The arena had learned Ryu's rhythm.

That was the terrifying part.

Not just the players—everyone.

The crowd's breathing rose and fell with his dribble. The refs' whistles seemed delayed, like even they were waiting for permission. Hakuro moved like a perfected system, gears interlocking, every rotation precise.

Hakuro — 51

Seiryō — 44

Five minutes remained in the fourth.

On Seiryō's bench, nobody sat.

Coach Takeda didn't bark orders anymore. He didn't need to.

This wasn't about schemes now.

It was about belief.

Yuuto stood at half court as Shinji brought the ball up, chest still heaving from the last defensive stand. Sweat stung his eyes, but his vision felt sharper than ever. The Self-Actualization buzzed quietly beneath his thoughts—not overwhelming, not flashing warnings.

Stable.

Present.

Alive.

Across from him, Ryu waited.

Relaxed.

Interested.

Like a predator who'd finally found prey worth chasing.

Shinji crossed half court and raised two fingers.

Not a set play.

A signal.

Flow.

Marcus caught Yuuto's eye from the wing.

Daichi planted himself deep in the paint, jaw clenched, arms tense.

Daniel hovered near the top, ready to anchor the rotation.

Seiryō didn't rush.

That alone felt wrong.

The crowd murmured.

Shinji dribbled once… twice… then suddenly snapped a pass behind his back—no look, threading it between Ren and Minato.

Gasps erupted.

Marcus caught it clean.

No hesitation.

No thought.

He rose.

Ryu turned late.

The ball flew.

Time stretched.

Swish.

For half a heartbeat, the arena went silent.

Then it exploded.

Hakuro — 51

Seiryō — 47

Marcus landed and backpedaled, eyes blazing.

"That's one," he muttered.

Ryu exhaled slowly, lips curling.

"Oh," he said softly. "So you finally lit the match."

Hakuro inbounded quickly, trying to smother the momentum before it grew teeth. Minato pushed the pace, feeding Hiroto on the wing.

Yuuto slid immediately, cutting off the drive angle—not perfectly, but enough. Daniel rotated behind him, voice sharp and calm.

"Left! Force left!"

Hiroto adjusted, pivoting, eyes flicking toward Ryu—

But Daichi stepped up.

Hard.

No fear.

Chest first.

The collision echoed through the court.

The ball popped loose.

Daichi didn't think.

He dove.

Fingers scraped wood.

Shinji scooped it up and ran.

Fast break.

The crowd rose as one.

Marcus sprinted right.

Yuuto filled the lane left.

Shinji glanced once—then tossed the ball high.

Too high.

Impossible—

Daichi thundered in from behind, leaping like something unleashed.

He caught it with both hands and hammered it down.

The rim screamed.

The arena lost its mind.

Hakuro — 51

Seiryō — 49

Daichi landed hard, chest pounding, eyes wide like he couldn't believe what he'd just done.

Then he roared.

Not at Hakuro.

At himself.

On Hakuro's bench, their coach stood.

That alone sent a ripple through the spectators.

Ryu bounced the ball slowly as play resumed.

The smile was gone.

Not angry.

Focused.

He drove immediately, slicing through the defense, pulling Yuuto and Daniel with him—

And dished to Hiroto.

Open.

Shot up—

Miss.

The ball rattled out.

Marcus boxed out.

Seiryō ball.

Now the noise was different.

Not nervous.

Hopeful.

Shinji slowed it down, hands steady, eyes scanning. He didn't call a play.

He trusted them.

Yuuto drifted to the corner, drawing Minato with him. Marcus curled around the arc, using Daichi as a moving wall. Daniel hovered near the elbow, ready to reset.

Shinji drove.

Two defenders collapsed.

And without looking—

He flicked the ball sideways.

Yuuto caught it mid-stride.

For a split second, the world narrowed.

Not the rim.

Not the defender closing out.

But space.

He saw Marcus sliding into the weak-side corner. Saw Daichi sealing his man. Saw Daniel lifting to the top.

He didn't think.

He passed.

A dime.

Threaded through traffic, chest-high, perfect.

Marcus caught.

Rose.

Shot.

The net snapped.

Hakuro — 51

Seiryō — 52

For the first time all night—

Seiryō led.

The arena erupted so loudly the floor seemed to shake.

On Hakuro's side, Ren stared at the scoreboard.

"…They're not forcing anything," he muttered.

"They're just… playing," Minato said, almost confused.

Ryu laughed.

A real laugh this time.

Bright.

Unrestrained.

"Yes," he said. "That's it."

Hakuro called timeout.

The crowd buzzed like a storm trapped indoors. Commentators leaned forward, voices overlapping.

"Seiryō has found something here—this isn't reckless basketball!"

"They're reading each other perfectly—look at the spacing, the trust!"

"Is this… momentum?"

On Seiryō's bench, Coach Takeda finally spoke.

"Don't chase the lead," he said quietly. "Chase the game."

Yuuto nodded, hands shaking slightly—not from fear, but adrenaline.

Across the court, Hakuro returned with colder eyes.

Ryu took the inbound himself.

No more easing in.

He pushed.

The pace shifted again—but this time, Seiryō moved with it.

Yuuto stayed attached longer.

Daniel rotated earlier.

Marcus fought through screens like a man possessed.

Daichi battled for every inch.

Ryu scored—of course he did. A clean pull-up over Yuuto's fingertips.

Hakuro — 53

Seiryō — 52

But Seiryō answered.

Shinji drove, drew contact, kicked to Daniel.

Midrange.

In.

Hakuro — 53

Seiryō — 54

The crowd couldn't sit anymore.

Every possession felt like a knife's edge.

Ryu attacked again, spinning past Yuuto—

But Yuuto recovered.

Just enough.

Ryu dished to Hiroto.

Daniel closed.

Shot contested.

Miss.

Rebound—Daichi.

Seiryō pushed.

Shinji crossed half court and slowed.

Yuuto ran alongside him, eyes wide.

"You see it too?" Shinji asked.

Yuuto nodded.

"The spaces," he said. "They're opening."

Shinji smiled.

"Then don't waste them."

The ball moved.

Shinji to Daniel.

Daniel to Marcus.

Marcus to Yuuto—

Fake.

Drive.

Kick back out.

Shinji caught and launched from deep—

Swish.

Hakuro — 53

Seiryō — 57

The arena detonated.

Ryu wiped his face, breathing heavier now.

Not tired.

Excited.

"This," he said under his breath, "is basketball."

As the clock ticked under two minutes, Seiryō didn't look like underdogs anymore.

They looked alive.

Connected.

Dangerous.

And as Yuuto jogged back on defense, chest burning, vision sharp, he realized something profound—

This wasn't Self-Actualization anymore.

This was belonging.

Seiryō had found its spark.

And even Kings had to respect fire.

The clock dipped under 1:40.

Hakuro — 53

Seiryō — 57

Four points.

That number felt unreal on the scoreboard, like a typo the officials hadn't corrected yet.

The crowd was on its feet now—not roaring, not chanting—watching. The kind of silence that only comes when something rare is unfolding and nobody wants to miss a second of it.

Ryu rolled the ball forward with his foot before picking it up.

Slow.

Measured.

That signature pacing again.

Not fast. Not slow.

Commanding.

Yuuto swallowed and slid into his stance, knees bent, eyes level—not on Ryu's hands, not on his eyes.

Hips, he reminded himself.

Daniel's voice echoed in his memory.

Ryu dribbled once.

Yuuto mirrored.

Again.

Again.

Then—without warning—Ryu surged.

Not explosively.

Efficiently.

Yuuto reacted a half-beat late, shoulder brushing Ryu's arm as he slipped past. Daniel rotated instantly, cutting off the lane.

Ryu didn't force it.

He floated the ball up instead—high, soft—

Hiroto rose behind Daniel and tipped it in.

Hakuro — 55

Seiryō — 57

No celebration.

No emotion.

Just execution.

On Seiryō's bench, Coach Takeda clapped once. Sharp. Loud.

"Next play!"

Shinji brought the ball up, breathing hard now, sweat dripping off his chin. Hakuro pressed higher, tighter—gears tightening, machine recalibrating.

Marcus fought through a double screen, jaw clenched.

Daichi planted himself on the block, arms wide, demanding space like it was oxygen.

Yuuto drifted along the arc, eyes scanning, mind buzzing.

The Self-Actualization hummed—not flashing, not warning.

Guiding.

Shinji drove left, drew Ren and Minato, then snapped the ball backward.

Daniel caught.

Pivoted.

Instead of shooting, he waited.

That pause cracked Hakuro's rotation open.

Yuuto saw it.

He cut.

Daniel fired.

Yuuto caught on the move and—without slowing—flicked the ball forward.

Daichi caught it under the rim.

Two hands.

Up.

In.

Hakuro — 55

Seiryō — 59

Daichi landed and turned, eyes blazing, veins bulging in his arms.

"That's discipline," one commentator breathed. "Pure discipline."

Hakuro called no timeout.

Ryu waved his teammates forward.

"Again," he said.

The next possession was chaos.

Screens collided.

Bodies crashed.

Marcus fought Ryu through a switch, chest to chest, refusing to yield ground. Ryu spun, stepped back—

Shot up.

Rim.

Out.

Rebound tipped—

Yuuto snatched it.

For a second, he froze.

Then he ran.

Fast break.

The crowd surged.

Shinji sprinted right.

Marcus trailed.

Yuuto pushed center.

Hiroto closed in, calm and deadly.

Yuuto slowed—not stopping, but changing pace.

Ryu's move.

The King's rhythm.

Hiroto hesitated for just a breath.

Yuuto passed.

A bounce pass—threaded—perfect.

Shinji caught it in stride and laid it in.

Hakuro — 55

Seiryō — 61

The arena erupted.

Even Hakuro's bench murmured now.

Ryu laughed again, louder this time, hands on his knees as he bent forward.

"So that's your answer," he said, eyes lifting to Yuuto. "You're learning."

Yuuto didn't reply.

He just slid back into his stance.

Under a minute left.

Hakuro attacked relentlessly, finally forcing a foul. Ryu went to the line.

The noise died instantly.

First free throw.

In.

Second.

In.

Hakuro — 57

Seiryō — 61

Thirty-eight seconds.

Seiryō slowed it down.

Coach Takeda held up a fist.

"Smart," he mouthed.

Shinji dribbled near the logo, eyes calm. Hakuro didn't press recklessly now—they respected the threat.

Ten seconds burned.

Eight.

Seven.

Shinji drove, pulled the defense—

And kicked it out to Marcus.

Corner.

Wide open.

Marcus hesitated for the briefest moment.

Then shot.

The ball arced high, slow—

Swish.

Hakuro — 57

Seiryō — 64

The sound was deafening.

Hakuro rushed one last possession, Ryu forcing a deep three—

Clang.

The buzzer sounded.

The quarter ended with Seiryō standing tall, chests heaving, eyes bright.

Yuuto looked up at the scoreboard, heart pounding.

They weren't surviving anymore.

They were competing.

And as Ryu walked past him toward the bench, he leaned in just enough to whisper—

"Don't stop now. Kings hate unfinished stories."

Yuuto nodded.

Neither did challengers.

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