Makoto Hanamiya mocked him as he picked up the ball that had been slapped loose.
Seeing this, Shogo Haizaki immediately took off down the court.
Without the slightest hesitation, Hanamiya fired a pass straight to Haizaki.
In the stands.
Junpei Hyuga frowned in confusion.
"Why would he force it like that? That's not Kasamatsu's style at all!"
Riko Aida looked equally puzzled.
"Yukio Kasamatsu isn't the kind of player who goes one-on-one like that."
Taiga Kagami spoke up from the side.
"Could it be because of something that guy on the court did?"
Riko Aida thought about it for a moment and nodded.
"That's… possible."
"Look! Kise caught up!"
Shinji Koganei shouted.
Everyone from Seirin turned their attention back to the court.
On the court.
Shogo Haizaki dribbled hard, charging straight toward the frontcourt.
Just as he reached the three-point line, a figure stepped into his path.
"I'm not letting you through!"
Ryota Kise spread his arms wide, his expression serious.
Haizaki slowed his fast break and stared straight at Kise.
"Heh."
A cold sneer crossed his face, followed by a wide grin.
"Then let's see if you can actually do it!"
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The sound of the ball pounding against the floor rang out rapidly.
Haizaki dribbled at an insane pace, the ball constantly shifting in his hands, leaving no opening at all.
The moment Kise saw it, cold sweat quietly formed on his forehead.
'So fast!'
Haizaki kept up the rapid dribble—then suddenly!
Thud!
He drove off his left foot and exploded forward, the ball controlled in his right hand.
Kise's eyes widened.
'Crap!'
Boom!
By the time Kise reacted, Haizaki had already slammed the ball through the hoop.
Tap… tap… tap…
"Heh. Is that really all you've got, Kise?"
Haizaki tilted his head back as he landed, mocking him openly.
Kise looked straight at him, his voice low and steady.
"So you really didn't waste these years training."
Haizaki's eyes narrowed as he locked onto Kise.
"I'm not as useless as you think."
With that, he turned and ran back on defense.
Kise's expression grew heavier as he muttered,
"This is getting worse and worse…"
Yukio Kasamatsu finally arrived, his face full of guilt.
"Sorry. I acted on impulse."
After getting stripped, Kasamatsu had already calmed down.
He knew he'd been provoked by Hanamiya on purpose—the goal had been to make him lose the ball.
Now that he was composed again, Kasamatsu made up his mind.
No matter what Hanamiya said next, he would ignore it completely!
Possession changed—Kaijo ball.
Kasamatsu took the inbound and slowly brought it up the court.
The moment he crossed half court, Hanamiya pressed in close and immediately switched on the trash talk.
"Oh ho ho, our captain—what, about to start passing again?"
Kasamatsu frowned, doing his best to tune out the nonsense.
He quickly found Ryota Kise and passed the ball.
Hanamiya didn't move at all. He simply shook his head, his expression full of disappointment.
"Honestly, I thought our captain had something to show. Turns out you're just a little passing accessory."
Kasamatsu snapped back, clearly irritated.
"And you're not a passing accessory yourself?"
Hanamiya answered without missing a beat.
"I am."
"Hah, figures… you—wait, what?"
Kasamatsu had already prepared his comeback, expecting Hanamiya to argue.
Instead, Hanamiya admitted it outright, leaving him stunned.
Hanamiya shrugged casually.
"What's so hard to admit? I can't beat guys like Miyamoto, so being an accessory suits me just fine."
Then his expression shifted, turning playful.
"But what about you, Captain? Will you admit you're just an accessory too?"
"You are the captain, after all…"
Kasamatsu clenched his teeth, forcing down the anger boiling inside him.
"I thought you might have changed. Looks like I was wrong."
"You've just moved your dirty tricks from your hands to your mouth!"
Hanamiya grinned.
"Getting mad?"
Kasamatsu's face flushed as he shouted,
"You—!"
"Getting mad?"
Hanamiya repeated calmly.
"I'll get mad at your—!"
"Getting mad?"
"You—!"
The referee heard the argument and immediately stepped in.
"One more word and I'm giving you a T!"
Hanamiya instantly raised his hands and nodded.
"Hey, ref, I'm innocent. I wasn't arguing at all."
"It's this Kaijo captain who keeps running his mouth."
Kasamatsu stared at him in disbelief.
He never imagined Hanamiya could be this shameless.
On the other side.
Kise caught the ball and faced Haizaki head-on.
He stared at that all-too-familiar face, then took a deep breath.
Bang!
He slammed the ball hard into the floor.
Switching it from right to left, Kise made a big crossover.
Haizaki reacted immediately, stepping into Kise's path.
Kise had already anticipated it.
He planted his right foot and spun.
Haizaki instantly shifted his center of gravity and rushed in to contest.
Coming out of the spin, Kise locked his eyes on the rim and brought both hands up as if to shoot.
Haizaki, eager for the block, jumped.
But the moment he was in the air, he realized—
Kise hadn't jumped at all!
'Damn it! A fake!'
Kise had used a perfect pump fake, completely lifting Haizaki off his feet.
Seizing the opening, he drove straight into the paint.
Nijimura was just about to rotate over when he saw Kise rise and release the ball.
He could only stop helplessly.
'Choosing a mid-range shot… guess he's not that dumb.'
The ball flew cleanly through the air.
Swish!
Kaijo scored two points.
In the stands, Kagami immediately shouted excitedly when he saw Kise score.
"Nice! That Haizaki guy isn't all that, huh? Kise totally shook him!"
For those unfamiliar with Miyamoto and the others, Kagami naturally wanted Kise to win this match.
"No… I don't think it's that simple."
Hyuga's expression changed as he stared intently at the court.
On the court, Haizaki showed no sign of frustration.
Instead, a faint, unsettling smile appeared on his face.
Kise didn't celebrate the basket.
After all, it was only two points—celebrations could wait until after a win.
Though, realistically, there probably wouldn't be much to celebrate.
Haizaki looked at Kise with that strange smile, his thoughts impossible to read…
...