"Beep! Third quarter begins! Both teams, take the court!"
The referee's whistle signaled the start of the third quarter.
Players from Tōō and Seirin stepped onto the court.
Tōō's lineup:
Center: Kosuke Wakamatsu
Power Forward: Daiki Aomine
Small Forward: Yoshinori Susa
Shooting Guard: Ryo Sakurai
Point Guard: Shoichi Imayoshi
Seirin's lineup:
Center: Rinnosuke Mitobe
Power Forward: Taiga Kagami
Small Forward: Shinji Koganei
Shooting Guard: Junpei Hyuga
Point Guard: Shun Izuki
In the stands.
Ryota Kise noticed that Tetsuya Kuroko wasn't on the court, and a puzzled look crossed his face.
"Kuroko's not playing? Is that really okay? That's Aomine we're talking about!"
Shintaro Midorima adjusted his glasses and replied calmly,
"His misdirection has probably stopped working. He didn't sit out at all in the first half."
"But even if he went in now, it wouldn't change anything. The opponent is Aomine."
"We couldn't pull ahead even when Aomine wasn't on the court. Now that he's playing, their chances are even slimmer."
Ryota Kise's expression grew tense.
Midorima was right. Seirin couldn't defeat Tōō even without Aomine. Now that he was back on the court, their odds looked almost nonexistent.
On the court.
Daiki Aomine glanced toward the bench at Tetsuya Kuroko, slightly surprised.
'Huh? Not coming in? Did you play the entire first half?'
'Whatever. It doesn't matter. You guys still can't beat me.'
'At best, you might make things a little fun.'
Taiga Kagami locked his eyes onto Daiki Aomine, battle spirit blazing.
Aomine looked completely unmotivated, yet the aura radiating from him only grew stronger.
That overwhelming presence sent a thrill through Kagami.
'So this is the ace of the Generation of Miracles… He's incredible!'
"Beep! Tōō ball!"
The whistle blew. Tōō took possession.
Kosuke Wakamatsu inbounded the ball and immediately ran toward the baseline in the frontcourt.
Shoichi Imayoshi received the pass and dribbled up, heading in the same direction as Wakamatsu.
All four of Tōō's other players shifted to the right side of the court.
Only Daiki Aomine and Taiga Kagami remained isolated on the left.
In the stands.
Ryota Kise's expression turned serious.
"They're attacking right away? Little Aomine…"
It was the classic one-on-one setup.
Clear out the space. Pull everyone else away. Leave the ace to handle it alone.
A strategy that required absolute faith in your star.
On the court.
Seeing the spacing was ready, Shoichi Imayoshi passed the ball to Daiki Aomine.
Aomine caught it and muttered lazily,
"Seriously? Giving me the first possession? I was hoping to take it easy for a bit."
Taiga Kagami's expression hardened.
Aomine looked disinterested, but the moment the ball touched his hands, his presence shifted.
It intensified.
'Damn it… The instant he got the ball, everything changed. Is this the ace of the Generation of Miracles?!'
Aomine held the ball loosely with both hands.
"Well, since you gave it to me… guess I'll play."
He didn't even look at Kagami.
No unnecessary movements.
Dribble. First step. Drive.
In one seamless motion, Aomine blew past Kagami.
It happened in an instant.
Kagami froze.
'So… fast!'
'In just a split second, I…'
On the side, Shun Izuki's eyes widened in shock.
'How is that possible?! Kagami didn't even have time to react!'
Junpei Hyuga had been tracking their positions the whole time. The moment Aomine got by Kagami, he rushed over to help.
Seirin's first-year reserves shouted excitedly.
"Help defense! Captain got there so fast!"
They were all cheering—
Except Tetsuya Kuroko.
His expression was grave.
Because he knew.
Junpei Hyuga… couldn't stop Daiki Aomine.
Sure enough, Aomine didn't slow down at all. With a quick change of direction at full speed, he left Hyuga behind just as easily.
Hyuga couldn't even react before he was beaten.
'No way… He's that fast?!'
With both defenders behind him, Aomine drove straight to the basket and leapt, preparing to finish with a layup.
Rapid footsteps thundered from behind him.
Kagami had chased him down.
He sprinted back at full speed and jumped, reaching to swat the shot.
Aomine caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye.
'He made it back in this situation? Not bad.'
The corner of Aomine's mouth lifted slightly.
Mid-layup, he suddenly pulled the ball back.
His body curled up in midair.
Kagami's eyes widened.
'He adjusted in midair?!'
Still suspended, Aomine extended his left hand and scooped the ball in from the side.
A double-clutch layup.
He had turned an ordinary layup into a double-clutch midair, slipping past Kagami's block attempt.
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
A faint smile tugged at Aomine's lips.
"Looks like you can give me a little entertainment after all. But that's it."
He turned and jogged back on defense.
Kagami clenched his teeth.
'Not just speed… even his reactions and body control are beyond anything normal!'
On the sideline.
Riko Aida nervously chewed on her fingernails, her thoughts in chaos.
'Not just his speed… even his reactions and adjustments are that fast?'
'The Generation of Miracles… they're monsters!'
Now, more than ever, she truly understood the overwhelming strength—and terror—of the Generation of Miracles.
But what frightened her most was…
The one who stood above even the Generation of Miracles.
The one they all looked up to.
The one they chased after.
[Magic Cube].
Miyamoto Tokima.
...
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