To everyone's surprise—
Seirin actually had a hidden ace on their bench.
No one ever expected it.
Even Shinji Koganei himself was a nervous wreck.
Just feeling the sheer pressure from Haizaki made his knees weak.
But—he blocked him.
The fact was undeniable.
He blocked Haizaki.
Haizaki couldn't believe he'd been held off by a small-time bench player.
Unwilling to accept it, he forced a shot.
Koganei, terrified as he was, still jumped at the perfect moment, and just barely tipped the ball with his fingertips as Haizaki released it.
"This piece of trash…" Haizaki's pupils dilated— he knew instantly the shot wasn't going in.
Clang!
As expected, the ball clanged off the front of the rim and bounced away.
Kirisaki's big men, Hara Kazuya and Seto Kentarō, moved quickly.
Hara boxed out Kiyoshi while sneakily tugging his jersey, and Seto read the rebound and went for the grab.
"Out of my way, damn it!"
But just before Hara could secure it—
Kagami came soaring in like a fighter jet from beyond the arc.
"No way—how is he jumping that high?!"
Hara had no way to compete.
Kagami's explosive vertical leap was in a completely different class.
He secured the rebound and landed, ready to push for a counterattack.
But suddenly— his instincts screamed at him.
There was no contact, yet an image flashed across his mind.
Danger. From behind.
His body reacted instantly—turning to shield the ball.
But his instinctive motion— was already predicted by the Six Eyes.
"The future isn't just something you see. It's something that's already destined to happen."
"To break it… you're still far from ready, Kagami."
Tendou's voice, unnervingly calm, reached him a moment before impact.
In the very next instant, Kagami's arms felt empty.
The ball he'd just secured was ripped away.
Tendou had snatched it clean out of his hands.
That strength— the only one who could match it was Murasakibara.
Seeing this, both Kiyoshi and Kagami made the same call— they rushed to block Tendou.
This was their territory—the Seirin paint. The basket was just one step away.
But Tendou's eyes were glowing an icy blue.
Every possible move they could make was already accounted for.
Snap!
Suddenly, the ball shot from the paint to the perimeter, passing cleanly between Hyūga and Koganei.
"A no-look laser pass…"
Coach Nakatani was floored.
Only now did Hyūga react—lunging toward Haizaki.
But Koganei got there first.
Only to see Haizaki smoothly step back, catch the ball, and fire— all in one motion.
This time, no one could interfere.
The ball went up clean— and swished through the net.
"Shit!"
That shot marked something even worse—
Hyūga's "Inviolable Shot" had just been stolen.
"This is bad…"
That was the thought running through everyone's mind.
With the loss of that signature shot, Seirin had one less scoring weapon.
The game just tilted even further in Kirisaki's favor.
But Tendou wasn't done.
"Haizaki. Hanamiya. Switch assignments."
His voice was calm, but there was no room for question.
And so—
when Izuki brought the ball up again, the defender in front of him was no longer Haizaki—
It was Hanamiya.
More trouble.
Aida Riko felt overwhelmed.
They hadn't even found a solution to their last problem, and now Kirisaki had changed their defensive setup again.
As a coach, she was shocked to find herself being outpaced in thought by a player still on the court.
Each adjustment from Kirisaki hit like a new wave.
Her mind became a blur—
and the more flustered she got, the harder it was to think of a counter-strategy.
Right now, Aida Riko was… panicking.
So what made this defensive switch so dangerous?
Hyūga's Inviolable Shot was gone— but his Black Mode three-point shot was still accurate.
Give him a good look, and he could still score.
But Tendou wasn't about to give them that chance.
With Haizaki on Hyūga, he could shut down his shooting.
And Hanamiya on Izuki could severely limit Seirin's ball movement.
It was a complete shutdown.
Sensing the coach's distress, Hyūga took matters into his own hands.
"Izuki!"
He called out and demanded the ball again.
As soon as it touched his hands, he pulled into a shooting motion.
Haizaki instinctively jumped—
only to realize… Hyūga's feet never left the ground.
"A grounded shot?!"
Everyone from Rakuzan was taken aback.
This Seirin captain— wasn't just bluffing.
Reo Mibuchi's expression turned to shock.
This wasn't imitation.
This was real learning.
A grounded shot, just like Reo's "Earth Shot."
But with its own flavor.
Hyūga jumped after faking Haizaki out— and crashed into him.
Tweet!
The whistle blew.
Three-shot foul.
Even his teammates were caught off guard.
"Izuki?!"
Seirin's players turned in disbelief.
This was beyond their expectations.
But Hyūga simply snorted, walked to the line, and got ready for his three free throws.
Aomine wasn't the only one learning new techniques.
After Nationals, under Aida Riko's coaching, Hyūga first mastered the Inviolable Shot.
Then, during the Seirin vs. Rakuzan match at Nationals,
he drew inspiration from Mibuchi Reo.
Heaven, Earth, Void.
Mibuchi's three-style shooting form.
Of them, Hyūga couldn't replicate two— but the Earth Shot fit him perfectly.
With defenders always jumping to contest his Inviolable Shot, the grounded fake gave him plenty of opportunities to draw fouls.
In the original story, Hyūga had also learned the Earth Shot
after watching Reo's footage over and over again—
and debuted it in actual play immediately.
Seirin's captain wasn't just a leader.
His strength rivaled even the Uncrowned Kings.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Three for three. All net.
But—
"Even if he learned the Earth Shot, it's still no use," Reo sighed.
"True. It's just going to get stolen by Haizaki anyway."
Reo smiled bitterly.
They weren't the Generation of Miracles.
And if Haizaki could snatch Hayama's Thunder Dribble— then an Earth Shot of the same level… was fair game.
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