On Seirin's side.
Riko Aida saw the movement over at Kaijō and said to everyone in a grave voice, "Everyone, don't let your guard down. Kise is coming in."
The others all nodded.
At this point, no one dared to underestimate their opponent.
Celebrating too early was the biggest taboo!
"Beep! Timeout is over. Both teams, return to the court!"
Seirin shouted, "Let's go!"
Kaijō shouted, "Let's go!"
Both teams returned to the court. The final three minutes could be called the deciding stretch.
For now, though, Seirin was holding a twelve point lead. They were in a very favorable position.
Kaijō, on the other hand, was fighting from a severe disadvantage.
On the court.
Kaijō High School had possession.
Yukio Kasamatsu quickly brought the ball forward.
Earlier, Seirin had been the anxious side, playing at a fast pace to chase the score. Now it was the other way around.
Kaijō was the one panicking now. They had to catch up.
Ryota Kise quickly ran to the three point line in the frontcourt and reached out for the ball.
"Kasamatsu-senpai!"
Seeing this, Yukio Kasamatsu quickly checked his surroundings. Once he saw that Tetsuya Kuroko was over by Yoshitaka Moriyama, he quickly passed the ball over.
Ryota Kise caught the pass, and Taiga Kagami immediately pressed up on him.
Ryota Kise glanced at the crimson lightning flashing in Taiga Kagami's eyes. After feeling that familiar aura, he smiled and said, "Kagamicchi, I didn't think you'd enter the Zone too."
Taiga Kagami did not answer. He focused entirely on defending Ryota Kise.
Seeing that, Ryota Kise said helplessly, "You're so cold. You won't even talk to me anymore."
"But I'm going now."
Hearing that, Taiga Kagami focused even harder, and his defensive stance became even more serious.
Finally, Ryota Kise moved!
Ryota Kise dribbled twice between his legs in quick succession, then linked it into a small change of direction.
Taiga Kagami immediately moved to cut him off.
But Ryota Kise suddenly pulled the ball back between his legs, freezing Taiga Kagami's center of gravity for an instant. Just as Taiga Kagami was about to shift his weight again...
Ryota Kise stabbed forward once more, and the motion looked incredibly real.
That move completely shattered Taiga Kagami's balance. He lost his center of gravity and fell heavily onto the floor.
Taiga Kagami's pupils shrank sharply. He had no idea what had just happened.
Ryota Kise instantly pulled back from the forward motion, jumped from the three point line, and said, "Kurokocchi, sneaking up on people isn't a good habit."
Tetsuya Kuroko's figure suddenly appeared behind Ryota Kise, his hand still frozen in midair.
Looking closely, it was obvious that Tetsuya Kuroko's expression had stiffened.
While in the air, Ryota Kise used Shintaro Midorima's shooting form and sent the ball flying.
The ball drew a perfect arc through the air and dropped into the basket.
Swish!
Three points counted.
The score was 112 to 103.
After the shot, Junpei Hyuga watched Ryota Kise's back as he returned on defense, his face tense as he said in a low voice, "Was that... [Eye of Truth]?"
Tetsuya Kuroko shook his head and said, "No. That should be Akashi's [Emperor Eye]. Kise must have [Copied] it."
Hearing that, Taiga Kagami cried out in shock, "Wait! Doesn't that mean..."
Tetsuya Kuroko nodded heavily and said in a rare solemn voice, "Yes. It means Kise... can now use all the skills of the [Generation of Miracles]!"
The moment those words came out, everyone's gaze toward Ryota Kise changed.
Ryota Kise's body also began to change.
A yellow-white glow radiated around him.
That was right. There was a faint trace of white mixed in!
His eyes also began to change, turning orange-white and looking incredibly surreal.
Looking closely, one could even see a yellow ring of light flickering in his eyes!
Possession changed.
Seirin High School had possession.
The ball was still in Taiga Kagami's hands.
After entering the Zone, Taiga Kagami's speed and power had both risen sharply.
The moment he got the ball, he attacked forward at full speed, aiming straight for Ryota Kise!
As Taiga Kagami charged, he shouted excitedly, "Kise! Let's fight!"
Ryota Kise smiled, spread his arms, and said with a laugh, "Alright!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two [Iron Walls] rose out of thin air, blocking both sides of Taiga Kagami.
Taiga Kagami's gaze sharpened, and the rhythm of his dribbling began to change.
He switched the ball from his right hand to his left, then slammed straight into the [Iron Wall].
The instant he hit it, the [Iron Wall] collapsed with a crash, as if it were made of paper.
'Huh? That easy?'
Taiga Kagami felt puzzled.
But he did not think too much about it and simply credited it to the power of the Zone.
So Taiga Kagami prepared to keep moving forward, but suddenly, he sensed something was wrong.
Junpei Hyuga and the others' expressions had changed drastically, and they were opening their mouths as if they wanted to say something.
Taiga Kagami thought in confusion, 'Hm? What are they trying to say?'
Then he realized something was off, because it felt like something was missing from his hands...
'Wait! The ball!!!'
Taiga Kagami reacted. The basketball in his hands had disappeared!
He quickly turned around and saw Ryota Kise rising from the three point line.
His older brother, Tatsuya Himuro, had jumped behind Ryota Kise, trying to block the shot.
But do not forget, Ryota Kise was imitating Shintaro Midorima's shot!
The arc was ridiculously high!!!
Swish!!!
The ball went into the net again.
The score was 112 to 106.
After the basket, some spectators who had not yet managed to leave stopped in their tracks, quickly sat back down, and started cheering.
At the same time, they called their friends who had just left and told them to come back!
Damn it! They were about to make a comeback!!!
Daiki Aomine looked at Ryota Kise on the court, chuckled, and muttered, "Pretty smart."
It turned out that Ryota Kise's [Iron Wall] had only been bait. His real finishing move was [Emperor Eye]!
He used [Iron Wall] to mislead Taiga Kagami, making him throw his full focus into charging through it.
Meanwhile, Ryota Kise activated [Emperor Eye] and stole the ball from Taiga Kagami's hands!
In other words, Ryota Kise had scored that play with both skill and brains!
In the rest of the game, Taiga Kagami no longer acted recklessly.
Seirin began working together again.
With Tetsuya Kuroko serving as the hub, Tatsuya Himuro and Junpei Hyuga also began to step up.
The three of them became Seirin's main offensive firepower, keeping the outcome of the game uncertain to the very end.
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