The roar inside Tokyo Gymnasium was like an unending tsunami. The frenzy ignited by Bai Ze You's earth-shattering "2+1" had yet to settle when Kitano Academy's coach decisively called a timeout. This brief chance to catch their breath was an opportunity for Teikō to consolidate its morale, but for Kitano, it was a precious moment to adjust their tactics and eliminate the threat.
On Kitano's bench, the atmosphere was frozen and heavy. Coach Sakuma Ryūji's face was livid, and the tactics board in his hand creaked under his grip. He stared fixedly at the glaring 19:16 on the scoreboard, his eyes locking onto Bai Ze You, who had just returned to the Teikō bench and was accepting water and having his sweat wiped away by Momoi Satsuki.
"Fujita!" Sakuma's voice carried suppressed fury and unquestionable resolve.
Ace Fujita Osamu immediately straightened. "Coach!"
"That Bai Ze You..." Sakuma pointed toward Teikō. "His flexibility, balance, and Fake Move are the blades tearing through our defense! We can't let him break through and score so easily like he did just now!"
He slammed the tactics board onto the table, his voice suddenly rising:
"Change our defensive strategy! Lock down Bai Ze You!"
"Kishimoto!" He turned toward the team's strongest and most ferocious backup power forward, Kishimoto Yūki (similar in style to Toyotama's Kishimoto Minori, but younger). "You're replacing Takahashi! You have only one task: stick to Bai Ze You! Use your body and crush him for me!"
"Fujita!" He looked back at ace Fujita Osamu. "You're responsible for help defense! Use your speed and anticipation to interfere and attempt a steal the moment he gets away from Kishimoto! At the same time, watch for chances to cut off his connection with his teammates!"
"Everyone else! Pay attention to collapsing the zone! The moment Bai Ze You uses his skills to shake off Kishimoto or Fujita and enter the paint, form a pocket immediately! Drown him under our numbers! We can give up some shots from outside, but we have to pin him down in the paint! I want him unable to take a single step through our 'muscle jungle'!"
A vicious light flickered in Sakuma's eyes, and his voice was like a poisoned icicle:
"'White Phantom'? I'll turn him into a 'White Prisoner'! I'll break Teikō's newly sharpened blade!"
The timeout ended. Kitano Academy made a substitution. Kishimoto Yūki, as hulking as a savage bear, entered the court with his target clear. He headed straight for Bai Ze You, undisguised ferocity and provocation in his eyes. Fujita Osamu prowled nearby like a cheetah, his gaze sharp as a blade.
The game resumed. Teikō had possession. Akashi Seijūrō keenly noticed the shift in Kitano's defensive focus. He dribbled upcourt, his crimson eyes sweeping across the court and instantly seeing through their intentions—concentrate their strength and strangle Bai Ze You!
Akashi did not hesitate. With a flick of his wrist, the basketball flew once more toward Bai Ze You on the wing like a precision-guided missile. He wanted to see whether this newly sharpened "Phantom Blade" could sever the shackles Kitano had carefully arranged!
Bai Ze You caught the ball! The instant it entered his hands, Kishimoto Yūki charged over like a maddened savage bear, bringing suffocating pressure with him! His immense strength transferred through their physical contact without restraint! Bang! The dull impact made Bai Ze You feel as though a heavy hammer had smashed into his chest. His feet stumbled back half a step against his will!
"Kid! That move just now was pretty slippery!" Kishimoto snarled, spewing trash talk as his massive palm secretly shoved at Bai Ze You's waist. "Try it again! Let's see if I don't smash you to pieces!"
At the same time, Fujita Osamu moved nearby like a ghost. His feet were swift, his eyes locked firmly onto the ball in Bai Ze You's hands and every minute change in his body, ready to pounce at any moment!
Strength suppression + Predictive Interference! A double strangulation!
Bai Ze You instantly felt pressure far greater than in his battle against Toyotama! Kishimoto's strength was younger and more savage than Toyotama's Kishimoto Minori! Fujita's anticipation and speed far surpassed Minami Ryō's! The space in which Bai Ze You could dribble had been compressed to the limit. Every bounce came with intense physical contact and Kishimoto's heavy breath blowing across his face!
He tried using Rhythm Change to shake Kishimoto, but Kishimoto simply refused to bite! He was a moving wall of flesh, using sheer strength and bulk to hold his position tight! Bai Ze You's room to change direction was severely restricted! During one reluctant drive, Kishimoto slammed him away with his shoulder, nearly forcing him to lose the ball! Fujita pounced like a shark that had smelled blood, his fingertips barely grazing the edge of the basketball!
"Beep—!" The referee called a defensive foul on Kishimoto.
But the offensive rhythm had been completely destroyed! Teikō's offense ground to a halt!
On the sideline, Momoi Satsuki was frantic. She quickly recorded notes on her clipboard:
**"Observation Alert: Kitano's 'muscle jungle' tactic activated!"** **"Core: Kishimoto (strength suppression) + Fujita (Predictive Interference) + zone collapse (swarm tactics)"** **"Effect: Bai Ze-kun's space to receive the ball ↓70%, dribbling turnover risk ↑200%, driving lanes completely sealed!"** **"The Phantom faces the ultimate test of the 'flexible barrier'!"**
It was Kitano's turn to attack. They seized the opportunity created by Teikō's stalled offense, and Fujita Osamu sank a precise Mid-Range Shot through the opening created when Murasaki-bara Atsushi was slightly late providing help defense!
19:18! The gap narrowed!
Teikō attacked again. Akashi tried to feed the ball inside to Murasaki-bara Atsushi, but Kitano's fronting and rapid double-team were perfectly executed, making it difficult for Murasaki-bara Atsushi to receive the ball. The ball was once again passed outside to Bai Ze You.
Kishimoto latched onto him again like a leech! The physical battle was merciless! Fujita watched hungrily from the wing! Bai Ze You's arms went numb, and even dribbling became difficult. He forcibly lowered his center of gravity and tried a Behind-the-Back Dribble to escape Kishimoto's frontal pressure!
The instant the ball changed hands behind his back, Fujita Osamu moved! Like a cheetah with perfect anticipation, he launched himself forward! His lightning-fast hand slashed directly across the ball's path!
Smack!
A crisp sound rang out!
Fujita Osamu cleanly knocked the ball away! Steal!
"Get back on defense!" Akashi shouted sharply!
Kitano instantly launched a fast break! Fujita Osamu shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, caught the ball, and easily finished the layup!
19:20! Kitano took the lead!
"Great play, Fujita!"
"Defense! Defense!" Kitano's cheering section erupted in thunderous cheers!
The Teikō supporters' section fell silent. Bai Ze You's mistake had directly led to the opponents' fast-break score!
Bai Ze You stood where he was, looking at the glaring score on the scoreboard and listening to Kitano's cheers. He felt Kishimoto's smug grin and Fujita's sharp gaze. Frustration and pressure surged over him like an icy tide, instantly drowning him. His absolute disadvantage in strength had been magnified to the extreme before a purely physical defender like Kishimoto! His "Phantom" seemed truly trapped inside the cage Kitano had built from muscle!
"Shiro! Don't just stand there!" Aomine Daiki's shout came from nearby, carrying a trace of agitation.
Akashi Seijūrō's cold gaze swept over Bai Ze You. He said nothing, but that silent scrutiny was more pressuring than any reprimand.
Momoi Satsuki's heart tightened when she saw Bai Ze You's clenched fists and the flicker of wavering in his eyes.
Could he really be locked down...?
Could this flexible barrier truly be unable to break through the encirclement of strength and anticipation?
Bai Ze You drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart. He closed his eyes, and the scene from the final day of training flashed through his mind: in the desperate situation where his stamina was exhausted and his body was out of control, he had relied on flexibility and balance to complete that unbelievable finish; then came Captain Nijimura's weak yet resolute instructions from his hospital bed: "Win in your own way!"; and finally, the oath born from his own resolve: "Under the iron law of Absolute Victory, protect the flame of creation!"
Not enough strength? Then make up for it with skill and brains!
Space compressed? Then create space!
A muscle jungle? Then use flexible vines to entangle, borrow strength, and search for gaps!
An unprecedented calm and fighting spirit rose within his chest, like ice and fire merging together! The wavering vanished from his eyes, replaced by a deeper and more dangerous focus!
Teikō attacked again. Bai Ze You took the initiative to move, using Murasaki-bara Atsushi's massive body to set a solid screen and temporarily shaking Kishimoto off by half a body! Akashi's pass arrived with the precision of a scalpel!
He caught the ball! Roaring, Kishimoto forced his way around the screen and charged again like a wild bull! Fujita Osamu pounced in at the same instant!
The double-team returned!
This time, Bai Ze You did not choose to resist head-on or change direction in haste! At the instant Kishimoto collided with him, he used his extraordinary flexibility, his body sliding sideways like a supple willow branch and bleeding off the force in the direction of the impact! At the same time, his core strength locked his center of gravity in place, keeping him from being knocked away! Kishimoto's force was like crashing into a tough bundle of cotton, most of it dissipating on impact!
Force successfully redirected!
At the same time, Bai Ze You's right wrist flicked with a magician's dexterity! A highly deceptive in-and-out dribble feinted a drive to the right! The fake movement of his shoulder and eyes was utterly convincing! His target was Fujita Osamu!
Fujita's pupils contracted! His center of gravity instinctively shifted right to block him!
Fujita's center of gravity had been baited!
The instant Fujita's weight shifted, Bai Ze You's core strength exploded again! He forcibly pulled himself out of the rightward feint. At the same time, he pivoted on his left foot and executed an astonishingly swift left spin! His body rotated like a top, and during the turn, the ball made a nimble between-the-legs switch!
Using the force Kishimoto had yet to fully recover from after the collision and the rotation of his own body, Bai Ze You borrowed strength to strike with strength. He completed the spin and switch in an instant, forcibly spinning past through the fleeting gap between Kishimoto and Fujita, whose center of gravity had been deceived!
Past them both! A flexible spin that broke through the deadlock!
"He got through again!" the commentator cried.
The stands erupted once more!
But it was not over! Kitano's interior had already collapsed inward! Two tall players were like moving walls, sealing off the basket!
A narrow path between life and death! Bai Ze You did not slow down! Facing the help defense, he did not force his way through. Instead, while moving at full speed, his center of gravity shifted in a bizarre sequence! A wide-ranging double-change Eurostep!
A feint to the left! The motion was so exaggerated it seemed he would crash into the defender on the left!
The defender's center of gravity was pulled off balance!
A cut to the right! Fast as a ghost!
The defender on the right hurried to block him!
But Bai Ze You's body seemed boneless. In the gap just before the two defenders closed in, he once again used extreme flexibility and balance to forcibly twist his body and execute an extreme underhand scoop shot!
The basketball spun strangely as it passed beneath the two defenders' raised arms, grazed the backboard, and bounced into the net!
The shot was good!
21:20! Teikō took the lead again!
The entire Tokyo Dome ignited in an instant! The deafening chants of "Bai Ze! Bai Ze! Phantom!" shook the arena!
Bai Ze You landed, his chest heaving violently as sweat slid down from his temples. The force redirection, spin, Eurostep, and extreme scoop shot he had performed in that flash had consumed an enormous amount of physical control and mental focus. Yet his eyes were sharp as blades. He coldly swept them over the stunned Kishimoto and Fujita before fixing his gaze on the scoreboard.
A flexible barrier?
No! Flexibility was the ultimate weapon that let him break through every barrier!
Kishimoto Yūki stared at his empty hands, then at the basketball rolling into the net. His face was filled with disbelief. The strength he had been so proud of seemed clumsy and laughable before that white figure's inconceivable flexibility and skill! Fujita Osamu's expression grew even more solemn. His prized anticipation had repeatedly missed its mark against Bai Ze You's deeper layers of feints and psychological warfare!
Momoi Satsuki was so excited she nearly jumped up. She rapidly wrote on her clipboard:
**"Observation Record: Flexible barrier breached!"** **"Method: Bleed off and borrow force (counter strength) + rotational wipeout (break the double-team) + center-of-gravity deception Eurostep (break help defense) + extreme finish (break the swarm)!"** **"Effect: In the 'muscle jungle,' Using softness to overcome hardness and skill to break strength, the Phantom shines once more!"** **"Rating: S++ (Master of breaking through adversity! Flexible trait sublimated!)"**
The corner of Akashi Seijūrō's mouth curled into that nearly imperceptible smile once more. He had seen it! He had seen Bai Ze You transform and evolve under immense pressure! This "Phantom Blade" had not merely avoided breaking—it had become sharper and deadlier through the honing process!
Aomine Daiki pumped his fist. "Beautifully done, Shiro! Keep tearing them apart like that!"
Midōrima Shintarō said, "The flexible trait has been converted into a core advantage encompassing both offense and defense. Efficiency value recovering."
Murasaki-bara Atsushi said, "Ah, he slipped through again."
Kitano Academy's coach, Sakuma Ryūji, wore a livid expression. His carefully arranged "muscle jungle" had not only failed to lock down Bai Ze You, it had instead become a stage for his opponent to display extreme flexibility and skill! He angrily smashed the tactics board once.
The fierce battle continued. On the smoke-filled stage of the national finals, the "White Phantom" used his unparalleled flexibility and balance to build a "flexible barrier" that could not be crushed by strength or pierced by anticipation! This barrier not only protected him; it had also become the lethal weapon Teikō used to tear apart Kitano's ironclad defense! Beneath the lights of the Dome, that white figure was declaring through his actions: the true Phantom feared no encirclement! His flexibility was his kingdom!
Before you continue