[Please vote with the power stones; the more you vote, the more chapters will be published. Thank you.]
50 Power Stones = 1 bonus chapters.
100 Power Stones = 3 bonus chapters.
150 Power Stones = 5 bonus chapters.
------------------------
The following day,
news of Toho Kotei Gakuen's Won like wildfire.
Toho Kotei Gakuen's reputation reached its peak once again.
Major sports media outlets and newspapers published extensive reports on the match.
[Aces of the Generation of Miracles Clash]
[Ace vs. Ace, A Classic Battle]
[A Once-in-a-Century Spectacular Match]
[A Battle That Overturns Understanding and Goes Down in History]
Meanwhile,
the names of Ryu and Aomine Daiki spread throughout the entire Japanese basketball world.
Videos of their match were used as study material by various high schools and basketball clubs.
Of course, Ryu was the most talked-about player.
That new level of skill inspired many professional players.
They all wanted to know what techniques Ryu used.
What was that technique that could rival the Zone?
Suddenly, Toho Kotei Gakuen became the center of everyone's attention.
The phone in Toho Kotei Gakuen's principal's office had been ringing non-stop since morning.
As for the members of the Toho Kotei Gakuen basketball team, they continued with their own tasks, oblivious to everything happening around them.
Kazama Kouki was completely unconcerned about the pressure from the media and school leaders.
Within the basketball team, he was the undisputed leader; no one could sway him.
Even the principal of Toho Kotei Gakuen was powerless to do anything about it.
Of course, several clubs had begun extending offers to Ryu.
However, Ryu had temporarily declined, citing his studies as the reason.
Whether he would continue playing basketball in the future...
that was still uncertain.
He'd just finish his three years of high school first!
...
On the other side,
although Too Academy lost this competition,
there was still the Winter Cup.
They had all begun rigorous training for the Winter Cup.
Aomine Daiki had also joined the training.
Since losing to Ryu, he seemed like a different person.
Seeing Aomine now filled Momoi with immense joy.
This Aomine was the Aomine she had always known.
However, her work wasn't over yet.
She had decided to conduct an in-depth investigation of everyone at Toho Kotei Gakuen.
After the battle with Toho Kotei Gakuen,
she clearly realized that her investigation of Toho Kotei Gakuen was insufficient.
Many times, Toho Kotei Gakuen's performance exceeded her predictions.
Especially Hanafuji's final performance.
She began to suspect that the players at Toho Kotei Gakuen might be hiding something she didn't know.
…
Yosen High School Basketball Club, screening room.
Araki Masako and the rest of the basketball team were gathered here.
They were watching a recording of the game between Toho Kotei Gakuen and Too Academy.
Everyone was glued to the television screen.
The seriousness in their eyes was indescribable.
The pressure from Toho Kotei Gakuen was simply too great.
After watching the video,
Araki Masako addressed the team members:
"Everyone has seen the video, so let's share our thoughts!"
Yosen's captain, Okamura Kenichi, spoke first:
"I must say, Toho Kotei Gakuen's strength is ridiculously high. We might get crushed."
Fukui Kensuke analyzed:
"Each of them is quite strong; their attack is arguably the strongest in this tournament. But…"
He paused, then continued:
"We rarely see them defend. Most of the time, they defend individually, failing to form an effective defensive formation. Perhaps their defense is their weakness."
Hearing his analysis, the others nodded in agreement.
"On the surface, Toho Kotei Gakuen does seem weak on defense, but we can't be careless. After all, their players are formidable."
Himuro Tatsuya chimed in:
"Atsushi and I went to see the match, and to be honest, it really shocked me! Especially that Ryu; he's insanely strong. If we want to defeat Toho Kotei Gakuen, we must first find a way to defeat Ryu."
To defeat Toho Kotei Gakuen, we must first defeat Ryu.
This had almost become a universally accepted fact.
"Murasakibara, Ryu was your former teammate. Is there anything you want to say?"
Hearing Araki Masako's question, Murasakibara yawned and replied:
"Sigh... As for Yu-chin, there's nothing to say. Although he's very strong, I won't let him score easily. Even if it's Yu-chin, I'll crush him."
Hearing this, Araki Masako's lips curled slightly.
"Looks like you're quite confident."
"I'm just very confident in my defense,"
Murasakibara said, his eyes filled with confidence in his own abilities.
If it were a scoring contest, he definitely couldn't beat Ryu.
But in terms of defensive ability...
Even after witnessing Ryu's duel with Aomine, he had a strong confidence that he could stop Toho Kotei Gakuen's scoring.
No one noticed the gleam in Murasakibara's eyes as he spoke.
That gleam was something no one else had ever seen before.
...
On a street that wasn't very crowded,
a human and a cat were walking along, looking around cautiously.
"Karupin, we've been walking for almost two hours! When are we going to get there?"
"What's the rush! We're getting closer to our target!"
Karupin said irritably.
Ryu wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up at the blazing sun high in the sky.
"We didn't have to come out now! Couldn't we wait until sunset?"
Karupin seemed to be getting uncomfortable from the sun.
His breathing was rapid, and he replied with his tongue lolling out:
"You think I want to?! This time it's different. That thing is moving for some reason. If we don't follow it now, we might lose track of our target."
Hearing this, Ryu could only continue walking helplessly.
An hour and a half earlier,
Karupin suddenly sensed a special energy.
The human and the cat seemed to have forgotten the heat.
Without thinking much, they ran out together.
As a result, the two of them were exposed to the sun the entire way.
Ryu gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath.
'Isn't that energy inanimate? Why is it moving?'
The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved and angry he became.
He directly asked Karupin:
"Tell me the truth, are you sure that energy isn't alive? Could it be some kind of spirit or something?"
Karupin looked at Ryu as if he were an idiot.
"Do you think this is a video game?! There are no spirits here. That energy is inanimate; it can't move on its own."
Hearing Karupin's confirmation, Ryu fell into a brief silence.
After a long while, he finally spoke, analyzing:
"If that's the case, then there's only one possibility. Could it be that it moved passively for some reason?"
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
He asked Karupin:
"What do you think?"
Karupin thought for a moment.
He felt Ryu's analysis made a lot of sense.
"Anyway, we're almost there. We'll see what's going on when we get there."
He didn't like thinking about these brain-taxing things.
And so, the man and the cat walked for more than half an hour under the scorching sun.
When they arrived at a construction site, they finally found their target.
Karupin's gaze was fixed on a transport truck not far away.
"Found it; it's on top of that truck."
Ryu followed his gaze.
Then he saw a huge transport truck, loaded to the brim with stones.
Seeing this,
Ryu instantly understood why the energy had moved.
It had been accidentally loaded onto the truck.
Ryu glanced around, then asked in confusion:
"This is a construction site; we probably can't go in, right?"
As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Karupin.
"What are you looking at? Don't you want to go in?"
"Cough cough... It's not that I don't want to. You see, there are security guards over there. Outsiders definitely aren't allowed in. You're small, and they won't care about a cat. Isn't it perfect for you?"
Hearing Ryu's words, Karupin snorted coldly.
He didn't say anything more,
because what Ryu said was indeed true.
However, the thought of him doing the work while the other just watched made him very unhappy.
Thinking to himself, Karupin came to Ryu's side with his back to him.
With a powerful push of his hind legs, he kicked up clods of dirt.
Caught off guard, Ryu felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, followed by a sting on his face. He mumbled curses and tasted a strange odor.
Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey...
Ryu felt a wave of nausea and quickly spat out the foreign object in his mouth.
After vomiting, he gritted his teeth, glaring resentfully at Karupin as he walked away.
'You damned cat, you just wait!'
In that instant, dozens of ways to torture Karupin flashed through his mind.
Gradually, a wicked smile crept across his face,
like Tom's malicious grin at Jerry.
"What are you doing here?"
Just then,
a voice reached Ryu's ears.
Ryu glanced sideways, then blinked.
He recognized him:
it was the security guard who had been standing at the gate earlier.
He looked quite old; his hair was all white.
"Uh… sir, hello, I… I was just passing by,"
Ryu thought for a moment, then answered.
Upon hearing this, the security guard looked Ryu up and down, then curled his lip.
"Passing by? This is the first time I've heard of someone passing by here."
"Why can't I pass by?"
Ryu argued, then subconsciously glanced around.
Then he froze on the spot.
He hadn't looked carefully before and hadn't noticed.
Now that he looked, he was immediately dumbfounded.
It wasn't because there was nothing around,
it was because the entire area was surrounded by safety railings.
There seemed to be a safety railing where he had entered.
He had unknowingly walked in.
Ryu didn't know how to explain for a moment and became somewhat embarrassed and at a loss.
Seeing Ryu's expression, the security guard narrowed his eyes and said irritably:
"You little brat, you're not here to steal anything, are you? I've seen plenty of people like you. You're not leaving here today; just wait for the police!"
With that, the security guard prepared to subdue Ryu.
Seeing the guard about to make a move, Ryu quickly took a step back and began to explain:
"Um, sir, no, no, no, you've misunderstood. I was just passing by, and I just happened to walk in."
Seeing Ryu still trying to dodge, the security guard's short temper flared up immediately.
"Hmph! Still trying to argue? Are you stupid or am I stupid? Even if you were really stupid, you wouldn't have gotten in here."
The security guard was unmoved by his words, and Ryu felt a tightness in his chest, but he couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation for the moment.
It's best to leave first!
Thinking this, Ryu turned and ran.
"Stop right there!"
The security guard shouted at the top of his lungs from behind.
Ryu ignored him, his speed startling even the guard.
"Running so fast, you're obviously a repeat offender."
Knowing he couldn't catch him, the guard yelled even louder:
"You little bastard, you're lucky you ran fast. Next time I catch you, I'll break your legs and then take you to the police station!"
Ryu could faintly hear the guard's angry shouts behind him.
Ryu was speechless.
Break legs?! Take him to the police station?!
They really think I'm a thief.
'I'll let you get away with this at your age,'
Ryu thought irritably.
After running for a while, Ryu stopped and hid in a sheltered spot, observing and waiting.
Time passed.
After what seemed like an eternity, Ryu finally spotted a familiar figure.
Karupin swaggered out of the construction site gate.
After walking out, Karupin didn't see Ryu.
He paused slightly.
Ryu emerged from his hiding place and waved to Karupin.
Seeing Ryu's location, Karupin was taken aback, wondering why he had gone there.
However, he still walked towards Ryu.
But just then,
a sharp shout startled Karupin:
"You brat, you dare come back!"
Karupin only felt a figure flash past his side.
Then he saw a security guard in uniform running towards Ryu's location.
A huge question mark appeared above Karupin's head.
What happened?
Ryu saw the security guard running towards him from afar.
Helpless, he could only turn and run again.
He ran out from behind the security fence and hid in an alley.
After a long while, he didn't see the security guard come out.
Ryu let out a long sigh.
His bad luck today was unbelievable.
Five minutes later,
Karupin emerged from behind the security fence.
He immediately spotted Ryu hiding in the shadows.
Karupin walked towards Ryu with a disdainful look.
"What's going on here?"
Ryu's lips twitched slightly, not directly answering his question.
"Just a misunderstanding. You came out pretty quickly this time."
Karupin licked his paw and said:
"Ah! I didn't find it."
Upon hearing this, Ryu nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"What do you mean? What do you mean you didn't find it?"
Ryu asked.
"I had found it, but an accident happened. The thing was buried under a rock."
What the hell?
Ryu's head was spinning.
What do you mean, buried under a rock?
Ryu looked at Karupin in confusion.
"What are you talking about? Under a rock?"
"It means that when the truck was unloading, it buried that energy underneath."
Hearing Karupin's words, Ryu felt a wave of dizziness.
This is... insane.
I endured the scorching sun to get here,
then I was wrongly accused of being a thief by the security guard and kicked out,
and this is what I got in return?
"So you're just going to give up?" Ryu said irritably to Karupin.
"So you're going to give up?"
Karupin rolled his eyes at Ryu and said bluntly:
"Those rocks are too heavy; I can't dig them out, so..."
Ryu felt a surge of frustration.
His eyelids suddenly twitched violently.
"So what?"
"So I need your help to dig those rocks open."
Karupin's words were like a death knell.
What a joke.
Me, dig them?
I'd probably get my legs broken by that damn security guard before I even got to the construction site gate.
"What are you dawdling for! It'll be dark soon,"
Karupin urged.
Ryu frowned, his face full of reluctance.
"Isn't there any other way? How about we talk about it after dark?"
Hearing Ryu's words, Karupin looked at him strangely.
"You're usually so enthusiastic; what's wrong with you today? Oh, right, you're worried about that security guard, aren't you? What happened between you two?"
Ryu then explained the misunderstanding with the security guard to Karupin.
Upon hearing this, Karupin smiled in a human-like way.
Looking at Karupin's smug expression, Ryu really wanted to pluck all his fur.
He looked at him irritably:
"You go lure that security guard away; I'll sneak in while he's not looking."
Karupin's smile faded, and he agreed:
"Fine, I'll kindly help you out; I'll take care of the security guard."
Ryu rolled his eyes.
'What the hell? I'm the one helping you! How did it become you helping me?'
The cat and the man briefly discussed their plan.
Then they went back inside the security fence.
Karupin went straight for the security guard.
Ryu followed cautiously behind, trying to avoid being spotted by the guard.
He clearly saw Karupin walk up to the guard and pounce, scratching at his face.
The security guard, who had been leisurely sipping tea on a bench, was startled by the sudden attack.
He cried out and fell off his chair.
Ryu's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the guard lying on the ground.
He wondered if the old man might die instantly.
But soon, the security guard got up.
Seeing the long scratch on the man's face,
Ryu's lips twitched uncontrollably.
He thought to himself, 'Karupin has always been relatively lenient with me.'
The security guard cursed loudly, stood up, picked up a stone, and threw it at Karupin.
Karupin, agile as ever, easily dodged it and turned to run away.
The security guard, probably enraged, chased after him recklessly.
A smile appeared on Ryu's lips, and he quickly slipped into the construction site gate.
A long time later,
the security guard returned, panting and cursing.
Beads of sweat were visible on his forehead; he was probably exhausted from chasing Karupin.
Ryu wandered aimlessly through the construction site.
'I forgot to ask which way to go. This construction site is so big; which way do I go?'
Meow…
Suddenly, a meow caught Ryu's attention.
Hearing the sound, he looked and saw Karupin's figure.
Ryu walked over and asked:
"Where is that place? Take me there quickly, or we'll be in trouble if we get discovered."
"Follow me!"
With that, Karupin turned and walked in one direction.
A few minutes later,
Karupin led Ryu to the area of sand and rocks.
It was filled with piles of sand and rocks of various sizes.
Karupin walked to one of the piles of rocks and said:
"This is it. I can feel it; it's under these rocks."
Ryu looked at the mountain of rocks before him, his heart sinking.
How long would this take to dig?
"What are you standing there for? Get to work!"
Karupin urged.
Ryu sighed helplessly, took a deep breath, and began digging with his bare hands.
He had no choice; he had no tools and could only dig with his hands, bit by bit.
Time passed slowly.
The sun was gradually setting in the west.
"Are you sure this is the place? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Ryu was starting to doubt Karupin's words.
They'd dug so deep and still hadn't found anything.
"No mistake; this is it, right here, down below. Keep digging!"
Seeing Karupin's certainty, Ryu had no choice but to continue digging.
The sky gradually darkened.
Ryu was now panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat.
"I can't take it anymore, I can't take it anymore; my back is about to break."
With the added advantage of his physique, Ryu's stamina was still decent.
However, constantly bending over was starting to strain him.
Just then,
a beam of light shone in.
Ryu's heart tightened.
Had they been discovered?
The two of them quickly hid behind a pile of stones.
A few workers nearby pushed a cart to the pile of stones.
Ryu watched as they loaded stones onto the cart.
Ryu breathed a long sigh of relief.
Thank goodness they hadn't been discovered.
Otherwise, if the security guard at the gate found out, he certainly wouldn't let him off the hook.
After the workers left,
Ryu returned to the spot where he had dug earlier.
Huh?
He noticed that the pit had become larger and deeper than before.
Were these the workers who dug this?
Ryu grinned.
'This actually helped me out; it saved me a lot of effort.'
Ryu continued digging.
This time, he hadn't dug for long when Karupin called him back.
"Alright, it's out now. That's enough."
Hearing this, Ryu sat down directly on the pile of stones.
"Finally finished."
Karupin didn't say much, immediately going to the ball of light to absorb its energy.
"It's done."
Some time passed.
Ryu, feeling somewhat drowsy, was awakened by Karupin's words.
"Finished absorbing?"
Karupin nodded.
"Damn, it really is faster to absorb like this. Otherwise, absorbing through a layer of stone would be much slower."
"Since you're finished absorbing, then..."
Ryu's words trailed off as he realized something was wrong.
"What did you just say? You can absorb through stone?"
Karupin nodded.
"Yes, but that way, it would take twice as long to absorb it."
Hearing this, Ryu's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
He felt like a complete idiot.
He had actually been tricked by Karupin.
Feeling Ryu's murderous glare,
Karupin shrugged, saying nonchalantly:
"I was just trying to save time. See how much faster I absorbed it this time?"
Heh heh heh...
Ryu laughed in exasperation.
"Much faster? Do you know how much time I spent digging just now?"
As he spoke, Ryu reached out to grab Karupin.
He had to teach this wretched cat a lesson today.
Karupin reacted quickly, dodging Ryu's attack in a flash.
"Don't you dare run away! I promise I won't strangle you."
Karupin didn't believe Ryu's nonsense and ran off arrogantly.
Ryu, worried about attracting attention, didn't dare make too much noise.
He thought, 'I'll deal with you when I get back.'
Ryu slowed his pace and stealthily approached the gate.
The security guard was leaning against the wall, feigning sleep.
A perfect opportunity.
Ryu's heart leaped with joy, and he tiptoed past the security guard.
Ring ring ring…
Just then,
the workday bell rang suddenly at the construction site.
The security guard, fast asleep, was awakened by the bell and opened his eyes.
But what he saw was significant:
a familiar figure immediately appeared in his field of vision.
He paused, then seemed to recognize Ryu.
His eyes widened instantly, and he roared:
"So! You really are a thief! You dare come back? Let's see where you run now!"
With that, he stood up and charged towards Ryu.
Ryu cursed inwardly and turned to run.
"You little bastard, you stop right there! I'm going to get you arrested today!"
Hearing the security guard's angry shouts behind him, Ryu didn't know why, but he felt incredibly guilty.
He hadn't done anything wrong, so why was he feeling guilty?
This time, the security guard didn't give up the chase.
Ryu ran past the safety barrier, still able to hear the security guard's curses behind him.
He ran for an unknown amount of time.
Ryu only stopped when he could no longer hear the security guard's curses.
He felt like today was his unlucky day.
Not only had he baked in the sun, but he'd also done a whole afternoon of manual labor.
And then the security guard mistook him for a thief.
It all felt like a dream.
Meow…
Just then,
a cat's meow rang out.
Ryu recognized it immediately as Karupin's voice.
He glanced sideways at Karupin.
A nameless rage surged within him.
He gritted his teeth and spoke fiercely to Karupin:
"Karupin…"
Karupin seemed oblivious to what was happening.
"The business is done; we can go back."
With that, Karupin leaped onto the nearby wall and disappeared.
"Damn it,"
Ryu cursed.
But he was completely exhausted now, feeling mentally, physically, and emotionally drained.
Finally, he could only weakly walk step-by-step towards the hotel where he had checked in.
----
Could you subscribe on patreon?.
+ I publish 3 chapters daily on Patreon, in addition to the other advanced chapters, which are 30+ chapters.
That's about 90 chapters a month.
patreon.com/ayan41x