BEEP!
The referee stepped onto the court with the ball. As the whistle blew, both centers lined up for the tip-off.
They had agreed—perhaps unspokenly—not to have Tendou or Kagami take the jump. Instead, they left it to Kiyoshi Teppei and Seto Kentarō to showcase their abilities.
Smack!
Kiyoshi tapped the ball toward Izuki Shun's waiting hands.
In the next instant, all of Seirin sprang into action.
"Opening with an aggressive strike again, huh?" Tendou caught a glimpse of Aida Riko out of the corner of his eye and quickly retreated on defense.
Hanamiya had predicted this too.
Seirin loved opening with a burst of offense—this was the first move in their signature three-step plan.
Kirisaki Daiichi retreated rapidly. As soon as they lost the tip, the rest of the team turned and sprinted back. In mere moments, they were already in position.
"So we meet again!"
Kagami crossed half-court and immediately called for the ball from Izuki.
"I swear, this time will be different from last time."
He roared internally, locking eyes with Tendou the moment he received the ball.
Tendou's eyes widened slightly—and in that instant, it felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over Kagami's head. He instinctively pulled back and created distance.
"What happened to all that tough talk?"
"Hanamiya's defending Kuroko?"
"No way… Does that mean—?"
All eyes from Tōō's bench turned to their captain.
Was Kirisaki Daiichi about to copy their method of shutting down Kuroko?
"Can he really pull it off?"
"Of course. Hanamiya's IQ is top tier," Imayoshi said after a brief pause, chuckling to himself.
Seirin had clearly not anticipated this.
Aida Riko, standing courtside, bit down hard on her thumb.
Even in their match against Yōsen, they hadn't encountered this kind of problem.
Then again, considering Hanamiya was an even more cunning strategist than Imayoshi, maybe it wasn't surprising after all.
With over 10 seconds already gone from the shot clock, Seirin still hadn't found a way through.
Then Kiyoshi stepped up—he sealed off Seto Kentarō inside and raised his hand for the ball.
Haizaki noticed the move and moved in, but Izuki suddenly made a feint.
"Is he going to take it himself?"
Nope.
As he turned, Izuki, with his back to Kiyoshi, lobbed the ball into the paint.
It was his Eagle Claw Pass.
Kiyoshi caught it, backed down his defender, and spun into a soft hook shot.
His hands weren't just big—they were gentle too. That gave him a deadly advantage in the post.
At least for Seto, there wasn't much he could do against it.
"Oh? That's a nice move." Haizaki wasn't bothered by the score. As usual, he licked his lips, eyeing the Eagle Claw Pass like he wanted to snatch it for himself.
"Go ahead and try." Izuki wasn't intimidated.
His Eagle Claw came from his vision—it wasn't something that could be stolen.
Or so he thought.
Kirisaki Daiichi's possession.
Hanamiya brought the ball up and Haizaki immediately called for it.
Facing Izuki, he turned, backed him down, and with nearly identical motion, drove toward the hoop and—
—passed the ball mid-air.
Just like that.
Tendou sprang forward, elevating over Kagami.
Swish!
The ball arced cleanly into the net. Kagami had leapt with everything he had, but the ball had already slipped past his fingers and landed in the hoop.
It was Himuro Tatsuya's Mirage Shot.
"Stronger than Tatsuya's…" Kagami bit his lip.
Same move—yet a completely different feeling.
The secret of the Mirage Shot was no longer a secret. But stopping it was still incredibly difficult—especially Tendou's version.
The Mirage Shot allowed for two separate release points in mid-air. If you jumped too early, he could wait. If you didn't jump, he'd shoot immediately.
And when paired with the Six Eyes?
It became an unstoppable shot.
"What a monster," Aida Riko muttered, brows tightly furrowed.
Kagami had a way to counter Himuro's Mirage Shot—he'd developed a super-reaction jump that allowed him to block it at either release point.
But Tendou?
He jumped higher, hung longer in the air.
Kagami's counter might not even work.
2–2.
Both teams had executed strong, clean first possessions.
Back on offense, Seirin.
Kiyoshi posted up again. Seto was visibly struggling—aside from IQ, he didn't match up to any of the Uncrowned Kings.
Izuki tried to run the same play again.
But just as he moved, Haizaki's earlier pass flashed through his mind.
His brain instinctively wanted to replicate it.
He'd been Plundered.
Eagle Claw's wide field of vision was still there—but the pass itself? Gone.
"Izuki, over here!"
Seeing his teammate boxed in, Hyūga Junpei broke free with a screen and called out.
Izuki passed the ball over, and Hyūga took the shot immediately.
It wasn't his Inviolable Shot—he saw that Haizaki had already turned his gaze toward him the moment he caught the ball.
Worried about getting another skill stolen, Hyūga opted for a simple catch-and-shoot three.
"Except…"
"Watch out, senpai!"
Just as Hyūga jumped and was about to shoot, he heard Kagami shout from behind.
A split second later, a monster appeared out of nowhere in front of him—sneering silently at his actions.
SMACK!
Tendou's arm sliced clean through the air, hammering the ball with full force.
BOOM!
The basketball slammed against the hardwood with a dull thud.
Hyūga had been completely blocked.
Haizaki was the first to snatch up the ball—and Kirisaki Daiichi launched a rapid counterattack.
"Not happening!" Izuki chased after them.
"Out of my way, vulture boy."
Vulture boy!?
Izuki twitched. What the hell kind of nickname was that?
Still, he went all-out to stay on Haizaki and try to stop the break.
And then—
Zzzzzzt!
Sparks of lightning burst from Haizaki's hands as he tore past Izuki like a flash of thunder.
It was Hayama Kotarō's Thunder Dribble.
Izuki instinctively reached out—and slapped Haizaki's hand.
His Eagle Claw Pass had truly been stolen.
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