The fourth quarter began.
Seirin High School had possession.
Shun Izuki brought the ball past half court first, but the moment he crossed the line, he felt that something was wrong.
To be precise, Seijuro Akashi's aura felt wrong.
If Seijuro Akashi in the first half had only felt somewhat oppressive.
Then the Seijuro Akashi standing there now gave off an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Shun Izuki shuddered, then forced himself to push forward.
Seijuro Akashi calmly watched Shun Izuki approach him without making any move.
Seeing that, Shun Izuki let out a small breath of relief, then quickly observed the situation.
Taiga Kagami ran out at that moment, and Shun Izuki immediately passed the ball.
Smack!!!
But in the next second, Shun Izuki froze.
Because the instant he passed, Seijuro Akashi stole the ball!
He looked at Seijuro Akashi in horror.
Seijuro Akashi's eyes were wide open, one red and one gold, both carrying a domineering presence like an emperor's.
Looking closely, there was even a golden ring of light flickering inside Seijuro Akashi's golden eye.
Seijuro Akashi looked at Shun Izuki and spoke in a tone that allowed no argument:
"My orders are absolute. Not even my parents are allowed to defy them!"
With that, Seijuro Akashi grabbed the basketball and charged straight toward the frontcourt.
Shun Izuki gritted his teeth and turned to chase after him.
Taiga Kagami also chased after him.
Soon, Taiga Kagami and Shun Izuki caught up to Seijuro Akashi and blocked his path.
Seijuro Akashi looked at the two of them coldly and ordered:
"Move."
Taiga Kagami and Shun Izuki did not budge. They only stared at Seijuro Akashi with serious expressions.
Seijuro Akashi frowned slightly, then dribbled quickly.
Tap... tap-tap... tap-tap-tap-tap...
The basketball moved faster and faster, even leaving afterimages behind.
The next second.
Taiga Kagami and Shun Izuki fell backward uncontrollably.
Both of their faces were filled with horror, as if they could not believe what had just happened.
Seijuro Akashi slowly dribbled the basketball and walked forward between them, saying coldly:
"My orders are absolute."
Then Seijuro Akashi gently sent the basketball into the hoop and turned back on defense.
The Seirin players all stared with their mouths open, their faces full of disbelief.
Junpei Hyuga said in shock:
"So this is... the captain of the [Generation of Miracles]... Akashi?"
Teppei Kiyoshi came over to Taiga Kagami and Shun Izuki and pulled them up.
After standing, Taiga Kagami's expression was still a little unnatural.
"Damn it. He's nothing like Kise."
Shun Izuki's expression was also strained as he said:
"Yeah. The feeling he gives off is completely different from what Kise felt like before."
Teppei Kiyoshi paused for a moment, then said:
"Is that so? Then this might be a little troublesome. Let's focus on the game first."
The two nodded and shouted:
"Right!"
...
Possession changed.
Seirin had the ball.
After what had just happened, Shun Izuki understood that Seijuro Akashi's [Emperor Eye] was vastly different from the [Emperor Eye] copied by Ryota Kise.
So naturally, Shun Izuki did not dare use the same approach against Seijuro Akashi that he had used against Ryota Kise.
Right now, his only option was to avoid Seijuro Akashi and let someone else score.
So Shun Izuki immediately put distance between himself and Seijuro Akashi, then passed the basketball behind him to Taiga Kagami.
The moment Taiga Kagami caught the ball, Kotaro Hayama immediately pressed up on him, clearly not planning to let Taiga Kagami dribble comfortably.
Taiga Kagami did not panic. He immediately created space, then his expression sharpened.
Crackle!!!
Zone activated!
Lightning suddenly flashed in Taiga Kagami's eyes. Then, seizing an opening as Kotaro Hayama stepped forward, he accelerated in an instant and blew clean past Kotaro Hayama.
Kotaro Hayama froze for a moment, but with his Animal Instinct activated, his reaction was also very fast. He immediately turned and chased back on defense.
However, Taiga Kagami was naturally a little faster.
And Taiga Kagami actually took off directly from the free-throw line!
Kotaro Hayama felt a jolt of shock when he saw that familiar motion.
'[Meteor Jam]?!'
Eikichi Nebuya was still under the basket and had no time to help on defense. He could only watch as Taiga Kagami smashed the basketball into the hoop!
Bang!!!
With that [Meteor Jam], Taiga Kagami announced his return!
Possession changed.
Rakuzan High School had the ball.
Seijuro Akashi held the ball again, dribbled several times in a row to shake Shun Izuki to the floor, then shot the basketball into the hoop from the free-throw line.
Possession changed.
Seirin had the ball.
As before, Shun Izuki found Taiga Kagami and handed the ball to him.
Kotaro Hayama immediately prepared to step up on defense, but suddenly, he felt someone pull him away.
He looked over in confusion and found that the person pulling him was Seijuro Akashi!
With a cold expression, Seijuro Akashi pulled Kotaro Hayama aside and personally defended Taiga Kagami.
Seeing that, Kotaro Hayama said nothing more and turned to defend Shun Izuki instead.
Taiga Kagami carefully studied Seijuro Akashi with lightning flashing in his eyes, then frowned slightly.
At that moment, it was the team ace against the team ace!
Off the court.
Shintaro Midorima calmly watched the court and thought:
'Here it comes.'
On the court.
Taiga Kagami took a deep breath, then immediately began his drive.
In an instant, Taiga Kagami broke through Seijuro Akashi's defense without encountering the slightest resistance.
That left Taiga Kagami puzzled.
'That easy?'
But just as Taiga Kagami was about to dribble again and continue his attack, he discovered in shock...
His basketball...
Had disappeared...
Taiga Kagami was startled and quickly turned around, only to find that Seijuro Akashi had already reached the three-point line in Seirin's backcourt.
Then Taiga Kagami could only watch as Seijuro Akashi put the basketball into the hoop with a simple three-step layup.
Possession changed.
Taiga Kagami still held the ball, facing Seijuro Akashi.
This time, Taiga Kagami did not rush his attack. Instead, he quietly looked for an opening.
Taiga Kagami now understood as well. Seijuro Akashi's [Emperor Eye] and the [Emperor Eye] produced by Ryota Kise's [Copying] were worlds apart.
Seijuro Akashi's [Emperor Eye] observed muscle movements several times more powerfully than the [Emperor Eye] Ryota Kise had produced through [Copying]!
...
...
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