"Not bad~~ but it's still not enough! If you want to beat me, unleash even more power, Murasakibara!"
Akashi Asuka shouted, his lips curling into a faint, sinister grin.
Murasakibara Atsushi was angry, but strangely, he also felt happy.
This was the first time in his life he had felt the thrill of challenging a strong opponent. It hurt, but the feeling was addictive, impossible to resist.
The clashes between Akashi and Murasakibara grew more intense by the second.
At first, when the two giants battled for rebounds under the basket, players like Tsutomu Iwamura, Okamura Kenichi, and Liu Wei occasionally stepped in to contest. They might not always get the ball, but if they got lucky… why not try?
But now, as the two of them swung with greater force and range, even muscular players like Okamura and Iwamura didn't dare approach.
"You're too weak. Too weak! Is that all you've got?"
This time, instead of backing down and using post moves, Akashi dribbled Murasakibara around in the paint, weaving him in tight circles.
Akashi, usually not fond of dribbling, now showcased between-the-legs dribbles, sudden direction changes, and feints, all right in front of Murasakibara. Several times, he could have gone for a direct attack, but he didn't. He kept moving outward.
Then, near the baseline beyond the three-point line, Tsugawa Tomoki stepped in to set a screen. Seizing the opportunity, Akashi unleashed a sudden three-pointer.
Swish!
The ball arced in a perfect crescent before landing steadily in the hoop.
37 : 27.
"Damn… this guy is way too cocky."
Watching Akashi score and turn to retreat downcourt, Fukui Kensuke muttered in frustration.
"He really is overconfident," Okamura agreed, nodding.
But a flicker of caution crossed his rugged face.
"So that's his personality… huh?"
Yosen was based in Akita Prefecture, far from Tokyo. They didn't know much about Seiho personally, mostly only through match footage from Interhigh.
They understood Seiho's team strength and individual skills fairly well. But personal habits and temperament? That was largely unknown.
From previous recordings, Okamura had thought Akashi wasn't this arrogant.
But facing Murasakibara, his words sounded like something out of a villain's monologue in a heroic game.
Even Seiho teammates had been urging Akashi to hold back.
Akashi remained silent.
Okamura's rough exterior hid a keen mind, he was the first to notice the subtle change in Akashi's behavior.
Not everyone could sense it. Especially Murasakibara, one of the Generation of Miracles, who had rarely been humiliated.
"Fukui! Pass me the ball! I'm gonna crush that damn guy!" Murasakibara roared.
"Huh?"
Fukui Kensuke froze for a split second but quickly reacted and passed the ball.
Clutching it tightly, Murasakibara surged toward Seiho's paint with raw fury. Iwamura moved in to block, but the instant he touched Murasakibara, he felt like he wasn't facing a man… but a fully-loaded truck.
He powered up to the free-throw line, and then leaped.
"From the free-throw line?!"
"No way… that body can still jump that high?!"
"Seriously? Can a high schooler even do that?!"
==========
Murasakibara's leap from the free-throw line stunned everyone. Spectators and players alike, even Kise Ryouta and Midorima Shintaro in the stands, couldn't hide their shock.
Even Akashi, defending under the basket, was momentarily speechless.
Murasakibara soared above him and Iwamura toward the hoop before Akashi could react.
BOOM!
With an earth-shaking dunk, Murasakibara thundered through both defenders.
When he landed, the bolts securing the hoop let out a groaning creak, followed by a series of squeaks as the entire hoop wobbled and finally collapsed onto the floor.
CRASH!!!
Beep~
The first half ended with the roar of the hoop and the piercing electronic whistle echoing through the arena.
The arena fell into dead silence for the fourth time that game.
Then, slowly, Murasakibara turned toward Akashi and said, word by word:
"See? I… am not weak at all!"
A childish declaration. Akashi froze for a second, then his face visibly darkened.
"Damn it… it went wrong!"
This time, he couldn't show off, he was literally dunked on.
If there were a "biggest disgrace in Akashi Asuka's basketball history" ranking, today's scene would take first place.
Akashi stomped off the court, scowling.
Once both teams cleared the floor, the audience finally erupted.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa…"
"Did you see that?! Did you see?! They tore down the hoop again!"
"Oh my god! This doesn't even feel like a basketball game. It's two monsters clashing!"
==========
"Hehehe~~"
Even the Shutoku spectators couldn't laugh anymore. Takao Kazunari barely held his smiles, but it was meaningless.
"What kind of monsters are these? They treat the hoop like a toy."
"Exactly… monsters, all of them!"
Even Coach Shutoku sighed in amazement.
Not even when he played professionally had he seen so many high schoolers with this level of ability.
"Truly the Generation of Miracles!"
Coach Shutoku glanced at Murasakibara on the Yosen bench, then at Akashi on Seiho's side.
"So, Akashi… is this really your limit?"
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria