Chapter 175: The Tip of the Iceberg

Kaijō stood united, their resolve forged in fire. Right now, they were clinging to a single breath—

They were betting everything on Kise Ryota.

On the chance that once he completed his replication, he could defeat Tendou and lead them to victory over Kirisaki Daiichi.

But without Kise's offensive firepower, the pressure on the rest of the team was immense.

Whoosh—

The basketball streaked past three defenders like a comet and landed in Yamazaki Hiroshi's hands.

With no one guarding him, he pulled up and nailed the mid-range jumper.

The gap was widening little by little.

Luck wouldn't always favor Kaijō.

In the blink of an eye, the point differential had ballooned to 18—just one possession away from their critical threshold.

"What the hell is Kise doing?"

"Is he seriously planning to give up like this?!"

The Seirin players were confused.

The Kise Ryota they knew wasn't the type to throw in the towel so easily.

"Maybe… Kise-kun is still preparing something," said Kuroko quietly.

In just a few months, all his former teammates had evolved into players so formidable they felt like strangers.

If he hadn't run into Kagami, would he even have had a shot at beating them?

"Preparing? What else could he possibly prepare?" someone scoffed.

He had already copied the nation's second-best dribbling, defense, and more—but none of it had worked.

What other approach could possibly help now?

Unless…

"Unless he starts replicating the Generation of Miracles' actual abilities," said Kiyoshi Teppei, suddenly.

That stunned everyone nearby.

"Replicating the Generation of Miracles? That's impossible! Didn't Kuroko say Kise couldn't do that?"

"That was the old Kise-kun. The one now…"

Even Kuroko couldn't say for sure anymore.

All of his old teammates had changed—so much that even he barely recognized them.

Back on the court—

Kaijō was still throwing everything they had into a brutal scrap with the rough players of Kirisaki Daiichi.

Kasamatsu Yukio gritted his teeth, enduring the searing pain of an elbow to the ribs, then pulled up for a tough jumper.

But the shot didn't go in.

Seto Kentarō and Hara Kazuya boxed out immediately, looking to secure the rebound.

It seemed like possession was about to switch again—

When suddenly, Hayakawa Mitsuhiro let out a strange battle cry and leapt into the air, nearly piggybacking someone mid-flight to swat at the loose ball.

Better to gamble than to give it away without a fight.

That was the state Kaijō was in now—every decision was a risk.

The ball flew toward the sideline. Moriyama Yoshitaka chased it, but Yamazaki Hiroshi grabbed his jersey and held him back.

The ball was about to bounce out of bounds.

Suddenly—golden light streaked past Tendou's eyes.

It was Kise.

He recreated one of Dennis Rodman's iconic moments—hurling his body out of bounds without hesitation, saving what looked like a hopeless ball, and slinging it perfectly into Moriyama's hands.

Moriyama didn't waste the gift—quickly rising and sinking the rare uncontested shot.

"Ohhh!"

"Kise!"

"Great ball, Kaijō!"

His fighting spirit earned unanimous applause from the crowd.

Many times, losing a game wasn't the problem.

Fans weren't blind—they could see the difference in skill.

But as long as you truly gave it your all, left everything on the court, fans could accept defeat.

Kaijō's fighting spirit had won over everyone watching.

"Is this just about effort?" Tendou's gaze swept over Kise as he pulled himself up with a teammate's arm.

He remembered clearly—the moment Hayakawa went for that ball, Kise had already started to move.

It matched exactly what his Six Eyes had seen.

"Little Kise?" Momoi blinked in disbelief.

Aomine grinned. "That guy… when he wants to do something, he can definitely pull it off."

"Eh? What are you two mumbling about again?" Wakamatsu asked, puzzled.

Momoi explained, "That ball—Kise might've predicted it ahead of time."

"Predicted? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Aomine said, itching to take off his warm-up and jump into the game himself.

"He's replicated his own teammate so thoroughly, he simulated Hayakawa Mitsuhiro's behavior in his mind and reverse engineered the likely outcome.

In a sense… he predicted the future."

Predicted the future?!

The players from Tōō were stunned.

The one ability they all thought was completely out of reach for Kise—replicating the Generation of Miracles—was now unfolding right before their eyes?

"But replication is still just replication," someone muttered. "It comes with a lot of uncertainty. Kise himself probably wasn't even sure he could save that ball."

"But now… even if there's the slightest chance, he won't let it slip away."

Midorima looked deeply at his former teammate.

He wasn't the only one—Kise had also found teammates worth putting his faith in.

Just like Midorima had.

So what about you, Akashi?

While they spoke, Kirisaki Daiichi launched their next attack.

Hanamiya Makoto brought the ball up the court. His eyes darted toward Tendou…

But suddenly, he passed in the opposite direction—toward Yamazaki Hiroshi.

It was a brilliant feint—

A misdirection that fooled every Kaijō player.

Everyone except Kise!

"Smack!"

A golden flash exploded—Kise had already shifted to that side of the court.

The moment Hanamiya released the ball, Kise pounced and stole it cleanly.

"This guy!" Hanamiya's heart went cold.

That feeling… it was too familiar.

It was like going up against his own team's top predator.

Holy crap. That's insane!

Kise!

You've got this, blond big bro!

After more than a chapter in the shadows, Kise was finally breaking through.

And the real-world audience watching him had their blood fired up all over again.

"He actually did it? He copied the Generation of Miracles?!"

It felt like witnessing the impossible—everyone froze.

But Akashi narrowed his eyes. "However…"

Hanamiya spun and lunged to take the ball back—

Kise dodged past him. And then—

"Smack!"

The crisp sound of ball-on-palm echoed through the gym.

Just as Kise was about to drive forward, having avoided Hanamiya's attempt, another figure tore through the defenders.

What caught Kise's eye first was those gleaming pupils.

They flashed once—then stole the ball right out of his hands.

Tendou swiped it clean, pushed straight into the paint, and finished with a gentle scoop shot.

It all happened so fast, most people didn't even realize what had happened.

Kise's fans, who had just started cheering, quietly deleted their excited messages from the chat feed and replaced them with:

"Screw you, Tendou!"

"In the end, he still didn't finish it," Akashi said, shaking his head, calm as ever.

"And that replication… is still flawed."

At first, even Akashi had been surprised.

But after watching more closely, he realized—Kise's imitation wasn't the real thing.

The world he and Tendou could see… Kise could only glimpse the tip of the iceberg.

Still, it was worthy of praise.

A reckless charge that had already made its mark.

At this moment, Kise Ryota had already surpassed Haizaki Shogo.

...

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