[The fourth quarter. The critical final ten minutes that would decide the outcome.]
[Masaaki Nakatani encouraged the players during the break. Their long preparation had shown results in this match.]
[The fact that they had fought Seiho to a standstill until the final quarter was the best proof. But to defeat you, they still needed to take that final step.]
[At this moment, the members of Shutoku obviously wouldn't give up. They didn't even need the head coach's encouragement; their morale had already reached its peak.]
[Midorima Shintaro looked at his newly purchased lucky item and couldn't help but stroke it, only to suddenly notice a crack in a hard-to-spot area.]
[He had bought a second-hand defect!]
[As soon as the fourth quarter started, Shutoku launched a fierce offensive.]
[It was still a pick-and-roll offense, but with more variations compared to the first three quarters. However, the core principle remained unchanged: their primary goal was to create shooting space for Midorima.]
[With rapid ball movement among the five players, they didn't look like Shutoku at all right now; instead, they looked more like Seirin.]
[They attempted to catch Seiho off guard with a sudden change in rhythm.]
[But the instant Midorima Shintaro caught Kazunari Takao's pass and jumped, your figure suddenly appeared like a ghost.]
[There was no warning signs, giving a terrifying sensation similar to Kuroko.]
[You charged power into your legs. The "High-Speed Jumping" talent allowed you to arrive first despite moving later. You soared like a jet. As your right arm chopped down, Midorima's shot was blocked.]
[Midorima's frame gives him a unique advantage when shooting. When he gathers the ball and jumps, you only have two choices to stop him.]
[One is to jump high enough, and the other is to jump fast enough to reach his unusually high release point.]
[Your counterattack succeeded. When Midorima faced your drive, his center of gravity was broken in a single encounter. For a split second, he felt as though he were facing his former captain, Akashi Seijuro.]
[Back on the other end, Shutoku's tactics shifted again, using Midorima as a decoy to get the ball into the paint.]
[This pass fooled everyone, even Midorima. Nakatani gave Takao a lot of freedom, and the latter did not disappoint.]
[Taisuke Otsubo caught the ball in the paint, turned, and went for a dunk. Tsutomu Iwamura was too late to react. Just as he was about to score, your phantom-like figure appeared again, pinning Otsubo's dunk against the backboard.]
["Impossible!" Masaaki Nakatani couldn't keep his cool and cried out, "Why was he there?!"]
[Once is an accident, twice is luck, but what about three or four times?]
[Midorima Shintaro began to feel certain that his feeling just now wasn't an illusion. You seemed to truly possess an ability similar to Akashi Seijuro's—you could predict every move Shutoku made.]
["Sei-chan, is he..." In Kyoto, even Rakuzan wouldn't miss this big match. Seeing this situation, Mibuchi Reo instinctively thought of the Emperor Eye.]
["It's not the Emperor Eye. It's exceptional dynamic vision combined with a reading ability that has been corrected countless times." Akashi Seijuro took a deep breath.]
[Your correction ability isn't truly limitless; things you physically cannot do remain impossible. For instance, you can't shoot three-pointers from anywhere on the court with no drop-off like Midorima.]
[That naturally includes the Emperor Eye. Since you don't possess it, you can't make absolute predictions like he does. However, you can rely on an astonishingly high basketball IQ to read the opponent's defense.]
["Three quarters of game time? Or perhaps even less?" Akashi Seijuro muttered to himself, unable to gauge exactly how many corrections it took for you to reach this stage.]
[Playing against you only gets harder as the game goes on. Shutoku made Akashi realize that to defeat you, a rich reserve of tactics isn't enough, because most tactics ultimately boil down to the same principles.]
[Ordinary pick-and-rolls, complex variations, and other plays—they all reach the same goal by different routes: creating a better scoring environment for the player.]
[That is the core of basketball tactics, and the truth of the game!]
[Shutoku began to show signs of collapsing. Scoring became increasingly difficult for them.]
[When Masaaki Nakatani realized that no matter how they changed, they couldn't break your lockdown, he decisively pulled you out of Seiho's defensive line again, forcing another 4-on-4 battle between the other players.]
[However, while this did allow Shutoku to break their scoring drought, their scoring efficiency was lower than yours.]
[You tore through Shutoku's defense with an unreasonable drive, forcing a shot against Taisuke Otsubo and scoring a 2+1.]
[The point gap began to widen. By the last 3 minutes of the game, you had established a 13-point lead.]
[The game ended. You secured the final victory.]
"To think it's this strong."
Yuuto hadn't expected the potential of the Eye of the Sky to be so high.
At this stage, it was almost comparable to Akashi's Emperor Eye.
Because...
The current Akashi's eyes could only focus on one target, whereas the Eye of the Sky covered the entire court.
[Shutoku lost. The King of the North had slain the King of the East. You advanced to the final round-robin.]
[After the match, you simply shook hands with Midorima Shintaro. He left without saying a word.]
[Heavy rain began to fall from the grey sky.]
[As you and your sister, Sora, were preparing to leave, you saw Midorima standing alone in a corner of the arena, letting the rain soak him.]
["Yuuto, aren't you going to go over and comfort him?" Sora used to hate sports, but now she seemed to understand the charm of competition.]
["The last person he wants to see right now is me." You led Sora away.]
[When you lose, the cruelest thing is undoubtedly receiving comfort from the opponent who defeated you.]
[Just like you—in the past two years, including all those simulations—every time you failed, you didn't want anyone to see your face.]
[But at the same time, you thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of crushing these geniuses.]
The Yuuto in the real world didn't deny it.
Because when he trampled Taiga Kagami beneath his feet, his heart felt an unprecedented satisfaction.
...
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