"You're stronger than I expected."
Sendoh and Kazuto switched positions, the Ryonan ace voicing his honest relaxed assessment as he handed the ball over.
Hearing this, Kazuto remained perfectly calm, bouncing the ball a few times.
"Thank you for the recognition, Sendoh-san. But I won't hold back."
Kazuto's blunt response left Sendoh momentarily stunned.
He hadn't anticipated such quiet arrogance from a freshman!
"Here I come!"
Without waiting for Sendoh to fully process the statement, Kazuto accelerated his dribbling rhythm.
His entire aura transformed in a fraction of a second. If the Kazuto who had just played defense had been a cheetah lying in wait, the Kazuto now on offense was a tiger unleashed from its cage, his forward momentum fierce and unyielding.
"His aura has completely changed."
Noticing the drastic shift, Sendoh's trademark relaxed smile vanished. His expression tightened, his gaze growing incredibly serious as he dropped his center of gravity.
The offensive pressure Kazuto now exerted was even greater than before, triggering a primal sense of danger within the second-year phenom.
As Sendoh was still adjusting to the shock, Kazuto's figure flashed, exploding forward to drive hard toward Sendoh's right side.
"He's coming!"
Seeing Kazuto commit to the drive, Sendoh's heart skipped a beat.
He immediately slid his feet, closing the gap to cut off the driving lane.
Sendoh's physical condition and lateral quickness were superior to Kazuto's, giving him a clear advantage in defensive positioning.
He believed he could easily absorb the contact and block Kazuto's drive.
But the moment Sendoh committed his body weight to the defensive slide, Kazuto executed a blindingly fast spin move with the ball, rotating seamlessly off Sendoh's hip and driving past him to the left.
"So fast!"
Sendoh was stunned by the fluidity and speed of Kazuto's spin.
He quickly scrambled to retreat a step, trying to reduce his own inertia to recover.
Without that desperate step back, Kazuto's sudden shift in momentum would have completely broken his ankles and sent him crashing to the floor.
Seeing Sendoh frantically retreat to protect the paint, a slight smile played on Kazuto's lips.
Instead of continuing the drive, he violently slammed on the brakes, snatching the ball back with a heavy crossover and stepping back completely beyond the three-point line.
"Damn it, he's going for a three!"
Sendoh's heart leaped with alarm at Kazuto's sudden deceleration.
A heavy sense of foreboding washed over him. He immediately lunged forward, stretching his long arm to its absolute limit to disrupt Kazuto's shot.
But Kazuto simply ignored Sendoh's desperate interference.
With 'Fluid Movement' guiding his mechanics, he rose smoothly and perfectly balanced into his jump shot.
What a beautiful shooting form, Sendoh couldn't help but admire, even as he contested the shot.
If even a basketball genius like Sendoh was impressed mid-play, imagine what the spectators were thinking.
"Is this Shohoku rookie really a beginner?!"
Watching Kazuto's textbook shooting form from the sidelines, Ryonan's shooting guard, Echizen, was filled with absolute astonishment.
"In my opinion, even Kainan's Jin Soichiro doesn't have a shooting form as structurally perfect and beautiful as his."
Hearing Echizen's high praise, Uozumi nodded in shock. "This level of dribbling fluidity, core body control, and near-perfect shooting mechanics... it is simply physically impossible for a total beginner to possess."
"This kid is an anomaly. It's a good thing Sendoh decided to test him out today. Otherwise, we'd be completely caught off guard during tomorrow's practice game."
Unlike the Ryonan players' shock, Akagi, upon seeing Kazuto go up for the shot, crossed his arms confidently.
"Sendoh let his guard down on the perimeter. That's a mistake."
"You're right, Captain," Kogure agreed, pushing up his glasses. "After grinding all those solo drills for the past ten days, Kazuto's shooting accuracy has improved at an absolutely terrifying rate."
Swish!
Before everyone's stunned gazes, the basketball barely ruffled the net, passing through with a perfect, hollow swish.
Seeing Kazuto drain the step-back three right in his face, Sendoh's expression hardened further.
He finally began to take the freshman before him with the utmost seriousness.
This new student was simply terrifying!
Kazuto: 1 | Sendoh: 0
[Ding! Random Mission Complete. Received 1 'Copy Card'.]
[Copy Card] In a one-on-one match, you can choose to permanently copy and master one physical basketball skill your opponent demonstrates.
'This card is incredible!'
After reading the Copy Card's effect, Kazuto began pondering how to maximize its use.
After a moment's thought, he formulated a plan.
One-on-one opportunities against elite players are rare.
'I hope Sendoh pulls out something truly special to surprise me.'
As Kazuto was lost in his thoughts, Sendoh retrieved the ball and checked it back to Kazuto, signaling a change in possession.
"My turn. Here I come."
With that, Sendoh's eyes sharpened
He utilized his explosive first step, instantly blowing past Kazuto and cutting hard toward his right side.
This time, his dribbling speed and offensive pace were significantly faster and far more decisive than his previous casual attempt.
Facing Sendoh's serious attack, Kazuto had no choice but to immediately slide his feet and attempt to cut off his path.
Unfortunately, the raw difference in their physiques and base speed was currently too great.
Kazuto's defense was solid, but he simply couldn't physically stop the larger, faster ace.
Sendoh quickly muscled his way into the paint, gathered the ball with both hands and exploded upward, preparing to dunk right over the freshman.
Kazuto reacted decisively.
He didn't back down. Utilizing his system-buffed vertical leap, he leaped high into the air, raising his hand to contest the dunk at the rim.
"So high!"
Seeing Kazuto's chin nearly level with the rim, Sendoh was momentarily startled, but he didn't panic.
After all, from Hikoichi's frantic scouting report, he already knew about the freshman's freakish vertical leap.
In mid-air, displaying incredible hang time and core strength, Sendoh smoothly adjusted his body.
Instead of forcing the dunk into Kazuto's block, he pulled his right arm back, rotated his palm inward, and lofted the ball into the basket with a soft, over-the-shoulder hook shot.
Swish.
"Impressive!" Kazuto couldn't help but genuinely praise Sendoh's mid-air adjustment as they landed.
Kazuto: 1 | Sendoh: 1
As Kazuto marveled at Sendoh's body control, he made his decision.
'System, use the Copy Card to replicate that mid-air hook shot.'
[Ding! Copy Card successfully used. Replicating Sendoh Akira's 'Over-the-Shoulder Hook Shot'. System enhancement initiated. Fusion complete.]
Immediately, the complex muscle memory and spatial awareness required for Sendoh's technique flooded Kazuto's mind.
With the skill fused into his repertoire, Kazuto couldn't wait to examine its attributes. He wanted to see how the System had enhanced the copied skill.
[Spinning Hook Shot] When performing a hook shot, you automatically impart heavy backspin to the ball.
This dramatically softens the bounce on the rim and drastically speeds up the release.
When executed while facing entirely away from the basket, this technique actually increases the shot's accuracy by 40% and guarantees it cannot be cleanly blocked by a single defender.
'So, it really is significantly enhanced,' Kazuto nodded knowingly after reading the description.
Accuracy increases when facing away from the basket? Is the system basically forcing me to show off when I play?
"My ball," Kazuto said, taking the check from Sendoh.
Having digested the new skill, Kazuto's dribbling speed increased noticeably.
Seeing Kazuto's faster, more aggressive rhythm, Sendoh's expression turned grim, and he crouched even lower, spreading his arms wide.
Under Sendoh's suffocating close-quarters defense, Kazuto executed his signature behind-the-back 'V-Drag' dribble, violently changing direction.
'That behind-the-back dribble was blindingly fast!'
'Not a single microsecond of hesitation,' Sendoh thought, genuinely startled by Kazuto's explosive speed during the transition.
His expression grew even more serious.
Dribbling behind the back wasn't a particularly difficult skill for Sendoh, he did it all the time.
But he knew, given his height and body mechanics, he could never execute it with the terrifying, system-buffed fluidity Kazuto just displayed.
Utilizing his increased speed, Kazuto quickly changed directions several times, probing the defense until he finally found a microscopic opening.
Seeing Sendoh's weight pause for a fraction of a second as he shifted left, Kazuto immediately exploded to the right.
Kazuto's acceleration was lightning-fast, like a dragon bursting from its lair, and he soon penetrated the paint, arriving right under the basket.
"Damn!"
Sendoh's heart leaped as he saw Kazuto break the perimeter.
He immediately turn and rushed to the basket to contest from behind.
Facing Sendoh's trailing defense, Kazuto didn't go straight up.
Instead, he quickly spun with the ball, circling from the right side of the rim to directly beneath it, putting his back entirely to the basket and Sendoh.
Then, with a powerful leap off two feet, he went up.
"Your layup choice is too easy," Sendoh said, a faint, confident smile returning to his face.
"I've got you."
As he spoke, Sendoh leaped powerfully, raising his long arm to swat the ball away from behind, aiming for a spectacular chase-down block.
...
On the sidelines:
"Kazuto is still just a beginner after all. That layup attempt is way too basic and exposed," Uozumi said, shaking his head at Kazuto's apparent mistake.
He seemed to have slightly underestimated Kazuto again.
"If he goes up soft like that, Sendoh is going to pin it to the glass."
Echizen nodded in agreement. "I think it's perfectly normal. If he were already ridiculously strong at finishing through contact, it wouldn't make any sense. He can't possibly have mastered every interior finishing technique yet."
On the Shohoku side, Akagi's heart skipped a beat as he watched Sendoh wind up for the block.
A very specific humiliating scene from their team scrimmage flashed through his mind.
'During our practice, I made the exact same mistake as Sendoh... underestimating Kazuto's layup.'
'If Sendoh didn't realize his error immediately, it would be too late to stop Kazuto once he activated his mid-air acrobatics.'
As Akagi was lost in thought, Miyagi's expression shifted, and he sighed in relief.
"Sendoh missed his chance..."
"It's not just that simple," Rukawa interrupted, his eyes narrowed sharply. "Look closely at Kazuto's hand movements in the air. The gathering motion... it's almost identical to what Sendoh did on the previous play."
At Rukawa's words, Akagi, Miyagi, and Kogure's faces paled, their eyes widening in shock.
'Could it be... that Kazuto learned Sendoh's highly advanced mid-air adjustment technique just by watching him do it once?!'
Under everyone's astonished gazes, Kazuto didn't attempt a standard layup.
Instead, while completely facing away from the basket and with Sendoh breathing down his neck, Kazuto transferred the ball to his right hand, hooking it over his own shoulder with his fingertips.
As he released the hook shot, he flicked his wrist violently, imparting massive backspin to the ball.
Clap!
The ball arced beautifully over Sendoh's outstretched hand.
The moment the basketball hit the net, its immense rotational momentum caused the nylon to snap sharply, creating a satisfying, crisp sound.
"He actually copied my move... no, the rotation on that... this is even more difficult than my original version."
Landing on the hardwood, Sendoh immediately recognized the mechanics of the move.
Kazuto had just used a perfectly enhanced version of his own signature technique against him.
Realizing this, Sendoh's eyes widened in genuine shock.
He looked at Kazuto, who was jogging back to the top of the key.
'What a terrifying player. With him running the point for Shohoku this year, they're going to give every team in Kanagawa a massive headache.'
As Sendoh was reeling from his surprise, the gym erupted in a collective gasp.
Everyone on the Ryonan bench stood up in stunned disbelief.
"That... that was incredible! He actually scored right over Sendoh's chase-down block!"
"It wasn't just about scoring. He completely outplayed Sendoh on that sequence."
"I can't believe he actually used Sendoh's own move against him!"
"If he didn't know it before... does that mean he mastered it perfectly after just watching it happen once?!"
The Ryonan players were completely stunned, their reluctant admiration for Kazuto reaching its peak.
Watching Kazuto's performance, Aida Hikoichi's face flushed bright red with excitement.
"Kazuto is truly amazing! I never imagined his basketball IQ and learning speed could rival Sendoh-san's! I have to write this down!"
"Hikoichi! Are you on their side now?!" Uozumi's sharp, angry question cut through the scout's frantic muttering, his deep voice laced with extreme displeasure.
After Uozumi's rebuke, Hikoichi offered a sheepish, terrified grin and dared not continue his vocal praise.
Watching Kazuto's earlier display, Echizen frowned deeply, crossing his arms.
"I can't believe he learned Sendoh's move after just one look. That guy isn't a rookie, he's a monster."
"No, it's not just that he learned it. He actually improved it on the fly." Uozumi's expression turned grave as he responded to his shooting guard.
"The shooting form he used just now involved a heavy spin release and was executed completely blind, with his back to the basket. The difficulty level of that shot is far beyond Sendoh's standard hook."
The giant center clenched his fists. "Tomorrow's practice match against Shohoku will likely be an absolute bloodbath. If we can actually manage to defeat them, facing Kainan this year won't seem nearly as challenging."
Uozumi's heavy words startled Echizen, who thought he must have misheard his captain.
Shohoku had historically always been a first-round exit team, a total joke in the prefecture.
Could the addition of one terrifying freshman point guard really elevate their overall strength so dramatically?