CHAPTER 106: HORIZON VS TOYONAKA : TEMPO WAR 2

One motion—hook shot.

Net.

9 – 8.

The arena exploded.

Taiga landed, frozen.

His chest rose and fell like a piston.

His fists clenched.

That was twice.

Twice now he’d been made to look like a fool.

His pride?

Cracked.

...

After that bucket, Yuto didn’t celebrate.

He walked calmly back on defense.

Straight toward Masaki.

Leaning in, he muttered beneath the roar of the crowd,

"We target their hustle first."

Masaki gave the faintest nod.

Because just like Horizon studied Toyonaka’s stonewall defense—

Toyonaka had studied Horizon too.

And one of Horizon’s keystones?

Taiga Okabe.

The hustle guy.

The man who’d throw himself across the floor to save a ball,

Block a shot from three meters behind,

Who never hesitated.

But hustle has a flaw.

It commits.

Yuto’s eyes glinted.

"So we shatter that first. We fake. We twist. We make him doubt."

Either Taiga would keep biting,

Or worse—

He’d start to hesitate.

And a hesitant defender...

Is already broken.

...

The ball came back into play.

Kaito inbounded to Dirga.

As the pass landed, Kaito spoke low, almost like a warning:

"Yuto’s already in Motion."

Dirga didn’t flinch.

Didn’t speak.

Just nodded.

Because if he and Kaito were the type of point guards who orchestrated offense—

Then Yuto?

Yuto was the one who conducted the defense.

The maestro of pressure.

The dictator of tempo.

A tactician disguised in a defender’s body.

Dirga brought the ball up the court, hands light but mind burning.

He glanced at the clock — 4:30 left in the first quarter.

Just a few more plays before Kaito gets subbed out.

His heart... it won’t last longer than this.

Yuto still stuck to him like glue—

No lean, no twitch, no wasted motion.

Perfect posture.

Perfect distance.

"What’s the key to elite defense?" Dirga asked himself.

Reading the eyes?

Maybe.

Quick feet? Important.

But the real secret?

Posture.

The hips.

If you reveal your hips—show the angle of your movement—

You’re done.

A real defender never lets his hips betray his intentions.

And Yuto?

He was iron.

No cracks.

No tells.

Dirga scanned again.

Still nothing to exploit.

Fine then... I’ll force your eyes off me.

He passed the ball to Kaito.

Then took off.

A blur.

Off-ball movement began.

Dirga sprinted, looping around—

Calling for three screens—

One from Rikuya,

One from Aizawa,

One more from Taiga.

The ball moved just as fast.

Kaito to Aizawa—

Aizawa to the corner—

Then a quick dish into the paint.

Now chaos bloomed.

Toyonaka’s defense had to rotate.

Too many moving parts.

Too many threats.

They had to make a decision.

And Dirga?

He was open—

But the ball had already gone inside.

Rikuya vs Haruto.

Two titans under the rim.

Rikuya caught it with both hands,

Planted his left foot.

Then spun, shoulder-first into Haruto’s chest—

Boom.

A collision like slabs of steel.

Haruto held ground, but Rikuya didn’t stop—

Another bump.

Another spin.

Then—

A jump.

One-handed.

SLAM.

BOOM.

"OOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The crowd was still buzzing from Rikuya’s earth-shattering dunk.

11 – 8.

A hard-earned lead.

A reminder: Horizon could hit back.

Dirga clenched his fist once, low and subtle.

Not for show.

For himself.

That’s what team basketball looks like.

Movement. Timing. Precision.

Pressure.

But there was no time to bask.

The whistle blew.

Substitution.

Kaito stepped off the court, chest rising heavier than before—

His hand subtly brushed over his heart.

No words were needed.

Rei jogged in.

Eyes sharp. Shoulders squared.

He nodded at Dirga.

The tempo was about to shift.

Less structure.

More fire.

Toyonaka inbounded the ball.

Yuto barely crossed half-court before launching the pass forward.

A bullet pass—fast and deliberate.

Masaki caught it on the wing, just inside the arc.

And there was Taiga—

Right on him.

Smothering.

Gloved to his skin like he was born to guard him.

Masaki stared into Taiga’s eyes.

Not with anger.

Not even tension.

With curiosity.

With quiet challenge.

"How far will you go, Taiga?"

Masaki dropped low.

Started the dribble.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Fast hands. Low bounce.

Right to left.

Then—boom.

He exploded forward—

But stopped.

Hesitation.

Taiga bit.

Just for a second.

Just enough.

Masaki shifted gears again—

A blur to the right.

He was already past him.

Dirga rotated to help—

But got faked too.

A stutter. A step-back that wasn’t.

Damn, he’s clean.

Masaki was already slashing into the lane—

Open paint.

But not for long.

Rikuya stepped up.

Titan vs Thunder.

Masaki feinted left—

Jumped right.

Rikuya followed—read the angle, took flight—

But then—

Switch hands in mid-air.

Masaki floated midair like time slowed down.

His body twisted—

And from his left, a soft floater over Rikuya’s full contest.

The ball arced up—

Hung—

And dropped clean through the net.

11 – 10.

Clean.

Effortless.

A silence spread for a moment, despite the crowd.

Masaki landed softly, gaze sharp as a dagger.

He turned to face Rikuya—calm, unblinking.

Then, without blinking, he shifted his eyes to Taiga.

Still breathing heavy. Still regaining his balance. Still chasing.

That wasn’t celebration.

That was a warning.

"Try to stop me."

But Rikuya didn’t bite.

No retort.

No flinch.

Just action.

He scooped the ball up without fanfare and passed it cleanly to Aizawa.

Aizawa burst forward.

A blur of silver and fire.

His first step split the court open, catching Toyonaka just a hair off-beat.

Aizawa drove hard, dragging defenders toward him.

Then—

Snap pass to Dirga.

And there it was again.

Yuto.

Already there. Already reading.

Shadowed so close, it felt like Dirga had a mirror stitched to his back.

Then—

Masaki.

Coming from behind. Fast. Silent.

Dirga felt the wind shift.

He didn’t look back. He didn’t need to.

The threat?

Right behind his neck.

Perfect.

Use it.

Dirga slowed just a tick, baiting the trap.

Masaki lunged.

But in that split-second, Dirga twisted his body—

Elbow pass.

Behind the back. Blind. Clean.

Straight to Rei.

Wide open.

Three-point line.

No one within reach.

Rei caught it in rhythm.

Shot.

Release. Arc. Spin.

The crowd held their breath—

Clang.

Off the rim.

Rebound?

Haruto leapt up, hands wide—!

But—

BOOM.

Rikuya.

The Titan descended.

A shadow surged behind Haruto—

Rikuya exploded from the weak side, shoulder crashing through the lane like a wrecking ball.

He snatched the rebound out of Haruto’s hands, his buzzcut head a blur in motion.

Then—

Power. Pure.

Slam.

Backboard shook.

Rim screamed.

Haruto was thrown off mid-air, crashing down like he’d taken a hit from a freight train.

13 – 10.

The gym erupted.

The crowd was on their feet, yelling, gasping, stunned.

Dirga raised a fist. Rei lowered his head in frustration, but Rikuya—he didn’t celebrate.

He landed heavy.

Turned.

Faced Masaki.

Eyes steady.

Voice low.

"Talk more."

Masaki walked a step forward. Just a step.

And smiled.

"Nice. I’ll destroy you."