Chapter 130 - 131 – Hanamiya Makoto Starts to Output

Words : 1067 Updated : Oct 7th, 2025

Run-and-gun had long been proven an ineffective strategy— Even crazy basketball minds like Nelson or D'Antoni, obsessed with high-speed offense, couldn't make it work. Sure, their brand of basketball brought fans exciting, fast-paced games. Sure, they'd achieved feats like upsetting a top seed or securing best-in-conference records. But in the end? No championships. Why? Because regular season and playoffs are two entirely different beasts. The level of physicality in the playoffs doubles. No one's going to let you get easy shots. If you want to score, you have to survive meat-grinder defense, hitting difficult shots again and again—just like Jordan did. Kirisaki Daiichi's style was practically designed to crush Seirin. What they excelled at most was "717" basketball—pure physical confrontation. From the moment the game started, Seirin had already been forced into a disadvantage. Offense-to-defense transition. After Tendou's huge block, he took off in a flash. His silver-white hair streaked like a meteor across the court, moving with unbelievable speed. "Damn it, you're not getting away!" Kagami landed and chased after him. He'd been waiting for this day for so long. Ever since hearing from Kuroko and the others that Tendou was the strongest, he had been itching for this battle. But... "How is he this fast?!" "Even while dribbling, he's almost as fast as Kagami without the ball?!" Seirin was stunned—Tendou's speed while controlling the ball was on par with Kagami's no-ball sprinting. If Tendou were off-ball? Kagami would never catch him. "Izuki!" Hyūga shouted. Izuki Shun immediately stepped in. The two long-time teammates closed in from both sides, forming a wall to cut off Tendou's path. They were buying time for Kagami to get back on defense. They spread their arms and legs wide, guarding every possible angle of approach. "No wonder this team beat Shūtoku—their reaction time and chemistry are top-tier," said one of Tōō Academy's players from the audience. These two teams were their biggest competition in the round-robin. "But this won't be enough," Momoi Satsuki said with a small shake of her head. "In some ways, even I can't predict Tendou's moves." "Huh? You mean he's even more unpredictable than Aomine?" Wakamatsu Kōsuke didn't buy it. Just as he finished saying that— Tendou, sprinting at full speed, suddenly braked, stomping the court with enough force to halt all forward momentum. At that same moment, the ball bounced up—he caught it and hurled it like a javelin. BOOM! The basketball shot out like a cannonball, ripping through the narrow gap between Izuki and Hyūga before they could close in. It blasted through the air and rocketed into the paint. WHAM! The sheer force of the impact told everyone just how powerful that pass had been. "Damn! Can you even pass that hard?!" "That thing burned my hand! I can't take more than a couple of those!" Matsumoto Itsuki caught the ball, grimaced at the pain in his palm, then spun and laid it in with ease. "Holy crap, that kind of pass?! Do it again!" The crowd roared. That violent pass had everyone's adrenaline spiking. "Kagami-kun!" As the audience gasped, Kuroko had already darted to the baseline and scooped up the ball. With a quick spin, he transferred his body's inertia into the throw and launched the ball across the court with all his might. Kagami instantly understood—he turned and sprinted like lightning. "A full-court fastbreak pass!" "Is that what it's called?" Tendou didn't move, letting the ball fly right past him without even a twitch. "And this is why I said... your tactics are outdated." THUD! The ball soared from one end of the court to the other and landed precisely in Kagami's path. This was the exact same opening blitz Seirin had used against Shūtoku. A super-fast break that consumed less than three seconds. "Ouch! Looks like Kuroko's fired up today too!" "Not bad at all!" Kagami grinned at the force of the pass. He charged straight at the basket. He was going to finish the dunk he'd been robbed of earlier. "You're still hung up on dunking? You idiot, thick-browed gorilla..." Out of nowhere, Hanamiya Makoto appeared at Kagami's side, laughing cheerfully. He didn't make a move immediately— He waited until a teammate ran between them and the referee, briefly blocking the line of sight. In that split second of visual obstruction, the delinquent swung his dirty elbow— "Urgh..." Kagami took a clean hit and gasped, losing grip on the ball. "Running around like that—what are you, a track athlete? Sit down and stay still, rookie." Hanamiya's laugh was even more cheerful now. One-on-one, he might not be able to beat this spring-loaded kid. But he could definitely take him out of rhythm. Seirin instantly erupted with fury. They didn't even need to think—they all knew Hanamiya had pulled a dirty move. Hanamiya saw their expressions, smirked, and casually tossed the ball to a teammate. Then he ran over to Seirin's bench and started taunting them face-to-face. "What's with those glares? Gonna hit me? Come on, do it!" That only pissed Seirin off more. But they still didn't move. "Heh, I knew it—you guys are all bark, no bite. Acting like you're shōnen manga protagonists. What are you, preschoolers?" Too obnoxious. Not just for Seirin— Even viewers in the real world were ready to throw hands. 『Bro... why is this troll laughing like that???』『I swear, if I were there I'd punch that face!』『This guy trolls, cheats, and then trash-talks? No wonder he's called a villain in basketball shorts.』『Why do I hate him so much... and yet kind of love watching this chaos? Is this a Dio/Kaiba situation?』 If Hanamiya had a system interface, he'd probably be seeing a steady stream of notifications: "+1 Popularity" every second. In real life, if you ran into someone like him, you'd just avoid them—or get destroyed. But in the world of fiction, everyone was loving the show. Hanamiya, unaware that his antics were being replayed again and again by spectators, turned back toward Seirin's bench. "Where's your main guy—Kiyoshi Teppei? Where is he?" "Send him out. I'm itching for a little reunion." "....."

Chapter 130 - 131 – Hanamiya Makoto Starts to Output

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