Even after breaking through, Kotaro Hayama hadn't expected to get past Shuzo Nijimura in one go.
He was confused, but he didn't slow down at all. He immediately jumped and took the shot.
Swish!
The ball went in cleanly!
After scoring, Kotaro Hayama was still a little puzzled. He had no idea what had just happened.
Reo Mibuchi, standing nearby, had already figured out the reason, but he had no intention of saying it out loud.
After all, he and Chihiro Mayuzumi were on fairly good terms.
Possession changed.
The ball went to Miyamoto Tokima, and Miyamoto Tokima did not hesitate at all. He used [Void] to freeze Reo Mibuchi in place, then raised his hand and dropped in a three-pointer.
On the next possession.
Seijuro Akashi still chose to pass the ball to Kotaro Hayama.
Chihiro Mayuzumi, meanwhile, continued running toward Kotaro Hayama's position with numb, empty movements.
Then Shuzo Nijimura's attention was diverted again, and Kotaro Hayama used that opening to break past Shuzo Nijimura and finish the attack.
"Beep! Kirisaki Daiichi calls a timeout!"
Satsuki Momoi called a timeout at that moment, bringing everyone off the court.
Once everyone came down.
Satsuki Momoi looked at her notebook, lightly twirling a pen in her hand.
She glanced over the data written there, then said:
"Akashi-kun really is ruthless."
Shuzo Nijimura asked in confusion:
"What did Akashi do?"
Satsuki Momoi looked at her notebook and said:
"Akashi-kun turned Senpai Mayuzumi from a shadow into light."
"To be precise, Akashi-kun used Chihiro Mayuzumi's repeated scoring to make our attention shift toward him, whether we wanted it to or not."
"He turned Senpai Mayuzumi into the light that draws the attention of our entire team."
"And Akashi-kun is using that to create openings for breakthroughs."
Shuzo Nijimura froze for a moment, then said in disbelief:
"Isn't that... just treating him like a tool?"
Shuzo Nijimura truly couldn't believe that the once-gentle Seijuro Akashi had become this cold.
Miyamoto Tokima was tying his shoelaces at that moment as he said:
"That's exactly what Akashi's secondary personality is like. He treats everyone as a pawn. As long as it's for victory, he'll use any means necessary."
Miyamoto Tokima slowly sat up straight and said:
"He's the complete opposite of Seijuro's primary personality."
Makoto Hanamiya said:
"Yeah, that's true. If it were the primary personality, I might hold back a little, but with this secondary personality, I don't feel bad trash-talking him at all."
Miyamoto Tokima burst out laughing and teased:
"Are you trying to break Akashi?"
Makoto Hanamiya scratched his head sheepishly and said:
"Hehe, honestly, I mainly just want to see what he looks like when he completely loses it."
"Besides, I kind of miss Akashi's primary personality. I haven't trash-talked that version of him yet, so I wonder how he'd react."
Miyamoto Tokima glanced at him and smiled.
"You'll get the chance eventually."
Trash talk was still trash talk. If you kept going at it long enough, you might even build some kind of bond, so Miyamoto Tokima had no intention of stopping him.
Over on Rakuzan High School's side.
Seijuro Akashi glanced toward Kirisaki Daiichi, already knowing that the plan to use Chihiro Mayuzumi to divert their attention probably wouldn't work anymore.
After all, Satsuki Momoi's ability to gather intelligence was no joke.
Seijuro Akashi had to admit that when it came to gathering and analyzing information, Satsuki Momoi truly deserved to be called the best.
There were even some team coaches who couldn't analyze data the way Satsuki Momoi did.
Seijuro Akashi lowered his head slightly and thought to himself:
'What an annoying strategist.'
'But there's nothing I can do about it. Chihiro is probably useless now.'
Seijuro Akashi took a deep breath, then closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the scene before his eyes had changed completely.
He had arrived before the [Gate]!
The first [Gate]!
He looked up at the tightly closed [Gate], gently placed his palm against it, and his expression filled with longing.
"Help me."
The next second, a figure identical to Seijuro Akashi suddenly appeared in front of Seijuro Akashi's secondary personality.
That figure was none other than Seijuro Akashi's primary personality!
The primary personality looked at the secondary personality, then turned toward the [Gate] and spoke gently:
"It's not that I won't help you. I just can't."
The primary personality turned his attention back to the secondary personality, met his eyes, and said slowly:
"In the end, you're only my secondary personality. You can't fully control my body."
"And in the end, I'm only a loser buried deep in the mind. I can't help you push open this [Gate] either."
Hearing this, the secondary personality's expression instantly darkened with anger.
"Why can you open the [Gate], but I can't?! Am I not the owner of this body too?!"
The primary personality shook his head and said:
"If we're really going to put it that way, you can only be considered the owner of half this body. And I can only be considered the owner of the other half."
"We can each only use part of the body's abilities. You control one part, I control another, and the parts we control are different."
"The only reason I can open the [Gate] is because I'm the primary personality and have controlled the body for longer."
The secondary personality's expression immediately turned frantic.
"Hmph! Even if you won't help me, I'll still push open this [Gate]!"
"Even Shuzo Nijimura and Haizaki could open the [Gate]! Of course I can too!!!"
"I'm the strongest!"
The primary personality shook his head helplessly. He knew the secondary personality had completely fallen into obsession.
He understood the secondary personality very well.
On the surface, he still addressed his seniors respectfully, but deep down, he looked down on everyone.
But the primary personality didn't intend to say anything, because if they were really going to judge it, he was the weakest one.
Then the primary personality sighed and gradually disappeared from in front of the [Gate].
The secondary personality didn't care at all. With a frenzied expression, he stepped up to the [Gate] and placed both hands against it.
Then he began to push with all his strength!
The secondary personality used every ounce of power in his body, but the [Gate] did not move at all.
At that moment, the secondary personality roared.
"I'm going to win! I'm the strongest!"
"Victory is absolute!"
"I will never lose!!!"
The next instant, a black shadow appeared beside the secondary personality.
That was the secondary personality's conviction.
His belief in absolute victory!
The person and the shadow pushed at the same time.
Then...
Crack...
The [Gate]... opened!
...
...
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