The words had barely left his mouth when Seijuro Akashi realized that Miyamoto Tokima, who had just been speaking right in front of him, had vanished.
He jolted sharply.
"What?!"
BAM!!!
The next second, a thunderous dunk rang out from behind him.
Seijuro Akashi turned around in disbelief and saw Miyamoto Tokima hanging from the rim with one hand.
Thud!.....
Miyamoto Tokima released the rim and landed, muttering:
"Good thing I steadied myself first. Otherwise, that dunk would've turned into a freefall. No way I'm trying a dunk without grabbing the rim."
As he spoke, Miyamoto Tokima was already running back toward the backcourt.
Seijuro Akashi stared at the scene in utter shock, unable to calm down for a long while.
The audience erupted in surprise as well.
"Hey, hey, how did that go in just now? My trajectory was off, so I had to go adjust it."
"Hey, don't touch me with the hand you just used to adjust your trajectory! And I didn't see it either. A pretty girl walked past me just now, so I was looking at her."
"All right, all right, stop arguing. I saw it. [Magic Cube] broke past that Rakuzan captain in an instant, then threw down a one-handed slam. It was insanely cool, okay!"
Over at Kaijō High School.
Everyone from Kaijō High School stared in shock at what had just happened, unable to recover for a long time.
Yoshitaka Moriyama swallowed hard and said:
"Is… is that really a speed humans can reach?"
Mitsuhiro Hayakawa, his face full of astonishment, replied:
"I dunno."
Ryota Kise stared fixedly at Seijuro Akashi and murmured:
"Akashi, are you going to lose too?........"
...
Tōō Academy.
Shoichi Imayoshi opened his eyes and said:
"Looks like Akashi has lost too. Miyamoto Tokima....... He really is too strong."
Daiki Aomine lifted both arms and stretched, then leaned back into a more comfortable position.
"Yeah. Looks like defeating Miyamoto on our own is impossible."
Shoichi Imayoshi suddenly turned his head.
"Are you saying........"
Daiki Aomine closed his eyes and nodded, his voice low.
"Yeah. We, the [Generation of Miracles], all wanted to defeat Miyamoto on our own before, and we worked hard for that."
"But looking at it now, we probably can't."
"The only way to beat Miyamoto now might be for us to reunite again......."
Shoichi Imayoshi's eyes trembled as he cried out:
"Aomine, are you trying to say…?!"
Daiki Aomine waved him off and laughed casually.
"Come on, I was just saying whatever came to mind. Let's watch the game first."
Shoichi Imayoshi slowly turned back around, but his heart still refused to settle.
If the [Generation of Miracles] reunited...... then maybe......
they really would have a chance........
...
On the court.
Possession changed.
Rakuzan High School had the ball.
Seijuro Akashi dribbled forward, but the moment he crossed half-court, he felt an overwhelming pressure bear down on him.
Under Miyamoto Tokima's feet, waves instantly rippled outward, spreading in the blink of an eye to cover an area three or four steps beyond the three-point line.
After spreading out, the waves gradually began to burn, forming a zone, a zone that belonged to Miyamoto Tokima's Defensive Zone!
The instant Seijuro Akashi stepped into that zone, he sensed extreme danger and hurriedly pulled his foot back.
And at that moment, he was still near midcourt.
Reo Mibuchi's mouth fell open.
"His range starts as soon as you cross half-court?!"
Cold sweat broke out on Seijuro Akashi's forehead, and panic began to rise inside him.
He no longer knew how to break through this situation. It felt as if everything had fallen into a complete dead end.
Just then, the voice of his secondary personality rang out in his mind.
"The second [Gate]."
The primary personality froze. "Hm?"
The secondary personality continued:
"The second [Gate]. If you can't open the second [Gate] now, then there's truly no hope left."
Of course the primary personality knew that, but he had no idea how to open it!
"I know that, but I can't do it right now."
"No, you can," the secondary personality immediately refuted. "And I'll help you. Besides, your ability is the one best suited to opening the second [Gate]."
The primary personality froze for a moment. Then, in an instant, he found himself standing before the second [Gate].
He looked around, then turned to the secondary personality in surprise and asked:
"What exactly are you planning?"
The secondary personality cast a longing glance at the second great [Gate] and slowly said:
"The essence of the second [Gate] is reaching a true understanding with your teammates. A look, a thought, and your teammates will understand."
"In that way, the five of you become one unit and coordinate together. That's what I realized after opening the first [Gate] and watching Daiki."
"So......."
The secondary personality slowly turned around, his eyes filled with loneliness.
"My path....... was wrong."
The primary personality looked utterly stunned. He had never imagined the secondary personality would say something like that!
Could failure really make someone see so many things clearly?
It was true. The secondary personality of the past had been blinded by victory and had never thought about anything else. Even when he knew the reason, he had refused to think about it.
Because back then, in his heart, victory was absolute!
But now, after being completely shattered by Miyamoto Tokima, he seemed to have understood many things and made some changes.
Of course, when it came down to it, he still wanted to defeat Miyamoto Tokima at least once. Whether he did it himself or the primary personality did it, as long as this body defeated him, that would be enough!
The primary personality took a deep breath and asked:
"Then what do you want to do next?"
The secondary personality glanced at him, then slowly touched the second [Gate].
"I'll help you push this [Gate] open. But the most important part still depends on you. You have to understand the true meaning of this [Gate]."
"So, want to gamble on it?"
The primary personality nodded heavily, his voice firm.
"All right! Let's gamble on it!"
With that, the two of them slowly placed their hands on the second [Gate] and began to push.
"Haaah!!!"
The two of them exerted their strength all at once, but the massive [Gate] did not move in the slightest. It was as if they were ants trying to move a mountain!
"Damn it! How can this be?!"
The primary personality strained with his entire body, even his expression twisted with effort, yet the [Gate] showed no reaction at all.
The secondary personality was the same, but he did not give up, because there was still one obsession burning in his heart.
To defeat Miyamoto Tokima and claim victory!!!
...
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