BOOM!
Jason Silver threw down the dunk. Murasakibara still couldn't stop him.
"This..."
"The practice time was too short. The chemistry isn't there."
Kagetora had used the Generation of Miracles as starters precisely because of this.
The team had been assembled too recently. Everyone's time together was too brief—their coordination wasn't there.
Expecting any elaborate teamwork was impossible. Using Teikō's original starting lineup was the safest option.
But the moment Kise came off and Yuuto went in, that chemistry was immediately disrupted.
"Dad, should we call another timeout?" Riko thought they needed to draw something up.
"No need. Yuuto can handle it himself." Kagetora had already seen the shift in Yuuto's pupils. The boy had activated them.
That meant the little monster was already in motion.
"Your reactions are still that fast, huh, Murasakibara."
Yuuto wasn't upset about Murasakibara getting in his way. If anything, Murasakibara seemed slightly embarrassed.
"I'll watch your position next time."
This was rare—getting this willful giant to make a concession wasn't easy.
Yet Yuuto said, "Don't bother. Just do whatever you want."
He'd handle the rest.
Murasakibara thought for a moment, then nodded obediently.
Sides switched.
Akashi brought the ball up, his Emperor Eye surveying the entire court.
A year ago, Yuuto's role had actually overlapped with Akashi's—both needed the ball in their hands.
Not anymore. Yuuto had spent a year at Covanord playing the two.
Akashi wanted to see Yuuto's true strength—not the Yuuto from practice scrimmages, but the Yuuto who'd won the state championship.
Snap—
Akashi flipped the ball behind his back and sent it over.
Yuuto didn't refuse. He caught it, assumed a triple-threat stance, then exploded forward in a single step.
No golden glow surrounded him—no flashy special effects. It was as if all his brilliance had been gathered inward.
But this didn't mean he'd weakened. Rather, a year of simulation had allowed Yuuto to integrate the Tezuka Zone, achieving Echizen Ryoma's legendary talent—Man and Ball as One.
His ball-handling feel had reached another level. And with it, Thunder Dribble evolved.
The golden aura was gone, but Thunder Dribble's signature crackling energy remained—even more brilliant and dazzling than before. No longer limited to his hands, it now enveloped his entire body.
CRACK—
However Jason Silver had beaten Aomine, Yuuto did the same to Nick—like a bolt of lightning streaking across the sky.
One step. That was all it took to leave his defender in the dust.
"You're not scoring, Yu!"
Jason Silver charged over menacingly. Of course he recognized Yuuto.
The rumors linking Yuuto to UCLA were no longer secret. In two years, there was a strong chance he'd enter the draft. ESPN had already projected him as a potential first-rounder.
Someone like that was fundamentally different from these monkeys.
Seeing Silver approach, Yuuto accelerated again, driving forward. Jason Silver naturally wouldn't allow it, immediately shifting his weight to pursue.
And then—
Just as Silver turned, time seemed to freeze.
Under Jason Silver's gaze, Yuuto's driving motion suddenly halted. His footwork reversed, pulling back, instantly creating separation.
Then time resumed. Yuuto gathered the ball and rose, leaning back mid-jump to avoid Nick's chase-down attempt, flicked his wrist, and released.
CLANG!
The ball rattled off the front rim.
The fans winced. Yuuto's shot had been beautiful, but his miss looked embarrassing.
"Tch. What, you didn't warm up properly?"
Aomine soared through the air, beating Murasakibara to the ball and throwing down a putback dunk.
It sounded like criticism, but it was more frustration.
Because even without warming up, Yuuto had effortlessly blown past Jason Silver.
Missed shot—so what?
Once his body warmed up and his touch came around, Yuuto would hit every shot he was supposed to. What mattered was that he could pierce Jason Silver's defense!
"After a year apart, the gap between Yu-kun and me seems even bigger."
Kise smiled bitterly on the bench.
He'd trained hard this past year, trying to chase Yuuto's shadow—only to find the distance had grown even larger.
"Though he's gotten more lax too. He didn't even warm up."
It wasn't exactly lax, though.
Momoi touched her neck, slightly embarrassed.
Maybe she'd just missed him too much. After all, it had been a whole year. She'd completely forgotten about basketball timing.
These past few nights, Momoi, Sora, and Yuuto had been... well, there had been three of them.
While everyone was talking—
Jason Silver drove into the paint again, rising against Murasakibara.
He didn't take Murasakibara seriously at all—he'd dunk on anyone.
Murasakibara gave everything he had but couldn't withstand Jason Silver's overwhelming strength. The force through his wrists pushed him back steadily. If he let go, he'd get dunked on, ball and all.
But then—
Just as his grip loosened, Yuuto's arm arrived.
"Use technique, not brute force."
He rocketed upward, stretching his right arm to full extension in mid-air, his palm striking the side of the ball.
Then—
SMACK!
The ball was swatted away.
CRASH!
Jason Silver hung on the rim with one hand—but no points.
ROOOOAR!
The crowd exploded, cheering wildly.
"Yuuto leaped and swatted away Jason Silver's dunk! He got the block! BOOM!!!"
The arena DJ was fired up, and so were the fans. Yuuto remained expressionless.
He'd discovered that fans were a peculiar species.
Back in Indiana, every time he made a highlight play, the arena would shake like an earthquake.
But whenever he didn't acknowledge them, the fans went even crazier.
His indifference inadvertently triggered their competitive spirit—they shouted louder, desperate for his attention.
So Yuuto deliberately ignored them, and sure enough, the cheering intensified.
Yuuto's stoic demeanor versus the fans' desperate attempts to make him notice them had become a signature feature at Covanord games.
People in Indiana had started saying, "Someday we'll make Yu acknowledge our passion!"
But that was a digression.
On the court—
Midorima picked up the loose ball and handed it to Yuuto.
Yuuto grabbed it and took off, transforming into a beam of light that shattered the air with his explosive sprint.
"Yu!"
Nick caught up and spread his arms, blocking every path. He had to admit, Jabberwock's players were skilled.
The watching Kasamatsu could say with certainty: outside the Generation of Miracles, no one in Japan could catch up to Yuuto.
Nick bellowed, arms wide to seal every angle—only to see Yuuto show no intention of slowing down.
"No-deceleration crossover?!"
He was stunned. This was a signature move of players like Rose.
Rose and Oden were both "what if" players.
If they hadn't been plagued by injuries, their futures would have been limitless.
This wasn't a criticism—it was genuine heartbreak from fans who never got to see these talents fully realize their potential.
Oden, Rose—their gifts were visible to the naked eye. Terrifyingly elite.
The no-deceleration crossover was one of Rose's calling cards.
Even at maximum speed, Rose could execute insane directional changes, bending his body in ways that seemed inhuman.
Now Yuuto could do it too.
All thanks to his new talent: Man and Ball as One!
...
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