Kuroko: Mahoraga - Chapter 72: Akashi Takes Control. The Final Showdown! (Patreon)

To most people, Teikō Middle School's substitution seemed perfectly normal. After all, they were already trailing Kawari by double digits.

Even so, when Teikō actually called for another adjustment, quite a few spectators found the sight almost unreal. This was already the second time the powerhouse had been forced to change tactics because they were behind.

In the stands, the scouts from several major high schools were looking at Masato very differently than they had at the start of the game. Pens moved nonstop across notebooks as they recorded everything they saw.

They had all come to the same conclusion.

No matter how this game ended, they were going to push their schools to recruit Masato.

...

Over on Kawari's side, the entire team could sense that something was about to change after Teikō made its adjustment.

Coach Nakamura glanced toward Teikō's coach with a grave expression, quickly running through every option that might help his team. In the end, his gaze settled on Masato.

He considered Masato's stamina and wondered whether he should call a timeout later to give him a chance to recover.

After a moment, he abandoned the idea and decided to see how the game developed first.

Masato was in too good a rhythm right now. Nakamura didn't want to be the one to interrupt it.

...

A dead-ball substitution usually took around twenty seconds.

Before long, play resumed.

The Generation of Miracles had gathered on the court once again.

After the substitution, the Kawari players couldn't shake the feeling that a storm was coming.

Sure enough, Seijuro Akashi became Teikō's new primary ball-handler.

That change alone told everyone what was about to happen.

Teikō's counterattack was coming.

Every eye in the arena turned toward Akashi.

Yet even with his team trailing, Akashi didn't speed up. Instead, he deliberately controlled the tempo and advanced at a measured pace.

Only after every Teikō player had settled into position did he cross half court.

With Akashi handling the ball, there was no way Masato could leave him to one of his teammates.

It wasn't that he didn't want to. He simply couldn't.

Against Teikō, Masato was destined to be dragged through one matchup after another. And even that only happened when Teikō allowed it.

That was the difference roster depth created.

...

Masato waited at the top of the three-point arc as Akashi approached.

The closer Akashi came, the more clearly Masato could feel the cold, razor-sharp pressure around him. It was as though one careless move would leave him cut open.

The sensation intensified the moment Masato met those mismatched eyes.

At the same time, he felt as though Akashi could see straight through him.

Masato knew it wasn't his imagination.

The Emperor Eye really did possess that kind of power.

Akashi wasn't particularly tall, nor did he have anything like Animal Instinct enhancing him. Even so, Masato considered him every bit as dangerous as Aomine with his Animal Instinct unleashed.

Akashi was studying Masato just as closely.

He immediately sensed the Animal Instinct surrounding him, but unlike Aomine, Akashi wasn't affected very much.

That didn't necessarily mean Akashi had stronger willpower.

It simply meant the Akashi standing here now was different.

After all, he existed for victory.

Once a person became that single-minded, fear had little room to exist.

Akashi said nothing.

With a sharp crossover in front of his body, he drove left.

His drive was like the thrust of a blade, clean and stripped of every unnecessary motion.

In that respect, his style was somewhat similar to Masato's.

The difference was that Masato excelled at using his body, while Akashi, backed by the Emperor Eye, barely needed physical contact at all.

The moment Akashi drove left, Masato slid over to cut him off.

That single reaction was enough.

As Masato was still carried by the momentum of his first move, before he could push off again, Akashi's orange eye seemed to flash.

The Emperor Eye had seen the future.

Akashi struck at the perfect instant, pulling the ball back and exploding in the opposite direction.

Masato's heart skipped a beat at the double change of direction.

His body instinctively tried to recover again, but his ankle wouldn't allow another change of direction.

His balance tilted, and for an instant it looked as though he was about to fall.

Then the muscles strengthened by [Core Control] fired at once, forcibly stabilizing his body.

He stayed on his feet, but the play was already lost.

Akashi drove into the paint without attempting to finish himself. Instead, he drew Kenji away and sent the ball to the space Kenji had been forced to leave.

Shintaro Midorima caught it cleanly and rose into his shot.

His form was flawless.

"Swish!"

Three points for Teikō.

Akashi didn't celebrate. He simply glanced back, mildly surprised that Masato had managed to stay upright.

Still, it wasn't enough to truly shock him.

Akashi had already acknowledged that Masato's talent was at least on Kise's level.

His original evaluation had been wrong, and he had no problem admitting it.

...

Once Midorima's shot went in, the Kawari players understood that the real test had begun.

If they couldn't withstand Teikō's offense, Masato would be left facing multiple Miracles at once.

This wasn't even a gauntlet anymore.

The entire Generation of Miracles was on the floor together.

Kenji, who was matched up with Midorima, understood that better than anyone.

He looked toward Masato with a grim expression.

"That was on me, Masa. I shouldn't have lost my man just now."

Masato had worked too hard to build this lead. Kenji didn't want Midorima erasing it with a handful of threes because of him.

Masato, of course, had no intention of blaming him.

"Forget it. Don't get distracted by things that have nothing to do with the game."

Then he raised his voice to the rest of the team.

"Everyone, stay focused!"

...

When possession changed, Masato slowed the pace. Kawari was still ahead, so there was no reason to rush.

As he brought the ball up, his mind remained fixed on one question.

How was he supposed to deal with Akashi?

At this stage of the game, Akashi was the player Masato found most dangerous.

The Emperor Eye could see ahead, allowing Akashi to act first even when he was technically reacting second.

Anyone who confronted him directly was naturally forced onto the back foot.

That was true even when Akashi was defending.

It overturned basketball's usual rule that the offense held the initiative.

Still searching for an answer, Masato found himself facing Akashi again.

Looking into those cold, mismatched eyes, Masato admitted that he hadn't come up with anything particularly clever.

Fine.

Then he'd test Akashi's defense head-on first.

Masato didn't hesitate.

From a couple of steps away, he built momentum for the drive while keeping the ball tight against his side, ready for Akashi's reaching hand.

Akashi and Aomine were both elite ball thieves, but their methods couldn't have been more different.

Akashi didn't have Aomine's speed. What he had was timing.

With the Emperor Eye revealing what came next, he either didn't reach at all or struck at exactly the right instant.

Masato kept his Animal Instinct active, but the intuition that let him sense an opponent's openings had never once reacted to Akashi.

As far as Masato could tell, there wasn't a single flaw in him.

Protecting the ball, Masato drove right and tried to force Akashi into a physical confrontation.

Akashi had already seen it coming.

He gave ground before Masato could make contact, then his orange eye widened.

His speed surged as he stepped forward again, one hand stabbing toward the ball like a precisely aimed shot.

The sudden change caught Masato off guard.

He immediately spun and used his superior frame to shield the ball.

Close.

Way too close.

Akashi had almost stripped him clean.

Masato knew Akashi had touched the ball. The only reason he managed to keep possession was the boost Animal Instinct gave his senses, along with the physical advantage of his longer frame and reach.

After quickly creating some space, Masato looked back at Akashi.

The steal attempt had genuinely startled him, though none of it showed on his face.

What Masato didn't know was that Akashi was just as surprised that he'd kept the ball.

He hadn't expected Masato's reaction speed to be that sharp.

It reminded him of Daiki Aomine.

Akashi began reassessing Masato's talent, combining everything he'd seen so far into a new theory.

He had an idea now, but not enough evidence to be certain.

On the court, Masato prepared to attack again.

This time, however, he chose something no one expected.

Under the eyes of the entire arena, Masato turned his back to Akashi and began posting him up from beyond the three-point line.

Even Akashi hadn't expected something this crude.

The expression on his usually unreadable face shifted as he felt the physical difference between them.

His gaze sharpened.

"Do you really think a method like this will work against me?"

The Emperor Eye activated again.

To Akashi, even the movement of Masato's bones and the flow of blood through his body seemed laid bare.

Following the future he had seen, Akashi reached at the exact right moment.

His hand was about to touch the ball when he realized the problem.

His reach came up short.

The future hadn't been wrong. He simply couldn't reach the ball.

Masato held it firmly out of range, fully exploiting the advantage of his wingspan.

Then, the instant Akashi committed to the steal, Masato spun and used his body to take the space in front of him.

Akashi was still dangerous defensively, but Masato's choice of attack magnified their physical difference to the limit.

For once, Akashi couldn't find an easy angle to strike from.

The Emperor Eye had actually been frustrated on defense.

It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

Masato drove into the paint.

This time, Murasakibara wasn't the only defender waiting for him. Out of the corner of his eye, Masato saw Midorima rotating over to help.

He didn't get greedy.

Masato stopped sharply and rose into a pull-up jumper.

Midorima and Murasakibara both reached to block it, their arms completely covering Masato's view of the rim.

He had no choice but to release the shot by feel alone.

The ball hit the rim twice.

Then it dropped.

"Swish!"

Even after scoring, Masato didn't relax.

He could feel Teikō's true strength now.

That basket had been anything but easy.

As he ran back on defense, he could still feel Akashi's gaze on him, colder and more dangerous than before.

...

Masato glanced at the scoreboard.

82-72.

Kawari still had a ten-point lead.

He knew the decisive stretch was about to begin.