Chapter 228 - 235

Chapter 228: Shintaro Midorima’s Shooting

Swish!

Shintaro Midorima’s shot dropped cleanly through the net.

After scoring, the Shūtoku players immediately ran back on defense.

Ryota Kise muttered in frustration,

“I just remembered Midorima’s shooting, and then I forgot about it again right away. That was careless of me.”

Yukio Kasamatsu patted Kise on the shoulder.

“Don’t get discouraged. We’ll get it back.”

Kise nodded and ran toward the frontcourt.

Possession changed.

Kasamatsu dribbled the ball past half court. This time, he didn’t pass immediately.

Instead, he observed the situation on the court.

He noticed something unusual.

Whenever Kaijō’s players were positioned outside the three-point line, Shūtoku’s defense became extremely tight.

But once Kaijō players moved into the paint, Shūtoku’s defense suddenly loosened.

It seemed… deliberate.

Their focus was clearly on defending the perimeter.

Just as Kasamatsu was still thinking about it, Kazunari Takao immediately pressed up on him.

Kasamatsu’s suspicion seemed confirmed.

Shūtoku was trying to stop them from shooting threes.

However, the situation was urgent, and Kasamatsu didn’t have time to think further.

Instead, he focused on avoiding Takao’s steal attempt.

After shaking him off, Kasamatsu immediately passed the ball.

Kise caught the pass and drove straight into the paint.

As he attacked the basket, Taisuke Otsubo stepped up to help defend.

Kise used another quick drive to get past him and finished the shot.

Two points.

Possession changed again.

This time, Kise directly applied full-court defense on Shintaro Midorima.

On the sidelines, Masaaki Nakatani finally nodded.

“So you’re using full-court defense. Just as expected.”

Seeing this, Otsubo stopped running to the frontcourt and instead began setting screens for Midorima in the backcourt.

Kise assumed the ball would go to Midorima and quickly moved to avoid the screens.

But after dodging one screen, another immediately appeared.

Kise had no choice but to dodge again.

But when he finally got through them, he realized something.

Takao hadn’t passed the ball.

Instead, he brought the ball up to the frontcourt himself.

Kise took a small breath and asked in confusion,

“Midorima, aren’t they giving you this possession?”

Midorima glanced at him briefly but said nothing, casually walking toward the frontcourt.

Throughout the game, Midorima only ran at full speed when he knew he would receive the ball.

The rest of the time, he strolled around the court as if he were out for a walk.

Kaijō’s coach seemed to notice this as well.

Suddenly, his eyes widened.

“Timeout!”

The referee blew the whistle.

“Timeout requested by Kaijō High!”

The Kaijō players walked off the court looking confused, except for Kasamatsu, who seemed to be thinking about something.

On the Shūtoku side, Midorima glanced at Genta Takeuchi before slowly walking off the court.

Masaaki Nakatani lazily looked at Takeuchi and said calmly,

“So you noticed.”

After Shūtoku’s players sat down, Takao asked first,

“Did Kaijō figure out our plan?”

Otsubo took a sip of water.

“Most likely. They’re a strong team, and their coach is experienced.”

Takao asked,

“So what do we do next? Keep using it?”

Nakatani looked at Midorima.

“What do you think, Midorima?”

Midorima took a sip of water and answered calmly,

“No need.”

“That tactic was only meant to make winning easier.”

“Since they’ve figured it out, there’s no reason to keep using it.”

Nakatani thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright. We’ll play normally from now on. Strengthen the perimeter defense.”

“If Kise drives into the paint, just leave him.”

“After all, two points are still one point less than three.”

The Shūtoku players shouted together,

“Yes!”

...

On the Kaijō side.

Genta Takeuchi spoke to the team.

“Kise, stop forcing so many drives. Work with your teammates and conserve your stamina.”

Kise asked in confusion,

“Why?”

Takeuchi closed his eyes briefly before explaining,

“Shūtoku’s tactic is meant to drain your stamina. Haven’t you noticed you’re already breathing heavily? The game has only been going for a few minutes!”

Only then did Kise realize he was actually panting.

Takeuchi said angrily,

“Midorima hasn’t even been running much. He hasn’t even broken a sweat, yet you’re already close to exhaustion!”

“If this continues, you’ll run out of energy before the first quarter even ends!”

Only now did Kise fully understand Shūtoku’s strategy.

They were using a matchup strategy.

If Kise had to leave the court due to exhaustion, then during the time he was off the court, no one would be able to stop Midorima.

Even if they double-teamed him, the other Shūtoku players would be left completely open.

After giving a few more instructions, the team returned to the court.

As they stepped back onto the floor, Kise walked over to Midorima with a grin.

“Midorima, that tactic of yours was pretty clever. I almost fell for it.”

Midorima pushed up his glasses and replied calmly,

“That tactic only works on you.”

“After all, your stamina is the weakest among us.”

(This isn’t something the author made up. In the original story, Ryota Kise is famous for having the smallest stamina bar. He uses the most power-ups but has the least stamina.)

Kise scratched his head awkwardly.

“Midorima really knows how to hurt someone with words.”

Midorima didn’t say anything else and turned around, preparing to receive the ball.

From this moment on, Midorima would truly begin to exert his full strength.

Kise shook his head helplessly and followed him to defend.

The game resumed.

After learning that the previous tactic had been abandoned, Takao immediately passed the ball to Midorima.

Midorima caught the ball at half court.

Facing Kise’s defense, he made no extra moves at all.

He simply jumped straight up and pulled up for a shot.

Kise immediately jumped to contest.

But...

He couldn’t reach it.

Kise could only watch as the ball dropped through the hoop.

“Seriously… Midorima has gotten so much stronger. It’s one thing that he’s jumping higher now, but even his release point is higher.”

Kise shook his head helplessly and prepared for the next offensive possession.

In the following possessions, Kise stopped playing isolation.

Instead, he started coordinating with his teammates.

Surprisingly, their teamwork worked very well, and they scored several baskets in a row.

But their defense was far from ideal.

Because Midorima’s shooting was simply outrageous.

Kise tried every method he could think of, but he still couldn’t stop Midorima.

The first quarter ended with Midorima sinking one last shot.

Score: 32–22.

...

Chapter 229: Why Did Akashi Choose You?

After the first quarter ended, the players from both teams headed off the court to rest.

From the sidelines, Miyamoto Tokima looked at the scoreboard, nodded, and said:

“Looks like Midorimacchi still firmly believes in his choice.”

Satsuki Momoi smiled sweetly, as if reminiscing about their junior high days.

“Yeah. After all, Midorima-kun has always been unwavering when it comes to choosing the three-pointer.”

Shuzo Nijimura gritted his teeth.

“That charlatan!”

On the court, Shintaro Midorima sat on the bench with his eyes closed, resting quietly.

The Shūtoku players all instinctively kept silent, creating a calm environment for him.

On the other side, at Kaijō.

Ryota Kise panted slightly as he glanced at the scoreboard.

32–22.

“A ten-point gap… Why does it feel like we’re playing so smoothly, yet the difference just keeps getting bigger?”

Yukio Kasamatsu replied:

“Idiot! Aside from that first two-pointer at the start, everything they've scored has been threes!”

“And all of ours are twos!”

“Now I finally understand why something felt off from the beginning.”

“Shūtoku is letting us into the paint. Their goal is to let us score two points!”

“They just shut down our three-pointers, allow our twos, and then attack with their own threes.”

“They’re not competing with us on defense—they’re competing on offense. But they’re scoring threes while we’re scoring twos.”

“That means the gap will just keep widening.”

“It’s like slowly boiling a frog in warm water!”

After hearing Kasamatsu’s explanation, the Kaijō players finally realized how serious the situation was.

Kasamatsu turned to look at Kise.

“Kise, you still good?”

Kise took two deep breaths and smiled.

“I’ve still got plenty of stamina, Kasamatsu-senpai.”

Seeing that, Kasamatsu’s expression hardened. He extended his hand.

“Everyone. In the second quarter… we’re going all out to chase the score!”

The Kaijō players stacked their hands together and shouted:

“Yes!”

...

Outside the court, a figure stared intently at Ryota Kise on the court, as if trying to find the shadow of someone else in him.

But after watching for a long time, he still couldn’t see it.

Finally, he muttered to himself:

“Ryota… in the end, you still couldn’t do it. You don’t even have a trace of that person.”

“It seems you’ve failed after all.”

With that, the figure stood up and left the gym.

As if he had already known the outcome of the match…

...

The second quarter began quickly.

Both teams sent their main players back onto the court.

Kise’s condition had recovered somewhat.

After returning to the court, Kaijō High School took the first possession.

Kasamatsu received the ball and dribbled across half-court.

This time, he didn’t immediately look for Kise. Instead, he controlled the ball while observing the situation on the court.

Just like in the first quarter, Shūtoku’s defense beyond the three-point line remained extremely tight.

With no other choice, Kasamatsu decided to try the tactic they had just discussed.

He quickly found Kise and passed the ball.

The one guarding Kise was still Kiyoshi Miyaji.

Using his speed, Kise blew past Miyaji in an instant.

After the breakthrough, Shūtoku players like Taisuke Otsubo immediately rushed forward to defend.

This time, however, Kise didn’t charge straight into the paint. Instead, he paused for a moment.

After confirming something, Kise made his move.

He got past Otsubo, but instead of going for the layup, he kicked the ball out to the three-point line.

Otsubo’s heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly chased toward the ball.

It turned out that Mitsuhiro Hayakawa had already run to the perimeter the moment Kise penetrated the paint.

Hayakawa caught the pass in the corner.

After a simple adjustment, he released the shot.

The ball grazed the rim and dropped in.

Only after seeing it go in did Hayakawa finally let out a breath.

“Nice shot!”

Kise shouted with a grin, high-fiving Hayakawa.

It was obvious that the three-pointer made him extremely happy.

Afterward, Kise jogged over to Midorima and said with a smile:

“So, what do you think, Midorimacchi? My teammates are pretty good too, right?”

Midorima’s expression remained calm as he replied lightly:

“Unstable shooting will only make your descent into the abyss come faster.”

Possession switched.

The moment Kazunari Takao crossed half-court, Midorima ran over to receive the ball.

With the ball in his hands, Midorima faced Kise.

Kise’s expression was extremely serious, his concentration at its peak.

Midorima remained expressionless and simply made a shooting motion.

Kise’s center of gravity shifted instantly.

He wanted that block too badly.

But by the time his weight had fully committed, he realized he had been tricked.

Midorima hadn’t jumped at all.

It was just a pump fake.

After baiting Kise’s balance, Midorima immediately dribbled sideways, then rose into the air for a shot.

The basketball arced high through the air and dropped cleanly through the hoop.

After scoring, Midorima turned his head slightly and said calmly:

“I’ve always had a question.”

“Why did Akashi choose you?”

“Logically speaking, Haizaki’s talent isn’t weaker than yours. Using talent as the reason doesn’t convince me at all.”

Hearing that, Kise gave a bitter smile. His tone carried a hint of melancholy.

“To be honest… I didn’t know at first either.”

“It wasn’t until I saw that person in that state that I started to have a guess.”

Midorima frowned slightly.

“Miyamoto?”

Kise nodded with a wry smile.

“Yes.”

Midorima thought about it for a moment. It did seem like something Seijuro Akashi would do.

However, Midorima was a rational person. Without knowing the truth, he wouldn’t jump to conclusions.

“Don’t think about it too much.”

“Focus on the present.”

“You’ve already stepped into the abyss.”

Kise suddenly burst out laughing.

“Midorimacchi, your way of comforting people is still as stiff as ever.”

Midorima looked as though he had been exposed. He quickly turned around and said stubbornly:

“Just focus on winning the next possession!”

With that, Midorima ran back on defense without looking back.

A faint smile appeared on Kise’s face as he quietly watched Midorima’s retreating figure.

But this is good too.

At least… I got to meet friends like you.

Kise lowered his head and looked at the gym floor, then at his teammates.

And at the same time…

I’ve also found what I truly love…

Kise slowly closed his eyes.

A certain belief in his heart reached its absolute peak.

“I… will win!!!”

...

Chapter 230: Not Letting You Shoot Easily

In an instant, Ryota Kise felt something strange happening to his body.

He… was falling…

But it wasn’t the kind of fall you’d feel when jumping off a tall building.

It was more like sinking into water—slowly being submerged, suffocating as he descended deeper and deeper.

Kise had no idea how long he had been falling. All he knew was that it felt unbearable. Painful. Suffocating.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally forced his tired eyes open.

And what he saw stunned him.

A huge gate.

A solemn, imposing gate.

The gate was tightly shut, like some divine artifact sealing off an entire world.

Kise stared blankly at it as tears began streaming down his face without him realizing it.

He wiped at them in confusion and muttered softly:

“Why… am I crying?”

Suddenly, he laughed.

He laughed while tears kept falling, as the emotions he had suppressed for so long burst out all at once.

He had held it in for too long.

He wanted to win—so badly.

Staggering slightly, he stood up and stared at the gate.

“The Zone…?”

With that, Kise placed both hands against the gate.

Begin.

Push!!!

...

Outside.

On the court.

Shintaro Midorima suddenly sensed something and turned his head in disbelief.

His eyes locked onto Ryota Kise as he felt the change happening within him.

“How is this possible…!”

Midorima clenched his teeth and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he too was standing beside the great gate.

But this time, Midorima’s attention wasn’t on the gate itself.

Instead, he turned to look at the shadows surrounding it.

Normally, if you didn’t pay attention to the shadows outside the gate, you wouldn’t be able to see them clearly.

But if you focused hard enough, they could be observed.

Midorima scanned the shadows one by one.

Then he saw it.

A figure.

A figure pushing against the gate.

Midorima murmured in disbelief:

“K-Kise…?!”

The next second—

The massive gate in front of that figure opened!!!

The figure stepped through the gate and vanished.

The shock on Midorima’s face slowly faded into calm.

He turned and looked at his own gate, as if questioning it.

“Why?”

“Since junior high, I’ve never once relaxed my training.”

“When others were resting, I was training. When others were dating, I was training.”

“Even when others were sleeping… I was still training!!!”

“So why?”

“Why have you kept me outside this gate for more than a year?!”

In truth, Midorima had already been standing before this gate since his second year of junior high.

But during this entire year, no matter how many times he tried—

The gate never opened for him.

Watching the people around him enter the Zone one after another, the usually rational Midorima lost his composure for the first time.

He breathed heavily for a moment before slowly calming down.

Gradually, his rationality returned.

He looked at the gate again and said quietly:

“One day… I will step into the world beyond this gate.”

He closed his eyes.

When he opened them again—

He was back on the court.

Meanwhile, Ryota Kise had clearly changed.

Yellow lightning flickered within his eyes, and a pure, childlike smile appeared on his face.

Dribbling the ball, he approached Midorima with a grin.

“Midorimacchi, how about we have a proper match?”

Midorima froze for a moment, as if he had been pulled back to the first time they met in junior high.

“Hehe, you’re really strong. Want to play a game with me?”

Back then, Midorima had refused.

But this time—

He didn’t.

“Alright.”

Kise’s smile grew even brighter, almost like the innocent smile of a child.

“Midorimacchi, I’m coming!”

Midorima’s face became serious as he took up a defensive stance.

...

Off the court.

Shuzo Nijimura chuckled lightly and teased:

“Haizaki, looks like that Kise kid might actually have more talent than you. He’s already entered the Zone.”

Shogo Haizaki turned his head away with a dissatisfied expression.

“Tch. One day I’ll enter that damn Zone too!”

...

On the court.

Kise moved.

His body burst forward like a wild horse breaking free of its reins.

Even Midorima was startled by that speed, falling an entire step behind.

Just as Midorima thought Kise would drive straight into the paint—

Kise suddenly stopped.

Then he executed a step-back, retreating all the way beyond the three-point line.

Midorima couldn’t stop his momentum in time and completely lost his defensive position.

All he could do was watch as Kise released the shot.

Swish!!!

Three points!

After the basket, Kise smiled and said:

“Well, Midorimacchi?”

Midorima adjusted his glasses and replied calmly:

“Not bad.”

Possession switched.

Midorima received the ball at the offensive three-point line.

Facing Kise, he remained perfectly calm.

A probing step.

Then a step-back into a jump shot.

But he had underestimated Kise’s vertical leap in the Zone.

Kise exploded upward instantly and slapped Midorima’s shot away.

After blocking it, Kise sprinted toward the front court at a speed no one else could match.

A solo fast break!

Midorima watched in shock, almost unable to believe what he was seeing.

In the following possessions, Kise grew more and more unstoppable.

Meanwhile, Midorima seemed hesitant.

Even his shots no longer looked decisive.

The score gap quickly shrank—only two points remained before the game would be tied.

At that moment, the referee blew the whistle.

“Beep! Shūtoku High requests a timeout.”

After returning to the bench, Nakatani Masaaki spoke directly.

“Midorima, your mind is unsettled.”

Midorima froze for a moment, as if his thoughts had been exposed.

Nakatani continued:

“Midorima, don’t lose your direction. Just believe in yourself.”

“If even Kise’s Zone can defeat you, how are you going to defeat Miyamoto Tokima?”

“Remember this, Midorima.”

“Use your strengths… and make up for your weaknesses.”

After Nakatani finished speaking, Midorima visibly calmed down.

That’s right.

If even Ryota Kise’s Zone could defeat him—

Then how could he ever hope to defeat Miyamoto Tokima?

“Beep! The game resumes!”

Both teams returned to the court.

Kise could clearly feel it.

Midorima’s aura…

Had changed.

Shūtoku possession.

Midorima received a pass from Taisuke Otsubo at the three-point line.

Kise immediately closed in on him.

“Midorimacchi…”

“I won’t let you shoot so easily.”

...

Chapter 231: Kaijō’s Defeat Once More

Shintaro Midorima’s expression remained calm, but his eyes grew noticeably deeper.

Ryota Kise instantly felt as if he had been locked onto.

Like prey under a predator’s gaze…

The next moment, Midorima began his shooting motion.

He was charging up.

Seeing this, Kise laughed.

“Midorimacchi, you’ve got a fatal weakness. The farther the shot, the longer you need to prepare!”

In the next instant, both Midorima and Kise jumped at the same time.

Their eyes were filled with determination. Both had only one goal in mind.

Kise’s hand quickly reached the ball in Midorima’s hands.

If Midorima tried to shoot now, Kise would block it for sure.

Just when Kise thought victory was guaranteed, something suddenly felt wrong.

The lightning flashing in his eyes trembled slightly, his face filling with shock.

Why…?

Why aren’t you falling yet?!

Kise had already started descending.

But Midorima was still hanging in the air, showing no sign of dropping.

On the sidelines, Taiga Kagami had already stood up, his voice filled with disbelief.

“That’s impossible!”

Riko Aida’s expression turned grim as she murmured:

“His hang time is terrifying…”

In this world, jumping ability was divided into two types.

The first was explosive jump—the ability to instantly jump to the peak of one’s vertical. Mitsuhiro Hayakawa was the best example.

Players like that were usually excellent rebounders.

The second was hang time—the ability to stay in the air longer. The best representative of this was Taiga Kagami.

Players like that could perform all kinds of unbelievable movements while airborne.

On the court.

Kise was already descending, and his hand no longer covered the ball.

Seeing this, Midorima pushed the ball upward with his left hand.

The basketball soared high into the air—

Straight toward the roof of the arena.

When it reached its highest point, it began to fall.

Then…

Swish!!!

Kise turned his head in shock, as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Their eyes met.

In that moment, Kise felt as if he were staring into the sharpest eyes in the world.

He swallowed hard as pressure surged over him like a rising tide.

What comes next… won’t be easy.

Possession changed.

Kise received the inbound pass and slowly dribbled past half court.

Facing Midorima, he suddenly accelerated.

In an instant, he broke past Midorima again and charged into the paint.

But now wasn’t the time for two points.

Two points couldn’t close the gap anymore.

Only three-pointers could.

So Kise immediately pulled the ball back out and jumped from the three-point line.

Midorima followed closely and leaped high to contest.

To avoid the block, Kise leaned his body slightly backward.

A fadeaway three!

Kise planned to release the shot where Midorima couldn’t block it.

But soon he froze.

Because Midorima’s hand was still directly in the path of the ball.

And…

Kise had already begun falling.

Yet Midorima was still in the air.

As if the sky itself were Midorima’s home court!

“Damn it!”

With no other choice, Kise changed the motion of his shot.

He grabbed the ball with one hand and flung it toward the hoop.

This time, Midorima didn’t try to block it.

Because even in the Zone, Kise couldn’t replicate Daiki Aomine’s formless shots.

Sure enough, Kise’s attempt hit the backboard.

Taisuke Otsubo grabbed the rebound.

“Fast break!!!”

Otsubo shouted loudly.

Hearing that, Kise—already rattled—immediately turned and sprinted back on defense.

But as he ran, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Midorima!!!

Kise spun around in panic just in time to see Midorima already rising into the air.

Then—

The shot went in.

Midorima landed while holding his shooting form.

Then he said calmly:

“Kise… your mind is unsettled.”

Kise gritted his teeth and said nothing.

But he knew it himself.

His mind really was shaken.

...

On the next possession.

Kise stood at the three-point arc facing Midorima’s defense.

He took a deep breath and began dribbling hard.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The ball slammed against the floor with thunderous force.

It was clearly the prelude to the Lightning Dribble.

Just when everyone thought Kise would unleash the Lightning Dribble—

He shocked everyone.

Because he gathered the ball.

Kise brought the ball up and made a shooting motion.

Midorima remained completely calm and didn’t jump at all.

“Kise, if you think you can use Reo’s move against me, you’ve chosen the wrong opponent.”

Sure enough, it had only been a fake.

Seeing Midorima refuse to bite, Kise immediately abandoned the feint.

He quickly moved sideways, then jumped and drifted in midair before shooting.

This shot left Midorima with no way to block it.

Because Kise’s lateral movement and midair drift were much faster than his.

Swish!

Three points.

Kise scored with that drifting shot.

But immediately afterward, overwhelming fatigue hit him.

Kise panted heavily as sweat dripped from his body.

He bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing hard.

Midorima said calmly:

“Your stamina is already exhausted?”

Seeing this, Genta Takeuchi immediately called a timeout and substituted Kise out.

From that point on, Kaijō without Kise was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

They were completely crushed by Shūtoku.

More precisely—

They were crushed on defense, and on offense they were crushed by Midorima alone.

Midorima was like a tireless machine.

Firing endlessly.

He completely shattered Kaijō’s hope.

One three-pointer after another fell like the swing of a reaper’s scythe, cutting down the boys’ hopes.

By the end of the second quarter, the score was…

66–37.

With such a huge gap, anyone could see that Kaijō had already lost.

But…

They didn’t give up.

In the second half, Kise returned to the court.

He managed to stop the bleeding for Kaijō.

But Kaijō was like someone struck by a poisoned blade—the bleeding stopped, but the damage had already spread.

Their stamina was nearly gone, and their three-point shooting became unstable.

But Midorima was different.

His three-pointers never showed mercy.

They were like frogs slowly being boiled in warm water.

Being cooked was only a matter of time.

They couldn’t stop Midorima.

And failing to stop Midorima meant a rain of three-pointers.

One after another, the threes erased any suspense left in the game.

The final score was frozen at:

122–71.

Shūtoku won.

Kaijō High School…

suffered a bitter defeat.

............

Chapter 232: The Nation’s Top Trash Talker!

“It’s over. Looks like Midorima really had the edge.”

“Such a shame. Kaijō was actually pretty strong. They should’ve made the quarterfinals.”

“Just bad luck. Running into Shūtoku in the very first round… sigh.”

After sitting for so long, Shuzo Nijimura stretched lazily as he spoke.

Shogo Haizaki clicked his tongue and muttered:

“Serves them right.”

Miyamoto Tokima laughed.

“Well, now that the match is over, we should head back.”

With that, the members of Kirisaki Daiichi stood up and headed toward the gym exit.

...

On Seirin’s side.

Riko Aida stood up and said:

“Let’s go. We should talk to their coach.”

With that, the Seirin team also got up and left.

...

On the court.

Ryota Kise stood there blankly, looking dejected.

“So we still… lost.”

Shintaro Midorima walked over and extended his hand.

“Let’s fight again next time, Kise.”

Kise looked up and met Midorima’s calm eyes.

He smiled with relief and reached out to shake his hand.

“Alright!”

“But Midorimacchi… can you tell me something?”

“What was that hang time at the end?”

Midorima answered casually:

“Animal Instinct.”

Then he turned and walked away without looking back.

Kise froze for a moment, repeating the words to himself.

“Animal Instinct…?”

Then he murmured again as if questioning himself:

“But doesn’t Animal Instinct normally show itself…?!”

At that moment, Midorima felt shrouded in mystery to him.

Smack!

“Stop spacing out. Let’s go.”

“Back to practice. We’ll take it back in the Winter Cup!”

Yukio Kasamatsu smacked Kise lightly on the head and spoke sternly.

Kise turned and saw the determination burning in his teammates’ eyes.

The corners of his mouth lifted, and he laughed loudly.

“Yes!”

And so…

Kaijō’s Summer Cup journey…

came to an end.

...

On the way to a restaurant with the Kirisaki Daiichi team, Atsushi Murasakibara’s phone suddenly rang.

He answered it.

“Hello? Who’s this?”

“Oh. Okay.”

After hanging up, he turned to Miyamoto Tokima.

“Miyamoto, Himuro’s transfer paperwork is done.”

Miyamoto nodded.

“Tell him to come to the restaurant. Make sure he has the address.”

Murasakibara nodded blankly and spoke into the phone again.

“Himuro, just come straight to the restaurant. The address is…”

After confirming everything, he hung up.

Soon after, the Kirisaki Daiichi group met Tatsuya Himuro at the restaurant.

After finishing their meal together, they headed toward the school gym.

Because…

It was time for the traditional welcome ritual for new members!

When they arrived at the gym, everyone moved around casually for a while to digest their food.

After two and a half hours of relaxed activity, the matches finally began.

Himuro’s first opponent was naturally the original Kirisaki Daiichi starting trio.

Kojiro Furuhashi.

Kazuya Hara.

Hiroshi Yamazaki.

Himuro handled the three of them with relative ease.

For his next opponent, he chose Kentaro Seto.

After all, you pick the easy target first.

Kentaro Seto wasn’t particularly strong in one-on-one offense—his defense was decent at best.

So the gap wasn’t very large, but Himuro still won the match 5–2.

Next up—

Makoto Hanamiya.

Hanamiya stepped onto the court with a smile.

“Aren’t you going to take a break?”

Himuro shook his head and gave a gentle smile.

“I don’t need to rest yet.”

Hanamiya smiled slightly.

“Good. Otherwise it wouldn’t be very fun.”

Even though Hanamiya was smiling, Himuro couldn’t shake the feeling that he had bad intentions.

The match began.

Hanamiya had possession.

The moment he received the ball, Himuro immediately pressed up to defend.

Hanamiya spoke right away.

“Hey, hey… hasn’t anyone ever told you that you smell awful?”

“Standing this close—are you trying to suffocate me?”

“You should have some self-awareness. Be a good boy and back up a little.”

Himuro thought maybe he actually smelled bad, so he really did take a step back.

Hanamiya immediately burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! You actually stepped back?”

“What are you, a dog? So obedient?”

Only then did Himuro realize—

Hanamiya had been mocking him the entire time.

Instantly, anger flared in his chest. He stepped forward again to resume tight defense.

Hanamiya smiled faintly.

“Idiot.”

The moment Himuro stepped forward, Hanamiya instantly dropped the ball and drove past him.

Because Himuro had been moving forward, he couldn’t adjust in time.

He was beaten in a single step.

Hanamiya easily finished with a layup.

After scoring, he didn’t forget to keep mocking him.

“Is your defense made of paper? One poke and it’s torn!”

Himuro gritted his teeth and shot back:

“Is talking trash the only thing you’re good at?”

Hanamiya exaggeratedly widened his eyes and spread his hands.

“Are you introducing yourself?”

“I just scored, remember?”

“So the one who’s all talk… isn’t that you?”

Himuro wanted to respond, but couldn’t think of anything to say.

So he stayed silent and picked up the ball to attack.

But Hanamiya—the nation’s top trash talker—wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass.

“What’s wrong?”

“Did our American honor student forget how to talk?”

Himuro finally snapped.

Oh, you want to call me the American honor student?

Fine.

I’ll roast you in English!

The next moment, Himuro fired off a stream of English insults.

But what he never expected—

was that Hanamiya responded in English.

And his insults were even harsher.

Himuro was completely stunned.

He couldn’t out-trash-talk him in Japanese.

He couldn’t out-trash-talk him in English either.

So what could he do?

Endure it.

He couldn’t exactly start a fight with Hanamiya in front of Miyamoto, could he?

Himuro still couldn’t understand why Hanamiya was treating him like this when they were on the same team.

What he didn’t know was—

this had all been arranged by Miyamoto.

And not just for him.

Everyone else had gone through it too.

You could say that aside from Miyamoto, every member of Kirisaki Daiichi had suffered Hanamiya’s trash talk at some point.

Don’t ask why.

The answer was simple.

Pressure training.

Himuro stopped responding and focused on attacking.

On the basketball court—

skill speaks louder than words.

Just as Himuro prepared to show what he could do—

a ferocious figure suddenly appeared behind Hanamiya…

...

Chapter 233: Meisei's Sandbag, Kato

A grotesque spider with a vicious face appeared behind Makoto Hanamiya.

The moment it appeared, several strands of silk shot from its mouth.

The threads instantly stuck to Tatsuya Himuro's feet.

Himuro tried lifting his leg, only to realize it felt unusually heavy, as if it were actually glued to the floor.

Makoto Hanamiya smiled.

“What's wrong, buddy? Why aren’t you attacking?”

“Or… you don’t know how to attack?”

“If that’s the case, why even play basketball? Why don’t you go home and pick on that kid instead?”

Fed up with the nonstop trash talk, Tatsuya Himuro dribbled and prepared to force his way through.

But this was exactly what Makoto Hanamiya wanted.

After all, Hanamiya’s greatest specialty was stealing the ball.

The moment Himuro brought the ball down to dribble, Hanamiya’s hand was already there.

With a swift motion, he stripped the ball cleanly and regained possession.

After taking the ball, Hanamiya didn’t forget to mock him.

“No way, no way. You can’t even hold onto the ball now? Are you sick or something? Parkinson’s?”

Tatsuya Himuro’s expression twisted in anger. His fists clenched tightly, the muscles in his cheeks hollowing slightly as he ground his teeth.

He was about to lose it.

He was this close to punching Makoto Hanamiya.

Yet Hanamiya still didn’t stop.

“Ah, I get it now. Your skills… really are worse than that kid’s.”

“You’re supposed to be the senior… so why are you weaker than him?”

Those words were like pouring salt directly into Himuro’s wound.

The reason Tatsuya Himuro had fallen out with Taiga Kagami in the first place was exactly because of this.

More precisely, because of his pride.

And now Hanamiya’s words were stabbing that pride all over again.

Himuro finally snapped and roared:

“You bastard!”

Seeing Himuro on the verge of exploding, Hanamiya grinned.

“What? Thinking about using violence on the court?”

Himuro froze mid-motion.

He forcibly stopped himself.

He wasn’t someone who liked fighting, and besides, this was Kirisaki Daiichi’s home court.

There was no way he could actually hit someone here.

But the frustration… it was unbearable.

On the sidelines, Satsuki Momoi kept taking notes with her pen.

Under Tatsuya Himuro’s data column, she wrote:

[Poor resistance to pressure. Needs tempering]

[Training method: One-on-one against Makoto Hanamiya]

There was no helping it.

If a basketball player couldn’t handle trash talk, that was a serious problem.

The match on the court continued.

But Himuro’s condition was clearly off.

Enraged by Hanamiya’s insults, even his movements began to fall out of form.

The game ended exactly as expected.

Makoto Hanamiya won.

Score: 5–0.

Even after the match ended, Tatsuya Himuro still hadn’t recovered.

He had a feeling he probably wouldn’t sleep well for the entire week…

After the game, Makoto Hanamiya walked over with a smile, extended his hand, and said:

“Himuro, you played well. At least you gave me a good time trash-talking.”

Himuro, still furious, slapped Hanamiya’s hand away.

Hanamiya helplessly waved his hand and stepped off the court.

At that moment, Shuzo Nijimura walked over to Himuro and explained the situation.

But even after hearing the full explanation, Himuro’s anger still hadn’t faded.

Hanamiya’s trash talk had been way too vicious.

It was like true damage—every line a critical hit.

Nijimura could only sigh in helplessness before saying one last thing.

“You’ll get used to it eventually. If nothing unexpected happens, you and Hanamiya will probably be spending a lot of time together.”

Himuro stared at him in shock.

“Why?!”

Nijimura spread his hands.

“Because your resistance to trash talk is too weak, and the strongest trash-talker on our team happens to be Hanamiya.”

“So yeah… you’ll probably suffer for a while.”

“But don’t overthink it. We all went through this.”

As he spoke, Nijimura pointed at Shogo Haizaki nearby.

“Haizaki too. When he first joined, Hanamiya roasted him so badly that he went to Hanamiya’s house in the middle of the night looking for trouble.”

Haizaki’s face stiffened. He clearly didn’t want to recall that embarrassing story.

Because…

When he snuck over to Makoto Hanamiya’s house that night…

He got ambushed and beaten instead…

Hanamiya had apparently anticipated the sneak attack and prepared countermeasures in advance.

Or rather…

Hanamiya had always been prepared.

At this point, Himuro didn’t want to think about it anymore. Nijimura had already explained enough.

Even though he was still angry, all he could do now was swallow it.

After all, if he could out-trash-talk Hanamiya, or if he could beat Hanamiya, would he still be this angry?

In the end, it all came down to a lack of strength.

Himuro silently made a vow in his heart.

‘Hanamiya… sooner or later, I’m going to roast you to death!’

In the matches that followed, Himuro challenged the remaining team members one by one.

Without exception, he failed to score a single point.

And with that, Tatsuya Himuro’s initiation ceremony was complete.

Next came the Summer Cup.

Kirisaki Daiichi’s first opponent was Kōkyo High School.

Kōkyo High wasn’t a strong team. Even qualifying for the Summer Cup could be considered pure luck.

But their luck had clearly run out—because their very first match was against Kirisaki Daiichi.

A few days later.

The match between Kirisaki Daiichi and Kōkyo High School arrived.

The stands were completely packed. Everyone wanted to watch Kirisaki Daiichi play.

Whether high school coaches or ordinary spectators, almost everyone was interested in their match.

It could be said that nearly every Summer Cup team without a game that day had come to watch.

Even some teams that hadn’t qualified showed up.

After all, the pressure Kirisaki Daiichi gave off was simply too overwhelming.

After both teams entered the court and began warming up, Makoto Hanamiya suddenly spotted a familiar face.

“Hm?”

Shogo Haizaki asked,

“What’s wrong, Hanamiya?”

Hanamiya replied,

“I saw a familiar face.”

Haizaki looked over and saw a man with a scar around his eye and a particularly gloomy expression.

He felt the man looked familiar, but couldn’t remember where he’d seen him.

Hanamiya reminded him:

“His name’s Kato. He was my teammate back in middle school.”

“You know… the guy who deliberately injured Midorima at the start of a game and then got elbowed straight into the hospital by Miyamoto.”

Haizaki immediately remembered.

Wasn’t this Meisei’s sandbag small forward?

“How did he end up at Kōkyo?”

Hanamiya shook his head.

“No idea.”

“But judging by his expression… he’s definitely not here with good intentions.”

Haizaki gave a wicked grin.

“He can try…”

...

Chapter 234: I Approved It

Miyamoto also noticed Kato at that moment.

Kato’s appearance was simply too strange—not only was there a scar around his eye, but even his expression looked twisted and vicious.

Miyamoto could clearly feel the hatred in the way Kato looked at him.

But Miyamoto didn’t really care, because he had no intention of playing in this game.

To be precise, none of the first-string players planned to play.

The match would be handled entirely by the second unit.

In other words, the original Kirisaki Daiichi lineup from the original story, except the shooting guard had been replaced with Tatsuya Himuro.

At that moment, Shogo Haizaki ran over and relayed what Makoto Hanamiya had just said to Miyamoto.

After hearing it, Miyamoto finally understood—so that resentful look came from what happened in middle school.

But that was entirely Kato’s own fault. If he had behaved himself back then, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.

After both teams finished warming up, the game officially began.

Kirisaki Daiichi lineup:

Center: Kentaro Seto
Power Forward: Kazuya Hara
Small Forward: Kojiro Furuhashi
Shooting Guard: Tatsuya Himuro
Point Guard: Makoto Hanamiya

As for Kōkyo High School’s lineup...

Forget it. Too lazy to introduce them.

During the pre-game greeting, Kato glared fiercely at Makoto Hanamiya and said:

“Hanamiya, you traitor.”

Makoto Hanamiya glanced at him and replied calmly:

“Who are you?”

Kato froze for a moment.

Hanamiya continued:

“Oh right, now I remember. Weren’t you my little lackey back in middle school? With that artwork around your eye, I didn’t recognize you.”

“Looks like you’ve got some prospects after all. You even managed to get into high school. I thought you’d be out begging the moment you graduated middle school.”

Kato was completely shut down by Hanamiya’s barrage of insults, the words stuck in his throat.

In the end, he could only squeeze out a single sentence.

“Just you wait!”

But even that was immediately shot down by Hanamiya.

“You? And you expect me to wait for you?”

Kato shouted angrily,

“You—!”

Before he could finish, Hanamiya cut him off again.

“You what? Can’t even finish a sentence? Did your bad eyesight spread to your mouth too?”

Kato finally snapped. Just as he raised his fist to punch Hanamiya in the face, Hanamiya spoke again.

“What? Want to hit me?”

“Are you really going to waste the revenge opportunity you finally got?”

Kato froze.

Looking at Hanamiya’s half-smiling expression, he suddenly felt like he had gone back to middle school.

Back to the time when Hanamiya completely dominated him.

Seeing this, Hanamiya nodded slightly and said calmly:

“That’s right. A dog should act like a dog. Stop baring your teeth.”

“Otherwise one day, when the real war starts, you might be the one getting trampled.”

“Hahahahaha.”

Kato’s expression turned extremely strange, and the anger in his heart reached its peak.

‘Makoto Hanamiya!!!’

The game was about to start.

The referee stepped between Kentaro Seto and Kōkyo’s center and tossed the ball into the air.

Both jumped, but the difference in height was obvious.

Kentaro Seto easily tipped the ball to Makoto Hanamiya.

Hanamiya slowly dribbled across half court. Then, as if spotting something, he suddenly tossed the ball high into the air.

Tatsuya Himuro suddenly cut into the paint, caught the pass mid-air, and finished with an alley-oop layup.

After scoring, Himuro smiled gently.

“Thanks.”

He then high-fived Hanamiya.

In truth, after the conversations they’d had over the past few days, Himuro had already forgotten all the trash talk Hanamiya had thrown at him.

Because outside the court, Hanamiya was genuinely a good person.

Whenever something happened, Hanamiya was always the first to step forward.

For example, when a group of delinquents came looking for trouble.

One time Himuro was confronted by them, and Hanamiya immediately rushed in and chased them off.

At that moment, Himuro truly accepted Hanamiya as a real friend.

What Himuro didn’t know, however, was that Hanamiya had simply been itching for a fight. After getting beaten up every day in the past, now that he finally had a legitimate excuse to throw punches, of course he would jump in.

Back on the court.

Kōkyo High School had possession.

Their point guard crossed half court and immediately passed the ball to Kato.

Kato faced Kojiro Furuhashi’s defense.

He gave Furuhashi a sinister smile, then suddenly made a crossover and drove forward.

During the crossover, he stepped on Furuhashi’s foot, pinning him in place.

Watching from the sidelines, Miyamoto couldn’t help but sigh.

‘That ankle must be made of iron.’

After entering the paint, Kato faced Kentaro Seto.

He gathered the ball and initiated body contact.

And during that collision... he lowered his shoulder.

The shoulder charge knocked Seto backward four full steps.

Then Kato sank the floater.

Next possession.

While attacking in the paint, Kentaro Seto suddenly fell to the floor during a back-down.

It turned out Kōkyo’s center had pulled the chair out from under him while Seto was exerting force.

But that wasn’t all.

While pulling the chair, the center also grabbed Seto with both hands and tugged him down.

The referee didn’t see it clearly.

But that one move sent Seto crashing hard to the floor.

Seeing this, Miyamoto spoke toward Hanamiya on the court in a low voice.

“Hanamiya, I approve.”

At that moment, the expressions of Hanamiya and the Kirisaki Daiichi players on the court changed.

Not into fear.

But into excitement.

They knew exactly what Miyamoto’s words meant.

Hanamiya even walked over to Kato and said:

“Thanks for the gift.”

“As a return, we’ll make sure to treat you properly.”

After saying that, Hanamiya turned and went back on defense.

Kato’s expression turned extremely ugly.

On the next possession, the players of Kōkyo High School noticed something.

Every player on Kirisaki Daiichi had changed.

They had become terrifying.

The way they looked at them was like predators staring at prey.

And that was exactly what it was.

Because when Kōkyo’s point guard tried to pass again, he suddenly felt his calf give out and dropped to his knees.

The ball slipped from his hands and was taken by Makoto Hanamiya.

Unexpectedly, Kirisaki Daiichi didn’t launch a fast break.

Instead, they slowly advanced the ball.

While fighting for position with Kojiro Furuhashi, Kato took countless elbow strikes to the stomach.

But he wasn’t someone who would just take it.

He immediately returned the favor.

What he never expected was that Furuhashi fought like an indestructible cockroach, endlessly trading dirty moves with him.

There was no defense at all.

Only attacks.

Hanamiya also made his move during this possession.

He used a crossover to break through the defense.

After the drive, Hanamiya’s off-hand suddenly swung outward.

His palm landed squarely on Kato’s face while Kato was still battling with Furuhashi.

SMACK!!!

...

Chapter 235: Showing Off in Front of the Master

That slap sent Kato’s vision spinning with stars.

But the referee turned a blind eye, believing Makoto Hanamiya had simply made accidental contact while driving to the basket.

The motion was so smooth—so natural—that everything looked perfectly reasonable.

All that could be said was that Kato had practically walked his own face straight into Makoto Hanamiya’s palm.

After breaking into the paint and facing the Kōkyo center’s help defense, Makoto Hanamiya flashed a wicked smile.

Then he said:

“Do me a favor—kneel first.”

The moment he finished speaking, the Kōkyo center suddenly felt his legs give out beneath him. The next second, he really did drop to his knees right in front of Makoto Hanamiya.

Behind him, Kentaro Seto had quietly given him a little “routine move.”

Looking down at the kneeling Kōkyo center, Makoto Hanamiya feigned surprise.

“Oh my, you actually knelt. Not bad. A good dog really does listen.”

“Since you behaved so well, I’ll let you off this time.”

With that, Makoto Hanamiya casually tossed the ball up, and it dropped cleanly through the hoop.

At first, Kōkyo’s center had no idea what Makoto Hanamiya meant. After being mocked by him, he was furious.

But very quickly, that anger turned into relief.

Because from that point on, the entire game seemed to change.

Aside from him, every other Kōkyo player kept running into all sorts of “accidents” on the court—until they were coughing up blood.

Kato had it the worst.

Still fuming, he pretended to lose control and hurled the basketball straight at Miyamoto.

But Shogo Haizaki intercepted it.

And that one move completely finished Kato.

He… was carried off the court on a stretcher…

Because he took an elbow.

Eight of them.

His other eye…

seemed to be done for too…

After his teammates were all knocked around and Kato was hauled off on a stretcher, Kōkyo’s center finally learned his lesson.

Makoto Hanamiya driving into the paint?

Please, go right ahead!

Kentaro Seto going for a rebound?

After you!

Tatsuya Himuro shooting right in front of me?

Please, by all means!

What? My body’s blocking your view?

Then I’ll just squat down so I don’t get in your way!

You ask why I’m doing this?

Because I don’t want to end up like the others!

And so the game ended under those circumstances.

Four quarters finished.

Aside from Kōkyo’s center, who managed to avoid it, every single Kōkyo player got wrecked.

Three of them were even carried off the court!

And they just happened to be their three most aggressive players.

You could say that the moment Kōkyo started playing dirty, their fate was already sealed.

Those tricks were taught to them by Kato.

And Kato learned them from Makoto Hanamiya!

Trying to play dirty in front of Makoto Hanamiya—wasn’t that basically asking for trouble?

The most terrifying part was this:

Although the audience realized Kirisaki Daiichi was also playing dirty,

they only noticed Kazuya Hara and the others.

No one noticed Makoto Hanamiya.

In fact, some people even thought Makoto Hanamiya had been wronged!

Because his movements were too smooth—so smooth that it looked like the others had walked right into it themselves.

Only those who truly understood Makoto Hanamiya knew the truth.

Every bit of it was acting.

Over the past few years, Makoto Hanamiya’s ability to conceal his dirty tricks had improved dramatically.

Even so, Miyamoto only allows Makoto Hanamiya to use them against opponents who enjoy playing dirty themselves.

Under normal circumstances, those kinds of tricks are strictly forbidden by Miyamoto.

Makoto Hanamiya understands this clearly.

That’s why he only uses them when Miyamoto gives the word.

And just so happened, Miyamoto allowed it in this match.

Naturally, Makoto Hanamiya enjoyed himself to the fullest!!!

Still, deep down, Makoto Hanamiya was starting to feel less interested in using dirty tricks.

Because they were exhausting.

You have to act. You have to figure out how to land the hit.

Trash talk, on the other hand, is completely different.

Acting?

Act my ass.

Trash talk doesn’t need acting. You just open your mouth and let it flow.

No acting, no racking your brain to figure out how to hurt someone.

Every word lands like a real wound.

Isn’t that way more satisfying than dirty tricks?!

After the match, the Kirisaki Daiichi team had a meal together before heading home to rest.

Meanwhile, Miyamoto and Satsuki Momoi went out to hang out.

In the earlier rounds, Kirisaki Daiichi hadn’t faced any of the teams from [The Generation of Miracles].

So it was basically certain that their clash would happen in the quarterfinals.

During the tournament, Kirisaki Daiichi also ran into an interesting school.

Fukuda Academy

The very school Shogo Haizaki attended in the original story.

This time, acting on pure mischief, Miyamoto gave Shogo Haizaki unlimited shooting privileges.

The result?

Shogo Haizaki exploded for 58 points in a single game, sending his “former school” home to go fishing.

After the game, Shogo Haizaki was still hyped, declaring that next time he faced Fukuda Comprehensive, he’d score 80.

Finally, the quarterfinals arrived.

Kirisaki Daiichi’s opponent—

Yōsen High School.

Atsushi Murasakibara’s former school.

Game day.

Kirisaki Daiichi and Yōsen High School faced off in the first quarterfinal match.

The stands were already packed, a sea of spectators.

Yōsen High School entered first.

Led by Masako Araki.

As the Yōsen players walked onto the court, gasps spread through the crowd.

“They’re huge! Why is everyone at Yōsen so tall?”

“Seriously—those guys are all over two meters, right?”

The crowd’s reaction wasn’t surprising.

Yōsen High specializes in defense—an ironclad defensive style.

Kenichi Okamura, Wei Liu, and the newly promoted small forward were all over two meters tall.

If Atsushi Murasakibara hadn’t left, Yōsen’s defense would truly have been an impenetrable wall.

Kenichi Okamura—a man whose chin looked practically fused with his neck—spoke fiercely:

“Damn it. This game, I’m definitely going to teach Murasakibara a lesson!”

Wei Liu replied casually:

“Murasakibara probably had his reasons.”

Kensuke Fukui disagreed.

“He even took Himuro with him. I don’t believe there wasn’t some kind of plan.”

After Atsushi Murasakibara and Tatsuya Himuro left, Yōsen had no choice but to recruit two replacements for the small forward and shooting guard positions.

As for why they didn’t replace the center—

it was because tall centers had already been snapped up by other schools.

Masako Araki swung the wooden sword in her hand and said in a deep voice:

“Alright. If you’ve got energy to spare, use it on the court. Just try not to get blown out.”

Her words weren’t unreasonable.

Kirisaki Daiichi was simply too terrifying.

After watching so many of their games, Masako Araki had yet to see a single school that hadn’t been crushed.

Facing Kirisaki Daiichi, she didn’t even feel like talking big.

The Yōsen players all fell silent.

They knew exactly how strong Kirisaki Daiichi was.

But the frustration in their hearts still hadn’t gone away.

If we can’t beat your whole team—

then focusing on those two players should be fair, right?

...