Score: 65 – 64 | Team L leads | 0:30 remaining
Team I's offense is aggressive. The ball is passed around quickly, searching for the tiniest crack. Then, their SG cuts inside, drawing defenders. With a slick behind-the-back pass, it lands in the hands of their power forward, who lays it in over Yuji Saito.
Team I takes the lead: 67 – 65. 10 seconds left.
Coach Saito doesn't call a timeout. Team L pushes it immediately.
Koji Hayashi receives the inbound and bursts up the court. Takumi flares out right to draw coverage, giving Yuto space curling up the wing. Koji reads it in a flash, threads a pass to Yuto.
Yuto rises up with confidence.
Three defenders close in—too late.
Splash.
68 – 67. Team L is up. 3.1 seconds left.
The gym erupts. Yuto's teammates surround him. But across the court... silence. Renji Nakamoto stands still, eyes locked onto the basket.
The camera zooms in on his face—and we flash back.
Renji Nakamoto's Backstory (Flashback)
A 5-year-old Renji dribbles a rubber ball across cracked pavement. Rain pours, but he keeps playing. His voice echoes from the past.
"Even if no one passed to me... I kept shooting."
"Even if I wasn't picked... I kept practicing."
"Even if no one believed in me... I believed in this game."
Images flicker—him training alone in an empty gym, watching pro matches at night, building a shot so deep and smooth it became second nature.
Back to present.
The inbound is quick.
Renji catches it at the opposite 3-point line.
He takes two power dribbles.
Sprints up.
1.6 seconds... 1.3... 0.9...
He pulls up... from halfcourt.
The gym holds its breath.
The ball arcs perfectly—
buzzer.
Bank. In.
70 – 68. Team I wins.
Renji turns calmly, eyes cold but burning.
"Even if it was just 3 seconds... I'll use every one of them."
YOU ARE READING
Project Yagi Volume 2
AdventureAfter a victorious debut, Yuto Nakamura and Team L find themselves facing their greatest challenge yet - Team I, led by the unstoppable Renji Nakamoto. As the battle between teams heats up, Yuto begins to carve his own path, hitting a clutch shot an...
