Domoto Goro wasn't the only one to realize it.
Takato Riki, Taoka Moichi, and Anzai Mitsuyoshi all fixed their eyes on Aoi Kunisaku at the same moment.
With decades of experience in the basketball world, their instincts were razor sharp. They immediately saw through the core of the situation.
Today's Aoi Kunisaku looked like a leopard with its claws hidden. He radiated a strange restraint.
The boy who used to slash through the court like a drawn blade, aiming straight for the kill, had buried his aggression deep.
He had only taken two shots in the first half. Rather than active attacks, they seemed more like casual test strikes.
The former Shohoku players stared at the court in confusion. They couldn't figure out what was going on with Aoi Kunisaku.
That arrogant guy who used to dominate the court looked like a completely different person today.
Ayako frowned and looked at the unusually subdued Aoi Kunisaku. She turned to Shimizu Kanon and asked, "Kanon, what's up with Aoi? Don't tell me Sawakita Eiji really managed to shut him down?"
The others leaned in to hear Kanon's explanation.
Judging by what they were seeing, it did look like Aoi was being restricted by Sawakita Eiji.
But that didn't feel like the Aoi Kunisaku they knew.
Shimizu Kanon looked at the two figures facing off on the court. Then she let out a soft laugh, her eyes filled with both helplessness and understanding. "He's raising his opponent."
Raising his opponent?
The words hit like a pebble dropped into still water, sending ripples of confusion through Kanagawa's bench.
Everyone looked blank.
'What did she just say?'
"What do you mean?" Ayako asked, frowning at Shimizu Kanon, clearly puzzled.
Shimizu Kanon sighed, a little awkward, a little helpless. "It means he's training Sawakita Eiji. Helping him get stronger. In other words, he's trying to force out Sawakita's full potential."
What?
It felt like thunder crashing in everyone's ears. Their eyes went wide.
Ayako's confused face turned a mix of frustration and dawning realization. "What is that guy thinking? Doesn't he know this is an official match?!"
Heh…
"Saku-chan's probably just bored," Shimizu Kanon smiled wryly.
No one there knew Aoi Kunisaku better than her.
She was 80% sure he felt the match was too easy. But he also saw that Sawakita Eiji had room to grow, so he wanted to push him further.
When the players from Ryonan, Shoyo, and Kainan heard this, they all looked baffled and stunned.
In their minds, basketball was a battle for every single point. Who would ever use an official match to train their opponent?
Fukuda Kicchou looked dazed, shock written all over his face.
Hanagata Toru adjusted his glasses, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as he tried to digest this logic-breaking idea.
Uozumi Jun and Kiyota Nobunaga both wore looks of disbelief, wondering if they had misheard.
Meanwhile, Shohoku's group remained unusually calm.
They already knew Aoi's personality well. This sort of thing was just everyday behavior for him. They were used to it.
Mitsui Hisashi slurped on his sports drink and muttered, "He's just a basketball maniac. Nothing new there."
Miyagi Ryota nodded casually. "No big deal. He even let Sakuragi run ahead 3 steps in a practice match once."
Sakuragi Hanamichi clenched his teeth and glared at Aoi Kunisaku on the court. "That guy just wants all the attention. So arrogant."
Just then, the situation on the court suddenly shifted.
After hiding his edge for nearly the entire first half, Aoi Kunisaku abruptly exploded into motion as the clock ticked down to the final 12 seconds.
At the same time, Fukatsu Kazunari crossed the half-court with the ball. With Maki Shinichi tightly guarding him, he gave a feint with his eyes and dipped his shoulder.
With a convincing fake move, he disrupted Maki's balance and slung a diagonal pass to Matsumoto Minoru, who had cut to the top of the arc.
Matsumoto Minoru didn't shoot right away.
Sendoh Akira was already on him, his long arms cutting off his usual shot angle.
But the red light of the countdown blinked in his vision. There was no more time to hesitate.
Then—
Matsumoto Minoru suddenly bounced the ball to the floor. A sharp bounce pass slipped beneath Sendoh's defense and went straight back to Fukatsu Kazunari.
The moment Fukatsu caught it, he leapt into the air.
Before Maki could close in to block, he lobbed the ball high toward Kanagawa's paint in a looping arc.
As the ball sliced through the air, Maki's eyes flashed with surprise.
'Is he really that confident Kawata Masashi will catch it?'
He had to admit, Akagi Takenori's performance today was impressive—even he had to respect it.
Just throwing it up like that… there was no guarantee Kawata could get it.
But in the next instant, Maki's pupils shrank.
Before the ball even reached the airspace above the paint, a hand cut it off mid-flight.
Maki Shinichi focused and finally saw that Kawata Masashi had somehow already dashed out of the paint and leapt early to catch the ball.
Maki's throat moved slightly. A wave of admiration rose in his heart.
This seamless play from Akita—Fukatsu Kazunari's lob pass, Matsumoto Minoru's bounce timing, Kawata Masashi's anticipation and rush—all executed with near-perfect precision in just a few seconds. Their coordination and court vision were truly impressive.
And in that admiration… he felt a strange sense of familiarity.
He had gotten careless just now.
Akagi Takenori tensed his entire body the moment Kawata Masashi touched the ball. His back arched like iron, arms spread wide like a bear protecting its cubs, blocking the space under the basket.
But the instant Kawata Masashi landed with the ball—
Pa!
A sharp snap echoed.
Kawata Masashi suddenly felt a shock in both hands. The ball slipped out of his control.
In the next instant, the ball rose up in front of his eyes, flying upward from below.
"What?!"
Kawata Masashi's pupils shrank. His wide eyes were full of disbelief.
A numb tingling still lingered in his palms when a blur passed in front of his vision, trailing the ball's arc.
When he finally registered it, he saw a fast-swinging hand, and the red jersey number 9 emerging from the blur.
His pupils contracted to needlepoints. A mix of rage and shock burned in his chest.
He had finally seen the blur's owner—it was Aoi Kunisaku.
Kawata Masashi didn't even have time to think about when Aoi had approached. His body reacted on instinct.
But before he could do anything, Aoi had already scooped the ball away and blasted forward.
Within a single breath, Aoi's back was already several meters away.
Kawata Masashi's lifted foot hung in the air like a frozen puppet, still showing the trailing flutter of Aoi's jersey as he sped off.
For a moment, everything around seemed eerily silent. It was as if even crows flew past overhead.
Boom... Boom... Boom...
Aoi Kunisaku turned into a crimson streak. The ball in his hand pounded the floor like a snare drum, charging straight for Akita's basket.
The steal came too fast. None of Kanagawa's players had time to react. Akita's players didn't even manage to turn to defend.
Only the sound of sneakers scraping the floor tore through the frozen air.
The only one who caught Aoi's movement was Sawakita Eiji, now chasing him down with everything he had.
Sawakita Eiji gritted his teeth and swung his arms. Sweat whipped from his hair under the lights like silver threads.
But no matter how hard he ran, the distance between them never shrank.
He kept his eyes locked on Aoi Kunisaku like a welder's torch, convinced the half would just end like this.
No one expected Aoi to launch a full-force assault at the very last second.
And this time, his movement was absurdly fast.
The moment Aoi exploded into motion, Sawakita only caught a flash of red before his body stalled, unable to react in time. It was like his mind glitched for half a beat.
By the time he came to, Aoi had already closed in on Kawata Masashi. It was too late to do anything.
He could only watch as Aoi stole the ball.
The entire Akita half-court was empty. Aside from Sawakita Eiji chasing behind, the rest were still stuck on Kanagawa's side.
Aoi dashed forward with no obstacles, blazing a red trail across the court. His speed pushed the limits.
Even Sawakita, who had activated 'Wild Instinct,' could only barely maintain his distance now.
"How…?" Sawakita's face showed shock.
Why couldn't he catch up anymore?
Did that mean all the pressure he'd put on Aoi earlier… was intentional?
There was no time to dwell on it. Sawakita narrowed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and forced his legs to push even faster.
Aoi Kunisaku, now already at Akita's paint, sensed the shift behind him and smirked.
But he didn't hesitate. The moment he stepped into the key, he jumped.
Basketball in hand, he slammed toward the rim.
Bang!
A deafening boom shook the gym.
The ball splashed into the net.
Sawakita Eiji stumbled to a halt, hands braced on his knees, gasping so hard it sounded like fire tearing through his lungs.
Huff… Huff… Huff…
He panted in ragged bursts, confusion and frustration clouding his eyes.
Aoi Kunisaku landed, turned, and looked at Sawakita with visible disappointment.
"How boring. I'm done waiting. If this is all you've got, then the game's already over."
BEEP—
As his words fell, the buzzer signaled the end of the first half.