The match against Senshinkan High went smoothly as they didn't pose much of a threat with Tsuna on the team, which was within Sakamoto's expectations.
The next day, Totsuki players returned to the gymnasium for their next round. Their opponent today was none other than Seirin High!
For Seirin, since they had been one-sidedly crushed by Too Academy, they didn't have much physical exhaustion. However, the same couldn't be said for them mentally.
"..."
Silence permeated the whole team as they made their way onto the court.
A girl with short caramel hair lightly bit her lip in frustration, seeing the state of her team as she tightly gripped her fist. "How can I call myself their coach when I can barely say a word to them now..."
She was Riko Aida!
"And Kagami won't be able to play this time..."
Aida turned to look at Kagami, who covered his head with a towel on the bench, his hands gripping tightly in frustration over what had happened earlier.
Was their chance truly gone now?
"..."
She turned to look at their opponents.
"You bastard, are you asking for a fight!?"
"Ha! What did you just call me, you son of a bitch?"
"You!"
Aida was greeted by two of their opponents fighting among themselves, and she blinked in confusion.
It wasn't just verbal; things got so heated that they actually started a physical fight. Their captain, whom she had seen when both captains shook hands earlier, seemed angered by the commotion.
However...
"...What in the world?"
Instead of separating them immediately, Sakamoto jumped into the fray and beat them both up first.
This unexpected turn of events made her unconsciously mutter, "...I think we do still have a chance?"
"Totsuki Culinary Academy? Culinary?"
Aida saw the scoreboard and noticed the word "culinary" glaring at her. She tightly gripped her fist.
They were up against a basketball club from a culinary academy?
Then...
"If I can get their morale back, we might still have a chance!"
"Gosh, could you both stop fighting at least for a day?"
Marui felt his head spin, feeling as if he had aged a lot.
He couldn't help but be frustrated with Sato and Aoki, who always fought even over the smallest disagreements, which was unreal.
"...He started it first," Sato growled, prompting Aoki to growl back in response, "Do you want me to throw punches again, you bastard?"
"..."
Sakamoto gave them a cold glare, immediately shutting them up. They scoffed at each other but continued their bickering.
"..."
The Seirin players looked at Totsuki's team with confusion as they made their way onto the court.
"Are they not even taking the game seriously?"
Seirin's captain, Junpei Hyuga, muttered quietly, twitching his lips at the sight.
He turned to look at his team, shaking his head before stopping at the blue-haired player who seemed lost in thought.
Hyuga frowned before his expression eased up with a sigh.
"...I guess I understand why you're devastated."
Hyuga understood how badly Kuroko wanted to win against Aomine.
He was also crushed by Aomine, realizing just how terrifying the Generation of Miracles was to regular players like him.
"..."
On the side, the referee motioned for Totsuki's players to get on the court immediately, looking tired.
Tsuna was already standing alone on the court, waiting for the rest of his teammates.
"My apologies," Sakamoto laughed awkwardly, bowing slightly to the referee with an apologetic expression as the Totsuki Academy players slowly took their positions.
He moved to the center of the court, ready for the jump ball as the tallest member of the team.
Unlike most teams, Totsuki didn't assign specific roles unless required by the committee.
For formality, their lineup was listed as follows:
Tsuna, Power Forward
Sakamoto, Center
Marui, Shooting Guard
Sato, Small Forward
Aoki, Point Guard
"Alright, since both teams are ready, let's get started..."
The referee spoke, gesturing for everyone to prepare. Sakamoto faced Seirin's center, Rinnosuke Mitobe.
"Hmm?"
Sakamoto noticed something off about Seirin's atmosphere, which he considered a bit lucky for them.
However, as he stood face to face with Mitobe, he couldn't help but feel pressured.
He muttered to himself, "I guess a wounded beast is still a beast, huh?"
Whistle!
As the referee blew the whistle, he immediately threw the ball up into the air.
Both Sakamoto and Mitobe's eyes flashed as they propelled themselves upward to gain possession of the ball.
Mitobe slightly frowned, noticing that Sakamoto was able to get the ball faster than him, and it was immediately pushed toward Tsuna, who caught it with ease.
"Again, huh?"
Tsuna mumbled, noticing Sakamoto's eyes sparkling as if urging him to score points immediately.
He couldn't help but sigh as he dribbled the ball slowly, feeling the momentum suddenly shift as the Seirin players immediately took on their defensive one-on-one formation.
Tsuna saw Seirin's Point Guard, Shun Izuki, immediately move up to him. From his sharp eyes, Tsuna knew this guy should be the best defender Seirin currently had, which was why he was assigned to guard him.
"At least they did their homework a bit..."
He mumbled as Izuki followed his every movement quite flawlessly, which spoke volumes of his skills.
As he dribbled the ball, Tsuna narrowed his eyes, noticing the depressing atmosphere Seirin players shared among themselves as if they had given up, which left a bad taste in his mouth.
He knew they were being destroyed one-sidedly by Aomine, but if they kept their composure, they'd have a chance to make it to the playoffs.
However...
They didn't seem to bother regaining their grip on the whole competition after losing a match, which was utterly dumb as Tsuna scoffed, "Pathetic..."
"...Since you've given up already, let me give you something to remember," Tsuna muttered, causing Izuku to suddenly widen his eyes in shock as he felt tremendous pressure coming from the player in front of him.
Everyone from Seirin on the court could clearly feel this, as the pressure was quite familiar to them.
"...It felt just like him," Kuroko, who noticed the familiar pressure, immediately turned his head toward Tsuna.
"Hmm? What is this feeling?"
Even Kagami on the bench was also affected by the pressure, as he looked up and took a good look at the court.
As Tsuna gradually changed his dribble pace, everyone at Seirin felt it even more clearly, sensing a shiver down their spine.
"...Just what is this feeling?"
Hyuga felt his heart beating faster each second in fright as Sakamoto grinned while muttering, "He had seen enough last game..."
"Now, behold..."
Tsuna's eyes turned cold as he dribbled the ball to the right.
Izuki immediately swallowed his nervousness and followed, but then saw something utterly ridiculous as Tsuna sharply changed his pace once again.
Seeing this scene made Sakamoto's smile grow even wider as he continued with a hearty laugh, "The ultimate nemesis of the Generation of Miracles!"
Tsuna sharply crossed over to the left, leaving Izuki barely able to respond as Tsuna's figure casually broke through his defense at such speed that it left him unable to react.
"What...!"
Izuki's mouth fell open as he turned his head to see Tsuna's back in shock, utterly dumbfounded.
Everyone in Seirin was the same, all looking at Tsuna's incoming figure charging fast toward their ring.
The way he moved, the way he dribbled, and more importantly, the familiar pressure they felt...
"How is he using Aomine's movement!?"
Kagami found himself rising to his feet despite his injury as the towel over his head fell quietly to the ground.
He was in disbelief at the way Tsuna moved, which was terrifyingly similar to Aomine as it made Seirin feel the haunting memories of being one-sidedly crushed a while ago resurface.
Just as they realized, Tsuna had already broken through their defense like a hot knife through butter.
He jumped and slammed the ball down into the basket with a resounding sound reverberating across the stadium.
"..."
The whole stadium fell into silence as Seirin players looked at Tsuna's figure, who swiftly landed on the ground in disbelief.
He just shook his head and coldly spoke, "Alright now, you all can give up."
---
If you want to read 15 chapters in advance, ahead of the WebNovel Updates schedules, here's where you can find them:
p@treon.com/mythoast