This Is What You Call Team Basketball!

When Kaede Rukawa received the ball, the space in front of him was wide open!

Because both of the Red Team's perimeter defenders had been drawn to Shirakawa alone.

This was an enormous, absolute open-shot opportunity!

Kaede Rukawa did not hesitate. He rose up, jumped, and released the shot.

His movement was smooth as silk, full of beauty.

Swish!

The basketball dropped cleanly through the net, splashing up a beautiful white wave.

Another easy basket!

The players on the sidelines were already growing numb from watching.

"Another... another assist..."

"Shirakawa never even intended to score himself!"

"Terrifying. He alone has thrown the entire Red Team defense into chaos!"

"Facing a double-team and still making such an accurate pass... what level are this guy's court vision and passing ability even at?"

After scoring, Kaede Rukawa silently glanced at Shirakawa in the distance.

A storm raged within him.

This feeling...

This feeling of a teammate creating a completely open look for him, leaving him to easily finish the final blow...

It was... incredible!

He had always been used to handling the ball himself, facing one or two, sometimes even three or four defenders, then scoring with difficult individual moves.

He enjoyed the thrill of conquering his opponents, but at the same time, he had to endure tremendous physical drain and defensive pressure.

But now, he realized basketball could be played like this too.

Victory could come so easily.

Shirakawa's words echoed through his mind again: "I'm playing basketball, while you're just fighting."

Now, he seemed to understand what those words truly meant.

"How does it feel, superstar rookie?" Shirakawa's voice sounded beside his ear at just the right moment. "Is this feeling of having food served right to your mouth better than working your ass off to cook it yourself?"

Ru-

Kawa's cheek twitched slightly.

This guy's mouth was still as obnoxious as ever.

But he could not argue.

Because it really did feel amazing.

The game continued.

From that point on, it completely became Shirakawa's personal showcase.

No, it should have been called a command showcase.

Before his Emperor Eye—even if it was only a fragment, it was more than enough against high schoolers—the Red Team's defense was riddled with holes.

Who had left an opening in their movement, whose defense had loosened, whose stamina had begun to drop...

Everything was reflected clearly in his mind.

He was like a player with the full map unlocked, looking down over the entire battlefield from a god's-eye view.

Akagi's double-team tactics not only failed to contain him, but instead became tools for him to create opportunities for his teammates.

At times, he used a flashy no-look pass to assist Miyagi on a fast-break layup.

At times, he found Yasuda cutting inside with a precise bounce pass, allowing him to score with ease.

At other times, he fired an unbelievable full-court pass that pierced straight through the court, allowing Kaede Rukawa to finish with a thunderous dunk.

He even fed that idiot Sakuragi several unbelievable easy baskets.

Once, Sakuragi was pinned tightly under the basket by Akagi and could not establish position at all.

Outside the three-point line, facing a double-team, Shirakawa suddenly tossed the ball high off the backboard.

"Sakuragi! Rebound!"

He shouted.

Hearing the command, Sakuragi almost instinctively leaped with all his strength.

His terrifying jumping ability carried him straight over Akagi's head. In midair, he caught the basketball as it rebounded off the backboard, then slammed it viciously through the hoop in one smooth motion!

Self-Lob and Dunk!

"Wahahahaha! This genius is the strongest!" After landing, Sakuragi excitedly pounded his chest.

Akagi, meanwhile, looked like he had lost the will to live.

What the hell... counted as an offensive play too?

This was simply unreasonable!

Under Shirakawa's orchestration, the entire White Team had completely come alive.

Everyone was moving, everyone was sharing the ball, and everyone was enjoying the fun of basketball.

Miyagi's speed, Kaede Rukawa's sharpness, Yasuda's off-ball movement, even Sakuragi's physical gifts...

Every person's strengths had been brought to their fullest by Shirakawa.

And every person's weaknesses had been perfectly covered up by Shirakawa's overwhelming individual ability and control.

This was true team basketball!

The ultimate form of team basketball, centered around an absolute superstar core that twisted the entire team into a single rope!

On the sidelines, Kogure's eyes had already filled with tears.

It was as if he could see the day Shohoku ruled the nation.

Meanwhile, every player on the Red Team had their heads lowered, their fighting spirit completely gone.

They felt as though they were not playing against five people.

They were playing against an all-knowing, all-powerful "god."

No matter how they defended, the other side always found a way to break through.

No matter how they moved, the other side always anticipated their intentions in advance.

The feeling was too despairing.

Beeep—!

The final buzzer sounded.

The score settled on an outrageous number.

The White Team claimed victory with a massive thirty-point lead.

Shirakawa had taken only five shots the entire game and scored ten points.

But his assist total was a shocking... twenty!

"Huff... huff..."

Ryota Miyagi and Kaede Rukawa were both bent over in exhaustion, gasping for breath.

Yet their faces were filled with an unprecedented sense of exhilaration and satisfaction.

They raised their heads and looked at the white-haired boy, who still wore a relaxed expression and had barely broken a sweat.

Their eyes were filled with awe, conviction, and... fervor.

Only from that moment onward did they truly understand the meaning behind Captain Akagi's words.

And only then did they truly understand what earth-shattering changes the man before them would bring to Shohoku.

"This is what you fucking call team basketball!"

Ryota Miyagi stared at his hands and muttered to himself.