Yuuto looked down at the court.
Rakuzan's advantage was indeed clear, though it was expected.
The first quarter was already half over, with Rakuzan temporarily leading Kaijō by 6 points.
Rakuzan employed man-to-man defense.
Akashi personally guarded Kise while everyone else handled their assignments, defending their respective matchups.
They had the confidence to do this because they possessed the nation's strongest roster, surpassing every powerhouse in the country.
With Akashi as their commander, Rakuzan methodically expanded their lead.
Kaijō fought as tenaciously as ever, but under the complete Emperor Eye, their situation was precarious.
"Watching from the stands and actually experiencing it are two completely different things." Kasamatsu Yukio's expression was grave.
Just five minutes in, they'd already learned how terrifying the complete Emperor Eye truly was.
Using passes to help teammates find optimal moments for drives, shots, and ball movement—Kaijō had no idea how to defend it.
Because Akashi's eyes had evolved to see all possible futures.
In other words, when he passed, he had already predicted Kaijō's movements too. Everything was within his calculations.
Playing a game where you were completely read was utterly demoralizing.
"We knew this from the start. Even with Seihō's intelligence support, they still couldn't stop it." Kasamatsu was barely doing better himself.
This match, he was personally guarding Hayama Kotaro and had been blown by repeatedly.
He didn't think he was weaker than Hayama individually, but with Akashi's Emperor Eye opening paths, the situation was entirely different.
"If we can't stop them, then we go all-out on offense."
With that, he dribbled across half-court, used a double between-the-legs move to shake Hayama, then pulled up for a mid-range jumper.
"Same as always—betting everything on Kise."
Kaijō's plan wasn't hard to figure out.
Everyone else would buy time for Kise. They could accept falling behind, but not by too much—they needed to leave Kise enough time to mount a comeback.
Perfect Copy plus the Zone!
According to tests, with Kise's current physical condition, activating Perfect Copy and entering the Zone simultaneously shouldn't exceed 5 minutes. Otherwise, he risked injury.
Of course.
If Kise pushed himself to the limit, he could extend that time by a few more minutes.
"This is Kaijō's only chance to win," Midorima said flatly.
Just yesterday, they had faced Rakuzan.
The complete Emperor Eye.
It was powerful—more powerful than he had imagined.
Under Akashi's orchestration, Shūtoku had barely completed a single successful defensive stop.
Shūtoku's performance yesterday wasn't any better than Kaijō's. They had relied on his three-pointers to keep the score close.
But once his threes were shut down, Shūtoku was immediately strangled by Rakuzan.
"Not everyone can directly counter the Emperor Eye." Midorima turned to glance at Yuuto.
The only known abilities capable of breaking the Emperor Eye's absolute prediction were Correction and the Demon Eyes.
And both of these talents belonged to Yuuto.
"Greenie, you're talking like you just learned about the Emperor Eye," Sora said after hearing Midorima's tone, as if he'd only recently discovered its power.
"That's because in middle school, we Generation of Miracles were forbidden from playing against each other." Aomine had walked over at this point. "Looks like we're not too late."
Akashi had actually predicted early on that the Generation of Miracles' bodies hadn't matured enough to support their full potential. Fighting each other might cause irreparable damage.
Therefore, before they had fully awakened, Akashi had issued that command.
But even Akashi hadn't anticipated that the Generation of Miracles' talents would exceed expectations, causing problems that persisted into high school.
Kise especially had pushed himself to injury and hospitalization during the Inter-High just to defeat Yuuto.
Right after Aomine arrived, a pink blur came flying over.
"Yuuto!"
It was Momoi. The moment they met, she pressed her face against him affectionately.
"Ah, you horrible big-boobed monster!"
"Don't pull on me, you're so annoying! You get to live with Yuuto every day and still want to hog him completely!"
Jealousy was part of it, but mostly she wanted to rile Sora up.
The two girls familiarly clustered together, the atmosphere "harmonious" and "warm."
And Yuuto?
Like Aomine and the others, his gaze was locked on the court. He wasn't paying attention to the two girls' squabbling.
At this moment.
Kise was trying to use his teammates' screens to avoid Akashi. As long as he could shake Akashi, he could help his team with devastating plays.
It was useless.
All their movements couldn't escape the Emperor Eye's prediction. Despite Kise's best efforts, he couldn't shake Akashi.
When he finally forced up a shot, Akashi swatted the ball away.
This was the story of the last five minutes.
Kaijō struggled to score, lacking good options.
Meanwhile, Rakuzan flowed smoothly. After Akashi blew past Kise, he dished to Mayuzumi Chihiro, who fired a bullet pass into the paint, where Nebuya Eikichi finished with a thunderous dunk.
Compared to Kaijō's constipated offense, Rakuzan's attack was like flowing water—unstoppable.
The overall shooting percentages so far were 79% versus 43%. Kaijō couldn't even reach 50%.
After one quarter, they trailed Rakuzan by 13 points.
Plenty of time remained—that number was definitely catchable—but the situation was already absolutely unfavorable for Kaijō.
Second quarter.
Kaijō made adjustments. On offense, they completely abandoned using Kise, using him instead to draw Akashi away—turning it into a 4-on-4.
The tactics weren't brilliant, but they did raise their shooting percentage.
Kasamatsu Yukio had 12 first-half points. Moriyama Yoshitaka had 10.
These two players' outstanding performances helped Kaijō tenaciously keep the score close, preventing the gap from exceeding 20.
"Not bad. That Kise kid has some capable teammates," Aomine observed.
"Kasamatsu Yukio. Kaijō third-year. Height 178 cm, weight 66 kg. Possesses the fastest speed outside the Generation of Miracles. Specializes in mid-to-long-range shooting."
"Last year's Inter-High, his mistake caused the supposedly historically strongest Kaijō to lose. Afterward, he felt so guilty he wanted to quit the basketball club, but Coach Takeuchi Genta convinced him to stay and entrusted him with the captain position."
"After that incident, Kasamatsu-senpai transformed. His clutch ability improved dramatically."
Momoi flipped open her notebook.
She had collected data on all the players from national powerhouse teams.
...
"Oh~ Made one mistake, so he refuses to make another?" Aomine felt this guy was pretty decent—better than the guys on his own basketball team, at least.
"Hmph, even investigating this kind of privacy so thoroughly. You really are a perverted big-boob woman." Sora couldn't stand seeing Momoi act smug and threw in a jab.
"You—" Momoi was furious. She turned and sneered, "Your mouth is sharper than your chest. Though you can't even reach a C cup!"
"You..."
Having just calmed down, they immediately started bickering again.
Yuuto quietly rolled his eyes.
"I'm going to buy some drinks. You guys coming?"
"I'm going!"
"Me too!"
Yuuto nodded. After asking Aomine and Midorima what they wanted, he left with both girls.
...
The second half began.
Akashi obviously knew Kaijō's plan, so from the start of the third quarter, he intensified the offensive pace.
And Kaijō?
Every time crisis struck, Kasamatsu and the others managed to respond in time, never letting victory slip from their grasp.
...
18 points!
That was the point differential at the end of the third quarter. Rakuzan held a commanding lead. Kaijō was in dire straits, like a lone boat in the ocean that could capsize at any moment.
But things soon changed.
Right at the start of the fourth quarter, Kise drained a full-court three-pointer, declaring he was ready.
"Kise!"
"It's not time yet! What are you doing?"
Kasamatsu and the others were stunned, telling Kise not to act recklessly.
For Kise's health and future, they had only allotted him five minutes.
The fourth quarter had just started—a full five minutes early. This was too dangerous!
"Akashi isn't the kind of opponent you can beat with just a game plan."
Kise understood perfectly well that his current explosive state should only last five minutes. Any longer increased injury risk.
But Kise suspected Akashi had already seen through their plan.
Playing according to their strategy probably meant they couldn't win.
He lowered his head, looking at his ankle, and made his decision.
"I want to win with my senpais—just once!"
"Besides, I rested for three quarters. It'll be fine."
He forced a casual tone, trying to forget about his injured foot.
Now wasn't the time to look before and after. Now was the time to fight with everything.
Especially after watching his teammates give their all just to earn him those precious five minutes.
He told himself he had to do something.
Kasamatsu watched him for a long moment, then finally bumped his fist against Kise's chest.
"Got it. From here on, we're counting on you, Kise!"
"But everyone else, stay sharp! Do your jobs!"
"YEAH!"
Moriyama and the others roared in response.
The decisive battle that was supposed to begin in the final five minutes had now been pushed up to ten!
Kaijō was making their final stand!
This was also the final stand for third-years like Kasamatsu Yukio!
...
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