Aomine Daiki Template in Slam Dunk

Thump...

Thump...

Thump...

After blocking Murasame Kengo, Aoi Kunisaku landed smoothly. He swung his arm and scooped up the ball just before it rolled away.

Without the slightest hesitation, he turned sharply and burst past Murasame, sprinting toward Miuradai's half.

So fast.

Murasame didn't even have time to turn around. He could only catch a glimpse of Aoi's disappearing jersey from the corner of his eye.

"Stop him!" Murasame shouted, knowing full well he couldn't catch up.

The rest of Miuradai snapped into formation, all eyes locking onto Aoi.

Naitou Tetsuya stepped forward to meet him head-on.

Seeing Aoi closing in, he lunged forward, using his bulk to try and crash into him.

Hmph…

Aoi let out a cold snort, completely unimpressed by the brute-force approach of this musclehead.

It wasn't that he looked down on the guy—he just knew this kind of move was way too old-school. He'd seen it countless times on street courts.

Just as Naitou's shoulder was about to slam into his chest—

Aoi came to a dead stop, then smoothly switched the ball behind his back from right to left.

At the same time, his body leaned 45 degrees to the left, putting him perfectly parallel to Naitou.

The two passed by each other without any contact at all.

To the crowd, it looked like they'd phased through each other.

What the hell?

Naitou froze, unable to make sense of what just happened.

Not just him—players from both Miuradai and Shohoku were dumbfounded.

They had all assumed Aoi was about to get flattened.

No one thought he'd break through so easily.

Naitou snapped out of it and turned, pissed, chasing after him.

With the crowd staring in shock, Naitou dashed off at what looked like 11-second-flat 100-meter speed.

"He's that fast with that body?" Mitsui Hisashi was stunned.

In the stands—

Ryonan's players were equally shocked.

"Didn't expect Miuradai to have a guy like that," Sendoh Akira said, surprised.

Aida Hikoichi marveled, "For someone that big to move so fast…"

Koshino Hiroaki stayed calm, "But being fast alone isn't enough."

Sendoh nodded. "Yeah. That guy won't be stopped by speed alone."

…

On the court—

Aoi noticed Naitou catching up and grinned. "Oh? You can keep up?"

Thud... thud... thud...

Thud... thud... thud...

Two sets of heavy footfalls approached from ahead.

Kawasaki Akio and Takatsu Hiro appeared in front of Aoi.

In a flash, Kawasaki, Takatsu, and Naitou surrounded Aoi in a triangle.

Among Shohoku's players, Rukawa Kaede was the fastest.

He broke free from his defender and ran into open space.

He raised his hand, signaling for the ball.

Aoi caught the signal in his peripheral vision—but quickly ignored it.

Even surrounded, Aoi didn't slow down. As soon as one foot touched Miuradai's paint, he launched himself into the air with the ball.

Kawasaki and Takatsu leapt to block.

Naitou behind them hurled his body forward with bad intentions.

But all three soon realized something was off.

Aoi's jump wasn't straight. It angled sideways, slipping perfectly through the gap between the three defenders.

"What is he trying to do? He's not seriously gonna shoot from there, right?" Takatsu muttered internally.

Kawasaki was skeptical too. "That far away? With that posture? No way."

Behind them, Naitou sneered.

He figured Aoi had run out of options and was taking a desperation shot.

Even so, he wasn't about to let the shot go uncontested.

He reached out, grabbing at Aoi's jersey.

Aoi, who had just jumped at an angle, was suddenly yanked. His already off-balance body jerked midair and started to fall.

Everyone on Shohoku's side felt their hearts jump into their throats.

Even Shimizu Kanon, usually confident in Aoi, couldn't help worrying.

Some of the more timid fans already had their eyes shut.

As he plunged downward, Aoi palmed the ball with one hand and, just before hitting the ground, flung it up toward Miuradai's hoop.

The shot flew upward at a steep, diagonal angle.

Aoi crashed to the floor—but he was still smiling.

No one expected that shot to go in.

He had clearly lost balance midair.

This kind of situation shouldn't even allow for aiming, let alone a shot.

Everyone figured that Miuradai had committed a foul, and Aoi Kunisaku would be taking two free throws.

But the next moment completely shattered their expectations.

The basketball arced upward at a sharp angle toward Miuradai's hoop.

Before their eyes, it bounced off the backboard and—whether by luck or something else—ricocheted straight into the basket.

Swish...

Beep—

As the net swished, the referee's whistle blew.

The ref pointed at Naitou Tetsuya and announced loudly, "Miuradai No. 9, defensive foul. Basket counts. One free throw awarded."

Boom—

Instantly, the entire gym erupted in a thunderous roar.

"Whoa! He actually made that?"

"Was that another lucky shot? Didn't he shoot the same way last time?"

"Wait… is that how he always shoots?"

"No way, that's just luck! He totally threw that by chance!"

"Whatever it was, that shot was badass. And it's a 2+1!"

…

Aoi Kunisaku smirked as he stood up from the floor.

He glanced sideways at Naitou Tetsuya and curved his lips in a sly, meaningful smile.

The fall hadn't injured him at all.

Naitou just stood there dazed.

He couldn't figure it out. He had clearly thrown Aoi off balance—so how had the shot still gone in?

Was it really just a fluke?

But something about that smile made him feel like his foul hadn't been accidental at all.

And yet… he had definitely reached out and grabbed Aoi's jersey by his own will.

At that moment, Murasame Kengo stepped in front of him and said, "Naitou, that was way too obvious."

Naitou opened his mouth but had nothing to say. He could only take the blame. "My bad. I'll be more careful next time."

…

In the stands—

A strange gleam flashed in Sendoh Akira's eyes. "That foul just now… Aoi Kunisaku probably baited it."

Huh?

Everyone from Ryonan turned to look at him.

Aida Hikoichi couldn't help asking, "Sendoh-senpai, what do you mean by that?"

Sendoh replied, "It's just a hunch. That foul felt too weird."

"You're saying Aoi made Miuradai's No. 9 foul him on purpose? Is that even possible?" Koshino Hiroaki sounded doubtful.

Ikegami Ryoji added, "More than the foul, that shot was the real shocker. That's not the first time he's scored like that."

Uozumi Jun chimed in, "Since that scrimmage with us until now, I don't think that guy's missed a single shot."

Hearing that, everyone from Ryonan suddenly realized something terrifying.

"Now that you mention it, yeah… Wait—" Koshino's eyes widened, his expression shifting to stunned horror. "You don't think that kind of shot is his normal?"

That statement left everyone in stunned silence.

It felt like a mountain had dropped from the sky and crushed them flat.

After a long pause, Sendoh finally said, "It's not impossible. If it's real, that's seriously bad news."

…

Shohoku's bench.

"Formless Shot," Shimizu Kanon said to the others.

Formless Shot?

Everyone looked confused.

Shimizu explained, "Saku-chan's ability is to land shots from any angle, under any condition. It's not luck or coincidence—it's just what he does."

What?

Everyone on the Shohoku bench stared, eyes wide with shock.

Did they just hear that right?

He can score from any position?

That's insane!

Ayako couldn't hold back. "Are you serious? That sounds way too ridiculous!"

Shimizu answered seriously, "Ayako-senpai, I have no reason to lie. That's just Saku-chan's style. Though honestly, he's not even showing everything right now."

"Not everything?" A huge question mark floated above Ayako's head. She had no idea what that meant.

Shimizu continued, "I can't really explain it well, but the way Saku-chan's playing right now isn't his original style. Maybe he's trying to fit into formal matches, or maybe he just hasn't met a strong enough opponent to push him. So, he's not feeling any pressure yet."

Everyone grew even more confused.

This isn't his usual playstyle?

He hasn't felt pressure?

The others on the bench were all completely lost.

But on the side, Coach Anzai's eyes gleamed thoughtfully behind his glasses. He muttered quietly to himself, "No pressure, huh?"

He stared at Aoi Kunisaku as he stepped to the line and sank his free throw.

…

Swish...

The ball hit nothing but net.

Aoi Kunisaku nailed the free throw.

Shohoku 47 to Miuradai 44.