Ignite Pass

"Beep! The Fourth Quarter Begins!"

Both teams take the court.

"About earlier... I'm really sorry!" Kagami scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Ah, don't worry about it" Hyuga started, making Kagami breathe a sigh of relief — only for him to continue with a sharp tone,

"Though I want to say that, your big mouth really pisses me off. I'll deal with you after the game!"

With a darkened expression and piercing glare, Hyuga made Kagami shudder.

"Hyuga, you're in that mode again" Izuki chuckled helplessly.

As the fourth quarter kicked off, Kuroko re-entered the game, drawing surprised reactions from the audience.

"With Takao on the court, Kuroko's misdirection shouldn't work."

That was the common belief among those familiar with his playing style.

Seirin went on the attack—Hyuga brought the ball up and passed to Kagami, who drove into the paint. Seeing Otsubo stepping up to block, he quickly dished the ball to an open Mitobe.

Mitobe took a smooth jump shot—swish! Two points!

"He's not just charging in recklessly anymore. That punch from Kuroko must have knocked some sense into him. But his exhaustion is still a fact."

Midorima remained unimpressed. Taking the ball near half-court, he immediately went for his signature long-range shot.

"I'm at my limit, but..."

Kagami recalled Riko's words from the timeout:

"Kagami, how many more jumps do you have left? Probably just two, right?"

Using her sharp analytical skills, Riko had read Kagami's body condition and given him a directive:

"Save one for the final moments. Use the other to block Midorima's first shot in the fourth quarter."

At that moment, Kagami exploded upward, unleashing one of his remaining jumps—

"SLAM!"

The sound of his hand swatting the ball echoed through the arena. Midorima's shot was stuffed clean!

Gasps erupted from the crowd.

"He can still jump?! But he must be completely gassed! Why not save it for later?" Midorima wondered, stunned.

Hyuga grabbed the loose ball and immediately fed it to Izuki, who made a quick mid-range jumper.

Score: 61:51! The lead was cut to 10!

Excitement surged through the arena—could a comeback be possible?

"Coach, was it really okay to use one of his jumps so early?" Seirin's bench questioned.

"It's just a bluff" Riko revealed with a sly smirk.

Seeing their confused looks, she explained,

"Kagami's legs are done—he can't block another one. But Midorima doesn't know that. If we make him believe Kagami can still jump, he'll hesitate to shoot. And if Midorima won't take his usual confident shots... then we've already won half the battle."

Realization dawned on the players.

"Man, these tacticians really play dirty!"

Riko shifted her gaze toward the court, eyes locking onto a certain blue-haired player.

"Kuroko, it's all up to you now."

"You're really being counted on, huh? Too bad for you, I see everything!"

Takao smirked, eyes locked onto Kuroko. His Hawk Eye gave him full-court vision, making it seemingly impossible for Kuroko's misdirection to work.

"Kuroko's lack of presence is useless against Takao, so what is he planning?" Hyuga pondered.

"No, it's not entirely useless" Izuki explained. "Takao can see the whole court, but that also means Kuroko can't divert his attention away. So instead of misdirecting his vision, Kuroko is forcing Takao to focus solely on him."

"Even if he keeps getting his passes stolen, the goal is to make Takao fixate on him. The moment Takao's vision becomes too narrow… Kuroko will vanish!"

Meanwhile, watching from the sidelines, Shiro remarked, "Seirin is just struggling to stay alive. Midorima hasn't even fully unleashed his potential yet."

The others looked at him in shock.

"He's already evolved from half-court to full-court threes… and you're saying he's still holding back?!"

"Man… you Generation of Miracles guys are insane" Kawamura sighed.

"Ahaha, you flatter me" Shiro replied, scratching his head.

Back on the court — Takao blinked — and Kuroko was gone.

"What?! I lost him? Impossible!"

Izuki, now with the ball, fired a pass seemingly to nobody.

"Stay calm! Even if I lost Kuroko, Kagami is easy to find! If I just cut in between — "

But before Takao could react—

"This time, you won't stop me!"

Kuroko's voice rang out as his hand snapped forward. Instead of his usual misdirection pass, he executed a new move—

Ignite Pass!

The ball rocketed toward Kagami like a bullet, slipping right past Takao's outstretched hands.

The speed was unbelievable. The ball had almost teleported into Kagami's hands.

"Wha—?! What kind of pass was that?!" The crowd erupted in shock.

Catching the ball, Kagami found himself once again face-to-face with Midorima.

He remembered Riko's instructions—"One last jump. Save it for the final moment."

But something inside him screamed—"If I don't take this shot now… we'll never get another chance!"

BAM!

Kagami exploded off the ground with every ounce of strength he had left.

Midorima went up to contest—

Their eyes locked in midair.

And then—

SLAM!

Kagami threw down a ferocious poster dunk, hammering the ball through the hoop right over Midorima!

The arena erupted!

"OH MY GOD! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"

"KAGAMI JUST POSTERIZED MIDORIMA!"

The cheers and applause shook the entire stadium.