The next moment, a dark figure appeared beside the secondary personality in an instant, placed both hands on the [Gate], and began to push.
With the three of them exerting their strength, the second [Gate] actually trembled slightly.
Seeing this, the secondary personality knew he had already reached his limit. The rest would have to depend on the primary personality, so he roared:
"It's up to you now! The second [Gate] is right here. Whether you can push it open or not depends on you! I can't hold on for much longer!"
The secondary personality's expression twisted with effort. He didn't dare let up even slightly as he pushed against the massive [Gate] with everything he had.
The primary personality also knew this was the critical moment, but there was still one piece he had yet to find.
Then, at that very moment, Tetsuya Kuroko's figure appeared in his mind.
More precisely, it was something Tetsuya Kuroko had once said to him.
[I trust my teammates, just as they trust me.]
In an instant, Seijuro Akashi seemed to understand. A bright smile spread across his lips.
"That's right. One person's strength is limited in the end. They trust me, so I should trust them too."
"We....... are a team!"
Clang........
In that instant, the second [Gate] slowly opened, and rays of incredibly gentle light spilled over the two Seijuro Akashis, warm beyond words.
...
On the court.
The lightning in Seijuro Akashi's eyes suddenly began to flicker, and the hearts of the other Rakuzan High School members tightened at the same time.
It was as if some indescribable feeling had surfaced within them.
Reo Mibuchi froze for a moment, touched his chest, and murmured in confusion:
"What is this feeling?"
The next moment, he noticed Seijuro Akashi glance at him. At that instant, his instincts told him to go to the baseline!
Reo Mibuchi didn't know what was happening, but he still chose to follow that instinct.
So Reo Mibuchi immediately ran toward the baseline. Seeing this, Dicky Anthony followed after him, but in the next second, Chihiro Mayuzumi and Kotaro Hayama blocked him at the same time.
None of them had communicated at all. It was as if everything had happened naturally!
That was right. Chihiro Mayuzumi and Kotaro Hayama had also felt something indescribable just now, and by instinct, they moved to set a screen for Reo Mibuchi.
Dicky Anthony was stunned.
"What?!"
Just as Reo Mibuchi reached the baseline, the basketball flew over to him.
The moment he caught it, Makoto Hanamiya and Shuzo Nijimura rushed at him, cutting off his line of sight at the same time.
But in the next second, he instinctively slammed the ball down toward the floor.
He had not seen who was behind Shuzo Nijimura and Makoto Hanamiya. His instincts told him to pass, so he passed.
Shuzo Nijimura and Makoto Hanamiya had not expected Reo Mibuchi to make a pass like that. If there had been no one behind them, it would have been a free turnover!
Yet to their surprise, Chihiro Mayuzumi was right behind them at that moment.
He quickly swatted the basketball forward, sending it straight toward the paint.
Kotaro Hayama caught the ball and immediately jumped for a layup.
"Not a chance!"
Dicky Anthony charged over in an instant, blocking Kotaro Hayama's shooting path.
At that exact moment, Kotaro Hayama tossed the ball up as if he and the others were thinking as one.
Then, under Dicky Anthony's shocked gaze, Eikichi Nebuya leaped into the air, caught the basketball, and dunked it in!
BOOM!!!
Rakuzan High School's wordless exchange and score left Kirisaki Daiichi stunned.
It could be said that if even the slightest mistake had occurred during that play, they would not have scored.
And yet, on a play where one mistake would have ruined everything, they had actually pulled it off, as if they were completely in sync.
Eikichi Nebuya stared at his own hands in surprise and thought:
What's going on? Why do I have this feeling?
Eikichi Nebuya glanced at the others. It felt as if everyone knew what he was thinking.
The other members of Rakuzan High School were the same, their faces filled with astonishment.
Seijuro Akashi smiled faintly and said:
"Everyone, from now on, let's follow our instincts and play. We...... are a team."
Hearing this, everyone smiled knowingly, nodded, and shouted:
"Yeah!"
Off the court.
Daiki Aomine's pupils suddenly shrank when he saw this.
"The second great [Gate]! Akashi........"
Shoichi Imayoshi stared seriously at the court and said:
"Rakuzan's situation really is very similar to ours earlier. But why do I keep feeling like their coordination is far, far smoother than ours?"
The rest of Tōō Academy watched the court as well. Rakuzan High School's offense was incredibly fluid, as if all five players were sharing one mind and playing purely on instinct.
This left the players of Kirisaki Daiichi struggling to cope, and for a while, they could not defend effectively.
Daiki Aomine fell into thought as he watched. He was also wondering why Seijuro Akashi's second [Gate] was different from his own.
In truth, the answer was obvious. The primary personality's Seijuro Akashi was fundamentally a facilitating "support" player.
That happened to align perfectly with the team-oriented function of the second [Gate].
Daiki Aomine, however, was different. Daiki Aomine focused on offense. He was neither especially interested in passing and coordination, nor especially skilled at them.
That was why, after Daiki Aomine opened the second [Gate], his individual ability rose tremendously. Although he could also understand his teammates instinctively, he could not achieve the same seamless coordination as Seijuro Akashi.
On the court.
Rakuzan High School's coordination was astonishingly smooth, making things difficult for Shuzo Nijimura and the others.
So Kirisaki Daiichi quickly made a decision.
Give up defending twos, focus on defending threes, and then compete on offense!
They were the ones with the advantage. Why should they panic?
Besides, Miyamoto Tokima was still on the court right now, and Rakuzan High School could not stop him!
Although Rakuzan High School's coordinated offense was powerful, they had no way to contain Miyamoto Tokima on defense.
Two people could not stop Miyamoto Tokima. Three people could not stop him either!
And if they showed even the slightest intention of sending three people to defend him, Miyamoto Tokima would punish them with a pinpoint pass.
That made them afraid to double-team Miyamoto Tokima again at all.
As a result, Rakuzan High School was dragged back into the abyss once more.
Seijuro Akashi noticed this as well. He shook his head helplessly and murmured:
"Even like this, we still can't do it, can we, Tokima?"
Seijuro Akashi knew he was definitely going to lose this game, so now there was only one thing he wanted to do.
He wanted to enjoy this match properly and savor the experience.
The rest of Rakuzan High School felt the same way. They also knew they could no longer win, so they prepared themselves to fully experience the rest of the game.
In the end, Rakuzan High School lost to Kirisaki Daiichi, 101 to 134.
And with that, Kirisaki Daiichi officially became the national champion of the Winter Cup!
...
...
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