Chapter 80: Unleashing Animal Instinct
With that alley-oop dunk, the atmosphere in the arena was ignited once again.
“So cool! That was way too cool! That dunk felt amazing!!!”
“Woohoo! The Miyamoto–Aomine connection! That was insane!”
“Ahhh! Miyamoto Tokima is unbelievably handsome!!!”
The crowd roared as Teikō Middle School’s momentum surged to its peak.
The game continued. Following their coach’s instructions, Shōei’s players immediately double-teamed Miyamoto Tokima whenever he touched the ball.
However, they severely underestimated his passing ability. Even while trapped by two defenders, Miyamoto Tokima could still move the ball with pinpoint accuracy.
Because so much attention was focused on Miyamoto Tokima, Daiki Aomine was completely freed up. He kept scoring again and again, and just like that, the second quarter came to an end.
The score was now 51–33. Shōei trailed by a full eighteen points at halftime, with the game’s tempo entirely under Teikō Middle School’s control.
Halftime.
On Teikō’s side, the atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful, without the slightest hint of worry.
Daiki Aomine was still animatedly reenacting the alley-oop dunk from earlier.
“At that moment, I just flicked my right hand and the ball went straight into the hoop. That was insanely cool, right?!”
The Teikō players laughed as Daiki Aomine gestured excitedly, the mood calm and harmonious.
Satsuki Momoi chatted happily with Miyamoto Tokima, discussing where they should go hang out later that afternoon.
Atsushi Murasakibara opened a bag of potato chips and some Delicious Sticks and started eating.
Seijuro Akashi smiled as he talked quietly with Tetsuya Kuroko.
Nearby, Shuzo Nijimura was speaking with Shogo Haizaki about something in low voices.
Kozo Shirogane didn’t disturb them. He left the locker room together with the assistant coach.
On the other side, things were very different for Shōei.
All of Shōei’s players sat with their heads lowered, towels draped over their faces. Their coach kept talking beside them, but no one seemed to be listening.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
The Shōei coach clapped his hands hard and shouted,
“Get your heads back in the game! The score hasn’t reached the point of despair yet!”
“As long as the game isn’t over, we do not surrender! We fight until the very last second!”
“Are you going to tell Teikō? Tell the crowd that you’re cowards? Tell everyone that you’re a bunch of trash whose fighting spirit shatters the moment you’re hit?!”
The Shōei players were stirred by his words. They clenched their teeth, tightened their fists, and shouted together,
“No!”
The coach nodded in satisfaction.
“Then play the second half with everything you’ve got—until your last bit of strength is gone, until your final drop of sweat is spent!”
“Yes!!!”
Seeing their fighting spirit return, the Shōei coach began rearranging their tactics. Only after finishing did he leave the locker room.
Teppei Kiyoshi stood up and headed to the restroom.
While relieving himself, a familiar voice suddenly sounded.
“Teppei, you can’t win.”
Teppei Kiyoshi turned his head in confusion and looked at the man beside him, who was also using the restroom.
“Nebuya? What are you doing here? And what do you mean by that?”
Eikichi Nebuya pulled up his pants and spoke with a serious expression,
“Don’t overthink it. I’m not here to watch your game.”
Teppei Kiyoshi immediately replied,
“I… never said you were here to watch my game…”
Eikichi Nebuya froze for a moment. After clearing his throat twice, he continued,
“I’m actually here to watch my master’s match. Teppei, you have no chance of winning this game. Give up.”
Teppei Kiyoshi was puzzled. Since when did this guy even have a master?
“When did you get a master?”
Eikichi Nebuya replied,
“That’s none of your business. All you need to know is that you have zero chance of winning this match.”
Teppei Kiyoshi walked over to the sink, washed his hands, shook off the water, and smiled.
“I don’t know whether I can win or not. But I do know that if I give up now, then I truly have no chance at all.”
Eikichi Nebuya snorted.
“A pointless struggle.”
With that, he left the restroom.
Teppei Kiyoshi looked at himself in the mirror and smiled faintly.
“A… pointless struggle, huh…”
“Beep! The third quarter begins!”
The five Teikō players took the court together. After the halftime break, their stamina had mostly recovered, and they were ready to unleash their full strength in the third quarter to take control of the game.
Shōei’s starting five also stepped onto the court, prepared to fight Teikō to the bitter end.
Teikō Middle School ball.
Seijuro Akashi dribbled into the frontcourt, constantly shifting his rhythm to throw off Shōei’s point guard.
Suddenly, he exploded forward, driving hard from the right.
Shōei’s point guard hurried to keep up. Akashi glanced sideways and snapped his right wrist.
The ball flew accurately into the hands of Shuzo Nijimura, who was cutting to the basket.
“Nice!”
Shuzo Nijimura shouted as he used a smooth double-clutch layup to evade Teppei Kiyoshi’s help defense and score.
Teikō struck first.
“Teikō! Teikō! Teikō!”
The entire arena chanted Teikō’s name, as if cheering for a future emperor.
Possession changed. Shōei’s shooting guard ran continuously, and as he slipped past Teppei Kiyoshi once more, he found himself wide open.
Shōei’s point guard immediately passed the ball over.
The shooting guard caught it and jumped up to shoot at once.
Suddenly—
A dangerous aura spread across the court. A chilling sensation, like being targeted by a wild beast, surged through the shooting guard’s heart.
The point guard’s pupils widened, as if he had seen something terrifying.
‘H-how… how is this possible…’
Daiki Aomine burst forward, a faint blue glow spreading around him as he instantly appeared in front of the shooter.
He leapt high and swatted the shot away.
Bang!
The heavy impact echoed through the arena.
Seijuro Akashi caught the blocked ball and sprinted toward the frontcourt.
Shōei’s point guard chased desperately after him.
Just as Miyamoto Tokima was about to accelerate at full speed, he saw Daiki Aomine take off. Miyamoto Tokima immediately slowed down, handing the fast-break opportunity to Aomine.
After landing from the block, Daiki Aomine charged forward and, in an instant, surpassed Seijuro Akashi.
Without hesitation, Akashi sent the ball ahead to the sprinting Aomine.
Shōei’s point guard stared in disbelief, his mouth hanging open.
‘S-so fast…’
Daiki Aomine caught Akashi’s pass and stormed alone toward Shōei’s basket.
With no one under the rim, he gathered all his strength, leaped high, spun a full 360 degrees in midair, and slammed the ball through the hoop.
Boom!
The thunderous dunk shook the gym. After two seconds of stunned silence, the arena exploded into applause.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
“Teikō! Teikō! Teikō!”
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.