Chapter 146: Utterly Astounded
"Even if it's just a probe, Akashi-kun can't stand being behind for long, right?"
In the stands, Kise Ryota rested his chin in his hand, his gaze thoughtful as it fell on the court. But in this game, more than Akashi Seijuro, his attention focused on Murasakibara Atsushi.
"I feel like Murasakibara-kun has changed somehow..."
Possession changed. Rakuzan on offense.
Akashi Seijuro dribbled past halfcourt and immediately passed to Hayama Kotaro on the right wing.
"What's this guy calculating?" An inexplicable anxiety rose in Fukui Kensuke's heart as he defended Akashi Seijuro.
Though his opponent was only a first-year with a frame far less imposing than Murasakibara Atsushi's, that calmness made his chest tighten.
"Against you..."
On the other side, Hayama Kotaro caught the ball against Himuro Tatsuya's defense and suddenly flashed an ostentatious smile, showing his teeth.
"Three fingers? No, probably need four!"
Before his words finished, his dribble rhythm changed abruptly. His right hand's four fingers rapidly manipulated the basketball. The dribble frequency instantly skyrocketed, the ball becoming a dizzying orange blur in his palm.
Himuro Tatsuya's expression sharpened. His feet moved swiftly, center of gravity tracking Hayama Kotaro. He wasn't shaken off by the sudden acceleration, constantly maintaining position between his opponent and the basket.
"Can't shake him!"
"Great defense, Himuro!" Yosen's bench erupted with enthusiastic calls.
As the shot clock ticked down, a fierce glint flashed in Hayama's eyes. His dribbling hand suddenly increased to five fingers!
"Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang—!"
The dribbling sounds came so densely they nearly merged into a sharp whine. The speed broke through again. Himuro Tatsuya's weight shifted under Hayama's acceleration!
"Bang!"
In that instant, Hayama exploded past, blowing by Himuro's side straight into the paint!
However, Okamura Kenichi immediately rotated up from the right corner. His massive frame blocked Hayama's path.
"As expected, with Murasakibara Atsushi protecting the rim, Yosen's help defense becomes much easier." Yagami Sorato thought analytically.
During the practice game, Yosen's defense seemed to rely only on Murasakibara's deterrence without forming a cohesive unit. Now they'd achieved their proper effect. Thanks to Murasakibara's terrifying defensive range, Yosen's other players could extend outward without worry. Their rotations near the free throw line had also become much more decisive.
"Damn it!" Hayama Kotaro refused to give up. Using his speed, he forcefully leaned into Okamura, then spun violently, using core strength to cut toward the basket!
But just as he looked up to finish—
Shadow engulfed everything.
"!!!"
Murasakibara Atsushi had somehow moved completely into Hayama's path. His 208-centimeter frame and outstretched arms utterly sealed every angle above.
What made it worse—Murasakibara's flat gaze looked down at him, carrying a pure and despair-inducing presence.
Hayama had no room to adjust. He could only rely on instinct and feel, lofting the ball as high as possible into the air—
"Smack!"
Murasakibara rose and swatted the ball away violently!
The basketball flew rapidly backward. Himuro Tatsuya reacted instantly, scooping up the loose ball and launching the counter!
Akashi Seijuro chased hard on defense, about to cut off Himuro at the three-point line.
"Whoosh!"
While advancing, Himuro executed a no-look behind-the-back pass to Fukui Kensuke trailing in the middle.
Fukui caught it. Against Mayuzumi Chihiro's slower recovery, he used a simple crossover to create space and attacked Rakuzan's unguarded rim for an easy layup.
Rakuzan 15, Yosen 22.
The gap had reached seven points.
Yosen further extended their advantage through Murasakibara Atsushi's dominant defense and Himuro Tatsuya's swift transition game!
The whistle blew.
"Rakuzan requests timeout."
Coach Shirogane stood courtside with a serious expression.
Discussion buzzed through the stands. In the spectators' eyes, the gap between these two teams perhaps wasn't as extreme as this morning's Ryonan versus Sannoh battle.
However, only about thirty percent favored Yosen to win.
Yet the current situation clearly ran counter to most predictions.
"After all, height in basketball is a natural advantage that's difficult to overcome..." The announcer sighed. "Yosen's three players over two meters tall—Murasakibara Atsushi, Okamura Kenichi, and Liu Wei—whether battling in the paint or creating defensive disruption on the perimeter, they're causing Rakuzan far more trouble than anticipated!"
"Their height hangs like an inescapable dark cloud over every Rakuzan possession..."
The Rakuzan huddle felt somewhat oppressive.
"I've had enough!" Nebuya Eikichi slammed his towel on the floor. "Let me go pound that punk head-on! I refuse to believe..."
"No. You can't beat Atsushi." Akashi Seijuro's voice calmly interrupted him.
From beginning to end, Akashi Seijuro showed no anger despite the deficit. Perhaps the current situation was within his expectations all along.
"The primary objective in the first half is depleting Atsushi's stamina." Akashi's heterochromatic eyes swept over Nebuya. "Only in the second half, when he can no longer cover the entire paint like now, will you have a chance to compete with him under the basket."
"If you waste your energy now on a pointless, doomed confrontation..." Akashi paused. His voice carried no emotional fluctuation yet held an icy edge. "Then you won't need to play in the second half either."
"Akashi! You—" A vein popped on Nebuya's forehead, but meeting Akashi Seijuro's utterly calm gaze, his rage was somehow forced back down by invisible pressure.
"Any problems?" Akashi looked at him coldly.
"...No." Nebuya finally forced two words through clenched teeth and turned his face away.
"Alright." Head Coach Shirogane intervened timely, breaking the slightly tense atmosphere between players.
"Akashi, your attrition strategy itself is fine." He looked at Akashi Seijuro, his tone serious. "But we discussed last night—at minimum in the first half, keep the deficit within ten points."
"We're still in the first quarter and already down seven. And Yosen's defensive intensity seems even more tenacious than we anticipated..."
"I understand." Akashi Seijuro nodded slightly, his gaze turning toward Yosen's huddle across the court.
"I never planned to let them stay comfortable like this anyway."
The whistle blew.
The timeout ended. Play resumed.
Neither team made substitutions. Rakuzan's ball.
Akashi Seijuro caught it in the backcourt, slowly dribbling past halfcourt.
Fukui Kensuke came up again on defense, his focus intense.
Akashi stopped at the top of the key, making a shoulder fake left. Fukui's weight shifted slightly. In that instant, Akashi's ball-handling right hand yanked the ball back, immediately flowing into an extremely quick and exaggerated crossover. The basketball seemed magnetically attached to his right hand as it flew right!
"Damn it!"
Fukui Kensuke's center of gravity was completely deceived. His feet slipped—he awkwardly fell sitting on the floor!
Akashi Seijuro didn't immediately attack. Instead, he dribbled back half a step, lowering his head slightly to gaze down with those mismatched gold and red eyes at Fukui Kensuke, who was frantically trying to stand.
"What's he doing?! Is he waiting for his opponent to get back up?!"
Fukui scrambled to his feet in shame, lunging at Akashi before fully regaining balance.
"Useless."
Akashi Seijuro calmly bent his knees, rose, released. His form was textbook, his rhythm stable enough to inspire dread.
"Swish!"
The ball cut through air, dropping cleanly through.
Three-pointer good!
Rakuzan 18, Yosen 22.
"Fukui!"
"Fukui-senpai!" Yosen's players gathered around.
After scoring, Akashi turned back on defense expressionlessly, not even glancing at Yosen once more.
"Is that guy... getting serious now?" Yosen's Coach Araki Masako stood courtside, her hands clenching unnaturally.
Possession changed. Yosen on offense.
Fukui Kensuke pushed the ball up, trying to stabilize the rhythm and organize the offense.
However, the instant his foot crossed halfcourt, Akashi Seijuro suddenly closed in.
Fukui's heart tightened. His ball protection was a half-beat slow in the rush. In that split-second flaw, Akashi's long arm reached out and stripped the ball clean!
"Smack!"
The crisp steal sound rang out!
Akashi scooped up the basketball and instantly accelerated, knifing into Yosen territory.
Yosen's fastest reaction came from Himuro Tatsuya. He chased hard, pressing Akashi with physical contact when he entered the paint, trying to disrupt his rhythm.
"You have some talent," Akashi's voice came calmly while driving. "But—"
Before finishing, his dribble rhythm changed abruptly—a lightning-fast behind-the-back into a small crossover. Himuro Tatsuya was easily shaken by this movement that was both simple to the extreme yet precise to the millimeter!
"...that's all."
Akashi shook free of the defense. Yosen's paint stood empty. He calmly stepped in, rose, and gently placed the ball through the rim.
Two-pointer good!
Rakuzan 20, Yosen 22.
"???"
Twenty seconds! Five straight points?!!
The stands erupted. The announcer's excited voice rang out. "This is the Generation of Miracles! Each possesses the terrifying ability to single-handedly reverse the game in short bursts!"
"Akashi Seijuro—just revealing the tip of the iceberg is enough to freeze the game's very air!"
On the sideline, Coach Araki's fingers twitched, nearly calling timeout.
"Coach Araki, no need to panic." Murasakibara Atsushi, retreating on defense, happened to be near her. He spoke seriously. "We knew from the start, right? Beating Aka-chin was never going to be easy. Now..."
Murasakibara looked at Akashi Seijuro's back. "The real game is just beginning!"
"Atsushi," Himuro Tatsuya ran to his side, seemingly unaffected by Akashi's toying. His face carried a relieved smile. "You're especially active today."
"Hmph." Murasakibara gave a noncommittal grunt. After all, today he was determined to settle things with Akashi!
Yosen inbounded from the baseline again.
Fukui Kensuke was much more cautious, using Himuro Tatsuya's wing screen to safely push past halfcourt. Then he transferred the ball to Liu Wei on the left.
Liu Wei faced Mibuchi Reo's defense and faked hard as if shooting!
"You're really underestimating me!" Mibuchi roared, leaping with maximum effort to contest, successfully disrupting Liu Wei's shooting form.
But it wasn't a shot.
The ball's trajectory after leaving his hands didn't fly toward the rim, but rather to the blank space left of the basket.
Murasakibara Atsushi had already established position. The instant the ball reached its apex, he powered upward. Long arms extended, he cleanly caught the basketball in midair, turned, and violently slammed it through!
"BOOM!!!"
The rim cried out in agony.
Yosen used an emphatic alley-oop to reclaim the court's atmosphere.
Rakuzan 20, Yosen 24.
Nebuya Eikichi was knocked completely out of bounds.
"Ah, my bad." Murasakibara raised his hand slightly. "You're so weak, it feels like you don't exist."
"You punk!" Mibuchi Reo shouted to stop it. Though he didn't like this muscle-bound idiot either, the more important thing now was preventing Akashi Seijuro from truly getting angry.
Nebuya snorted coldly, picked up the ball, and inbounded from the baseline.
Akashi Seijuro paid no attention, controlling tempo as he dribbled past halfcourt. After his teammates set up, he used a crossover to easily beat Fukui Kensuke, then the instant he drew Okamura Kenichi's help defense, he passed.
"Smack!"
Mayuzumi Chihiro's seemingly casual swing made the ball curve through the air, landing in Mibuchi Reo's hands.
"What?" Liu Wei hadn't processed what happened.
Mibuchi caught and immediately rose, stepping back for the three.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net. Three-pointer good!
Rakuzan 23, Yosen 24.
Down one!
Yosen's final possession—Himuro Tatsuya pushed the ball quickly himself.
A step beyond the arc, he suddenly decelerated. After a realistic drive fake, he flowed into a lightning-quick pull-up jumper!
Hayama Kotaro was completely fooled, his weight shifted. He could only watch the ball leave Himuro's hands.
"Swish!"
Yosen answered with another three!
Rakuzan 23, Yosen 27.
The whistle blew.
The first quarter ended. The two teams were separated by four points.
"Rakuzan's offensive focus in the first quarter centered on Mibuchi Reo..." Sendoh Akira said thoughtfully.
"Because Yosen's interior is too dominant, Rakuzan can't generate effective inside offense, right?" Yagami Sorato continued the analysis. "But Liu Wei's defense adapted quickly. For Mibuchi to rely purely on individual ability to force shots under a two-meter forward's long-armed contest will get increasingly difficult."
"Yeah. Akashi chose to use Mayuzumi Chihiro's passing to create opportunities for Mibuchi. Now it depends on whether Yosen's defensive rotations can keep up with that kind of passing."
"Though it's not obvious on offense, Murasakibara and the other players' defensive coordination is way better than during the practice game."
"Looking at their overall defensive situation, they might even be stronger than Sannoh..."
"This game might not be so simple."
Sendoh Akira and Yagami Sorato exchanged analytical commentary, leaving Ryonan's other players looking at each other in bewilderment.
Uekusa Tomoyuki took notes diligently. Though he couldn't understand it all, he was utterly astounded...