The Ace's Monologue, Sendo's Final Pride!

"Is it over?"

Hearing Shirakawa's words, which sounded like a death sentence, Akira Sendoh's lifeless eyes suddenly twitched slightly.

He slowly raised his head and looked at the man before him, the man who had trampled all his pride beneath his feet.

His lips trembled faintly.

"Yeah... it's over..."

He murmured to himself, his voice filled with bitterness.

From that shot behind the backboard—no, perhaps from the very beginning, from the moment this man stepped onto the court—the outcome of this game had already been decided.

All his struggles, all his efforts, had been nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

He was like a three-year-old child wielding a wooden sword to challenge a true god of war armed with divine weapons.

The result was obvious.

Give up.

Akira Sendoh, give up.

You have already lost.

Lost beyond all recognition.

Lost completely.

A voice echoed endlessly in his mind.

Yet just as he was about to be completely swallowed by despair.

Another image suddenly flashed through his mind.

It was the first time he had seen himself on a street basketball court, with his spiky hair and that lazy smile always hanging at the corner of his mouth.

It was his silhouette as he left Tokyo for Kanagawa alone, chasing his basketball dream.

It was the scene of him sweating profusely under Coach Taoka's scolding, practicing dull fundamentals day after day.

It was the promise he and Uozumi had made to lead Ryonan to national dominance.

"I..."

"Why... did I start playing basketball?"

Sendo looked at his hands.

Was it for victory?

Was it to become number one?

Was it to enjoy the feeling of being watched by everyone?

Yes.

But not entirely.

He remembered.

The first and purest reason he had fallen in love with basketball.

It was simply because...

Playing basketball was fun.

Facing powerful opponents was fun.

Giving everything and burning himself out on the court was fun.

"Heh..."

Sendo suddenly laughed.

He laughed loudly, so hard that tears nearly came out.

Everyone around him looked at him as if he had gone mad.

"Sendo... are you okay?" Uozumi asked worriedly.

Sendo ignored him.

He only looked at Shirakawa. The light in his eyes had returned, and the anger, resentment, and despair from before were gone.

In their place was a radiance unlike anything before—pure, wholehearted enjoyment.

"Shirakawa."

He spoke, his voice no longer hoarse but restored to its usual clear, magnetic tone.

"You're strong."

"The strongest opponent I've ever seen."

"Playing against you has been painful."

"But..."

Sendo paused, and the smile on his lips grew even brighter.

"...it's also been fun."

Shirakawa stared at Sendo, who seemed to have undergone a rebirth in just a few minutes, and was slightly taken aback.

This guy...

He had actually broken through his inner demons in a situation like this?

Interesting.

"So?" Shirakawa asked with interest. "What are you trying to say?"

"So," Sendo took a deep breath, his gaze becoming incomparably firm, "before the final buzzer sounds."

"I, Akira Sendoh, don't want to admit defeat yet."

"For the rest of this game, let's cast aside all tactics, all thoughts of winning and losing."

"And simply enjoy this game."

After saying that, Sendo ignored Shirakawa, turned around, and ran back to his own half.

His back was straight and resolute.

It was as if the genius who had once dominated Kanagawa had returned.

Though he might never be able to lead Ryonan to victory in this game.

At the very least, he had reclaimed the last of his own pride.

Ryonan attacked.

Sendo had the ball.

He no longer passed, nor did he direct his teammates.

He simply looked at Shirakawa before moving.

His drive was as sharp as ever.

His movements were as dazzling as ever.

He rose forcefully into Shirakawa's defense and executed an extreme fadeaway in midair.

Shirakawa jumped and reached out, trying to block him.

Yet a smile appeared on Sendo's face.

In midair, he passed the ball out from beneath Shirakawa's arm!

A no-look pass!

The basketball found Uozumi beneath the basket with perfect accuracy. He was completely unguarded!

"Captain!"

Uozumi caught the ball, roared, and slammed it home with both hands!

Swish!

54:39!

After the score, Sendo did not look at the scoreboard or celebrate.

He merely looked at Shirakawa and smiled.

That look seemed to say:

See? I'm not too bad either, am I?

Shirakawa looked at him and smiled as well.

"Interesting."

"Now that's starting to look like an ace."

It was Shohoku's turn to attack.

Shirakawa held the ball, facing Sendo's defense.

This time, he did not pass.

He knew this was Sendo's final challenge—an open, honorable duel between aces.

He had no reason to refuse it.

"Come on."

Shirakawa's eyes grew serious as well.

He began to dribble, faster and faster!

So fast that the spectators could see only a string of afterimages!

Sendo tensed every nerve to the limit, using every bit of his focus to track Shirakawa's every movement!

Suddenly!

Shirakawa dribbled behind his back, followed by a between-the-legs dribble, then a Buddha fake!

An extravagantly flashy combination that belonged only on a streetball court!

Sendo's heart jolted!

He had been shaken!

His center of gravity shifted for one hundredth of a second!

Now!

Shirakawa seized that opportunity, exploding forward and slipping past him in an instant!

Yet Sendo was still Sendo!

The instant he was beaten, he forcibly twisted his body around, reached out, and viciously swiped at the basketball in Shirakawa's hand!

He was going to stop the attack with a foul!

This was his final dignity as a defender!

Yet just as his fingertips were about to touch the ball.

Shirakawa suddenly came to a dead stop at full speed!

Then came a dazzling, elegant three-hundred-and-sixty-degree spin!

"What?!"

Sendo was completely shaken to the ground.

He could only watch helplessly as that white figure drifted past him, then finished with a light reverse layup.

The basketball obediently rolled into the hoop.

56:39.

With an equally dazzling yet even more unstoppable individual performance, Shirakawa answered Sendo's final challenge.