Shogo Haizaki looked completely confused and asked,
"Momoi-senpai, is it Shūtoku's tactic to have Kiyoshi Miyaji guard Kise?"
Miyamoto waved his hand.
"Hanamiya, go explain it to Haizaki."
After that, Makoto Hanamiya obediently began explaining things to Shogo Haizaki.
After listening, Haizaki looked surprised and suddenly understood.
"So that's how it works!"
Makoto Hanamiya revealed a sly smile.
"Kise still hasn't noticed yet. By the time he does, the game will basically be over."
Not only Ryota Kise—even Kaijō's coach hadn't noticed this either.
The game on the court continued.
Kise held the ball against Kiyoshi Miyaji. With no extra moves, a simple change of direction cleanly beat him.
But the moment he got past Miyaji, either Taisuke Otsubo or Shinsuke Kimura would step up to help defend.
This forced Kise to use additional moves to beat both of them before finally finishing the attack.
After scoring, Kise glanced at Shintaro Midorima.
Midorima's expression hadn't changed at all.
Calm. Still. Like a pool of stagnant water.
Kise couldn't help muttering,
"Ah… Midorima's expression is as calm as ever."
Possession changed.
Kise still chose to guard Midorima.
Seeing this, Kazunari Takao immediately raised two fingers.
Taisuke Otsubo and Shinsuke Kimura stepped out again.
This time, the Kaijō players seemed prepared.
Finally—
Midorima moved.
Kise followed him immediately, quickly dodging the screens from Otsubo and Kimura, trying to keep up with Midorima.
Koji Kobori initially ran alongside Midorima, trying to prevent him from receiving the ball.
Seeing this, Otsubo set the screen and immediately cut toward the paint.
However, Mitsuhiro Hayakawa had already moved over to help defend.
Just as everyone thought Takao was about to pass to Kimura—
Kimura moved.
He set another screen.
Koji Kobori was blocked off.
Takao immediately passed the ball to Midorima.
The moment Midorima caught the ball, Kise was already there.
After catching up, Kise said proudly,
"Midorima, we won't fall for the same trick twice. Your play doesn't work anymore."
Midorima calmly replied,
"No… it's already enough."
After saying that, Midorima jumped without hesitation and raised the ball into a shooting motion.
Seeing this, Kise jumped immediately to block.
But in the next moment—
Kise froze.
Because Midorima had jumped higher than before.
Outside the court, Taiga Kagami nearly ground his teeth to pieces.
'Damn it… what's going on? Not only is he jumping higher, but even his release point is higher!'
On the court.
Kise's fingertips were always just a little short of reaching Midorima's shot.
In the end, he could only watch as Midorima released the ball.
Knowing how accurate Midorima was, Kise didn't waste a second after landing. He immediately sprinted toward the frontcourt.
Koji Kobori understood Kise's plan and immediately stepped out of bounds, ready to inbound the ball once the shot went in.
There was no other choice.
Once Midorima got a clean release, the shot was basically guaranteed to go in.
Almost like a law of nature.
Midorima showed no intention of running back on defense.
He calmly pushed up his glasses and slowly walked back toward the other half of the court while muttering,
"Idiot. Just like in middle school—nothing but hot blood."
"In the end, the only ones I truly get along with are Miyamoto and Akashi."
Compared to Midorima's calm attitude, Kiyoshi Miyaji and Kazunari Takao were far more anxious.
The two had already chased after Kise the moment he sprinted forward.
Miyaji muttered helplessly,
"Why am I the one responsible for guarding Kise…"
Takao shouted while running,
"Because you're the small forward, senpai! Also, why am I running back on defense with you?!"
"You idiot! I'm your senpai here! Help me out—I can't stop Kise by myself!"
...
The two bickered as they chased Kise.
Kise stopped under the basket.
At that moment, Midorima's shot dropped cleanly through the hoop.
Kobori immediately grabbed the ball and threw it forward.
Kise, Takao, and Miyaji all focused and jumped at the same time.
Takao and Miyaji were trying to disrupt the pass.
Kise was trying to catch it.
In the end, Kise got the ball.
Without hesitation, he launched his attack.
Even with two defenders pressuring him, Kise managed to break through them and finish the play.
After scoring, Takao complained,
"Seriously, Miyaji-senpai, I'm never running this fast with you again!"
Miyaji's forehead filled with veins.
"You brat! I'm your senpai!"
Midorima slowly walked over and said calmly,
"Inbound the ball."
Miyaji nodded, picked up the ball, stepped out of bounds, and passed it to Midorima.
Midorima glanced at the basket on the opposite side.
That single glance immediately made Kise tense.
'Crap… I forgot about Midorima's shooting range!'
However, Midorima didn't shoot.
Instead, he passed the ball to Takao and ran toward the frontcourt.
Kise let out a small sigh of relief.
"Good… looks like we'll need full-court defense against Midorima."
"But why didn't he shoot just now?"
Just as Kise was wondering about this—
Takao raised two fingers again.
The same play.
The same movements.
Just as the Kaijō players prepared to deal with it the same way as before—
Something changed.
Midorima didn't run toward the three-point line this time.
Instead—
He ran toward the half-court line.
Right behind Takao.
Kise's pupils shrank.
'Crap!'
He immediately rushed outward.
In the next moment—
Takao flicked the ball backward, passing it to Midorima.
At the same time, he shifted his stance and set a screen.
"Hehe… tactics can change."
Kise was blocked by Takao and completely lost his best chance to defend.
Midorima jumped high and released the shot.
After shooting, Midorima said calmly,
"Kise… your path toward the abyss of defeat has begun."
...
(45 Chapters Ahead)
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