'Are you two putting on a show??'
The thought suddenly flashed through Makoto Hanamiya's mind.
And once it appeared, it quickly began taking over his thoughts.
From the very beginning of the game, both Shuzo Nijimura and Dicky Anthony had been deliberately—whether obvious or subtle—feeding passes to Atsushi Murasakibara.
Even when Murasakibara was getting completely overwhelmed, the two still kept sending him the ball.
Makoto Hanamiya didn't believe for a second that Nijimura and Anthony were incapable of attacking on their own.
Meanwhile, Nash Gold on the opposing side had been observing Murasakibara's movements from the start of the match.
And when he remembered that both Nijimura and Anthony had spent time in the United States…
If everything had been planned, then it all connected.
But what was the goal?
What exactly were they trying to achieve?
Crack!!!
Just as Hanamiya was still thinking about the purpose, a sharp electric crack echoed across the court.
A terrifying wave of pressure spread throughout the arena.
Hanamiya turned his head in confusion—and instantly understood.
'This… is the goal!'
'Zone!'
At that moment, purple lightning flickered within Atsushi Murasakibara's eyes.
The aura surrounding him became overwhelmingly oppressive.
Shuzo Nijimura rubbed his forehead and muttered:
"Finally activated. If it didn't happen soon, we really would've been in trouble."
The game continued.
Kirisaki Daiichi had possession.
As Makoto Hanamiya dribbled the ball, the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that his guess was correct.
When Murasakibara entered the Zone, he had carefully observed everyone's expressions.
He clearly saw the excitement in the eyes of every Black Dragon Team member.
And Nijimura looked like someone whose plan had just succeeded.
From those details, Hanamiya concluded one thing:
This whole thing was a setup!
Since it's a setup… if I trash-talk a little more, you guys won't hit me, right?
Acting immediately on the idea, Hanamiya passed the ball to Murasakibara and began loudly trash-talking Nash Gold in front of him.
...
On the other side.
After receiving the ball, Murasakibara's expression became extremely serious. Purple lightning crackled in his eyes—the signature effect of Zone mode.
Then—
Boom!
Boom!
Two consecutive back-downs.
And this time, he actually pushed Jason Silver back a step.
Jason Silver burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! Now that's some real strength! In that case!"
Boom!
A savage, bloodthirsty, ferocious aura erupted from Jason Silver's body.
Everyone on the court looked over in surprise.
Behind Jason Silver, a massive figure suddenly appeared.
A Tyrannosaurus rex.
A true apex predator—the Tyrannosaurus rex!
With his Animal Instinct activated, Jason Silver's strength skyrocketed.
Murasakibara immediately felt the force pressing back against him.
Jason Silver now looked even more massive and imposing.
Grinning, he said:
"Come on, baby."
Murasakibara naturally refused to back down. He immediately clashed head-on with Silver.
But even with Zone activated, Murasakibara still couldn't push Jason Silver back while Silver's Animal Instinct was active.
The gap in their base physical abilities was simply too large.
Still, Murasakibara refused to give up.
He was fired up now.
It was as if he had locked horns with Jason Silver, stubbornly continuing to back him down again and again.
Meanwhile, time kept ticking away.
Finally, the referee blew the whistle.
"Beep! Offensive time violation!"
The whistle finally snapped Murasakibara out of it.
Annoyed with himself, he lowered the ball and turned to run back on defense.
Nash Gold walked over and asked:
"Silver, how did it feel?"
Jason Silver answered honestly:
"For someone his age, he's incredibly strong. At least in terms of raw power, he's way stronger than I was at that age."
That was true.
When Jason Silver was Murasakibara's age, he definitely hadn't possessed this kind of strength.
Honestly, if it weren't for Miyamoto Tokima, Silver's current power might not be that different from Murasakibara's.
Possession switched.
Nash Gold had just dribbled past half-court when Makoto Hanamiya ran up and started spewing trash talk.
"%&% (auto-censored)"
Nash Gold casually dug at his ear and said:
"I honestly didn't want to deal with you, but…"
As he spoke, his eyes suddenly turned sharp.
"You're getting a little too noisy."
With that, Nash Gold moved.
He performed a between-the-legs dribble, shifting Hanamiya's center of gravity, then immediately followed with a crossover.
It was such a simple move.
Yet Hanamiya completely lost control of his body and crashed to the floor.
Seeing this scene, Murasakibara froze.
He muttered unconsciously:
"Ak… Akashi…"
Hanamiya fell to the ground with a terrified expression, looking up at Nash Gold.
Nash Gold looked down at him expressionlessly and said coldly:
"You never stop yapping. What are you, some kind of chicken?"
After saying that, Nash Gold passed the ball to Jason Silver.
He actually hadn't planned to step in.
But Hanamiya had been too loud.
If he didn't shut him up, his ears wouldn't get a moment of peace.
Jason Silver caught the ball and shouted at the still-dazed Murasakibara:
"Kid! Snap out of it!"
Silver's roar pulled Murasakibara back to reality.
But his face still looked confused.
Seeing that, Jason Silver decided to teach him a lesson.
After all, zoning out on the court was a huge taboo.
Jason Silver immediately powered into a back-down.
Murasakibara was still distracted by Nash Gold's [Belial Eye].
So Silver instantly knocked him flying.
Seeing this, Shuzo Nijimura exclaimed:
"Damn, Silver's fierce! If Miyamoto saw that, he'd stab you in the butt!"
After being knocked away, Murasakibara finally came back to his senses.
Now there was no "Akashi" left in his mind.
Only anger.
"I'll crush you!"
Murasakibara sprang up and rushed forward, repeatedly swiping at Jason Silver's ball.
Seeing this, Jason Silver immediately turned his back to the basket, shielding the ball with his body.
Then—
Boom!
Murasakibara crossed his arms to block.
Boom!
Murasakibara stepped back.
Boom!
Another step back.
Boom!
Three steps back.
It was almost like this: every time Jason Silver powered through with a back-down, Murasakibara was forced one step backward.
Even with Zone activated, he still couldn't withstand Jason Silver's Animal Instinct.
Jason Silver bulldozed his way into the paint, then suddenly spun around and jumped.
He clearly intended to dunk right over Murasakibara.
Murasakibara wasn't about to tolerate that.
He immediately leapt up, clashing with Jason Silver in midair.
Jason Silver grinned, the Tyrannosaurus behind him opening its massive jaws and revealing razor-sharp teeth.
Purple lightning flashed in Murasakibara's eyes as his expression turned ferocious.
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
...
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