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An eerie silence fell over the arena.
Everyone had seen Kise Ryota use Hayama Kotaro's Thunder Dribble to successfully break through his opponent. However, to their astonishment, the basketball was gone.
Kise Ryota had no basketball in his hand. Hayama Kotaro had no basketball in his hand either. The others on the court also had no basketballs in their hands.
For a moment, the silence of the basketball hitting the ground left the audience feeling uneasy. The referee was equally bewildered. Where was the ball? How did it suddenly disappear?
Only four people knew where the ball was: Ryu, Akashi, and Kise Ryota himself. Finally, there was the reporter on the sidelines, a camera slung around his neck, clutching a basketball. He stared blankly at the ball in his hand. He was clearly filming just a moment ago, holding a camera—so how did it turn into a basketball?
On the court, Kise Ryota stared at his left hand. His left arm was trembling slightly, throbbing with pain. He never imagined the side effects of this move would be so severe.
Beep…
"Ball out of bounds! Fukuyama's ball!"
The referee finally located the ball and realized that Kise Ryota had thrown it out of bounds.
Although Fukuyama had possession of the ball, Kotaro Hayama's face was incredibly grim.
That was his signature move, the Thunder Dribble.
The move he had spent so much effort mastering had been copied by his opponent in such a short time.
Even though the ball was out of bounds, he felt no joy. His mind was in turmoil.
'Is this the difference in talent?'
Kotaro Hayama clenched his fists until they turned white, as if he wanted to crush the resentment and jealousy in his heart.
On the other side…
"Damn it, I almost succeeded!"
Although his imitation failed, Kise Ryota wasn't discouraged. He took a deep breath and turned to look at Hayama Kotaro.
"This time, I'll definitely beat you."
Hayama Kotaro didn't speak.
He simply turned around and began serving methodically.
After that, Hayama Kotaro never used the Thunder Dribble again.
And Kise Ryota, as if by an unspoken agreement, didn't try to imitate his opponent further.
The two took turns attacking and defending, neither able to gain the upper hand for a time.
However, Fukuyama's other four positions didn't perform as well.
Teiko completely dominated Fukuyama. The score gap widened significantly:
25 to 22
30 to 22
38 to 22
then.
42 to 22.
Without Hayama Kotaro's dominance, Fukuyama instantly crumbled into disarray.
Hayama Kotaro saw this and grew anxious.
He suddenly felt the basketball in his hands become much heavier.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes; he gritted his teeth and finally unleashed his Thunder Dribble again.
Rather than having someone else copy his move, he would rather go all out to defeat his opponent and leave no regrets.
Having figured this out, Hayama Kotaro no longer hesitated.
Sizzle…
With a flash of yellow lightning, Hayama Kotaro broke through Kise Ryota's defense.
Just as he was about to charge into Teiko's paint to narrow the score... a pale, white hand suddenly appeared from behind.
Snap…
A crisp sound reached Hayama Kotaro's ears.
The sound wasn't loud, but to him, it was like a thunderclap.
He instinctively looked down, and his pupils contracted; his heart filled with utter horror.
The basketball… was gone.
No, it wasn't gone; the basketball had flown out of his hand. He saw that where the basketball had been, a hand had appeared.
He stopped his forward sprint and turned to look at Kise Ryota with a very grim expression.
"You bastard."
He didn't understand, and he didn't want to believe it.
One Ryu was bad enough, but why had someone else appeared who could break his Thunder Dribble?
In Teiko's dugout, Ryu's brow twitched. He looked thoughtfully at Kise Ryota on the court.
Kise's movements just now were completely different from before.
When the Thunder Dribble appeared, his defense was incredibly composed.
Ryu thought to himself: 'He probably knows he can't keep up with the speed of the Thunder Dribble, so he gave up chasing it, using a step-back to shorten the time and allow himself to steal the ball faster.'
It was a very good idea. With such a rapid growth rate, it was no wonder he was able to catch up with everyone in high school.
Ryu's lips curled slightly. He suddenly felt a sense of anticipation for Kise's growth. 'A man who embodies all the techniques of the Generation of Miracles... I wonder how he will fare against someone he can't imitate?'
Heh… Ryu couldn't help but grin.
Seeing this, Kuroko asked curiously: "Ryu-kun, what are you laughing at?"
Ryu smiled and said, "Ah, nothing. Kise Ryota won, but he also lost."
"Hmm? Kise won and lost? What do you mean by that?" Kuroko was puzzled.
Ryu explained, "Kise cracked Hayama's Thunder Dribble, which means he has now completely analyzed its principles and can use it at any time. Hayama can't defend against his own special move for a while."
"So, Kise-kun should have won against Hayama. Why do you say he lost?" Kuroko continued to ask.
Ryu replied, "It's simple. Because Hayama still has a trump card. Do you know why Hayama only uses three fingers for the Thunder Dribble?"
Kuroko shook his head. If he had known, he wouldn't have asked.
Ryu continued, "Because he has only been controlling the strength of three fingers—oh no, he should be able to control four now! If he uses four fingers, Kise definitely won't be able to defend against him, and imitating the four-finger Thunder Dribble isn't something that can be done in a short time."
Hearing Ryu's explanation, Kuroko finally understood.
He was impressed by the strength of both players.
He admired Hayama Kotaro's power, but he was even more amazed by Kise Ryota's talent.
Meanwhile, on the court, after Hayama Kotaro's ball was intercepted, it fell into Aomine Daiki's hands.
Just as he was about to charge forward, he heard Kise Ryota call out:
"Aominecchi, can I have the ball this time?"
Hearing Kise's request, Aomine Daiki clicked his tongue and passed the ball to him.
"Thanks, Aominecchi."
After receiving the ball, Kise Ryota sprinted to Hayama Kotaro's side.
His face was filled with confidence, his yellow eyes shining brightly.
"You are indeed very strong. To develop such a dribbling style is truly remarkable. However, I don't like owing favors, so consider this a return gift!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kise Ryota's hand expanded to three fingers, and a surging aura surrounded him.
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