Chapter 130: The Defeat of the Venomous Snakes
Dicky Anthony’s unwillingness wasn’t just because he couldn’t beat the Black Emperor Dragon Team.
What frustrated him even more was his inability to control his own Animal Instinct.
Whenever he activated Animal Instinct, he completely lost control over his body.
He could only watch as it carried out a series of actions on its own.
He couldn’t interfere at all—the only thing he could do was forcibly withdraw from the Animal Instinct state.
In the past, he always exited that state after defeating his opponent.
But today, he was beaten back into normalcy by sheer force.
Against Nash Gold’s defense, his poisonous fangs had completely lost their power.
He had become nothing more than a toothless snake.
That was the source of his frustration.
What truly drove him into despair wasn’t Nash Gold’s suffocating defense, but Miyamoto Tokima and Jason Silver.
After activating Animal Instinct, he felt an extremely dangerous aura coming from Jason Silver.
He knew very clearly what it was—Animal Instinct, an Animal Instinct far surpassing his own.
He had once believed that Jason Silver’s Animal Instinct was already the strongest in the world.
That belief held—until he saw Miyamoto Tokima.
From Miyamoto Tokima, he sensed no other presence at all.
Only one thing remained—an aura of pure despair.
He felt that in front of Miyamoto Tokima’s Animal Instinct, his own might not even be able to breathe.
Once he realized this, he fell completely into despair.
He knew with absolute certainty that today’s match was a guaranteed loss.
The only thing he could do was score as much as possible, so that his team wouldn’t lose too disgracefully.
That was why he had continued to maintain Animal Instinct.
But after being shut down again and again by Nash Gold’s defense,
he understood that Miyamoto Tokima and the others no longer intended to let him score.
So he withdrew from Animal Instinct and quietly waited for defeat to arrive.
...............
On the court.
In the second quarter, Miyamoto Tokima and the others continuously fed the ball to Shuzo Nijimura,
allowing him to attack nonstop and rack up points.
Dicky Anthony already knew how the game would end.
Resigned to his fate, he went through the motions on defense, then let Shuzo Nijimura blow past him for easy scores.
Some of the Venomous Snakes players questioned him about what was going on, and he told them the truth.
They fell into silence instantly, struggling to accept reality.
But as the game continued, they gradually accepted it............
Because Shuzo Nijimura…… had run out of strength………
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“Beep! Game over! Black Emperor Dragon Team wins! Final score: 108–30!”
The Venomous Snakes players collapsed onto the floor, staring at the scoreboard in resignation.
All 30 of their points had been scored in the first quarter and the early part of the second.
Almost all of them came from Dicky Anthony.
Because in the second half, the Black Emperor Dragon Team had made them truly understand what despair meant.
Titus Monroe’s [Hawk Eyes] were completely blinded,
entirely dominated by Nash Gold’s [Belial Eye].
Coupled with Nash Gold’s zero-preparation passes, the Venomous Snakes had no time to react at all.
Jason Silver no longer hid his strength, fully displaying his power.
With the support of [Divine Physique], he bombarded the Venomous Snakes’ interior.
Miyamoto Tokima scored with ease, casually using a few techniques that sent everyone’s imagination running wild.
Even his ultra-fast shot was given a name: [Instant Strike].
Zack and Nick repeatedly opened fire from the perimeter, stirring up wave after wave of offense.
Judith Gall tried to ease the pressure with his[Cannon Shot], but Miyamoto Tokima completely shattered his plan.
Miyamoto Tokima and Nick switched defensive assignments, completely locking down the Venomous Snakes’ last trace of offense.
From that point on, the snake’s fangs were completely pulled out, and the Black Emperor Dragon Team claimed victory without suspense.
After the game.
Dicky Anthony walked up to Shuzo Nijimura, extended his hand, and said with a relieved expression,
“Congratulations on the win. I just hope that in the future, you won’t toy with others just because you have a bit of strength.”
“If you clearly have ability, why pretend otherwise?”
Shuzo Nijimura shook his hand in confusion, completely lost as to what he meant.
Zack reacted first and explained,
“You’ve misunderstood. Nijimura really is that weak. Back then, the reason he suddenly seemed different was because he entered a powered-up state, not because he was trying to mess with you.”
Dicky Anthony froze, then asked in confusion,
“Is that so?”
Shuzo Nijimura finally understood what Dicky Anthony had meant and nodded.
“So that’s how it is. Zack’s right—I entered a power-up state back then. I wasn’t pretending to be weak.”
After understanding the truth, Dicky Anthony scratched his head awkwardly.
So it turned out he’d misunderstood everything. He’d thought Shuzo Nijimura was deliberately playing weak, when in reality… he really was weak……
“Still, being able to break out like that under those circumstances is impressive. I hope we can be friends.”
With that, Dicky Anthony pulled out his phone, ready to exchange contact information with Shuzo Nijimura.
“It would be my honor.”
Shuzo Nijimura gladly took out his phone as well, and the two exchanged contact details.
From then on, the two formed a deep friendship, often playing basketball together or grabbing meals whenever they had time.
................
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a year had passed.
Over the course of that year, the Black Emperor Dragon Team continued to battle through the American streetball scene,
leaving behind a resounding reputation.
Aside from Miyamoto Tokima, who was taking a laid-back approach to growth, every other member of the team trained relentlessly.
Their strength increased rapidly, and Shuzo Nijimura was no exception.
Now, whenever Shuzo Nijimura wanted to score, he could freely enter Zone mode.
His stamina had also increased dramatically—he could now maintain the Zone for a full one and a half quarters.
Being able to stay in the Zone for that long was nothing short of terrifying.
After all, even in the original story, no one could maintain a fully activated Zone for an entire quarter.
Over the course of the year, Miyamoto Tokima himself also came to roughly understand what those “skills” others imagined him to have actually were.
The first was his Divinity, [Black Dragon].
The condition to activate it was simple: Miyamoto Tokima taking the game seriously.
The moment he became earnest, others perceived it as him activating his Divinity.
Of course, what people saw differed from person to person.
Ordinary people only saw a mass of black mist.
Regular basketball players saw a massive shadow with blood-red eyes.
Only top-tier experts like Nash Gold and Jason Silver could see Miyamoto Tokima’s Divinity—[Black Dragon].
But whether this was the complete form of his Divinity, Miyamoto Tokima himself didn’t know.
Because up to now, only Jason Silver and Nash Gold had ever seen the Black Dragon.
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