125 Chapter 125 : VS Yosen High XVI - It's Not Over Yet!

"What the hell is that?!" Kise gasped, his eyes blinked rapidly, trying to process Seirin's last play through his head. "Captain, did you see the same thing, or am I just imagining?!"

Kasamatsu next to him just nodded his head solemnly. "You are not imagining. One moment the ball is in Murasakibara's hand, and a second later, it flies into the other side of the court. And it was all Furihata-kun's doing there."

They both looked at each other for a second before slumping into their respective seats dejectedly.

"This is ridiculous…" Kise murmured. "I mean, I know Furihatacchi is amazing. But this is not scientific, right? And what the hell is that black lightning in his eyes? That is creepy as hell!"

Because they didn't watch the game between Too and Seirin, both Kasamatsu and Kise didn't have any slight idea about the zone at all. So, watching Furihata play like he was possessed like this gives them goosebumps.

"What do you think, Kise?" Kasamatsu asked hesitantly. "Do you think it was a skill unique just for Furihata-kun, or do you think any of your former teammates would be able to do that?"

They looked at each other again, a shiver went down through their spines.

"Let's hope not," Kise muttered lowly. "I don't think we could survive that…"

Unfortunately for them, they would be in a rude awakening for their next game.

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Back to the court, all the Yosen players looked at each other warily, a hint of confusion could be seen in their eyes.

There is something different with Furihata. Even though no one knows what is that, all the Yosen players can see it with their naked eyes. No. It couldn't be seen. The correct word would be to feel it.

The immense pressure that suddenly rose from that tiny body wrapped in Seirin's #12 jersey.

But no one could feel it clearer than Tatsuya, who is facing Seirin's point guard head-on right now.

"Goddamnit!" Yosen's shooting guard cursed inwardly. "What the hell is wrong with him? It is like facing serious Murasakibara once again!"

He shivered a bit, trying to suppress a bad memory from the past. Even though Murasakibara is basically a rookie for Yosen, no one has a doubt about his capability. One time Okumura did that in their first training, he got destroyed by the first-year center within the first five minutes.

It was a memory that Tatsuya didn't want to recall, and unfortunately for him, it popped up at a crucial moment like this.

He gritted his teeth frustratingly, twirling around the three-point area for a few seconds, trying to find a good position. However, a second later, he saw Furihata take a deep sigh, back down two steps, as if daring him to take the shoot. He gritted his teeth, trying to control his irritation.

'He is trying to cut off the pass route between me and Murasakibara. But, did he really think he could underestimate me like that? How dare he!'

From the triple threat stance, Tatsuya retreated the ball fast, trying to pull up a quick three-point shoot. However, right before he jumped, he could feel it. The immense pressure from Furihata was solely directed at him. And when he took a glance at the Seirin's point guard who was about to approach him, his instinct screamed danger.

'Shit! He is faster than before! I couldn't make it up!'

He swore inwardly, trying to think fast how to get out of this position. He hated it when his mind made up the conclusion, he had to pass the ball, or he would be stopped completely.

'Tch. Whatever. I will pay him back later.'

Under Furihata's pressure, from the shooting stance, Tatsuya lowered the ball once again, and instead of releasing the ball high, he bounced it down through the floor, hoping that it could reach Murasakibara in the paint area.

However, Furihata had already anticipated that. Or, to be more precise, he baited Tatsuya to pass the ball to the paint area. So, when the ball was about to pass through Furihata, with a single tap from his tip fingers, he redirected the ball into the sideline, and when it was about to go out of bounds, he flashed quickly, jumped straight into the ball, and without hesitation, he threw it straight to the feet of the Yosen's player closest to him.

*FWEEE!*

As the ball bounced back and went out of the court, silence befell once again onto the gymnasium, as all eyes fell on Furihata. But it only lasted for a second, as it was broken by the referee's announcement.

"Out of bounds! Change possession for Seirin High!"

And a second later,

"YOSSSHAAAA!!!"

"Nice defense, Furihata-kun!"

"Let's keep it up!"

All the players wearing Seirin jerseys celebrated in the middle of the court. All…. Except for Furihata, who still has his focus on the ball. He wiped the sweat that threatened to fall from his forehead, his eyes moved throughout the Yosen players searchingly.

Inwardly, he muttered, 'Now, what should we do next?' As he took a deep breath, preparing himself for the next play.

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If there is one thing Furihata hates much more than losing, it is giving up in the middle of the fight.

Oh, he is not arrogant enough to claim that he would win every game he played in the future. He knows better that he will face a lot of losses if he keeps playing basketball in the future. But even if he lost, he wanted to define how he would do it, and giving up the fight before everything was over is definitely not on the top of his list.

That's why he was quite irritated when he saw all of his teammates start to give up. When he saw them stop running, start being lazy, giving up the ball easily, and not hustling every chance like they used to do in the first half, something snapped inside him.

Maybe that was what triggered his zone.

Or maybe something else, he didn't know about that.

However, Furihata wouldn't complain or question it now. Right at this moment, he had a more important priority to do, and that was to light up his teammates' fighting spirit once again. And how would he do that? Of course, just by beating the strongest player on the other side, Murasakibara.

'So, this is the zone, huh? No wonder Aomine could say arrogantly no one could beat him. Heh… I could get used to this state….'

Dribbling the ball slowly from Seirin's area, he took a quick glance at everyone's position, trying to make a quick judgment.

'They are worried about me. Himuro is signaling Fukui and Wei Liu to get closer to him so they can help whenever I get through to him. Damn, my eyes even caught their subtle signal. This is incredible. Well, I could use that.'

Quickly changing his pace from 0 to 100, Furihata stormed forward, using a complex series of dribbles to get rid of the three of Yosen's players in front of him as he crossed the three-point line.

"OOOOOH!!!"

It happened in a blink, that even all the Seirin players couldn't react quick enough to help him. However, Furihata doesn't really mind. He wanted to do something big, and doing it alone would make a bigger impact on the aftermath.

'So, how should I do it? Hmm…'

After thinking for a second, a memory suddenly flashes inside his mind, reminding him of his first experience playing against a zone. He smirked a little, increasing his speed rapidly.

'Let's see if the Generation of Miracles could stop each other's signature moves.'

Having arrived at the paint arena and facing Murasakibara in a one-on-one situation, Furihata didn't show any sign he would slow down his speed. In fact, it seems he just increased it, as if his goal is to pass Murasakibara in a race contest, not to score against him.

Murasakibara could only frown, trying to see what is Furihata cooking right now. He knows Furihata seems a bit different than before, especially after blocking his dunk attempt earlier. But right now, he couldn't figure out anything from the Seirin's point guard, annoying him to the edge.

'No matter. As long as he is in my territory, I would be able to stop him.'

However, what Murasakibara didn't expect was Furihata to keep running until he was about to pass the baseline. Right before Furihata went out of the court, he jumped, turning his body around in the air, and right before his feet touched the ground, Furihata threw the ball with one hand in a nonchalant manner, and a second later,

*SPLASH!*

The ball flies into the air, creating a high arc, passing through the board from its behind, before it goes straight into the net.

Nothing but splash!

Cheers and laughter exploded from the audience seat, as everyone is talking about Furihata's circus play in delight.

"OOOOH!!!!!"

"Is that Aomine's free-form shoot?"

"Damn, I didn't expect he would be brave enough to pull that up right now!"

"I know, right?! He had the biggest ball on the court!"

"HAHAHAHA!"

Meanwhile, Murasakibara bulged his eyes widely, shocked that he would see the signature move of his former teammate be used against him. The shoot from behind the board was the first one Aomine perfected to go against him in Teiko's training session. If it was Aomine who did that, Murasakibara has the confidence to block it even with all the flair.

However, Furihata shocked him to the core by pulling up the same exact shoot in front of him. If he didn't know better, he would think that Furihata somehow possessed Kise's perfect copy ability for a second.

'Interesting…..'

He hummed lowly to himself; the last play kept repeated inside his mind. The remainder of Aomine's signature move suddenly gives him the slightest idea of what just happened to Furihata. But he wanted to test the theory for himself.

"Senpai, give me the ball."

Okumura who handled the inbound pass glanced at the bench first, trying to confirm to his coach what to do. When Masako gave a nod, he gave the ball to the center before going up for their next offense.

However, from the look of the other side, it seems Seirin didn't have any intention to give an easy time for the Yosen High.

"DEFENSE!"

"Kagami! Kiyoshi! Don't let him get through your area again!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Just as Furihata intended to do, his individual play managed to spark the spirit that seemed to dim for a moment due to Murasakibara's craziness in the third quarter. Now, all the players wearing Seirin jerseys had the fire burned inside their eyes, vowing to give their hardest to stop Yosen's attack.

Unfortunately, Murasakibara didn't see any of them as a threat. With his big steps, he slashed from the wing side, penetrating toward Seirin's paint area while ignoring the double-team from Kagami and Kiyoshi. Once again, he proved himself as a powerhouse center by charging through Seirin's two big men directly.

"Damn!" Kagami gritted his teeth, trying his best to slow down Murasakibara who dribbled like a truck. Kiyoshi who was on the opposing side spread his arms wide, trying to at least prevent Yosen's center from advancing more.

But it wasn't enough.

Murasakibara showed off his insane agility by using a crossover movement combined with a little Euro Step, getting rid of his two defenders in one move. However, before he could advance further, he could feel it. The presence of someone who hides among the other, eyeing him patiently until the last second, and before he knows it,

*SLAP!*

The ball suddenly went from his hand, bouncing far outside of the court. And when he turned around to see who it was, he met Furihata's eyes, who stared back at him without fear. And when he saw the black lightning dancing in Furihata's eyes, he came to one conclusion.

'Damn. As expected. He got into Ao-chin's state. This would be troublesome.'

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Author note :

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-Zeta Faes-