A figure suddenly shot past like a flash!
Rinnosuke Mitobe's pupils shrank as shock surged through him.
Taiga Kagami, who had been getting ready to receive the inbound pass, wore an even more stunned expression.
How is that possible? Wasn't he on the other side?!
The instant Rinnosuke Mitobe released the ball, Daiki Aomine moved.
Like a cheetah lunging for its prey, he exploded forward and intercepted the pass cleanly.
After the steal, Daiki Aomine remained expressionless, not slowing down in the slightest.
Like a wild horse breaking free of its reins, he charged straight toward the frontcourt.
Taiga Kagami and Junpei Hyuga reacted immediately, both sprinting after Daiki Aomine.
But as they chased him down, they quickly realized something was wrong.
Junpei Hyuga gritted his teeth, his face tense with disbelief.
He's dribbling and still faster than Kagami?! What kind of monster is he?!
Taiga Kagami pushed himself to the limit, no longer caring about conserving stamina.
Right now, there was only one thought in his mind—catch up to Daiki Aomine and stop this play!
But imagination and reality were two very different things.
Even at full speed, Taiga Kagami couldn't close the distance on Daiki Aomine with the ball.
Worse yet, he could feel the gap widening.
In the stands.
Ryota Kise's expression turned serious as he glanced sideways and asked,
"Has Aomine gotten even faster?"
Shintaro Midorima didn't change his expression at all as he replied calmly,
"That's only natural. Aomine trains harder than any of us."
"He'd even skip games just to practice. With that kind of work ethic, of course he's improving the fastest."
Ryota Kise swallowed, his eyes fixed tightly on Daiki Aomine below.
It seems… my [copying] still hasn't truly caught up to you.
On the court.
Daiki Aomine left everyone in the dust.
He stormed into the paint alone, then leapt explosively and slammed the ball into the rim.
Boom!!!
Tōō High School added another two points.
After landing, Daiki Aomine turned and headed back on defense without a change in expression.
Every member of Seirin High School stood frozen, staring at what had just happened.
One person, dribbling the ball, outrunning every other player on the court.
Anyone would find that terrifying.
Daiki Aomine had thought Seirin might surrender right then and there.
But after a brief moment of shock, they snapped back to their senses.
Their fighting spirit hadn't diminished in the slightest. They continued to battle on.
Seeing this, something stirred faintly in Daiki Aomine's heart.
Tetsuya… maybe your choice wasn't so bad after all.
Still, that was all it was—a fleeting thought.
If he really wanted to end things early, he would just go all out.
And when he did, he tore straight through Seirin's defense by himself.
Even with all of Seirin united, they couldn't stop Daiki Aomine.
He was like a monster you simply couldn't pin down—you never knew where he'd shoot from, or what kind of form he'd use.
Without being able to predict the release point, there was no way to defend effectively.
That was the [Formless Shot]—a completely outrageous shooting style.
"Beep! End of the game! Both teams, please shake hands and exit the court!"
The referee blew the final whistle.
The scoreboard froze at 134–61.
Seirin… had been utterly crushed.
At the end of the third quarter, Daiki Aomine had fully unleashed his offense, single-handedly throwing Seirin's rhythm into chaos.
At the start of the fourth quarter, he continued to dominate the scoring, widening the gap even further.
Just four minutes into the fourth, he was subbed out for a bench player.
The game was already decided.
Although Seirin mounted a late push, Taiga Kagami's stamina had run dry, and Tetsuya Kuroko's [Misdirection] had gradually lost its effectiveness.
The game completely fell into Tōō's pace.
(Kuroko had been on the court for quite a while. The longer he plays, the stronger his presence becomes, and the less effective his Misdirection is. That's official canon—no complaints.)
By the end of the fourth quarter, Seirin hadn't managed to close the gap by much.
They could only swallow the bitterness of defeat.
And just like that, Seirin… was eliminated from the Summer Cup.
The players of Tōō and Seirin lined up face-to-face and exchanged handshakes.
On one side, calm inevitability.
On the other, unwilling frustration.
Daiki Aomine clasped hands with Taiga Kagami.
Kagami's gaze was firm as he said,
"Next time, I'll win."
Daiki Aomine replied without expression, repeating a line Miyamoto Tokima often used.
"I'll be waiting."
...
Elsewhere.
Miyamoto Tokima was still out shopping with Momoi when his phone suddenly rang.
Ring, ring…
He pulled it from his pocket and answered.
"Hey, Aomine. What's up?"
Daiki Aomine was walking alone back toward his school.
"I won."
On the other end, Miyamoto Tokima smiled faintly.
"I know. I always believed you would."
There was a short pause before Daiki Aomine spoke again.
"Tetsuya's new light… he's got serious potential."
Miyamoto Tokima smiled lightly.
"Is that so? Then it seems Tetsuya didn't make a bad choice."
The two of them chatted casually for a bit when Daiki Aomine suddenly said,
"Oh right, Miyamoto—I ran into a terrorist today!"
Miyamoto Tokima froze.
A terrorist???
"What happened? Tell me everything."
Over the phone, Daiki Aomine recounted his entire encounter with Dicky Anthony.
As Miyamoto Tokima listened, something began to feel off.
Tall. Foreigner. Speaking English.
"Wait, Aomine. Did he have a lip piercing?"
Daiki Aomine's tone instantly grew excited.
"Yeah! You've seen him too? Don't tell me he's planning to kidnap you and extort money from the Miyamoto Family?!"
Alright. That confirmed it.
The person Daiki Aomine ran into was Dicky Anthony.
What Miyamoto Tokima hadn't expected was that Dicky Anthony had gone out alone to watch the game.
And… gotten lost.
You can't find your way, don't speak the language, and you're wandering around like that? What if you got kidnapped—
Wait. On second thought, Dicky Anthony looked more like the one doing the kidnapping.
Okay, that's enough.
Even though Miyamoto Tokima knew it was all just a misunderstanding, he had no intention of explaining.
A bit of mischievous fun.
He was already imagining the expression on Daiki Aomine's face when he saw Dicky Anthony again at the game a few days later.
That reaction… was definitely going to be priceless.
...