KNB: I'm Actually Not the Boss?!

"Could I… really lose?"

Akashi kept asking himself that over and over. The Emperor Eye had just shown him a "wrong future." And for the first time ever—it shook him.

And while "God" stood frozen at center court, his "disciples" weren't having it.

Mibuchi shot a glance at the zoned-out Akashi still standing under the basket, sighed, and took the inbound pass himself, signaling the team to move.

Kota stared at the scene, completely stunned.

"What the heck is happening? Why is your point guard daydreaming under the basket? Are you guys trying to play 4-on-5 or what?"

And it wasn't just on offense — on defense, Akashi was aimlessly running around like a broken NPC, clearly not in the mood to take control.

Yet somehow, even in a 4v5, Rakuzan's offense didn't stop.

Mibuchi got the ball at the top of the key, gave a lazy shot fake — Kasamatsu bit hard, flying into the air. Micbuchi smirked, leaned into him, and released the shot.

BEEP!

"Rakuzan #6, Reo Mibuchi. 3 + 1. Bucket counts."

Kasamatsu's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Seriously?! He jumped into me! And he still gets the bucket AND the free throw?"

Just as he was about to chew the ref out, Kota dragged him back.

"Let it go, Kasamatsu-senpai. It's the Interhigh."

Kota knew arguing wouldn't change a thing. A 3+1 was a 3+1. Kasamatsu was just caught in the moment.

"Heaven and Earth Shot, huh?"

Sure, it sounded cool. But all it really meant was fadeaway jump shot plus foul bait. Mibuchi leaned in—any half-decent ref in today's three-point-happy era would've called it the same way.

Seeing Mibuchi finally get on the board, Hayama got fired up. Kid had been locked up for three quarters straight and hadn't taken a single shot. He shouted:

"Reo! Hook me up with some buckets!"

Mibuchi raised an eyebrow, but tossed him the ball anyway.

Hayama caught it, locked eyes with Kise, and licked his lips. A Miracle right in front of him? He'd been dying to go at one of these guys.

Lightning Dribble – Five Fingers!

Unlike earlier games where he sandbagged for fun, this time Hayama went all in—no holding back. His five fingers pressed tight to the ball. A tiny pause, then BOOM—acceleration. Just like that, he was past Kise.

Kise frowned and switched to Aomine-style mimicry, staying right on his heels.

Hayama looked back mid-drive. "Nice speed. But how about this?"

He hit a sudden stop and pulled up. His vertical leap was absurdly high, yet his body stayed balanced, right hand flicking the shot.

Kise's eyes flashed. He changed gears again — Kagami-mode!

WHAM!

"I'm not just fast—I've got power too!"

The ball flew out of Hayama's hands and nailed someone right on the head.

That someone? Kaijō's head coach, Takeuchi.

His wig went flying.

The crowd exploded. Half were screaming about Kise's monster block, others… were laughing about the poor coach's bald reveal.

Kise froze, still in his pose from that last trash-talk moment. His jaw nearly hit the court.

BEEP!

Kaijō calls timeout.

Back from the timeout, Kota finally wiped the grin off his face. That whole sequence had been ridiculous, even for him.

"Okay… if we still can't pull ahead playing 5-on-4, I'm retiring."

He eyed Rakuzan's four active players and cracked his neck.

"Let's have some fun."

"Four-on-five, huh? Even if you drag out the NBA's All-Time First Team… Okay, actually, maybe not. Jordan and Shaq could probably carry their grandma to a championship."

Enough daydreaming. Kota locked in again.

Sure, Akashi was playing like someone who just got emotionally combo'd in a soap opera, but that didn't mean he wouldn't snap back suddenly. Gotta stay sharp.

Kota kept isolating Akashi, using his shoulder and hips to lean into him. His physical advantage made the matchup downright comfortable.

At one point, he even thought,

"Man, I could probably play center at this rate…Then reality hit: Wait, I'm 6'1" with short arms. This isn't the NBA. Never mind"

Rakuzan finally stopped letting Kota bully Akashi solo. Mibuchi and Mayuzumi began sliding over to help. But Kota was a pass-first kind of guy—those help rotations just opened new gaps.

Kaijō took off. Once Kota got cooking against Akashi, the offense exploded.

86–71. Kaijō leads.

Three minutes left in the third quarter.

Mibuchi stared at the scoreboard, already getting a migraine.

"We're getting blown out by one dude and three NPCs. We're the Uncrowned Kings plus a Miracle! If we lose here, forget the title—we're clocking out early"

Mibuchi finally snapped. He turned to Akashi, face darkening.

"Akashi! You planning to stay in La-La Land all day?"

He wasn't the only one. The other two Uncrowned Kings stepped up, too. They'd always thought Akashi was too small to boss them around anyway — they just played along because of his pressure. But now?

Now he was playing like a deflated balloon. And they weren't going to let that slide.

Only Mayuzumi stayed by Akashi's side. He owed everything to Akashi, without him, Mayuzumi wouldn't even be in this final.

Akashi didn't respond. Still hunched over, head down.

Nebuya had enough. He stomped forward, ready to grab Akashi by the collar. Mayuzumi stepped in fast—he was the only one still loyal.

"Enough."

Akashi finally spoke. He gently pulled Mayuzumi aside and stood in front of Nebuya, tilting his head up to meet his eyes.

Nebuya froze. That overwhelming pressure from before was gone. In its place… a different kind of presence.

Before Nebuya could react, Akashi bowed.

"I'm sorry. This was my fault. But I'll fix it—starting now."

…Wait. Did Akashi just apologize?

Before anyone could recover from the shock, Akashi turned to Mayuzumi and smiled.

"Thanks, Mayuzumi."

Far across the court, Kota watched the scene while rubbing his chin.

"Aw, man. They didn't fight. That would've been way more fun. This Akashi guy is such a buzzkill"

"Alright. Time to take it back."

Akashi motioned for the ball—Reo handed it over without a word. Whatever happened just now, Akashi was back. That was enough.

"Long time no see, Kise."

Akashi smiled at Kise. Kise blinked. "...Sei?"

Kota's stomach dropped. A terrible feeling swept over him. As Akashi dribbled closer, Kota's instincts screamed.

Danger Sense

"Wait… What's going on? Why does this guy feel completely different now?"

Then he noticed something else.

"Hold up. Isn't his left eye usually golden?"

"Why the hell is it red again?!"

"God may have left the court... but Akashi's returned. And now—he is God."