I want to reach 20 paid subscriptions on Patreon this week to complete this novel, as it has been over a month since the last subscription.
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The game continued.
Time ticked by.
For some reason,
the players of Kirisaki Daiichi became noticeably hesitant and restrained.
The previous desperate attempts to create unexpected situations were no longer seen.
Another offensive attack was thwarted by Toho Kotei Gakuen.
The basketball was once again passed to Ryu.
Seeing this,
everyone on Kirisaki Daiichi tensed up instantly.
A sense of panic crept into their hearts.
As Ryu dribbled past them, they didn't even attempt an effective block, merely raising their hands slightly.
It wasn't that they didn't want to defend.
It was just that the previous, seemingly hopeless moment had left a significant psychological scar.
And so, Ryu drove past five opponents almost without resistance.
Until he reached Kirisaki Daiichi's basket and scored.
"What's going on...? You call this defense? Has Kirisaki Daiichi given up?"
"It's just that Toho Kotei Gakuen is too strong. Kirisaki Daiichi seems to be finished."
"I knew it! After all, they're a third-rate team. Against a champion team, this is all they can do."
Hearing the audience's merciless mockery, the Kirisaki Daiichi members were furious, but they forcibly suppressed their displeasure.
They didn't want to experience that terrifying helplessness, much less be ridiculed.
The sudden change in the game's pace left the spectators somewhat disoriented.
Kirisaki Daiichi seemed like a completely different team.
From a ferocious, aggressive Tibetan mastiff, they suddenly became a timid, tail-between dog.
Their offensive momentum also became weak and ineffective.
Thud...
Toho Kotei Gakuen stole the ball from Kirisaki Daiichi again.
Ryu continued his attack.
He broke through Kirisaki's defense once again and successfully scored.
"Damn it..."
Hanamiya Makoto stared intently at Ryu with murderous intent.
He was extremely unwilling.
He wanted to shoot again, but he was also very hesitant.
A contradictory feeling welled up in his heart.
However, as the game progressed, the members of Kirisaki Daiichi all frowned.
The more they played, the more they felt that something was wrong.
They couldn't quite put their finger on it.
Whoosh...
Thud...
When Seto Kentaro received Hanamiya Makoto's pass, he froze on the spot.
He finally realized what he felt was wrong.
'Did I just receive the ball? Why didn't I feel it?'
He looked down at the basketball he was holding in his hands, his eyes filled with confusion and shock.
He was still standing there dumbfounded after receiving the ball.
"Seto... what are you standing there for?" Hanamiya Makoto frowned and reminded him.
"Seto... what are you doing?"
Seto Kentaro, snapping out of his daze, finally noticed.
"I..."
He wanted to say something more, but his time with the ball was about to expire.
He quickly passed the ball to Yamazaki Hiroshi, who was closest to him.
Thud...
Yamazaki Hiroshi received the pass somewhat unexpectedly, nearly losing possession in his haste.
However, during this time, he also sensed that something seemed different from usual.
But he couldn't figure it out for the moment.
Stop thinking about it and immediately turned to shoot.
Whoosh…
He released the ball with a glimmer of hope.
But as he shot, that strange feeling returned.
'What's wrong with me? Why is the feeling of shooting gone?'
'Wait… no, I don't think I felt the ball leave my hand at all.'
He looked up at the basketball he had just shot, wanting to confirm.
Then he saw the basketball, without any hesitation, fly over the backboard of Toho Kotei Gakuen and into the stands.
Yamazaki Hiroshi's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in disbelief.
'How could this be? My feeling is gone.'
Hearing his words, Seto Kentaro looked at him and asked.
"You've lost your sense of touch too?"
"What were you two talking about?"
At this moment, Hanamiya Makoto walked over with a somewhat gloomy expression and asked.
The two didn't hide anything and told him about their situation.
Upon hearing this, Hanamiya Makoto fell silent.
Lost his sense of touch?
What a joke.
He looked at the two with a somewhat unfriendly gaze.
"Are you playing me?"
"It's true."
Seto Kentaro quickly explained.
"Just now, when I touched the basketball, I didn't feel anything at all, like I was holding onto thin air."
Yamazaki Hiroshi nodded in agreement.
"That's right, I didn't feel anything when I shot."
Hearing their explanations, a terrifying thought crossed Hanamiya Makoto's mind.
'Could it be that all of this was done by Ryu?'
Thinking of his sudden blindness earlier, Hanamiya Makoto immediately thought of Ryu.
'Could he really possess sorcery?'
The more he thought about it, the more wary he became of Ryu.
First it was sight, and now it's touch.
He kept his head down, silent for a long time.
Seeing him like this, Seto Kentaro spoke up.
"Captain, how about we forfeit?"
Hearing this, Hanamiya Makoto remained silent.
His body began to tremble, his eyes flickering uncertainly.
The game continued.
However, Kirisaki Daiichi was now practically crippled.
Seto Kentaro and Yamazaki Hiroshi were completely unable to dribble.
They couldn't feel the ball's power; they nearly lost control several times.
As time ticked by.
Furuhashi Kojiro and Hara Kazuya followed in the footsteps of Seto Kentaro and Yamazaki Hiroshi.
They were now like puppets, moving mechanically, raising their hands, and passing the ball.
Dribbling? Forget about it.
Without their sense of touch, dribbling was simply impossible for them.
Every time they dribbled, the ball either slips out of their hands or is easily stolen by Toho Kotei Gakuen.
It's fair to say that at this moment, Kirisaki is the worst.
Only Hanamiya Makoto is still somewhat normal.
Ryu looked at Hanamiya Makoto, who was waiting for his attack.
The opponent's head was down, so his expression couldn't be seen.
Thump... thump... thump...
Ryu dribbled the ball as he slowly approached Hanamiya Makoto.
"This is your punishment, you pathetic provocateur."
With those words,
Ryu slapped the basketball in his hand.
Thump...
The ball fell.
Hanamiya Makoto felt a sudden darkness engulf him; he could see nothing.
Thump…
Another sound.
The surrounding noise vanished.
Thump…
This time, Hanamiya Makoto didn't hear it, or rather, he couldn't hear it.
However, he felt a slight tremor in the ground.
Then he felt as if something was missing from his body.
Immediately afterward, Ryu dribbled the ball twice more.
The basketball bounced twice on the ground.
Then, Ryu dribbled the ball past the motionless Hanamiya Makoto and slowly walked to the basket of Kirisaki Daiichi.
Strangely enough.
At this moment, not a single person from Kirisaki Daiichi came to stop him.
The Kirisaki Daiichi players were positioned in a fan shape, surrounding Ryu.
However, Ryu was like a lone hero fighting a battle.
He stood under the basket of Kirisaki Daiichi.
Aim, shoot.
Swish…
The basketball went in.
137-0.
The glaring red numbers were displayed unmistakably in everyone's eyes.
The members of Kirisaki Daiichi stood frozen, as if in a daze.
The referee had warned them several times, but no one responded.
Their expressions were seen by everyone in the stands.
"What's wrong with them?"
Momoi tilted her head, asking in confusion.
Takao analyzed.
"I think they've lost their fighting spirit!"
Midorima adjusted his glasses, looking at Kirisaki Daiichi below, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Things aren't that simple. The Kirisaki Daiichi members must have encountered something that terrifies them. They're probably frightened."
"Frightened?"
Midorima's words left Momoi and Takao puzzled.
Beep…
Just then.
The referee blew his whistle.
"Kirisaki Daiichi forfeits; the winner is Toho Kotei Gakuen."
This announcement sent shockwaves through the entire arena.
There were still over six minutes left in the match!
"They forfeited already?"
"That's so boring! I thought we'd get a good game!"
"As expected, the knockout stage is just a formality. We'll have to wait until the round of 16 to see some exciting matches."
"Speaking of which, since they forfeited, what are they still standing there for?"
His words drew a response from many spectators, who all turned their attention to the court.
The members of Kirisaki Daiichi were still standing under their own basket.
Hanamiya Makoto stood motionless, his face filled with panic, his body trembling involuntarily.
The other members of Kirisaki Daiichi had surrounded him, their faces filled with worry.
Toho Kotei Gakuen's rest area.
Kamimono and the others naturally noticed the anomaly.
He asked.
"What did you do to him? Will something bad happen?"
Ryu waved his hand and said.
"Don't worry! I just taught him a little lesson. He'll be fine in a bit."
"Is that so? That's good."
Kamimono said this, but a hint of shock still appeared in his eyes.
He didn't know what method Ryu had used to turn someone into a fool.
Such a method was unheard of, horrifying.
He truly understood Ryu less and less.
Is this still the same sunny little brother I met before?
The spectator area.
"Looks like Ryu's come up with some amazing moves this time!"
Momoi was scribbling furiously in her notebook.
Midorima glanced one last time at Ryu in the Toho Kotei Gakuen rest area, then turned and said,
"Takao, we're leaving."
"Ah...we're going back already?"
Takao quickly followed.
The two disappeared down the corridor in no time.
Momoi finished recording the information she needed, gave Ryu a sweet smile, and then turned and left.
The match ended.
Everything happened so suddenly.
Kirisaki Daiichi left silently; no one knew when they left.
Ryu and the others returned to their locker room.
Then they went to a nearby restaurant to celebrate.
The news of Toho Kotei Gakuen's clean sweep of Kirisaki Daiichi in their first match spread throughout the country in a very short time.
The basketball clubs of various universities also learned of this news immediately.
The strongest high school team, living up to expectations, truly deserving of the title.
Everyone was astonished by this result.
Fukuda Sogo Academy Basketball Club.
Haizaki Shogo, with his slicked-back black hair, looked at the information he had just received on his phone.
A slight smile played on his lips, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he spoke in a chilling, hoarse voice.
"137-0! As expected of you! Ryu… I'm truly envious!"
As he spoke, he turned off his phone, a sinister glint inadvertently flashing in his eyes.
"I'm so envious I want to destroy it myself!"
Kaijo High School's rest area.
"137-0? As expected of Ryucchi!"
Kise wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, showing no surprise whatsoever, as if he had known the result all along.
"Aren't you even a little surprised?"
Moriyama Yoshitaka asked.
"Ah...surprised..."
Kise thought for a moment, then said.
"I am a little surprised! After all, the opponent has an 'Uncrowned General,' and Ryucchi managed to score zero points."
His expression turned serious.
"I won't fall too far behind him; I'll catch up."
...
Yosen's rest area.
Himuro Tatsuya was reading the contents of his phone to the Yosen players.
"This is the news we just received. Toho Kotei Gakuen defeated Kirisaki Daiichi 137-0. To be precise, Kirisaki Daiichi forfeited shortly after the start of the final period."
Hearing Himuro Tatsuya's words, the Yosen players fell silent.
Crunch... Crunch...
Murasakibara said while eating snacks.
"Oh... Yu-chin is still so fierce, he shut out his opponent again."
Hearing this, Captain Okamura Kenichi immediately frowned.
He retorted irritably.
"Do you even know what a sense of crisis is?!"
The other player interjected.
"It seems that Toho Kotei Gakuen is stronger than it was in the summer. I know a bit about Kirisaki, and I heard they also have a 'Uncrowned General' player. If we face them, achieving a shutout will be very difficult."
Hearing his words, the arena immediately fell silent.
...
On a street leading to the Tokyo Arena.
Aomine received a call from Momoi.
Momoi recounted the events at Toho Kotei Gakuen and Kirisaki Daiichi.
After listening, Aomine hung up, a smile gradually spreading across his face, revealing a row of pearly white teeth.
"Well done! Ryu, I'm really looking forward to our next match."
...
Rakuzan High School's rest area.
Akashi nodded after hearing the report from the intelligence-gathering team member.
"I see! Thanks for your hard work."
He remained silent afterward, lost in thought.
His crimson pupils flickered.
Mibuchi Reo, standing beside him, said with some surprise.
"I can't believe Hanamiya Makoto got shut out!"
Nebuya Eikichi scoffed disdainfully.
"What a waste. I think he's used too many tricks; he's forgotten how to play basketball. He's utterly useless."
"I'm really looking forward to meeting them soon. They're not the only ones who've gotten stronger these past few months,"
Hayama Kotaro said excitedly.
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I want to reach 20 paid subscriptions on Patreon this week to complete this novel, as it has been over a month since the last subscription.
patreon.com/ayan41x