When Kazuto, Coach Anzai, and the rest of the Shohoku team arrived at the Ryonan High School basketball gym, it surprisingly wasn't crowded.
Many of Ryonan's regular players hadn't arrived for practice yet, with only Coach Taoka, the towering center Uozumi, and a few bench players present to greet them.
"We won't be holding the official practice match today. First, take some time to familiarize yourselves with the court," Coach Taoka said as he led them into the spacious gym.
He then called out to his captain, "Uozumi! Lead the Shohoku team to their locker room and help them get acquainted with the facilities."
After instructing Uozumi, Coach Taoka and Coach Anzai left the gym together to discuss the upcoming match in the coach's office.
"Yes, sir!" Uozumi replied, his deep voice echoing across the hardwood.
He walked over to the Shohoku group, his eyes immediately locking onto Akagi.
"Akagi. I'll definitely defeat you in this practice match."
Normally, Uozumi, as a key player for a powerhouse Kanagawa team like Ryonan, wouldn't have crossed paths or cared much about Akagi, who played for the historically weak Shohoku.
But a single game during last year's tournament had bound them together, making them fierce rivals in the eyes of everyone in the prefecture.
In that game, Shohoku had suffered a crushing defeat against Ryonan, but individually, Uozumi had been completely outplayed and humiliated by Akagi in the post.
The personal loss had left a bitter taste in Uozumi's mouth and he had been training relentlessly for a chance to redeem himself ever since.
In fact, Coach Taoka had agreed to this practice match specifically to help Uozumi regain his confidence and finally escape from Akagi's shadow.
"You won't get that chance," Akagi retorted instantly, his imposing aura flaring up as he refused to back down from Uozumi's provocation.
In just their first encounter of the year, the two giant centers' rivalry was already explosive, leaving everyone watching on edge.
As he watched Uozumi glare at Akagi, Kazuto silently checked the opposing captain's stats.
[Character Information: Jun Uozumi]
Height: 202 cm
Weight: 90 kg
Strength: 85
Speed: 78
Stamina: 86
Vertical Jump: 75
'The gap in their base stats isn't actually that significant,' Kazuto thought after reviewing Uozumi's information and comparing it to his memory of Akagi's panel.
While Akagi has a slight edge in raw strength and leaping ability, the difference isn't substantial enough to guarantee a blowout.
Uozumi's sheer size makes up for a lot.
As Akagi and Uozumi continued their intense, silent standoff, a tall young man with spiky hair and a famously lazy demeanor strolled casually into the basketball court, spinning a ball on his finger.
"Sendoh!"
"Sendoh, you're actually early to practice? What are you doing here so soon?"
"First time I've ever seen you eager to get to the gym, kid."
When Uozumi and the Ryonan bench players saw the young man, their expressions were filled with genuine surprise.
Ignoring his teammates' questions with a sleepy smile, Akira Sendoh turned his gaze directly toward the Shohoku group.
He scanned the faces before locking eyes with the freshman point guard.
"I heard Shohoku arrived, so I came early to take a look. Is this the Kazuto that Hikoichi was raving about?"
Another Ryonan player specifically asking for Kazuto?!
Hearing Sendoh's words, Akagi, Kogure, and the rest of the Shohoku team immediately turned their gazes toward Kazuto, their hearts filled with utter confusion.
'Is Kazuto really that famous outside of our school?! First Coach Taoka, and now Ryonan's Ace?'
Seeing his teammates' bewildered expressions, Kazuto guessed their thoughts and shrugged helplessly.
"Don't look at me like that. I have absolutely no idea what's going on either."
Though puzzled as to why he was being targeted, Kazuto stepped forward and offered a polite nod.
"I'm Kazuto. Please treat me well today."
"Hmm. You really are only 177 centimeters tall," Sendoh noted, looking slightly surprised as he sized Kazuto up.
The spiky-haired ace bounced the ball a few times. "The official practice match doesn't start until tomorrow, but... are you interested in a quick one-on-one right now?"
The moment Sendoh issued the challenge, everyone around them froze, absolutely stunned.
Uozumi frowned, protesting loudly, "Sendoh! You can't just bully a freshman like that before the game even starts!"
Aida Hikoichi, who had just scurried into the gym with his notebook, gasped.
"Wow! Sendoh-san is actually challenging Kazuto-kun directly?! I have to record this closely!"
Even the Ryonan bench players were baffled by their ace's behavior.
"Did that notoriously lazy guy actually come all the way to the gym early just to challenge a Shohoku freshman?"
"Sendoh is challenging Kazuto?!"
"Kazuto is unbelievable! He's only been playing for two weeks, and he's already earned a direct challenge from Ryonan's Ace!"
"I knew it! Kazuto is going to make an incredible showing tomorrow!"
Seeing Sendoh single out Kazuto, Kuwata, Ishii, and the other freshmen were thrilled, their admiration for their point guard growing even stronger.
As fellow first-year students, the heights Kazuto had reached in such a short time were something they could only look up to in awe.
"Akagi, what do you think this means?" Kogure whispered, turning to the captain as he watched Sendoh and Kazuto face off.
Akagi frowned deeply, his arms crossed. "It means Sendoh and Coach Taoka see Kazuto as our true Ace... valuing him even more highly as a threat than Rukawa."
Akagi's blunt assessment made Rukawa's brow furrow sharply.
The stoic freshman's gaze shifted, glaring intensely at Kazuto's back.
'Kazuto... Shohoku's Ace?'
"Please. I look forward to it."
Under everyone's shocked gaze, Kazuto readily accepted the challenge without a hint of fear.
He was genuinely eager to test his system-enhanced skills against the 'Uncrowned King' of Kanagawa.
As Kazuto accepted the challenge and stepped onto the hardwood, he silently pulled up Sendoh's attributes.
[Character Information: Akira Sendoh]
Height: 190 cm
Weight: 79 kg
Strength: 83
Speed: 92
Stamina: 90
Vertical Jump: 87
'His stats are indeed incredible!' Kazuto thought, his eyes narrowing.
After reviewing Sendoh's panel, Kazuto nodded in grim understanding.
Judging by base stats alone, he's significantly faster and possesses more stamina than Rukawa right now.
'No wonder they call him a genius.'
Having accepted the challenge, Kazuto dropped his gym bag and stepped onto the half-court.
As everyone gathered around the sidelines to watch Sendoh prepare to face Kazuto, the gym fell completely silent.
They held their breath, their hearts pounding with anticipation.
"Are we playing best-of-three or best-of-five?" Sendoh asked, standing at the top of the key to discuss the rules with a relaxed smile.
"Whatever you prefer," Kazuto replied calmly.
"Then let's make it a quick best-of-five," Sendoh decided, seeing Kazuto's total indifference to the format.
With the rules set, Sendoh began casually dribbling the ball between his legs, choosing to take the first offensive possession.
[Ding! Random Mission Triggered: Score the first point or secure the first defensive stop in a one-on-one match against Akira Sendoh. Reward: 1 'Copy Card'.]
'A Copy Card? Similar to Ryota Kise's 'Perfect Copy' ability from Kuroko's Basketball?!'
Hearing the system's voice in his mind, Kazuto's heart leaped with intense curiosity and anticipation.
With a reward like that on the line, his expression instantly turned deadly serious, and his focus sharpened to a razor's edge.
As Kazuto dropped into a low textbook defensive stance, his entire aura underwent a noticeable chilling shift.
"Whoa... Kazuto's expression just became incredibly serious. His aura is completely different now."
"Even from the sidelines, I can feel a heavy pressure emanating from him."
"Look! Sendoh's relaxed smile is gone. His expression has turned grave too. It seems Kazuto is putting a lot of invisible pressure on him."
Watching Kazuto's intense defensive posture, Kuwata and the others whispered in astonishment.
Staring at Sendoh—the player who had single-handedly dismantled his team last year—Akagi's expression was complex.
'Sendoh... will you go easy on him?'
Although Kazuto had grown rapidly through his insane shooting drills, Akagi still believed there was a massive gap in experience between the freshman and the second-year phenom.
'Sendoh... do you really look down on me that much?' Rukawa fumed silently.
He was extremely displeased that Sendoh had completely ignored him to challenge Kazuto.
He vaguely sensed that Kazuto was rapidly threatening his position as Shohoku's undisputed rookie king.
As a result, a fierce hint of battle intent flickered in Rukawa's gaze.
He knew that he and Kazuto would inevitably have to clash to settle who the true ace was.
On Ryonan's side, Uozumi's expression was startled by Sendoh's sudden shift in demeanor.
He finally began to take the short Shohoku freshman seriously.
'Sendoh is actually getting serious before a game? That rookie must be putting a lot of pressure on him. It seems this kid really does have the aura of a star player.'
Hikoichi nodded furiously beside his captain. "When I scouted him, I thought he was just a talented athlete with an impressive jumping ability. Now, seeing him face down Sendoh... it seems there's much more to him than just bounce."
On the court, under the watchful tense eyes of both teams, Sendoh finally initiated his offensive play.
He lowered his shoulder, leaned slightly to his left, and then exploded directly toward Kazuto's left side with lightning speed, utilizing a devastatingly quick first step.
In the blink of an eye, he seemed to have shaken off Kazuto entirely and was racing toward the basket for an easy layup.
"So fast! Sendoh blew right past him!"
"Sendoh is incredible! Kazuto couldn't even react to that first step!"
"Wait! Look! Kazuto moved!"
"He turn around! He cut off the driving lane!"
"That recovery spin was so fast! It looked even faster than Sendoh's drive!"
"Look at Kazuto's hand! He's swiping at the ball! Will he get it?!"
Smack!
"The ball... the ball is loose!"
"No way... Kazuto... Kazuto just stripped the ball from Sendoh?!"
Watching the high-speed exchange unfold, everyone on the sidelines was utterly stunned.
The play had been incredibly fast, yet the advantage had shifted in a fraction of a second.
"He actually recovered and stripped my drive? Hikoichi was right—this guy is incredibly interesting."
Sendoh was initially shocked to feel the ball knocked cleanly from his grasp, but as it rolled out of bounds, a radiant, genuinely thrilled smile spread across his face.
This was the kind of challenge that made basketball truly exciting for him!
On the sidelines, the Ryonan team was in an uproar.
"He actually stopped Sendoh's drive?!"
"This kid is incredible! Not only did he recover, but he cleanly stole the ball!"
"In all of Kanagawa, there probably aren't more than three players who could have pulled off a recovery steal like that against a serious Sendoh!"
"Shohoku's new recruit is a monster."
Ryonan's players were stunned by Kazuto's defensive prowess.
Uozumi watched the scene unfold, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"That kid's burst of recovery speed just now was even faster than Sendoh's initial drive," Uozumi exclaimed in astonishment.
"And his defensive judgment is terrifying—he actually predicted Sendoh's crossover and beat him to the spot!"
Hikoichi nodded in shock, scribbling furiously. "This guy isn't ordinary at all. No wonder Sendoh challenged him directly. Is this what it's like when ace players sense each other's strength?"
Uozumi nodded gravely, finally agreeing with the scout's assessment.
On Shohoku's side, the reaction was equally explosive.
"Wow! Kazuto is amazing! He actually stole the ball from the Uncrowned King!"
"Kazuto's perimeter defense is even better than it was during our practice games!"
"How did he improve his lateral quickness so much?! I thought he'd just been practicing his shooting for the last ten days!"
"Maybe that's just what it means to be a true genius—they adapt and improve faster than us ordinary people."
Kuwata and the freshmen were ecstatic.
Hearing their excited chatter praising Kazuto, Sakuragi immediately bristled.
"What the hell are you guys talking about?! The only true genius on the Shohoku Basketball Team is me, Sakuragi Hanamichi!"
"Idiot." Seeing Sakuragi's loud antics, Rukawa rolled his eyes and turned his serious gaze back to Kazuto.
'If that had been me guarding Sendoh just now, he probably would have blown right past me. Kazuto's defensive instincts are sharper than mine.'
"Dummy, shut your mouth!" Akagi, highly displeased by Sakuragi's foolish display in front of a rival team, punched the redhead.
"At your current level, you're still a million miles away from Kazuto's defense!"
As Akagi was strangling Sakuragi, Kogure turned to Miyagi and asked quietly.
"Ryota, if that had been you guarding Sendoh just now... could you have stopped that drive?"
"I hate to admit it," Miyagi replied glumly, crossing his arms, "but I couldn't have done it. Sendoh's first step was way too fast. I would have been left in the dust."
The truth was harsh, but Miyagi had to acknowledge it.
Kazuto's dazzling defensive stop had made everyone in the gym even more eager for the rest of the one-on-one.
The battle between Akira Sendoh and Kiriyama Kazuto was shaping up to be far more thrilling than anyone had anticipated.