Shuzo Nijimura's hand pressed down on Daiki Aomine's basketball.
The two began struggling for control in midair.
The moment the clash started, Aomine realized something was wrong.
Nijimura's strength was actually greater than his!
Of course, a large part of that was because Aomine's stamina had already been pushed past its limit, and his strength was steadily fading.
"AAAH!!!"
Aomine roared as he thrust out his other hand, using both hands to force the ball down.
Nijimura wanted to use both hands as well, but he couldn't. His rushed jump had left him in an awkward position in midair, making it impossible to defend with both hands.
"AAAH!!!"
Aomine roared again. Behind him, the Black Panther opened its jaws and bellowed.
In the end, Aomine forced the ball into the basket with both hands!
BOOM!!!
After landing, Nijimura's mouth twitched.
"That brat… really doesn't hold back."
Thud.
The sound of something heavy hitting the floor rang out.
Nijimura quickly turned to look.
Aomine had collapsed onto the ground, his face filled with pain.
At the same time, he had exited both the Zone and Animal Instinct.
"Aomine!" ×...
Everyone shouted at once and rushed toward him.
Aomine struggled to get up, but failed.
He gave a bitter smile.
"So… my stamina finally ran out…"
Nijimura ran over and scolded him.
"You brat! Playing like that, of course you'd burn through your stamina! Look at you now—flat on the ground!"
Aomine smiled helplessly and didn't argue.
Soon after, Katsunori Harasawa called a timeout.
Shoichi Imayoshi and Kosuke Wakamatsu helped lift Aomine up and carried him off the court.
During the timeout, Satsuki Momoi, standing on Kirisaki Daiichi's side, glanced toward Tōō High's bench.
Then she made a decision.
The timeout ended.
Both teams returned to the court.
This time, both sides had made changes.
Every player on the court had been replaced—five substitutions each.
Momoi could tell that Tōō High had effectively conceded the game, so she also sent in Kirisaki Daiichi's bench players.
But could Tōō's substitutes really compare with Kirisaki Daiichi's?
The score gap kept widening until the final buzzer sounded.
"Beep! Game over!"
The referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the match.
Aomine sat on the bench with a towel covering his head, completely motionless, like a statue.
The Kirisaki Daiichi players didn't leave immediately. Instead, they walked over to Tōō's side.
Imayoshi and the others looked up in confusion.
Hanamiya looked at Imayoshi and smiled.
"Nice game, Imayoshi."
As he spoke, he extended his hand.
Imayoshi paused for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and smiled before shaking it.
"That's not what you were saying on the court earlier."
Hanamiya looked at him with disdain.
"What are you, a masochist?"
Miyamoto walked over to Aomine with Murasakibara and the others.
"Daiki."
Hearing the familiar voice, Aomine slowly lifted his head.
He… was crying.
"M-Miyamoto… I lost again…"
Years of effort.
Day after day of training.
All for the sake of defeating the person standing in front of him.
But reality was cruel.
He had lost.
And he had lost completely.
Miyamoto smiled and said calmly,
"Daiki, don't be so depressed. It's not like you've ever beaten me anyway."
...
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.
Momoi covered her face, completely speechless.
Who comforts someone like that?!
Yet somehow, Aomine really did seem to feel better.
He paused for a moment, then started laughing through his tears.
"Yeah… I've never beaten you."
"But next time, I'll definitely win!"
As he said this, Aomine's eyes became incredibly determined.
Seeing that, Miyamoto no longer worried. He patted Aomine on the shoulder and smiled.
"I'll be waiting."
He then looked around at everyone present and said,
"Alright everyone, the game's over. Let's go grab something to eat together."
The Tōō players exchanged glances with each other.
In the end, Imayoshi spoke up.
"An invitation from the 'Magic Cube'? Of course we won't refuse."
Miyamoto took both teams out for a meal, and afterward everyone went their separate ways.
With that, the qualifiers officially ended.
What awaited Kirisaki Daiichi next was the upcoming Summer Cup.
However, before the Summer Cup began, Miyamoto planned to help Murasakibara grow stronger.
Earlier, Miyamoto had already discovered something.
Murasakibara had already pushed the "Gate" open slightly.
Based on the original story, if Murasakibara were given an evenly matched opponent, the chances of him entering the Zone would increase dramatically.
And Miyamoto had already found the perfect opponent.
Jason Silver.
However, Miyamoto had no intention of letting Murasakibara know that Jason Silver was brought in specifically to help him enter the Zone.
Instead, he planned to set up a situation.
The day after the qualifiers ended.
Miyamoto arrived at the school basketball club and announced something to everyone.
"Since everyone worked so hard to make it to the Summer Cup, I've decided to take the whole team abroad for a little vacation!"
The moment he said that, the Kirisaki Daiichi players erupted in celebration.
After all, it meant going out to have fun.
Murasakibara wasn't interested at first.
But when he heard Miyamoto's next sentence, his interest instantly shot up.
"All expenses during the trip will be covered by me—including food!"
Murasakibara's eyes lit up as he shouted happily,
"I love you, Miyamoto!"
Seeing that the effect had been achieved, Miyamoto continued,
"Unfortunately, something came up at home, so I won't be able to go with everyone. This time, Nijimura-senpai will lead the team."
Miyamoto had already discussed his plan privately with Nijimura and Dicky Anthony, so he wasn't worried about them exposing it.
The Kirisaki Daiichi players didn't suspect anything.
After all, Miyamoto's family really was extremely powerful. It was normal for him to have family matters to deal with.
And just like that, the plan was settled.
The next day, Nijimura would take everyone to the United States.
Meanwhile, Miyamoto boarded a flight to the United States that very same day.
There were two reasons.
First, he wanted to check on the Black Dragon team and explain his plan to them.
Second…
His parents were preparing to come to Japan.
So Miyamoto also planned to go pick them up.
After landing, Miyamoto first went home to see his parents. After briefly explaining things, he immediately rushed to the Black Dragon team.
When he arrived at their gym, Miyamoto slowly walked inside.
The sound of basketballs pounding against the floor and loud shouts echoed through the gym.
Clearly, intense training was underway.
...
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