"Half-court doesn't?" Seijuro Akashi asked in surprise.
Shintaro Midorima nodded. "Right. From half-court, I have enough time to adjust my form in midair."
Shintaro Midorima in the Zone was truly terrifying!
And...
It seemed Shintaro Midorima hadn't only entered the Zone.
He had also unleashed his Animal Instinct!
Seijuro Akashi immediately nodded.
"I understand."
...
Possession changed.
The Black Dragon Team had the ball.
At this point, the Black Dragon Team was no longer holding anything back.
Nash Gold brought the ball into the frontcourt with his eyes staring blankly ahead. White light suddenly flashed from his hand.
In an instant, the basketball reached Jason Silver.
Jason Silver was just as brutal as ever. He slammed into Atsushi Murasakibara twice in succession, forcing him aside, then spun around and dunked!
The moment he landed, Jason Silver immediately stayed on Atsushi Murasakibara, continuing the Black Dragon Team's full-court press.
Atsushi Murasakibara gritted his teeth, picked up the basketball, and stepped out of bounds to inbound it.
At that moment, Shintaro Midorima suddenly sprinted toward the frontcourt.
Seijuro Akashi also began moving into position.
Without exchanging a single word with anyone, Daiki Aomine suddenly moved into Seijuro Akashi's path and set a screen for him.
That was the terrifying part of the second [Gate]!
They didn't need to communicate at all. Their instincts alone guided them toward the most effective play!
However, Nash Gold had already noticed Daiki Aomine's movement and slipped around the screen ahead of time.
What he didn't know was that Seijuro Akashi wasn't the intended receiver.
Daiki Aomine was!
Because Daiki Aomine had gone over to set the screen, Zack instinctively assumed Seijuro Akashi would receive the inbound pass, so he prepared to help defend Akashi.
But when he saw Nash Gold stay with him, Zack backed off.
That brief movement toward Seijuro Akashi was exactly what allowed Daiki Aomine to break free.
Trusting his instincts, Atsushi Murasakibara immediately passed the ball to Daiki Aomine.
Only then did Nash Gold realize the ball was in Daiki Aomine's hands!
Zack noticed too and immediately rushed toward him.
But Daiki Aomine, with both his Animal Instinct and the Zone active, was unbelievably fast!
He burst forward in an instant. Even with Zack chasing him at full speed, there was still half a body length between them.
As Zack gave chase, he saw something that left him stunned.
Shintaro Midorima had already jumped!
He wasn't even in a shooting stance. He simply raised his hands casually and leaped into the air.
Nick stared at Shintaro Midorima in shock as a frightening possibility crossed his mind.
Could he really...
adjust his shooting form in midair?
The moment Shintaro Midorima raised his hands and jumped, Daiki Aomine flung the basketball toward him.
The quality of the pass was absolutely terrible!
But right now, that was enough!
Because the current Shintaro Midorima was no longer limited to setting his shooting form first and needing the ball delivered precisely into his shooting hand for an alley-oop shot.
Now, as long as he caught the ball in midair, he could adjust his own form and release the alley-oop shot himself!
In other words, it didn't matter who passed to him.
As long as they could somehow get the ball into his hands, he could shoot it!
Still, Shintaro Midorima had overestimated Daiki Aomine's passing ability.
He barely managed to grab the basketball in midair.
The instant he caught it, Shintaro Midorima's face darkened as he cursed inwardly.
'What kind of human being throws a pass like that?!'
After securing the ball, Shintaro Midorima immediately adjusted his posture, formed his shooting motion, and released the ball as he began to descend.
Then, under the stunned gazes of Nick and the others, a figure suddenly shot into view!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!!!
At the same time, layer after layer of ripples swept across the entire court once again!
A chilling sense of danger suddenly rose in Shintaro Midorima's mind.
No way...
Smack!!!
A crisp slap against the ball shattered Shintaro Midorima's hopes!
It was Miyamoto Tokima!
Miyamoto Tokima burst in and swatted Shintaro Midorima's alley-oop three-pointer out of bounds with one hand.
"Beep! Out of bounds! Dragon Slayer Team ball!"
The referee blew his whistle and made the call.
Daiki Aomine stared at the scene in shock and stopped in his tracks.
They had all overlooked one person.
Someone capable of changing the entire game, or even deciding its outcome ahead of time.
Miyamoto Tokima!
After landing, Miyamoto Tokima lightly dusted off his hands and turned around.
"Good thing I made it."
He met Shintaro Midorima's astonished gaze and smiled.
"I've got something to do later, so I'm planning to wrap this up early."
The words were casual, but everyone else immediately became anything but calm.
Was Miyamoto Tokima finally planning to...
make his move?!
The Dragon Slayer Team fell silent.
Even now, they still had no idea just how strong Miyamoto Tokima truly was.
No one had ever seen the full extent of his strength.
Every time they thought Miyamoto Tokima had finally shown everything he had, he would reveal an even greater level of power and prove that he still hadn't been going all out.
Daiki Aomine wasn't the only one who had experienced that feeling.
Everyone present had!
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that every single person there had once been completely overwhelmed by Miyamoto Tokima.
But even now, they had no intention of giving up!
They were going to fight!
The game resumed.
The Dragon Slayer Team still had possession.
Atsushi Murasakibara was once again responsible for the inbound pass.
Standing out of bounds with the basketball raised in his hands, Atsushi Murasakibara didn't scan the court or pay attention to how everyone was moving.
Right now, it was as if there were instructions inside his mind telling him exactly where to pass.
He didn't need to think.
He only needed to follow those instructions.
While Atsushi Murasakibara held the ball, the rest of the Dragon Slayer Team began moving rapidly into position.
Finally, following the guidance in his mind, Atsushi Murasakibara passed the basketball to Seijuro Akashi as he moved out to receive it.
The moment Seijuro Akashi caught the ball, he immediately began dribbling while protecting it, preventing Nash Gold from stealing it.
Nash Gold also began applying intense pressure, constantly shrinking the space Seijuro Akashi had to work with.
Seijuro Akashi kept evading him while observing the court.
Everyone else didn't need to think too much.
They only had to follow their instincts and the guidance in their minds.
But Seijuro Akashi was different!
Because he was the damn one giving those instructions!
Just as Seijuro Akashi found the right opening and prepared to pass, the eyes of the pterosaur above the arena suddenly lit up with glowing rings.
Nash Gold immediately grinned.
"Got you!"
The next instant, white light flashed from Seijuro Akashi's hand.
Then...
Smack!!!
...
...
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