Tatsuya Himuro's lips curled upward, as if everything had gone exactly as he expected.
With Kenichi Okamura pressing right into him, he released the shot.
Okamura's face lit up with excitement.
Hahaha, Himuro! I'm sending that shot flying!
Just as Okamura imagined himself swatting the ball away, something bizarre happened.
The basketball Himuro had released… passed straight through Okamura's hand.
Okamura's expression changed instantly.
"It… it went through?!"
Kensuke Fukui's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"How is that even possible? Since when does a basketball pass through someone's hand? Are we playing basketball or filming a horror movie?!"
Swish!
Under everyone's stunned gaze, the ball dropped cleanly through the hoop.
For a moment, the entire court fell silent.
Then the sidelines erupted into loud discussions.
On Seirin's side—
Junpei Hyuga shouted:
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could a basketball pass through someone's hand?!"
Shinji Koganei added,
"Exactly! This is basketball, not some supernatural trick!"
Just as everyone stood there completely confused, Taiga Kagami spoke.
"Mirage Shot."
Everyone exclaimed at once.
"Mirage Shot?!"
Kagami nodded and began explaining.
"That move was created by my mentor. It's one of the two ultimate techniques he talked about."
Hyuga looked puzzled.
"Wait—Kagami, you actually have a mentor? And if your mentor created it, then that means the person who used it…"
Kagami's expression darkened slightly, as if recalling a painful memory.
"Yeah. The one on the court right now is Tatsuya Himuro. He trained under the same mentor as me… and he's someone who was like an older brother to me."
The entire Seirin team gasped.
"What?! Like an older brother?!" they shouted in unison.
Koganei looked confused and continued asking.
"Then Kagami… if he was that close to you, why didn't he come find you? Why join Kirisaki Daiichi instead?"
Kagami's voice grew heavy, tinged with sadness.
"We… had a falling out."
For a moment, no one from Seirin knew what to say. They could only offer Kagami a few words of comfort.
After that, Kagami briefly told them the story.
(Basically, Himuro was the one who guided Kagami at the beginning, and Himuro was originally much stronger.)
(But Kagami possessed talent on the level of the Generation of Miracles.)
(His potential exploded, eventually surpassing Himuro.)
(Himuro, unable to accept it, challenged Kagami to a one-on-one. He said only the winner deserved to keep that "older brother" role between them.)
(Kagami valued their bond deeply and held back.)
(Himuro saw through it immediately and cut ties with him.)
(And just like that, the two went their separate ways.)
On the court.
Although the Yōsen players were shocked, it didn't stop them from continuing their plan.
After all, they never intended to win this game.
They only wanted to target Tatsuya Himuro and Atsushi Murasakibara.
Himuro was easier to deal with.
All they had to do was one thing.
Play physical.
You think Himuro's body is strong?
Then let him try going head-to-head with Kenichi Okamura!
Being strong only matters relative to your own position. Once there's a mismatch, the difference in size becomes overwhelming.
What good is your strength then?
You're not Miyamoto.
So Okamura made up his mind.
I'll deal with you first, Himuro.
As for Murasakibara…
I'll let you off for now.
"Wei Liu! Go! Box out Murasakibara!"
Wei Liu: "…Nice."
On the next possession.
Okamura moved to the shooting guard position, took a handoff pass, and immediately matched up against Himuro.
Himuro seemed to understand what Okamura intended and gave a bitter smile.
"Okamura-senpai, there's really no need to go this far, is there?"
Okamura replied immediately.
"Quiet! I'm starting the post-up!"
Himuro still tried to reason with him.
"There's really no need for this."
Okamura replied firmly,
"I don't want to waste any more words! Prepare yourself!"
Himuro paused, then said,
"I could introduce you to a few underclassmen girls."
Okamura suddenly changed tone.
"My friend, don't misunderstand. I just wanted to catch up with you."
After saying that, Okamura passed the ball into the paint to Wei Liu, then turned back toward Himuro.
"My friend, shall we talk a bit?"
Himuro's mouth twitched, but he nodded.
Meanwhile, under the basket, Wei Liu stood there completely stunned.
Wait… weren't we supposed to target Himuro?
Why are we attacking Murasakibara now?
And I'm the one taking the shot?
Atsushi Murasakibara lowered into a defensive stance, calmly waiting for Wei Liu to attack.
Wei Liu looked at the ball in his hands.
Then he looked at Murasakibara.
He fell silent.
What do you do when your teammate betrays you mid-play?
Waiting online. Urgent.
In the end, Wei Liu forced himself to attack.
He spun twice in quick succession, then stepped back and took the shot.
And…
It got blocked.
Murasakibara swatted the ball away.
The ball flew through the air and smacked directly into Okamura's head.
Okamura scratched his head casually, then continued chatting with Himuro as if nothing had happened.
At that moment, all grudges vanished.
What?
You say Himuro is a traitor?
Nonsense!
He just went out to improve himself. Of course I support that!
You say Himuro is ungrateful?
Nonsense!
Would an ungrateful person help arrange my future marriage?
This matter shall not be mentioned again!
Finally, Masako Araki called a timeout.
She immediately stepped onto the court and unleashed a series of "family sword techniques" on Okamura.
Only after that did Okamura finally come to his senses.
And just like that—
the alliance against Atsushi Murasakibara was reestablished.
What?
Himuro got left out?
Let's not talk about that.
Possession changed.
This time, Shuzo Nijimura handled the offense.
Facing Wei Liu's defense, Nijimura didn't even bother increasing his speed. He simply used his rhythm and experience to slip past him with ease.
Then he calmly knocked down the shot.
Matches are the fastest way for players to grow.
Possession switched again.
This time, Okamura attacked together with Wei Liu and Kensuke Fukui.
The three of them targeted Murasakibara.
In the end, Wei Liu finished the possession with a one-legged fadeaway.
In the following possessions, Yōsen kept focusing their offense on Murasakibara.
Their three-man coordination and screens gradually began to irritate him.
Finally, during one possession, Murasakibara muttered under his breath:
"How annoying…"
...
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