Chapter 166 - 167
Chapter 166: Ryota Kise! [Copying]!!
Shogo Haizaki dribbled continuously with both hands, shoved the ball forward with his right, and surged ahead after it.
He cut straight through the narrow gap between Yoshitaka Moriyama and Yukio Kasamatsu.
As soon as he entered the paint, Mitsuhiro Hayakawa stepped up to help on defense.
Haizaki didn’t hesitate. With a sharp behind-the-back dribble using his right hand, he blew past Hayakawa in an instant.
The moment Hayakawa was beaten, Kōji Kobori and Shinya Nakamura rushed in to help.
Haizaki’s gaze sharpened, and the lone wolf silhouette behind him shifted into an attacking posture.
He gathered the ball with both hands, crashed into Kobori in a brief body check, and went up for a floater.
Shinya Nakamura naturally refused to let Haizaki have his way and immediately jumped to contest the shot.
But Haizaki had already anticipated it. He pulled back the hand that was about to release the floater, switched hands midair, and gently hooked the ball into the hoop.
Shogo Haizaki—one against five—scores again!
After the basket, Haizaki didn’t hesitate for a second. He turned around and headed back on defense.
The Kaijō players, meanwhile, stood frozen in place, confusion written across their faces.
Seirin’s side.
Taiga Kagami’s expression stiffened, disbelief in his voice.
“He actually… went one-on-five…”
Junpei Hyuga swallowed hard, cursing inwardly.
‘What a monster…’
On the court.
Kaijō was still trying to run their offense, but their efficiency had collapsed.
After Ryota Kise left the game, they hadn’t scored even once.
Their turnover rate kept climbing, and passes were constantly going astray.
Yukio Kasamatsu realized that no matter where he tried to pass, Makoto Hanamiya seemed to know exactly where the ball was going, intercepting him again and again.
That forced Kaijō’s players to run behind Kasamatsu just to receive the ball.
But once it came to that, the passes lost all meaning.
Kaijō had completely fallen into a scoring drought.
On the defensive end, things were even worse. They simply couldn’t stop Shogo Haizaki after he activated his Animal Instinct.
Even with only Haizaki charging into the frontcourt for Kirisaki Daiichi, all five Kaijō players still couldn’t contain him.
Only on a few lucky occasions did Haizaki’s shots rim out. Otherwise, they had no way of stopping him.
Like a starving wolf, Shogo Haizaki tore through their defense, leaving them utterly overwhelmed.
The score gap continued to widen.
Watching the grim situation on the court and the ever-growing deficit, Ryota Kise immediately went to the coach.
“Coach, I want to get back in!”
Genta Takeuchi knew just how unfavorable things were for Kaijō.
So when Ryota Kise volunteered, he agreed without hesitation.
“Beep! Kaijō requests a substitution.”
Ryota Kise returned to the court, his expression resolute as he adjusted his jersey while stepping onto the floor.
Seeing Kise come back with a little over two minutes left in the second quarter, Yukio Kasamatsu felt a pang of guilt.
He had promised to hold the line for Kise himself, yet in the end, things had only gotten worse.
But there was nothing they could do—they simply couldn’t stop Shogo Haizaki.
Kasamatsu walked up to Kise, guilt clear on his face.
“I’m sorry… I couldn’t stop Haizaki…”
Ryota Kise smiled casually.
“It’s fine, Kasamatsu-senpai. You all did your best. The rest…”
As he said that, his expression became rock-solid.
“Leave it to me!”
The game resumed.
Kaijō ball.
Ryota Kise dribbled straight up to Shogo Haizaki.
Facing Haizaki in his feral state, Kise couldn’t hide his surprise.
“I never thought you’d awakened Animal Instinct.”
Haizaki curled his lips into a grin.
“What, did you think I was that weak?”
Kise shook his head, thinking carefully.
“No. You’re strong. But in this game, I don’t want to lose.”
Haizaki suddenly burst out laughing, as if he had just heard something absurd.
“What did you say? You don’t want to lose? Come on, don’t make me laugh. Where’s that confidence coming from?”
Kise didn’t answer. His expression turned serious, his entire presence resembling a predator about to hunt.
Sensing the change in atmosphere, Haizaki stopped talking and shifted into a defensive stance.
Kise took a deep breath.
Facing the current Haizaki felt just like those one-on-one battles against Daiki Aomine.
The same overwhelming pressure.
Even Kise himself hadn’t expected Haizaki to grow this fast.
An image of a boy with blue hair surfaced in Kise’s mind.
‘After all this time playing one-on-one with you, I’ve learned your offensive rhythm and methods.’
‘But I was never able to [Copy] your basketball.’
‘Now… I think I have to change.’
‘I… want to win!’
Suddenly—
Ryota Kise’s aura changed completely, as if he had become a different person.
As the defender, Shogo Haizaki felt it more clearly than anyone.
The moment he sensed the shift in Kise’s presence, a chill ran through Haizaki.
‘This feeling… Aomine!’
Ryota Kise moved.
His actions were no longer clean and textbook-like. Instead, they became chaotic and unrestrained.
It looked exactly like streetball.
Caught off guard by this unfamiliar rhythm, Haizaki failed to adjust in time, allowing Kise to break through.
Miyamoto Tokima watched the scene with interest.
This Ryota Kise didn’t look like the [Perfect Copying] from the original story.
Instead, it seemed he was using a single, focused [Copying].
In other words, he wasn’t [Copying] everyone from Teikō—he was only [Copying] Daiki Aomine.
It could be said that Ryota Kise had awakened ahead of time.
At that moment, even Miyamoto Tokima couldn’t help but acknowledge him.
His talent truly was terrifying.
After breaking past Haizaki, Kise leapt into the air.
Haizaki followed immediately, jumping up and extending his hand to block Kise’s shooting path.
Suddenly—
Midair, Kise changed his motion. His standard shooting form transformed into a [Formless Shot].
With a sharp flick of his right hand, the ball was sent arcing into the hoop.
At first, Haizaki had only suspected it—but after seeing that familiar motion, he was certain.
Ryota Kise… had [Copied] Daiki Aomine!
‘I never imagined… your [Copying] could reach this level!’
‘Kise… you’re incredible!’
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Chapter 167: Despair
After scoring, Ryota Kise let out a breath and turned back on defense.
When Shogo Haizaki landed, a look of interest spread across his face.
At this moment, he wasn’t just facing Ryota Kise anymore—he was facing Ryota Kise and Daiki Aomine.
‘Come on. Let me see how far you can go.’
Possession changed.
After passing the ball to Shuzo Nijimura, Shogo Haizaki moved forward, while Nijimura himself stopped moving.
The other four players of Kirisaki Daiichi remained where they were, not participating in the offense at all.
Once again, the only one pushing into the frontcourt was Shogo Haizaki.
In the stands.
Seeing this, Taiga Kagami couldn’t help voicing his doubts.
“Kise is already back on the court, and they’re still playing like this? Do they really have that much confidence in Haizaki?”
Tetsuya Kuroko glanced at Miyamoto Tokima on the court, who wore a faint smile, and immediately understood his thinking.
“No. It’s not confidence in Haizaki-kun.”
Kagami froze for a moment, then asked,
“If it’s not confidence in Haizaki, then why aren’t they joining the offense?”
Kuroko continued calmly,
“They’re confident in themselves. They believe that even if Haizaki-kun doesn’t keep scoring, they can still win the game in the second half.”
“And Kagami-kun, you’re forgetting something important. Other than Haizaki-kun, none of Kirisaki Daiichi’s players have really spent any stamina yet.”
Hearing that, Kagami immediately realized what he meant.
Kirisaki Daiichi’s main lineup hadn’t exerted itself at all—their stamina was barely touched.
But Kaijō was the complete opposite. Their core players were already close to exhausted.
If things continued like this, Kaijō would be completely blown out by Kirisaki Daiichi in the second half.
Kagami put himself in Kaijō’s position and tried to imagine how it would feel to be on the court.
Despair.
Despair!!
Despair!!!
There was nothing else but despair.
Not even the faintest trace of hope could be seen.
Once Kagami placed himself in Kaijō’s shoes, he couldn’t see any hope at all.
Not even the weakest glimmer of light.
“So this is how strong they are… From the very start of the game, Kaijō had already fallen into an endless abyss.”
“There was… no hope of winning.”
On the court.
Shogo Haizaki dribbled quickly, then suddenly accelerated into a drive.
Even with Ryota Kise [Copying] Daiki Aomine, he still couldn’t stop Haizaki after his Animal Instinct was unleashed.
Once Haizaki entered the paint, it was like he’d stepped into empty space.
He ripped straight through Kaijō’s defense and sent the ball into the basket.
Gritting his teeth, Kise responded on the next possession with another [Formless Shot].
It had to be said—[Formless Shot] was truly terrifying.
You never knew where the ball would be released from.
Even with Haizaki’s Animal Instinct boosting his instincts and speed, he still couldn’t judge when or where Kise would shoot.
As a result, both sides fully shifted into offensive mode.
I can’t stop you. You can’t stop me.
They traded baskets purely through individual ability.
The deadlock continued all the way until the end of the second quarter.
“Beep! The second quarter is over. Halftime break!”
Hearing the whistle, Shogo Haizaki exited his Animal Instinct state.
He looked at Ryota Kise and spoke.
“Kise.”
Kise turned his head, slightly puzzled.
“What is it?”
Haizaki thought for a moment, then asked,
“Can you still see hope right now?”
Kise’s expression immediately hardened.
“Hope… has always been there.”
Hearing that, Haizaki closed his eyes and said in a low voice,
“Then I hope you’ll still be able to see hope in the second half.”
With that, he turned around and walked off, following Miyamoto Tokima toward the locker room.
Watching Haizaki’s retreating back, Kise muttered,
“What a weird guy.”
After that, Kise also turned and headed for the locker room.
During halftime, the stands were anything but quiet.
Discussions about the first half continued nonstop.
“So strong. Kirisaki Daiichi completely suppressed Kaijō.”
“But why didn’t [Magic Cube] or Nijimura make a move?”
“No idea. Maybe they’ll act in the second half.”
On Seirin’s side.
Everyone wore heavy expressions—the situation on the court was grim.
After two quarters, the score was 49–37, a gap of nearly twelve points.
That was terrifying.
After all, none of Kirisaki Daiichi’s other players had even joined the offense. Every point came from Shogo Haizaki alone.
Riko Aida pressed her thumb against her lower lip, thinking intensely.
She wasn’t just a spectator anymore—she was a future challenger.
If Seirin wanted to win the championship, they would inevitably face Kirisaki Daiichi.
“Sigh… I really can’t think of any way to deal with this. Just Haizaki alone is already more than enough to handle.”
Junpei Hyuga grabbed his hair in frustration, his thoughts completely tangled.
Shinji Koganei’s expression grew worried.
“Does Kaijō… still have any hope of winning?”
Riko Aida spoke up,
“I’m afraid it’s unlikely. In the second half, I have a feeling either Miyamoto Tokima or Nijimura will make a move.”
“Or… they might act together.”
Inside Kirisaki Daiichi’s locker room.
The players sat on the benches, the atmosphere relaxed and cheerful.
Shogo Haizaki took a sip of water and chatted casually with the others.
Makoto Hanamiya said,
“Haizaki, how was it? Feeling good?”
Haizaki replied,
“Not quite enough. That kid got subbed out halfway. Seriously.”
The group kept chatting, without the slightest trace of tension.
Meanwhile, Miyamoto Tokima was flirting with Satsuki Momoi.
“Tokima, go shopping with me after the game.”
“Tokima? Oh dear, Tokima hasn’t been home much lately.”
“Baby.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll go later.”
Watching this, Shuzo Nijimura could only break into a cold sweat.
Were his juniors really showing off their relationship without any shame now?
And he, a single guy, was still standing right there!
While chatting and laughing with Momoi, Miyamoto Tokima suddenly remembered something and turned to remind the others.
“Oh right—Senpai will take over the game in the second half. If you have open looks, just shoot.”
“No need to hold back. In the second half, go all out.”
As for the second half, Miyamoto Tokima didn’t plan on playing at all.
He’d save himself for the next match against Daiki Aomine, where he could really have some fun.
As for Ryota Kise—letting Shuzo Nijimura give him a lesson would be enough.
Compared to Kirisaki Daiichi’s relaxed mood…
Kaijō’s side was much heavier.
Everyone kept their heads down, staring at the floor, without a word exchanged.
What the first half had left them with…
was nothing but despair.
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(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser
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