After activating his Animal Instinct, Atsushi Murasakibara's strength surged dramatically.
He began relentlessly backing Jason Silver down, driving into him again and again.
But Jason Silver stood there like a mountain, not budging even slightly.
"Hahahahaha! Kid, put some more strength into it!"
Jason Silver laughed loudly, shouting in English.
Atsushi Murasakibara couldn't understand English, so he had no idea what Jason Silver was saying.
All he knew was that his strength seemed completely ineffective against Jason Silver.
Yet strangely enough, that very fact brought him a trace of enjoyment.
Jason Silver looked at the dazed Murasakibara with confusion, unable to figure him out for a moment.
'This kid… zoning out in the middle of a game?'
'Whatever. I'll just teach him a lesson.'
Jason Silver swung out his right hand and cleanly stole the basketball.
Only then did the distracted Murasakibara realize the ball had been taken.
He immediately rushed forward, trying to regain control of it.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of the ball.
"Lucky."
Allen smiled faintly, scooped up the basketball, and burst forward.
Seeing this, Shogo Haizaki immediately chased after him.
But as he kept running, Haizaki quickly realized something was wrong.
'So fast!'
Just as he was still shocked, a massive figure suddenly shot past him.
Haizaki's pupils shrank violently, as if he had just seen a ghost.
'H-how… how is that possible?!'
The figure was Jason Silver.
He instantly overtook Shogo Haizaki and rushed up right behind Allen.
Allen also noticed Jason Silver closing in. As he neared the basket, he tossed the ball upward.
Jason Silver exploded into the air from behind, grabbed the ball mid-flight, and slammed it down with a thunderous dunk!
BOOM!!!
The entire arena erupted.
Shogo Haizaki and the others were completely stunned.
Makoto Hanamiya stared in disbelief.
A center… running faster than Shogo Haizaki?!
What kind of monster was that?!
Even Shuzo Nijimura, who already knew how strong Jason Silver was, couldn't help wiping away cold sweat.
'You've got to be kidding… Silver has become even more terrifying.'
Watching Jason Silver's overwhelming power, a faint smile appeared on Atsushi Murasakibara's face.
Even he didn't realize it himself.
Possession switched.
This time, Makoto Hanamiya didn't pass the ball to Murasakibara. Instead, he sent it to Shuzo Nijimura.
In his eyes, the best option right now was to let Nijimura handle it.
After all, Shuzo Nijimura was currently the strongest player on their team.
But Nijimura had no intention of attacking.
This entire game had been designed for Atsushi Murasakibara.
So after finding an opening, Shuzo Nijimura passed the ball to the well-positioned Murasakibara.
Without saying anything, Murasakibara grabbed the ball and immediately began applying pressure to Jason Silver again.
Jason Silver felt the surge of force and froze for a moment.
'His strength increased?'
Nash Gold's eyes narrowed when he saw the faint smile appearing on Murasakibara's face.
Without hesitation, he activated the [Belial Eye] and began examining the changes in Murasakibara's stats.
'His strength data actually increased?! Was he hiding it before?!'
He was shocked the moment he checked.
Compared to the start of the game, Atsushi Murasakibara's strength had increased by far more than just a little.
'Is this what Tokima-san meant… the power hidden because he wanted to protect others?'
Thinking of this, Nash Gold gave a mysterious smile.
'But even so, that strength still isn't enough in front of Silver.'
Jason Silver could clearly feel Murasakibara's power growing stronger and stronger, and the aura around him becoming more and more intense.
Jason Silver burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Good kid! Come on, give it everything you've got!"
Murasakibara's Animal Instinct was fully unleashed now. He no longer held anything back.
After all, it was rare to encounter an opponent who allowed him to release his strength without any restraint.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Murasakibara drove his back into Silver three times in a row.
Yet even then, he only managed to push Jason Silver back half a step.
If this had been the original Jason Silver, he might have struggled against a Murasakibara like this.
But things were different now.
After undergoing high-intensity training, Jason Silver's physical condition had become explosive.
The current Murasakibara simply couldn't win against him in terms of pure strength.
With no other option, Murasakibara realized he couldn't move Silver and passed the ball out.
Shogo Haizaki caught it and immediately activated his Animal Instinct.
"Awooo!!!"
A lone wolf instantly appeared behind Haizaki, and his eyes turned razor-sharp.
Allen showed no sign of panic when he saw this. Instead, he smiled and even clapped his hands in encouragement.
Haizaki's expression turned serious as he began his attack.
He used streetball-style moves to push forward.
But time was running out.
With no better option, Shogo Haizaki forced a shot over Allen's defense.
The result was exactly what everyone expected.
The moment Haizaki jumped, Allen directly snatched the ball away.
Once the Black Dragon Team gained possession, they instantly became the engine of the court.
A full-team fast break!
The Kirisaki Daiichi players could only sprint desperately to keep up.
As Allen pushed the fast break, he kept scanning the court.
Suddenly, he realized that the person chasing behind him wasn't Haizaki.
It was Shuzo Nijimura.
Allen froze.
Wait… Nijimura, why the hell are you chasing me?
Meanwhile, Shuzo Nijimura was thinking to himself:
I don't care about the others—but Allen! Remember this! I'm blocking you for sure!
Allen, of course, didn't want to get blocked by Nijimura.
The chances were small, but they existed.
And if he actually got blocked, Nijimura would absolutely mock him about it for an entire month.
So Allen swung his right hand and sent the ball flying to Nick on the perimeter.
Nick caught the pass and glanced at Dicky Anthony, noticing he was still a step away.
Without hesitation, Nick rose up for a smooth jump shot.
Even though Dicky Anthony lunged forward, he was still a step too late.
The basketball flew out, barely grazing his fingertips.
Seeing this, Nick was slightly surprised.
Looks like the former Venom captain is still improving.
After that shot went in, the first half of the game was almost completely dominated by the Black Dragon Team.
Even when Kirisaki Daiichi tried everything they could, scoring was still extremely difficult.
Through the observation of the [Belial Eye], Nash Gold noticed that Murasakibara's stats had seemingly reached their peak.
He immediately confirmed it.
Atsushi Murasakibara had reached the critical threshold.
All he needed now was a trigger—and he could enter the Zone.
Makoto Hanamiya, panting heavily, looked toward Shuzo Nijimura with confusion.
'Why… why haven't Nijimura and Anthony started going all out yet?'
Suddenly, he noticed Nash Gold constantly scanning Murasakibara's body.
A strange thought surfaced in his mind.
"Could it be…?"