Hanamiya sneered as he said those words.
Seeing Hanamiya's punchable expression, a surge of defiance rose inside Imayoshi.
Gritting his teeth, Imayoshi launched another attack.
Hanamiya exaggeratedly mocked him.
"Oh? Oh? Oh? Still not convinced?"
Then his tone suddenly turned cold, sending chills down the spine.
"You don't seriously think… you can protect the ball, do you?"
The next second—
SMACK!!!
Right in front of Imayoshi's shocked eyes, Hanamiya slapped the ball away and stole it.
He might not be able to stop Aomine…
but dealing with you is no problem.
After stealing the ball, Hanamiya immediately grabbed it and rushed forward.
But someone was even faster.
Whoosh!
Atsushi Murasakibara!
Despite his massive size, Murasakibara was sprinting at incredible speed.
Seeing this, Hanamiya immediately flicked the ball forward to him.
From the backcourt, Miyamoto watched Murasakibara rushing forward and smiled.
"Aomine, your opponent's here."
After saying that, Miyamoto stepped aside toward the sideline, leaving the lane open.
Aomine didn't say a word.
He simply responded with his actions.
Crack!!!
Zone and Animal Instinct activated at the same time.
Aomine spread his arms and waited for Murasakibara.
Behind Murasakibara, the giant bear roared toward the sky.
His eyes burned with terrifying intensity.
He stared straight at Aomine, his speed not slowing in the slightest—clearly planning to charge straight through.
Aomine blinked in surprise.
"Wait, wait, wait… seriously?! Hold on!"
Even he panicked a little.
A full-speed Murasakibara charging straight at him? Who would dare block that?
But Murasakibara ignored him completely.
He continued charging forward without slowing down.
Aomine took a deep breath and braced himself for defense.
The next moment—
BOOM!
"Ugh!"
A dull groan echoed as Aomine was instantly sent flying by the collision.
Miyamoto covered his eyes.
Brutal.
That was way too brutal.
"Whistle! Offensive foul!"
The referee immediately blew the whistle and called an offensive foul on Murasakibara.
Hearing the whistle, Murasakibara stopped attacking, casually dropped the ball, and turned around to retreat on defense.
Miyamoto walked over and pulled Aomine up with a grin.
"Aomine, you're pretty brave. You actually took that head-on."
Aomine rubbed his chest while standing up, wincing.
"Damn it… Murasakibara didn't hold back at all."
...
Possession changed.
This time, Susa didn't pass the ball to Aomine.
Instead, he passed it to Imayoshi and let him control the offense.
Aomine couldn't complain.
Right now, he and the rest of Tōō weren't exactly on the same side.
But just as he was about to give up on the play—
The ball suddenly flew into his hands.
Aomine looked at the ball in confusion and raised his head toward Imayoshi.
"Imayoshi… you…"
Imayoshi smiled awkwardly.
"Well… what can I do, Aomine?"
"I really can't beat them."
"So our ace will have to carry us to victory."
Aomine froze for a moment.
Thinking about what he had said earlier, a sense of guilt slowly surfaced.
"Imayoshi… I…"
Wakamatsu suddenly stepped forward.
"Alright, Aomine! Enough talking!"
"Just go already!"
Aomine looked at Wakamatsu blankly for a moment.
Then he smiled in relief.
"Got it!"
He immediately dribbled toward the frontcourt.
Imayoshi looked confused.
"Wakamatsu… why did you…"
Wakamatsu sighed.
"Imayoshi, you were right."
"We really can't help much."
"But compared to personal grudges… I still prefer the team winning."
He paused for a moment, then angrily added,
"But that bastard Aomine! After the game, I'm definitely not talking to him!"
Imayoshi laughed softly.
Wakamatsu… you're really soft-hearted under that tough mouth.
...
Aomine dribbled toward the frontcourt, completely unfazed by Murasakibara's defense.
With a series of quick dribbles, he shook Murasakibara off and drove straight to the basket.
Then he finished with a difficult acrobatic layup.
As he ran back on defense, Aomine felt conflicted.
After everything he had said…
Imayoshi still trusted him and passed the ball.
For the first time, Aomine hesitated.
Did I… actually make a mistake?
At that moment—
"Aomine, what are you thinking about?"
Miyamoto ran beside him.
Aomine looked at him.
The person he had always chased.
Still so powerful.
Still so overwhelming.
Maybe…
only he knew the answer.
"Miyamoto… do you think…"
"In a desperate situation… I should really entrust hope to my teammates?"
Miyamoto paused.
He replayed the entire game in his mind.
Putting himself in Aomine's shoes…
he realized something.
Aomine hadn't really done anything wrong.
His teammates weren't strong.
The team was cornered.
And he was the only one capable of breaking through.
In that situation…
should he really pass the ball to unstable teammates?
Yes.
But only at the right moment.
If a teammate had a good opportunity, he would pass.
After all—
in a team sport, scoring is everything.
"Aomine, I never asked you to pass unselfishly."
"I just want you to understand the importance of passing."
"When you're truly cornered, only your teammates can share the pressure with you."
"No one else can."
"You can't only pass and never hold the ball."
"That kind of player depends entirely on others."
"But you also can't only attack and never pass."
"Basketball is a five-player sport."
"Two fists can't beat four hands—let alone ten."
"So I want you to make the best choice at the right moment."
"Whether that choice is to pass…"
"or to attack."
"When you truly understand that…"
"you'll be able to see the world beyond the real Gate."
Aomine listened quietly.
His mind slowly processed Miyamoto's words.
Then—
his vision suddenly flashed.
When he came back to his senses…
he found himself standing in front of two Gates.
One was covered in black mist.
The other shone with noble brilliance.
A tall shadow stood as the gatekeeper of the black gate.
The other gate had a much smaller guardian by comparison.
Two Gates.
Aomine Daiki…
which one will you choose?
...
(45 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser