In the blink of an eye, the scenes unfolding before Papa's eyes made him grit his teeth in disbelief.
W–What the hell…
What the hell are these guys doing?!
You've gotta be kidding me!!
On the sidelines
"Whoa, incredible! He stole the ball and passed it in one motion—the rebound angle was perfect, straight into a dunk!"
"And wait…"
"Haizaki Shōgo jumped from that far?!"
"He's flying!"
"That blue-haired one… that's the Phantom Sixth Man of the Generation of Miracles!"
"Huh?"
"Wait—Seirin has two players from the Generation of Miracles?!"
Everyone who'd followed middle school basketball knew what that title meant.
Even if the Miracles had gone their separate ways in high school, two of them on the same team was already terrifying enough.
And now
Because of what happened before the match… the moment Haizaki Shōgo unleashed his monster instinct to crush his opponent, everyone understood one thing
This was what dominance looked like!
On the court.
Haizaki glanced at Papa in the paint and muttered,
"Come on. I'll show you what a real Generation of Miracles looks like."
Shinkyō's captain moved into a triple-threat stance, watching Haizaki's every motion nervously.
Then suddenly
A jump shot?!
Kiyoshi Teppei blinked.
"Eh…? No fakeout, just… a pull-up?"
It was a solid move—clean timing, pure instinct, completely catching a normal defender off guard.
But Haizaki wasn't normal.
If Kiyoshi's eyes hadn't deceived him earlier, Haizaki had already copied Akashi's ability.
Which meant
A second later, his suspicion was proven right.
Within Haizaki's eyes—he saw it.
The same luminous rings as Akashi's Emperor Eye, except glowing a different color.
Snap!
Haizaki leaned forward, reaching out like lightning
The ball was gone from the captain's hands in an instant.
"W–What the…!?"
How?!
How could he intercept it at that exact moment?!
It wasn't speed or height
He had moved early, cutting the pass the very instant his opponent jumped!
"He's got it!!"
"Haizaki Shōgo!"
"Fast break!!"
Shinkyō's point guard retreated fast—but Haizaki dribbled leisurely, almost as if on a stroll.
"Don't even think about getting through!"
Haizaki's lips curled.
"No… you'll move on your own."
That glowing ring in his eyes shimmered again
And in a low, cold voice, he echoed a line straight from the monster inside him:
"Bow before me."
A cross-under and a sudden stop
Thump!
Haizaki froze at the free-throw line. The opposing guard's body stiffened uncontrollably, stumbling backward.
Haizaki didn't even look at him.
He turned instead toward Papa—still trailing behind the play, unable to catch up.
And as he stared directly at him—he let the ball fly.
Swish!
Perfect net.
In that instant, to the audience—it felt as though there was a chasm between Haizaki and the defenders.
By the time the ball fell through the hoop, not a single defender had even touched him.
The first quarter ended soon after.
Silence swept the crowd.
The scoreboard burned like a scar: Seirin 34 – Shinkyō 6.
The "foreign student–reinforced" Shinkyō High, who'd entered the tournament brimming with confidence, was being utterly demolished.
Especially the matchup that everyone had hyped
Papa vs. Haizaki Shōgo.
An entire quarter
Pick and roll? Pre-read and cut off.
Passes? Intercepted.
Even basic ball control? Denied.
No matter what Papa did—he couldn't even hold on to the ball!
Every shot, every step, every pass—Haizaki stole it before it could begin.
The ace of Shinkyō had been completely locked down, his confidence shattered.
Papa's points so far: zero.
Meanwhile
Haizaki didn't just rely on his "monster mode."
He also used Akashi's first personality's abilities—combined with Kuroko Tetsuya's misdirection—to elevate Seirin's passing game to god-tier precision.
Even Seirin's own players were astonished at how smooth the offense felt.
Kiyoshi and Hyūga found themselves recalling training camp—those brief moments when they'd experienced Akashi's passes during practice games.
But back then, they'd never felt anything like this.
This was Akashi + Kuroko—a fusion so seamless it was almost divine.
From the bench, Kagami Taiga swallowed hard, scowling.
That bastard… he'd been holding back that much against me?!
Damn it!
Seirin's bench.
The first-years were buzzing in awe at Haizaki's abilities.
Finally, Aida Riko spoke, giving the explanation.
"That's the ability of the Generation of Miracles' captain—Akashi Seijūrō."
"The insane ball control, the unstoppable drives, and the uncanny shooting form you saw earlier—those belong to the other Miracles, like Aomine."
"As for Haizaki…"
"His ability is called Monster Immersion."
"You can think of it like this—he's built a real monster within his own mind, one he can actually talk to. That lets him constantly study, copy, and understand that monster… and eventually, exploit its weaknesses."
"And the only ones that monster inside him acknowledges…"
"…are Aomine Daiki and Akashi Seijūrō."
The first-years: "..."
They didn't quite get it
but they were completely blown away.
Furihata Koki nodded thoughtfully.
"No wonder Haizaki sometimes talks to himself during training… He's been battling that monster in his head the whole time?"
Riko smiled faintly and nodded.
Weird? Absolutely.
But then again, this was Haizaki Shōgo—the "original monster," second only to Shigure Akihito himself. Somehow, that made it all make sense.
"Then…"
"What exactly is Akashi's ability?"
Riko paused, thinking.
"It's a combination of Perfect Control and the Emperor Eye. He's the only Miracle who possesses two completely separate base abilities."
"Perfect Control is self-explanatory…"
"As for the Emperor Eye—it allows him to see every microscopic motion in his opponent's body, predicting their next action with perfect accuracy."
"Since it's purely visual, anyone within his sight is within his range. It barely drains stamina and can activate instantly."
"In short…"
"Akashi Seijūrō can literally see the future of his opponent's movements."
Furihata swallowed hard.
That was way too overpowered…
Thinking back on everything they'd just witnessed, everyone suddenly understood what "seeing the future" meant.
And "low stamina cost" plus "within line of sight"? That was terrifying.
Haizaki's predictive defense hadn't stopped once the entire game.
Poor Papa… sweating buckets, shaking at every pass.
Every ball that entered Haizaki's sightline was doomed.
Unless Shinkyō passed hand-to-hand right in front of each other, any cross-court ball risked interception.
It was like there was a magical barrier drawn across the court—Haizaki's zone of denial.
"Too much…"
"Haizaki might actually be the strongest of the Miracles."
Soon after, the second quarter began.
Haizaki was subbed out, and Riko handed the defensive matchup with Papa to Kagami.
Meanwhile, the Shinkyō players—fueled by their coach's deadly glare and promise of double practice if they lost motivation—regained some of their fighting spirit.
Right out of the gate, Papa scored a high hook over Kagami, even higher than his first-quarter attempt.
Hyūga, sharp-eyed as always, noticed instantly.
That shot's higher than before…?
Papa lowered his gaze at Kagami.
"I'm serious now! I won't lose!"
Kagami grinned.
"Good. That's more like it—jump higher, Papa!"
Seirin's offense began again.
Hyūga's three-pointer left his hands and immediately felt short.
"Rebound!" he shouted.
Kagami boxed Papa out hard, grabbed the ball—and with one explosive leap, slammed it back in.
"Nice one!"
"Good job, Kagami!"
Riko's eyes lingered on Kagami's legs, smiling slightly.
"His training finally paid off."
"Papa! Take him down!"
Papa spun for a jumper—but a shadow burst from below!
Papa froze midair—he had no choice but to pass.
His captain blinked in confusion.
"I just passed it to you—why are you passing it back?!"
"Papa! What are you doing?! Attack him! Go all out against that redhead!"
Papa took the ball again, forced a drive—missed.
Then realized…
That guy's still jumping higher… every time?!
What's going on?!
"Damn it…"
"What the hell's happening!?"
The Shinkyō players gritted their teeth, chasing back.
Meanwhile, Seirin's bench exploded with cheers.
"Kagami's incredible! Even without Kiyoshi's positioning, his pure jump power's holding up!"
"The coach's training really worked!"
Riko scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Uh… it's more like… he already had that potential."
Truth be told—she'd been shocked during Kagami's special training.
Each session, he jumped higher, higher… reaching her wildest expectations.
She'd heard it stemmed from last year—when he faced Shigure Akihito.
That impact had changed him.
Even his "Wild Instinct"… had been born from that encounter.
With Haizaki resting, Kagami dominated Papa in the paint, perfectly suppressing him.
Kuroko stepped up, and the gap widened further.
"Damn it, not again…"
"What's with that pass?!"
As Shinkyō groaned, Hyūga barked from the court:
"Don't let up till the end! Keep attacking!"
Papa clenched his teeth, pushing forward.
"I hate this… but I won't lose! Not again!!"
Kagami's thoughts flashed through every face of the Miracles he'd met.
"Those guys…"
"They're all stronger than you!!"
He soared—higher than he ever had before.
Higher than logic.
Higher than fear.
Even Haizaki blinked in surprise.
Smack!
A thunderous block.
Kagami kept his promise—stuffing Papa clean.
BEEEEEP!
"Game over!"
"Seirin High—wins!"
After the game, Papa walked up to Kagami.
"I lost… so keep fighting, for the both of us…"
Kagami blinked in surprise at the sudden sincerity—only for Papa's face to twist into a grin.
"Like hell I'd say that!"
"You idiot, idiot!!"
"I won't lose next time!!"
"Huh?!"
Kagami's forehead twitched, veins popping in irritation.
Smack!
A hand suddenly clapped down on Papa's shoulder, freezing him in place.
He tried to shake it off
but that hand tightened, iron-strong, pinning him still.
And then
his vision lurched.
Wait
The world wasn't rising.
He was falling.
Papa's eyes widened.
Damn it… not again…
THUD!
He landed hard on his rear, looking up
Sure enough.
Two silhouettes stood over him—one tall, one short.
The two monsters he'd sworn used magic.
One could vanish.
The other—could control.
END OF CHAPTER
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