Tōō had possession.
Makoto Hanamiya turned around with a confident, somewhat wicked smile, ready to get back on defense.
But all of a sudden, a bad feeling surged up in his heart.
Makoto Hanamiya turned his head in confusion and looked toward Tōō High. Then he abruptly realized something.
The way everyone from Tōō High was looking at him...
Why did it feel so wrong?...
What was with that excitement?!...
Logically speaking, Makoto Hanamiya had insulted them that badly and even provoked their captain until he lost his temper.
In that situation, even if they did not dare to hit him to his face, they should at least look a little angrier, right?
So what was going on now?!
Excitement?!
What the hell were they excited about?!
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning seemed to flash through his mind, and Makoto Hanamiya understood everything at once.
He looked at the Tōō players in shock and thought,
'They're not planning to corner me after the game, are they?'
The more Makoto Hanamiya thought about it, the more possible it seemed. Back in middle school, he had been cornered by Teikō's Nijimura-senpai and Shogo Haizaki before.
He also knew very well that Miyamoto Tokima had arranged it.
And Tōō had Daiki Aomine. Daiki Aomine had also been involved in that incident back then, so was this Daiki Aomine's idea?
Makoto Hanamiya very quickly figured out Tōō High's plan. His expression straightened, and he began thinking about his escape route.
In other words, how he was going to run once the game was over.
Makoto Hanamiya knew that the Tōō High players would not dare attack him in front of the Kirisaki Daiichi players.
But what if they had some trick to lure everyone else away?
Makoto Hanamiya was arrogant, but he was not arrogant enough to think he could take on an entire team by himself.
That much had been obvious before.
Back then, when a whole group had surrounded them, did anyone really think Makoto Hanamiya kept his mouth shut because he did not want to talk back?
Of course not. He was afraid he would run his mouth and not make it out in one piece!
As Shoichi Imayoshi slowly advanced, Daiki Aomine also came to Miyamoto Tokima's side and said, "Miyamoto, there's something I want to tell you."
Miyamoto Tokima nodded and said, "Go ahead, Daiki."
Daiki Aomine briefly told Miyamoto Tokima his idea.
After hearing it, Miyamoto Tokima smiled and nodded.
"Sure. I won't stop you, as long as you can catch Hanamiya."
Daiki Aomine froze for a moment and asked, "You're not against it? Isn't Hanamiya one of yours?"
Miyamoto Tokima smiled and said, "The condition is that you have to catch him first, isn't it?"
Daiki Aomine's expression turned serious, and he said, "Yeah, I get it!"
Seeing this, Miyamoto Tokima did not say anything more, though he still felt a little pity for Daiki Aomine.
Catch Makoto Hanamiya?
What a joke.
If Makoto Hanamiya were that easy to catch, would he dare to spout so much trash talk?
What did they think was the reason Shogo Haizaki still did not dare go after Makoto Hanamiya even now?
What did they think Makoto Hanamiya relied on to still be alive and kicking while running around insulting people?
Although Miyamoto Tokima's reputation and background helped a little, most of it was because Makoto Hanamiya was smart. He could dodge, hide, and counterattack.
Miyamoto Tokima looked at the excited expressions on the Tōō players' faces and sighed helplessly in his heart.
'Sigh, I'm afraid you're all going to be disappointed.'
...
Shoichi Imayoshi dribbled to the outside of the three-point line with a cold expression.
At this point, Makoto Hanamiya had already thought of a countermeasure and understood what the Tōō players were planning.
So...
He started trash-talking again!
"Yo, Imayoshi, why aren't you smiling anymore? Were you born without a sense of humor? I remember you used to love smiling."
Shoichi Imayoshi gritted his teeth and did not answer. Instead, he observed the situation on the court.
Makoto Hanamiya immediately grinned and continued, "No way, Imayoshi. Are you deaf now?"
Shoichi Imayoshi still did not respond.
Makoto Hanamiya continued, "Sigh, your poor mother. She gave birth to a kid who ended up defective later in life..."
Shoichi Imayoshi bit down hard, desperately suppressing his emotions.
The next second.
Smack!
"Haha, still as stupid as ever!"
Makoto Hanamiya seized the moment when Shoichi Imayoshi was distracted by anger and slapped the basketball right out of his hands.
Shoichi Imayoshi roared furiously, "Hanamiya!!!"
Then he chased after him.
Seeing this, the other Kirisaki Daiichi players also began rushing toward the frontcourt.
Fast break!!!
The Tōō players quickly sprinted back on defense as well.
But to everyone's surprise, Atsushi Murasakibara was actually running faster than the other Tōō players!
However, Daiki Aomine was even faster. In an instant, he overtook everyone and got in front of Makoto Hanamiya.
As for Miyamoto Tokima...
He was still coasting along in the back.
After all, they did not need him much in the first half. The second half was when he would really start exerting himself.
Daiki Aomine arrived in front of Makoto Hanamiya. Makoto Hanamiya clicked his tongue, then passed the ball to Shuzo Nijimura.
Seeing this, Daiki Aomine immediately switched defensive targets.
Shuzo Nijimura did not plan to hog the ball either. He quickly passed it to Dicky Anthony.
Dicky Anthony did not hesitate. He caught the ball with his left hand and leapt hard.
Then he made a shooting motion in midair.
Daiki Aomine rushed over fiercely, but it was already too late.
Dicky Anthony's height and wingspan were terrifying. There was no way Daiki Aomine, who was a step late, could block him.
Swish!!!
The basketball dropped steadily into the hoop.
Kirisaki Daiichi scored another two points.
For the rest of the game, Makoto Hanamiya's mouth never stopped.
Whoever stood in front of him got hit with trash talk.
Even if someone only ran past him, he still had to throw in a couple of lines.
It was a complete nonstop barrage.
During this time, Shoichi Imayoshi completely became a "red" man.
Do not misunderstand. Red as in red with rage.
Shoichi Imayoshi was so angry his lungs were about to explode, and even his movements became warped by his anger.
After that, he did not even dare to dribble anymore, because the moment he dribbled, his emotions would throw off his movements and lead to mistakes.
And so, Shoichi Imayoshi completely turned into an emotion collector.
Makoto Hanamiya chased after him and kept trash-talking him, even when he did not have the ball!
Still, thanks to Daiki Aomine's performance, Tōō managed to score a few baskets.
The second quarter ended with the score at 56 to 41.
Kirisaki Daiichi was in the lead.
...
After returning to the locker room, everyone from Kirisaki Daiichi took out the food the school nutritionist had prepared for them in advance and began eating to replenish their stamina.
This was also one of the gaps between Kirisaki Daiichi and the other schools.
Other schools had to eat dark cuisine, but Kirisaki Daiichi did not.
Satsuki Momoi saw that everyone was still eating, so she did not say much. She simply waited quietly for them to finish.
At that moment, Shuzo Nijimura ate while asking,
"Momoi, Haizaki is okay, right?"
...
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