Shogo Haizaki watched the ball arc through the air with curiosity, almost as if he were hoping Daiki Aomine would miss.
But things didn't go his way.
Aomine's shot dropped cleanly through the hoop.
Haizaki sighed.
"Just as I thought."
He understood his own ability well. At its core, it was simply using someone else's moves and applying pressure.
But against opponents stronger than himself, that pressure weakened considerably.
Take Aomine for example. Aomine simply didn't care whether Haizaki used his moves or not—it didn't affect him in the slightest.
When Haizaki's [Pillage] couldn't put pressure on someone, or when the opponent could easily withstand that pressure, then his [Pillage] essentially turned into [Copy].
Satsuki Momoi had been the one who explained that to him.
After scoring, Aomine turned his head and said,
"Haizaki, not everyone's skills can be [Pillaged]!"
With that, he turned and walked away.
Haizaki wasn't angry. Instead, his fighting spirit burned even stronger.
Shuzo Nijimura had been about to comfort him, but when he saw the smile on Haizaki's face, he decided not to say anything.
Possession switched.
Makoto Hanamiya dribbled across half court with a dark expression. The moment he crossed the line, he passed the ball to Miyamoto.
Miyamoto caught the ball and, without the slightest hesitation, immediately raised his hand and shot.
Yoshinori Susa, who had just gotten into his defensive stance, froze.
That fast?!
The ball swished cleanly through the hoop.
"Ball!"
Aomine shouted immediately.
Kosuke Wakamatsu didn't hesitate and quickly passed the ball in.
The moment Aomine received it, he burst toward the frontcourt.
Nijimura hurried after him.
"This brat… does he really not care about burning through all his stamina?"
When Nijimura realized that Aomine's normal speed was already faster than his own, he paused for a moment.
Then he sighed.
"Fine. Let you see mine too."
The moment he finished speaking, lightning flashed in Nijimura's eyes, and a powerful aura erupted from his body.
Zone!
After entering the Zone, Nijimura's speed surged instantly, and he caught up to Aomine in moments.
He spread his arms and took a defensive stance.
"Aomine, don't underestimate me."
Aomine stopped his fast break. The corner of his mouth lifted as he smiled.
"Nijimura-senpai, so you've opened that door too!"
"In that case…"
Before he finished speaking, Aomine took a deep breath.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again.
Blue lightning flickered within his gaze.
Nijimura asked,
"Aomine, aren't you afraid of exhausting your stamina?"
Aomine, now in the Zone, was breathing heavily. It was obvious that simply activating the Zone in the fourth quarter had already drained most of his strength.
He probably couldn't maintain it for even three minutes.
Aomine kept panting, but he still smiled.
"Haha… Of course I'm not afraid."
"Right now, all I want is to have a proper showdown with you, Nijimura-senpai!"
Nijimura asked back,
"Even if it means losing the game?"
Aomine glanced at the scoreboard, where the score gap was still huge, and murmured,
"Next time… I'll beat you."
After hearing that, Nijimura didn't say anything else.
Because Aomine had already made it clear.
This game… he had lost.
But before losing, he still wanted a real battle with Nijimura.
How could Nijimura refuse such a request from his junior?
Nijimura smiled.
"As you wish."
Boom!
After hearing that, Aomine stopped holding back.
While in the Zone, he activated Animal Instinct again!
If previously he could maintain the Zone for about two and a half minutes, now he probably couldn't last even a minute.
There was no helping it.
The stamina consumption was simply too great.
Nijimura, on the other hand, made no move.
Why didn't he activate Animal Instinct?
Simple.
He didn't know how.
After activating Animal Instinct, Aomine's eyes became even sharper.
The basketball in his hand moved without any fixed rhythm, then suddenly he exploded forward and drove hard to the right.
Just as Nijimura followed him, a figure suddenly appeared.
Kosuke Wakamatsu.
He was trying to set a screen for Aomine!
Nijimura immediately noticed and dodged the screen with a nimble step.
But that brief movement left him completely behind Aomine.
Haizaki was just about to help defend when a thin figure suddenly stepped in front of him.
"S-sorry! Sorry!"
Haizaki looked down and saw Ryo Sakurai nervously apologizing over and over.
Atsushi Murasakibara wanted to move as well, but the moment he tried, Yoshinori Susa and Shoichi Imayoshi blocked him at the same time.
The two fought desperately for position, blocking him with everything they had.
Of course, their strength wasn't enough to truly stop Murasakibara.
At best, they could delay him for a moment.
Hanamiya had been left open, so he immediately moved in to help defend.
Miyamoto, however, made no move to help.
He simply stood there, quietly watching everyone's movements.
Originally, Imayoshi had planned to send two players to block Miyamoto.
But Miyamoto had suddenly walked up to him and said:
"Go stop Murasakibara. I won't interfere."
After hearing that, Imayoshi immediately changed the defensive assignment.
He wasn't worried Miyamoto was lying.
With Miyamoto's strength, there was no need for him to deceive anyone.
As for why Miyamoto didn't help defend…
Because he simply didn't need to.
Aomine didn't care about Hanamiya's help defense at all.
Behind him, the Black Panther opened its mouth and roared, as if telling Hanamiya to get out of the way.
Hanamiya's expression darkened.
So he's looking down on me?
A pitch-black shadow appeared behind Hanamiya.
It was a black spider.
Around it spread countless spider webs.
Aomine's pupils shrank slightly when he saw it.
Hanamiya immediately stepped forward to defend, his hands constantly interfering.
At the same time, the spider behind him began to move.
It spat countless strands of web toward the Black Panther, restricting its movements.
At first, the Black Panther was indeed restrained.
But it quickly broke free.
After all—
This was the Black Panther inside the Zone.
On the court.
After being delayed briefly by Hanamiya, Aomine used a spin move and instantly broke past him.
Then he leapt high toward the basket.
Hanamiya's steal attempt failed, and Aomine completely blew past him.
But thanks to that brief delay from Hanamiya, someone managed to catch up.
Shuzo Nijimura.
Nijimura jumped alongside him, his arm reaching toward the ball in Aomine's hand.
This time, Aomine had no intention of finishing with [Formless].
He wanted…
A head-on clash!
......
...
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