Reo Mibuchi rolled his eyes at that and said:
"Your brain really does need a break."
Kotaro Hayama flushed red and argued back:
"That was an accident. It definitely won't happen again!"
Seijuro Akashi walked over with a cold expression, and Kotaro Hayama immediately tensed up when he saw him.
Seijuro Akashi gave him an indifferent glance and said:
"Pull yourself together. I don't want to see what just happened ever again."
Kotaro Hayama nodded again and again, promising:
"Don't worry. It won't happen again."
Seijuro Akashi paid no more attention to Kotaro Hayama after that and turned to receive the ball.
Reo Mibuchi patted Kotaro Hayama on the shoulder and said:
"Just be more careful."
With that, he slowly jogged toward the frontcourt.
Possession changed.
Rakuzan High School had the ball.
Seijuro Akashi calmly arrived at the three-point line, completely ignoring Tatsuya Himuro. After locating Reo Mibuchi, he passed the ball out.
Reo Mibuchi caught the ball, raised it high with both hands, brought it behind his head, and looked at Junpei Hyuga.
Junpei Hyuga had his arms spread wide, defending Reo Mibuchi with a serious expression.
Seeing that, Reo Mibuchi let out a small laugh and said:
"That look on your face is pretty familiar."
Junpei Hyuga said sternly:
"Hm?"
Reo Mibuchi kept smiling.
"It's quite a lot like that Superstitious kid's. The difference is, the gap between you two is too big. To put it plainly, you're too weak."
A vein seemed to twitch on Junpei Hyuga's forehead.
He really was no match for Shintaro Midorima, but having someone say it to his face still irritated him.
"Hmph. You say that like you could beat him."
Reo Mibuchi froze for a moment, then laughed.
"You're actually pretty amusing. I really can't beat that Superstitious kid, but..."
At that point, Reo Mibuchi's expression suddenly turned sly.
"I can beat you!"
The moment he finished speaking, Reo Mibuchi suddenly jumped and formed a shooting motion in midair.
Junpei Hyuga reacted half a beat late, but he still followed him up.
But once Junpei Hyuga jumped, he realized something.
Reo Mibuchi was moving farther and farther away from him!
The Rakuzan bench immediately cried out:
"Here it comes! Reo-nee's [Heaven]!"
Reo Mibuchi used the fadeaway jump shot [Heaven] and sank the ball steadily into the basket.
After scoring, Reo Mibuchi smiled and said:
"So? What do you think of my [Heaven]?"
After landing, Junpei Hyuga wiped the sweat from his face, then said with a determined look:
"Yeah. It's not bad."
Reo Mibuchi smiled again.
"Now let's see what you've got, glasses guy."
With that, Reo Mibuchi turned and went back on defense.
Junpei Hyuga stood there with dark lines practically covering his face.
'This guy is seriously annoying!'
Possession changed.
Seirin had the ball.
Junpei Hyuga stood at the three-point line, beside Reo Mibuchi.
Once Tatsuya Himuro reached the frontcourt, he passed the ball to Junpei Hyuga.
Before catching it, Junpei Hyuga had run a few steps toward the inside.
So the point where he received the pass was inside the paint.
Reo Mibuchi spread his arms to guard Junpei Hyuga. When he saw Junpei Hyuga catch the ball, he said:
"Come on, glasses guy. Let me see what your offense looks like."
Junpei Hyuga's expression darkened.
"Then you'd better keep your eyes wide open."
As soon as he said that, Junpei Hyuga suddenly shrank in Reo Mibuchi's eyes.
To be precise, Junpei Hyuga had suddenly moved away from Reo Mibuchi.
The Seirin bench cried out one after another.
"Here it comes! It's the captain's [Barrier Jumper]!"
Junpei Hyuga took a step back to the three-point line, jumped, and shot the ball.
Reo Mibuchi was caught off guard by the sudden move and had no chance to step up and defend.
Junpei Hyuga's shot also dropped cleanly through the basket with a crisp sound.
Swish!
The three-pointer counted!
After scoring, Junpei Hyuga pushed up his glasses and said with a serious face:
"Don't underestimate me."
With that, he turned and went back on defense.
Reo Mibuchi watched him, a faint smile appearing on his face as he murmured:
"Now that's interesting."
Over the next few possessions.
Reo Mibuchi and Junpei Hyuga began trading three-pointers.
Both of their three-point shots were simple. Each of them kept using the same move over and over.
Reo Mibuchi kept scoring with [Heaven].
Junpei Hyuga kept scoring with [Barrier Jumper].
Both of their shooting percentages were extremely high, and they continued going shot for shot.
The other players on both teams simply watched their duel in silence, with no one stepping in to interfere.
Even Tetsuya Kuroko and Chihiro Mayuzumi, the two Phantom Sixth Men, stopped trying to go for steals.
That situation continued all the way until the end of the first quarter.
When the first quarter ended, the score was fixed at 26 to 35.
Rakuzan High School led by nine points.
On Rakuzan's side.
Kotaro Hayama sat beside Reo Mibuchi and asked in confusion:
"Reo, why aren't you using your other two shots?"
Reo Mibuchi slowly took a sip of water and smiled.
"No rush. The second quarter is when we really start pushing. I've also pretty much figured out that glasses guy's skill."
Seijuro Akashi sat calmly on the bench and did not join the conversation.
Over on Seirin's side.
Shinji Koganei said excitedly:
"The captain really is amazing. He's not falling behind at all on three-pointers."
Junpei Hyuga sat on the bench with a serious expression, took a small sip of water, and said:
"Yeah. But I'm afraid that won't work in the second half."
Riko Aida nodded beside him and said in a low voice:
"Right. The other side has probably more or less figured out Hyuga's skill by now. If he wants to keep scoring like this, it probably won't be that easy anymore."
"Kagami."
Riko Aida suddenly called out to Taiga Kagami.
Taiga Kagami nodded and said:
"I know."
...
"Beep! The second quarter begins! Both teams, on the court!"
The referee blew the whistle to start the second quarter, and the players from both teams returned to the court.
The game continued.
Rakuzan High School had possession.
After Seijuro Akashi dribbled past half court, he once again found Reo Mibuchi and passed the ball to him.
Reo Mibuchi caught the ball and said with a smile:
"Glasses guy, can you stop my [Heaven] this time?"
Junpei Hyuga said sternly:
"Hah. We won't know until you try, will we?"
The corner of Reo Mibuchi's mouth lifted slightly.
"Then let's try it..."
With that, Reo Mibuchi suddenly made a shooting motion, as if he were about to jump and shoot.
Seeing this, Junpei Hyuga immediately jumped.
Tatsuya Himuro saw it and shouted at once:
"Hyuga! Don't!"
...