Shohoku's Iron Wall?!

"Th-That's way too arrogant!"

"He wants to take on three starters by himself?"

"He's crazy! He's completely crazy!"

Shirakawa's outrageously arrogant declaration instantly set the entire gym ablaze.

If beating Ryota Miyagi earlier had demonstrated his extraordinary individual skill,

then challenging Takenori Akagi, Kaede Rukawa, and Ryota Miyagi—three absolute starters with entirely different styles—all by himself was, in everyone's eyes, sheer overconfidence!

"That bastard... He's looking down on us too much!" Ryota Miyagi trembled with rage at Shirakawa's insolence. The faint respect that had just arisen vanished instantly, replaced by boundless fury.

Kaede Rukawa's gaze turned even colder, the chill radiating from him seeming capable of freezing the air itself.

Only Takenori Akagi remained stern-faced, but the flames burning in his eyes revealed exactly how he felt.

"Good!" Akagi growled, his voice booming like a great bell. "Shirakawa! If you can score against the defense of all three of us, I'll acknowledge that you're qualified to challenge us!"

"Qualified?" Shirakawa sneered. "Captain, it seems you've gotten one thing wrong."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three of them, then said word by word, "I'm not here to challenge you."

"I'm here... to rule this team!"

Boom!

Arrogant!

Utterly arrogant!

Those words hit harder than any of his previous provocations!

Hanamichi Sakuragi had already leaped up from the sidelines, pointing at Shirakawa as he shouted, "Damn it! He's even more arrogant than this genius! That line should've been mine!"

Kiminobu Kogure and Ayako looked at each other, both seeing profound shock in the other's eyes.

This Shirakawa was not only a monster in terms of ability; his personality was a complete monster too!

"Ho ho ho..." Coach Anzai's laugh remained gentle, but he had already walked to the sideline, watching the imminent one-versus-three showdown with great interest.

He wanted to see just where the limits of this outrageously arrogant boy truly lay.

"Enough talk!"

Ryota Miyagi was the first to charge in. Like an enraged hunting dog, he pressed tightly against Shirakawa, trying to disrupt his dribbling through physical contact.

At the same time, Kaede Rukawa closed in from the flank, his sharp eyes locking onto the basketball in Shirakawa's hands like an eagle.

And beneath the basket, Takenori Akagi spread his arms wide. Like an insurmountable mountain, he guarded the final line of defense!

Shohoku's strongest perimeter defensive ace!

Its strongest one-on-one weapon!

And its strongest interior barrier!

The three of them formed a net that seemed loose yet left no escape, completely enveloping Shirakawa!

"This time... he's out of options, right?"

"Getting trapped by Miyagi and Rukawa means there's no way he can get the ball out!"

"Even if he somehow breaks through, Captain Akagi is waiting inside!"

Everyone believed Shirakawa's dazzling performance had come to an end.

Yet Shirakawa, surrounded on all sides, showed no trace of panic.

Instead, an excited smile curled across his lips.

"Now this is getting interesting."

The moment he spoke, he moved!

His right hand slammed the ball downward, and the basketball seemed to come alive, darting and bouncing at a dizzying pace between his legs, behind his back, and in front of him!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The dense dribbling was so fast it nearly blurred into one continuous sound!

Ryota Miyagi and Kaede Rukawa's eyes widened. They could not even catch the ball's exact position!

To them, it seemed as though four or five afterimages of basketballs had appeared around Shirakawa at once!

"Damn it! Where the hell is the ball?!"

Ryota Miyagi frantically reached in to steal it, but every time, his hand caught nothing but air.

Kaede Rukawa also tried to predict Shirakawa's movements from his center of gravity, only to discover in shock that Shirakawa's center of gravity... had no center at all!

His upper and lower body seemed completely detached, his body feints and the ball's trajectory utterly unrelated!

This was the essence of Daiki Aomine's beastlike style—the ultimate application of Ultra-High-Speed Dribbling!

"Now!"

At the instant the two were dazzled and a nearly imperceptible gap appeared in their defense, Shirakawa's eyes sharpened!

He abruptly crouched low, his body nearly skimming the floor, then shot like a cannonball through the gap between Ryota Miyagi and Kaede Rukawa!

"What?!"

"He got through?!"

Ryota Miyagi and Kaede Rukawa only felt a gust of wind rush past them. By the time they came to their senses, Shirakawa had already broken through their double-team and charged toward the basket!

"Don't even think about it!"

Takenori Akagi, the final line of defense, had been waiting for him!

With an enraged roar, his massive body soared high into the air, and his enormous hand, enough to block out the sky, came crashing down toward Shirakawa in midair!

This time, he had sealed off every angle!

He would make this arrogant brat understand that Shohoku's paint could not be violated!

Yet, facing this "Shohoku iron wall," Shirakawa, suspended in the air, revealed a strange smile.

He did not choose to shoot, nor did he choose to pass.

At the instant his body was about to collide with Akagi, he violently hurled the basketball in his hand toward the backboard!

Bang!

The ball slammed heavily into the backboard, then bounced high into the air!

"A self-pass dunk?!"

Akagi's heart jolted. He had not expected Shirakawa to choose such a move.

But he landed faster, spun around, and leaped up again, ready to seize the rebound!

But while he was fast, Shirakawa was faster!

After throwing the ball, Shirakawa twisted his body impossibly in midair, lightly planting both feet against the basket support!

"Using the force?!"

Akagi's pupils contracted sharply!

Using that tiny bit of force, Shirakawa's body rose a second time in midair, forcibly climbing to a position even higher than Akagi!

He extended his right hand and steadily caught the basketball rebounding from the backboard in midair.

Then, before the horrified eyes of everyone present, he viciously...

Slammed the basketball in his hand...

Toward the hoop!

BOOM!

A thunderous crash!

The entire rim groaned and shook violently!

Akagi, Rukawa, and Miyagi stood beneath the basket in stunned silence, heads tilted upward as they watched the figure hanging one-handed from the rim, like a sovereign ruling over all.

Shohoku's iron wall had been completely shattered in the most violent, most unreasonable way possible!