The Beginning of Collapse, the Second Miracle Descends!

The moment the basketball passed through the net, it was as if the entire world had been muted.

Akira Sendoh froze in place, holding his defensive stance without moving.

His eyes were locked on the still gently swaying net, his mind completely blank.

It went in?

It really... went in?

From a step beyond the three-point line, against his full-force defense, a fadeaway jumper...

It went in?

How the hell... was that possible?!

He felt his worldview being mercilessly stomped into the ground and ground beneath someone's heel once again.

If that shot behind the backboard in the first half had been a rule-breaking "magic trick,"

Then this basket had dealt a complete, devastating blow to his entire basketball philosophy!

The defense he took pride in, the defensive strategy he had considered perfect, was a joke in front of this man!

An enormous joke!

"..."

Coach Taoka opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that he could not utter a single word.

It was as though something had clogged his throat.

As he watched the white-haired boy turn and run back on defense without even bothering to look at the ball he had made, an unprecedented chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

A monster...

This guy was not human at all!

He was a monster wearing human skin!

"Waaaaaahhh!"

After that brief deathly silence, Shohoku's bench and cheer squad erupted in thunderous cheers!

"Shirakawa! Shirakawa! Shirakawa!"

"So cool! Lord Shirakawa!"

"Did you see that?! That's our ace!"

Ayako and Haruko threw their arms around each other in excitement, jumping up and down with worship and pride written all over their faces.

"Ayako! Shirakawa... he's... he's incredible!" Haruko's eyes sparkled like they were filled with tiny stars.

"Yeah... just how many more surprises does this guy have that we don't know about..." Ayako murmured as she watched the number 1 on the court.

Shohoku's players had also gone from shock to wild jubilation.

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!" Ryota Miyagi was so excited that he could barely speak coherently. "That guy... he did it again! Again!"

"Is... is this Shirakawa's true strength?" Kiminobu Kogure pushed up his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses filled with astonishment.

Takenori Akagi said nothing. He merely looked at Shirakawa's back, then at Jun Uozumi on the other side, who had been completely petrified.

He suddenly felt that the title of "Kanagawa's number one center," which he and Uozumi had fought over for so many years, was utterly ridiculous.

Before Shirakawa's absolute, unreasonable strength, number one center, number one forward—none of it meant anything.

Kaede Rukawa stood in the corner, looking at the figure everyone was worshipping, his heart filled with conflicting emotions.

There was shock, unwillingness, and confusion, but more than anything, there was an emotion called excitement.

So...

Basketball could be played like this.

So, one person really could become strong enough to ignore any tactic, any defense.

Shirakawa.

You are the target I will chase!

I will definitely catch up to you!

Ryonan had been completely stunned senseless.

They looked at Shirakawa, who seemed like a god descending to earth, then at their own ace, Sendoh, who had begun to question his very existence. An emotion called despair-

tion spread wildly through their hearts.

How were they supposed to keep playing?

A monster who could throw the ball into the hoop from anywhere, in any posture, while ignoring any defense...

How the hell were they supposed to play against that?!

"Stop spacing out! The game isn't over yet!"

Jun Uozumi, Ryonan's captain, was the first to step forward at the crucial moment.

He roared in his rough voice, trying to rouse his teammates, who had already lost their souls.

"It's just one three-pointer! What's so amazing about that?!"

"We'll just score it back!"

"Sendoh! Pull yourself together!"

He ran over to Sendoh and slapped him hard on the back.

The blow made Sendoh stagger. At last, he snapped out of that soul-leaving-body state.

He looked at Uozumi, then at the expectant eyes of his teammates around him. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'm fine, Captain."

His voice was somewhat hoarse.

"The game isn't over yet."

That was right. It was not over yet.

I, Akira Sendoh, cannot admit defeat like this!

Ryonan's offense.

Sendoh had the ball again.

This time, he did not look at Shirakawa. Instead, he focused all his attention on the game itself.

With a beautiful bounce pass, he assisted Fukuda Kiccho inside, drawing a foul from Hanamichi Sakuragi.

Fukuda made one of two free throws.

41:37.

The gap had been cut to four points.

"Nice one, Fukuda!"

"Defense! Defense!"

Ryonan's momentum seemed to have returned a little.

However, that was merely wishful thinking on their part.

It was Shohoku's turn to attack.

Shirakawa brought the ball slowly across half court.

Sendoh stood in front of him again.

This time, Sendoh's gaze was more grave and more focused.

He spread his arms, extending his defensive coverage to the absolute limit.

He told himself that he absolutely, absolutely could not let him get another easy shot off!

Shirakawa looked at him and smiled.

"Still not giving up?"

"Pretty tenacious."

"But it's useless."

With that, Shirakawa suddenly moved.

He did not shoot, nor did he drive.

He merely twisted his body into a knot in an extremely bizarre posture, one that completely defied human biomechanics.

Then, at the very instant his body was about to lose balance and fall to the floor,

he casually tossed the ball one-handed toward the basket.

That posture was even stranger and more outrageous than the shot behind the backboard in the first half!

It looked like a drunk tossing bottles around at random!

Sendoh was completely dumbfounded.

He even forgot to reach out and contest it.

Because in his understanding, a shot like that would not merely fail to go in—it would not even touch the rim!

And yet...

Swish!

Another crisp, pleasant sound that drove the entire Ryonan team into despair.

The basketball traced an arc through the air that no mortal could comprehend.

Once again, it went straight through the net!

44:37!

The entire arena fell silent.

The second miracle had descended.

Akira Sendoh stood there blankly, watching the white-haired boy climb up from the floor and dust off his butt as though nothing had happened.

Only one thought remained in his mind.

What...

What exactly am I playing basketball against?