After the missed shot, Kosuke Wakamatsu gave everything he had, trying to grab the rebound.
But the one matched up against him was Atsushi Murasakibara. The current Atsushi Murasakibara was far beyond his peers in both strength and technique.
Atsushi Murasakibara leapt up fiercely, his right hand clamping onto the basketball like an iron claw as he secured it.
The moment he landed, he passed the ball to Miyamoto Tokima without the slightest hesitation.
After catching the ball, Miyamoto Tokima shook his head helplessly, then turned and started running toward the frontcourt.
Daiki Aomine reacted sharply and chased after him.
With Zone activated and his inner Animal Instinct unleashed, Daiki Aomine's speed had indeed increased by a lot.
He ran side by side with Miyamoto Tokima, their momentum terrifying.
Everyone on the court was stunned.
None of them had expected Daiki Aomine to actually keep up with Miyamoto Tokima's speed!
Miyamoto Tokima glanced from the corner of his eye at Daiki Aomine, who was sticking close beside him, and smiled.
"Daiki, looks like your speed really has gotten pretty decent."
Daiki Aomine smiled too and said proudly, "Miyamoto, I'm not someone who just stays where he is!"
The corners of Miyamoto Tokima's mouth curved upward.
"Is that so? Then I guess I'll have to put in a little effort..."
As soon as Miyamoto Tokima finished speaking, he gathered the ball and began taking three steps for a layup.
Daiki Aomine immediately followed, but in the next instant, a tremendous force surged toward him like a collapsing mountain and raging sea.
Daiki Aomine was completely unprepared. He let out a muffled "ngh," and his whole body tilted to the side as if he were about to fall.
Fortunately, Daiki Aomine's balance was good enough. After stumbling for a few steps, he managed to steady himself again.
But even after regaining his balance, he could no longer stop Miyamoto Tokima.
Because he had started staggering from inside the paint and kept stumbling all the way to the three-point line.
Miyamoto Tokima gave a wicked smile and lightly hooked the ball into the basket.
After scoring, Miyamoto Tokima did not forget to ask, "Daiki, your strength hasn't improved much, has it?"
Daiki Aomine's expression turned ugly. He rubbed his chest while complaining, "That hurt like hell, Miyamoto. Why didn't you hold back at all? I felt like I almost died just now!"
Miyamoto Tokima grinned.
"Aren't you fine? I know exactly how much force to use."
Daiki Aomine looked miserable, then gave him a thumbs-up.
"You're ruthless!"
The others, who arrived late, slowly stopped as well, their faces filled with shock.
Kosuke Wakamatsu swallowed hard, deeply shaken.
He knew very well how strong Daiki Aomine's physical ability was. Daiki Aomine's physique was genuinely powerful.
Even Kosuke Wakamatsu himself might not be able to outmuscle him.
Yet Miyamoto Tokima had sent Daiki Aomine from the paint to the outside with just one bump!
How much power did that take?!
At that moment, Kosuke Wakamatsu suddenly felt that Atsushi Murasakibara beside him looked a lot more pleasant than before...
...
In the following game, Daiki Aomine began attacking without holding anything back.
Miyamoto Tokima also entered a scoring duel with Daiki Aomine.
Whenever Miyamoto Tokima was on offense, he turned into a true offensive kaleidoscope.
Even when Daiki Aomine was practically about to wrap his arms around Miyamoto Tokima, Miyamoto Tokima could still score.
On defense, Miyamoto Tokima nearly shut Daiki Aomine down to the point of despair.
At first, Daiki Aomine could still get some points by relying on Zone, his Animal Instinct, and a few unexpected moves.
But later, when wisps of black aura suddenly began rising from Miyamoto Tokima's body, and a pair of faintly visible red eyes appeared behind him, Daiki Aomine could no longer score at all.
No matter what moves he used or what methods he tried, he could not break through Miyamoto Tokima.
He was completely locked down by Miyamoto Tokima.
And so, the game became completely one-sided.
When Miyamoto Tokima attacked, Daiki Aomine and the rest of Tōō could not defend him.
But when Daiki Aomine attacked, Miyamoto Tokima could completely shut him down.
Even when Daiki Aomine later gave up the ball and let his teammates try to score, they still could not get points.
Because Dicky Anthony and Atsushi Murasakibara had also exploded.
First, Atsushi Murasakibara activated Zone, turning everything inside the three-point line into his defensive territory.
Then Dicky Anthony activated Animal Instinct: Viper, completely transforming into a war god on help defense.
With the two of them guarding it, Kirisaki Daiichi had truly become a steel fortress.
If Daiki Aomine could still score, he could have drawn either Atsushi Murasakibara or Dicky Anthony away, and Tōō would still have had a chance to score.
But now that Miyamoto Tokima had completely locked down Daiki Aomine, Daiki Aomine could not help relieve the pressure on his teammates at all.
As a result, the situation on the court spiraled completely out of control.
All the way until the end of the third quarter, Tōō High barely managed to add any more points.
When the third quarter ended, the score was fixed at 79 to 48.
Kirisaki Daiichi was leading by a full 31 points!
Such a terrifying score difference was beyond everyone in the arena's expectations.
...
Off the court.
On Seirin's side.
Shinji Koganei swallowed hard with an audible gulp, then said shakily, "I never thought that even someone as strong as Aomine would have no way to fight back."
The expressions of the other Seirin players also grew serious.
They had trained with Tōō High before, so naturally they knew just how strong Tōō High was.
Although they had not played a proper full match, their main player, Taiga Kagami, had gone one-on-one against Daiki Aomine.
And the result of those one-on-ones was that Taiga Kagami had not won once...
Yet Daiki Aomine, who had overwhelmed Taiga Kagami like that, had gone an entire quarter without scoring under Miyamoto Tokima's defense.
That left everyone from Seirin unable to believe what they were seeing.
Shintaro Midorima's side, however, was much calmer.
After all, they knew Kirisaki Daiichi's strength.
Kazunari Takao looked at the brutal score on the court and sighed.
"So this is the pressure Miyamoto Tokima brings once he makes a move? The moment he steps in, the whole team's efficiency rises noticeably."
Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses and said nothing.
...
On the court.
Daiki Aomine sat on the bench with a towel covering his head, no one knowing what he was thinking.
The rest of Tōō's players were also exhausted as they sat on the bench, breathing heavily and trying to recover their stamina.
Katsunori Harasawa looked at his players, who were already close to their limits, and then at the devastating score. He sighed helplessly.
Looks like...
They could only give up...
...
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