Chapter 88: Trading Threes
Reo Mibuchi caught the basketball. Facing the shorter Seijuro Akashi, he didn’t hesitate at all, completely ignoring Akashi as he jumped high into the air.
Akashi initially intended to jump and contest the shot, but when he saw the height of Mibuchi’s jump and the slight tilt of his body in midair, he abandoned the idea—there was no way he could block it.
As expected, Mibuchi’s shot dropped cleanly through the hoop. Three points.
From the stands:
“Reo-senpai’s three-pointer is still sharp as ever!”
“Yeah, his accuracy hasn’t dropped at all!”
“Come to think of it, doesn’t Teikō have a three-point sharpshooter too? I still remember that move where he turns around right after shooting.”
Teppei Kiyoshi watched the shot go in, a faint smile appearing on his face.
‘Mibuchi… so this is your answer?’
On the court.
Without overthinking, Seijuro Akashi dribbled past half court and passed the ball to Shintaro Midorima.
Midorima caught the ball and found himself facing Reo Mibuchi.
Mibuchi lowered his stance slightly, his right hand hovering near Midorima’s waist. With a faint smile, he spoke casually,
“Kid, I hear you’re a shooter too. I wonder how accurate you really are.”
Shintaro Midorima wasn’t affected by Mibuchi’s words at all. He replied calmly,
“Obey fate.”
Mibuchi was momentarily thrown off.
“What?”
In that brief moment of hesitation, Midorima suddenly jumped straight up.
Mibuchi reacted instantly and jumped as well, trying to contest the shot.
But because he jumped a beat late, he could only watch as Midorima released the ball.
Mibuchi stared at the exaggerated arc of the shot, shock flickering in his eyes.
‘What kind of trajectory is that…?’
After releasing the ball, Midorima pushed up his glasses and spoke evenly,
“Do everything you can.”
With that, he turned and ran back on defense.
Mibuchi was genuinely puzzled. He couldn’t understand what Midorima meant—and even more so, why Midorima had already turned to defend before the ball went in.
How confident did someone have to be to do that?
Swish!
The basketball dropped through the net.
“Huh? It went in?”
Mibuchi looked at the hoop in surprise, clearly taken aback by the result.
Suddenly, his pupils contracted slightly, his body trembling as a surge of battle intent erupted from deep within.
‘Interesting… really interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this.’
Mibuchi fixed his burning gaze on Midorima, a smile spreading across his face as he muttered,
“Superstitious kid, let’s really go at it.”
Possession changed.
After Rakuzan’s point guard crossed half court, he passed the ball to Reo Mibuchi without hesitation.
Holding the ball, Mibuchi looked at the serious Midorima and smiled faintly.
“Superstitious kid, you’re pretty confident in your shot.”
As he spoke, Mibuchi jumped.
Midorima immediately followed, leaping up to contest the shot.
Suddenly, Midorima’s green eyes narrowed—as if he’d seen something shocking.
In midair, Mibuchi leaned his body slightly backward, assuming a clear fadeaway posture.
Then, with a smooth push of his right hand, he released the ball. The entire motion was fluid and decisive.
Mibuchi’s shot carried a sense of softness and elegance, pleasing to the eye.
‘A… fadeaway?!’
Midorima stared in shock as Mibuchi drifted away from him, watching the ball leave his fingertips.
‘Perfect form… it’s going in.’
As a top-tier shooter, Midorima knew instantly—this shot was good.
Swish!
Just as expected, the basketball fell cleanly through the hoop.
After scoring, Mibuchi let out a soft chuckle and said,
“Superstitious kid, how was my 【Heaven】?”
Midorima paused in confusion.
“【Heaven】?”
Mibuchi simply smiled and nodded, saying nothing more as he turned and headed back to his half.
Midorima pushed up his glasses. Ever since Miyamoto Tokima, he hadn’t encountered another shooting guard who ignited this level of fighting spirit in him.
Next possession.
Midorima caught the ball and jumped without hesitation.
Mibuchi leapt with effort, but he was still just a bit short of Midorima’s release point.
Watching Midorima turn back on defense as the ball went in, Mibuchi curved his lips into a smile.
‘Interesting. This is the first time I’ve seen someone with a higher release point than mine—and he’s only a first-year.’
Midorima kept delivering shock after shock, continuously fueling Mibuchi’s competitive drive.
On the next play, Mibuchi once again used 【Heaven】, smoothly sinking another three without the slightest drag.
Midorima refused to fall behind, answering back with another three-pointer right in Mibuchi’s face on the following possession.
The court had completely turned into a battlefield of raining threes.
Mibuchi kept scoring from deep with 【Heaven】, while Midorima responded again and again with his high-arcing three-pointers.
The two traded shots relentlessly, thrilling the crowd. It was the first time anyone had seen a first quarter almost entirely composed of three-point shots.
“How many threes have they hit already?”
“No idea. Ever since Murasakibara dunked once at the start, it’s been nothing but threes from these two.”
“Seriously, their accuracy is ridiculous. Not a single miss so far.”
On the court.
Rakuzan’s first-year substitute stood there with his mouth wide open, shock written all over his face.
“That Teikō number 11… he’s actually trading threes with Reo-senpai. They’re both first-years—how is the gap this big?”
Another Rakuzan reserve said in a low voice,
“It’s hard to believe anyone can duel Reo-senpai from three. And he’s been using 【Heaven】 nonstop—that has to consume a lot of stamina.”
A second-year Rakuzan reserve observed the situation and shook his head.
“No. Teikō’s number 11 is in worse shape. His stamina is already starting to give out.”
The others turned their eyes toward the court.
With one minute left in the first quarter, Shintaro Midorima was already breathing heavily.
To avoid being blocked by Mibuchi, every one of Midorima’s shots required a full-power jump.
At the same time, on defense, he also had to jump with everything he had to try and contest Mibuchi’s 【Heaven】.
As a result, Midorima’s stamina was draining rapidly.
And it wasn’t just him—Reo Mibuchi’s stamina was also being consumed at a frightening pace.
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