Chapter 149: Crushing Defeat?!
During the Teiko era, the first significant conflict within the Generation of Miracles occurred between Akashi Seijuro and Murasakibara Atsushi. That confrontation ended with Murasakibara's submission, and from that day forward, he never disobeyed Akashi's "orders."
In Akashi's perception, Murasakibara had little love for basketball. He simply chose the sport because of his towering height, and through his overwhelming natural talent, inevitably became one of the "Generation of Miracles."
Nothing more, nothing less.
Before this semifinal clash between Yosen and Rakuzan, Akashi had approached Murasakibara privately.
In Akashi's view, Rakuzan's victory was a foregone conclusion. Whether both of them played or both sat out, the result wouldn't change. He simply stated this reality in his characteristically matter-of-fact tone and proposed they both skip the game.
However, to Akashi's surprise, Murasakibara refused his proposal.
"How curious," Akashi murmured, standing at the top of Rakuzan's three-point arc as he watched Yosen's offense develop. "Atsushi... what exactly caused this change in you?"
Yosen's possession!
Himuro Tatsuya held the ball at the top of the key while Akashi pressed up, his expression calm. Himuro wasn't looking to go one-on-one. He signaled to the left, and Okamura Kenichi immediately stepped up to set a screen.
Akashi quickly squeezed around the outside of the screen, but Himuro didn't take the opportunity to drive. Instead, he smoothly stepped back and raised the ball.
Akashi lunged forward to contest.
Thud!
Himuro slammed the ball hard into the floor with both hands—a bounce pass.
The ball zipped past Akashi's side, finding Fukui Kensuke near the free throw line.
Fukui backed down Hayama Kotaro and lobbed the ball into the paint. Murasakibara caught it, dropped his shoulder, and Nebuya Eikichi was forced back half a step.
Hayama immediately charged toward the basket while Mayuzumi Chihiro collapsed from the wing.
"Triple-team again!"
Nebuya held his position, pressing hard against Murasakibara's back.
"This guy... when did his strength suddenly become like that old man from Ryonan?"
Murasakibara couldn't muscle his way to the rim for an easy dunk. Hayama and Mayuzumi were already converging in front of him.
Swish!
Pop!
Murasakibara arced the ball up from the outside with an underhand motion, his wrist flexing softly.
A hook shot?!
The basketball bounced once on the rim before dropping through the net.
Rakuzan 61, Yosen 62
"A hook shot... that kid..." Uozumi Jun's expression was complicated.
The hook shot was one of a center's fundamental moves, deceptively simple but incredibly difficult to master. It demanded exceptional wrist flexibility, body balance, and distance control.
Uozumi had practiced it extensively, but his hook always came out too stiff, the arc and power difficult to control at will. Under intense defensive pressure, his form especially broke down.
This was one of the bottlenecks limiting Uozumi's offensive game.
And Murasakibara hadn't even used this move during Ryonan's practice match against Yosen...
Though the ball had barely dropped in, the soft touch with which he'd released it was no lucky shot.
"So he's got that in his arsenal now. Next time I'll definitely stop him!" Hayama declared to Nebuya.
Rakuzan's triple-team wasn't just meant to give Murasakibara trouble—it was designed to completely shut him down!
Possession changed. Rakuzan on offense.
Akashi pushed past halfcourt as Yosen switched Fukui Kensuke back onto him, with Okamura Kenichi hovering nearby ready to help.
"Quick adjustment," Akashi noted.
He glanced at his teammates' positions.
Mibuchi Reo spaced out to the left corner with Liu Wei tracking him. Hayama Kotaro positioned himself at the right forty-five, ready to cut, with Himuro Tatsuya denying. Nebuya Eikichi planted himself under the basket while Mayuzumi Chihiro stood at the right elbow.
Akashi dribbled twice, then suddenly faked left. Fukui's feet shifted—
Zip!
The basketball threaded through the crowd, finding Nebuya Eikichi directly under the rim.
Nebuya's eyes lit up the moment he caught it. He immediately dropped his shoulder and backed down Murasakibara.
"Pass it!" Akashi's ice-cold voice cut across from the top of the key.
Nebuya hesitated, reluctantly swinging the ball to the right. Mayuzumi came up to receive, then redirected it to the cutting Hayama Kotaro.
Bang!
Hayama was already at full speed. The instant he caught the ball, his five-fingered lightning dribble exploded into action.
Himuro Tatsuya was blown by in one step.
Murasakibara was boxed out by Nebuya. Okamura rotated over, and Hayama pulled up from near the free throw line for a mid-range jumper.
Swish!
Nothing but net!
Rakuzan 63, Yosen 62
"Beautiful shot!" the announcer roared. "Hayama finally finds his rhythm! Even with Okamura's long arms in his face, it didn't affect his release!"
"Are they deliberately trying to provoke Atsushi?" Fukui frowned.
While Rakuzan hadn't scored directly at the rim yet, they were completely operating within Murasakibara's defensive territory.
Yosen's turn. They pushed the pace.
Fukui brought the ball up slowly, trying to restore Yosen's tempo.
"Don't underestimate me just because I'm guarding you!" Hayama pressured up immediately.
Bang!
Fukui pulled the ball behind his back. Liu Wei quickly stepped up for a screen.
"Seriously, who's underestimating who here?" Fukui drove off the pick toward the basket. "I'm Yosen's captain!"
Mibuchi Reo rotated over, cutting off the lane.
Fukui looked toward the rim but unexpectedly kicked it out to Himuro Tatsuya at the right forty-five! With Murasakibara getting trapped repeatedly, Yosen needed their perimeter to relieve the pressure.
However, Akashi anticipated this perfectly, suddenly cutting diagonally to intercept.
Smack!
The ball landed directly in Akashi's hands.
"Another steal!"
"That's Akashi's fourth steal of the game!!"
Rakuzan in transition. Hayama Kotaro sprinted ahead of the pack, caught Akashi's outlet pass and threw down a one-handed tomahawk dunk!
Rakuzan 65, Yosen 62
"Is the lead about to stretch?" Even from the sideline, Aida Hikoichi could feel Akashi Seijuro's terrifying presence.
Come to think of it, if Akashi's pressure was this intense, Uekusa-senpai probably wouldn't get playing time like he did against Sannoh, right?
Other than Yagami Sorato and Sendoh Akira, Hikoichi couldn't think of anyone else who could reliably bring the ball upcourt and run an offense against that kind of pressure.
"Not yet. But close." Yagami said slowly. "This next possession is critical for Yosen. If they lose it, they'll be in serious trouble."
What Ryonan could see from the stands, the players on the court understood even better.
Yosen's possession.
"Defense! Defense!"
"Defense! Defense!"
Rakuzan's players locked in.
Fukui decided to attack from the perimeter. After calling out a play, Yosen's players executed their movement.
Himuro tried multiple times to shake Akashi but couldn't create separation. However, Liu Wei used an Okamura screen on the left wing to get open.
Fukui fired the pass directly into his hands.
Liu Wei didn't hesitate—he pulled up immediately.
Clang!
The ball rimmed out.
"Rebound!"
"Muscle power—!!" Nebuya suddenly roared, establishing dominant position under the basket.
Hayama and Mayuzumi both crashed the glass!
"You think you can keep me out of MY paint?!!" Murasakibara exploded upward with everything he had, using his wingspan advantage to tip the ball out.
Okamura grabbed the loose board. Yosen had numbers on the break!
Himuro curled around a Fukui screen to receive the ball, but Akashi was already back in front of him the next second.
Swish!
Himuro swung it back. Fukui caught it, eyes locked on target, and fired.
Splash!
Three-pointer!
Rakuzan 65, Yosen 65
"He hit it! A three!"
"Fukui! Fukui! Great shot!!"
"Oh, that three from Fukui-senpai was really clutch. Not bad at all." Kise Ryota leaned casually against the railing.
"Yosen didn't make it this far relying only on Murasakibara," Kasamatsu Yukio said flatly.
"Hehe." Kise caught the implication in Kasamatsu's tone. "Of course, Kasamatsu-senpai is definitely better than Fukui-senpai!"
"Goes without saying!"
In the end, Kasamatsu couldn't resist—he kicked Kise square in the ass.
Rakuzan's possession.
Akashi received the inbound pass but didn't rush his advance. He controlled the ball with one hand while raising his index finger with the other, signaling a play only Rakuzan players could decipher.
"Everyone be careful!" Himuro called back to his teammates, quickly stepping up to meet Akashi. Something felt ominous.
Akashi paid no attention to Himuro's concerns. After crossing halfcourt, he steadily lowered his dribble.
Bang, bang, bang!
The instant the ball hit the floor for the third time—
Akashi exploded left with a violent crossover, his left foot driving hard off the ground as his body knifed forward. Himuro reacted instantly, sliding laterally to cut off the lane. Their shoulders collided just outside the three-point line in the first contact.
Just as Himuro thought he'd successfully sealed the driving lane, Akashi's right shoulder suddenly dipped as if he'd force through the contact—but instead he used the momentum to pull back. The ball whipped behind his back to his left hand while his entire center of gravity shifted right with unnatural fluidity.
"Impossible?!" Himuro's balance was disrupted by the sudden rhythm change, his body tilting.
He didn't fall, but for Akashi, it didn't matter.
Bang!
Akashi's left hand fired the ball forward with explosive force, his body accelerating a second time as he blew straight past Himuro's side.
"He's completely beaten him!" the announcer shouted.
But Yosen's defensive rotations were lightning-quick.
Okamura Kenichi had been watching this matchup closely. The moment Akashi beat Himuro, he stepped up from the free throw line, his massive frame blocking the driving lane.
"Stop right there!!"
Himuro recovered and immediately gave chase, forming a perfect front-and-back trap!
Akashi's expression remained unchanged. He took one more step forward, making contact with Okamura, then spun sharply!
"He's past him again?!!"
"In such a tight space! He moves like he's dancing!"
However, Murasakibara had also stepped out from the paint, standing directly in Akashi's path!
Triple-teamed.
"Atsushi, I knew you'd come out." A hint of emotion finally crossed Akashi's face—a cold smile.
His eyes didn't even glance at the rim. Instead, they looked past Murasakibara's shoulder toward a figure cutting from the left wing.
Hayama Kotaro!
Akashi's pass released almost simultaneously with his gaze landing.
"Truly terrifying..." Sendoh murmured.
In this situation, Akashi's pass wasn't a lob or a bounce pass, but a surgical flat thread.
The basketball sliced through the gap under Murasakibara's raised arm, arriving perfectly on Hayama's cutting line.
Catch, step, jump—Hayama converted all his driving momentum into vertical explosion. He caught the pass at his apex, squared up to the basket.
"You—you won't score in Yosen's paint!!!"
Murasakibara erupted with a furious roar, every ounce of power in his body detonating as his massive frame whipped around toward the wing to contest Hayama.
"No way?! He can actually rotate in time?!"
Facing the overwhelming block attempt, Hayama's expression showed disbelief—yet also a hint of expectation.
He didn't try to finish himself. The instant contact occurred, he used his core strength to execute an extreme mid-air contortion, pulling the ball from overhead down to his chest, then flicking his wrist—
Not a shot. A pass into the air.
The basketball floated upward as if guided by invisible hands, tracing an impossibly high arc over Murasakibara's fingertips toward the space directly above the rim.
There, another shadow appeared.
Nebuya Eikichi had sprinted full speed from the opposite baseline into the paint. As Hayama released the alley-oop, Nebuya launched himself skyward, his muscular frame fully extended in the air, arms reaching high to meet the descending ball.
BOOM!!!
The deafening explosion shattered through the arena.
Nebuya posterized Murasakibara—who hadn't fully landed—slamming the ball viciously through the rim! The massive impact made the entire basket structure violently shake and groan.
Rakuzan 67, Yosen 65
"A poster dunk?!"
"Murasakibara got posterized!!"
The gymnasium erupted in a tsunami of cheers and gasps.
Akashi glanced at Murasakibara stumbling to regain his balance but said nothing. He simply turned and jogged back to Rakuzan's defensive end.
"Great pass, Hayama!" Nebuya celebrated after landing, jumping up to chest-bump his teammate.
"Ugh, ow! That hurt, you muscle gorilla!" Hayama grimaced but was clearly thrilled.
"Oh! Thanks!" Nebuya grinned stupidly.
"Who's complimenting you?!" Hayama glared, but couldn't suppress his smile. After all, Murasakibara had been dominating the paint all game—that dunk felt incredible!
"Sei-chan... are you trying to crush me this way...?"
Murasakibara stood outside Yosen's baseline, looking up at the still-trembling rim, then down at the basketball bouncing on the floor.
"You okay, Atsushi?"
"Don't worry about it, we'll get it right back..."
The arena's roar seemed to fade away momentarily, then suddenly every sound became crystal clear.
An unprecedented sensation slowly crawled up his spine.
"I'm going to completely crush you."
Murasakibara's pupils contracted sharply as a white-violet light flickered deep in his eyes...
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