Teiko vs. Shōei.
The second half had just begun.
Scoreboard: 65–27.
Shigure Akihito, along with Shuzo Nijimura and the rest of the core team, stepped onto the court. On the bench, the first-years sat in a neat row beside Fukaya Reiji, but among them, the eerily silent Murasakibara Atsushi stood out. Not only had he shown no reaction to Haizaki Shōgo's earlier antics, he hadn't even looked his way.
"Tch."
"What the hell is that idiot so smug about?"
"He's just a sub…"
"Damn it!"
Next to him, Aomine Daiki was still fuming over Haizaki's arrogant display earlier.
Usually, he'd get a grunt of agreement from Murasakibara—but this time, there was nothing. Curious, he turned and found the giant center panting slightly, eyes locked intensely on the court.
"…What's with him?"
Something had changed.
More precisely, ever since that moment in the second quarter, after Fukaya-senpai said something to him, Murasakibara had been playing dead serious.
So serious, in fact, he was visibly out of breath.
Rare. Very rare.
On the court
Once Teiko's true starting lineup took the floor, Shōei played with noticeably more caution than they had in the first half.
The biggest sign?
Ball movement.
They passed.
Then passed again.
Everyone was in motion or bracing in defensive stances.
Everyone, except for one.
"Oi."
"You guys gonna keep passing around forever?"
Near the free-throw line, Shigure Akihito, standing upright in his trademark posture, spoke lazily. His tone, paired with his unusual stance, radiated oppressive pressure toward every Shōei player.
"Aren't you gonna attack already?"
"I'm getting bored."
Shhh!
With that, Shigure casually stepped away from the free-throw line. He seemed to be helping on defense beyond the arc, but his movements weren't particularly fast.
"!?"
They're underestimating us!
Shigure Akihito.
Even if he had that so-called wide-area defense, leaving the paint entirely, especially moving out toward the three-point line—that was reckless.
He left a gaping hole behind him.
That's it!
"Kiiwa!"
Whoosh!
Shōei's point guard whipped a bounce pass behind Shigure, aiming to strike directly into the space he'd vacated.
But just as the ball left his hand
No. Even slightly before that
In the paint
The Shōei power forward guarding Nijimura Shuzo blinked in confusion.
Nijimura suddenly ditched him, and took off sprinting.
Straight toward their own half of the court.
"Get back on defense!!"
Oddly enough, Shōei was still on offense, yet his instincts screamed at him to retreat. His voice cracked from the urgency, surprising even himself.
He turned his head
And saw exactly what he feared.
The point guard's pass was intercepted mid-flight.
Snatched out of the air by Shigure Akihito with inhuman reaction speed!
Despite how close the two were standing, and how short the pass trajectory was, Akihito read it perfectly and broke in for the steal.
Kusakusa Tomoyuki: Cloaked Intercept.
The Shōei players scrambled to retreat—alert and responding quickly.
But
With his Instinct Mode and Full Acceleration activated, Shigure had already flung the ball forward to Nijimura.
Then he blasted past Shōei's point guard in a blur.
On the other side, Nijimura was already breaking free.
Shōei's small forward, and captain—felt his heart plummet.
They had three players back on defense.
Two had just been blown past.
Leaving him. Alone.
2v1.
Worse still—he was the "1".
But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was…
Neither of Teiko's attackers went solo.
Nijimura passed.
And Shigure
Took over.
In a dizzying move that turned despair into disbelief.
The Shōei captain lunged in desperation, but the moment Akihito caught the ball, he faked a lateral pass
The ball left his hand…
Or did it?
It was a feint!
In the next instant, Shigure sprinted after the "passed" ball, caught up to it mid-air, then launched off his other foot in a massive lateral leap!
His body twisted in mid-air as he rocketed upward
On the sidelines
Aomine Daiki's eyes bulged like saucers.
That move—he'd seen it once.
Back in the First Team practice facility, an upperclassman had tried it.
A move dubbed the "Formless Shot"—and failed.
But now…
Shigure Akihito nailed it.
His massive vertical leap carried him sideways in the air, floating far beyond what should've been possible.
But instead of bending down like bowling or scooping underhand like the "Ocean Harvest" shot, he
Grabbed the ball with one hand.
And with a motion somewhere between a baseball pitch and a handball throw
Slammed it into the hoop.
CLANG!!
The rim rang like a bell as the ball smashed through the net.
Makushinichi: Little Sky Hook.
Talent
Emperor's Ultimate Sky Hook.
Emperor's Ultimate Sky Hook:
While a teammate holds the ball and activates "Emperor's Offense," prepare to unleash this signature skill. At the moment of receiving the pass, fake a "Receiving Hook" to mislead defenders, then fly forward and reclaim the ball mid-air to execute an extreme, sky-hook-style finish.
The whole gym went dead silent.
For a moment, the spectators, and players from rival schools watching Teiko—could only gape.
Then, from the Teiko bench
Aomine Daiki jumped to his feet.
"Yooo!!"
"That was…"
"That was insane!!"
He lied to me… He said 'I probably can't even pull it off myself.'
But clearly—he could.
And did.
The truth was, Shigure Akihito rarely used this move.
First the pass.
Then chasing it himself.
Then executing a drifting, sideways sky hook—creating his own space mid-air.
And because of the slanted body posture from the lateral leap, the motion, though called a "hook shot" was essentially a Formless Shot in disguise.
It looked amazing.
But there was a catch.
The move was entirely dependent on timing a reception-based shot within a limited window. If the teammate didn't pass during the "Emperor's Offense" phase, the entire setup would waste a bar of energy.
That's why he only used it when paired with Nijimura.
Because Nijimura understood him perfectly—his intent, his rhythm.
And never hesitated.
That said
Just Shigure + Nijimura.
That duo alone
Even their normal attacks from the same series were more than enough to dismantle any current opponent.
So this move?
Style.
Pure flash.
Used only on rare occasions to ignite the crowd.
And it worked.
Right now
Even Aomine blushed with envy. The crowd was losing their minds.
"That shot… that SHOT!!"
"What kind of shot even is that?!"
"It's not even a shot anymore—he just threw it!"
"Ridiculous!"
"How are you supposed to defend against THAT?!"
"No wonder there were rumors last winter about Akihito being some kind of 'Technician'… This guy's a mad genius!"
Everyone, whether fans or players, could feel the absurdity of the move through sheer visual spectacle.
The whole court exploded with noise.
But for Shōei, it was torture.
Their captain, who had chased after the fake pass, could only watch as Shigure disappeared into the distance
Then unleashed something out of a dream.
And as the final step faded, so too did his hope.
The gap in ability was unmeasurable.
And in that moment
All he could do was stare.
Shigure's airborne form, his technique
Branded itself into his mind.
Then reality returned—
And he realized:
If they had even a sliver of a chance in the first half, that sliver was long gone now.
The gap was overwhelming.
This wasn't even a game anymore.
"…That's just excessive."
"Shigure Akihito."
Facing Teiko's twin stars alone—and they didn't even hold back.
Was that cruelty?
Or an honor?
His thoughts and the words he spoke out loud—didn't match.
And with that sentence, as their paths crossed
Shōei's morale crumbled completely.
In sports, spirit matters.
And Shōei?
Had none left.
They'd clung on—not to win—but to respect their past efforts.
But after a move like that
Something they couldn't have imagined even in dreams
The crowd's thunderous roar became the final straw.
The last breath of pride
Snuffed out.
Maybe it was time to just… let go.
End of chapter...
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