Chapter 92: Breaking Through [Earth]
“Beep! Out of bounds! Rakuzan ball!”
Miyamoto Tokima landed and shook his head in frustration. “Damn it… I used too much force.”
Reo Mibuchi stood there, his face filled with shock. The scene from just moments ago kept replaying in his mind as he muttered unconsciously,
“My [Heaven]… just like that… it was broken…”
He still couldn’t believe it. Miyamoto Tokima had dismantled his [Heaven] in a single exchange, and the impact left him deeply shaken.
Rakuzan inbounded the ball.
Reo quickly forced himself to calm down and prepared to attack again.
Rakuzan’s center passed the ball back to Reo.
The instant Reo caught it, Miyamoto Tokima was already on him.
Cold sweat trickled down Reo’s forehead. He didn’t dare shoot immediately.
Looking at Tokima’s calm, smiling face, Reo felt an intense sense of unease well up inside him.
The two remained locked in a standoff, neither making a move for a long moment.
As the shot clock continued to wind down, Reo finally stopped hesitating and committed to the attack.
He lightly jabbed his right foot forward in a probing step. Miyamoto Tokima didn’t react at all, still guarding him with that faint smile.
Reo took a deep breath and raised the ball into a shooting posture.
He lifted both hands sharply, as if he were about to shoot.
‘No reaction?’
Out of the corner of his eye, Reo watched Tokima’s defense and realized that Tokima had no intention of jumping at all. Reo lowered his hands.
He had originally planned to score using [Earth], but Tokima hadn’t bitten even slightly.
The plan failed.
Left with no choice, Reo raised the ball again and threw out another fake. When Tokima still didn’t move, Reo finally jumped high and activated [Heaven].
In midair, he leaned back slightly and snapped his right wrist, sending the ball out.
As the ball left his hand, a flicker of joy rose in Reo’s heart.
But just as he thought the shot was guaranteed, a dark shadow shattered that hope.
Miyamoto Tokima only jumped after Reo had fully left the ground. Despite jumping later, he reached out and caught Reo’s [Heaven] in midair.
Yes… caught it.
Tokima grabbed the ball cleanly out of the air. The moment he did, he accelerated explosively, streaking toward Rakuzan’s frontcourt.
Reo landed, his pupils trembling. He stood there like a statue, his lips shaking uncontrollably.
No one on the court could keep up with Tokima’s speed. All they could do was watch as he slammed the ball through the hoop.
On Rakuzan’s bench, everyone stared with mouths agape, disbelief written all over their faces.
After a moment, a first-year finally spoke in a trembling voice,
“Reo-senpai’s [Heaven]… was completely broken…”
“No… it’s not just [Heaven]…”
The second-year substitute swallowed hard, his eyes filled with shock and fear.
Because he had realized something even worse—
Reo-senpai’s [Earth]… had been broken as well.
“Reo-senpai’s [Earth]… it’s been broken too…”
“What?!”
“It’s because that ‘Magic Cube’ monster has terrifying jumping ability. He blocked [Heaven] even though Reo-senpai jumped first. That means…”
“That means Reo-senpai’s [Earth] has completely lost its effect…”
The first-year still didn’t fully understand and hurriedly asked,
“Why?”
The fear in the second-year’s eyes only deepened.
“[Earth] only works when the defender is afraid of [Heaven].
They fear Reo-senpai’s [Heaven], so they get baited into jumping by [Earth]. That’s how it works.
But if the defender isn’t afraid of [Heaven] anymore… then [Earth] becomes completely useless…”
The first-year finally understood. Realizing that [Earth] had been sealed as well, panic set in completely.
“No… no way… then doesn’t that mean…”
The second-year closed his eyes with difficulty and nodded.
“Yeah… this game…”
...
“Not yet.”
A hoarse voice rang out from the court.
Reo Mibuchi spoke.
Rakuzan’s point guard turned to look at him.
Reo’s hair was disheveled. His eyes were chilling, his teeth clenched tightly, giving him a nearly unhinged look.
“Reo-senpai, you—”
“It’s not over. Give me the ball.”
Reo cut him off sharply.
The point guard stared at Reo in fear. He had never seen him like this before.
It was obvious—Reo had been completely broken by Miyamoto Tokima’s defense. Now, there was only one thought left in his mind.
Break through Miyamoto Tokima.
Inbound.
Reo caught the pass and glared at Tokima, grinding his teeth.
“You bastard!”
Sensing Reo’s emotional turmoil, Tokima smiled slightly and spoke calmly,
“You know… letting your emotions control you on the basketball court isn’t a good thing.”
Reo froze, not yet understanding what Tokima meant.
Suddenly—
The ball vanished from his hands.
Slap!
Reo’s expression changed drastically as he panicked and looked toward the one who had stolen the ball.
When he saw the blue-haired Tetsuya Kuroko suddenly appear behind him, Reo was completely stunned, standing there helplessly as Kuroko and Miyamoto Tokima connected for the score.
“When did he get there?!”
A Rakuzan first-year shot to his feet, utterly confused.
No one on the court had noticed when Kuroko slipped behind Reo. His presence was simply too faint.
Sensing that things were going wrong, Rakuzan’s coach immediately called a timeout.
“Next, run pick-and-rolls. Let Reo attack off mismatches.”
The coach adjusted the strategy, deciding to stop having Reo face Miyamoto Tokima head-on.
Tokima’s defense was simply too terrifying. Even watching from the sidelines, the coach could feel the pressure radiating from him.
He glanced in Tokima’s direction and sighed inwardly.
“What an unbelievable talent… Shirogane, you lucky bastard.”
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