"Ah!"
Taiga Kagami roared and slammed the basketball hard into the hoop.
Crack!!!
The rim let out a sharp, splitting sound, as if responding to Taiga Kagami's effort.
After landing, Kōji Kobori still looked shaken.
That was ridiculous.
He had jumped later, yet somehow he had landed first.
How was that even possible?!
Was there any justice left?!
Any laws of physics at all?!
After scoring, Taiga Kagami clenched his fist in a brief celebration, then turned and headed back on defense.
Kōji Kobori quickly snapped out of it and began the inbound.
Yukio Kasamatsu received the ball. He did not choose to attack on his own and instead passed it straight to Ryota Kise.
After catching the ball, Ryota Kise did not hesitate. He immediately drove left with a burst of power.
Tatsuya Himuro naturally followed him, but just as he caught up, Ryota Kise suddenly accelerated.
Dribble acceleration!
It was exactly the same move Taiga Kagami had just used.
After breaking past Tatsuya Himuro, Ryota Kise still did not slow down.
Facing Teppei Kiyoshi's help defense, Ryota Kise had a brief impulse to copy Taiga Kagami and go straight up with Fire Blazing to the Sky, dunking right over Teppei Kiyoshi.
But Ryota Kise was not Taiga Kagami. He did not have that absurd jumping ability.
And Teppei Kiyoshi was not Kōji Kobori either.
In terms of physical gifts, Teppei Kiyoshi was far superior to Kōji Kobori.
So Ryota Kise did not act rashly. He calmed down and chose the safest option.
A floater...
Teppei Kiyoshi jumped, trying to block it, but he was still half a step too slow. The basketball brushed past his fingertips.
Teppei Kiyoshi's face darkened, and he was already cursing inwardly.
Damn it, a floater! To hell with that damn floater!
Over the next few possessions, Taiga Kagami kept attacking one on one.
During these rounds, Seirin's offense was completely focused on Taiga Kagami.
Kaijō was different. Although most of their offense still went through Ryota Kise, there were still several plays finished by other members of Kaijō.
On the sidelines, Shogo Haizaki watched the match and, on a sudden whim, began observing the players from both teams.
Then he discovered something startling.
The ten-player game...
had turned into a nine-player game.
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Shogo Haizaki's back, and he hurriedly began searching for the last person.
Finally, only after focusing hard and searching with purpose did Shogo Haizaki see the missing player.
Tetsuya Kuroko!
At this moment, Tetsuya Kuroko's presence had thinned to the extreme.
Even though he was standing right between Kōji Kobori and Mitsuhiro Hayakawa, neither of them so much as glanced at him.
Seeing this bizarre scene, Shogo Haizaki asked haltingly, "Hey, Makoto."
Makoto Hanamiya looked at him in confusion.
Shogo Haizaki turned and met Makoto Hanamiya's eyes. Makoto Hanamiya could clearly tell that Shogo Haizaki's eyes were trembling.
With a strange look on his face, Shogo Haizaki pointed at Tetsuya Kuroko on the court and asked in a low voice, "How many people are on the court?"
Makoto Hanamiya gave him a look like he was staring at an idiot. Then he turned toward the court and mocked him.
"How many people could there be in a game? Obviously ten!"
Shuzo Nijimura laughed and teased him as well.
"Exactly, Haizaki. Of course there are ten people in a game. Isn't that a stupid question?"
Shogo Haizaki shook his head and said quietly, "Count them."
Shuzo Nijimura and Makoto Hanamiya exchanged puzzled looks, then turned their heads and began counting the players on the court.
But as they counted, both of them realized something was wrong.
Shuzo Nijimura's smile instantly faded, and surprise appeared on his face.
"Wait. Why..."
Makoto Hanamiya was just as startled. He counted again, uncertain, then finally murmured in disbelief, "Nine?"
Shogo Haizaki composed himself, then pointed at Tetsuya Kuroko on the court and said in a low voice, "That one is the last one."
Makoto Hanamiya and Shuzo Nijimura followed the direction Shogo Haizaki was pointing.
Only after concentrating did the two of them finally see Tetsuya Kuroko, whose presence had become almost nonexistent.
Shuzo Nijimura immediately sucked in a breath.
"No way. This is..."
Makoto Hanamiya was equally surprised and muttered in confusion, "Has his presence really faded to this level?"
Miyamoto Tokima watched their reactions and could not help smiling, while also feeling a quiet sense of admiration.
Seirin truly did care about Tetsuya Kuroko. Otherwise, they never would have brought Tetsuya Kuroko's ability to this point.
To be honest, even though Miyamoto Tokima knew how Tetsuya Kuroko had done it, if he was not paying attention, even he would still lose sight of Tetsuya Kuroko.
If Miyamoto Tokima and the others off the court could barely notice Tetsuya Kuroko, then the Kaijō players currently in the middle of the game had even less chance of spotting him.
On the court, the second quarter was almost over, and the score was extremely close, with both sides chasing each other point for point.
42 to 43.
Kaijō led by one point.
Shun Izuki brought the ball forward. Seeing this, Yukio Kasamatsu shouted, "Defense!"
The Kaijō players immediately focused, each locking onto the person they were supposed to guard.
But Yoshitaka Moriyama looked dazed. He was turning in place, completely at a loss.
Because he had no idea where the player he was supposed to defend had gone.
Suddenly, Shun Izuki's eyes shifted, as if he had noticed something.
Then he quickly flicked a pass out, giving Yukio Kasamatsu no time to react at all.
Yukio Kasamatsu's heart lurched.
'Crap!'
But when Yukio Kasamatsu turned his head and saw that there was no one where the pass was headed, he still held on to a faint hope.
'Could it be... a mistake?'
However, Yukio Kasamatsu quickly dismissed that thought himself, because he knew very well that Seirin High School had a shadow.
Sure enough, in the next second, Tetsuya Kuroko's figure appeared before everyone's eyes.
With a sweep of his left hand, he knocked the basketball onto a new path.
After the ball's trajectory changed, the Kaijō players instinctively followed it with their eyes.
Meanwhile, Tetsuya Kuroko slowly vanished from their sight, like a true shadow in the night.
By the time the Kaijō High School players realized it and looked back at the spot where Tetsuya Kuroko had just been, he was already gone.
But Seirin High School did not give them any time to react.
Once the shadow disappeared, the light would appear.
"Haaah!!!"
...