At the Teiko vs. Kamata West match, Haizaki Shōgo, snarling like a wolf ready to bite, was finally held back—though only on the bench. As for the court…
The final quarter began.
Haizaki demanded to play.
Neither the Generation of Miracles nor Sanada Naoto had any reason to stop him.
And then
"...Well,"
"I'll go too."
Aomine peeled off his warm-up jacket.
On the other side
Crunch.
Murasakibara bit down on a snack stick, glancing left and right. "Then can I play too?"
"Go!"
"Everyone in!"
Haizaki grumbled as he tightened his laces, shooting a glare at Midorima. The vice-captain, still rewrapping his bandaged hand, gave him an exasperated look. "Why are you staring at me…?"
"Get on the court."
Hearing that answer, Haizaki reluctantly let go of some of his pent-up anger—the same anger he had just wanted to vent on Midorima with Nijimura's infamous crushing punch.
Meanwhile
Having just settled things with Kuroko and returned to the court, Akashi glanced toward them. Haizaki clearly saw the corner of Akashi's lips curve into a smile.
"Give it everything until the end, everyone."
"Yeah!!"
"Let's go!!"
"Watch me put those two idiots in their place!"
On the bench
Watching his teammates storm onto the court with blazing momentum, Kise Ryōta—completely left out with no spot to play—wore a miserable expression.
"Momoi…"
"I…"
"I'm part of the Generation of Miracles too, right?"
Momoi Satsuki: "…"
Well…
There was… some difference, wasn't there?
…
The Generation of Miracles unleashing their full power—for Kamata West, the sight of them all stepping on the court at once was nothing less than a vision of hell itself.
Meanwhile, on another court
An even greater vision of hell unfolded before Jinno High.
"My dear Captain Ōkura…" drawled Jinno's point guard, Eba Masatoshi, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "What exactly were you trying to provoke after that basket in the third quarter…?"
"Nijimura actually took it seriously!"
"Ah…"
"Ah?"
"No, I mean… I didn't expect that monster form earlier still wasn't his full strength?!"
The Jinno players stared blankly at Nijimura Shuzo, his body crackling with rainbow-colored lightning, and at Shigure Akihito, black flames coiling fiercely around him…
Their minds went numb.
Then they glanced at the scoreboard.
Kaijō vs. Jinno: 128–32!
What kind of score was this? How was this even a quarterfinal? And it wasn't even halfway through the fourth quarter! Worse—none of their meager ten points per quarter had come against Shigure or Nijimura's defense.
Which meant—after more than three whole quarters against these two juniors, they hadn't managed to score a single basket!
Even more shocking
Until the fourth quarter began, they had all believed the so-called Twin Stars were just playing respectfully at "full strength" for their senpai. That illusion shattered the instant Nijimura entered the Zone.
"Hey…"
"We've got a problem…"
"What?"
"Nijimura can't possibly be stronger than Shigure… right?"
"Yeah."
"Exactly."
"Then if Nijimura is only now using his full power, what about Shigure…? That thing crackling around him—sparks, black fire—if that's not the Zone… then don't tell me… Shigure still isn't at full strength yet?!"
Ōkura Masaaki: "?"
Izawa Shō: "…"
Utsumi Masahiko: "Don't think about it…"
On the bench, Jinno's coach frowned so tightly it could crush a fly. Though victory was already impossible, he knew the pride of his seniors all too well. In their final Interhigh, his mind spun furiously, desperate for countermeasures—yet no matter how he turned it over, nothing came.
They were simply too strong.
And the terrifying part—the Teiko Twin Stars hadn't even revealed their true power until the fourth quarter.
Even so, Jinno High was already suffering beyond endurance.
And the coach had a chilling premonition: Shigure Akihito, like Nijimura Shuzo, still had something monstrous within him, waiting to erupt.
That uneasy pressure…
But it was crystal clear.
He hesitated, torn over whether to call a timeout, to break this sense of a storm about to break.
Yet just as he wavered
Gasps rippled across the bench. Startled, the coach looked up—then froze in horror.
On the court
More than two minutes of the fourth quarter had passed.
In that short time, Jinno had come to fully understand how devilish the Zone truly was.
But now
Something even more devilish arrived!
Crackle!
Zzzap!
Crack!
Boom!
Jet-black lightning flared, interwoven with Nijimura's rainbow arcs. The difference—Shigure Akihito's black flames still roared around him, unextinguished.
Fire!
Lightning!
"Damn it…"
"…Super Saiyan?!"
Izawa Shō cursed instinctively. He couldn't help it—he was the power forward, the one matched directly against Shigure. But he was overthinking…
Even without the Zone, Shigure had already been playing like Nijimura in Zone—against Jinno's entire team.
Now—Shigure Akihito on the attack!
At that instant, the overwhelming pressure made everyone—Jinno and Kaijō alike—see sparks flash and blaze around his form.
On Kaijō's bench, the players' thoughts were the same.
Was this really necessary, Shigure Akihito…?
On the court
Zone + Man of Flame!
In a flash
His dribbling speed surged!
Each motion of his hands left afterimages in the air!
In the blink of an eye, he tore past two defenders, driving straight into the paint. To those watching, the arcs of fire and lightning trailing behind him seemed to race each other, crisscrossing in the air!
By the time he pierced the key, the two defenders he had blown past finally turned their heads stiffly, too late!
With explosive footwork, Shigure rose against Ōkura Masaaki and Izawa Shō under the rim!
BOOM!
Both lunged to block—but Shigure, with an explosive leap, split right between them, his speed blasting them aside like ragdolls!
SLAM!
"Bweeep!"
"Defensive foul—Jinno!"
"Basket counts!"
"One free throw!"
Shigure Akihito had beaten four at once—breaking down two with his handle, smashing through two more at the rim, and the last defender, Eba Masatoshi, had been left behind from the very first step.
The arena erupted into thunderous cheers!
As the ball dropped through the hoop, Shigure landed lightly, looking down with a smile at Ōkura Masaaki and Izawa Shō sprawled on the floor.
"This strength—the one that's always led Teiko to victory…"
"I haven't let you down, senpai, have I?"
END OF CHAPTER
CROWN BEFORE THE MIRACLES
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