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Time flowed, days and nights alternated.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
Since his trip to Kanagawa, Ryu hadn't traveled anywhere else, focusing entirely on gelling with the team.
During this month, they challenged various amateur basketball courts, remaining undefeated. Of course, they didn't reveal that they were students of Toho Kotei Gakuen, so outsiders only knew of this team that traveled everywhere challenging others, unaware of their origins.
During this time, everyone gained a great deal. The most crucial improvement was in the team's overall fluidity. If the Toho Kotei Gakuen basketball team's coordination was somewhat clumsy before, now it was incredibly smooth, not at all like a team that had only been playing together for a month.
It's worth mentioning that Ryu acquired a new role during this period: point guard.
After a month of accumulation, he now possessed nearly 100,000 [Cat Energy].
Ryu used 20,000 [Cat Energy] to inherit [Special Skill Basketball].
He inherited [Zero Style] using 20,000 [Cat Energy].
He inherited [God's Wrist] using 50,000 [Cat Energy].
[Special Skill Basketball] evolved from [Special Skill Tennis]. In The Prince of Tennis, this skill is possessed by Kikumaru Eiji of Seigaku and Mukahi Gakuto of Hyotei.
Ryu chose [Special Skill Basketball] because it could compensate for his inability to perform certain movements and indirectly enhanced [Chaotic Dance]. This made his dribbling even more frustrating.
[Special Skill Basketball]: Allows for any movement at one's personal limit, whether in the air or on the ground, and can be used for offense, defense, dribbling, rebounding, shooting, passing, etc.
[Zero Style] originates from Tezuka Kunimitsu of Seigaku in The Prince of Tennis. Its transformed ability is essentially the same as before, only the tennis ball is replaced with a basketball.
[Zero Style]: When throwing the basketball, use a clever technique to make it spin backward. When the spinning basketball hits the ground, the force of the spin will cause it to bounce in the opposite direction, allowing it to return to your hand. (The bounce distance depends on the force of the spin.)
[God's Wrist] is derived from [Magic Interception]. This move is from Jiro Akutagawa of Hyotei in The Prince of Tennis; more accurately, it's a talent.
[God's Wrist]: Regardless of location or posture, the flexibility of the wrist allows for dexterity in controlling the ball, either directly or precisely.
While consuming so much cat food was a bit of a waste, this was part of Ryu's preparation for the upcoming National Tournament.
His abilities were strong, but his ability to support his teammates had been limited. Now, with [Special Skill Basketball], [Zero Style], and [God's Wrist], he could better assist his teammates.
After all, he couldn't just use the [Selfless Realm] right off the bat! A year had passed; it would be more reasonable to have some other techniques. These techniques, combined with his [Eye of the Ice Emperor], made Ryu unable to wait for the match to begin.
Inside the Toho Kotei Gakuen Basketball Gymnasium, everyone was warming up.
Over the past month, Kazuo Kamimono and his group had somehow managed to recruit four new students. These new students all possessed considerable athletic talent, making them ideal substitutes.
While everyone was busy, Kazama Kouki walked in from outside the gym.
"Assemble."
Hearing his words, everyone stood in a neat row.
Kazama Kouki glanced around at everyone and then said, "The National Tournament is about to begin. The preliminary elimination round schedule is out. Kamimono, distribute it to them."
He handed a stack of papers to Kamimono, then addressed the others. "I think you all understand what the elimination round means, so I won't elaborate. In short, losing one match means going home. So, how you approach the matches is up to you."
After he finished speaking, Kazuo Kamimono distributed the preliminary elimination round schedule to everyone.
Ryu stared at the preliminary elimination tournament schedule, which contained a long list of school names and a neatly arranged bracket of opponents. He looked at each school one by one. After a long while, he finally finished looking at all the schools.
To his surprise, the names of Rakuzan, Shutoku, Seirin, Kaijo, Touou (the Tokyo branch), and Yosen were missing. It was as if fate had deliberately arranged for him to be separated from the other members of the Generation of Miracles.
But then again, it made sense. Rakuzan was in Kyoto. Yosen was in Akita. Kaijo was in Kanagawa. Seirin, Shutoku, and Touou were all in Tokyo. They were either in bustling cities or by the sea. Meanwhile, Ryu's school, the Toho Kotei Gakuen, was located in the remote Prefecture.
Glug... glug... glug...
After taking a few gulps of sake, Kazama Kouki continued, "The preliminary rounds in the host prefecture are divided into four groups, from A to D. Our Toho Kotei Gakuen is in Group D. As for how to advance..." He paused, then continued, "Just keep winning and you'll advance."
Hearing this, Ryu and the others twitched their lips. Did he even need to say that? We already know that?Okay. Ryu wanted to complain inwardly. He finally understood how important it was for a team to have a manager. Unfortunately, Toho Kotei Gakuen didn't have a team manager.
Ryu roughly counted. Including Toho Kotei Gakuen, there were a total of 80 schools on the schedule. This meant there would be 8 matches, and to advance, they needed to be at least in the top two of the preliminary elimination rounds.
"Seriously, let's get the matches started! I'm getting impatient," Kugawa said somewhat anxiously.
Ryuichi Kuroki chimed in, "This is our first time participating in an official competition. I wonder what kind of opponents we'll face."
"From what I've observed, there are eight well-known basketball schools in the host prefecture, and the most famous are the four schools that consistently dominate the top four," Hanafuji Souji explained.
Ryu raised an eyebrow, showing some interest, and asked, "Oh, which schools are they?"
Hanafuji Souji replied, "Answering that, in our prefecture, there's a saying: 'The top eight are ever-changing, the top four are the kings.' You've probably heard that Tokyo has three kings, right?"
Hearing his words, everyone nodded.
Seeing everyone nod, Hanafuji Souji continued, "Our prefecture is similar to them. I won't talk about the top eight. What we need to pay attention to are those powerhouse schools that consistently dominate the top four."
Ryu listened attentively, but his heart wasn't at all heavy. When strength reaches a certain level, perhaps only the "Generation of Miracles" can arouse his vigilance. Besides him, everyone else was captivated by Hanafuji Souji's words.
Hanafuji Souji then began to introduce these four schools to everyone.
"The Eastern King is Higashito High School, located in the eastern part of the prefecture."
"The Western King is Nishihara Affiliated High School, located in the western part of the prefecture."
"The Southern King is Nanshang Industrial High School, located in the southern part of the prefecture."
"The Northern King is Hojo Fourth High School, located in the northern part of the prefecture."
"These four schools are evenly matched, and their rankings vary each year. However, with our current team's strength, we have a good chance of advancing." As he spoke, Hanafuji glanced at Ryu unintentionally.
"Alright, you all understand the situation. Our debut begins in two weeks. No one knows you exist, but what you need to do is let everyone know you, and know the power of Toho Kotei Gakuen."
"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison, their voices filled with fervor. The blood in everyone's veins began to boil.
Ryu looked at the backboard not far ahead. It seemed to have transformed into a curtain, with familiar faces flashing across it: Aomine Daiki, Murasakibara Atsushi, Midorima Shintaro, Kise Ryota, Akashi Seijuro, Kuroko Tetsuya, Kagami Taiga…
Ryu smiled expectantly. 'Everyone, we're finally going to meet.'
He looked down at his hands, his palms clenched tightly. 'It's been a year since I participated in a formal competition, I'm really looking forward to it! Are you all ready?'
Ryu's lips curled slightly, and a sharp glint of fighting spirit flashed in his silver eyes.
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