The shot fell!
The basketball was like a knife plunging straight into Yōsen's heart.
Their airtight defense was now riddled with holes.
Even more devastating than their defensive collapse was their offensive struggles.
Fukui brought the ball up against Kasuga again.
He wanted to exploit the repeated putbacks to bait Kasuga into overcommitting.
Instead, he found his defender completely ignoring the decoy, staying glued to him, giving him nothing.
"Fine then, I'll take it!" Fukui forced up a contested jumper.
This kind of shot was nearly impossible to block, but Kasuga had applied maximum pressure.
Since the game started, Fukui's shooting percentage was a pitiful 0%.
Everyone knew his game plan—feed the ball to the paint, keep shooting even at 0% to set up putbacks.
But this time—
Clang! The ball bounced off the rim again.
Yōsen's interior held absolute positioning advantage. Both towers boxed out while Murasakibara went for the rebound.
Murasakibara did grab it, snatching the ball in mid-air, ready to hammer it home.
But then—
An arm seemed to materialize from thin air, making Murasakibara's eyes widen in shock.
Because his reaction speed was so fast, this moment felt all the more terrifying.
In a flash, he thought he glimpsed a red dot.
Is that the "dead point" Aka-chin mentioned?
The thought flickered through his mind, and then that arm slammed into the side of the basketball, swatting it away.
Smack!
Crash!
Two sounds nearly simultaneous—Murasakibara's arm crashed against the rim, but no ball was inside.
"This style of offense is completely useless now." Akashi pronounced Yōsen's death sentence. "Yuuto's adjustments are complete. Yōsen is about to learn the true price."
"Um, Akashi, what exactly does that feel like?" Hayama Kotaro spoke up.
He meant the dead point that Yuuto's Demon Eyes could perceive.
"Even if you can see it, you cannot reverse the outcome."
Akashi recalled their championship match and gave this answer.
"He can seize every vulnerability in his opponent—body stiffness, weight transfer, every factor—to achieve an unblockable result."
The principle was similar to the Emperor Eye.
But the Emperor Eye couldn't reach that level—couldn't achieve the irreversible effect.
"Fast break!"
The ball fell into Seihō's hands. The next second, the entire team swarmed toward Yōsen's half, including center Iwamura.
This was where their mobility advantage shone.
In Yōsen's lineup, only three players could match Seihō's speed.
Himuro, Fukui, and center Murasakibara. Okamura and Liu Wei were left completely behind.
Yuuto had a 5-on-3 opportunity.
Himuro and the others' minds raced, scrambling for advantageous defensive positions.
But—
Smack!
Mid-transition, Kasuga suddenly whipped a behind-the-back pass.
Yuuto caught it with both hands, standing just past the midcourt line.
Star Bible's specialization.
Second only to Midorima's full-court range, the basketball launched from the logo and crossed half the court before splashing through.
Swish!
Another three. The north stands erupted into madness.
He was on fire.
They felt today's Yuuto was simply unstoppable.
They cheered and celebrated wildly.
But the other competing teams—especially those with championship aspirations like Rakuzan, Shūtoku, Kaijō, and Seirin—
Their expressions were uniformly grave.
Too strong!
Truly too strong!
He'd already been the nation's strongest at the Inter-High, yet after one summer, Yuuto had improved even further.
Was there really anyone who could defeat him?
As for Alexandra, watching Yuuto standing near center court, the dark aura around him churned faster, seeming to burn.
His presence had already far surpassed every other player on the court.
Monster!
A true monster, already capable of competing with America's elite prodigies.
Even a former professional like herself would probably get destroyed.
Tweet!
Araki Masako called her first timeout of the game.
Her composure from the opening had vanished.
Yōsen didn't fear fast breaks or transition offense—their defensive efficiency was extremely high.
As long as they maintained their scoring rate, they could slow the tempo and strangle opponents' offenses at the source.
That quick inbound play from Seihō's opening—they'd been caught off guard. Once alert, Seihō wouldn't get a second chance.
But now things had changed.
Their scoring rhythm had been disrupted. That was fatal.
"That adjustment ability is really annoying." Araki set down her wooden sword and pulled out a clipboard. "From now on, we need to diversify our offensive options..."
The brief timeout ended quickly.
First possession back—
The crowd watched Yōsen's shift. The ball moved from Fukui's hands to Himuro's.
Tsugawa was fired up.
He'd realized Yuuto had deceived him, claiming he'd been using Himuro's rhythm for specialized training.
Turned out Himuro wasn't even as strong as training-mode Yuuto.
This confidence made him defend even harder, sticking to his man like glue.
But Himuro just stared coldly, his movements lightning-quick.
Not the kind of quickness Aomine or Yuuto possessed—rather, his execution speed was blinding, each move flowing into the next before you could process it.
"Only the Generation of Miracles can ignore that predictive analysis."
"In that case—I'll show you I can do the same!"
He roared internally. Amid a flurry of feints, he suddenly jabbed forward, then rose for his signature Mirage Shot.
Swish!
Nothing but net.
Araki pumped her fist on the sideline.
Himuro hadn't disappointed her. He possessed Generation of Miracles-level combat power, capable of ignoring Yuuto's predictive analysis.
"Even targeted training can't close this gap, it seems." Yuuto withdrew his gaze.
Not a ripple of emotion.
"He's really impressive, that Himuro Tatsuya." Hayama had matched up against Tsugawa before and knew exactly how difficult he was.
To beat his defense one-on-one proved Himuro's ability exceeded even the Uncrowned Kings.
"But it's still not enough." Akashi spoke calmly. "Yōsen will soon learn that these tactics aren't enough to beat Seihō."
And soon it was.
The very next possession, despite Tsugawa's relentless hounding, Himuro still managed to shake free.
However—
Just as he was about to make his next move, Yuuto suddenly materialized from the defensive anchor position.
Utterly abrupt, like a video missing a crucial frame.
By the time Himuro realized what was happening, he looked up and saw Yuuto's eyes—eyes like a demon king.
And then—
Smack!
...
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