Kasamatsu Yukio was dribbling the ball, raising his index finger to signal his teammates to secure the first point quickly, when the sensation that should have been in his palm suddenly vanished… What?!
Kuroko Tetsuya had directly stolen the basketball from Kasamatsu Yukio's hands and was dribbling alone toward the hoop.
"When?! Where did he come from!?"
He hadn't even seen Kuroko Tetsuya appear. From the start of the game until now, he had absolutely no impression of him.
Kasamatsu Yukio and Hayakawa Mitsuhiro immediately turned and chased back!
Their speed far surpassed Kuroko Tetsuya's. Kasamatsu Yukio suddenly lunged to Kuroko's side, reaching out to steal the ball.
However, just as he was about to grab it, Kuroko Tetsuya threw the ball straight backward… "Eh? Was that a mistake?!"
Hayakawa Mitsuhiro, who was right behind Kasamatsu Yukio, shouted, "Watch out, Captain!"
A tall figure suddenly burst out from behind Kuroko Tetsuya!
Kagami Taiga caught Kuroko's pass with one hand, stepped inside the free-throw line, launched himself into the air, and flew straight toward the hoop!
"Aaaahhhh!!!"
"BANG!!!"
He scored with a one-handed dunk!
After landing, he pumped his fist in celebration. "Great pass, Kuroko Tetsuya!!!!"
It seemed like he was venting his frustration while glaring at Kaijo's coach, Takeuchi Genta.
The entire court fell silent.
Kagami Taiga's voice echoed throughout the gymnasium, drawing everyone's attention—except for Shidou Ryusei, who remained completely undisturbed and continued practicing his shots outside the three-point line.
…Kuroko Tetsuya pointed at the hoop in Kagami Taiga's hands. Kagami then realized he had actually torn the rim down. The Kaijo players looked at him in shock, and Takeuchi Genta, sitting on the bench, opened his mouth wide enough to fit a watermelon. Kise Ryota already knew this would happen. Izuki Shun looked at the backboard and sighed, "That was close. Turns out the screws were just rusty…"
"Even so… you shouldn't have ripped it off…"
Hayakawa Mitsuhiro still hadn't recovered from Kagami Taiga's powerful dunk. Aida Riko was the first to walk over and apologize with a slight bow, and Kuroko Tetsuya also came to apologize.
"Sorry, we broke the hoop!"
"We can't continue the game like this. Can we use the full court?"
Takeuchi Genta glared at Kuroko Tetsuya through gritted teeth, then waved his hand, allowing them to use the full court.
"Um… Coach… can I play now?"
Kise Ryota stammered as he raised his hand.
Takeuchi Genta saw Kise's mischievous expression, pulled him aside, and said through clenched teeth, "Go crush them!"
"My pleasure, Coach!"
Kise Ryota changed into his uniform, warmed up, and was about to enter the court when he saw Shidou Ryusei sitting next to the coach, chatting.
"Huh? Coach, isn't Little Shidou playing?"
Takeuchi Genta glanced at him. "You alone are enough. Besides, we don't need Shidou Ryusei to deal with Seirin!"
"Aww, really? I wanted to play with Little Shidou…"
"Why are you talking so much nonsense?!"
Takeuchi Genta got a headache just looking at Kise's nagging. Kagami Taiga saw Kise enter the court and said excitedly, "You're finally playing!"
"Yeah… thanks for waiting!"
Kuroko Tetsuya looked at Shidou Ryusei on the bench. "Isn't Shidou-kun playing?"
"Little Shidou is still too weak. He's not qualified for this kind of situation…"
"Ouch!!!"
Kise Ryota immediately collapsed face-first, revealing Kasamatsu Yukio behind him.
"What time is it, and you're still running your mouth?! I'll hit you!"
"Ah~, Senpai, you already did…"
Kasamatsu Yukio grabbed Kise's jersey and whispered, "Who exactly is that red-haired monster on the other side? Didn't you and Shidou Ryusei go to Seirin? Why didn't you mention him?"
"Oh… his name is Kagami Taiga, just a hot-headed kid who only knows how to dunk. Don't worry about him! Compared to him, that Little Kuroko who stole Senpai's ball is much more noteworthy!"
"Hey! Kise Ryota, who are you calling a hot-headed kid who only knows how to dunk?! At least be discreet…!!!!"
Hearing Kise's words, Kagami Taiga raised his fist, ready to teach him a lesson, but Kuroko Tetsuya held him back.
Kasamatsu Yukio stared sternly at Kise. "Alright. Since they gave us such a grand welcome, it would be rude not to return the favor!"
"Leave it to me!"
…Kaijo's possession!
Kasamatsu Yukio used a crossover to shake off Hyuga Junpei and immediately threw the ball toward the hoop.
Kise Ryota accelerated past Kagami Taiga, copied Kagami's earlier move exactly, caught the ball mid-air, and slammed it in with a one-handed dunk.
He hung on the rim for a moment before landing.
"How was that, Captain?!"
"How was it? Why use so much force? Do you want to rip the hoop down too?!"
Kasamatsu Yukio showed no mercy, delivering another flying kick that sent Kise sprawling.
"But Captain, didn't you say… to return the favor?"
Kagami Taiga was shocked. Kise had dunked using the exact same move—and with even greater power.
He already knew Kise could copy moves after seeing them once, but hearing about it and witnessing it were two different things…
Next, Seirin took possession. Hyuga Junpei dribbled past mid-court and tossed the ball forward.
The basketball flew toward Hayakawa Mitsuhiro.
"Hmm?"
Hayakawa assumed it was a turnover and reached out to grab it—but the ball suddenly curved.
"Eh?! What's going on?!"
The curving pass flew to Kagami Taiga, who caught it, dribbled a few steps, and went for another dunk.
Just before the ball hit the rim, a yellow figure darted out and slapped it away.
"Not so fast, Kagami-kun!"
Kobori Kōji boxed out Mito and grabbed the rebound.
Kagami glared at Kise. "Damn it!"
"Kagami… was… blocked…"
Koganei, on the bench, looked completely stunned.
But Aida Riko noticed something even more terrifying…
Kise Ryota, who had been outside the three-point line moments earlier, still managed to block Kagami. His stats kept changing—some were even higher than Kagami's.
Kobori grabbed the rebound and launched a quarterback-style long pass to Moriyama Yoshitaka, who sprinted past mid-court and hit a fadeaway jumper.
"Swoosh!!!"
The ball went straight through the net.
"Great shot, Moriyama-senpai!"
Score: 5–2.
Aida Riko watched seriously. As expected of a National Tournament regular, Kaijo's offensive awareness was on another level…
The game continued at a crazy pace.
No one could stop Kise Ryota, and no one could stop Kagami and Kuroko's teamwork.
Scores climbed fast:
10–6
12–8
16–12
All players were drenched in sweat.
In just three minutes, it felt like ten.
Takeuchi Genta was about to call a timeout, but Shidou Ryusei stopped him.
"Coach, let them call the timeout first. This situation is advantageous for us."
He calmly explained that Seirin relied too much on Kagami and Kuroko—and that Kuroko's misdirection would fade as players got used to it.
Takeuchi Genta was shocked at how clearly Shidou read the game.
Back on the court, Kagami tried a fadeaway jumper… but Kise blocked it again and scored with the same move.
Aida Riko immediately called a timeout.
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