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The evening glow was serene, and the night was just beginning to fall.
He had never expected Karupin to say such a thing.
This beast didn't seem like a good cat!
"Did I hear that right? You want me to leave the basketball club?"
"I was just saying it casually. The choice is yours. Anyway, I now have the ability to absorb energy, so it doesn't matter to me whether you participate in the games or not," Karupin explained.
Hearing Karupin's words, Ryu fell silent.
Leaving the basketball club—he had never even considered it.
He glanced at Karupin beside him.
"Do you know what leaving the basketball club means?"
Karupin nodded.
"I can guess a little, but I think it's a good thing for you."
Ryu stared at Karupin, speechless for a long time.
An eerie silence fell over the room.
After a long silence, Ryu finally spoke.
"Can you tell me your reasons?"
'This is the world of Kuroko's Basketball. What else can I do here if not play basketball? Wait a minute... Why do I have to play basketball? Strange, is it because Karupin has a special ability?'
For a moment, Ryu was confused.
Seeing Ryu's expression, Karupin spoke again.
"Judging from your expression, you've probably realized it. This is one of the reasons I want you to leave the team. Your team has problems. I won't go into details, but you should be able to sense it. You've already been influenced by them. If you don't want to become a chuunibyou leaving the team is your best choice."
Ryu stared at Karupin in silence for a long time.
After a long while, he finally asked, "Karupin, is there a way to make me truly like basketball?"
Karupin remained silent for a long time before speaking.
"There is a way."
Ryu's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Quick, tell me, what's the method?"
Karupin rolled his eyes at Ryu, then said, "The third gate to the Selfless Realm, the Zone of Perfection. The condition for opening this gate is a pure love for the sport. I heard this from that old man, but I don't know if it's entirely accurate."
Ryu, of course, knew the requirements.
However, it seemed to be the only way at the moment.
Thinking about this gave him a headache.
His current [Cat Energy] was barely enough to open the first gate to the Selfless Realm; the remaining two gates required another million [Cat Energy].
This was going to be a disaster!
But it was indeed a good method—using the third gate to the Selfless Realm to cultivate his love for basketball.
Ryu called it "Reverse Forced Love."
...
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
Teiko, with unstoppable momentum, had overcome all obstacles and finally ushered in the final match of the group stage.
Today, Teiko's opponent was Uesaki Junior High School.
When Ryu heard the name of this junior high school, he was taken aback for a moment.
He knew a little about this team.
The reason Ryu remembered this school was because they had faced each other in last year's league.
Aomine and the opposing team's ace player had been evenly matched, making it one of the few exciting matches last year.
'I think their ace is named Inoue,' Ryu thought to himself.
His gaze swept toward Uesaki's bench.
'There probably won't be any exciting matches this year. I wonder if that guy will have an existential crisis then.'
Teiko, as usual, remained remarkably calm.
Every player looked relaxed.
Uesaki, on the other hand, was completely different.
Everyone's expression was somewhat grave.
Teiko's reputation was simply too formidable.
As the saying goes, a person's reputation casts a shadow.
Even with their stable mentality, they felt somewhat intimidated by Teiko's strength.
However, one of them remained relatively calm.
That was Uesaki Middle School's ace player, Inoue.
His gaze swept across the court, landing on Teiko's bench, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
Last year's match had ended in defeat for him, and he had been forced to leave the court.
But after a year of arduous training, he was determined to personally end Teiko's legend.
Whistle...
Just then, the referee blew the whistle to start the game.
Ryu stood up and walked onto the court.
He had made up his mind; he would leave the basketball club after the tournament.
This was the result of careful consideration.
Ryu had figured it out. Staying here wouldn't allow him to grow much, and he would only be negatively influenced by them.
He didn't want to see his friends fall apart while being powerless to stop it.
At this moment, Ryu felt incredibly relaxed, as if he had returned to how he was a year ago.
Off the court, Momoi Satsuki stared at Ryu with surprise.
She felt that Ryu had changed, showing a demeanor that felt more familiar to her than before.
Not only her, but the others from Teiko felt the same way.
However, this feeling was fleeting, and they dismissed it as an illusion.
Karupin nodded in satisfaction.
'I didn't expect him to figure it out so quickly.'
The two teams lined up.
The referee blew the whistle to start the game, and the basketball, soaring into the sky, gradually reached its peak.
Murasakibara Atsushi, currently recognized as the No. 1 center, easily seized the tip-off.
What followed was Teiko's relentless offensive onslaught.
Aomine's speed, Midorima's three-pointers, Murasakibara's dunks, and Akashi's steals.
In just a few rounds, they had Uesaki's team crying out in despair.
What shocked everyone the most was that Ryu, like a wild horse unleashed, was completely fired up.
With a clear mind, he swept across the court like a whirlwind.
Thud…
Ryu stole the ball from Uesaki's small forward.
Thud…
Ryu intercepted the opponent's pass.
Swish…
Ryu scored.
Thud...
Ryu dunked and scored.
Ryu was like a demon king, dominating the entire court.
Offense, defense, steals, drives, shots, dunks...
Ryu even used his signature move, "Tightrope Walking," drawing gasps from both inside and outside the arena.
The score, under Ryu's dominance, was skyrocketing.
10 points, 20 points, 30 points, 40 points...
Inoue was completely dumbfounded.
From the start of the first quarter to the end of the second, Uesaki's small forward didn't touch the ball once, except when inbounding it.
He stood on the court like a statue.
At this point, Uesaki's small forward was completely demoralized.
In Ryu's opinion, the opponent had likely been traumatized.
79 to 16, that was the current score.
Ryu could see that the light in Uesaki's eyes had faded.
This meant that the opponent had completely given up on the game.
'Although I didn't use my full strength, this game was really enjoyable, like racking up kills in Counter-Strike.'
As they left the court, everyone looked at Ryu in silence.
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