Shohoku's bench.
"Super High-Speed Dribble." Shimizu Kanon's eyes were fixed, explaining seriously. "That's Saku-chan's original playstyle. It's one of his abilities too."
Super High-Speed Dribble?
Aoi Kunisaku's original playstyle?
One of his abilities?
Everyone on Shohoku looked confused. Their eyes were full of questions, like basketball had suddenly become something unfamiliar.
Ayako couldn't hold back and spoke first, curiosity all over her face. "Kanon, you said this is Aoi Kunisaku's original style? What does that even mean?"
Everyone else quieted down and turned expectant eyes toward Shimizu Kanon.
She took a moment to organize her thoughts, then slowly said, "Saku-chan grew up playing street ball. That kind of environment shaped a completely different style from standard basketball."
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had just been bugging Coach Anzai, went quiet. His dead-fish eyes widened, eager to hear more.
Shimizu Kanon continued, "Saku-chan's playstyle doesn't follow rules or structure. He moves however he wants. On the court, he's like a free dancer. Any move could turn into a dribble. Any moment could be his shooting chance—just like that last shot he took earlier. Super High-Speed Dribble, combined with his Formless Shot—that's Saku-chan's true game."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Shohoku bench fell dead silent.
Kogure Kiminobu and the others couldn't stop twitching at the corners of their mouths. Their eyelids were going crazy.
They all pictured Aoi Kunisaku using Super High-Speed Dribble together with Formless Shot in their minds.
Hiss—
A moment later, everyone took in a cold breath.
That scene had to be insane. Beyond belief.
Thinking back to that crazy dribble Aoi just pulled off, they all shivered inside.
Holy crap.
What the hell was that?
They all thought it silently. Just imagining it gave them chills and sparked a fear deep down.
But... at least this monster was on their team.
Coach Anzai quietly listened to Shimizu Kanon's explanation.
The gleam behind his glasses grew deeper and wiser.
What Aoi Kunisaku had just shown him was truly stunning.
He had never seen anyone dribble like that.
He had to admit—he'd underestimated Aoi's talent.
He never imagined this kid was that much of a freak.
Back in that era, street basketball hadn't even caught on. That's why Aoi's Super High-Speed Dribble hit with such shock and awe. It was unimaginable.
…
On the court, Tsukubu's players looked like they'd been hit with a freeze spell. They stood frozen in place, eyes dull, staring straight at Aoi Kunisaku.
On their faces—blank, foolish smiles.
Heh... heh... heh...
That hollow laughter sounded like self-hypnosis.
I must've seen it wrong.
A trick of the eye, for sure.
This has to be a dream, right? Yeah, definitely a dream!
They repeated it to themselves over and over, trying to believe what they'd just witnessed wasn't real.
Flat on the ground, Nango Koichiro had long forgotten his pain.
His eyes were empty, staring dumbly at the figure standing tall under his own basket. Terror crept through his chest.
A demon... I just saw a demon.
He screamed inside. His confidence cracked. It started to crumble.
Shohoku's players were just as stunned.
They all stared at Aoi Kunisaku, unable to shake off the shock.
They knew he was strong.
But not this strong.
Seriously?
Basketball can even be played like that?
They all gasped silently. Their faces showed pure disbelief.
Akagi Takenori frowned hard, thinking to himself, "What kind of monster did the basketball club recruit?"
Mitsui Hisashi's jaw dropped. He muttered, "What the hell even is that?"
Miyagi Ryota's eyes were wide in shock. "What the hell did I just see?"
A flicker of hesitation passed through Rukawa Kaede's eyes. He muttered inwardly, "Still gonna challenge him one-on-one after this…?"
…
Time ticked by.
In the rest of the game, Aoi Kunisaku showed the full extent of his terrifying power. Everyone finally saw what a truly unstoppable scoring king looked like.
Even though he didn't pull out the full-range Super High-Speed Dribble or his hardest Formless Shots, just what he was doing now already left the crowd and players stunned. Jaws dropped. A creeping fear began to spread inside them.
Yeah—fear. That involuntary awe and dread in the face of absolute strength.
Bang…
Bang…
Bang…
Under Tsukubu's basket, the sound of the ball bouncing echoed nonstop.
Aoi Kunisaku and Nango Koichiro faced off again.
Without any hesitation, Aoi Kunisaku charged forward with the ball and leapt into the air.
Midair, he held the ball in one hand, clearly setting up for a dunk.
Seeing this, Nango Koichiro assumed the dunk was coming. He jumped too, arm fully outstretched to block.
But just as they were about to collide, Aoi Kunisaku's mouth curled into a sly smile. His wrist flicked. The ball flew past Nango Koichiro's hand at a bizarre angle.
Nango Koichiro tried to react, but he was a second too slow. His hand smacked hard against Aoi Kunisaku's arm.
Tweet—
At the same time, the referee's whistle shrieked.
Swish…
The ball hit nothing but net.
Then the referee called it out clearly. "Tsukubu #15, shooting foul. Basket counts. One free throw."
"Damn it!" Nango Koichiro scowled, full of frustration.
Aoi Kunisaku stood calmly at the free-throw line. He raised the ball, shot, smooth as ever.
Swish. Nothing but net again. Clean shot.
Scenes like that kept repeating as the match went on.
Aoi Kunisaku and Nango Koichiro clashed again under Tsukubu's basket.
Aoi Kunisaku jumped from just in front of the free-throw line.
"Ugh—!" Nango Koichiro shouted, leaping to block him.
Aoi Kunisaku raised the ball high. His motion swung it in a full arc—from right to left, from top to bottom—avoiding Nango Koichiro's hand with flawless control. Then he released it.
Realizing too late, Nango Koichiro twisted awkwardly, trying to block. In the mess, his elbow bumped Aoi Kunisaku's arm.
Tweet—
The whistle blew again.
Swish…
The ball, no surprise, dropped straight into the hoop.
The referee's voice came once more. "Tsukubu #15, defensive foul. Basket counts. One free throw."
Nango Koichiro's eyes widened. Inside, all he felt was despair. He stared at the referee, disbelieving.
"Why? Why the hell is this happening?" he screamed in his head.
But no one can ever predict how their story ends.
Aoi Kunisaku dribbled again. He shot forward like a red streak, heading straight for Tsukubu's paint.
Nango Koichiro chased him down with everything he had.
"Almost there, almost there—I'm catching up," he told himself over and over.
At last, just as Aoi Kunisaku leapt, Nango Koichiro reached the block zone.
He jumped with all his strength.
He even checked their spacing carefully and felt a burst of relief. "No foul this time."
He relaxed just a bit, thinking, "No way you're scoring again."
Hmph…
Aoi Kunisaku let out a light snort. His hand rolled the ball back and tossed it off the backboard.
The ball hit the backboard, bounced down—and smacked straight into Nango Koichiro's hand.
Using the force of that collision, the ball bounced again, perfectly into the hoop.
Swish…
Basket.
The net's rustle was crisp and clean. But to Nango Koichiro, it sounded like thunder in his ears.