Chapter 255

Kise couldn't help but think of his sister; even when she was smiling, it made people feel a chill all over.

"What do you want to drink?"

"Water, I guess."

"You should drink something else occasionally; you really don't look like a high schooler."

Satsuki said that, but still bought him a bottle of water.

Just as they sat down to rest, they happened to run into the Kuroko-Seeing Seeing Kagami duo.

"Tendou!"

Seeing Seeing Kagami’s expression changed immediately upon seeing him.

The man before him was the one he most wanted to challenge and defeat.

"It’s you guys. It’s been a while."

"Long time no see, Tendou-kun, Momoi-san."

"We just saw each other during the preliminaries, it hasn't been that long."

Satsuki also greeted them, and then the atmosphere became awkward.

Tendou and Seeing Seeing Kagami weren't close to begin with; even Kuroko, an old teammate, had nothing to say due to their different basketball philosophies.

Moreover, Seeing Seeing Kagami kept staring intensely at Tendou after seeing him.

"Don't look at me like that; I’m not used to this atmosphere." Tendou simply got up to leave, "I’m heading back first. Looking forward to your performance in the second half."

The Kuroko-Seeing Seeing Kagami duo didn't try to keep him, just watched his back fade away until he disappeared.

Then, Seeing Seeing Kagami took out a treasured necklace, or perhaps it was a ring, from his pocket.

It was a gift from Himuro Tatsuya, symbolizing their brotherhood.

He handed it to Kuroko and said, "Kuroko, I want to ask you a favor. Can you help me throw this away?"

"Eh?" Kuroko was stunned; wasn't this the "token of love" between Seeing Seeing Kagami and his brother?

He looked at Seeing Seeing Kagami and saw his serious and firm expression.

"Is that okay?"

"Yeah. I’ve already decided which is more important: my past with Tatsuya or my future with you guys."

"We have to defeat Yosen, in order to challenge Tendou again!"

His tone was resolute, his eyes determined.

Over the past summer, Tendou had seemingly become his nightmare.

He was deeply conquered by Tendou’s strength.

To defeat Yosen and challenge his nightmare again, he had to give it his all.

Even if it was his brother Himuro Tatsuya, he had to temporarily put him to the back of his mind.

"I understand!" Kuroko took the necklace without trying to persuade him otherwise.

Then.

The second half began.

Yosen made adjustments based on Seirin’s performance in the first half.

It was still a zone defense, but it changed from 3-2 to 2-3, leaving only Okamura Kenichi and Murasakibara in the paint, while the others pushed out to the perimeter.

At the same time, they increased the frequency of the interior connection between Murasakibara and Himuro...

Every Yosen possession would pass through the hands of the two; sometimes Murasakibara and Himuro Tatsuya would touch the ball 2-3 times in a single possession.

Their style was more mature than in the Inter-High, and their mutual understanding was even greater.

Murasakibara was even more showing the demeanor of a general, knowing how to connect the team.

"His footwork and technique under the basket are also better; the more I look, the more he looks like David Robinson."

Tendou was also sighing; Murasakibara’s talent was indeed outstanding.

He was particularly similar to David Robinson among the four great centers of the NBA back then.

As an interior player, David Robinson possessed terrifying athletic ability.

The only 30+ quadruple-double in NBA history was created by David Robinson.

Murasakibara was developing in this direction.

Yosen also provided him with enough soil to continue playing like this.

By the time he graduated high school, Murasakibara would definitely become a big center with playmaking ability and explosive physical talent.

Yosen’s changes caught Seirin off guard, widening the point gap to double digits in one breath.

But Seirin responded quickly.

They unleashed a full-court press defense on Yosen.

This tactic was a nightmare for a team without a good point guard.

One careless move, and the ball handler would be forced into a turnover.

But Seirin was even more awesome; they had a "shadow."

"This is our new defensive tactic, maximizing Kuroko’s ability to steal the ball: The Steal-Full-Court Press."

"....."

Tendou felt a bit awkward when he first heard the name.

However...

"Forget it, after all, she’s a genius who can name a step-back jump shot the 'Unstoppable Shot'."

Aida Riko’s naming talent was as awkwardly cringe-inducing as the Fourth Hokage’s.

Steal-Full-Court Press, Unstoppable Shot, Eagle’s Claw, Post-Release Power—they were all her representative works.

However, Seirin’s adjustment did indeed cause Yosen a lot of trouble.

They couldn't capture Kuroko’s presence; Kuroko drifted among the crowd, constantly disrupting Yosen’s ball.

Pass the ball, stolen.

Don't pass the ball, still going to be stolen.

Kuroko became the busiest person on the court, and thanks to his activity, Seirin’s fast-break counterattacks finally got going, chasing the point gap down to single digits in one breath.

The game was intense.

A complete confrontation in three aspects: tactics, physical contact, and technique.

One side would just widen the score, and the other would immediately make adjustments to chase it back.

A very "Seirin-style" game; the point gap was like a roller coaster, sometimes small, sometimes large.

But such a full-court press was ultimately not invincible.

Yosen still had Himuro Tatsuya, a guard approaching the level of the Generation of Miracles.

Yosen’s ball handler immediately changed from Fukui Kensuke to Himuro Tatsuya, and Seirin’s counterattack immediately fizzled out.

The point gap widened again, and what was even more fatal for Seirin was that Kiyoshi Teppei’s old injury flared up.

Even without Kirisaki Daiichi’s interference, his foot injury hadn't completely healed.

In the high-intensity confrontation with Murasakibara, his old injury unfortunately flared up.

Having no choice, Seirin had to substitute in Mitobe Rinnosuke.

It’s just that Mitobe Rinnosuke was a level below Kiyoshi Teppei.

Seeing this, Seeing Seeing Kagami could only shoulder the responsibility of Seirin’s interior defense alone.

The result, naturally, was that he couldn't stop Yosen’s interior-exterior connection.

"Damn it!"

He clenched his fists, his expression unwilling.

"This idiot, if this continues, Seirin won't win."

Aomine knew what Seeing Seeing Kagami was thinking the moment he saw his expression.

"Eh?" Kise turned his head to look, as if asking "Why?"

"It’s the Zone." Akashi spoke up to explain, "Seeing Seeing Kagami is probably trying to enter the Zone, to replicate Tendou’s ultra-wide-range defense to make up for Kiyoshi Teppei’s absence."

This was easy to see; Seeing Seeing Kagami’s positioning at this moment was exactly the same as Tendou’s when he faced Yosen.

He stood in the center alone, wanting to take care of all defensive tasks inside the three-point line simultaneously.