22 Chapter 21

As Ichigo meets Akashi's gaze, he immediately feels small and insignificant, like a mere pebble on the road. Just a single look from Akashi's Emperor Eye diminishes Ichigo's confidence, reminiscent of his previous experiences with authoritative figures. That's the commanding presence Akashi exudes with his Emperor Eye.

As Akashi effortlessly dribbled the ball down the court towards halfcourt, Ichigo snapped out of his daze. Determined, he gritted his teeth and quickly stood up. With a resolute expression, he sprinted towards Akashi, eager to steal the ball once again.

Sensing someone approaching from behind, Akashi glanced back and noticed Ichigo rushing to defend. He patiently waited for Ichigo to catch up, and as soon as Ichigo stood in front of him, prepared to defend, Akashi swiftly passed the ball between Ichigo's legs, deftly following its trajectory.

Caught off guard, Ichigo gave his all to regain his position in front of Akashi. However, just as he almost caught up, Akashi skillfully pulled the ball back towards himself with a crossover move.

Reacting instantly, Ichigo found himself in an awkward position. As he turned around, he tripped over his own feet and fell once again. It was the second time within the same possession that his ankles were broken.

The crowd audibly gasped and murmured at the spectacle, and even Ichigo himself could hear their reactions. Looking up, he saw Akashi glancing down at him with disdain. "You should just stay down, where you belong, beneath me," he coldly remarked to Ichigo.

Ichigo undeterred, stands up again to defend. Seeing this, Akashi just scoff as Ichigo attempts to defend him again.

Akashi demonstrates his agility and skill, effortlessly maneuvering around Ichigo's defense. In contrast, Ichigo puts in all his effort to try and stop Akashi's relentless attacks.

Despite Ichigo's desperate attempts to guard Akashi, Akashi remains composed and calm, effortlessly evading Ichigo's defensive efforts. With a smooth crossover move, Ichigo ends up falling down for the third time in a row. As Ichigo lies on the ground, he spots Akashi preparing to shoot.

However, Ichigo, known for his relentless spirit, doesn't give up. He dives towards Akashi as he tries to take the shot. This unexpected move disturbs Akashi, causing him to miss. The ball bounces wide and lands in Ogiwara's waiting hands near the free throw line.

The other players from Teiko don't attempt to grab the rebound because they assume Akashi won't miss an open shot. But when Akashi does miss, they are caught off guard and unprepared. Meanwhile, Ichigo, recognizing the opportunity, rushes towards the opposite court and calls out to Ogiwara, signaling for the ball.

Without hesitation, Ogiwara passes the ball forward towards the opposite court. He doesn't specifically pass it to Ichigo but aims it in the general area, knowing that Ichigo will be there to catch it. True to his expectations, Ichigo catches the ball and gently lays it up towards the basket, scoring another point. The score now stands at 69-110 in favor of Teiko. Immediately after the basket, Ichigo shifts his focus to pressuring Akashi, preventing him from receiving the inbound pass from his teammates.

Irritated by his missed shot earlier, Akashi pushes Ichigo slightly to create some space. However, Ichigo anticipates the push and dramatically falls to the ground, attempting to draw a foul. The referee, with a limited view of the situation, sees Ichigo fall and blows his whistle, signaling an offensive foul.

Surprised by the call, Akashi is left speechless. He didn't push Ichigo that hard, wondering how it could be deemed an offensive foul. Despite his thoughts, he doesn't argue with the referee's decision, as it goes against his nature to dispute calls.

With only one minute and 50 seconds remaining in the game, Meiko gains possession, and Ogiwara inbounds the ball. Recognizing the urgency, Ichigo immediately rushes to the three-point line in an attempt to receive the ball.

Aomine, caught off guard, reacts too late as Ichigo finds himself wide open outside the three-point line. Seeing the opportunity, Ogiwara passes the ball to Ichigo, who quickly catches it, sets his feet, and shoots. Aomine tries to contest the shot, but he is too late. The ball smoothly swishes through the net, adding another two points to the score. The scoreboard now shows 72-110, with 1 minute and 48 seconds left in the game. Teiko regains possession.

With Akashi in possession of the ball, Ichigo immediately applies pressure on him. Akashi, utilizing his Emperor Eye ability, attempts to outmaneuver Ichigo's defensive tactics with a rapid succession of moves.

Undeterred, Ichigo, in a highly focused state, gives his all to prevent Akashi from advancing. Despite nearly having his ankles broken numerous times, Ichigo relentlessly shadows Akashi's every move.

Frowning, Akashi observes Ichigo repeatedly getting back up to defend against him. "You're like a cockroach," Akashi coldly remarks, his piercing gaze fixed on Ichigo. "You just don't know when to give up, do you?"

Ichigo, undeterred, didn't bother replying and continued to defend Akashi. Akashi frowned in clear irritation and activated his Emperor Eye.

"Let's end this. I'm going to show you the difference between a pebble on the side of the road and a mountain," Akashi said coldly, a glint of determination in his eyes as he prepared to attack.

Ichigo remained undeterred, with the sole goal of stopping Akashi and winning the game in his mind. As Akashi slowly dribbled the ball, he attacked the basket. In the midst of the action, Ichigo touched his body and gave him a slight push, causing Akashi to pull back the ball towards himself. Ichigo stumbled back, clearly off balance after his move.

However, Ichigo quickly gathered himself, preventing himself from falling, and positioned himself to defend against Akashi once again.

Akashi, noticing Ichigo's defensive efforts, quickly adjusts his strategy. He pretends to pass the ball towards his left, tricking Ichigo into following that direction to block the potential pass. However, with a smooth and graceful move, Akashi pulls the ball back using his right hand, executing a mesmerizing shamgod move.

Taking advantage of Ichigo being out of position, Akashi swiftly drives to the basketball hoop and gently lays the ball into the basket. Ichigo, realizing that Akashi has a clear path to score, clenches his teeth and sprints towards the basket, attempting to block Akashi's shot.

As Ichigo approaches from behind, Akashi senses his presence and quickly gathers the ball. He then fakes a layup, causing Ichigo to leap high into the air to block the shot. However, it turns out to be a clever feint as Akashi smoothly glides past Ichigo, leaving him behind and continuing towards the basket.

Akashi saw Ichigo pass and attempted to toss the ball gently towards the backboard, but he noticed a hand coming straight for the ball. It belonged to Ogiwara.

At first, Ogiwara was perplexed when he saw Ichigo giving his all to defend against Akashi in the previous play. He had initially thought that Ichigo had already given up. However, it became clear that they had misunderstood Ichigo. His stillness was not a sign of giving up; he was actually preparing himself for the last two minutes of the game.

As Ichigo continued to persistently guard Akashi, never giving up even when embarrassed and humiliated in front of many people, Ogiwara felt inspired. While watching Ichigo defend against Akashi, Ogiwara witnessed Akashi bypassing Ichigo. Immediately recognizing the situation, Ogiwara attempted to rotate for a help defense and was about to block Akashi's shot. However, he saw Ichigo jump high to block Akashi, only to discover it was a fake from Akashi.

Observing this, Ogiwara approached Akashi and, just as Akashi shot the ball, he jumped to block him while shouting with determination, "Don't forget about us!" Akashi was not surprised and passed the ball to Murasakibara under the basket. Murasakibara caught the ball lazily and gently put it in the basket. However, he didn't account for Ichigo, who had quickly returned to the court to defend.

Recognizing that Ogiwara was already guarding Akashi and that Murasakibara was open under the basket, Akashi passed the ball to Murasakibara. As Murasakibara attempted to lay the ball in the basket, Ichigo was already close. Seeing Murasakibara lazily shoot the ball, Ichigo immediately blocked the shot.

Murasakibara, taken by surprise at someone blocking him, watched as Ichigo flew towards the ball in his hands. *Smack!* The sound reverberated throughout the whole stadium as Ichigo successfully blocked the shot. Upon landing, Ichigo wasted no time and immediately ran towards the ball.

Aomine, seeing the ball coming towards him, rushed to catch it and reset the play. However, as he went for the ball, he witnessed a reddish lightning pass by, leaving the ball gone in front of him. When he looked back towards their basket, he saw Ichigo soaring for a dunk. The sequence of events happened so quickly that they had no time to react, as Ichigo had already dunked the ball.

With a ferocious dunk, Ichigo forcefully punched the ball into the basket. Hanging on the rim for a moment, he landed with a relaxed posture and was ready to defend once again.