Formless Shot!

"What was he doing?!"

"With his body twisted like that, how could he possibly shoot?"

"He's going to get blocked! He's definitely going to get blocked!"

Before everyone's horrified eyes, Shirakawa's body twisted into an unbelievable angle in midair, and he nearly lay flat as he drifted backward.

Takenori Akagi's fan-sized hand had already sealed off every possible shooting angle in front of him!

This is too reckless! Akagi roared inwardly.

In his eyes, such a wild shot without any balance did not even count as a "shot." He was simply throwing the ball away!

He was one hundred percent confident he could slam the ball hard against the backboard!

Yet the next second, Akagi's pupils suddenly contracted.

The crisp sound of a hand check or a block that he had expected never came.

The basketball Shirakawa tossed out actually flew past his fingertips along a bizarre arc!

It felt like a slippery loach slipping through the gaps in a fishing net.

He had blocked nothing!

"What?!"

Akagi's huge body staggered slightly upon landing from exerting too much force. He turned back in disbelief.

The orange-red basketball traced an extremely irregular, even slightly wobbling arc through the air, as though it might veer off course at any moment.

Yet in the end, as if guided by an invisible hand, it accurately and gently plunged straight into the center of the hoop!

Swish!

The crisp, pleasant sound of a clean basket was especially piercing in the silent gymnasium.

The ball went in!

1 point!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Everyone was petrified.

Hanamichi Sakuragi stood there with his mouth wide open, practically drooling. He could not understand what had just happened at all.

"T-That kind of posture... can still score?"

Kiminobu Kogure pushed up his glasses, which had nearly fallen off, his mouth wide enough to fit an egg inside.

"A monster... He's definitely a monster..."

The players on the bench stared as though they had seen an alien at Shirakawa, who casually got up from the floor and dusted himself off.

That drive just now had already exceeded their understanding.

And this basket had shattered their entire worldview!

Basketball... could be played like this?

"No way..."

Ryota Miyagi, who had been blown past in a single step, stood dazed in place and muttered under his breath.

His pride and confidence had been smashed to pieces by Shirakawa's two godlike displays.

The speed he took such pride in was not worth mentioning before Shirakawa.

The skills he relied on to survive looked so stiff and laughable before Shirakawa's wild imagination.

"His style... has no pattern at all... It's completely unpredictable!"

For the first time, Miyagi felt a hint of something called helplessness toward someone his own age.

Kaede Rukawa's expression had also become more serious than ever.

He stared fixedly at Shirakawa, a fire called excitement burning in his cold eyes.

He had thought that in Shohoku, even in all of Kanagawa, there were only a few opponents worthy of making him go all out.

But now, an enormous surprise had appeared before him without any warning!

That guy... Rukawa murmured inwardly. He's interesting!

At the edge of the court, Ayako had completely forgotten to record any statistics. Her pen had fallen to the floor, and she did not even notice.

Her gaze was entirely drawn to Shirakawa, who seemed to carry his own halo.

That figure was carefree, mysterious, and full of indescribable charm.

"Heh... Hehehe..."

A low, delighted laugh came from the coaching bench.

Coach Anzai slowly rose to his feet and pushed up his glasses. In his usually narrowed eyes shone a light like that of someone who had discovered a priceless treasure.

"Explosive power beyond reason, dribbling skill that makes man and ball one, and... soft touch that can send the ball into the hoop from any posture..."

"This is no longer merely basketball."

"This is... art!"

A tempest surged through Coach Anzai's heart.

He remembered the exceptionally gifted players he had seen while coaching in the United States. Yet even those players had never displayed anything as... outrageous as Shirakawa had in high school!

Where exactly had this boy come from?!

On the court, Shirakawa felt everyone's gazes, mixed with shock, confusion, and admiration. There was only one word in his heart—

Awesome!

This was incredible!

Was this Daiki Aomine's strength?

Was this what it felt like to use superpowered basketball to crush a realistic world from a higher dimension?

He turned to look at Ryota Miyagi, who was still stunned, and smiled slightly.

"Senior, your turn."

Miyagi snapped awake at those words, his face turning pale, then green.

He gritted his teeth and picked up the basketball from the ground.

He could lose, but not lose face!

He was Ryota Miyagi! How could he be intimidated by some first-year brat?!

"Just now... Just now, you must have gotten lucky!"

Miyagi made excuses for himself, his gaze sharpening once more.

He would use his own drive to win back every shred of face he had lost just now!

He lowered his center of gravity, the basketball rapidly weaving between his legs and behind his back, leaving behind a dazzling series of afterimages.

"Lightning" Ryota Miyagi was getting serious!

He stared fixedly at Shirakawa, trying to find an opening in Shirakawa's defensive stance.

However, he was disappointed.

Shirakawa merely stood lazily in front of him. He had not even spread his arms, letting them hang casually at his sides.

That posture was full of contempt and disdain.

"Damn it! How dare you look down on me!"

Miyagi's fury ignited instantly. He hesitated no longer, suddenly accelerating as his entire body turned into a bolt of lightning and shot toward Shirakawa's left!

This was his fastest speed!

He believed no one could keep up with this drive!

Yet at the instant he brushed past Shirakawa and thought he had successfully broken through.

A hand appeared like a ghost on the basketball's path without any warning.

Smack!

A crisp sound rang out.

Miyagi only felt his hand grow light. The basketball that had always been inseparable from him had simply... vanished!