Kise Ryota stepped to the free-throw line, raised his hand, and shot.
Swish!
The free throw went in.
Kaijo now led by seven points.
Miyagi Ryota quickly dribbled past half-court, his eyes scanning the court like a hawk.
Facing Kasamatsu Yukio, Miyagi executed a sudden "Lightning Flash" crossover, pulling the ball hard with his right hand as his body slipped past Kasamatsu like a phantom.
Although Kasamatsu had prepared in advance, he still couldn't react fast enough. Miyagi burst inside the three-point line like a sharp arrow.
Kasamatsu immediately turned to chase.
Moriyama Yoshitaka saw Miyagi in his peripheral vision and moved to help, but at that exact moment Miyagi flicked his wrist. The ball shot like a bullet across Kasamatsu's back and flew straight to Mitsui Hisashi beyond the arc.
"Mitsui!"
"Leave it to me!"
The moment Mitsui caught the ball, his body was already set. Moriyama lunged desperately, leaping to block—
"Don't even think about it!"
But Mitsui's release was too fast. Moriyama's hand swiped empty air.
Swish!
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
The arena erupted. The Shohoku bench jumped up in cheers.
"Sorry, but your defense… is too slow," Mitsui said lightly.
Moriyama landed, frustrated. "Damn it… how is his release so fast?"
Miyagi high-fived Mitsui. "Nice shot!"
"Good pass," Mitsui replied with a faint smile.
Beeeeep—!
Kaijo called a timeout.
Everyone was puzzled. Kaijo still had the lead.
Then they saw a pink-haired figure remove his jacket and step onto the court, replacing Hayakawa Mitsuhiro.
"Who's that?"
"Never seen him play…"
"Are they underestimating Shohoku?"
The crowd murmured.
Kise was confused at first, then excited. "Little Shidou? You want to play with me!"
"Hah? You're overthinking it. You're too slow. I'll finish this quickly."
Kise pretended to cry. Kasamatsu punched him. "The game's not over yet!"
Shidou signaled Kise to guard Sakuragi. Kise obeyed reluctantly.
Sakuragi boasted loudly, but Rukawa felt something was wrong. His instincts told him Shidou was even more dangerous than Kise.
Shidou didn't even look at Rukawa. Instead, he stared at Mitsui.
Moriyama forced a switch, leaving Mitsui guarding Shidou.
Kasamatsu passed the ball.
Shidou adjusted his wrist into Mitsui's shooting form. "Your shot… looks like this, right?"
He shot instantly—perfect imitation, but with a higher jump.
"Don't even think about it!" Mitsui roared, but he couldn't reach.
Swish!
The Shohoku bench fell silent.
Sakuragi shouted at Kise, "What's with that pink-haired delinquent? How does he know Mitsui's move?!"
Rukawa saw clearly—Shidou didn't just copy it. He improved it.
Mitsui clenched his fists, eyes blazing.
"You think this can break me?" he whispered.
Shidou leaned close and murmured, "I didn't copy you because your shot is good… it's just easy to copy."
Mitsui's knuckles turned white.
On offense again, Mitsui demanded the ball. Miyagi passed. Mitsui went up to shoot—
Slap!
Shidou stole it instantly.
He sprinted forward. Miyagi and Rukawa chased, forming a 1-on-2 fast break.
They jumped together to block him.
Shidou twisted in mid-air with a 180-degree turn and flicked the ball backward over their heads.
Swish!
He landed without looking back. "Two little crows were cawing just now… Too bad, you almost stopped me."
The crowd exploded.
As he ran back on defense, Shidou said softly, "The difference between a pro and an amateur… is that even in mid-air, I still have time for afternoon tea."