Betray them?
The former Teiko seniors: "..."
This was beyond anything they could have expected!
Kaijō's bench.
Kadegawa Tatsuo, Tomikawa Masahide, and the other third-years who once held starting positions—every one of them was completely dumbfounded.
Amidst their shocked expressions, Tomikawa Masahide stared seriously at Shigure Akihito and Nijimura Shuzo, unable to help but ask:
"I know competition at Teiko is fierce, but… is this how they always 'communicate' between seniors and juniors…?"
Coach Takeuchi Genta shook his head. He didn't understand either.
"Maybe…"
"…he just wants to show something in front of his seniors. Something about legacy, or succession…"
"…must be Teiko's style."
In the midst of everyone's excited, conflicted, or veiled gazes
At this very moment, Shigure Akihito reveled in the intoxicating rush of Zone + The Man of Flames. That absolute sense of supremacy. And strangely enough, because of the burning presence of The Man of Flames, the mental tension that should have been razor-sharp inside the Zone actually eased.
Swish!
Free throw, made.
Now it was Jinno's possession.
As Eba Masatoshi pushed the ball forward—Shigure suddenly lunged out to press!
In that instant, Eba swore he saw a tidal wave of hellfire surging straight toward him!
A textbook Mitsui Hisashi–style man-to-man defense!
The moment Shigure closed in, no matter how desperately Eba tried to dribble at top speed, the ball was smothered with casual precision. His rhythm collapsed—the speed didn't even feel like his own anymore.
Smack!
A forced pass…
…but Shigure read it ahead of time and intercepted cleanly!
The essence of the Zone is to unleash a player's current potential to its maximum limit. Normally, that limit is fixed. Whether The Man of Flames burned or not, the Zone's strength should remain constant.
But
That wasn't the case here.
The strength of the Zone had been elevated. The Man of Flames actually pushed his ceiling higher.
At the same time
By igniting The Man of Flames first, he could reach the state of Zone far more easily, without clutching onto that elusive key called "competition."
And beyond that
There was another advantage.
[The Man of Flames—Intercept: While burning, you can perceive your opponent's intent. At the moment of their pass, you can leap and cut the ball off without expending stamina.]
In a state where focus should be suffocatingly high, Shigure's flames allowed him to relax his mind just enough—giving him room to apply The Man of Flames' abilities even while in Zone.
And with its trait of shining brilliance and accelerated stamina recovery during pauses, he could actually sustain this dual activation to some degree.
On court.
The ball was already in Shigure's hands.
No one ahead.
Fast-break conversion—easy score!
On the next play, Jinno finally advanced carefully past half court, avoiding Shigure lurking near the free-throw line. Ōkura Masaaki caught the ball and rose for a dunk!
Hiss!
One stride—Shigure was already there with ease!
Wild Instinct!
A black mammoth bathed in firelight rose into the air, meeting him head-on, and with sheer force, snatched the ball straight out of his hands. For a heartbeat, time itself seemed to freeze!
A violent block!
A sudden strike!
The entire gym held its breath, stunned beyond words!
From that instant of movement
to the effortless physical clash afterward
to the grab-block in midair
it was like the colossal mammoth, solid as reality, had appeared before their very eyes. Exaggerated to the point of defying common sense!
Thud!
Thud!
The sound of dribbling snapped everyone's focus back to the court.
And then
Whoosh!
Shigure actually passed the ball.
On court, both Fukasaya Reiji and Kurokami Shinji widened their eyes at once!
Not shocked that Shigure had passed—but that he had passed in Zone. Even Nijimura, once inside, saw nothing but the ball and his opponent!
Fukasaya Reiji: "..."
Was this… something different from Zone?
A modified form?
Kasamatsu Yukio, who received the pass, froze for a split second. But the moment he saw Shigure's movement, his entire body instantly tightened!
Off the ball
No, there was almost no contact!
Purely with speed, he shredded the defense, darting straight into Jinno's paint!
Then
He leapt!
Shigure's movement was so fast, it was like sliding along a frictionless track!
At the perfect moment, Kasamatsu Yukio lobbed the ball upward. After countless games together—and with his natural instincts as a point guard—his timing was flawless.
In everyone's horrified gaze, Shigure's body rose like a blazing inferno!
At that same instant
Kasamatsu's pass arrived above the rim. Shigure glanced at it, nodded slightly. Not bad…
Though still a step below Nijimura's.
Back to the basket, reverse dunk!
BOOM!
The air seemed to solidify. Only Ōkura Masaaki, the center, muttered in a daze:
"What kind of… sick joke is this…?"
On the stands, Kaijō's first-years—Hayakawa Mitsuhiro, Nakamura Shinya, and the others not yet qualified for the bench—were floored by Shigure Akihito's relentless, explosive dominance.
Hayakawa rubbed his eyes in disbelief. From his seat, he saw the monster charging straight at him, flames roaring, that towering, oppressive figure drawing near. His breath caught—he only snapped out of it moments later, swallowing hard.
"Shigure Akihito… he's… way too strong…"
On Kaijō's bench, Coach Takeuchi Genta stared at Shigure's back and murmured:
"An unparalleled talent…"
Zone + another special ability. A dual enhancement. And yet Shigure handled it with almost casual ease.
From that earlier pass, it was clear—this was different from the typical Zone, that near-total immersion where the world vanished. Normally, the deeper the immersion, the more instinct-driven the actions, the heavier the drain on body and mind.
But with this dual-layered state, Shigure had found balance. He was actually improving on the Zone itself.
And yet…
Even so, it all seemed far too effortless. Because aside from Zone, the stamina cost of his other ability…
Coach Takeuchi shook his head.
He simply
couldn't make sense of it.
END OF CHAPTER
CROWN BEFORE THE MIRACLES
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