Possession changed.
After crossing half court, Makoto Hanamiya didn't hesitate for even a second and immediately passed the ball to Shogo Haizaki.
Miyamoto Tokima's instructions for this game were extremely simple.
Let Shogo Haizaki play to his heart's content!
He'd gone on a trip to the United States, only to come back and find his little brother's spot taken by some newcomer.
How could he not get revenge for his little brother?
And then there was Seijuro Akashi's second personality.
He was definitely going to beat him until he started questioning his own existence!
After receiving the pass, Shogo Haizaki sneered coldly at Ryota Kise.
"No need to be so careful. You already know how I'm going to attack, don't you?"
Ryota Kise guarded Haizaki with a serious expression.
Of course he knew.
Given Haizaki's personality, this possession was one hundred percent going to use the same move as before.
All he needed to do was—
"Idiot. You still can't get rid of that habit of spacing out on the court!"
Thud, thud, thud…
Haizaki's voice and the sound of the ball pounding the floor suddenly came from behind Ryota Kise.
It turned out that Haizaki had seized the instant Kise lost focus, exploded forward, and blew right past him.
Kise snapped his head around and shouted,
"Help defense!"
Kōji Kobori immediately stepped up to cover.
Haizaki burst into wild laughter.
"What are you going to use to stop me?!"
As he spoke, he dribbled hard with his right hand, switched the ball to his left, and threw out a huge change of direction.
Kobori reacted a beat too slow, already thinking he'd been beaten.
But then he suddenly saw Haizaki turn back again!
Kobori's heart leapt with joy as he immediately stepped forward to contest.
After spinning back, Haizaki glanced at the rim, bringing both hands together as if to shoot.
Sensing danger, Kobori instantly jumped.
"Kobori-senpai, don't!"
Kise shouted.
But it was already too late.
Kobori had left the ground, and only then did he realize something was wrong.
Fake… a fake!
Haizaki looked at the airborne Kobori with a cold, mocking smile.
In the next moment, under Kobori's shocked gaze, Haizaki took a light step forward and flicked the ball up with his right hand, gently hooking it into the basket.
Swish!
The ball bounced on the rim a few times before falling cleanly through.
As the shot went in, applause broke out among the spectators.
In the stands, Taiga Kagami was stunned.
"Why… that move was exactly the same as Kise's just now!"
Junpei Hyuga's eyes flickered, betraying the turmoil in his heart.
Shinji Koganei had cold sweat forming on his forehead as he turned toward Tetsuya Kuroko beside him.
"Kuroko, do you know what's going on?"
All of Seirin's gazes immediately focused on Kuroko.
Under everyone's attention, Kuroko spoke calmly,
"Because Haizaki-kun's talent is very similar to Kise-kun's."
Hiroshi Fukuda asked,
"Then does that mean he also has [Copying], just like Kise?"
Kuroko shook his head.
"No. Haizaki-kun's talent is [Pillage]."
…
On Tōō's side.
"[Pillage]?!"
Kosuke Wakamatsu exclaimed,
"Aomine, are you saying that Haizaki can [pillage] other people's basketball skills?"
Daiki Aomine nodded calmly.
"Yeah. That's Haizaki's ability."
Shoichi Imayoshi wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed.
"That's a terrifying ability."
Aomine leaned back with his hands behind his head and said casually,
"But it's not without flaws. If we're talking pure talent, Kise definitely surpasses Haizaki."
…
On Seirin's side.
"What flaw?"
Shun Izuki asked.
Kuroko thought for a moment before answering,
"Although Haizaki-kun can [pillage] the techniques he sees, he can't [pillage] techniques with a strong personal style."
"For example, he can't [pillage] the skills of the five members of the Generation of Miracles."
"Because their techniques are all extremely individual."
"To put it simply, Haizaki-kun can only [pillage] movements, not style."
Junpei Hyuga seemed to catch on.
"So what you're saying is that every skill Haizaki [pillages] gets mixed with his own style, which throws off the opponent's rhythm. Then, when they try to use the same move again, they subconsciously fall into Haizaki's rhythm, achieving the [Pillage] effect?"
Kuroko nodded.
"In theory, yes."
Hyuga nodded as well, looking enlightened.
"So that's how it works. Doesn't sound that hard—"
"Like hell it doesn't!"
"Just copying someone else's moves is already difficult. Now he has to turn them into his own style."
"And on top of that, he has to disrupt the opponent's rhythm. Anyone who can do that is anything but simple!"
Bang!
Riko Aida slammed a fist down on Hyuga's head and said sharply,
"Stop yelling and watch the game quietly!"
Hyuga clutched his head and nodded in pain.
…
On the court.
Kaijō had already begun their offensive.
This time, Ryota Kise didn't choose to use the same move as before.
He knew very well that once Haizaki used that technique, he would subconsciously start mimicking Haizaki's playing style.
That was why his previous few attacks had felt so awkward.
Although Kise could imitate Haizaki's style, doing so would only make his movements easy for Haizaki to read.
After all, Haizaki understood that rhythm better than anyone.
As a result, the game on the court fell into a stalemate.
Miyamoto Tokima and Shuzo Nijimura effectively turned into spectators, doing little beyond passing and defending.
They completely handed the battlefield over.
Over to their little brother.
This frustration had to be vented by him!
With Miyamoto Tokima and Shuzo Nijimura no longer attacking, the ball naturally went entirely to Shogo Haizaki.
The same was true on Kaijō's side.
Almost all possessions ran through Ryota Kise.
Though it was frustrating, the reality was that right now, only Kise could reliably score.
Yukio Kasamatsu was being relentlessly nagged by Makoto Hanamiya, to the point where he looked ready to draw a sword on the spot.
Kōji Kobori couldn't get a single pass.
Kentaro Seto stuck to Kobori like glue every time, never giving him a clean catch.
Mitsuhiro Hayakawa gave up on attacking altogether after getting blocked twice in a row by Shuzo Nijimura.
He knew he couldn't break through. Forcing it would only make things worse, so he handed the ball off instead.
As for Yoshitaka Moriyama, after getting blocked three straight times by Miyamoto Tokima, he finally behaved himself.
From that moment on, Ryota Kise became Kaijō's last remaining spark…
...
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