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Watching the basketball soar into the sky.
Whoosh... two figures leaped into the air.
It was Atsushi Murasakibara and the center for Kakugan.
Everyone could see with their own eyes that Atsushi Murasakibara jumped higher and released the ball faster.
Thud...
Atsushi Murasakibara's large, powerful hand effortlessly slapped the basketball to Akashi.
With just one move, Kakugan's center trembled.
Akashi received the ball with a calm expression and walked unhurriedly towards half-court.
Just as he crossed half-court, the opposing point guard blocked his path.
He was very cautious.
He had long heard of Teiko's strength.
As they were last year's tournament champions, he dared not be careless in the slightest.
However, caution alone could not stop Teiko's advance.
Akashi simply switched hands twice, smoothly passing the ball to Midorima.
The movement was fluid and abrupt, leaving the opposing point guard frozen in place, unable to move.
Midorima had just reached the three-point line. After receiving the pass, he used a crossover dribble to get past Kakugan's shooting guard.
Just as Kakugan's shooting guard turned to chase, Midorima suddenly took a large step to the side, standing once again just outside the three-point line.
Without hesitation, he raised the ball, aiming at the basket, ready to shoot.
Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in front of him, blocking his view.
Kakugan's center quickly covered, raising his hand to swat the basketball away from Midorima.
A glint flashed in Midorima's green eyes behind his glasses, and the basketball was still released.
However, the trajectory of the ball was different from usual, much higher than before.
The basketball soared past Kakugan's fingers, heading straight for the basket.
Just as it was about to hit the backboard, a purple-haired figure suddenly appeared and caught the ball.
It was Atsushi Murasakibara.
Murasakibara landed firmly on the ground, then leaped again, spinning 180 degrees in mid-air for a powerful two-handed dunk.
Clang…
The backboard swayed, and the rim groaned.
Murasakibara scored 2 points with an extremely dominant performance.
2-0, Teiko scored first.
A cheer erupted from the stands.
The game continued.
Kakugan inbounded the ball quickly.
It seemed they wanted to launch a fast break, catching Teiko off guard and pulling back the score.
However, reality is often far from ideal.
Kakugan's point guard had just crossed half-court when, before Akashi could stop him, he passed the ball to his power forward.
Unfortunately, Kakugan's power forward was facing Aomine Daiki.
Just as the basketball landed in Kakugan's power forward's hands...
Thwack...
A large, dark hand abruptly slapped the ball.
At the same time, Aomine Daiki pushed off with his feet, his figure disappearing like a streak of blue lightning.
Kakugan's power forward was startled and immediately tried to turn and chase.
But as soon as he turned around, he saw Aomine Daiki already dribbling into the paint.
So fast.
Kakugan's power forward was shocked.
Not just him.
The other Kakugan players were also utterly astonished, as if they had witnessed something unbelievable.
When their power forward was dispossessed, they reacted quickly.
However, as they chased after him, they were shocked to find they couldn't catch up with Aomine Daiki, who had the ball.
A sense of absurdity washed over them.
In just two exchanges, Kakugan's momentum was completely overwhelmed by Teiko.
Kakugan regrouped.
They realized how formidable Aomine Daiki was.
This time, Kakugan passed the ball to their small forward.
Seeing this, Ryu's silver eyes flashed, an sharpness making Kakugan's small forward feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.
Kakugan's small forward dribbled the ball, hesitant to attack.
"Hurry up, there's no time left!" his teammate anxiously reminded him.
Hearing this, he took a deep breath, his body swaying as he gritted his teeth and began to break through.
Ryu's figure moved in sync with his opponent.
Suddenly, Kakugan's small forward made two quick crossovers, then abruptly turned and bypassed Ryu.
"He broke through?" The Kakugan players were overjoyed.
The Teiko players were shocked at first, but then calmed down.
Because the person dribbling the ball was no longer Kakugan's small forward, but Teiko's Ryu.
Kakugan's small forward also thought he had successfully broken through.
But as he bypassed Ryu, he found his hands were empty.
He instinctively looked down and realized the basketball was gone.
Thump... thump... thump...
The sound of the basketball hitting the ground rang out behind him, gradually fading into the distance.
He turned around in disbelief.
Ryu had already driven into Kakugan's basket.
No breathtaking dunk, no fancy shot.
Ryu simply made a layup.
Swish...
The basketball went in.
6-0.
Only one minute had passed since the start of the match.
Teiko had won all three of their encounters.
The spectators outside the stadium were cheering wildly for Teiko.
"So cool!"
"Teiko is so strong!"
"Three goals in one minute, that's amazing!"
At Teiko's rest area, Kise Ryota couldn't help but speak up.
"Wow, so strong... but this seems so different from what you said before!"
"Hmm?" Kuroko asked, somewhat puzzled. "Kise-kun, what do you mean by 'so different'?"
"I mean Ryu! He's really good! But his performance just now was so ordinary!"
Hearing Kise's comment, Kuroko replied, "Although I don't quite understand, Ryu shouldn't have used his full strength. I've been in the first team for so long, and I've never seen Ryu's true strength, but he's universally acknowledged as the strongest in the first team—everyone agrees."
"Is that so?" Kise Ryota fell into deep thought.
Ryu's performance just now was indeed impressive.
His interception speed was incredibly fast; Kise couldn't match it.
Based on that alone, he acknowledged Ryu's abilities.
However, compared to Aomine Daiki, he seemed far too ordinary.
If Ryu was only at that level, he couldn't possibly defeat Aomine Daiki.
Kise Ryota's mind raced with these thoughts.
On the court, a massacre was unfolding.
The offense was led by Aomine and Ryu.
Kakugan was utterly helpless.
When Aomine was double-teamed, Ryu relentlessly scored.
Double-teaming Ryu freed Aomine.
If both were double-teamed, Teiko's sharpshooter, Midorima Shintaro, would teach them a lesson.
Throughout the first quarter, Kakugan hadn't scored a single point, and the entire team's morale was utterly demolished.
Meanwhile, Teiko, under the combined attack of Ryu and Aomine, steadily racked up 36 points.
No one expected Kakugan to collapse in just the first quarter.
The first quarter of the first game of the National Tournament.
Teiko secured the victory with an astonishing 36-0 run.
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