Daiki Aomine stared at the two massive gates in front of him.
Because of the strange feeling the black mist gate had given him earlier, he instinctively walked toward the other gate.
But just as he reached it, the dark shadow appeared again and blocked his way.
Aomine cursed immediately.
"Damn it! If I ever find out who you are—!"
With no other option, he turned and walked toward the black mist gate.
Before approaching it, he swallowed nervously. The pressure that gate had given him before was terrifying.
But this time, something was different.
Instead of pressure, he walked toward it with surprising ease.
Even stranger, the gatekeeper didn't stop him this time. Instead, it stepped aside.
Aomine frowned, confused.
Still, confusion didn't stop him.
He stretched both hands forward, pressed them against the gate—
and pushed with all his strength!!!
...
Yeah.
It didn't open.
Retreat!!!
Darkness filled Aomine's vision again. When he regained awareness, he found himself back on the basketball court.
Questions immediately flooded his mind.
What exactly was that black mist gate?
Who was that gatekeeper?
And why couldn't he push the gate open?
Unfortunately, this was still the middle of a game. He had no time to think about it.
After exchanging a glance with Miyamoto, Aomine moved forward to defend Murasakibara again.
Murasakibara showed no mercy.
He repeatedly backed Aomine down with brute force, bullied his way under the basket, and finished with a hook shot.
On Tōō's side, the offense still revolved around Aomine.
As a result, the third quarter turned into a direct duel between Murasakibara and Aomine.
Murasakibara couldn't stop Aomine once Zone and Animal Instinct were active.
But Aomine could seize opportunities to steal the ball during Murasakibara's post-ups.
This made things extremely uncomfortable for Murasakibara.
Later on, Tōō's other players even started helping Aomine, combining their strength to resist Murasakibara's power.
Murasakibara, however, had completely lost his composure and refused to pass.
Because of that, he failed to score a single point in the last two minutes.
He was completely suppressed.
The score became 93–55.
The gap remained enormous.
"Beep! End of the third quarter!"
The referee blew the whistle.
Both teams' starters returned to the bench to rest.
...
After sitting down, Momoi glanced at the scoreboard and the renewed fighting spirit in Tōō's players before calmly saying,
"In the fourth quarter, Haizaki and Nijimura-senpai will take the lead on offense."
"If anyone else gets an open look, move the ball."
Haizaki looked surprised.
"Wait, Momoi… you—"
Momoi narrowed her eyes and smiled gently.
"I think it's about time."
"After all… they've already seen hope."
Haizaki and the others swallowed.
For the first time, they felt like they were seeing Momoi differently.
Using the gentlest words…
to execute the cruelest strategy.
Destroy their spirit.
Momoi clearly intended for them to push harder and completely crush Tōō's last bit of hope.
Leave nothing behind.
...
On the other side, Harasawa had also figured something out.
Getting Aomine to give up the ball entirely was impossible.
And unrealistic.
Because the rest of Tōō simply didn't have the ability to score against Kirisaki Daiichi's defense.
But passing didn't mean teammates had to attack.
Passing and attacking were two different things.
And judging from the current situation, whenever Aomine passed the ball, the team would gain far more options.
If Aomine passed to an open teammate while being double-teamed, that teammate could:
take the open shot.
Or pass the ball back to Aomine for another attack.
That meant multiple options—not just one.
(Some people think that after passing, the teammate must attack. That's wrong!)
(Passing means more choices. If you play solo, you only have one option. But if you pass and reorganize the offense—or give the ball to an open teammate—you suddenly have many.)
(Don't forget—you have four teammates.)
"Aomine, listen carefully. In the fourth quarter, you can pass the ball, because…"
After explaining the advantages and options of passing, Harasawa asked,
"Do you understand, Aomine?"
Aomine didn't respond.
He remained silent, clearly still thinking.
Harasawa didn't press further.
Changing the mindset of a genius was never easy.
For ordinary people, change was simple—they understood they had flaws that needed correction.
But geniuses were different.
They excelled in one area to an extreme, and their personalities tended to become stubborn.
Tōō's entire bench fell into silence.
Harasawa didn't even bother arranging tactics.
There was no point.
If Aomine refused to pass, what tactics could they possibly run?
Everything…
would be left to fate.
...
"Beep! Fourth quarter begins! Both teams, please return to the court!"
Nijimura smiled when he heard the whistle.
"My turn."
Haizaki grinned.
"Nijimura-senpai, I'm here too."
Hanamiya gave a sinister smile and put down the book in his hand.
"Looks like I can try some new techniques again."
Curious, Miyamoto glanced at the book Hanamiya had just set down.
The title read:
The Rational Use of Eloquence
Miyamoto opened the first page out of curiosity.
…
Six pages in.
Pure national-level profanity.
And all locally produced.
What's the difference between this and hiding adult content inside a "Five Years of Exam Questions, Three Years of Simulation" workbook?
This is practically helping pe—
No.
This is absolutely harmful to society!
Miyamoto shut the book with a dark expression.
"Disgraceful… truly disgraceful."
...
Kirisaki Daiichi kept the same lineup as before, with Dicky Anthony resting.
Dicky Anthony was still in a state of "enlightenment," quietly contemplating his Animal Instinct.
Tōō also sent out their full starting lineup.
The reason their stamina looked so good was simple.
For the first three quarters, almost everything had been handled by Aomine.
The only one truly exhausted was Aomine himself.
Zone and Animal Instinct had consumed most of his energy.
It was unlikely he could activate them again in the fourth quarter.
Aomine knew his condition clearly.
Activating Zone and Animal Instinct for the entire fourth quarter was impossible.
If he did, he might collapse after one minute.
Thinking about this, Aomine glanced at his teammates.
Could it be…
that I really have to rely on them?
After thinking for a moment—
Aomine finally made his decision.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser