Makoto Hanamiya frowned, immediately understanding what Rakuzan High School was thinking.
Their plan was simple: use Kotaro Hayama to block him off so Seijuro Akashi would not be disturbed.
There was nothing else they could do. Makoto Hanamiya was just too thick-skinned. Even after being crushed by Seijuro Akashi, his mouth would still keep going.
On the court.
Since Kotaro Hayama had screened for Seijuro Akashi, Akashi's matchup naturally became Dicky Anthony, who was playing small forward.
As soon as Seijuro Akashi came over, Dicky Anthony stepped up and spread his arms wide.
Dicky Anthony's two-meter-ten height stood in sharp contrast to Seijuro Akashi, who was only a little over one-seventy.
That huge height gap immediately got the spectators talking.
"Huh? Isn't that height difference way too big?"
"Yeah. With a gap that big, can Akashi really handle him?"
On the court.
Seijuro Akashi, who had gradually calmed down, looked at Dicky Anthony expressionlessly before launching his attack.
The golden ring in Seijuro Akashi's golden eye turned slightly. After a few quick dribbles, he sent Dicky Anthony falling to the floor.
Even with Dicky Anthony defending seriously, he could not force his body to reverse its balance against instinct.
My God. What a terrifying kid.
After dropping Dicky Anthony, Seijuro Akashi immediately took a sidestep and pulled up for a shot.
Kentaro Seto tried to rush over to help defend, but Eikichi Nebuya blocked his path, keeping him from getting through.
Just then!
Dicky Anthony, who had fallen to the floor, suddenly sprang back up and lunged at Seijuro Akashi.
Even after jumping late, Dicky Anthony used his height and wingspan to barely brush the basketball with his fingertips!
Seijuro Akashi's pupils shrank sharply, and shock filled his heart.
How?!
After Dicky Anthony's fingertips grazed it, the basketball drifted slightly off course and struck the rim.
Because Eikichi Nebuya had just been boxing out Kentaro Seto, his own position was too far outside, leaving him with no good rebounding position.
Naturally, Kentaro Seto grabbed the rebound.
After securing the rebound, Kentaro Seto did not hesitate at all. He immediately launched a long pass toward the frontcourt.
The basketball flew across the entire court and landed in Shuzo Nijimura's hands as he had already started the fast break.
"Nice! Great pass, Kentaro!"
Shuzo Nijimura praised him with a smile, then gathered the ball and prepared to go up for the score.
"Don't act like I'm not here, Nijimura!!"
Reo Mibuchi shouted and immediately jumped to stop him.
Shuzo Nijimura smiled in midair.
"I never acted like you weren't here, Reo."
The moment he finished speaking, Reo Mibuchi seemed to realize something, and his pupils suddenly shrank.
Then he saw Shuzo Nijimura fold his body in the air, switch hands with the basketball, and scoop it in from the other side of the rim.
A double-clutch layup!
After scoring, Shuzo Nijimura grinned and said:
"How was that, Reo? Pretty nice double-clutch, right?"
Reo Mibuchi smiled helplessly.
"Heh. Barely passable."
Just as Shuzo Nijimura was smiling and heading back on defense, he suddenly froze.
Because Seijuro Akashi was still standing in place, his expression dark.
Shuzo Nijimura frowned. Just as he got closer, he heard Seijuro Akashi muttering under his breath.
"You pieces of trash... You've gone too far!!!"
Seijuro Akashi's whisper gradually grew louder, until everyone on the court could hear the words "gone too far."
From the beginning of the game, Seijuro Akashi had first been mentally rattled by Makoto Hanamiya and Shogo Haizaki.
Then, in the second quarter, Dicky Anthony caught him off guard.
That completely angered Seijuro Akashi.
The moment Seijuro Akashi got the ball, the golden ring in his golden eye began spinning rapidly.
In the next second, a powerful wave of pressure burst outward like a roaring lion.
The force swept over everyone on the court in an instant.
When it passed, only Dicky Anthony and Miyamoto Tokima seemed to be wrapped in that pressure.
Off the court.
Seeing that familiar scene, Taiga Kagami could not help exclaiming:
"There it is again! That ability to lock onto people and see through them!"
Taiga Kagami was far too familiar with that move.
If Seijuro Akashi had not used that move to see through Tetsuya Kuroko, they would have been able to put up a bit more of a fight.
On the court.
Miyamoto Tokima suddenly felt as though someone had locked onto him, and he muttered:
"So there really is a feeling like this. Interesting."
After being locked onto, Dicky Anthony immediately felt uncomfortable.
That feeling of being stared down constantly was extremely unpleasant.
"Hey, kid. I suggest you take that useless gaze off me."
Dicky Anthony said it in English, as if he knew Seijuro Akashi would understand.
Hearing him, Seijuro Akashi fired back in English:
"Shut up, trash. Move out of my way."
Dicky Anthony frowned, but in the next second...
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Seijuro Akashi dribbled rapidly in succession and instantly sent Dicky Anthony falling to the floor.
Although Dicky Anthony had gone down, he quickly got up and rushed over to defend again.
At the same time, Kentaro Seto also moved in.
Seijuro Akashi had locked onto Dicky Anthony, so every one of Dicky Anthony's movements was clear to him.
Seijuro Akashi suddenly stepped back, forcing Dicky Anthony to brake in a hurry.
But before Dicky Anthony could even steady himself, Seijuro Akashi broke through again.
This made Dicky Anthony fall to the floor once more.
Seeing that, Kentaro Seto immediately came up to cover, but the moment he arrived, Seijuro Akashi froze him in place with a sudden acceleration in rhythm.
After breaking past Kentaro Seto, Seijuro Akashi immediately used [Emperor Eye] to check the two people he had locked onto.
Once he saw that Miyamoto Tokima had not moved and Dicky Anthony had only just gotten up, Seijuro Akashi finally went for the layup without worry.
Step...
After the ball went in, Seijuro Akashi let out a faint breath.
A voice immediately sounded in his mind.
"Feeling better now?"
Hearing that, Seijuro Akashi instantly frowned.
"Hmph. None of your business!"
Then Seijuro Akashi turned and went back on defense.
The primary personality in his mind smiled helplessly. Then, through the secondary personality's eyes, he saw Miyamoto Tokima.
The primary personality immediately showed a nostalgic expression. He smiled gently and murmured:
"Tokima... you've become... even stronger."
On the court.
After Makoto Hanamiya dribbled to half court, he passed the ball directly to Miyamoto Tokima.
The moment Miyamoto Tokima caught it, Reo Mibuchi spoke.
"Master, you have to go easy on me."
Miyamoto Tokima smiled calmly.
"Sure."
...