeting them?"
Kenichi Okamura fell silent.
Kensuke Fukui also remained silent.
After exactly two and a half seconds of silence, Okamura clenched his teeth.
"We're doing it! I still can't swallow the way those two left us!"
Fukui gritted his teeth as well.
"Let's go!"
Wei Liu simply shrugged.
"I'm fine with it."
Possession switched.
Fukui dribbled the ball to midcourt but refused to move forward any further. The pressure coming from Miyamoto was simply too overwhelming.
So Wei Liu stepped up and took over playmaking duties.
It could be said that in this game, Wei Liu was doing absolutely everything.
On offense, he had to organize the attack, set screens, and coordinate passes.
On defense, he had to help rotate, box out, and grab rebounds.
All the dirty work had basically fallen on his shoulders.
Wei Liu dribbled to the top of the three-point arc. Facing Shuzo Nijimura, he still felt a bit of pressure.
After all, Nijimura wasn't someone to underestimate.
The title of No.1 power forward in middle school wasn't just for show.
However, Wei Liu had no intention of taking Nijimura head-on. After all, their target in this game was Atsushi Murasakibara and Tatsuya Himuro.
So he lobbed the ball high into the paint.
Kenichi Okamura caught it.
But instead of attacking immediately, he waited.
He was waiting for Wei Liu to help.
As Wei Liu cut toward the basket, Yōsen's shooting guard immediately came over to set a screen.
To keep the play flowing, Tatsuya Himuro stepped forward to follow Wei Liu.
At that moment, both Himuro and Murasakibara were pulled into the paint.
Seeing the opportunity, Okamura immediately turned and tried to drive.
Murasakibara reacted instantly and blocked his path.
Without hesitation, Okamura passed the ball to Wei Liu.
After receiving it, Wei Liu used a bit of body contact, then leaned back on one leg and launched the shot.
Facing Wei Liu—who was much taller and using a one-legged fadeaway—Himuro had no choice but to give up contesting it.
Murasakibara tried to help defend.
But Okamura stepped in front of him.
"Kid, you think you can fly all over the court?"
There was nothing Murasakibara could do. It was simply too late.
He could only watch as Wei Liu's shot dropped through the basket.
Swish!
In truth, limiting Murasakibara's defense inside the three-point line was simple.
All it took was one player setting a screen to slow him down. Even if Murasakibara could still run over, sometimes he simply wouldn't make it in time.
Yet somehow, in the original story, Seirin never used such a simple method.
Instead, they had to give Taiga Kagami a power-up—and even had Tetsuya Kuroko suddenly explode with strength to block Murasakibara's standing shot.
Seriously.
Murasakibara is over two meters tall. Even if he shoots slightly crouched, his release point is still well above two meters.
And Kuroko actually jumped up and blocked that?
Kid, that's just ridiculous.
Possession switched again.
Kirisaki Daiichi ball.
This time, the moment Miyamoto received the pass, he immediately sent it to Tatsuya Himuro, who was already moving up the court.
Himuro looked at Miyamoto with confusion.
Miyamoto simply smiled.
"Go get it back."
Himuro's lips curved slightly upward.
"Understood, Captain."
With that, he dribbled toward the frontcourt.
Facing the defense of Yōsen's shooting guard, Himuro used a few quick fakes and easily blew past him.
After breaking through, he immediately jumped to shoot.
"HIMURO!!!"
Kenichi Okamura roared as he charged forward, looking ready to swat the shot into the ground.
...
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