Katsunori Harasawa looked somewhat resigned, and somewhat pained. He glanced at everyone before slowly speaking.
"Everyone, get some rest. This match..."
Katsunori Harasawa didn't finish, but everyone still raised their heads and looked at him, as if they already knew what he was trying to say.
Kosuke Wakamatsu slammed his fist against the bench in frustration and snapped angrily,
"Damn it! Are we really no match for them?!"
Shoichi Imayoshi slowly lowered his head as well and said nothing for a long time.
Yoshinori Susa draped a towel over his face, then leaned back against the bench without a word.
They were tired. The third quarter had made them truly feel the gap between them.
Did they not want to win?
No. They wanted to win.
They wanted to win more than anyone.
But Kirisaki Daiichi was terrifying. Kirisaki Daiichi was like a true nightmare, clinging to them and refusing to let go.
They couldn't avoid it, couldn't escape it, and couldn't beat it.
All they could do was throw everything they had into fighting back, but in the end, the result was always the same.
Defeat.
Defeat after defeat had driven them into complete despair.
At that moment, after that one sentence from Katsunori Harasawa, Tōō High School fell into a lifeless silence, their fighting spirit completely gone.
It seemed they really were about to give up.
With a towel over his head, Daiki Aomine clenched his fists in frustration, his heart filled with unwillingness.
'Do we really... have to give up?'
Whoosh!!!
The next second, Daiki Aomine's vision blurred. When it cleared again, he had arrived in a pitch-black place.
Ahead of him, in that darkness, stood two imposing [Gates].
One [Gate] was wrapped in waves of black mist, and in front of the mist stood a human-like black shadow.
The other [Gate] stood alone. In front of it, there was another black shadow, though this one was a little shorter.
Daiki Aomine looked at the two [Gates] not far from him and murmured,
"Do I have to choose now?"
Daiki Aomine looked at the black mist [Gate], then at the imposing [Gate] standing tall beside it.
In the end, he made his choice.
The black mist [Gate]!
He lifted his foot and slowly walked toward the black mist [Gate].
As Daiki Aomine chose the black mist [Gate], the other [Gate] began to fade away little by little, until it disappeared completely.
In that entire dark place, only one [Gate] remained.
The [Gate] surrounded by terrifying black mist.
The closer Daiki Aomine got to the [Gate], the heavier the pressure on his body became.
It felt as if he were carrying two of himself while forcing his way forward.
But that feeling didn't make Daiki Aomine suffer. Instead, it excited him.
His expression twisted, yet there was still a smile on his face.
"I'm going to get stronger! I'm going to get stronger!!!"
Daiki Aomine approached the [Gate] one step at a time, and the pressure gradually grew terrifying.
By the end, Daiki Aomine's legs had begun to shake uncontrollably, but he still gritted his teeth and kept moving toward the black mist [Gate], step by step.
Finally, just as he was about to reach the black mist [Gate], Daiki Aomine's body could no longer hold out. He collapsed to the ground.
Even then, that crushing pressure continued to batter his body every second.
Daiki Aomine lay powerlessly on the ground and murmured weakly,
"Is it... still impossible?"
Just as Daiki Aomine was about to give up completely, a voice sounded beside his ear.
[I'm looking forward to it].
In that instant, Daiki Aomine seemed to snap back to himself and became fully awake.
The corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably, and his body began to tremble with excitement.
"Looking forward to it? ...Heh. If you're looking forward to it that much, how could I possibly disappoint you?"
"I'm definitely going to defeat you!"
Daiki Aomine roared, then slowly stood up. He fixed his gaze on the black mist ahead and moved forward, one slow step at a time.
As Daiki Aomine advanced, the black mist began to dissipate, revealing the [Gate]'s original appearance.
It was a pure black [Gate].
Around the [Gate] were carvings like black dragons, vivid and lifelike.
Directly above the [Gate] was an incredibly realistic dragon head statue with its eyes closed.
Daiki Aomine stared at the [Gate] in shock, his heart filled with awe.
While he was still stunned, the black shadow in front of the [Gate] slowly walked toward him.
As it walked, the shadow grew more and more solid.
Daiki Aomine stared fixedly at the shadow approaching him, ready for anything.
The shadow came closer and closer, its body becoming more and more distinct.
When it had solidified to a certain point, Daiki Aomine froze. He murmured in disbelief,
"Mi... Miyamoto?"
That's right. The appearance the black shadow took was none other than Miyamoto Tokima!
Looking at Miyamoto Tokima's face, Daiki Aomine couldn't help but laugh.
"So that's it. So that's it. So you were the Gatekeeper all along!"
Daiki Aomine laughed, and as he laughed, tears fell from his eyes.
Now he finally understood why Miyamoto Tokima had said those words about the Gatekeeper to him before.
So even back then, Miyamoto Tokima had already laid the groundwork for his future path.
If Miyamoto Tokima knew what Daiki Aomine was thinking right now, all Miyamoto Tokima could say was:
That's not fair!
I only mentioned it in passing!!!
...
The black shadow slowly solidified into Miyamoto Tokima's form and stood before Daiki Aomine.
Daiki Aomine wiped away his tears, nodded to Miyamoto Tokima, then walked toward the [Gate].
'Miyamoto Tokima' didn't speak. He simply followed Daiki Aomine to the [Gate].
Daiki Aomine looked at the [Gate] before him, then reached out with both hands and pressed them against it.
'Miyamoto Tokima' slowly placed his hands on the [Gate] as well, and then the two pushed together!
Clang...
As the two of them exerted their strength, the imposing [Gate] standing before them...
Slowly opened...
On the sidelines.
Daiki Aomine yanked the towel off his head and grinned.
"Everyone, there's still one quarter left. Let's give it one last try!"
Shoichi Imayoshi and the others looked at Daiki Aomine in surprise. When they saw his smile, and the fighting spirit radiating from him,
everyone seemed to ignite.
They had never wanted to give up in the first place. Now that their ace had spoken, of course they would give it one last try!
Kosuke Wakamatsu shouted excitedly,
"Yeah! One last try!!!"
The others smiled and shouted as well,
"One last try!!!"
Katsunori Harasawa looked at everyone, their fighting spirit reignited, then smiled and shook his head.
"You guys really are something. Since you're all like this, then let's..."
"Give it one last try!!!"
...
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