"How was that? Pretty good, right?"
"Good? It was excellent!"
Haizaki Shogo's self-praise was met with Aomine Daiki's approval.
The two immediately switched offense and defense again as the match continued.
Meanwhile, the crowd in the stands had already erupted into chaotic discussion.
Kise Ryouta from Kaijo High stared ahead with a stiff expression. After a long silence, he finally exhaled and spoke.
"They're monsters… Compared to them, I'm still nowhere near enough."
"This is beyond imagination. That aerial control and mid-air adjustment speed… that's not something talent alone can explain. It requires absurd physical ability to support it."
"This is the Generation of Miracles…"
No one responded to the commentary.
Yukio Kasamatsu and Moriyama Yoshitaka's analysis only deepened the sense of pressure in the air.
And before anyone could recover—
Tōō Academy launched another explosive attack.
Kise's eyes lit up again.
On the court, Haizaki smirked as he watched Aomine dribble toward him.
He stepped in tightly—pressuring him all the way to the baseline, not giving Aomine a single clean angle.
It looked like Aomine was about to be forced out of bounds.
But—
Haizaki's eyes suddenly narrowed.
He sighed.
Aomine had already jumped sideways—stepping out of bounds—
And released the ball mid-air.
The ball flew from behind the baseline, arcing high behind the backboard.
The entire arena fell silent.
Every eye followed the impossible trajectory.
Then—
"SWISH!"
A clean basket.
Aomine Daiki had scored a shot from behind the backboard after stepping out of bounds.
A near-impossible rebound-angle shot.
Haizaki stared at him for a moment.
That kind of shot… I can do it too.
But in a real match, he would normally avoid it. Clean fundamentals were always safer.
But Aomine was different.
That shot wasn't just a trick.
It was him.
It was his instinct, his style, his basketball.
"This is ridiculous… how can that even go in?"
Aida Riko from Seirin muttered in disbelief, her eyes wide with shock.
Kuroko Tetsuya, calm as ever, replied.
"That is Aomine-kun's style. The strongest light of the Generation of Miracles."
He stared at Aomine on the court.
It had been a long time since he last saw him like this.
Bright. Free. Unrestrained.
Something about him had changed again—something even Kuroko couldn't fully understand.
"Honestly speaking," Kiyoshi Teppei said, "those two on the court… they're on a completely different level from us. We need to step up."
"Yeah!"
Kagami Taiga, who had been silent until now, suddenly stood up and clenched his fist.
He turned to his teammates with burning seriousness.
"Let's go!"
That fire in his voice was unmistakable.
To Kuroko, Kagami looked like a blazing inferno.
Seirin's team followed his lead, raising their hands together.
"Let's go!"
Nearby spectators—middle-aged men watching the game—muttered quietly.
"Ahh… youth is nice."
"Yeah. Stupidly nice."
Someone nearby suddenly spoke.
"They're going head-to-head again."
That single sentence shifted everyone's attention back to the court.
Including Kagami.
Haizaki brought the ball across half court.
He looked at Aomine, who had already entered his zone-like state, and grinned.
"Hey, Aomine. I'll show you something interesting."
"…Huh?"
"Think you can copy this? It's a shot modified using your own techniques."
"Speak normally."
"You'll understand in a second."
Haizaki suddenly accelerated.
The ball blurred in his hands.
For most spectators, it looked like multiple afterimages of the ball had appeared.
Then—
"SWOOSH!"
The ball went in.
Aomine Daiki stood there, stunned.
"…That shot… what was that…?"
"Try it yourself, Aomine."
On the sidelines, Midorima Shintaro adjusted his glasses, expression serious.
But there was something else in his eyes—
Admiration.
Even he, someone capable of "man-ball," could not easily reproduce that shot.
Across him, Takao Kazunari leaned forward.
"Hey, Shintaro… what was that just now?"
"Hmm."
Midorima's eyes narrowed.
"It's similar to yesterday's shot… but this one used a second collision trajectory."
"What? That's cheating!"
"No. It's calculated."
He pushed his glasses up.
"Every rebound angle, impact force, and direction was pre-calculated."
Takao blinked.
"…That's insane."
Meanwhile, Kaijo High was also confused.
Kasamatsu turned to Kise.
"Hey, Kise. What the hell was that shot?"
Kise scratched his head, clearly troubled.
"It's similar to yesterday's play… but this one used Aomine-kun's body as a passing point, like streetball."
"So it's a trick shot?"
"No. It's a designed scoring system."
He exhaled.
"The ball went through Aomine-kun's legs, rebounded, hit the upper part of the backboard, and then used the remaining spin to drop into the hoop."
"And because Haizaki accelerated the ball so much, you couldn't see the trajectory."
Silence followed.
Kasamatsu stared at him.
"…Are you sure you're not joking?"
Kise forced a smile.
"I wish I was."
======
On the court, players finally snapped out of their daze.
Even Fukuda Sogo's teammates looked at Haizaki like he was something unnatural.
"What the hell was that…? The ball just went in from nowhere…"
Aomine, however, looked excited.
He raised his hand.
"Give me the ball."
Imayoshi passed it.
Aomine immediately accelerated.
Haizaki watched him closely, waiting for the exact moment.
Then—
Aomine exploded past him.
"SWOOSH!"
The ball went in.
Haizaki wasn't surprised.
He smiled.
Yeah… that's how it should be.
=======
From the stands, Kise sighed again.
"Did you see? That's exactly what I explained."
"…I didn't see it."
"Me neither."
"Too fast…"
Kise froze.
Then slowly lowered his head.
…I'm talking to a wall.