Kuroko: Mahoraga - Chapter 47: Letting Off Steam. It's Over! (Patreon)

From the start of the second quarter, Kurosawa had tried to shut down every passing lane.

Masato's overwhelming individual ability had kept Kawari in front, but everyone could see the problem the team was facing.

After that last possession, however, even someone who knew nothing about basketball could tell the situation had changed.

Kurosawa's coach shot to his feet on the sideline and began pacing anxiously.

He wanted to call a timeout.

But after looking at Hanamiya, he chose to trust him.

...

On the court, Hanamiya froze for a moment after the “Spider Web” was broken.

Then he forced himself to calm down.

He replayed the possession rapidly in his head.

He was certain he had accounted for every detail that could be calculated.

But there would always be things on a basketball court that escaped calculation.

Hanamiya convinced himself Masato had simply gotten lucky.

Do it again...

No.

Do it ten more times, and Masato would still fall into the “Spider Web.”

Kurosawa went back on offense.

Facing Masato, every player was completely locked in.

And on that possession, Kurosawa could clearly feel that Masato had become even harder to deal with.

Shoichi Imayoshi had a bad feeling.

At some point, Masato was going to become completely unstoppable.

He hoped he was wrong.

Unfortunately for Kurosawa, Imayoshi's instincts were extremely sharp.

That very possession proved it.

Kurosawa kept using coordinated movement to obstruct Masato.

A few possessions earlier, those tricks had still been enough to slow him down.

This time, Masato seemed to know exactly what was coming.

He avoided every little dirty trick before it could affect him.

For a moment, he moved like a slippery fish, leaving the players trying to screen him with nothing to grab onto.

Imayoshi finally found an opening and prepared to pass.

“SMACK!”

A sharp slap echoed across the court.

The ball was stolen.

Imayoshi stared in disbelief.

Kurosawa immediately sprinted back on defense.

As they retreated, every one of them wore the same shocked expression.

The same question ran through all of their minds.

How could they throw this many tactics at Masato and still fail to contain him?

Looking at him now, only one word came to mind.

Monster.

They did not have much time to think about it.

Masato was already attacking the other way.

Hanamiya stepped in front of him again.

Behind the bangs covering his eyes was absolute confidence.

Hanamiya was certain his “Spider Web” would keep working.

As Masato attacked straight into the heart of the defense, Hanamiya immediately began directing his teammates.

Masato saw what Kurosawa wanted to do.

Fine.

He raised the ball and prepared to pass.

Hanamiya immediately activated the “Spider Web” and moved to intercept.

Then astonishment flashed across his eyes.

The ball he had predicted would go inside suddenly appeared in the corner beyond the three-point line.

Kenji caught it with nobody anywhere near him.

He set his feet, rose, and fired.

“SWISH!”

The three-pointer dropped cleanly through the net.

“Hell yeah!”

Kenji held up three fingers toward his defender.

Normally he was much more reserved.

Apparently, Kurosawa had really been making his life miserable since the start of the second quarter.

The defender he had just shown up stood there in a daze.

He was not alone.

Every Kurosawa player looked the same.

Hanamiya's expression completely collapsed the instant the “Spider Web” failed.

He could no longer maintain his earlier calm.

His 160 IQ would not let him keep lying to himself.

No matter how Masato had done it, one fact was undeniable.

The “Spider Web” had been seen through.

The blow was so severe that Kurosawa actually forgot to inbound the ball.

Their coach immediately realized something was wrong.

With a grave expression, he called timeout.

The Kurosawa bench was deathly silent.

Only the coach kept talking.

The problem was that he had nothing useful left to say.

Every tactical card they had prepared was already on the table.

All he could do now was try to fire the players up.

By the time he finished his speech, his throat was dry.

But the players still sat there with their heads down.

There was nothing more he could do.

Just as the timeout was about to end, Hanamiya finally snapped out of his daze.

Then his entire face twisted.

His long hair hid the expression completely, so nobody noticed the change.

...

When the teams returned to the court, the difference in momentum was obvious.

Even so, Kurosawa kept attacking.

They stuck with the same tactics and continued trying to contain Masato.

The same thing happened again.

No matter what Kurosawa tried, Masato found a way around it.

Then Kawari suddenly increased the pressure.

Kurosawa was forced into a rushed pass.

What met the ball was a thunderous block.

The slap of Masato's hand against the ball echoed through the arena.

Once again, the crowd exploded.

“Doesn't Masato look even stronger now?”

“Yeah. Kurosawa can't do anything with him.”

“They've been completely figured out.”

“He's way too strong!”

“...”

The entire arena was buzzing.

With the cheers crashing around him, Masato took complete control of the court.

From then on, he did whatever he wanted.

Whether he attacked or passed, Kurosawa could only react to whatever Masato decided.

Their players grew more and more numb.

The second quarter quickly approached its end.

On the final possession, Masato attacked with the ball.

He tore through the defense and disrupted the double-team in front of him.

Hanamiya could do nothing.

Masato stopped on a dime and rose straight into a jumper.

He was preparing to end the half with one final basket.

But as Masato climbed high into the air, a vicious light flashed through Hanamiya's gloomy eyes behind him.

Pretending he could not stop his momentum, Hanamiya took two steps forward.

Then he placed his foot directly beneath Masato's landing spot.

“Trash belongs with trash. Go join those worthless teammates of yours!”

A look of pure satisfaction spread across Hanamiya's face.

He could already picture Masato crashing to the floor in agony.

Everyone on the court saw it happen.

Ishida saw it most clearly.

“Masa, watch out!”

The rest of Kawari's players shouted at almost the same time.

“Watch out!”

But Masato had already noticed everything while he was still in the air.

He did not panic.

Instead, the corner of his mouth curled upward.

After releasing the shot, he used [Core Control] to stabilize himself.

Just as he was about to land on Hanamiya's foot, Masato stomped down hard.

He thought he heard a crisp crack, almost like a potato chip snapping.

Then Hanamiya's scream tore through the arena.

“AAAAAH!!!”

It sounded like a pig being slaughtered.

Masato let himself fall with the momentum as though the contact had affected him too.

The referee immediately blew the whistle.

The basket counted, plus the foul.

But nobody on the court cared about the and-one anymore.

The instant Ishida and Kenji saw Masato hit the floor, their eyes went bloodshot.

They were the first two to charge forward.

“Fuck you!!”

“You did that shit on purpose!”

The rest of Kawari followed right behind them.

They had been holding in their anger all game.

Now it exploded at once.

Before Kurosawa could even react, Hanamiya was completely surrounded by Kawari players.

Hanamiya was already badly injured and had no strength to fight back.

Within seconds, he was being hit so hard his vision started going black.

Kawari's bench erupted too.

Every reserve player rushed onto the court.

Coach Nakamura turned toward Kurosawa's coach and started screaming.

“Hidemi Yoshida, you son of a bitch!”

“If Masa gets hurt, I'll fucking kill you!”

The entire court descended into chaos.

The spectators could only stare in disbelief.

Fortunately, the tournament staff and referees intervened quickly and pulled both sides apart.

Medical staff rushed onto the court to examine the two players.

Before long, Hanamiya was placed on a stretcher.

The preliminary examination found fractures in his toes and the top of his foot.

There was no chance he could continue playing.

Hanamiya's face was twisted.

Whether it was from pain or humiliation, even he could not tell.

But one image kept replaying in his mind.

Masato.

Hanamiya knew Masato was not injured at all.

For the first time in his life, Hanamiya felt genuine fear toward another person.

He regretted what he had done more than he could put into words.

If he could go back, he would never have stuck his foot under Masato.

Almost instinctively, he looked in Masato's direction.

Masato was lying on the floor with both hands covering his face.

Then he lifted one side just enough to reveal a single eye.

Their gazes met.

Masato gave him a knowing look.

Hanamiya felt blood rush straight to his head.

His vision went black, and he passed out.

By then, more and more people were gathering around Masato.

He knew he could not keep the act going much longer.

So he simply stood up and brushed himself off.

Everyone immediately started asking whether he was all right.

Masato only smiled and shook his head.

There were too many people watching for him to say much.

Coach Nakamura was experienced enough to understand immediately.

Masato was fine.

A huge weight lifted from his chest.

The players relaxed as well.

Then came the punishment.

The referees ejected every player who had thrown punches during the fight.

Nobody on Kawari seemed especially bothered.

Masato was not hurt.

That was what mattered.

Besides, they had gotten to vent some anger.

...

The rest of the game had no suspense.

Masato led the reserves back onto the court and played for a while longer.

Once the lead became enormous, he checked out to rest.

From there, he handed the stage completely over to the bench.

When the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard read 147–79.