Chapter 215 - 217

Chapter 215: The Rational Use of Eloquence

Daiki Aomine stared at the two massive gates in front of him.

Because of the strange feeling the black mist gate had given him earlier, he instinctively walked toward the other gate.

But just as he reached it, the dark shadow appeared again and blocked his way.

Aomine cursed immediately.

“Damn it! If I ever find out who you are—!”

With no other option, he turned and walked toward the black mist gate.

Before approaching it, he swallowed nervously. The pressure that gate had given him before was terrifying.

But this time, something was different.

Instead of pressure, he walked toward it with surprising ease.

Even stranger, the gatekeeper didn’t stop him this time. Instead, it stepped aside.

Aomine frowned, confused.

Still, confusion didn’t stop him.

He stretched both hands forward, pressed them against the gate—

and pushed with all his strength!!!

...

Yeah.

It didn’t open.

Retreat!!!

Darkness filled Aomine’s vision again. When he regained awareness, he found himself back on the basketball court.

Questions immediately flooded his mind.

What exactly was that black mist gate?

Who was that gatekeeper?

And why couldn’t he push the gate open?

Unfortunately, this was still the middle of a game. He had no time to think about it.

After exchanging a glance with Miyamoto, Aomine moved forward to defend Murasakibara again.

Murasakibara showed no mercy.

He repeatedly backed Aomine down with brute force, bullied his way under the basket, and finished with a hook shot.

On Tōō’s side, the offense still revolved around Aomine.

As a result, the third quarter turned into a direct duel between Murasakibara and Aomine.

Murasakibara couldn’t stop Aomine once Zone and Animal Instinct were active.

But Aomine could seize opportunities to steal the ball during Murasakibara’s post-ups.

This made things extremely uncomfortable for Murasakibara.

Later on, Tōō’s other players even started helping Aomine, combining their strength to resist Murasakibara’s power.

Murasakibara, however, had completely lost his composure and refused to pass.

Because of that, he failed to score a single point in the last two minutes.

He was completely suppressed.

The score became 93–55.

The gap remained enormous.

“Beep! End of the third quarter!”

The referee blew the whistle.

Both teams’ starters returned to the bench to rest.

...

After sitting down, Momoi glanced at the scoreboard and the renewed fighting spirit in Tōō’s players before calmly saying,

“In the fourth quarter, Haizaki and Nijimura-senpai will take the lead on offense.”

“If anyone else gets an open look, move the ball.”

Haizaki looked surprised.

“Wait, Momoi… you—”

Momoi narrowed her eyes and smiled gently.

“I think it’s about time.”

“After all… they’ve already seen hope.”

Haizaki and the others swallowed.

For the first time, they felt like they were seeing Momoi differently.

Using the gentlest words…

to execute the cruelest strategy.

Destroy their spirit.

Momoi clearly intended for them to push harder and completely crush Tōō’s last bit of hope.

Leave nothing behind.

...

On the other side, Harasawa had also figured something out.

Getting Aomine to give up the ball entirely was impossible.

And unrealistic.

Because the rest of Tōō simply didn’t have the ability to score against Kirisaki Daiichi’s defense.

But passing didn’t mean teammates had to attack.

Passing and attacking were two different things.

And judging from the current situation, whenever Aomine passed the ball, the team would gain far more options.

If Aomine passed to an open teammate while being double-teamed, that teammate could:

take the open shot.

Or pass the ball back to Aomine for another attack.

That meant multiple options—not just one.

(Some people think that after passing, the teammate must attack. That’s wrong!)

(Passing means more choices. If you play solo, you only have one option. But if you pass and reorganize the offense—or give the ball to an open teammate—you suddenly have many.)

(Don’t forget—you have four teammates.)

“Aomine, listen carefully. In the fourth quarter, you can pass the ball, because…”

After explaining the advantages and options of passing, Harasawa asked,

“Do you understand, Aomine?”

Aomine didn’t respond.

He remained silent, clearly still thinking.

Harasawa didn’t press further.

Changing the mindset of a genius was never easy.

For ordinary people, change was simple—they understood they had flaws that needed correction.

But geniuses were different.

They excelled in one area to an extreme, and their personalities tended to become stubborn.

Tōō’s entire bench fell into silence.

Harasawa didn’t even bother arranging tactics.

There was no point.

If Aomine refused to pass, what tactics could they possibly run?

Everything…

would be left to fate.

...

“Beep! Fourth quarter begins! Both teams, please return to the court!”

Nijimura smiled when he heard the whistle.

“My turn.”

Haizaki grinned.

“Nijimura-senpai, I’m here too.”

Hanamiya gave a sinister smile and put down the book in his hand.

“Looks like I can try some new techniques again.”

Curious, Miyamoto glanced at the book Hanamiya had just set down.

The title read:

The Rational Use of Eloquence

Miyamoto opened the first page out of curiosity.

…

Six pages in.

Pure national-level profanity.

And all locally produced.

What’s the difference between this and hiding adult content inside a “Five Years of Exam Questions, Three Years of Simulation” workbook?

This is practically helping pe—

No.

This is absolutely harmful to society!

Miyamoto shut the book with a dark expression.

“Disgraceful… truly disgraceful.”

...

Kirisaki Daiichi kept the same lineup as before, with Dicky Anthony resting.

Dicky Anthony was still in a state of “enlightenment,” quietly contemplating his Animal Instinct.

Tōō also sent out their full starting lineup.

The reason their stamina looked so good was simple.

For the first three quarters, almost everything had been handled by Aomine.

The only one truly exhausted was Aomine himself.

Zone and Animal Instinct had consumed most of his energy.

It was unlikely he could activate them again in the fourth quarter.

Aomine knew his condition clearly.

Activating Zone and Animal Instinct for the entire fourth quarter was impossible.

If he did, he might collapse after one minute.

Thinking about this, Aomine glanced at his teammates.

Could it be…

that I really have to rely on them?

After thinking for a moment—

Aomine finally made his decision.

...

Chapter 216: [Pillage]??

“No… they can’t score against Miyamoto and the others. I’ll have to do it myself!”

Daiki Aomine ultimately decided to take full control of the offense.

The game resumed.

Kirisaki Daiichi had the first possession.

This time, Miyamoto played small forward, while Shuzo Nijimura took the power forward position.

Makoto Hanamiya remained the point guard.

After receiving the inbound, Hanamiya dribbled the ball across half court and immediately began scanning his teammates’ positions.

This was a point guard’s fundamental skill.

Court vision.

When he spotted Shogo Haizaki slipping into open space, Hanamiya casually flicked his wrist, sending the ball straight into Haizaki’s hands.

The moment the pass left his hands, Shoichi Imayoshi spoke up, sounding like he was getting revenge for the previous quarter.

“What’s this, Hanamiya? You actually passed? Don’t tell me you’re just a decorative piece on this team too.”

Hanamiya gave him a look as if he were staring at an idiot and replied matter-of-factly,

“I am a decorative piece.”

Now it was Imayoshi’s turn to be stunned.

Makoto Hanamiya, the guy with such a huge ego, actually admitted it?!

Hanamiya continued looking at him with that same “concern for an idiot” expression and sneered,

“You really think you’d get the ball among this group?”

Imayoshi froze.

Damn. That actually made sense.

Among this group of monsters, the ones who got the ball were geniuses, and the ones who truly controlled possession were the strongest players.

In a group like this, if you weren’t a decorative piece, what else could you be?

Noticing the change in Imayoshi’s expression, Hanamiya continued mocking him.

“There’s nothing shameful about being a decorative piece. But you? Your team only has one genius, and you hog all the ball possession.”

“How exactly did you become captain…?”

“If the captain’s this pathetic, I can’t imagine what you were like as a teammate.”

Imayoshi’s face darkened even further.

Hanamiya might not be using dirty tricks anymore, but his trash talk was absolutely disgusting.

And in Imayoshi’s opinion, the trash talk was even worse than the dirty tricks.

Dirty tricks at least meant Hanamiya had to be careful—one mistake and he’d get ejected.

But trash talk?

Trash talk meant he could only stand there getting disgusted while not daring to retaliate. The moment he did something, he’d be the one getting sent off.

So what could he do?

Endure.

Meanwhile.

Shogo Haizaki held the ball, facing Yoshinori Susa’s defense without the slightest concern. Instead, a different idea surfaced in his mind.

A mysterious smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

“[Formless]… and streetball?”

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Haizaki began dribbling, the ball striking the floor with crisp echoes.

Suddenly, Susa felt something strangely familiar about Haizaki’s movements.

It looked like…

Streetball.

Wait.

Streetball?!

Susa stared blankly as Haizaki blew past him using streetball-style moves and drove straight toward the paint.

After beating Susa, Haizaki suddenly pulled up for a jump shot.

Kosuke Wakamatsu immediately rotated over to help, cutting off Haizaki’s scoring lane.

Haizaki’s lips curled upward.

In his mind, the movements of that person appeared.

Then—

In midair, Haizaki suddenly changed his posture, supporting the ball sideways with his right hand before violently flicking it out.

The basketball shot toward the hoop and slammed off the rim before dropping in.

Wakamatsu’s mouth fell open as he stared in disbelief.

“Fo… Formless!”

Daiki Aomine’s eyes sharpened as well, though no one knew what he was thinking.

Off the court.

Kaijō High.

Ryota Kise unconsciously stood up, completely stunned.

“H-He actually… he actually used [Formless]!”

For a moment, Kise felt like his entire worldview was collapsing.

Wasn’t Haizaki supposed to have less talent than him?

Then how could Haizaki now use the same [Formless] that Kise could only achieve through [Copy]?

And the Animal Instinct that Kise himself didn’t possess—

Haizaki had that too!

On Shūtoku’s side.

After seeing Haizaki use [Formless], Shintaro Midorima closed his eyes and murmured inwardly,

“Akashi… your decision was truly wrong.”

On Seirin’s side.

Every member of Seirin High was stunned.

Aomine’s [Formless] had already been overwhelming enough for them to deal with.

And now someone from Kirisaki Daiichi could use it too.

This Kirisaki Daiichi was terrifying.

Amid the shock, a hesitant voice spoke up.

Shinji Koganei said weakly,

“Um… if I remember correctly… Haizaki’s ability is [Pillage], right?”

The moment those words came out, everyone became even more shocked.

Junpei Hyuga blurted out,

“That’s right! Haizaki’s skill is [Pillage]! And now he used [Formless], which means… Aomine…!”

“Gulp.”

The sound of people swallowing nervously echoed one after another.

They couldn’t believe it.

Someone had actually managed to [Pillage] Daiki Aomine’s [Formless]!

Just as everyone was beginning to accept that possibility, Tetsuya Kuroko spoke.

“Not necessarily.”

“Haizaki-kun’s [Pillage] works by applying pressure to the opponent, making it difficult for them to score under that pressure.”

“But Aomine-kun isn’t afraid of pressure.”

“In fact, he tends to grow stronger because of it.”

On the court.

Tōō High had possession.

As the ball was about to be inbounded, Aomine immediately stretched out his hand, asking for it.

After a brief hesitation, Wakamatsu eventually passed the ball to him.

Aomine didn’t charge forward like before.

Instead, he slowly dribbled past half court.

The reason was simple.

He was recovering stamina.

Just as Nijimura was about to step up to defend, Haizaki suddenly blocked him.

“Nijimura-senpai, let me take this.”

Haizaki wanted to see it.

He wanted to see what Aomine looked like after losing [Formless].

Nijimura naturally understood what he was thinking and stepped aside.

“…Sigh, Haizaki. Looks like you’re about to be disappointed.”

Nijimura couldn’t help shaking his head.

He didn’t believe Haizaki’s pressure could stop Aomine from scoring.

If anything, Haizaki’s actions would only make Aomine even more fired up.

Aomine dribbled the ball until he stood directly in front of Haizaki.

A cold smile hung on Haizaki’s face as he looked at him with undisguised glee.

“Aomine, let me see… can you still use [Formless]?”

Aomine replied calmly,

“Haizaki… you’re still too arrogant.”

As soon as the words fell, Aomine exploded forward in an instant, launching a sudden drive.

Haizaki reacted half a beat too late.

Even though he tried to chase him down, he was still half a step behind.

Aomine seized that tiny gap and jumped.

Haizaki leapt as well, attempting the block.

But in midair, Aomine twisted his body, releasing the basketball in a completely irregular motion.

[Formless Shot]!

............

Chapter 217: Head-to-Head!

Shogo Haizaki watched the ball arc through the air with curiosity, almost as if he were hoping Daiki Aomine would miss.

But things didn’t go his way.

Aomine’s shot dropped cleanly through the hoop.

Haizaki sighed.

“Just as I thought.”

He understood his own ability well. At its core, it was simply using someone else’s moves and applying pressure.

But against opponents stronger than himself, that pressure weakened considerably.

Take Aomine for example. Aomine simply didn’t care whether Haizaki used his moves or not—it didn’t affect him in the slightest.

When Haizaki’s [Pillage] couldn’t put pressure on someone, or when the opponent could easily withstand that pressure, then his [Pillage] essentially turned into [Copy].

Satsuki Momoi had been the one who explained that to him.

After scoring, Aomine turned his head and said,

“Haizaki, not everyone’s skills can be [Pillaged]!”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Haizaki wasn’t angry. Instead, his fighting spirit burned even stronger.

Shuzo Nijimura had been about to comfort him, but when he saw the smile on Haizaki’s face, he decided not to say anything.

Possession switched.

Makoto Hanamiya dribbled across half court with a dark expression. The moment he crossed the line, he passed the ball to Miyamoto.

Miyamoto caught the ball and, without the slightest hesitation, immediately raised his hand and shot.

Yoshinori Susa, who had just gotten into his defensive stance, froze.

That fast?!

The ball swished cleanly through the hoop.

“Ball!”

Aomine shouted immediately.

Kosuke Wakamatsu didn’t hesitate and quickly passed the ball in.

The moment Aomine received it, he burst toward the frontcourt.

Nijimura hurried after him.

“This brat… does he really not care about burning through all his stamina?”

When Nijimura realized that Aomine’s normal speed was already faster than his own, he paused for a moment.

Then he sighed.

“Fine. Let you see mine too.”

The moment he finished speaking, lightning flashed in Nijimura’s eyes, and a powerful aura erupted from his body.

Zone!

After entering the Zone, Nijimura’s speed surged instantly, and he caught up to Aomine in moments.

He spread his arms and took a defensive stance.

“Aomine, don’t underestimate me.”

Aomine stopped his fast break. The corner of his mouth lifted as he smiled.

“Nijimura-senpai, so you’ve opened that door too!”

“In that case…”

Before he finished speaking, Aomine took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again.

Blue lightning flickered within his gaze.

Nijimura asked,

“Aomine, aren’t you afraid of exhausting your stamina?”

Aomine, now in the Zone, was breathing heavily. It was obvious that simply activating the Zone in the fourth quarter had already drained most of his strength.

He probably couldn’t maintain it for even three minutes.

Aomine kept panting, but he still smiled.

“Haha… Of course I’m not afraid.”

“Right now, all I want is to have a proper showdown with you, Nijimura-senpai!”

Nijimura asked back,

“Even if it means losing the game?”

Aomine glanced at the scoreboard, where the score gap was still huge, and murmured,

“Next time… I’ll beat you.”

After hearing that, Nijimura didn’t say anything else.

Because Aomine had already made it clear.

This game… he had lost.

But before losing, he still wanted a real battle with Nijimura.

How could Nijimura refuse such a request from his junior?

Nijimura smiled.

“As you wish.”

Boom!

After hearing that, Aomine stopped holding back.

While in the Zone, he activated Animal Instinct again!

If previously he could maintain the Zone for about two and a half minutes, now he probably couldn’t last even a minute.

There was no helping it.

The stamina consumption was simply too great.

Nijimura, on the other hand, made no move.

Why didn’t he activate Animal Instinct?

Simple.

He didn’t know how.

After activating Animal Instinct, Aomine’s eyes became even sharper.

The basketball in his hand moved without any fixed rhythm, then suddenly he exploded forward and drove hard to the right.

Just as Nijimura followed him, a figure suddenly appeared.

Kosuke Wakamatsu.

He was trying to set a screen for Aomine!

Nijimura immediately noticed and dodged the screen with a nimble step.

But that brief movement left him completely behind Aomine.

Haizaki was just about to help defend when a thin figure suddenly stepped in front of him.

“S-sorry! Sorry!”

Haizaki looked down and saw Ryo Sakurai nervously apologizing over and over.

Atsushi Murasakibara wanted to move as well, but the moment he tried, Yoshinori Susa and Shoichi Imayoshi blocked him at the same time.

The two fought desperately for position, blocking him with everything they had.

Of course, their strength wasn’t enough to truly stop Murasakibara.

At best, they could delay him for a moment.

Hanamiya had been left open, so he immediately moved in to help defend.

Miyamoto, however, made no move to help.

He simply stood there, quietly watching everyone’s movements.

Originally, Imayoshi had planned to send two players to block Miyamoto.

But Miyamoto had suddenly walked up to him and said:

“Go stop Murasakibara. I won’t interfere.”

After hearing that, Imayoshi immediately changed the defensive assignment.

He wasn’t worried Miyamoto was lying.

With Miyamoto’s strength, there was no need for him to deceive anyone.

As for why Miyamoto didn’t help defend…

Because he simply didn’t need to.

Aomine didn’t care about Hanamiya’s help defense at all.

Behind him, the Black Panther opened its mouth and roared, as if telling Hanamiya to get out of the way.

Hanamiya’s expression darkened.

So he’s looking down on me?

A pitch-black shadow appeared behind Hanamiya.

It was a black spider.

Around it spread countless spider webs.

Aomine’s pupils shrank slightly when he saw it.

Hanamiya immediately stepped forward to defend, his hands constantly interfering.

At the same time, the spider behind him began to move.

It spat countless strands of web toward the Black Panther, restricting its movements.

At first, the Black Panther was indeed restrained.

But it quickly broke free.

After all—

This was the Black Panther inside the Zone.

On the court.

After being delayed briefly by Hanamiya, Aomine used a spin move and instantly broke past him.

Then he leapt high toward the basket.

Hanamiya’s steal attempt failed, and Aomine completely blew past him.

But thanks to that brief delay from Hanamiya, someone managed to catch up.

Shuzo Nijimura.

Nijimura jumped alongside him, his arm reaching toward the ball in Aomine’s hand.

This time, Aomine had no intention of finishing with [Formless].

He wanted…

A head-on clash!

.........