Silence. A deathly, suffocating silence.
A massive, throbbing vein popped out on Taoka Moeichi's forehead. His blood pressure instantly spiked to 180.
"You... You're that Red-Haired Monkey from Shohoku?!"
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
"This is Ryonan's strategy huddle! Are you a spy?!" Taoka's roar was deafening.
"Spy?! That's a terrible thing to say!" Sakuragi Hanamichi stood up righteously, hands on his hips. "This is called 'Gathering Intelligence.' It's military strategy! Do you even understand the Art of War, old man?!"
"You little punk—!"
Before Taoka could erupt, a massive fist descended from the heavens.
THUD!
A dull, heavy impact. A large, smoking lump instantly swelled on Sakuragi's head. Akagi Takenori, his face a mask of shadows, grabbed Sakuragi by the collar and began dragging him away like a dead dog.
"My sincerest apologies, Coach Taoka," Akagi said, his voice trembling with rage. "Lack of discipline on our part. I'm embarrassed you had to see this."
"Let me go, Gorilla! I heard their secrets! I have the intel!" Sakuragi flailed and kicked in mid-air as he was hauled away.
Watching the farce from the bench, Hayashi Rin yawned and downed the last of his sports drink.
"So much energy..." He rubbed his slightly sore shoulders. "But the first half took way too long. If this drags on, I'm going to miss the JoJo rerun tonight."
Hayashi Rin stood up and flexed his wrists. Looks like I'll have to put Old Man Taoka out of his misery a bit early.
The Second Half
Both teams switched sides and the battle resumed. Ryonan's ball.
As expected, Sendoh Akira was no longer holding back. He advanced with the rock. Facing Rukawa Kaede's stifling defense, Sendoh executed an incredibly deceptive shot-fake, completely uprooting Rukawa's center of gravity before exploding into the paint.
"Help defense!" Akagi roared.
But Sendoh performed a double-clutch layup in mid-air, hanging just long enough to dodge Akagi's block before flipping the ball into the hoop.
52:45.
The move was fluid, supremely graceful.
"WOOOH! Sendoh! Sendoh!" The Ryonan cheers shook the arena.
Shohoku's possession. The ball reached Hayashi Rin's hands. Defending him was, once again, Sendoh.
"Seems like you're not fully awake yet," Sendoh teased, eyeing Hayashi Rin's half-lidded eyes.
"Yeah... I'm dead tired," Hayashi Rin sighed. He stood loosely, dribbling with a lazy, rhythmic thrum.
Suddenly. Without any warning, Hayashi Rin's eyes changed. The lethargy vanished instantly, replaced by a beast-like ferocity.
[Ability: Aomine Daiki's Lightning-Fast Dribble]
BAM!
The basketball slammed into the floor with a crack like breaking wood. Hayashi Rin's body leaned at an impossibly sharp angle, his speed instantly rocketing from 0 to 100.
"What?!"
Sendoh saw nothing but a blur. This wasn't a normal drive. The change of pace—the sheer defiance of biomechanics in his change of direction—it was too fast to track.
Hayashi Rin, like a bolt of black lightning, tore through Sendoh's defense. He drove into the key, meeting the massive wall of Uozumi. Hayashi didn't slow down; instead, he leaned his body backward into a fade. While losing his balance in mid-air, he casually flicked the ball toward the backboard.
[Ability: The Formless Shot]
The ball banked in perfectly. 52:47.
On the sidelines, the tactical board slipped from Coach Taoka's hand and clattered to the floor. His mouth hung open, eyes bulging.
That move... was that even human? To maintain that level of touch while moving at that insane speed?
"H-how... How is that possible?!" Taoka was stunned.
[Mission Progress: 1/3]
"Nice shot!" The Shohoku bench erupted.
Hayashi Rin landed and rubbed his wrist. Without even a glance at Taoka, he turned and ran back on defense.
"That's one."
The next few possessions were a brutal tug-of-war. Sendoh showed why he was the Ace, scoring back-to-back buckets. On Shohoku's side, Akagi and Rukawa kept pace, refusing to let the gap widen.
The score seesawed. 58:56.
Shohoku's offense. Hayashi Rin had the ball. Ryonan had learned their lesson. Ikegami and Koshino closed in with Sendoh, attempting to seal off every possible driving lane.
"A triple-team?" The corner of Hayashi Rin's mouth lifted. "Then let's try this."
He held the ball with both hands in a passing stance. But the posture was strange. It wasn't a push or a chest pass. It was like a clap—his palms slapping hard against the leather.
[Ability: Kuroko Tetsuya's Ignite Pass]
THUMP!
A dull, heavy thud. The basketball transformed into a fired cannonball, leaving a straight afterimage in the air. Koshino felt a gust of wind whip past his face; he didn't even see the ball's trajectory.
The ball zipped through the microscopic gaps between the defenders, rocketing straight toward Akagi on the baseline. The moment Akagi caught it, his palm went numb.
So much power!
But Akagi reacted instantly—spinning, leaping, and slamming it home!
BOOM!
58:58. Tie game!
"What the hell was that?!" Taoka Moeichi sprang from his chair, clutching his head. "That passing speed... was that even a pass? That was attempted murder!"
The accuracy, the sheer velocity... Taoka was reeling. A new emotion began to spread through him: fear. This Hayashi Rin... just how many cards does he have left?
[Mission Progress: 2/3]
The game reached a fever pitch. Ryonan's resilience was legendary. Sendoh Akira seemed tireless, tearing through Shohoku's defense again and again.
Ryonan pulled ahead once more. 64:62. 66:64.
Ten minutes remaining. Shohoku was trailing by 3 points after Uozumi drew a foul on Akagi and sank a free throw.
67:64.
The tension was at its peak. The air felt thick, every breath scalding hot.
Shohoku's offense. This time, the entire Ryonan team retreated into a zone. Sendoh stared intently at Hayashi Rin, his focus higher than it had been all day.
"I won't let you past again." Sendoh spread his arms, sealing off every route.
Hayashi Rin looked at the wall before him and sighed softly. "What a hassle... Guess I have to use that move."
Hayashi began to dribble, his rhythm becoming agonizingly slow. He looked at Rukawa, at Akagi, at Sakuragi. Everyone's attention followed his gaze. The moment Sendoh's focus wavered—just for a millisecond—to check the passing lanes...
Hayashi Rin moved.
He didn't drive. He didn't pass. Instead... he vanished.
[Ability: The Vanishing Dribble]
In Sendoh's field of vision, Hayashi Rin's figure seemed to bleed into the background. By the time Sendoh realized what was happening, Hayashi was already behind him.
"Wh—?!" Sendoh whipped his head around, his face a mask of pure disbelief.
Where did he go? How did he get past? There was no warning!
Hayashi Rin laid the ball in with ease. 67:66.
On the sidelines, Taoka Moeichi's legs gave out. He collapsed into his chair, his finger trembling as he pointed at Hayashi. His lips quivered, but no sound came out.
"Magic... this is magic..."