Chapter 64: The Terrifying Shadow
After the clash, Okuyama Shuzan wasn’t seriously hurt. Meisei’s power forward was escorted off the court by arena security, and what punishment would follow was something Miyamoto Tokima didn’t know.
The game resumed.
The score now stood at 48–29, with Teikō Middle School holding a commanding nineteen-point lead.
Meisei sent in a substitute to fill the power forward position.
Makoto Hanamiya brought the ball across half court. Facing Miyamoto Tokima’s defense and knowing he couldn’t beat him one-on-one, Hanamiya immediately called for a screen.
Meisei’s small forward rushed over to set it, but his fundamentals were lacking. The screen barely slowed Tokima at all.
Seeing that it wasn’t working, Hanamiya called for the power forward to come up and set another screen.
Even then, it only held Tokima back for a moment. Tokima quickly slipped around the screen and was right back in front of Hanamiya.
With no other choice, Hanamiya scanned the court.
Spotting the shooting guard completely open, he fired a pass over. The guard caught it and immediately let the shot fly.
Swish!
The three-pointer was good.
The shooting guard himself looked surprised after scoring. He realized no one had defended him at all—it felt as if Teikō only had four players on the court.
Hanamiya noticed it too, and a sense of unease crept into his chest.
Possession switched. Teikō ball.
Miyamoto Tokima slowly dribbled past half court. Facing Hanamiya’s focused defense, he smiled faintly and passed the ball out.
Hanamiya glanced toward the passing lane and saw no one there.
‘Huh? A turnover?’
Before the thought even finished forming, the ball suddenly curved midair and dropped straight into Shuzo Nijimura’s hands.
Hanamiya’s face changed instantly, shock written all over it.
‘The ball… it curved…?’
Nijimura caught it cleanly, spun, and slammed it home without hesitation.
Kentaro Seto was equally stunned. He never imagined the ball would suddenly bend its trajectory and end up in Nijimura’s hands.
After the basket, Teikō began retreating on defense.
While running back, Nijimura praised him.
“Kuroko, that pass was beautiful.”
Tetsuya Kuroko nodded calmly.
“Thank you.”
Only then did Kentaro Seto finally notice Kuroko. He asked in disbelief,
“Wait… was there really someone like that on the court just now?”
Hanamiya didn’t answer. He stared grimly at Kuroko, because he also had no idea when Kuroko had appeared.
Just like that, the game continued, and the gap between Teikō and Meisei kept growing wider.
On offense, Meisei’s small forward and power forward were completely unable to help Hanamiya, and Hanamiya himself couldn’t break through Miyamoto Tokima.
Their offense had no choice but to rely on the shooting guard, since Kuroko’s defense was clearly weak.
On defense, however, Teikō made Meisei experience something truly bizarre. Passes from Miyamoto Tokima would inexplicably curve in midair, leaving Meisei’s players utterly confused.
Those eerie passes made it impossible to tell where they should even be defending.
Two minutes remained in the third quarter.
Meisei ball.
Meisei’s small forward glared darkly at the white-haired player in front of him. Anger surged through his chest.
He decided to teach Shogo Haizaki a lesson with some dirty tricks.
He stepped hard on Haizaki’s foot and reached out, calling for the ball.
“Hanamiya, pass it!”
He waited for the ball to come—
But instead, a fist did.
Bang!
Stars exploded in his vision. His consciousness went dark, and he collapsed to the floor.
Yamada immediately blew his whistle.
“Beep!”
Hearing the whistle, the Teikō players turned toward the referee in confusion—only to see someone lying at Haizaki’s feet.
Haizaki clicked his tongue and muttered coldly,
“You really tried to mess with me? You’re tired of living.”
Yamada immediately called a technical foul on Shogo Haizaki, then moved to check the Meisei small forward’s condition.
Miyamoto Tokima walked up beside Haizaki and spoke quietly.
“Didn’t I tell you to keep it subtle?”
Haizaki instantly dropped his tough attitude and apologized awkwardly.
“Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t help it. I really couldn’t.”
Tokima sighed helplessly, patted Haizaki on the shoulder, and said,
“I’ll let it go this time. Next time, keep it smaller—don’t make it so obvious.”
Haizaki nodded repeatedly.
When Yamada realized he couldn’t wake the Meisei small forward, he immediately called for medical staff to carry him off the court.
Miyamoto Tokima then walked up to Makoto Hanamiya and calmly returned his earlier words.
“Your gnashing of teeth… is only just beginning.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
Hanamiya’s expression twisted. For the first time, he felt a wave of disgust.
In the past, it was always them crippling the opponent’s key players.
Now it was the opposite.
Although Teikō had lost two starters, their overall strength hadn’t dropped much at all.
Meisei, on the other hand, had already lost three players. Both offense and defense were severely weakened. This game was already a guaranteed loss.
And worse still—Miyamoto Tokima seemed to have his sights set on him.
As Hanamiya stared at Tokima’s retreating back, he suddenly saw it.
A pitch-black, shapeless shadow burst forth from Tokima’s body.
The shadow slowly rose, spreading until it covered the entire ceiling of the basketball arena.
Once it enveloped the ceiling, the shadow slowly opened its eyes.
They were blood-red eyes, radiating an overwhelmingly dangerous aura.
Hanamiya met its gaze.
That single glance made him feel like insignificant prey, locked onto by a terrifying predator.
A chill shot straight up his spine. Hanamiya felt fear—true fear—for the first time in his life.
An intense sense of unease and icy dread flooded his body, as if he were trapped in an endless expanse of cold, lightless darkness.
‘No… I can’t keep playing… If this continues, I’ll die!!!’
“Hanamiya… Hanamiya… Hanamiya, what’s wrong? Say something!”
Seeing Hanamiya standing there in a daze, Kentaro Seto stepped forward and called out to him.
Cold sweat poured from Hanamiya’s forehead. He didn’t even hear Seto’s voice.
Sensing something was wrong, Seto grabbed him and shook him hard.
“Hanamiya!”
Hanamiya snapped back to reality, terror filling his eyes as he looked at Seto. His voice trembled.
“No… no… we can’t keep playing…”
He clutched Seto’s shirt, panic flooding his face.
“Kentaro! We can’t keep going! If we do, we’ll die!!!”
Ignoring Seto’s confusion, Hanamiya suddenly turned and screamed at the referee.
“Referee!!! Time out! We’re calling a time out!!!”
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