After that brief interlude, the game continued.
But rather than a normal continuation, it had turned into a one-on-one showdown between Jason Silver and Murasakibara.
On offense, Jason Silver could no longer easily break through Murasakibara's defense using brute force alone.
On top of that, Murasakibara's complete disregard for him pushed Jason Silver to stop holding back...
He entered the Zone.
What followed was a one-sided massacre.
It was not just Murasakibara.
Everyone else was overwhelmed by Jason Silver as well.
From the first quarter to the second, then into the third.
The entire Kirisaki Daiichi team was swallowed by Jason Silver's shadow.
With the Zone activated, Jason Silver dominated for three full quarters.
He single-handedly crushed the entire Kirisaki Daiichi lineup.
His strength was overwhelming. Even Dicky Anthony, Murasakibara, and Shuzo Nijimura working together could not stop him.
In the Zone, Jason Silver pushed his individual ability to its absolute peak.
He completely broke Kirisaki Daiichi on his own.
At the end of the third quarter, during the break, Jason Silver finally exited the Zone and sat on the bench, breathing heavily.
Three full quarters in the Zone had drained him dry.
Nash Gold narrowed his eyes and said,
"Take a rest. In the fourth quarter, just come on to fill the numbers."
There was no other choice. The Black Dragon Team still had no substitutes, so everyone had been managing their stamina throughout the game.
Jason Silver was the same. Only today, he had gone all out and stayed in the Zone for three straight quarters.
Tired? Of course he was. But there was no one else to take his place.
At that moment, Miyamoto Tokima walked over, took off his outer layer, and put on the No. 4 jersey that had been kept for the Black Dragon Team.
Everyone on the team froze.
What was the referee doing?
The referee was warming up.
Nash Gold looked at Miyamoto Tokima in surprise.
"Tokima... you..."
Miyamoto Tokima smiled as he changed.
"Jason's tired. I'm the substitute."
Jason Silver immediately reacted.
"Wait, what are you saying? Tokima! If I did something wrong, just say it. I'll fix it!"
Miyamoto Tokima waved his hand after getting dressed.
"I'm joking. I'll take the fourth quarter. As for position, I'll go play with Haizaki."
As if worried they might not recognize him, he added,
"The gray-haired one over there. The one asking to get beaten."
Everyone nodded instinctively.
At that moment, Allen grinned mischievously.
"So if Tokima plays shooting guard... hehe... Nick, center is all yours."
Nick's usually expressionless face finally changed.
"Allen! You want me at center? Are you trying to get me killed?"
Nick was a shooting guard. There was no way he could match a true center in strength.
Not to mention, Murasakibara could go toe to toe with Jason Silver in terms of power.
And now you want him to guard that kind of monster.
That was basically asking to get crushed.
Nick might be strong, but against someone like that, it was hopeless.
Zack spoke up,
"Enough. I'll take the center. The rest of you figure it out."
Allen immediately seized the chance.
"I haven't faced Nijimura in a while. I'll take him. Nick, you go small forward."
Nick glared.
"Get lost. Zack takes center, I take power forward."
Allen shot back,
"I'll do it."
Nick responded,
"I'll do it."
Seeing no end to it, Allen said,
"Rock paper scissors."
Nick nodded.
The two started their match to decide who would guard Shuzo Nijimura.
Poor Nijimura. He tore through Japan, and even back in the United States, he was still getting torn through.
Miyamoto Tokima and Nash Gold exchanged a helpless look.
In the end, Nick won and took on Nijimura.
Allen had no choice but to keep guarding Dicky Anthony.
Allen. Life is hard.
The fourth quarter began.
When Kirisaki Daiichi stepped onto the court and saw Miyamoto Tokima on the opposing side, they all fell silent.
Shogo Haizaki and Makoto Hanamiya exchanged a glance.
Goodbye, Mom. Tonight, I'm setting sail.
Good news. Jason Silver was off the court.
Bad news. Miyamoto Tokima was on.
And so, in the fourth quarter, under Miyamoto Tokima's control...
Kirisaki Daiichi suffered a complete defeat.
Miyamoto Tokima actually felt a bit disappointed.
He had gone in to apply more pressure on Shogo Haizaki, to see if he could trigger his second entry into the Zone.
But the moment Haizaki saw him, he became obedient like a child.
Offense. He did not attack.
Defense. He barely tried.
He practically handed everything over and stopped moving altogether.
That left Miyamoto Tokima at a loss.
At this rate, when would Haizaki ever enter the Zone a second time?
There was no choice. He could only take it step by step.
The more you forced it, the harder it became.
After the game ended, the entire Kirisaki Daiichi team looked dejected.
Every face was filled with sadness, frustration, and regret.
This was exactly what Miyamoto Tokima wanted.
Back in Japan, Kirisaki Daiichi had it too easy.
They won almost every game by a large margin.
Even the finals had not truly challenged them.
Everything had gone too smoothly.
Although they were still training hard, it had become blind effort.
They no longer knew what they were working toward. They were just repeating drills mechanically.
That was not something Miyamoto Tokima wanted to see.
If they had a clear goal and trained toward it, he would not interfere.
But now, they had lost their direction.
Before, they at least had the goal of winning the championship.
But once they achieved it, they all became complacent.
So Miyamoto Tokima brought them to the United States for this match.
The first game had not even been finished. He had stopped it midway.
So they never truly took it seriously. At most, they felt something briefly afterward.
That was why Miyamoto Tokima decided to let them experience a true defeat.
And this match...
Was exactly that.
...
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