"He even steals from his own teammate!"
"That's more like something Ahomine would do."
Momoi's large eyes stayed fixed on Yuuto, unblinking.
Aomine scratched his head at that. Sure, he'd done something like that before, but hadn't Haizaki too? Why use me as the example?
Just how bad is my image in your mind?
While they chatted, Yuuto had already exploded into full speed, crossing midcourt in the blink of an eye.
Behind him, Yōsen's players gave desperate chase.
"Don't you dare!" Himuro was first to get back, cutting off Yuuto's path.
"You can't stop me." Yuuto's voice was soft but cutting. "You know it yourself—between two players with similar styles, why can I get past you but you can't get past me?"
"The answer is simple. The gap in ability."
Whoosh!
Yuuto swayed his body dramatically, flashing from left to right in a high-speed crossover, testing the limits of human reaction.
The gap in ability!
Of course Himuro knew. But he refused to accept it, refused to lose.
He forced himself to shift his weight. His left foot caught his right—he stumbled and fell to the hardwood.
Crash!
"Tatsuya!"
"Himuro!"
Yōsen, Kagami's group—everyone shouted.
But it was useless.
Yuuto blew past in a single step, attacking Yōsen's basket.
At his side was Murasakibara's massive frame—he'd timed his recovery perfectly during Yuuto's momentary delay against Himuro.
Tap, tap!
Both leaped almost simultaneously. Murasakibara gritted his teeth, fully extending his arms in mid-air to cover every possible angle of attack.
Bam!
Their bodies collided in the air, then both made adjustments.
Tweet!
The whistle blew first.
Then came the swish of the ball hitting net.
"Yōsen number 9, defensive foul. Basket counts, one free throw."
"What?!"
Araki's expression froze.
She no longer knew what to say. Keep cursing Seihō's number 10 monster?
What good would it do?
The more she cursed, the more impossibly dominant that monster became.
"Is it my imagination, or does Yuuto look even stronger than before?" Hayama wasn't sure.
But something told him the current Yuuto was stronger than at tip-off.
"His movement patterns haven't changed much, but he's definitely sharper than at the start." Akashi's heterochromatic eyes gleamed.
Since his talent fully awakened, Yuuto had faced every single Miracle, including the Kagami brothers.
Meaning his adjustments against the Generation of Miracles were now complete. His strength exceeded any individual Miracle.
Therefore—
"Either Yuuto was deliberately holding back before, or he's been organizing the adjustments he made against us and is now unleashing them all at once."
Akashi believed the second possibility was more likely.
Even with Yuuto's processing speed, consuming all those Miracle memories took time and accumulation.
But in reality—
Both were true.
Since entering the Winter Cup, Yuuto had never gone all out—not even against Yōsen in the first quarter.
Because Yōsen hadn't given him enough pressure. Only now was it starting to get interesting.
Swish!
Yuuto's free throw dropped.
Back on offense, his performance continued.
Smack!
Another block.
This time, Murasakibara had tried to force his own attack—spinning into a full-body power slam that even Yuuto couldn't resist head-on.
His monstrous strength was the greatest in the nation, bar none. Even an enhanced Yuuto couldn't match it.
But Yuuto didn't need to contest him directly. One hand on the side of the ball to disrupt was enough.
BOOM!
The rim wailed and shook.
Murasakibara's hands gripped the rim, but the ball had bounced off the backboard and out.
"Rebound!"
"Rebound!"
Both teams shouted, scrambling for the ball.
Okamura versus Liu Wei versus Iwamura versus Ōmuro.
Four big men gritted their teeth and leaped. In the end, Yōsen's superior size won out.
This young player with a face mature beyond his years secured the ball.
But the instant he landed, Yuuto's hand reached out again—transcending time, appearing before him and poking the ball loose.
"What?!" Okamura was stunned. He wanted to do something but couldn't.
His eyes saw it. The information reached his brain. But the command couldn't reach his limbs in time.
Simply put, Yuuto's movements were too fast—the reaction window too brief.
Smack!
Yuuto stripped the ball, then scooped up the loose ball as it bounced, coiling briefly before launching forward with a whoosh.
"This is Yuuto's true form right now!"
Aomine could confirm it. At the Inter-High, Yuuto definitely hadn't been this strong.
Yet after just one summer, he now towered above all the Miracles.
"But Satsuki, why do you look so happy?"
While speaking, Aomine noticed his childhood friend bobbing her head, absolutely delighted. If she had a tail, it would be wagging like crazy right now.
"I'm happy for Yuu-kun." Momoi said it like it was obvious.
As for a tail?
She actually had worn one—during their summer trip together with Yuuto.
On the court—
Yuuto led the charge.
Murasakibara gave chase with everything he had, only to get ankle-broken by Yuuto.
Just like when he'd faced the Emperor Eye—the Demon Eyes were equally impossible to counter.
"Atsushi!"
"Murasakibara!"
Yōsen's players shouted anxiously. Last time Murasakibara got put on the floor, he'd wanted to quit.
This giant "child" had a surprisingly fragile ego.
They worried he'd throw another tantrum. But then something even more frightening than Yuuto's strength occurred.
The ankle-broken Murasakibara gritted his teeth, pushed himself up, and continued the chase.
"Atsushi?!"
Himuro stared in disbelief, as did Kise and the other Miracles.
They'd never seen Murasakibara like this—more terrifying than even him tying up his hair.
It felt like watching a horror movie.
This wasn't something Murasakibara would do!
And Murasakibara?
He remembered what happened next in that memory.
"Hard work doesn't guarantee results. That's just common sense."
He'd said that. And Kuroko's response had been:
"I can't deny what you're saying. Matches do require talent and aptitude. But talent and aptitude alone aren't enough either!"
Murasakibara had always hated those pretty words.
But the facts proved—
Kuroko hadn't been entirely wrong. At least, talent alone wasn't enough for him to beat Yuuto.
Because Yuuto didn't just have talent—he worked harder too.
Thinking about this, Murasakibara couldn't help biting his lip.
"Why didn't I try a little harder before?"
A feeling he'd never experienced suddenly emerged, and once ignited, it couldn't be stopped—like wildfire, rapidly consuming his heart.
Now only one thought remained: chase down that Seihō number 10's back.
Run harder. Don't stop until he catches up.
Then—
As he chased, as he ran...
His world turned gray and white. Before him, a great door suddenly swung open.
"This is..."
"Wait, are you kidding me?"
"Murasakibara?"
"So that's how it is."
In that instant, Akashi, Aomine, Midorima, and Kise all widened their eyes simultaneously, sensing something extraordinary.
The next second—
Crackle!
Purple electricity exploded from the corners of Murasakibara's eyes without warning.
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"