Tsugawa Tomoki's face turned red. Just when everyone thought he was angry about giving the opponent three free throws...
Suddenly.
He opened his throat excitedly, a sunny smile on his face.
The first sentence was what bewildered Moriyama: "You're so strong!"
"By the way, will that kind of shot really go in?"
"Your shot has no spin at all, completely different from others' three-pointers!"
"Will it really go in? Hey, will that kind of shot really go in?"
Yoshitaka Moriyama was stunned upon hearing this; he hadn't seen such a strange guy.
Yet it was such an odd person who once froze Kise one-on-one in junior high.
Kaijo naturally knew about this Seiho first-year.
Famous nationwide for defensive ability, he chose Seiho Academy without hesitation after advancing to high school.
Because Seiho had Yamashita Shio, Tsugawa believed that was his best destination.
Moriyama ignored him, adjusting his mood to the free-throw line for free throws.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Three free throws all made; Kaijo overtook by 1 point.
"Amazing Kaijo."
"Yeah, even with intel comprehensively lagging behind, they resolved it with tenacious will and individual ability."
"Truly excellent leadership ability."
Even if actions are predicted, as long as the ball is hit to the right spot allowing teammates to exert their characteristics, that prediction through data can be broken.
Simply put, play to your strengths.
"But to achieve this step isn't easy. He must know his teammates absolutely well and trust them 100%."
Riko Aida and the others sighed at the heritage of these powerhouses; none were simple.
Back on the other end.
Yuuto held the ball facing Kise directly. Extreme simplicity and extreme flashiness—two styles switching.
One moment like a basketball textbook, one moment like a street kid messing around.
A metaphor would be a thug in a suit; dressed neatly, but containing fatal violent factors inside.
A cutback after a huge stride, but a "mistake" appeared at the moment of switching hands; the basketball hit Kise's face directly.
Startlement appeared on Kise's face for a moment. Utilizing this time, Yuuto had already passed half his body length, reached back to grab, and rushed out like a hurricane.
However.
Kise shifted laterally to block the way.
"Can't pass?"
"After all, it's Little Kise. His body data is closest to Yu's."
At least in normal state, their body data were quite close.
No particularly obvious advantages, naturally no weaknesses.
Both sides were balanced, and all reached the top level.
"Not over yet."
As soon as Aomine's hoarse voice fell, Yuuto's figure dissipated like foam.
Reappearing, he was already on Kise's other side.
But it wasn't over.
As Yuuto passed Kise, the Kaijo captain and Mitsuhiro Hayakawa approached rapidly from both sides.
"Deliberately letting Yuuto to the right side... the real killing move is a double-team?!"
Kagami saw clearly from above.
While Yuuto crossed Kise, Hayakawa and Kasamatsu acted simultaneously.
At this moment, Yuuto seemed to have fallen into a pocket carefully prepared for him by Kaijo.
Kaijo's duo approached quickly, eyes fixed on Yuuto.
But they saw the Seiho King's pupils were terrifyingly quiet, seeming not surprised at all.
Smack!
He flicked the ball, a bounce pass to Ryuhei Kasuga cutting in from the other side. The latter drove into the paint attracting Koji Kobori's defense, then passed to Iwamura. Finally, Iwamura finished with a dunk.
Couldn't defend.
Kaijo used two methods at the start, neither worked.
"Since the match against Shutoku, Yu's understanding of tactics has deepened a lot."
"He now only needs one look to perfectly replicate the opponent's tactics and find the breach."
Momoi thought Yuuto suffered a loss in that Shutoku game and immediately strengthened his understanding in this aspect.
"Really, if only he had such high understanding and effort in other aspects."
Hearing this, Sora nodded in deep agreement.
But she reacted quickly.
Those words were spoken by that big-breasted woman. Sora immediately turned her head and hmphed.
Aomine said nothing. He believed the biggest problem Kaijo faced now wasn't just being unable to stop Yuuto.
Offense and defense transition.
Yukio Kasamatsu continued to organize the team offense.
He was the type of player very good at driving and dishing. He wasn't tall enough, but small players had small players' agility.
Still the turnaround fadeaway jump shot after a sudden stop.
The difficulty of this series of movements wasn't low.
Ryuhei Kasuga defended to the extreme, giving the opponent maximum interference.
Clang~
The shot missed again. Iwamura and Omuro immediately boxed out under the basket to fight for the rebound...
But that Mitsuhiro Hayakawa, after a simple charge-up of his legs, soared rapidly like a rocket.
Not that he jumped very high, but his jumping speed was tongue-clicking fast.
He forcefully plucked the rebound from the gap between Iwamura and Omuro.
Then.
Two corners!
Aiming at the vacant spots on the two sides of Seiho's zone, this time Kaijo even added off-ball movement and screen coordination to block Tsugawa's pursuit of Moriyama.
Hayakawa flung the ball to the right corner while in mid-air.
At that position.
Yoshitaka Moriyama was already prepared to catch and shoot.
However.
Halfway through the basketball's flight, a hand suddenly blocked horizontally between the person and the ball.
Smack!
A strong and powerful palm controlled the basketball firmly in its grasp.
Yukio Kasamatsu looked over and saw the figure of the Seiho King again.
"Correction. No matter what tactics, they will be corrected by Yuuto in the end."
Aomine had anticipated this.
This was the biggest difficulty Kaijo faced.
"True. Yu is the type of player whose condition gets better the more he plays."
Not just getting better.
Without experiencing it personally, one wouldn't understand the constantly coming pressure, stimulating nerves at all times.
Aomine recalled the duel with Yuuto; he had never felt that way on the court before.
Whoosh!
While speaking, Yuuto had already passed through two Kaijo defenders and killed his way out.
Kise followed closely behind, launching a pursuit.
Sure enough, it's this back!
That back was what he had always sought.
Soccer, baseball, volleyball, badminton, etc.
Since he could remember, he found sports weren't that hard.
Many things could be learned with just one look. Kise felt everything was simple; seeing those who took these things seriously as difficult made him want to laugh.
His physique was OK, sports were OK, studies were also not bad, but he just felt bored.
He liked sports, but learned everything immediately and soon couldn't find opponents. People in the same club would also dare not play with him because of his terrifying talent.
He once thought he would be bored forever.
Until that day he was hit by Aomine's basketball.
The door to a new world belonging to him opened.
...
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