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Teiko's victory continued.
The final match of the preliminaries was against Kawaki Middle School.
In this match, Aomine Daiki's strength was astonishing.
Kawaki Middle School had already lost their fighting spirit by the second quarter.
Aomine Daiki scored 80 points alone.
Ryu frowned.
His frown wasn't because Aomine Daiki was too strong, but because his opponents had given up so quickly.
Frankly, this made him very unhappy.
Understandably, victory was still necessary.
In the end, Teiko won 160-19.
After this match, Aomine Daiki rarely participated in team training.
During this time, Kuroko approached Ryu to ask for a solution.
Ryu looked at him with complicated feelings and said,
"Kuroko, some things can't be solved by talking. Remember, facts are always more convincing than possibilities or even 'maybes.'"
Whether Kuroko understood or not, Aomine did indeed come to training the next day.
And so, the competition continued in full swing.
The fifth match of the group stage was Teiko vs. Meisei Middle School.
Hanamiya Makoto?
Ryu grinned, revealing a strange smile.
'This should be an interesting match!'
However, the day before the match, Teiko received news that Meisei had forfeited.
This left everyone at Teiko completely bewildered.
But Ryu wasn't too surprised.
He had considered the possibility of Meisei forfeiting, but he hadn't expected them to actually do it.
Next up was today's match.
Teiko's opponent was Luoan Middle School.
In this match, Ryu also saw an interesting guy.
A somewhat upright-looking yet sleazy-looking guy with a bald head and eyes filled with sincere ill intent.
Tomoki Tsugawa.
Ryu glanced at the bald boy, then at Ryota Kise.
Today's match was full of interesting moments.
"Kise, you look like you really want to play!"
"Of course! Who doesn't want to play? This is the National Tournament!"
Hearing his words, Ryu gave a strange smile.
"Since you want to play, then go for it!"
Kise's eyes gleamed, looking at Ryu gratefully.
Ryu waved his hand.
"Go!"
After Kise went onto the court, Kuroko leaned over and whispered,
"Ryu-kun, your smile is strange."
Uh…
Ryu turned to look at Kuroko.
"Really? Hehe, you must be mistaken!"
Kuroko stared at Ryu for a while before looking away.
"Maybe I'm mistaken!"
Time often passes silently.
The match started quickly.
The result was exactly as Ryu had predicted.
Kise Ryota was completely outmaneuvered by Tsugawa Tomoki.
Kise Ryota clearly looked frustrated, while Tsugawa Tomoki wore a beaming smile.
'This guy is really asking for a beating.'
Watching the anime before wasn't so bad, but seeing Tsugawa Tomoki's face now gave him an urge to punch him.
But then again, this kid's defensive skills are really good—at least A-level.
Several days later, in the evening.
On a street somewhere in Japan.
"Aomine, you've been skipping training more and more often lately," Kuroko, holding an ice pop, asked.
Aomine, also holding an ice pop, replied lazily,
"Ah, this? The more I practice, the better I get. The harder I try, the more boring basketball becomes. What I want…"
He thought of Ryu, then shook his head.
It was pointless.
Ryu was a teammate. As long as they were on the same team, it was impossible to play a serious game against him.
In the current intra-team matches, everyone was intentionally or unintentionally holding back their strength.
Whether inside or outside the team, he found basketball incredibly boring right now.
On the other side.
One in yellow and one in green walked down the street.
Kise excitedly boasted,
"Aominecchi has become unbelievably strong lately. Maybe even Ryucchi won't be his match! If that happens, he'll be incredibly happy playing basketball."
Midorima, without stopping, said expressionlessly,
"I think it's quite the opposite."
"Huh? Why?" Kise asked, somewhat puzzled.
Midorima replied,
"Because he loves basketball more than anyone else, his desire is stronger than anyone else's. The opponent he can truly challenge is currently too strong. Not to mention opponents, the gap between him and those around him will only widen."
He paused, then continued,
"And overwhelmingly so."
Kise fell silent.
He simply didn't understand what Midorima was saying and was momentarily speechless.
Just then, Midorima stopped, looked at Kise, and said,
"Also, regarding that statement about possibly being stronger than Ryu, I advise you to take it back! It's best not to jump to conclusions about uncertain things. What you saw of Ryu is just what he wants you to see."
"Huh?" Kise was even more confused. He felt completely dizzy and didn't understand what Midorima meant at all.
Midorima adjusted his glasses and continued,
"Looks like you still don't understand!"
"What?" Kise asked instinctively.
Midorima said,
"Ryu's strength is always uncertain. Sometimes you think that's his full power, but it's just the tip of the iceberg. You've watched Ryu's matches, what do you think of his strength?"
"Strength? Of course, he's incredibly strong."
Hearing Kise's words, Midorima added,
"Then I can tell you seriously, he hasn't used any special techniques since the start of the tournament. He's been playing with a completely normal playing style."
Kise was stunned.
"Playing style? What do you mean? Midorima, what are you talking about?"
Midorima looked at the idiot in front of him, decided to ignore him, and turned to leave.
Kise quickly chased after him, his question still faintly audible in the distance.
...
The scene shifts to Ryu's side.
Ryu and Karupin strolled leisurely.
Ryu had remained silent the entire way.
Seeing this, Karupin asked, puzzled,
"What are you thinking about?"
Hearing Karupin's question, Ryu snapped out of his reverie.
He glanced at Karupin beside him and shook his head.
"Nothing much, just wondering if I should inherit some more ball skills and abilities."
Karupin's ears twitched, and then it asked,
"Didn't you say you were going to save up enough [Cat Food] to exchange for [The Realm of Selflessness] and [The Path of Asura]?"
"I've recently noticed that Aomine is getting stronger and stronger. If it weren't for having The Divine-Demon body, my current growth rate wouldn't be able to compare to Aomine's. And he accumulated his strength through his own hard work and training, while I only have my current strength thanks to your inheritance. Without you, would I be back to the useless person I used to be?"
Hearing Ryu's words, Karupin fell silent.
For a moment, the atmosphere was strange and quiet.
After a long while, Ryu finally spoke,
"I've never understood basketball. My current situation is only due to luck and your help. And now Aomine's strength is subtly surpassing mine, while I can only wait to collect enough [Cat Food], helpless. This feeling is unpleasant; I feel like a lamb to the slaughter."
For some reason...
Perhaps due to the fusion with The Divine-Demon body, Ryu particularly loathed this feeling, his eyes even sharpening unconsciously.
Karupin stared at Ryu for a long time without speaking.
It was just a cat, what could it do?
Even with the knowledge from the previous world and its current abilities, it didn't know much about basketball.
After a long silence, Karupin finally spoke,
"Why don't you quit the team?"
Ryu, who had been silent, suddenly widened his eyes.
He looked at Karupin in disbelief.
"What did you say?"
(The strength of the protagonist will take a qualitative leap from now on, and from now on he will truly deserve to be called the strongest person in the Generation of Miracles.)
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