The old man was astonished by the accuracy of Yuuto's prediction. He suddenly felt that he really couldn't keep up with this era.
Today's basketball had no ship to carry him.
This old man, who was quick to imitate, had this time placed himself in Whitebeard's position (from One Piece).
Seiho's counterattack.
Ryuhei Kasuga quickly advanced past half-court and passed the ball to Yuuto.
From the stands, Seiho's overall movement speed was even faster than Shutoku's. Their average height reached 1.85m.
This height was outstanding even on a national scale.
This was the heritage of King Seiho.
Although they hadn't won the final championship in past years, Seiho's ability and quantity in absorbing fresh blood were no worse than other powerhouses.
This allowed Yamashita Shio to polish such a highly mobile lineup.
If his ability to coach offense was even 70% as good as his defensive coaching, he would be the best high school coach of this era, or perhaps even of all time.
Shutoku continued to adopt the double-team strategy.
The first-year duo waited in solemn formation, positioning themselves left and right in advance to block Yuuto's path.
Yuuto didn't force it. He passed the ball to the open Tomoki Tsugawa, then cut to the basket without the ball.
The buzz-cut player caught the ball and adopted a shooting posture.
At this moment, Takao hesitated on whether to help defend.
Under Yuuto's tutelage, Tsugawa had mastered a decent mid-range shot.
Not incredibly accurate, but definitely usable. Leaving him open all the time would be suicide for Shutoku.
As soon as Takao moved, Tsugawa passed the ball back to Yuuto.
By the time Yuuto caught the ball again, he had obtained the one-on-one opportunity Seiho wanted.
Their triangle offense was becoming more and more proficient.
One-on-one to the right of the free-throw line. Yuuto controlled the ball with his back to Midorima.
A turn, followed by a face-up step. With explosive power like a missile detonation, Yuuto turned into a golden beam, tearing through the defense and rushing into the Shutoku paint.
Masaaki Nakatani was prepared.
There were double-teams for the perimeter, and double-teams for the paint.
Taisuke Otsubo immediately pounced to defend, coordinating with the chasing Midorima to form a front-and-back pincer attack.
But then, something astonishing happened.
Facing the double-team from front and back, Yuuto jumped without any hesitation. Just as he was about to make contact with Otsubo in mid-air, his body suddenly executed a 360-degree spin.
He completely bypassed the Shutoku captain, went to the other side of the rim, and scored with a reverse layup off the backboard.
The sequence was smooth and fluid; Otsubo could do nothing.
"Hmm?"
Seeing this move, Aomine instinctively felt something... different.
Yes.
It was different. This wasn't quite like the Yuuto he knew.
The Yuuto of the past rarely used such a method to attack the basket; it was so flashy it felt unfamiliar.
"Satsuki, has Yu always played like this since entering high school?" Aomine asked with a confused expression.
Hearing this, Momoi felt around her chest area, pulled out a notebook, and skillfully flipped to the pages with the most text.
"No... Yu didn't play like this before."
Only after Aomine mentioned it did she realize with surprise.
Yuuto's flexibility seemed to have improved significantly compared to before.
Although Yuuto was strong before, his body was relatively "stiff." Now, his body looked much lighter and more agile.
"Meaning he hasn't been standing still, right?" Aomine suddenly laughed.
That was how it should be.
Only such an opponent was worthy of making him pick up basketball training again.
6:3!
Yuuto scored 6 consecutive points at the start. Facing Shutoku's constant double-teams, he used unreasonable individual ability to score repeatedly.
On the court.
All Shutoku members had crossed half-court and taken their positions.
This time, Midorima didn't stay out of the offense. He joined in and actively called for the ball from Kazunari Takao.
This was different from Nakatani's arrangement.
This was Midorima's "selfishness."
As a genius, he had his own pride and wanted to challenge Yuuto head-on.
Yes.
With the defeat a year ago, the roles between him and Yuuto had switched.
Now, he was the challenger.
A fake drive followed by a pull-up three-pointer from the spot.
Midorima knew his advantages well; his height and wingspan were superior to Yuuto's.
As long as he could successfully jump, his extremely high release point was enough to ignore interference and blocks from any player other than Murasakibara.
In fact.
Once he successfully soared into the air, he truly became unstoppable.
Unless Yuuto possessed Kagami Taiga's super jumping ability to block him from behind.
"Lukewarm!" Yuuto spat out two words.
The Eye of the Sky clearly saw the data changes in Shutoku's (Midorima's) legs; he was gathering power to jump.
His brain, combining memories from the simulation, made a swift judgment. Yuuto feigned biting on the fake, then, the moment Midorima gathered the ball, he leaned his body sideways and extended his right arm.
Smack!
A precise and rapid steal. Midorima didn't even have time to react.
For a moment, he had the illusion that he was facing his old captain, Akashi Seijuro. His moves were completely seen through.
"This..."
"Midorima's three-pointer was completely locked down!"
"He can even do something like that?"
"Monster!"
The expressions of the Shutoku players became much more solemn.
Midorima was already the strongest player they had encountered in all these years.
His arrival broke Shutoku's perception of traditional basketball geniuses, making the team realize just how unreasonable a genius could be.
Yet, even such a Midorima didn't even get a chance to shoot at the start of this game.
"Little Midorima is being suppressed to this extent?" Kise had come again today. The coach over at Kaijo didn't want him to just run off.
So he applied to the coach to come watch the game live.
To improve himself further and deal with the fierce battles that were sure to come.
Another counterattack opportunity for Seiho.
After the steal, Yuuto squeezed past Midorima, scooped up the ball, and took the lead at the front of the pack.
The latter moved his long legs and chased after him.
He said nothing, his pair of green eyes under the lenses unwavering.
And Yuuto.
Once again exploding with speed, he dribbled directly toward Midorima's right side.
The Generation of Miracles' strongest shooter hurriedly shifted laterally, attempting to use his body to pressure Yuuto. But he found that the expected physical contact didn't happen.
He looked up abruptly, only to see Yuuto's figure dissipate like foam; the man had already stepped back to the three-point line.
Swish!
Yuuto gave Midorima no chance. His Quick Release Shot talent made his release speed lightning-fast; he threw the ball almost the instant he gathered it, without even aiming.
"That move again." Taiga Kagami still couldn't figure out how Yuuto did it.
"Phantom Shot (Dream-like Bubble). A super-strong fake derived from Haizaki-kun's Pillage ability. It doesn't deceive the opponent superficially, but tricks their senses through rhythm," Kuroko explained to them.
Haizaki?
Phantom Shot?
Another key figure from the Hozumi Academy championship lineup a year ago.
Like Kuroko, he was hailed as Yuuto's right-hand man, but he disappeared without a trace after graduating from junior high.