Jason Silver still seemed irritated.
"Damn it, this is so annoying! I was having a great time battling Murasakibara in the paint, but they just had to interfere!"
"Now I'm all fired up with nowhere to vent it!"
Nash Gold waved a hand.
"All right, that's enough. We'll start putting in some real effort once play resumes. I have to admit, Nick's prediction was right."
"Now that Kagami has exhausted himself, it's our turn."
Miyamoto Tokima could not help smiling as he listened to them.
On the very next possession after Taiga Kagami opened the second [Gate], Nick had proposed a strategy.
Since Taiga Kagami wanted to unleash all his strength, they would simply let him.
All they needed to do was continue playing normally. There was no reason to enter the Zone and confront him head-on.
Once Taiga Kagami ran out of strength, it would be their turn to strike.
Basketball was not only about overpowering your opponents.
Strategy mattered too.
Of course, there was another crucial factor.
They had Miyamoto Tokima.
As long as they passed the ball to him, they were guaranteed to score.
After returning to the bench for the timeout, Allen slowly approached Miyamoto Tokima.
"Hehe, Tokima-san, can I play for a while when we go back out there?"
Miyamoto Tokima gave Allen a surprised look.
Allen continued, "I mainly want to see whether I can compete with their number five after entering the Zone."
Miyamoto Tokima immediately understood what he wanted.
Allen wanted to find out whether he could hold his own against someone using both the Zone and Animal Instinct once he entered the Zone himself.
Miyamoto Tokima decided to grant his request.
"All right. I'll let you try."
Allen immediately beamed.
"Thanks, Tokima-san!"
...
On the Dragon Slayer Team's bench, Taiga Kagami sat limply in his chair, gasping for breath.
Everyone looked at him with complicated expressions.
Taiga Kagami struggled to speak between breaths.
"I'm... sorry..."
Ryota Kise looked at him in confusion.
"Kagamicchi, what are you apologizing for?"
Taiga Kagami's voice began to choke up.
"Everything... Everything was finally starting to turn around... but I... I couldn't..."
Daiki Aomine placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You've already done more than enough. You made hope shine, so now we'll do everything we can to make it blaze even brighter."
Ryota Kise nodded.
"That's right, Kagamicchi. Don't underestimate me!"
Seijuro Akashi seemed to want to say something, but after hesitating, he remained silent.
His primary personality spoke from within his mind.
"Why not follow your heart for once?"
His secondary personality paused, then shook his head.
"Forget it. Maybe next time."
Taiga Kagami looked up, his voice still trembling.
"Everyone..."
At last, he lowered his head.
"Then... I'm counting on you."
Everyone smiled upon hearing those words.
The heavy atmosphere surrounding them finally began to fade.
...
"Beep! The timeout is over! Play will now resume!"
After hearing the referee, both teams slowly rose from their benches.
Shintaro Midorima also returned to the court.
The members of the Dragon Slayer Team still wore expressions of unwavering determination.
Ryota Kise adjusted his uniform as he stepped onto the court.
His eyes were filled with resolve.
Possession changed hands.
The Black Dragon Team had the ball.
After Nash Gold reached the frontcourt, he passed the ball to Allen.
The moment Allen caught it, he activated his Animal Instinct.
A dinosaur with a cunning glint in its eyes appeared behind him.
This was Allen's Animal Instinct.
A Velociraptor!
Ryota Kise's eyes shifted as he settled into his defensive stance.
However, he soon realized that Allen was not attacking.
Instead, Allen moved toward the left side.
Ryota Kise tried to follow, only to feel someone blocking his path.
He turned and saw Zack smiling at him.
'A screen!'
Ryota Kise's heart jolted.
Using Zack's screen, Allen forced a switch and found himself matched up against Daiki Aomine.
When Daiki Aomine saw that even Allen wanted to challenge him, he gave an irritated grin.
"Hah... Does everyone want a piece of me now? Do you all think I'm an easy target?"
"Not really," Allen replied as he dribbled the ball. "But I'd like you to activate both your Animal Instinct and the Zone."
"Animal Instinct and the Zone?"
Daiki Aomine let out a low laugh.
"Fine. I'll give you what you want."
Crackle!
In the next instant, violent lightning flashed within Daiki Aomine's eyes.
Allen looked at him in confusion.
"Huh? Aren't you going to activate your Animal Instinct?"
"Animal Instinct?" Daiki Aomine replied in a low voice. "It's already active."
"Huh?"
Allen froze.
In the next instant, Daiki Aomine slapped the ball straight out of his hands with astonishing speed.
"What?!"
Allen whipped his head around and saw that Daiki Aomine had already reached the frontcourt.
"What the hell just happened?!"
Still completely baffled, Allen sprinted after him.
However, the distance between them only continued to grow.
In the end, all Allen could do was watch Daiki Aomine slam the ball through the hoop.
After the dunk, Daiki Aomine landed heavily.
His eyes were calm, yet a trace of ferocity lingered within them.
"That's..."
Allen suddenly understood.
"That's Inner Animal Instinct!"
"Damn it," Zack cursed. "He can activate Inner Animal Instinct while he's already in the Zone? Is that guy a monster?"
For the members of their team, activating ordinary Animal Instinct while in the Zone was already extremely difficult.
Activating Inner Animal Instinct while in the Zone was on an entirely different level.
Yet Daiki Aomine had done exactly that right in front of them.
Was he some kind of monster?
As Daiki Aomine ran back on defense, Ryota Kise approached him.
"Aomine, how long can you maintain that state?"
"Hm?"
Daiki Aomine thought about it.
"Probably about half a quarter."
Ryota Kise's expression became resolute.
"Then could you leave that state for now?"
"What do you mean?"
Daiki Aomine looked at him in confusion.
Ryota Kise smiled.
"I want to go all out."
...