After greeting his teammates, Haizaki Shogo headed to the locker room and changed into his Fukuda Sogo blood-red No. 6 jersey. Then came the warm-ups. While stretching, he casually watched the ongoing matchup between Shutoku High and Seirin High.
Truthfully, both teams had improved since the last time he saw them. Seirin still couldn't stop Midorima Shintaro, but they were holding up decently overall. Of course, in Haizaki's vocabulary, decent meant very strong.
With Kuroko Tetsuya, Kiyoshi Teppei, Hyuga Junpei, Shun Izuki, and Mitobe Rinnosuke anchoring the team, Seirin still had a solid structure. Their only major weakness was obvious: without Kagami Taiga, their offensive firepower had dropped significantly.
On the other side, Shutoku's Midorima Shintaro had clearly grown stronger as well, though it looked more like he was refining his shooting rhythm rather than going all out. As for the rest of Shutoku… honestly, only Takao Kazunari stood out. The others were merely average—disciplined, but nothing special.
When the whistle blew, both Shutoku and Seirin stepped off the court to rest and observe. Next up was Fukuda Sogo versus Tōō Academy.
Whoever came up with this format—continuous thirty-minute high-intensity rotations between four elite teams—was either a genius or a madman. Either way, it was brutal. The four teams rotated through thirty minutes of play, followed by thirty minutes of rest and observation before returning to the court again. Round after round, it drained both body and mind.
Haizaki rolled his shoulders and led his teammates onto the court. At that moment, Fukuda Sogo's entire roster looked fired up. Haizaki's presence alone was like giving them a stabilizing pill.
Even from the bench, Shutoku's Takao glanced at the suddenly energized Fukuda Sogo and smirked.
"Unbelievable… just having that guy show up changes their entire atmosphere."
"Hmph." Midorima adjusted his glasses. "He does have that ability. Fukuda Sogo's rise is largely because of him."
Takao tilted his head. "So, what level do you think he's at now?"
Midorima narrowed his eyes.
"We'll find out soon enough."
Haizaki casually adjusted his waistband and smiled lightly at his opponent. Across from him, Aomine Daiki stared back with narrowed eyes.
There was something different.
A subtle change.
But he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Still, Haizaki looked more relaxed than before. And that relaxation… could also be interpreted as arrogance.
So annoying…
Aomine clicked his tongue internally.
But at the same time… this guy's the real deal.
Haizaki was annoying. Haizaki was cocky. But Haizaki was also someone you couldn't afford to take lightly.
And that made Aomine look forward to this even more.
"Let's start, Aomine!" Momoi's voice echoed.
"Heh… finally."
Fukuda Sogo's Karasu jumped against Tōō's Wakamatsu Kousuke. Suzuran Karasu soared higher and secured the tip. Before even landing, the ball had already been passed out.
And of course, it went straight to Haizaki Shogo.
Haizaki caught the ball, and his teammates immediately spread into position without hesitation. No one worried about turnovers. That level of trust came from experience.
Haizaki dribbled slowly, casually guiding Aomine toward the paint. He could clearly feel it.
Aomine had grown again.
His focus and his presence were sharper than before.
"You've improved," Haizaki said lightly.
"Tch. You talk like you're some kind of expert," Aomine shot back.
"Am I not?"
"Are you?"
"Ahahaha."
Then, without warning, Haizaki suddenly pulled up from long range. It was a quick step-back motion with a smooth, effortless rhythm.
And then—
He released a three-pointer.
B O O M!
There was no hesitation. No wasted motion.
Pure flow.
He landed and turned away immediately. Fukuda Sogo also sprinted back on defense, already preparing for Tōō's counterattack.
Aomine stood frozen for a split second.
His eyes widened.
That shot…
It felt strangely perfect. Not flashy. Not forced. Just… flawless timing and execution. He didn't even know if it was his imagination, but the feeling struck him instinctively.
From the bench, Midorima Shintaro narrowed his eyes.
"That form…"
He adjusted his glasses slightly.
"It resembles perfect Man-and-ball unity… but it isn't fully there yet."
Still, something about it made even him uneasy.
Tōō quickly advanced the ball. Imayoshi Shoichi brought it up, and it eventually reached Aomine.
Haizaki stood in front of him once again.
Calm.
Still.
No wasted movement.
Like a locked gate.
Aomine's skin tingled.
This defense… there's no opening.
He took three deep breaths.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Then—
BOOM!
He exploded forward.
A drive to the right.
One step.
Then another.
He broke through Haizaki's defense and rose toward the basket. The ball dropped cleanly through the hoop.
Haizaki paused before smirking faintly.
So he's reached that level already…
Aomine had just used a micro-level flow synchronization—a partial version of Haizaki's own Man-and-ball coordination technique. It wasn't as refined. It wasn't as stable.
But it was there.
And for Aomine…
It was enough.
From the sidelines, Midorima saw it clearly. His fingers twitched slightly.
Not fear.
Not shock.
But recognition.
Another one has stepped into that threshold.
Haizaki grabbed the inbound pass again and looked at Aomine.
"Not bad. You picked it up faster than I expected. I thought you'd need until Winter Cup." Aomine's eyes sharpened.
"Winter Cup? Are you looking down on me?"
Haizaki laughed. "Hahaha. No. I'm actually impressed."
He tilted his head slightly.
"And maybe even relieved."
Aomine clicked his tongue. "That's more like it."
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