Chapter 62: Wild Effect

"...You son of a bitch."

Aomine cursed as his gaze landed on Tsuna's figure who slowly made his way back to his position as he twitched his lips speechlessly at that unexpected behaviour.

Though, he was still quite excited at how the guy was playing as he chuckled, "Sill, he's strong!"

His gaze was burning with excitement as he also made his way back to the court as Imayoshi gestured for Susa to get the ball.

"..."

Imayoshi was a bit speechless by that unexpected middle finger as well, but what was concerning to him was the way Tsuna seemed to have expected such a response from Aomine and used it to his advantage.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he silently thought, "He had a good read on Aomine's character right off the bat and read how he would behave accordingly..."

"He's certainly quite a threat..."

And to call him somewhat on the same level as Generation of Miracles might be quite right at the moment, but knowing Aomine, Imayoshi still think Tsuna has yet to reached that level of winning over Aomine.

Imayoshi grabbed the ball as Susa passed the ball to him as he slowly dribbled it forward as his thoughts continued, "Though, I somehow feel something was amiss..."

There was something that was missing to his equation at the moment and he didn't know what was missing.

"Nevermind, forget about things I have no idea of, I at least know the way to secure the victory against them..." 

Imayoshi shook his head as Aoki swiftly moved to stop him. He smiled, "That is to focus our attack off that number 7 guy."

According to Momoi's data, these players from Totsuki were not that great. Though considering their background, their stats could be considered quite uncommon.

But their stats were quite normal for a professional player, with two exceptions...

...one being a bit too strong while the other...

"That's why if we avoid that number 7..."

Imayoshi thought, passing the ball to their Shooting Guard, Sakurai. He squinted his eyes and continued, "...and focus on their weakest player, we're gonna win!"

"Eh? Me? I'm sorry, but me?"

Sakurai widened his eyes in shock as he grabbed the ball and looked at Imayoshi in disbelief. Marui immediately closed in, making Sakurai apologize once again.

"Keke..."

"Hmm?"

Imayoshi turned to look at Aoki, who was chuckling weirdly.

"Is there anything funny?"

"No, nothing, you bastard!"

Aoki replied with his red eyes looking absolutely crazed. Imayoshi suddenly felt uneasy as he fixed his glasses with his eyes closed, "Bastard? Aren't you a freshman? That's really rude..."

"Keke, who cares about that? Saying Marui is the weakest among us is true," Aoki retorted, his face contorted with a crazed grin. "But unfortunately for you..."

"...He's currently the maddest! Hahaha!"

Aoki laughed out loud in a crazed manner making Imayoshi to sharply turned his head over to Sakurai.

Meanwhile, Sakurai felt heavy pressure as he looked at Marui, who was tightly marking him.

Marui's red eyes, ragged breath, and flushed face made Sakurai feel scared as he asked, "I'm sorry, but what the hell is wrong with this guy?"

Sakurai tried to break through the defense, knowing Marui shouldn't be good enough to stop him. But, Marui somehow managed to follow his every move like a specter.

"Of course that'd be the case..."

Rindo giggled happily, seeing their opponents' surprised faces at how unexpectedly good Marui was today.

She glanced at the empty jar of Tsuna's popcorn and muttered, "Tsuna shoved a lot of those in him, so obviously, the effect is stronger..."

Just a tiny bit of that popcorn would awaken their inner beast, burning their whole body with heat that made them feel like they were on fire.

It forcefully pried open their eyes and kept them energized for a long time, leaving their eyes red and wild.

"Bastard... I want to sleep, but I feel like I won't be able to for the next couple of days!"

Marui grumbled loudly, making Sakurai's face pale as he got scared. Deciding to use his signature quick release, Sakurai suddenly jumped and released the ball immediately.

However...

"Too fucking slow!"

Marui shouted as he blocked the shot, sending the ball flying toward Sakamoto, who was laughing loudly, "Hahaha, that's it, Marui!"

"Pass it to me, Stinky-senpai!"

"Hahaha, how dare you shout at your captain? I'll kill you after the game, you bastard!"

Sakamoto passed the ball to Sato, who cursed at him loudly with a hearty laugh as the momentum immediately shifted.

Too Academy was caught off guard as Wakamatsu cursed while repositioning himself, "What the fuck is wrong with these people!?"

There was a strange atmosphere among Totsuki's players, as if they were completely different people. Too Academy had reviewed their videos and hadn't seen any of this wild behavior.

But today, they all seemed like madmen!

"...!"

Susa, who was chasing after Sato, was also surprised by their performance, which seemed to go beyond what was written in Momoi's data. He silently thought in disbelief, "Is Momoi's data wrong!?"

"Oi, pass it over, you bastard!"

Aoki's voice reverberated across the court as Sato dribbled the ball, trying to evade Susa, who had caught up and was attempting to stop him.

Sato scoffed, "Shut the fuck up, Aoki! I'm trying to score here!"

"Ha! You? Impossible, just pass it over!"

"Bastard, don't make me punch you in the face!"

"Punch me in the face!? I'll punch you first, you fool!"

"Hah! You asked for this you bastard!"

To their shock, Sato suddenly let go of the ball and rushed at Aoki, who was already charging at him. They began to brawl, prompting the referee to blow the whistle and try to separate them.

"What the fuck?"

Imayoshi's eyes widened behind his glasses, nearly falling off in shock at the sight.

His lips twitched furiously as he watched Sakamoto, whom he thought would separate them, jump into the fight instead.

The referee had to reprimand all three of them and called a technical foul, an almost unheard-of situation.

"What the fuck is wrong with these players!"

"...Have you ever seen a teammate fighting among themselves?"

"It's quite common actually, not this crazy of course..."

"They're crazy hahaha!"

The crowd buzzed with confusion and excitement, making the atmosphere even more chaotic.

Imayoshi turned to look at Tsuna, who was watching with an amused expression as if entertained by the chaos. He muttered to himself, "...Just who are these crazy motherfuckers?"

On Totsuki's side, Rindo facepalmed, at a loss for words.

"It's great they're energized, but the effect is a bit... wild," Rindo thought as she observed the team.

They seemed possessed by a violent ghost, their wild nature finally surfacing completely uncensored.

She sighed, exasperated.

After being reprimanded by the referee, the three players finally calmed down a bit. The ball was in their possession again, though Too Academy had been gifted free throws.

"...Shit, I got a bit too excited there," Sakamoto muttered as he dribbled the ball forward. His eyes flashed with determination.

"But whatever, let's take back the momentum!"

He sharply swung his arm, passing the ball to Tsuna, who casually grabbed it.

However, the second he grabbed the ball...

"Hmm?"

Tsuna's eyes widened as he turned toward Aomine, who now exuded a different kind of presence—like a wild beast.

"Interesting," Tsuna chuckled, immediately understanding that Aomine had more to show than he had so far.

---

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