Chapter 164 - 165
Chapter 164: Hope? Nothing More Than a Mixture of Desire and Expectation!
Ryota Kise was helped off the court by Yukio Kasamatsu.
Shogo Haizaki gave him a cold glance before turning and heading back onto the court.
In the stands.
Taiga Kagami’s expression darkened, his voice filled with worry.
“Damn it… Kise’s already run out of stamina?”
Riko Aida frowned, thought for a moment, then explained,
“Pressure.”
“All of Kaijō’s offensive burden was on Kise, and during the first quarter, when he was fighting Haizaki, he couldn’t afford to relax for even a second.”
“But the biggest reason was probably that Lightning Dribble just now.”
“He used Lightning Dribble a second time while moving. That kind of strain is extremely damaging to the knees.”
After hearing Riko Aida’s explanation, everyone’s expressions turned tense with concern.
On the court.
Ryota Kise collapsed onto the bench, cold sweat streaming down his face and dripping onto the floor, forming small puddles.
He greedily sucked in air, his breathing harsh and ragged.
His throat felt as if it were being scorched, unbearably dry and painful.
Unable to endure it, Kise grabbed the water bottle beside him and started gulping it down.
Yukio Kasamatsu immediately snatched the bottle away and scolded him,
“Are you trying to kill yourself?! Chugging water in this condition—do you think you’re going to live long like that?!”
Realizing how dangerous his actions were, Kise replied weakly,
“S-sorry…”
Seeing this, Kasamatsu’s expression filled with guilt, his chest tightening uncomfortably.
‘Kise…’
Kasamatsu glanced toward Kirisaki Daiichi’s bench, then finally made up his mind.
“Coach, let Kise rest.”
He spoke firmly.
The other Kaijō players didn’t object. They all felt that, in his current state, Ryota Kise truly needed a break.
But Kise himself couldn’t accept it.
He suddenly looked up, panic flashing across his face.
“Kasamatsu-senpai! Why?!”
Kasamatsu met his gaze, his expression unwavering.
“There’s no ‘why.’ If I tell you to come off, you come off.”
Kise immediately protested,
“Why?! I’m the only one who can score against them right now! If I come off—then the game… the game is completely over!”
“Idiot!”
Kasamatsu shouted.
Kise froze, stunned into silence.
Kasamatsu continued,
“Do you think you’re some kind of hero? That you’re special?”
“You put everything on yourself, push us aside, and face it all alone—what do you think we are?!”
“Let me tell you this! Even if the sky falls, it’s not your job to hold it up!”
“We seniors will take that weight first!”
After Kasamatsu finished, Kise fell silent.
After a brief pause, Kise tried to argue one last time.
“But—”
Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder.
Kise turned his head.
Yoshitaka Moriyama shook his head gently at him.
“Kise, trust us.”
Mitsuhiro Hayakawa also stepped forward.
“That’s right, Kise! You’ve got to believe in us!”
Kise looked at his seniors, a swirl of emotions welling up inside him.
His eyes reddened slightly.
“Everyone…”
He wiped away the tears threatening to spill over and smiled in resignation.
“Then… I’ll leave it to you, senpai.”
Kasamatsu and the others smiled in response and shouted together,
“Leave it to us!”
“Beep! Timeout over, both teams back on the court!”
The referee blew the whistle to resume play.
Kasamatsu’s eyes burned with determination as he shouted,
“Everyone! Hold on! Show our junior what we seniors are made of!”
Mitsuhiro Hayakawa shouted back,
“Yes!”
Moriyama Yoshitaka smiled as well.
The Kaijō players returned to the court, their fighting spirit blazing.
They would give everything they had. At the very least, they had to keep the score close—only then could they give Ryota Kise, who would return in the third quarter, even a sliver of a chance.
Shogo Haizaki noticed Kaijō’s change in momentum and lineup.
He sneered, muttering under his breath,
“Still trying to grasp that faint, illusory hope?”
The game continued.
Kirisaki Daiichi had possession.
Miyamoto Tokima passed the ball to Shogo Haizaki and said,
“Haizaki, Kise is off the court now. Whether you can force him back on is up to you.”
“Anyway, in the third quarter, no matter what, the game has to be taken over by Senior Nijimura.”
Haizaki’s expression turned serious.
He glanced toward Kise on the bench, thinking silently,
‘I was planning to hold back a bit, but there’s no helping it. Lei-ge has already said as much.’
‘Kise, our fight isn’t over yet. You can’t bow out this early.’
In the stands.
The Seirin players all grew solemn.
Junpei Hyuga spoke first,
“Kaijō is going to fight with everything they’ve got. This quarter, they have to keep the score close and can’t let the gap widen too much.”
“Otherwise, when Kise comes back in the third quarter, they won’t be able to catch up.”
Shinji Koganei asked, puzzled,
“But if even Kise couldn’t stop Haizaki, can they really hold him back?”
Hyuga closed his eyes and said heavily,
“That’s exactly why I said… Kaijō… is going to fight to the bitter end…”
On the court.
The moment Haizaki reached the three-point line, Yukio Kasamatsu and Shinya Nakamura immediately closed in on him.
Haizaki slipped past their steal attempts, dribbling as he calmly watched the two of them.
Suddenly, he sneered and asked,
“You still think you have hope?”
Kasamatsu’s gaze was rock-solid as he replied,
“As long as the game isn’t over, there’s always hope!”
“Hahahahaha!”
Haizaki suddenly burst into wild laughter, madness surging through him.
Nakamura frowned.
“What are you laughing at?!”
Haizaki’s laughter gradually died down, but the crazed grin on his face didn’t fade in the slightest.
“You’re asking why I’m laughing?”
All at once, his smile vanished. His expression turned dark and vicious as he snarled,
“Hope… I don’t even know how many times I’ve heard that word.”
“I probably heard it the most back at Teikō. Back then, a lot of people loved talking about hope.”
“But in the end, they all gave up on basketball.”
“So let me tell you—hope is nothing more than a mixture of desire and expectation!”
“In the end, it’s just an illusion!”
“In the face of true strength, such fleeting things aren’t worth believing in!”
“Go ahead and witness it—”
“The power that will shatter your illusions!”
...
Chapter 165: The Lone Wolf Returns
With that—
A savage, bloodthirsty, dangerous aura burst from Shogo Haizaki, sweeping across everyone on the court.
Yukio Kasamatsu and Shinya Nakamura began trembling uncontrollably, as if they had just encountered something extremely dangerous.
Yukio Kasamatsu muttered in a shaking voice,
“What… what the hell is this…?”
“Awooo!!!”
It felt as though everyone in the arena heard a wolf’s howl.
That single howl seemed to drag them straight into the wilderness, forcing them to face a wolf in its natural domain.
In the stands.
Daiki Aomine sensed the aura instantly.
His expression stiffened for a moment before quickly turning into excitement.
‘Animal Instinct! Haizaki—so you have it too!’
Of course Aomine knew exactly what it was. After all, he possessed it himself.
On Seirin’s side.
Shinji Koganei asked slowly,
“Did you guys… hear a wolf howl?”
Hiroshi Fukuda stared wide-eyed, nodding repeatedly.
“I… I heard it.”
Cold sweat streamed down Junpei Hyuga’s face. He wiped his forehead, his voice tense.
“What on earth… is that?”
Taiga Kagami was just as shocked. He had never seen a state like this before.
Yet the moment he felt that aura, something inside him seemed ready to erupt.
The sensation made Kagami’s heart pound with excitement.
‘So… so strong! I really want to face him!’
An eager grin spread across Kagami’s face. He couldn’t wait to clash with Shogo Haizaki.
On the court.
Yukio Kasamatsu and Shinya Nakamura saw it most clearly.
They saw it—
Behind Shogo Haizaki, a gray-furred wolf materialized.
It stood tall, like the alpha of an entire pack.
Shogo Haizaki’s Animal Instinct.
The Lone Wolf.
After activating his Animal Instinct, Haizaki felt power flooding through his body.
He laughed wildly and spoke to the two defenders in front of him.
“Watch carefully! I’ll show you how I crush your hopes!!!”
The next instant—
Shogo Haizaki moved.
Without a single wasted motion, he slipped straight through the gap between them.
Like a lone wolf ripping apart the enemy’s defensive line.
Once he entered the paint, Haizaki moved as if no one was there.
He slammed the ball down, gathered it, planted hard off his right foot, and soared into the air.
Behind him, the lone wolf lifted its head high.
Boom!
Haizaki thundered the ball into the hoop with overwhelming force.
The lone wolf behind him let out a triumphant howl, as if proclaiming its victory.
“Awooo!!!”
The rim shook violently, like prey trembling beneath the claws of a lone wolf.
The court fell into a deathly silence.
Aside from the sound of the ball hitting the floor and people sucking in sharp breaths, everything else faded away.
Two and a half seconds later, the stands exploded into cheers.
“My god! What was that?! A wolf howl?!”
“That was insane! Like a wolf charging into a flock of sheep—completely unstoppable!”
“Kirisaki Daiichi is taking the championship!!!”
The roaring cheers of the crowd stood in stark contrast to the silence on Kaijō’s side.
Their hope seemed… truly shattered.
Yukio Kasamatsu stood there in a daze, doubt creeping into his mind.
Could he really… defeat this monster?
On the sidelines, Ryota Kise shot to his feet and shouted,
“Kasamatsu-senpai!”
Hearing the familiar voice, Yukio Kasamatsu snapped out of it.
He turned and met Kise’s determined gaze.
In that moment, it felt as though something loosened inside him. He gave a self-mocking smile.
“Man… getting shown up by my junior again.”
Then he lifted his head and shouted,
“Get it together! The game isn’t over yet!”
Kaijō’s players looked up at Kasamatsu, then at Kise.
And just like that, they let go of their hesitation.
That’s right! If even the captain and their junior hadn’t given up, what reason did they have to quit?
“Yes!!!”
They shouted in unison, their fighting spirit reignited.
Seeing this, Shogo Haizaki couldn’t help but acknowledge Kaijō.
A team that refused to give up even in this situation truly deserved respect.
‘In that case, I’ll return that respect—by defeating you at my best.’
Seizing the moment, Haizaki intercepted Yukio Kasamatsu’s pass.
He charged straight toward the basket with the ball.
The lone wolf behind him sprinted relentlessly, like a predator chasing its prey.
Kaijō’s five players rushed back together on defense, trying to stop him.
Meanwhile, on Miyamoto Tokima’s side, the other four players didn’t move at all.
They stood quietly on their own half, with no intention of attacking.
With Shogo Haizaki’s Animal Instinct active—and Ryota Kise still off the court—there was no need for them to do anything.
The current Haizaki couldn’t be stopped by Kaijō’s five players. At best, they could only slow him down.
And so, a strange scene unfolded.
Aside from Haizaki, all four players of Kirisaki Daiichi remained standing still in their backcourt.
Only Shogo Haizaki charged forward alone, facing Kaijō’s five defenders.
In the stands.
“Hey, hey—why isn’t anyone from Kirisaki Daiichi moving? Is only that gray-haired guy attacking?”
“No way! Is he really going one-on-five? That’s Kaijō! They’re not weak!”
Even Taiga Kagami couldn’t believe it.
“He’s going one-on-five? That’s impossible!”
The rest of Seirin, a team built on cooperation, fell silent.
They couldn’t imagine anyone taking on all five of Kaijō by themselves.
On Tōō’s side.
Kosuke Wakamatsu spoke up immediately.
“No way. He can’t possibly go one-on-five. This isn’t streetball! Breaking through five defenders isn’t that easy!”
Daiki Aomine shot him a sideways glance and scoffed.
“That’s why your perspective is so narrow. Don’t judge others with your limited viewpoint.”
Wakamatsu bristled at once.
“What do you mean by that, Aomine?!”
Aomine shrugged indifferently.
“Nothing special. Just the truth.”
On the court.
Shogo Haizaki deliberately slowed down, waiting for all five defenders to fall back.
Only then could he completely crush their hope—and force Ryota Kise to take the court.
Once all five were in position, Haizaki’s lips curled upward. His dribbling sped up, his drive accelerating.
“Let me… shatter your hopes.”
...
Author's Note
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