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The bright morning sun, high in the sky, transformed into the scorching afternoon sun.
A gentle breeze, carrying a touch of warmth, caressed everyone in the sports arena.
Large drops of sweat, like a torrent, streamed down their foreheads.
Hair was soaked, clothes clung to them, and throats were parched from the stifling heat.
On the court, that silver figure stood like a majestic giant, unshakeable by anyone.
A deafening roar echoed throughout the arena.
The stunned onlookers stared blankly at Ryu standing on the court, utterly silent.
The pounding of the basketball finally ceased, returning to stillness.
As if still reeling from the earlier shock, the loudspeaker seemed to be brewing some kind of sound, yet no sound came through for a long time.
Several seconds later, the voice from the loudspeaker finally came through.
"Congratulations to player number 21 for winning his tenth consecutive 1v1 basketball match, securing first place in this event. Please proceed to the podium to collect your 7-day Hokkaido sightseeing pass."
Boom…
The announcement over the loudspeaker sent shock and envy through everyone in the sports and entertainment venue.
Under the envious, jealous, and resentful gazes of everyone present, Ryu walked off the court with a smile, picked up Karupin, and headed to the podium.
The opponents in the 1v1 were all amateur enthusiasts.
Ryu won very easily, without even needing to use his full strength.
That's right, not everyone was a member of the "Generation of Miracles."
Upon reaching the podium, Ryu presented his number.
The number had been given to him by the staff when he registered.
With the number, he could exchange it for the sightseeing pass.
Having successfully obtained the sightseeing pass, Ryu had nothing else to do for the time being.
Karupin then transmitted a message to him.
"Let's go back to the basketball court. There's a game going on there, and there's some residual energy. I can absorb it first."
"I see!"
Ryu wasn't surprised.
Over the past two years, he had figured out what the energy was.
It was basically the kind of energy that escaped from a person's body when playing basketball, like heat.
This energy left its mark on the court after leaving the body.
Karupin was absorbing this kind of energy.
That's why this energy could only be obtained on the basketball court.
Ryu was bound to Karupin, acting as a medium for Karupin to absorb energy. (Karupin could only absorb energy from the court through Ryu when Ryu was on the court.)
He was walking towards the basketball court.
Suddenly, several people ran past him.
They were talking as they ran, and their voices naturally reached Ryu's ears.
"I heard the 5v5 basketball game is pretty exciting. We need to hurry, or we won't get a spot."
'5v5?'
Ryu raised an eyebrow, then followed the group with interest.
Like the tennis courts, there were four basketball courts.
Ryu went to court number 3.
Through the green wire mesh fence, he could see a 5v5 game in progress.
17 to 5.
These were the current scores on the scoreboard.
"This is the seventh game already! That center is really good."
"Yeah, he's basically the backbone of both defense and offense. No one else can compare to him."
"You don't know? That center was really amazing in the second game! He single-handedly stopped all the opposing team's shots."
Hearing the whispers around him, Ryu turned his gaze to the court.
His silver eyes immediately spotted the two centers.
They were just too conspicuous.
The two were the tallest players on the court, both positioned on the baseline.
Anyone with even a basic understanding of basketball could easily tell their positions.
Their heights differed significantly.
One was around 2 meters tall, with a well-defined physique and muscular build, suggesting considerable explosiveness; he appeared to be professionally trained.
The other was only slightly over 1.8 meters tall, somewhat overweight, with a protruding belly; he looked like someone who spent most of his time sitting in an office.
'Looks like the center those people were talking about must be the tall guy.'
Ryu began to size up the man.
His appearance was only average. His skin wasn't like Aomine's; it was a normal tan. His face was the resolute type, with a pair of menacing eyes. He had short, choppy hair, a tough-guy look, and wasn't very old, just a bit more mature than Ryu. He seemed to be a high school student.
Based on his appearance, Ryu gave him a neutral assessment.
This guy was the type to look like a thug.
The match wasn't particularly intense overall; the team was dominating from start to finish.
On the court, the tall center received a pass from his teammate.
Although there was a shorter center behind him, he didn't hesitate or pause.
Using his heels as a pivot, he caught the ball with both hands, turned, jumped, and slammed it home over the defender.
With a thud, the entire arena tensed. The basketball went in, and the score increased again.
19 to 5.
'Good shot.'
Ryu's gaze sharpened.
That was a beautiful dunk.
Judging from the sheer power of that dunk, it was on par with Murasakibara Atsushi.
But…
'How strange, is there such a person in Kuroko's Basketball?'
Ryu fell into deep thought.
If there was, why didn't he appear in the original story?
That dunk just now, even he couldn't withstand it head-on; he could only stop it with specific means.
Thinking this, Ryu was startled.
He became somewhat interested in this person.
Having stumbled upon this person by chance, he wanted to see just how capable he was.
The match on the court continued.
Soon, the seventh match ended.
The final score was 34 to 11.
The tall guy won the match.
Ryu was waiting for the next match to begin, but then an unexpected event occurred.
An announcement came over the loudspeaker that one member of the next team in the group had to leave due to unforeseen circumstances, leaving only four players.
The organizers ultimately gave them three options:
1. Continue with the current lineup.
2. Give the team 10 minutes to find a teammate.
3. Forfeit today's match.
In the waiting area of Court 3, a dozen or so teams sat waiting to compete.
One team had only four members.
They looked like high school students.
The four high school students were sighing helplessly.
"Hey! Ogiwara, what do we do now? Maybe we should just give up today and try again tomorrow."
"Are you an idiot? School starts tomorrow, how could we possibly have time?"
"Then what do we do! Are we just going to give up like this? Mitsuha, why don't you think of something?"
"Why should I think of anything! What can I do?"
"Why did Ruka have to leave now?!"
The four were exchanging exasperated comments.
Just then, a voice interrupted their conversation.
The four looked in the direction of the voice and saw a silver-haired young man with unparalleled good looks—Ryu.
Ryu's cheerful smile made them freeze for a moment.
Ryu smiled and said, "Excuse me, are you short one participant?"
The one called Ogiwara was the first to recover and speak.
"Ah, yes, a friend had to leave because of some business."
Ryu continued with his smile, "Then, I wonder if I could join you?"
"You…?"
The four members exchanged glances, then began to scrutinize Ryu.
After a long while, Ogiwara asked, "Do you play basketball?"
"A little. What do you think? You can't find anyone else anyway, can you?"
Ryu's words left the four speechless.
Ogiwara thought for a moment, then, seeing the beautifully defined muscles on Ryu's body, he finally nodded and said, "Alright then! I agree to let you join us, but we're lacking a power forward. Can you do that?"
Ryu nodded, "I have some experience playing power forward."
"Then no problem, welcome to the team."
Since Ryu had such perfectly defined muscles, it meant he exercised regularly and was likely a basketball player like themselves.
Even if not, his athletic ability was definitely better than average.
Hearing that Ogiwara agreed, the other three naturally had no objections.
They all prioritized Ogiwara's lead anyway.
Ryu smiled slightly and said, "Thank you very much then. My name is Ryu. Nice to meet you!"
"My name is Ogiwara Shigehiro. I play point guard on the team. These three are my friends."
Ogiwara Shigehiro introduced himself and then pointed to the other three.
Before he could introduce them, the three beside him spoke up one by one.
"Hello, my name is Shirasawa Koichi. I play small forward."
As soon as he finished speaking, the tallest of the four spoke up.
"Hello, my name is Nakano Kazuaki. I play center."
After he finished speaking, the last of the four spoke up.
"Hello, I'm Mitsubato Juro. I play shooting guard."
Ryu was taken aback.
He felt like he'd heard of Ogiwara Shigehiro somewhere before, but couldn't quite place him.
Never mind, if he couldn't remember, he wouldn't think about it anymore.
He nodded to everyone and then said, "Now that everyone's here, shouldn't we go onto the court?"
Hearing Ryu's reminder, everyone snapped out of their daze.
Ogiwara Shigehiro quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, let's hurry up and get on the court, or we'll be too late!"
With that, the five members quickly moved onto the court.
Ogiwara Shigehiro explained the situation to the staff.
Soon, the announcement came over the loudspeaker.
"The eighth match is about to begin. Teams number 9 and 17, please prepare to enter the court."
Both teams simultaneously took their positions on the court.
Seeing the two-meter-tall giant up close, Ryu couldn't help but click his tongue.
Tall people really did have an intimidating presence.
Thinking about Murasakibara Atsushi's height after entering high school, tsk tsk tsk…
The other player seemed to have noticed Ryu as well.
The two stared at each other from a distance.
'Huh?' The tall center was somewhat surprised, thinking to himself, 'This kid's interesting.'
Beep…
With a loud whistle, the match officially began.
During the jump ball, Nakano couldn't get the ball.
There was no way around it; the opponent was simply too tall.
Nakano was only 188cm tall, making it a significant difference in height.
The others understood and didn't blame him.
Since they couldn't win the jump ball, they decided to focus on defense.
Ryu had observed this clearly beforehand.
The opposing team primarily relied on their center to score; the others were essentially supporting players.
After the jump ball, the basketball landed in the hands of the opposing small forward.
Shirasawa Koichi acted professionally, immediately closing in on the small forward as soon as he received the ball, ready for a fierce battle.
The opponent seemed to sense the pressure, his movements faltering as he executed a somewhat unorthodox triple threat.
'It seems this person is a basketball enthusiast, but lacks systematic training.' Ryu quickly drew this conclusion.
Shirasawa Koichi naturally noticed as well, but he didn't let his guard down, lest he suffer an unexpected defeat.
After all, the opponent had won eight consecutive games and was not to be underestimated.
Soon, the two began a brief battle.
Since this wasn't a formal game, there was no 24-second shot clock.
"Pass the ball!"
Seeing his teammate struggling to break through, the power forward of team number 9 rushed over to help.
Seeing his teammate arrive, the small forward of team number 9 raised his arm in a blocking motion, then tossed the basketball in his right hand towards his power forward.
Seeing the basketball flying towards him, the power forward of team number 9 breathed a sigh of relief.
But just as he was about to catch the ball, suddenly everything blurred before his eyes—a flash of silver—and the basketball vanished.
'What?!'
Completely bewildered, he didn't know what was happening until he heard a loud thud of a basketball hitting the ground nearby.
His heart skipped a beat, and he turned around in shock.
Then he saw Ryu dribbling the ball and charging inside his team's three-point line.
It all happened so fast.
No one had time to react.
By the time everyone came to their senses, Ryu was already under the basket.
With a simple layup, he scored.
Swish…
The basketball grazed the net and bounced back to the ground.
2-0.
Team number 17 scored first.
The crowd watching from the sidelines erupted in a cacophony of noise.
"My God! Did you see that? What just happened?"
"Team number 17 scored first! Unbelievable!"
"I thought it would be the same as before, with team number 9 scoring first!"
"That silver-haired kid seems pretty strong!"
"Team number 17's small forward is also playing very well on defense."
"This team looks different from those weaklings before. This is going to be interesting."
The onlookers were very excited.
What the audience wanted most was a closely contested and exciting match.
While one-sided matches were thrilling, they could get boring after a while.
Experts see the details, laymen see the spectacle.
Ryu's interception was too decisive, and his speed and dribbling skills were extraordinary.
Ogiwara Shigehiro and his three teammates were shocked, but also delighted.
Who wouldn't want a skilled player on their team?
They had guessed that Ryu might be a basketball player, but their impression of basketball wasn't like this.
What's with that speed? Is he a track and field athlete?
Running that fast, wouldn't the ball slip from his grasp?
The tall center of team number 9 recovered from his surprise.
His expression as he looked at Ryu deepened.
'Did he see through it beforehand? Or was it a choice made at the moment of passing? Or perhaps both?'
Neither of these choices was something an ordinary person could make.
Recalling the eye contact he had with Ryu before the game started, he thought, 'This person is not simple.'
Thinking this, the tall center's lips gradually curled into a smile.
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