Seeing that everyone had left, Taiga Kagami did not think too much about it. He simply combined the two boxes into one and stuffed everything into his mouth at once.
After chewing a little, Taiga Kagami's expression changed.
Riko Aida looked at him expectantly and asked, "How is it?"
Taiga Kagami was completely trapped.
Damn it!
Why was it so salty?!
Clearly, Riko Aida had mistaken salt for sugar and dumped it all in.
She had probably been worried that everyone would think it was not sweet enough, so she had added a huge amount to every box.
As a result, every box was insanely salty.
The sourness and saltiness mixed together, with a few other strange flavors caught in between.
It was a food that completely destroyed a person's taste buds.
Right now, Taiga Kagami could neither swallow it nor spit it out. He was stuck in the worst possible position.
But he had no choice. In the end, Taiga Kagami forced himself through the pain and swallowed it, looking like he wanted to cry but could not.
Seeing Taiga Kagami looking as if he was about to cry, Riko Aida asked worriedly, "Kagami, what's wrong? You look like you're about to cry..."
Taiga Kagami wanted to cry but had no tears. He said painfully, "It's because it tastes so good. It's so good I'm about to cry."
Hearing that, Riko Aida said happily, "Then I'll make it for you guys again next time!"
Taiga Kagami's pupils suddenly widened. Then he quickly said, "Coach, I need to use the restroom too."
After saying that, Taiga Kagami did not even bother pretending anymore. He rushed straight out.
He burst through the door.
Once he was outside, Taiga Kagami pushed his ability to the absolute limit.
A full speed sprint!
Finally, when he reached the restroom, he found that every sink was already occupied.
Just as Taiga Kagami was getting anxious, Tatsuya Himuro slowly raised his head, waved, and said, "Kagami, I'm done. You can use this one."
Seeing that, Taiga Kagami laughed loudly.
"Thanks!"
After saying that, he immediately went to rinse out his mouth.
Tatsuya Himuro smiled as he watched Taiga Kagami, his eyes full of affection.
In truth, he had not eaten any of it. The only reason he had taken a sink was for Taiga Kagami.
And don't forget, Taiga Kagami had eaten two boxes.
Back to the present.
After hearing Tetsuya Kuroko's explanation, Daiki Aomine immediately felt a chill run through him.
Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. So this was the true power of dark cuisine?
But soon, Daiki Aomine asked a question.
"What about you, Tetsuya? You didn't eat it?"
Tetsuya Kuroko nodded and said, "I didn't eat it. I only picked it up and licked it once. After realizing it was too salty, I put it back."
"Luckily, no one noticed me."
The corner of Daiki Aomine's mouth twitched.
So this was what made low presence so amazing?
After learning the truth, Daiki Aomine did not stay any longer. He used the restroom and left.
After rinsing out their mouths, the Seirin players slowly returned to the locker room.
When they heard that Riko Aida wanted to prepare lemon slices for everyone again next game, they quickly waved their hands.
Then they declared.
"We're a team. If we're doing it, we'll do it together!"
After that, everyone decided that before the next game, they would all go to Riko Aida's house and help make the lemon slices.
There was no helping it. The lemon slices Riko Aida made on her own were just too terrifying.
Riko Aida looked deeply moved after hearing what everyone said.
Perfect. Both sides were satisfied.
...
After halftime ended, both teams returned to the court.
The second half was about to begin.
Ryota Kise adjusted his uniform while observing Seirin.
At this moment, Seirin's lineup had changed again.
Just as Ryota Kise expected, Tetsuya Kuroko had indeed been taken off the court, with Junpei Hyuga coming in for him.
Of course, Kaijō's lineup had also changed.
Yukio Kasamatsu and Mitsuhiro Hayakawa were both rotating out to rest.
In other words, the third quarter belonged entirely to Ryota Kise.
He had an unlimited green light.
Ryota Kise slowly closed his eyes and let out a breath.
Then, when he opened them again, his entire aura had changed.
His gaze was sharp as he stared toward Seirin and silently thought to himself, 'Come on!'
The third quarter began.
Kaijō High School had possession.
This time, Kaijō High School did not let their backup point guard bring the ball up. Instead, Ryota Kise took the ball directly from the backcourt and advanced it himself.
Off the court, Miyamoto Tokima saw this, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
Kaijō's way of playing...
was completely running Ryota Kise into the ground.
If a certain coach from another world saw this, he would definitely cry out that he had found a kindred spirit.
On the court, Ryota Kise slowly dribbled past half court. His whole demeanor had changed, becoming extremely serious.
When he reached the three point line, Taiga Kagami immediately came up to defend him.
The aces of both teams were officially facing off.
Taiga Kagami's face was full of fighting spirit, and his expression was filled with excitement.
He had been waiting for this moment for a long, long time.
"Kise! Come on!"
Ryota Kise dribbled the basketball, his body tense and ready to attack at any moment.
"Kagamicchi, here I come!"
The next second, Ryota Kise suddenly dropped his center of gravity. With an unbelievably low stance, he broke past Taiga Kagami's right side.
He was incredibly fast.
Seeing this, Taiga Kagami's pupils contracted despite himself, because he had not reacted at all.
'So fast!'
After breaking past Taiga Kagami, Ryota Kise suddenly stopped at the free throw line and jumped.
Then he gripped the basketball with his right hand, pulled it slightly backward, and whipped his arm forward with force, sending the ball flying.
The Seirin players could only watch Ryota Kise's movement. They had no time to stop him.
The basketball struck the backboard with precision, then bounced into the hoop.
After scoring, Ryota Kise did not hesitate. He turned and went back on defense.
Taiga Kagami stood frozen in place, the fighting spirit in his eyes burning even stronger as he looked at Ryota Kise.
'Aomine...'
Off the court, Shoichi Imayoshi, that narrow-eyed guy, suddenly smiled. Then he turned to Daiki Aomine and said, "Aomine, Kise is becoming more and more like you."
Daiki Aomine casually clicked his tongue and said nothing else.
But from his expression, it was obvious that Daiki Aomine...
was getting a little excited.
On the court, after Shun Izuki dribbled past half court, he did not hold the ball for long. He passed it directly to Taiga Kagami.
Although their style had always been built around teamwork, right now...
it truly was a battle of king against king.
...