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The court was silent and tense.
Only the sound of the basketball hitting the ground told everyone it was a basketball game.
As the atmosphere reached a fever pitch, Kise Ryota finally moved. Lowering his center of gravity and pushing off with his feet, he aimed to break through Hayama Kotaro's defense.
Hayama Kotaro, seeing this, sneered and easily blocked Kise's path.
Kise Ryota didn't stop. Seeing his path blocked, he instinctively executed a crossover dribble, followed by a change of direction.
Hayama Kotaro's eyes flashed. He had anticipated Kise Ryota's change of direction. With a step, he blocked his opponent again, then with another step, he reached out and intercepted the basketball from Kise Ryota's hands.
Kise Ryota thought his sudden change of direction would succeed. But to his utter surprise, his opponent had appeared in front of him a step ahead. His heart skipped a beat, and his movements slowed slightly.
Hayama Kotaro seized the opportunity and successfully stole the ball from Kise Ryota.
Kise Ryota, unwilling to accept defeat, gritted his teeth and turned to chase after him. He was incredibly fast, catching up to Hayama Kotaro almost instantly.
Hayama Kotaro was also shocked. He hadn't expected Kise Ryota to catch up so quickly. However, Hayama Kotaro's surprise only lasted a moment. He went straight to the three-point line in Teiko's half of the court.
At that moment, Kise Ryota arrived just in time.
Seeing Kise Ryota back in front of him, Hayama Kotaro paused, and in the instant Kise Ryota hadn't regained his balance, he flicked the ball to the right, passing it to his teammate, the shooting guard.
However, Midorima Shintaro wasn't going to let him shoot so easily. He spread his arms wide, completely shutting down Fukuyama's shooting guard.
Time ticked by. The 24-second violation was fast approaching.
In that critical moment, Fukuyama's center shook off Murasakibara and ran to set a screen. This gave Fukuyama's shooting guard a brief respite. He quickly ran to an open spot, preparing to shoot.
However, his vision suddenly went black; a huge shadow blocked his view. It was Murasakibara Atsushi. Murasakibara stretched out his long arms, completely blocking the opponent's path to the basket.
Fukuyama's shooting guard was now completely off the ground, unable to change direction. In desperation, he could only grit his teeth and pass the ball back to Hayama Kotaro.
Kise Ryota had anticipated this move! His focus was extremely sharp, giving Hayama Kotaro no chance.
But what he didn't expect was...
After receiving the ball, Hayama Kotaro immediately used a three-finger Thunder Dribble. A yellow flash of lightning streaked past his eyes. Kise Ryota made no move.
In less than two breaths, Hayama Kotaro was in Teiko's paint area. He jumped and shot.
Swish...
The basketball went in.
3-4.
A cheer erupted from Fukuyama's bench. Applause continued from the stands.
Kise Ryota lowered his head, his face grim, his eyes burning with fury.
Teiko inbounded the ball. This time, Akashi didn't pass the ball to Kise. He passed it to Aomine Daiki.
Since his breakthrough, Aomine Daiki hadn't encountered an opponent whose speed could match his. He dribbled the ball from his own half of the court at lightning speed to Fukuyama's basket. His speed was astonishing.
Hayama Kotaro was one of the few who could keep up with Aomine Daiki's speed. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he ran, he couldn't catch up with Aomine Daiki dribbling the ball, and was even falling further and further behind.
'What kind of monsters are these Teiko players?' Hayama Kotaro roared inwardly as he chased.
Aomine Daiki faked out two players with two crossovers, then dribbled and turned to break through the last one. He broke through three players in a row.
Inside the paint, Aomine Daiki jumped up, holding the basketball in one hand, and slammed it down towards Fukuyama's basket.
Clang!
The basketball slammed into the hoop. A long, mournful sound followed.
The scoreboard at Teiko increased by 2 points.
5 to 4.
Hayama Kotaro's heart sank to the bottom.
The confidence he had before the game, the desire for revenge, had vanished. He now doubted whether he could even win.
If there was only one monster on the other side, it wouldn't be so bad. But almost everyone on the other side was a monster.
He could already predict the outcome of the game. It would be difficult for Fukuyama to win.
He took a deep breath. He looked at Ryu sitting on the bench in Teiko's dugout.
'Since I can't win, I'll get my revenge first.'
And so, for the rest of the game, Teiko consistently dominated Fukuyama.
The only thing worth watching was that Hayama Kotaro was repeatedly able to score against Kise Ryota.
Kise Ryota, however, was completely helpless.
Boos erupted from the sidelines.
Beep…
The first quarter ended. The score had risen from 5-4 to 21-18.
Looking at Kise Ryota, who was covered in sweat, Hayama Kotaro said, "You can't do it. Let Ryu handle it! I've prepared a big gift for him."
With that, he turned and walked towards Fukuyama's bench without looking back.
Kise Ryota walked off the court with his head down.
Looking at the silent Kise Ryota, Ryu smiled and asked, "How did it feel?"
Hearing Ryu's words, Kise Ryota gave a wry smile. "He's really strong! I never imagined there were players like him besides you guys."
"His Thunder Dribble is indeed impressive. He was using three fingers just now, wasn't he?"
Hearing Ryu mention "three fingers," Kise asked, "I definitely saw him dribbling the basketball with three fingers. It was the first time I'd ever seen it. That dribbling really surprised me."
Hearing this, Ryu smiled meaningfully. "Surprised? If I remember correctly, in last year's match against Hayama, he used four fingers at the end. He was still struggling then, but a year has passed. I don't know how he is now."
After saying that, Ryu didn't continue.
Kise Ryota was completely stunned.
He understood perfectly what Ryu meant. Four fingers... that meant Kotaro Hayama had something else going on.
This was a huge blow to Kise Ryota.
"Kise, are you alright?" Kuroko asked with concern.
"I'm fine." Kise waved his hand, sitting down on the bench somewhat dejectedly.
"Ryu-kun, is Kise-kun really okay?" Kuroko was worried that Kise might be too devastated and never recover.
Ryu chuckled. "Don't worry, if he were so easily discouraged, he wouldn't always challenge Aomine to a duel."
Kuroko nodded knowingly.
In the team, Kise was basically beaten by Aomine every day. Thinking about it this way, he felt much more at ease about Kise.
Ryu suddenly changed his tone, his gaze calm as he looked at Kise, his voice as amiable as ever. Yet, a chilling sense of oppression pressed down on Kise Ryota.
"Kise, I'll give you one more period. If you still can't beat him, you'll have to be replaced. You've already lost enough points."
Feeling the sudden pressure, Kise Ryota's pupils contracted, a chill running down his spine. He took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and said earnestly to Ryu, "I understand. I'll definitely find a way to deal with him in the next period."
Kise looked at Ryu, wondering if he had just imagined it. Ryu seemed normal, nothing amiss.
'What was that just now?' Kise wondered to himself.
Ryu's even he himself hadn't noticed the change.
Karupin, nestled in his arms, raised his head to glance at Ryu, but quickly lowered it again. It was as if nothing had happened.
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