Bang! Swish!
The ball struck the backboard and dropped cleanly through the hoop.
Daiki Aomine scored again.
After making the shot, he cast an intentional glance at Dicky Anthony, wanting to see how he would react.
The moment the ball went in, Dicky Anthony's expression visibly shifted, and the muttering under his breath quickened.
"Hunt… hunt…"
The aura around him grew increasingly violent, the pressure he gave off becoming heavier and more suffocating.
Daiki Aomine frowned slightly.
His Animal Instinct… is it growing?!
He could clearly feel it—Dicky Anthony's presence was getting stronger, as if something inside him was developing.
Miyamoto Tokima noticed it too. He quietly moved to the sideline and whispered,
"Momoi, check Anthony's condition. Tell me what's going on."
Satsuki Momoi nodded, fixing her eyes on Dicky Anthony. A moment later, she gasped.
"Tokima, Anthony's physical stats are dropping again!"
Miyamoto Tokima's brows knit together. This was the first time he had encountered something like this.
His aura was strengthening, yet his physical data was declining. What was happening?
If this had occurred in his normal state, it could have been attributed to that condition.
But now? He was in Animal Instinct Mode. Something like this had never happened in the original story while Animal Instinct was active.
For the moment, Miyamoto Tokima couldn't make sense of it. He could only continue observing the game.
"Momoi, keep a close record of Anthony's next set of data."
Satsuki Momoi nodded and took out her notebook.
On the court.
Since Miyamoto Tokima had stepped aside, Shuzo Nijimura brought the ball up.
After crossing half court, he obediently passed it to Dicky Anthony.
The instant Dicky Anthony caught the ball, the aura around him grew even more terrifying.
A faint smile appeared on his face, and the constant muttering stopped.
A trace of clarity gradually returned to his eyes.
He bared his teeth in a grin, then suddenly dribbled hard and drove forward.
Bang!
The ball slammed against the floor.
Dicky Anthony exploded into a burst of speed.
Daiki Aomine's expression turned serious. He reacted immediately, cutting off the driving lane.
But in that instant, he noticed something strange.
He's slower?!
It didn't make sense. His presence had grown stronger, yet his overall physical ability had weakened.
While Daiki Aomine was still puzzled, Dicky Anthony smiled.
Behind him, the venomous snake began to change.
Its emerald eyes turned pure white. Its fangs lengthened and sharpened, and even its face shifted.
As the fangs grew longer, its body began shrinking.
In the blink of an eye, the snake was only half its previous size.
Seeing this transformation, Daiki Aomine didn't dare relax. He focused completely, bracing for a sudden attack.
The next second—
Without any setup move, Dicky Anthony rose straight up from where he stood.
In midair, he controlled the ball with one hand, gathered it, and lifted it into a shooting motion.
Daiki Aomine froze for a split second, then jumped as well.
As always, he reached up to block Dicky Anthony's line of sight.
But this time—
Dicky Anthony's lips curled upward.
His body leaned slightly backward.
That subtle tilt opened up his view of the rim.
The moment he locked onto the basket, he flicked his wrist.
The ball left his hand.
Daiki Aomine's pupils shrank.
A fadeaway?!
The ball cut through the air like a missile and dropped perfectly through the net.
After scoring, Dicky Anthony said nothing. He only gave a faint smile and jogged back on defense.
The light in his eyes grew deeper.
Daiki Aomine didn't know what had changed—but he knew one thing.
Dicky Anthony had become much harder to deal with.
On the sideline, Satsuki Momoi suddenly spoke.
"Tokima, Anthony's stats are starting to rise."
Miyamoto Tokima immediately asked,
"How do they compare to when he first activated Animal Instinct?"
Satsuki Momoi checked the previous records.
"Lower. Still slightly lower than when he first activated it."
Miyamoto Tokima nodded slowly and looked toward Dicky Anthony. He seemed to have grasped something.
As the game continued, Daiki Aomine kept scoring with his speed and [Formless Shot].
But it wasn't as smooth as before.
Dicky Anthony seemed to have suddenly figured something out. He was playing smarter.
On offense, he no longer relied solely on shooting.
He mixed it up—drives, pull-up jumpers, fadeaways, post-ups.
He used almost everything.
Daiki Aomine could barely keep up.
Before, his blind-defense could at least limit Dicky Anthony somewhat.
Now, he couldn't even block his vision properly.
With such a complete offensive sequence, Daiki Aomine's blind-defense accuracy dropped by an entire level.
If the old Dicky Anthony had been a brute relying purely on force—
The current Dicky Anthony was a tactician.
At this point, Miyamoto Tokima had formed a preliminary theory.
There were two possibilities.
The first: Dicky Anthony had gained awareness.
In the past, he played like a pure powerhouse—shoot, drive, overpower.
He maximized every part of his body, pushing his physical advantages to the limit.
But precisely because his talent and physique were overwhelming, he never needed to think.
No one had ever been able to suppress him through sheer talent.
If you could win with natural gifts, why bother with technique or strategy?
So he never used his brain. He relied entirely on instinct and talent.
That might also explain why activating Animal Instinct caused him to lose his rationality.
Everything was controlled by pure instinct.
But during his game against Atsushi Murasakibara—
He experienced something different.
The feeling of having his natural gifts suppressed.
It was at that moment that his body gradually began yielding to his brain.
His instinctive output and physical data started to decline—so that his mind could regain control.
Perhaps Dicky Anthony himself hadn't noticed the change.
But now—
In his Animal Instinct state—
He had.
Which meant…
Dicky Anthony's rationality…
was returning.
Even while Animal Instinct was active.
As for the second possibility…
It was that—
Dicky Anthony's Animal Instinct…
might be evolving.
...
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